This is indeed a crazy idea. How about we had an election where 51% of the people decided that it was perfectly OK to throw rocks at Andrew Walker. Are you comforable with that democratic outcome, Mr. Walker? I’m not.

Democracy is NOT equivalent to elections. Democracy is about “self-rule” and it applies in two sometimes contradictiory spheres – the individual and the group. The group sphere of self-rule has an electoral component, yet even here it is not absolute. Most nominal democracies are not run through elections alone; can you name any state run exclusively through universal suffrage referenda? Since that is not practical, we use republican systems of representation.

At the individual level, self-rule is embedded in individual civil rights, as without that the notion of democracy is meaningless. Civil rights and electoral outcomes often clash, just as electoral outcomes in smaller vs larger groups can often clash, as with separatist movements with strong local support but little national support.

Jingoistic comments about silly villagers may make you feel smart, Mr. Walker, but it hardly adds to serious discussion.

HPBoothe

Read my post – it didn\’t mention Thaksin at all. It was about the oath that all graduates of Thammasast take upon graduation, but that the Rector himself didn\’t follow. If you agree, sign the petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/domedang/petition.html

Every word out of you is Thaksin – Thaksin – Thaksin, even if the topic isn\’t about Thaksin at all. Get over it already!

We know exactly how you feel about Thaksin and the War on Drugs. You don\’t have to repeat it with every single  post.

[Note: this comment has been edited slightly to moderate some of the language.]

Anon you graduated from one of Thailand’s preeminent institution and you actually took the Thammasart oath to protect the Nation, the King, Religion and the Constitution . . so why in the hell are you still carrying out this love affair with that kleptocrat Thaksin Shinawatra? Thaksin Shinawatra was the very enemy you took your oath at Thammsart for.

Now write 20 formal letters of apology to the Thammasart rector as your act of contrition and next time take a worthy aka instead of your sneaky name ‘Anon’.

When I graduated from Thammasat, all students made an oath: they would project the Nation, the King, Religion, and the Constitution. When the Rector became a puppet of the junta that wripped up the Constitution, he lost my respect forever. He’s just another academic, and Thammasat is just another school.

But how in the world Republican could you defend Thaksin Shinawatra as a model of a democratic leader? That I would like to hear from you.

Thaksin Shinawatra and Ferdinand Marcos were exact clones. They tell the whole world they are defenders of democracy while they abuse the constitution to perpetuate their corrupt rules..

As with so many things in Thailand, the name and the thing are not the same. A university is not a university – at least in the sense of being a place for the free and independent pursuit of knowledge. This explains the extreme reluctance of most academics to engage with the English language scholarly world, because this would open them up to global competition. But in their own system they can be “king”. Proficiency in English is merely a means of gaining an advantage in Thai academic circles, rather than to engage with the global community of scholars. It is no wonder the academics will do whatever it takes to preserve their privileges, including denying the Thai people the right to elect their own government. Thailand, truly the land of kings.

There is no incentive for academic rigor. No accountability. No competition. Once you’re hired, you’re hired for life. It’s automatic tenure.

And yet, imagining myself in their shoes, I doubt I will do any better. Maybe when young, and motivated,… but as I get older, the futility of it all, the lazy intellectual climate, the pressing needs for kids and family, career advancement,.. if I start off as a nobody armed with naught but my degree, and not independently wealthy on my own, would I not be tempted to carry water for whatever set of people in power at the moment? How else am I going to step up the social ladder? pay off that condo I bought? sent my kids to decent (ie. private) schools?

Anyway,… if you look at the founding purposes of all the old universities in Thailand, you may not be surprised. These are not found for higher learning and such niceties, it’s plainly a factory to manufacture bureaucrats for the expanding government. The name even said it so in the beginning. I think they have done very well in that regard (churning out lots and lots of bureaucrats with good govt. job placement). The quality is another story. It’s secondary.

All these social critics would be searching for the magic constitutional formula that would prevent a return of a Thaksin wannabe.

But in the end good sense should prevail in the quest for a Thai constitution that would respond to the wishes of the Thai people. Hope today is my only ally after Thaksin’s corrupt and illegitimate rule that provoked the martial law in the first place.

Will the devil we knew be replaced by a worse demon? I don’t think so. Thaksin was ONE devil in a league by himself.

The King might preach self-sufficiency, but he himself is a billionare, and the Queen is a walking display case for jewelry. She’s literally a shining example for the Thai elite to follow.