I recently received a draft program for a conference on “Sufficiency Economy and Global Transformation: Carving Out a Realistic Path Towards Economic Change” to be held at Chulalongkorn University on 20-21 April. I was interested in the number of “co-organizers and partners” who featured on the program. They are:
Schweisfurth Foundation (Germany) and Sathirakoses Nagapradipa Foundation (Thailand) with Social Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University; Bangchak Petroleum PLC; Social Venture Network Asia (Thailand); Suan Nguen Mee Ma Co., Ltd.; Public Policy Development Office (PPDO); Heinrich Boell Foundation.
Who are they? A quick bit of internet research threw up some interesting information. First, the European connection.
… was founded in 1985 by the entrepreneur Karl Ludwig Schweisfurth as an ‘ideas business’. It promotes innovative approaches, visions and concrete models relating to the future of agriculture, science, education, and society… The Foundation seeks to work together with people who: continually question their own modes of behaviour in order to learn new, life-enhancing ways of behaviour towards themselves and towards the world they inhabit; accept responsibility for their own welfare and for that of the world they inhabit; respect the limitations imposed on them by their acceptance of the intrinsic value of other life forms and by the necessity to safeguard and sustain the prerequisites for life; respect the mysteries of life.
And the Heinrich Böll Foundation:
… is part of the Green political movement that has developed worldwide as a response to the traditional politics of socialism, liberalism, and conservatism. Our main tenets are ecology and sustainability, democracy and human rights, self-determination and justice.
The Thai network is rather more incestuous. The Sathirakoses Nagapradipa Foundation has its internet base at Sulak Sivaraksa’s site. It is described as a:
network committed to social justice with ecological vision and based on engaged spirituality and Sulak Sivaraksa, Our Founder, Honouring seventy years if living and working for justice, peace, democracy and sustainable livelihoods. [That's what the site says!]
The Suan Nguen Mee Ma Co., Ltd is also part of the Sulak stable:
Setting up the company named Suan Nguen Mee Ma or Garden of Fruition is a logical step in order to engage in longer term perspectives with local and village communities threatened by loss of livelihood. We aim to share economic interdependence with the underprivileged and to develop a continuous commitment to a lifestyle of self-reliance.
SVN Asia also seems to have links with Sulak, listing the Suan Nguen Mee Ma as one of its contact addresses in Thailand.
I am not sure how Bangchak Petroleum fits in with all this (any ideas?) but they are certainly keen supporters of the royalist sufficiency vision:
With its continuous work developing a good quality of life for Thai society, Bangchak embraces the philosophy of a sufficiency economy, in accordance with the suggestions of His Majesty the King. This philosophy directs our operations; for example, we have acted in conjunction with Mongkol Chaipattana Co., Ltd., in the establishment of Lemon Farm shops, which sell natural agricultural products from rural community organizations, providing health benefits to consumers, as well… Furthermore, Bangchak has assisted in the promotion of guidelines for a sufficiency economy to help communities become self-sufficient and encourage the use of Thai products, in order to save foreign currency. We have encouraged communities to sell their products at shops in our service stations, an additional useful service for Bangchak’s customers.
I am not suggesting anything untoward in this sufficiency network. But I do wonder how useful the sufficiency seminar will be when most of the key participants seem to be singing from much the same song book. University sponsored events should be prompting critical and diverse perspectives. This looks more like a love-in.
I am not suggesting anything untoward in this sufficiency network… University sponsored events should be prompting critical and diverse perspectives. This looks more like a love-in.
Well, but I think you are, Andrew. Though you come to praise Caesar not to bury him. We know there’s no love lost for the sufficiency economy on your side. You seem unable to resist the kiss of death even at the stage of “draft program”. You seem to be trying to make sure there’s a negative perception hanging over the conference before it begins… before its defined.
Forgive me, but I can perceive nothing but simpering condescension for anything Thai emanating from this website. Perhaps if the poor benighted souls just turned everything over to the Australians.
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Bangchak was once headed by Sophon Suphaphong, that senator who once claimed Thaksin said something “outrageous” to him during their private dinner that if revealed to the public, could cost Thaksin his job (a thinly veiled message suggesting that Thaksin was disloyal to the throne)
To date, to my knowledge, Sophon has not disclosed what was said during that dinner…
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The Heinrich Boell Foundation ist the political foundation of the Green Party of Germany. The other German parties also have their respective foundations, namely Konrad Adenauer Foundation (Christian Democrats), Friedrich Ebert Foundation (Social Democrats), Friedrich Naumann Foundation (Free Democrats), and Hanns Seidel Foundation (Christian Social Union). The KAF and the FEF have representative offices in Bangkok. The FNF has a regional office in Bangkok. HBF’s office is in Chiang Mai. HSF does nor have an office in Thailand, only a Thai representative. All of them are funded my the German taxpayer to conduct political-educational activities, be it in Germany or abroad. The German names would figure “Stiftung” instead of foundation (KAS, FES, FNS, HBS).
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It seems that some Germans who are in the business of promoting a green and sustainability agenda will meet with some representatives of Thai NGOs under the umbrella of “sufficiency economy.” The two core Thai NGO figures at the seminar are Surichai Wun ‘Gaeo and Gothom Ariya. Both let themselves be appointed by the military to the National Legislative Assembly, for which they were attacked by other NGO people.
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There is something strange about German political parties meddling in the internal affairs of Thailand. It’s not like they made a positive impact in the past!
I can’t imagine US, British or Australian political party think tanks coming to Thailand to have a love in about sufficiency theory, especially with all the hypocrisy and phoniness surrounding it.
Also, why would any western think tank want to affiliate with that anti-farang crusader Sulak?
What is Sulak going to do? Welcome the Germans for coming and then turn around and blame them for all of Thailand’s problems?
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Many organizations from other countries, and supra-national organizations, “meddle” in the “internal affairs” of Thailand, not merely German organizations. This is not more strange than tourists coming to Thailand, foreign direct investment, or academic cooperation, etc. One “positive impact” might be seen in the existence of an administrative court.
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“I can perceive nothing but simpering condescension for anything Thai emanating from this website.”
At this conference:
Where are the Thai farmers?
Where are the most reknown Thai scholars like Pasuk?
This looks more like a prestige show where people are not going to dare disagree or challenge each other. I could be wrong.
The actual wise words of HMK? Where are they going to be? Will it be a homage of free thought for him? Or will they be frightened by lese majeste laws to speak within narrowly conscribed limits?
One can have condescension for shows that Thai elite put on and not have condescension for the Thai people.
That the university I worked at was built by squatter camps of Burmese labourers, that was contempt for the Thai people. Thai farmers who often asked me if it was possible to get a job building the university (during the Alliance Francaise photo shoot I participated in). Ha, ha.
We used to have prestige-status events like this at the university also, which were always followed by contempt for the Thai and foreign Ajaans at the university, plopping a cassette tape of garbled English of the big-money giving Japanese OTOP guy’s speech which I was supposed to listen to and transcribe….and then rewrite because it was incoherent, yes, plagiarise, my words for his, just like when a student tries to hire a teacher to write an essay for them, or when the born-again christian language academy at the bottom of the hill of the university coaches the fledgling christian student’s writing so that they get an A, all without a work visa, because missionaries don’t need them. I ask, why must Thai universities have so many expensive external examiners for joint degree programmes with foreign universities?
Probing for the truth, trying to peek behind the curtain to see what is actually going on, condescension? Hardly
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The Konrad Adenauer Foundation was very close to Sonthi Limthongkul and his buddy Chai-anand Samudavanija. KAF funded a lot of programs of Chai-anand’s Institute for Public Policy Studies back in the 1990′s.
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Srithanochai-
1. There is a distinction between political parties and government organizations.
And yes, political parties are different than the organizations you mentioned. Tourists, for example, don’t have symposiums on public policy and King Bumibol’s sufficiency theory.
2. I’d like to see the evidence that a German political party was responsible for creating Thailand’s administrative court.
3. I wonder which political parties of foreign countries, besides Germany, have an active role in formulating Thailand’s public policy.
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At least this conference might shed light on the practicalites of implementing a sufficiency economy instead of sychophantic rubbish being produced elsewhere. These people seem to have real environmental concerns
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With Sophon having set the pattern, Bangchak has a long history of backing “progressive” (within the Thai milieu) social and environmental causes.
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Tosakan:
1) my point was about impact concerning your self-chosen term — “internal affairs.” What is the difference between a political party and a private company in this respect?
2) I did not say that they were “responsible”, merely that they had a “positive impact,” again referring to the term you chose.
3) What about the National Democratic Institute? Yet, this does not, as I mention, refer to political parties alone, but also to other NGOs, a bigger one being the Asia Foundation, others might include Amnesty International, etc. etc. Finally, we are not talking here about political parties per se, but about their educational foundations. Normally, they work through associated experts and Thai partners. Without the latter, they cannot do anything.
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Seems New Mandala can’t get sufficiently sated unless Thaksin Shinawatra is restored to Thailand’s premiership.
Once a while New Mandala attempt to digress on other matters . . . but its slant is clearly pro-Thaksin.
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Yes, let’s see the connection between German political parties and the creation of the Thai Administrative Court. I did quite a bit of work with the court some time ago and got the impression the US and French support was much stronger.
JFL: There are many Thais who oppose the miliatry junta’s hiding behind the monarchy as they attempt to remake the country to their benefit. Are these Thais self-hating? You seem to be reading from Gen. Saprang talking points in claiming that criticism of specific efforts by the junta and their supporters are “anti-monarch” or “anti-Thai”
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Tosakan, the link between Thailand’s administrative court and German politics is actually quite strong. The 1997 Constitution, which established the administrative court (as well as several other innovations), was a product of a limited number of academics. The most influential of them were Chai-Anan Samudavanija, Amorn Chantarasomboon, and Borwornsak Uwanno. All of these jurists and political scientists were funded by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for much of the early and mid 1990′s.
The Christian Democrats did not tell the academics what to think. However, it did provide significant financial support to strengthen a very specific community of Thai thinkers. That support was critical in ensuring that that community would have an important role in drafting the constitution.
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Administrative court: The introduction of institutional innovations often is a time-consuming process with many participants. Without some good research that would aim at reconstructing this process, one cannot really say with any certainty which organizations and groups of people had which relalative degree of influence at what point of time and on what particular element of that innovation.
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>With Sophon having set the pattern, Bangchak has a long >history of backing “progressive” (within the Thai milieu) >social and environmental causes.
Yes, he was a leading light of the old “progressive Buddhism/social responsibility” circle that last year made its devil’s pact with the reactionary forces of society when a cultural panic attack set in. Sophon, like many people, seemed to lose his bearings somewhere back there. In fairness, Bangchak did exercise more than average social responsibility (not very hard to do in Thailand!)
>Seems New Mandala can’t get sufficiently sated unless >Thaksin Shinawatra is restored to Thailand’s premiership.
>Once a while New Mandala attempt to digress on other >matters . . . but its slant is clearly pro-Thaksin.
What? Was this posted in the right place? The thread has nothing to do with Thaksin, It’s a pathetic fallacy to say that if you criticize people who criticize Thaksin, you are pro-Thaksin. Though that seems to be the fad in many circles in Thailand now.
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What? Was this posted in the right place? The thread has nothing to do with Thaksin, It’s a pathetic fallacy to say that if you criticize people who criticize Thaksin, you are pro-Thaksin. Though that seems to be the fad in many circles in Thailand now.
That’s a bit simplistic – Have a look at Andrew’s posts on this site since the coup and you will see a consistent theme.
How many times sufficiency has been used as a snide header, how many times has Surayud been prefaced by ‘puppet’, but one thing you will not find is much criticism of Thaksin – it seems he can do no wrong because the rural poor voted for him.
JFL got it right in his comment#1 above.
Rather than make snide comments about sufficiency valentines and the like (& to help avoid being labelled as pro Thaksin), detractors of Sufficiency Economy might be better served by clearly explaining which of the following camps they fit into:
1. they oppose Sufficiency Economy as a theory (and give reasons, not just trot out the manta Poor stay Poor)
or
2. they oppose the junta imposing Sufficiency Economy.
Having read the king’s speeches on the subject, I see nothing wrong with Sufficiency Economy principles, and consider it more good advice from the king (that will probably not be heeded).
I also see nothing wrong with the government providing educational advice on the subject of sufficiency (most of it is just common sense – moderaton, immunity, reasonableness etc)
I do, however, oppose Sufficiency Economy being mandated as the official economic policy that all Thai’s must adhere to.
As for the conference in a few days, who cares if it’s a love-in – I would only be concerned if critics were stopped from raising questions.
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By chance I came across the article of Andrew Walker on our Sufficiency Economy conference and the comments.
If Anrew received the right anouncement for this creative gathering it should have indicated that some supporting groups were not yet confirmed. The final co-organizers are: Schweisfurth Stiftung, Sathirakoses-Nagapradipa Foundation, Bangchak Petroleum, Social Research Institute, Chula, Suan Nguen Mee Ma Co., Ltd. and Social Venture Network Asia.
So Heinrich Boell Foundation did not confirm and that makes the exchanges on German political parties meddling irrelevant (but many remarks are interesting and deserve to be included in a more consistent analysis).
The most important input from the German side we expect will be (not from any organisation but) from Wolfgang Sachs who is known for his independent thinking and critical analysis. We asked him to cast a fresh light on ‘sufficiency economy’ and our intention is to go beyond ritualistic or stereotyped appraisals. We offer the discussion between a variety of stakeholders as an opportunity for open debate on fundamentals of the economy and the title of the conference is ‘Sufficiency Economy and global transformation’.
Where are the farmers? Last year in April we organised, also together with Scheisfurth Stiftung, a meeting on ‘Green Marketing’ and that has resulted in strengthening of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project that makes a direct link between rural producers and urban consumers of organic vegetables on one year subscription base.
This year the issue is more complicated and we have persons in the workshops on 20 April who speak from various perspectives including the farmers, labour in industry, and micro-finance.
We try to involve civil society, government and the business sector as equal partners.
It is true that our small-scale company is closely connected with Sulak and other organizations inspired by him but I can assure you that we work in a climate of total independence and diversity of opinioins.
So we really would appreciate participation of many commentators and critical thinkers, activists (‘join our love-in’) in the public debate on Saturday 21 April 9.00 – 12.30 at Chumphot Pantip auditorium, Chulalongkorn University (in between Faculties of Political Science and Economy).
Hans and Wallapa
Suan Nguen Mee Ma
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When was New Mandala born? June 2006, right?
That was about the time Thaksin was being boiled after his April fool election . . .
Whose idea was it for the New Mandala? Thaksin or Andrew?
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