SELF SUFFICIENCY ECONOMY IN THAILAND

The Concept

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej developed the philosophy of the Sufficiency Economy to lead his people to a balances way of life and to be the main sustainable development theory for the country. The theory is based upon a Middle Path between society at the local level and the market in the global context. By highlighting a balanced approach, the philosophy allows the nation to modernize without resisting globalization, buy provides a means to counteract negative outcomes from rapid economic and cultural transitions. The Sufficiency Economy became critical during the economic crisis in 1997, in which Thailand needed to maintain stability to persist on self – reliance and develop important policies to recover. By creating a self – supporting economy, Thai citizens will have what they need to survive but not excess, which would turn into waste.

His Majesty proposed that it was not important for Thailand to remain an “economic tiger,” or become characterized as a newly industrialize country. Instead, His Majesty explained that sufficiency is living in moderation and being self – reliant in order to protect against changes that could destabilize the country. The Sufficiency Economy is believed to adapt well within existing social and cultural structures in a given community, if the following two factors are met:

• Subsistence production with equitable linkage between production/ consumption

• The community has the potential to manage its own resources As a result, the Sufficiency Economy should enable the community to maintain adequate population size, enable proper technology usage, preserve the richness of the ecosystems and survive without the necessity of intervention from external factors. The concept is now commonly included in many government projects.

The Principle of Self – Reliance

Furthermore, His Majesty has recommended a secure balance in the five following aspects to achieve the principle of self – reliance:

• State of Mind : One should be strong, self – reliant, compassionate and flexible. Besides, one should possess a good conscience and place public interests as a higher priority than one’s own.

• Social Affairs : People should help one another, strengthen the community, maintain unity and develop a learning process that stems from a stable foundation.

• Natural Resource and Environmental Management : The country’s resources need to be used efficiently and carefully to create sustainable benefits and to develop the nation’s stability progressively.

• Technology : Technological development should be used appropriately while encouraging new development to come from the villagers’ local wisdom.

• Economic Affairs : One needs to increase earnings, reduce expenses, and pursue a decent life.

As His Majesty has stated, “If we contain our wants, with less greed, we would be less belligerent towards others. If all countries entertain this – this is not an economic system – the idea that we all should be self – sufficient, which implies moderation, not to the extreme, not blinded with greed, we can all live happily.

The Self Sufficiency Economy theory has led to diverse interpretations by many different groups. However, His Majesty has rejected extreme perspectives on his ideology, stating the self – sufficiency does not require families to grow food and make clothes for themselves. But, each village should have some quantity of sufficiency. For instance, if agricultural production exceeds the amount needed for the village they should sell the remaining amount to a nearby village, close in distance, to avoid unnecessary transportation costs.