Competing with Neighbors: Individuals, Family and Society in the Rural Mekong Delta, Vietnam

People in the rural Mekong Delta in Vietnam have been experiencing social transformations associated with rapid economic development under neoliberalism, which brought about urbanization as well as out-migration during the past two to three decades.  Under the current social situations, people in the region have had to compete with neighbors in financial terms, and while some are successful in getting wealthier by obtaining jobs outside of agriculture, others are being left behind and live in relative poverty.   Based on ethnographic research, this article examines impacts of social changes on relations between individuals and the society by focusing on family.  Communal ties are weak in villages in the Delta, and family has a peculiar importance in people’s lives as not only the primary, but also almost the only social unit that people can depend on and turn to for financial as well as psychological support. As such, the family stands between individuals and the wider society, and while it absorbs social impacts directly, it also serves as people’s security network to survive in the uncertain environment.  Everyday experiences of these residents illustrate how society, family and individuals are closely interconnected in a rapidly changing society where competition for better life grows fierce among residents.