On the coup:
- From: pluto <pluto@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2007 18:16:49 +0800
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Prachatai: Interview with Giles Ungpakorn
On the coup:
It's a class conflict in many ways. Thaksin and his cronies competed with the
military, other groups of capitalists, and conservative bureaucrats to govern
and exploit us.
Thaksin had his gimmicks, which were populist policies that really benefited
poor people, to build up a power base, to calm society, and to adjust the
efficiency of the Thai economy after the 1997 crisis. His government suppressed
the mafia associated with the military, and modernized the bureaucracy, and that
upset the military and old-fashioned bureaucrats. The middle class, businessmen,
and capitalists at first were impressed, but later became sick of him. And some
capitalists had conflicts with Thaksin when they didn't get a share of the pie.
Eventually, there were protests to oust Thaksin. The regressive civil sector,
including the People's Alliance for Democracy, joined hands with royalist
capitalists to usher in the coup d'état.
On Sufficiency Theory:
The sufficiency economy is not an economic policy because it lacks substance.
It's more of a political cult. Some call it a philosophy, but it's a credo
propagated by the conservative rulers to accompany the ?Nation, Religion, and
Monarchy' slogan, and to oppose state welfare in the form of populism and a
welfare state.
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