General Surayud Chulanont’s speech (full text available) to the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand is essential reading. in his speech, Surayud calls 2007 “The Year of Great Reforms”.
I have taken the liberty of drawing New Mandala readers’ attention to slabs of the speech that spruik “sufficiency economy”. Regular readers will know that Andrew and I have a particular interest in trying to understand the deployment of this economic and social framework.
The General said:
Promoting the “Sufficiency Economy Philosophy” of His Majesty the King as a fundamental principle of development policy means that we will focus on stable growth, sound macro-economic discipline and the equitable sharing of economic benefits as we compete in the globalized world. Growth with quality means greater concerns for good governance and management of risk. But such concerns do not impact on the market mechanism, nor do they influence the openness of the Thai economy. In fact, the “Sufficiency Economy Philosophy” is a Thai model for sustainability, the importance of which is only now becoming recognized around the world. As an early adopter of a sustainable approach to development, Thailand should, I believe, be praised, for it is a path down which every country or company will have to travel sooner rather than later.
….
I hope that our foreign partners will join us in this great collective enterprise for us to prosper together. Indeed, we urge you to put forward recommendations for improving efficiency, transparency and productivity, not only in your businesses, but also in government. Join us in the fight to promote corporate and government responsibility. In so doing you will be renewing your commitment to the Kingdom of Thailand as we celebrate the auspicious occasion of His Majesty the King’s 80th Anniversary.
With regard to this auspicious event, I wish to take this opportunity to invite all foreign businesses operating in Thailand to join the Kingdom’s celebrations by launching your own “sufficiency economy” or sustainability projects under the theme of “From His Majesty’s wisdom, sufficiency for our children”.
You can launch such projects within your own organizations or in connection with the communities in which you operate. The sustainable use of resources means seeking greater efficiency in every area in which you operate which in the long term is, I believe, good for the bottom line.
8 responses so far ↓
1 Srithanonchai // Jan 24, 2007 at 11:56 pm
Reading what, according to the good general Surayud, characterizes “sufficiency economy,” followed by his statement, “the importance of which is only now becoming recognized around the world” really puzzles me. After all, in Germany, we have been practicing what is called “social market economy” with just the same characteristics, but a lot more economic-theoretical sophistication, for the past almost 60 years. Ngong jing jing na ja settakit pho phiang maithueng arai nae yak ru muenkan.
2 Srithanonchai // Jan 25, 2007 at 12:17 am
P.S.: For a very brief overview on “Soziale Marktwirtschaft” see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_market_economy. By the way, the ideas of “sufficiency” and “moderation” were taught to me from early childhood on as part of a general protestant approach to life (it has thus become an intrinsic part of my worldview). So, the model can’t be that “Thai” either, or, perhaps, Germany is more Thai than I thought. Or the king has borrowed more from his western upbringing than we thought, given his approach to Kingship. It would be interesting further to explore the origins of his ideas (in case people have some spare time).
3 anon // Jan 25, 2007 at 4:41 am
You Germans must have learned sufficiency and moderation from your Thai wives….
4 Bearling // Jan 25, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Social Market Economy?
I doubt it was his intention to call for union-friendly laws and labour rights. An extensive welfare system also isn’t really an intricate part of being self-sufficient.
I am curious though – which policies would qualify as “self-sufficient” and at the same time lead to “equitable sharing of economic benefits”?
5 Srithanonchai // Jan 25, 2007 at 10:28 pm
To anon: Hopefully, those wives were also beautiful and charming, besides being economically enlightened.
To Bearling: In a modern economy, “equitable sharing of benefits” in practice sounds like a social state to me.
Part of the charm of “sufficiency economy” is that, suddenly, all sort of things are subsumed under it, things that previously would stand alone, or in the ordinary economy textbook context.
6 Bearling // Jan 29, 2007 at 7:57 pm
To Srithanonchai: A social state is not exactly about self-sufficiency. Actually it means that society accepts that the poorest and weakest require the help of society as a whole.
To my knowledge many measures taken in this direction were criticized by the thai media, because people should not become dependant on government aid.
Who would support a social state-like welfare program in Thailand?
The poor? They are labelled as politically uneducated. Their demands and desires might be regarded as short-sighted, selfish and lazy by others. Only in a position where no one could veto or block their democratic majority there is a chance for them to succeed.
The middle-class? Who would end up paying the majority of required funds through higher taxes? I doubt it.
The rich? Why should they?
Good-hearted persons with political power? Financing a proper welfare depends on hefty taxes. Only someone who never used the power of his position to reduce or avoid paying taxes could be taken seriously in regards to this. I don’t see anyone of that kind in Thailand’s political landscape.
7 Srithanonchai // Jan 31, 2007 at 10:36 pm
To Bearling: First, “self-sufficiency” is not what “sufficiency economy” is all about. Second, as to who supports a welfare state in Thailand, well, Giles Ungpakorn has been campaigning for that. But, then, to him it is only the first step before Thailand will be turned into a socialist or communist country (probably just around the same time that Vietnam and Laos will democratize). Third, the junta has just asked academics to produce “objective” research pieces on “sufficiency economy” — as reaction on all the foreigners who got it so wrong in the international media (see Bangkok Post of Jan. 31).
8 New Mandala » Surayud on the ‘philosophy of life’ // Feb 2, 2007 at 12:57 am
[...] his ongoing efforts to clarify “sufficiency economy“, junta-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has [...]
Leave a Comment
Please note: New Mandala encourages vigorous debate. However, for the moment we will only be publishing high-quality comments that make original contributions to discussion. There will, of course, still be space for pithy, humorous, eccentric and cheeky input. Short and sweet will usually trump long and involved. Repetitive ranting, unimaginative point-scoring and idle abuse will not be entertained. Comments which carry a real name are also more likely to be approved. Thank you for your ongoing interest and contributions.