Srithanonchai: Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favor of anecdotes. I love stories and hearing about interesting things going on in different places. It’s all good fun. But it ain’t science, and we should understand the difference, especially when we’re using case studies and field stories as inputs into policy making.
The blind man examining the elephant’s knee will never be able to tell you what the elephant looks like, regardless of how “in depth” their knee examination is. Neither will “in depth case studies” of the trunk or tail. Even all together, the compilation will not necessarily tell you if this is a typical elephant or some aberration. For that you need numbers and systematic inquiry. In the absense of that, you simply have differing opinions.
As regards provincial level politics, for example, you mention that there are a pile of case studies that “contribute to developing a general model” (ie, a hypothesis). Such a hypothesis, or competing hypotheses, could be tested for validity, by selecting a random sample of rural polities and seeing if the predictions of the hypotheses hold true, or if not, what the confounding variables are. Have you seen such a study? If so, I’d love to read what it says – because thus far, all I see are “in-depth case studies” of individual villages (or even individual individuals, as in the case of this post!), and a consequent extrapolation to generalities – and that’s the end of it. This should be the beginning of investigation, not the end. So where is the continuation?
To me, adding more observations to the pile without ever meaningfully examining what has already been observed is a cacophony – but of course your taste may differ.
The plot re Somkid Jatusripitak thickens further. Now the key TRT strategist has been included into the Surayudh government!
This adds to news that the military junta only aims at eliminating Thaksin and his core group, including Thammarak, Phongsak, Chanon, Suriya, Sudarat, and Yaowapha (Matichon, 14 February 2007, p. 11), while allowing the others to carry on with politics. It seems that, in their search for a viable PM candidate, the military and Surayudh have cast their eyes on Somkid.
Somkid appointed as foreign economic relations committee
Former finance minister Somkid Jatusripitak was Thursday appointed chairman of a foreign economic relations committee, Deputy PM’s Secretary-General Weerachai Weeramethikul announced.
Weerachai said Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont signed an order to appoint the foreign economic cooperation and relations committee.
Somkid was appointed as the chairman of the nine-member committee.
Weerachai said the committee would be in charge of explaining to foreign governments, media and education institutions about Thailand’s key economic policies.
Also in the Bangkok Post (February 15, outlook): the luxury sufficiency renovation of the Ladawan Palace by the Crown Property Bureau (as said in a previous post, following Somkid, rich people have a higher level of sufficiency than middle-income or poor people). They were moderate enough to buy marble directly at the factory, and even traveled abroad to buy certain items in order to save money. Most appropriately, the building now also houses a library on “His Majesty the King’s ideas on sustainable development and sufficiency economy (www.libsusdev.org).
“Under the SML scheme, community members were given full authority to decide on wide-ranging issues such as budget management and approval of projects. However, Mr Kosit said their management practices are still not up to par. They had no direction and ***worked without a clear goal and a definite timeframe***.”
Farmers no doubt have their own time tested ways of setting goals (planting crops) and achieving results (harvesting and selling them).
I’ve seen this sort of thing before at the university. A bunch of rich kids get sent overseas by their rich parents, get a masters degree in management let’s say, return home and subsized by their parents (with a car and rent) work at the local university for a ridiculously low salary, then the university gets some money, and…walla…these students…are out **lecturing** farmers (no round table interactive discussion style stuff either), telling them what to do, farmers who have survival skills firmly embedded in their very being (liang chiwid) on how to do business and survive. Truly ridiculous. Of course, I could be wrong, but this is what it sounds like. I’ve proofread and corrected reports like this.
It’s actually the bureaucrats or ajaans who should be listening carefully to the farmer and then after learning from him, adapting their book knowledge to **his** situation.
HP: One more remark concerning cacophony. I am not so sure what you are talking about. Maybe, you suffer from an undercomplex processing capabilities of your mind. But seriously, how much of a problem really is “cacophony”? Just to deliberately pick a field of anthropological study that has yielded a number of works during the past few years: provincial-level politics. Here, you will encounter works on Ayutthaya, Songkhla, Phetchabun, Nakhon Sawan, Khon Kaen, Chachoengsao, and Suphanburi. But there is no “cacophony.” Rather, these works complement each other from different perspectives in different socio-political settings, and they thus contribute to developing a general model of Thai provincial political structures and local-national linkages. All of them are case studies, and their authors know their trade well. Being case studies, they cannot avoid the occasional anecdote. However, first, the anecdotes are validated by their context, both in terms of the research methodology, and the overall case description and analysis. Second, I always prefer an insightful anecdote to a representative research artifact, because the former can lead us to more purposeful inquiry, while the latter ends up being useless.
The area where I worked was pretty firmly under the control of the Burmese military, although there were several adjacent areas under ceasefire groups. I had to get passes from MI and the regular army just to move between points There were opium poppies everywhere. I never made it to the Wa area, so I can’t really compare differences in opium production between areas under indirect vs direct control.
Having read Martin Smith, and Lintner, and a bunch of folks, and having done my thesis on the Kachins, I will agree that the fallout from WWII has a lot to do with opium cultivation, as does the KMT invasion of the Shan States, and the US’s secret wars in SE Asia. Let’s not forget British colonialism. However, the military has run things for forty years, so they’ve had a bit of time to improve things I would think. As I said, if ASSK were released tomorrow, I’d still expect it to take a long time for things to change, but I don’t see how you can blame the ravages of the “Burmese Way to Socialism” on anyone else but the military, and it is the economic collapse and the brutal campaigns against insurgents that have led to the current situation.
My perspective on the Wa, and I have had Wa friends, is that they are the favorite whipping boy of the Burmese, and the Thais and US for that matter. Some of the stuff I’ve seen in the Bangkok Post, which is a paper I really like, verges on racists. Geez, you take a few heads and your people are branded forever. It is kind of like Sun Boy, Patagoodle, and all my other beloved Kiowa ancestors. Yeah, they scalped a lot of people and were consequently branded as savages. Of course the people they were scalping were scalping them too, in addition to trying to steal their land. Not that this justifies their cruelty or the current drug trafficking of the Wa, but I’d say you have to be careful of perceptions. Oh, I and while I was there a Wa soldier had just killed a Burmese police officer in Mandalay, and all the Kachins and Karens I knew, including some living in Rangoon/Yangon were pretty happy about it.
р╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕кр╕╕р╕Ф р╕ир╕╣р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕п р╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕кр╕▒р╣Ир╕Зр╕гр╕░р╕Зр╕▒р╕Ър╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Вр╕▓р╕вр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕н ‘A Coup for the Rich’ р╕лр╕гр╕╖р╕н ‘р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Чр╕│р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕Юр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕Др╕Щр╕гр╕зр╕в’ р╕Лр╕╢р╣Ир╕Зр╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕ар╕▓р╕йр╕▓р╕нр╕▒р╕Зр╕Бр╕др╕йр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╣Ар╕Вр╕╡р╕вр╕Щр╣Вр╕Фр╕в р╕гр╕и.р╣Гр╕И р╕нр╕╢р╣Кр╕Зр╕ар╕▓р╕Бр╕гр╕Ур╣М р╕Др╕Ур╕░р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕ир╕▓р╕кр╕Хр╕гр╣М р╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕ер╕Зр╕Бр╕гр╕Ур╣Мр╕бр╕лр╕▓р╕зр╕┤р╕Чр╕вр╕▓р╕ер╕▒р╕в
р╕гр╕и.р╣Гр╕Ир╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕зр╣Ир╕▓ р╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕кр╕нр╕Ър╕Цр╕▓р╕бр╕Щр╕▓р╕вр╕Чр╕гр╕Зр╕вр╕и р╕кр╕▓р╕бр╕Бр╕йр╕▒р╕Хр╕гр╕┤р╕вр╣М р╕гр╕нр╕Зр╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╕Ир╕▒р╕Фр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕ир╕╣р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕п р╕Бр╣Зр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕гр╕▒р╕Ър╕Чр╕▓р╕Зр╣Ар╕лр╕Хр╕╕р╕Ьр╕е р╕Лр╕╢р╣Ир╕Зр╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╣Ар╕лр╕╕р╕Ьр╕ер╕кр╣Ир╕зр╕Щр╕Хр╕▒р╕зр╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕Щр╕▓р╕вр╕Чр╕гр╕Зр╕вр╕ир╕зр╣Ир╕▓ р╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╣Ар╕Юр╕гр╕▓р╕░р╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Фр╕▒р╕Зр╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕бр╕╡р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕нр╣Йр╕▓р╕Зр╕нр╕┤р╕Зр╕Зр╕▓р╕Щр╣Ар╕Вр╕╡р╕вр╕Щр╕Вр╕нр╕З Paul Handley (р╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╣Ар╕Вр╕╡р╕вр╕Щ The King Never Smile)
р╕нр╕вр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╣Др╕гр╕Бр╣Зр╕Фр╕╡ р╣Гр╕Щр╣Ар╕зр╕ер╕▓р╕Щр╕╡р╣Йр╕Чр╕▓р╕Зр╕ир╕╣р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕п р╕вр╕▒р╕Зр╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕бр╕╡р╕Др╕│р╕Хр╕нр╕Ър╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Кр╕▒р╕Фр╣Ар╕Ир╕Щ р╕Цр╕╢р╕Зр╕Бр╕гр╕нр╕Ър╕лр╕ер╕▒р╕Бр╣Ар╕Бр╕Ур╕Ср╣Мр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Юр╕┤р╕Ир╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╕▓ р╕гр╕зр╕бр╕Цр╕╢р╕Зр╕гр╕░р╕вр╕░р╣Ар╕зр╕ер╕▓р╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Ир╕░р╕Юр╕┤р╕Ир╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╕▓р╣Ар╕кр╕гр╣Зр╕Ир╕кр╕┤р╣Йр╕Щ р╕нр╕╡р╕Бр╕Чр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╕Вр╣Йр╕нр╕бр╕╣р╕ер╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕ир╕╕р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕п р╕Бр╣Зр╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕Хр╕гр╕Зр╣Др╕Ыр╕Хр╕гр╕Зр╕бр╕▓ р╣Ар╕Кр╣Ир╕Щ р╣Ар╕Ир╣Йр╕▓р╕лр╕Щр╣Йр╕▓р╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕гр╕░р╕Фр╕▒р╕Ър╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╣Бр╕Ир╣Йр╕Зр╕Хр╣Ир╕нр╕гр╕и.р╣Гр╕Ир╕зр╣Ир╕▓ р╕Бр╕гр╕░р╕Ър╕зр╕Щр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕зр╕ер╕▓р╕Щр╕╡р╣Йр╕Бр╕│р╕ер╕▒р╕Зр╕нр╕вр╕╣р╣Ир╕гр╕░р╕лр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Юр╕┤р╕Ир╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╕▓ р╕Лр╕╢р╣Ир╕Зр╕бр╕╡р╕Бр╕гр╕гр╕бр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Чр╣Ир╕▓р╕Щр╕лр╕Щр╕╢р╣Ир╕Зр╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕ир╕╣р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕п р╕Бр╕│р╕ер╕▒р╕Зр╕Юр╕┤р╕Ир╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╕▓ р╣Бр╕Хр╣Ир╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕кр╕нр╕Ър╕Цр╕▓р╕бр╕Хр╣Ир╕н р╕Бр╕гр╕гр╕бр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Чр╣Ир╕▓р╕Щр╕Щр╕▒р╣Йр╕Щр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Ыр╕Пр╕┤р╣Ар╕кр╕Ш р╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╣Др╕бр╣Ир╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Юр╕┤р╕Ир╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╕▓р╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕н ‘A Coup for the Rich’
р╕Чр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╕Щр╕╡р╣Й р╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕н ‘A Coup For the Rich: Thailand’s political Crisis’ р╕лр╕гр╕╖р╕н ‘р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕Юр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕Др╕Щр╕гр╕зр╕в : р╕зр╕┤р╕Бр╕др╕Хр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╕нр╕Зр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╣Ар╕Чр╕ир╣Др╕Чр╕в’ р╕Щр╕▒р╣Йр╕Щ р╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕зр╕┤р╣Ар╕Др╕гр╕▓р╕░р╕лр╣Мр╕кр╕Цр╕▓р╕Щр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╣Мр╕зр╕┤р╕Бр╕др╕Хр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╣Мр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╕нр╕Зр╣Др╕Чр╕в р╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Хр╣Йр╕нр╕Зр╣Ар╕Ьр╕Кр╕┤р╕Нр╕лр╕Щр╣Йр╕▓р╕Бр╕▒р╕Ър╕Чр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╕зр╕┤р╕Бр╕др╕Хр╕Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕Чр╕▒р╕Бр╕йр╕┤р╕У р╕зр╕┤р╕Бр╕др╕Хр╕Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕Др╕Ур╕░р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕г р╕зр╕┤р╕Бр╕др╕Хр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕бр╕▓р╕Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕Кр╕Щр╕Кр╕▒р╣Йр╕Щр╕Щр╕│р╕нр╕▒р╕Щр╕лр╕ер╕▓р╕Бр╕лр╕ер╕▓р╕вр╕Лр╕╢р╣Ир╕Зр╕гр╕зр╕бр╕Цр╕╢р╕Зр╕гр╕░р╕Ър╕нр╕Ър╕гр╕▓р╕Кр╕▓р╕Шр╕┤р╕Ыр╣Др╕Хр╕в р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕вр╕▒р╕Зр╕бр╕╡р╕кр╕Цр╕▓р╕Щр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╣Мр╕Др╕зр╕▓р╕бр╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕кр╕Зр╕Ър╣Гр╕Щр╕ар╕▓р╕Др╣Гр╕Хр╣Й
1) Viroj Na Ranong and Anchana Na Ranong. 2006. “Universal Health Care Coverage: Impacts of the 30-Baht Health-Care Scheme on the Poor in Thailand.” TDRI Quarterly Review, September, pp. 3-10.
One of their conclusion reads, “Although the number of people who seek health care has increased substantially following the implementation of the 30-Baht Scheme, our fieldwork suggests that the health-seeking behaviors of the poor have not changed much after the Scheme started, as most of them have rather limited choices. For most people, including the low-income group, the financial costs for health care did not change drastically after the implementation of the 30-Baht Scheme. However, most people feel more secure with this Scheme in place, as they now have an insurance against a drastic or catastrophic illness that they could suffer in the future.” Field research was done in 2001 and 2003 in seven provinces.
2) Chalermpol Chamchan and Mizuno Kosuke. 2006. “Assessment of People’s Views of Thailand’s Universal Coverage (UC): A Field Survey in Thangkwang Subdistrict, Khonkaen.” Southeast Asian Studies 44 (2):250-266.
The study was done in only one village with 80 respondents (9-20 March 2005). Unsurprisingly, most of them very much liked the program. The lower-level income goups spent proportionally more on health care than the higher-income-groups=inequity; also unsurprising. Before the introduction of the 30-Baht scheme, most were covered by the medical welfare scheme (12%) and the health card program (49%). 38.5% had been uninsured. The scheme improved the “ability of patients to access medical care ansd the confidence in the quality of care provided. At the same time, it raises a concern about over-utilisation..as a result of negligence in taking care of their personal health and too much dependency upon the health system, even for minor illnesses.”
Come on, HP: stop talking and just do it!! (the representative sample; but, please, a survey is no analytical approach of which you are so fond, for which reason you will have to come up with some theory and then some hypothesis first; you’ll know the methodological details, I assume)
I might add that from the perspective of someone living in Yangon (c. 2000) armed ethnic groups were rebels involved in insurgency. I’m not claiming that what follows is the full truth, just one perspective on the situation.
For instance, Wa could often be found completely armed in Yangon since they were given permission to carry their weapons even in urban areas like Yangon by the government. I remember encountering a bunch of them loaded in the back of a pickup truck in the evening on the ring road that runs around the national stadium in Yangon while I was doing my daily running exercise. I was also downtown in China town when all hell broke loose down the block. People said that the Wa had got in gunfight. Also access to Moulmein or Ye (Byeik) even further south was cut off to foreigners after the supposedly supposedly cut off the monthly amount of money they were paying, I believe a Mon, “rebel” organisation to stop fighting. They had raided a gold shop in Moulmein supposedly which made it sound like banditry. In fact banditry seems to be quite common in Burma. I remember when I was staying in Taungyi in the Shan States, bandits had struck along the main road from Taung-gyi to Thazi.
In Martin Smith’s book the list of acronyms of armed ethnic, religious, student, or political groups takes up a whole page I believe. Clearly, this is not sustainable in any modern nation state.
On the other hand, the methods of the Burmese military have always exacerbated the situation, like pressganging people or basically kidnapping them and using them as porters. We had a Tamil clothes washer (Dobi) with three children whose husband had supposedly disappeared in this fashion. I knew someone else who was seized as they were crossing the Salween on a ferry boat.
Also everytime we opened the curtains of our apartment in Yangon we peered into the bare cavernous unfinished floor of the next door apartment where the family of the contractor were camped out. The story ran that he had financed construction by taking money up front from buyers and from a Wa owned bank. One of the numerous sudden economic shocks that hit Yangon (for example Burma-Thailand border war shoots gas price up because of stockpiling, shooting the exchange rate up and sudden inflation, of course with jail threats to market vendors who raise their prices) an economic shock had apparently made the project unfeasible, he could not complete the building project, was arrested, tried, and imprisoned on fraud charges. Thus his family camping out in the hulk of the abandoned building waiting for him to return. Again, this is just one perspective. I knew someone with a small fertliser import business who was also caught in the middle when the oil price shock happened. The only one’s legally allowed to hold dollars were passport holders.
The work of activists in documenting all the hideous rights atrocities is admirable, but you have to remember that Burma-Myanmar is essentially a little alternative universe sealed off from the world, an alternative universe that really hardly gets reported on at all in the media or books except for certain issues from a certain perspective, repeated over and over again. IMHO this mono-focus is not constructive and won’t help solve the near 20 year impasse. Thant Myint U seems to have a more nuanced persective on the situation and history.
I really see no reason why urban romantics should be protected from market forces in relation to the purchase of what is, quite clearly, a luxury item.
How much effort did the rose growers of Tak put into shepherding in the junta? The Bangkok upper classes should be rewarded for their moral sacrifices.
“The problem is the military regime that has, in my opinion, driven the ethnic minorities into rebellion and effectively destroyed the economy.”
This statement may not be completely accurate since according to my understanding warfare in this region has never really ceased since the end of WWII. (See Thant Myint U’s recent book or Martin Smith’s)
Putting aside the issue of blame for conflict for a moment, does opium cultivation and heroin production thrive in areas of indirect rule where the Burmese government has cut a deal with local political forces like the Wa or the Shan? It seems that indirect rule creates peace but also creates conditions favourable to drug production.
Admittedly, I don’t know anything about the topic of drug production in the Shan States. Are there good surveys to gain a working knowledge of the situation?
HP: May I ask you what the textbooks are from which you have taken your epistemological and methodological wisdom, and in which year that was? Are you also a radical individualist who denies the possibility of collective terms?
Generally speaking, science has been quite successful in providing us with knowledge about the physical world. However, it has hardly contributed anything so far to our understanding of how society works. This so far has remained a promise that has been left unfullfilled in the fields of sociology, political science, or anthropology. And that’s the reason why this approach has not managed to leave its position at the margins of our quest for knowledge on the social.
Similarly, science has not left the field of Thai studies. Rather, it has never entered it (or has it?).
As for myself, I am rather pragmatic in my approach, that is, I don’t like works of social science that do not fulfill its professional standards. But I also don’t like “scientific” work that merely manages to produce some research artifacts and present them as the scientific truth.
In this context, I would be interested in knowing what “scientific” works on Thailand you think have contributed to the field of Thai studies. Ten titles would satisfy my curiosity.
I am also eagerly awaiting your “scientific”, hypotheses- and experiment-based work on the Sonthi/PAD protests, the coup, and the current constitution drafting. But I won’t hold my breath.
my procrastinating self went to Tops today and paid 250 for a single rose arrangement, a dozen was 1000 baht. (Tops supermarket on Yen Akart road, Sathorn).
“Maybe thats why he went to so much trouble setting up tax haven companies etc to avoid tax – so he has more money available for his charity work.”
Yes, that makes sense. Because while Thaksin knew that he himself only cared for the country and would use the money selflessly for the benefit of the people, he also realized that the government was headed by people who were only interested in putting tax money in their pockets (presumably so they could in the future use the money selflessly for the benefit of the people).
Mr Fromthefield (#27) asks me to “go to the field yourself then let us know about Thai people opinions! We are open to any other discourse! This is just one examle, maybe you can find contradictory ones…so just do it!”
No, this is exactly the problem. Having armies of “researchers” collecting random anecdotes with no systematic method only leads to a cacophany. Why would I (or anyone else) want to add to that? If you or I or Mr Walker or anyone else is seriously interested in obtaining a representative view of rural Thais, we ought to define our populations, put together a validated survey instrument, and implement it. As a self described “anthropologist” invovled in development issues, I had expected this from Mr. Walker, but instead I find the usual anectodal reportage covered with questionable extrapolation.
Srithanonchai – from what I see passing for “social investigation”, i think you’re correct that actual science has left the field, at least as Thai studies is concerned. Science makes no pretense at “fundamental questions on the possibility of human knowledge”, it is a simple method for understanding observable phenomena that leads to useful results, like being able to build bridges and tell if it’s likely to rain. Strictly speaking, all science develops “theories” on reality – a term which is also misunderstood. The test of a theory is not whether it is “real” (the epistomological and frankly boring argument you put forth), but whether it is “useful” – that is, predictive.
Scientific methodology consists of developing hypotheses, formulating experiments to validate or refute those hypotheses, and analyzing the results of the experiment to draw a conclusion about the original hypothesis. You have a better method for understanding the world and coming to useful conclusions? Perhaps you feel it’s more useful to use our own memories and experiences and argue with others who have different memories and experiences? Because that’s exactly what I see in Thai “social investigation”.
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The poor stay poor, the rich stay rich
Srithanonchai: Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favor of anecdotes. I love stories and hearing about interesting things going on in different places. It’s all good fun. But it ain’t science, and we should understand the difference, especially when we’re using case studies and field stories as inputs into policy making.
The blind man examining the elephant’s knee will never be able to tell you what the elephant looks like, regardless of how “in depth” their knee examination is. Neither will “in depth case studies” of the trunk or tail. Even all together, the compilation will not necessarily tell you if this is a typical elephant or some aberration. For that you need numbers and systematic inquiry. In the absense of that, you simply have differing opinions.
As regards provincial level politics, for example, you mention that there are a pile of case studies that “contribute to developing a general model” (ie, a hypothesis). Such a hypothesis, or competing hypotheses, could be tested for validity, by selecting a random sample of rural polities and seeing if the predictions of the hypotheses hold true, or if not, what the confounding variables are. Have you seen such a study? If so, I’d love to read what it says – because thus far, all I see are “in-depth case studies” of individual villages (or even individual individuals, as in the case of this post!), and a consequent extrapolation to generalities – and that’s the end of it. This should be the beginning of investigation, not the end. So where is the continuation?
To me, adding more observations to the pile without ever meaningfully examining what has already been observed is a cacophony – but of course your taste may differ.
Best regards,
HPBoothe
Lessons from the Thaksin era
The plot re Somkid Jatusripitak thickens further. Now the key TRT strategist has been included into the Surayudh government!
This adds to news that the military junta only aims at eliminating Thaksin and his core group, including Thammarak, Phongsak, Chanon, Suriya, Sudarat, and Yaowapha (Matichon, 14 February 2007, p. 11), while allowing the others to carry on with politics. It seems that, in their search for a viable PM candidate, the military and Surayudh have cast their eyes on Somkid.
Somkid appointed as foreign economic relations committee
Former finance minister Somkid Jatusripitak was Thursday appointed chairman of a foreign economic relations committee, Deputy PM’s Secretary-General Weerachai Weeramethikul announced.
Weerachai said Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont signed an order to appoint the foreign economic cooperation and relations committee.
Somkid was appointed as the chairman of the nine-member committee.
Weerachai said the committee would be in charge of explaining to foreign governments, media and education institutions about Thailand’s key economic policies.
The Nation 15 February 2007
Sufficiency makeover: р╕Ьр╕▒р╕Бр╕Кр╕╡р╣Вр╕гр╕вр╕лр╕Щр╣Йр╕▓
Also in the Bangkok Post (February 15, outlook): the luxury sufficiency renovation of the Ladawan Palace by the Crown Property Bureau (as said in a previous post, following Somkid, rich people have a higher level of sufficiency than middle-income or poor people). They were moderate enough to buy marble directly at the factory, and even traveled abroad to buy certain items in order to save money. Most appropriately, the building now also houses a library on “His Majesty the King’s ideas on sustainable development and sufficiency economy (www.libsusdev.org).
Sufficiency makeover: р╕Ьр╕▒р╕Бр╕Кр╕╡р╣Вр╕гр╕вр╕лр╕Щр╣Йр╕▓
“Under the SML scheme, community members were given full authority to decide on wide-ranging issues such as budget management and approval of projects. However, Mr Kosit said their management practices are still not up to par. They had no direction and ***worked without a clear goal and a definite timeframe***.”
Farmers no doubt have their own time tested ways of setting goals (planting crops) and achieving results (harvesting and selling them).
I’ve seen this sort of thing before at the university. A bunch of rich kids get sent overseas by their rich parents, get a masters degree in management let’s say, return home and subsized by their parents (with a car and rent) work at the local university for a ridiculously low salary, then the university gets some money, and…walla…these students…are out **lecturing** farmers (no round table interactive discussion style stuff either), telling them what to do, farmers who have survival skills firmly embedded in their very being (liang chiwid) on how to do business and survive. Truly ridiculous. Of course, I could be wrong, but this is what it sounds like. I’ve proofread and corrected reports like this.
It’s actually the bureaucrats or ajaans who should be listening carefully to the farmer and then after learning from him, adapting their book knowledge to **his** situation.
The poor stay poor, the rich stay rich
HP: One more remark concerning cacophony. I am not so sure what you are talking about. Maybe, you suffer from an undercomplex processing capabilities of your mind. But seriously, how much of a problem really is “cacophony”? Just to deliberately pick a field of anthropological study that has yielded a number of works during the past few years: provincial-level politics. Here, you will encounter works on Ayutthaya, Songkhla, Phetchabun, Nakhon Sawan, Khon Kaen, Chachoengsao, and Suphanburi. But there is no “cacophony.” Rather, these works complement each other from different perspectives in different socio-political settings, and they thus contribute to developing a general model of Thai provincial political structures and local-national linkages. All of them are case studies, and their authors know their trade well. Being case studies, they cannot avoid the occasional anecdote. However, first, the anecdotes are validated by their context, both in terms of the research methodology, and the overall case description and analysis. Second, I always prefer an insightful anecdote to a representative research artifact, because the former can lead us to more purposeful inquiry, while the latter ends up being useless.
Opium takes to Thai soil?
The area where I worked was pretty firmly under the control of the Burmese military, although there were several adjacent areas under ceasefire groups. I had to get passes from MI and the regular army just to move between points There were opium poppies everywhere. I never made it to the Wa area, so I can’t really compare differences in opium production between areas under indirect vs direct control.
Having read Martin Smith, and Lintner, and a bunch of folks, and having done my thesis on the Kachins, I will agree that the fallout from WWII has a lot to do with opium cultivation, as does the KMT invasion of the Shan States, and the US’s secret wars in SE Asia. Let’s not forget British colonialism. However, the military has run things for forty years, so they’ve had a bit of time to improve things I would think. As I said, if ASSK were released tomorrow, I’d still expect it to take a long time for things to change, but I don’t see how you can blame the ravages of the “Burmese Way to Socialism” on anyone else but the military, and it is the economic collapse and the brutal campaigns against insurgents that have led to the current situation.
My perspective on the Wa, and I have had Wa friends, is that they are the favorite whipping boy of the Burmese, and the Thais and US for that matter. Some of the stuff I’ve seen in the Bangkok Post, which is a paper I really like, verges on racists. Geez, you take a few heads and your people are branded forever. It is kind of like Sun Boy, Patagoodle, and all my other beloved Kiowa ancestors. Yeah, they scalped a lot of people and were consequently branded as savages. Of course the people they were scalping were scalping them too, in addition to trying to steal their land. Not that this justifies their cruelty or the current drug trafficking of the Wa, but I’d say you have to be careful of perceptions. Oh, I and while I was there a Wa soldier had just killed a Burmese police officer in Mandalay, and all the Kachins and Karens I knew, including some living in Rangoon/Yangon were pretty happy about it.
Saprang on the three pillars
р╕ир╕╣р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕п р╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕вр╕нр╕бр╕Вр╕▓р╕вр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕н.р╣Гр╕И р╣Ар╕Юр╕гр╕▓р╕░р╕нр╣Йр╕▓р╕Зр╕нр╕┤р╕Зр╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╣Ар╕Вр╕╡р╕вр╕Щ TKNS р╕Юр╕┤р╕бр╕Юр╣Мр╕Ър╕Чр╕Др╕зр╕▓р╕бр╕Щр╕╡р╣Й
р╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Кр╕▓р╣Др╕Ч – 14 р╕Б.р╕Ю. 50 р╕лр╕ер╕▒р╕Зр╕Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕ир╕╣р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕п р╕кр╕▒р╣Ир╕Зр╣Бр╕Ър╕Щр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕н ‘р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕г 19 р╕Бр╕▒р╕Щр╕вр╕▓ р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕Юр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕гр╕░р╕Ър╕нр╕Ър╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Кр╕▓р╕Шр╕┤р╕Ыр╣Др╕Хр╕вр╕нр╕▒р╕Щр╕бр╕╡р╕Юр╕гр╕░р╕бр╕лр╕▓р╕Бр╕йр╕▒р╕Хр╕гр╕┤р╕вр╣Мр╕Чр╕гр╕Зр╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕бр╕╕р╕В’ р╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕кр╕│р╕Щр╕▒р╕Бр╕Юр╕┤р╕бр╕Юр╣Мр╕Яр╣Йр╕▓р╣Ар╕Фр╕╡р╕вр╕зр╕Бр╕▒р╕Щ р╕Лр╕╢р╣Ир╕Зр╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╕Ир╕▒р╕Фр╕Юр╕┤р╕бр╕Юр╣Мр╣Бр╕Цр╕ер╕Зр╣Др╕зр╣Йр╣Гр╕Щр╕Ър╕Чр╕Щр╕│р╕зр╣Ир╕▓ р╕Вр╣Йр╕нр╣Ар╕Вр╕╡р╕вр╕Щр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Ыр╕гр╕▓р╕Бр╕Пр╣Гр╕Щр╣Ар╕ер╣Ир╕бр╕Щр╕▒р╣Йр╕Щр╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щ “р╕Чр╕▒р╕ир╕Щр╕░р╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕Др╕Щр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╣Др╕бр╣Ир╣Ар╕лр╣Зр╕Щр╕Фр╣Йр╕зр╕вр╕Бр╕▒р╕Ър╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕г”
р╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕кр╕╕р╕Ф р╕ир╕╣р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕п р╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕кр╕▒р╣Ир╕Зр╕гр╕░р╕Зр╕▒р╕Ър╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Вр╕▓р╕вр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕н ‘A Coup for the Rich’ р╕лр╕гр╕╖р╕н ‘р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Чр╕│р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕Юр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕Др╕Щр╕гр╕зр╕в’ р╕Лр╕╢р╣Ир╕Зр╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕ар╕▓р╕йр╕▓р╕нр╕▒р╕Зр╕Бр╕др╕йр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╣Ар╕Вр╕╡р╕вр╕Щр╣Вр╕Фр╕в р╕гр╕и.р╣Гр╕И р╕нр╕╢р╣Кр╕Зр╕ар╕▓р╕Бр╕гр╕Ур╣М р╕Др╕Ур╕░р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕ир╕▓р╕кр╕Хр╕гр╣М р╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕ер╕Зр╕Бр╕гр╕Ур╣Мр╕бр╕лр╕▓р╕зр╕┤р╕Чр╕вр╕▓р╕ер╕▒р╕в
р╕гр╕и.р╣Гр╕И р╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕зр╣Ир╕▓ р╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Ьр╣Ир╕▓р╕Щр╕бр╕▓р╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╣Ар╕Вр╕▓р╕Бр╣Зр╕кр╕▓р╕бр╕▓р╕гр╕Цр╕зр╕▓р╕Зр╕Вр╕▓р╕вр╣Гр╕Щр╕ир╕╣р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕п р╣Др╕Фр╣Й р╕Чр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╕Йр╕Ър╕▒р╕Ър╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕ар╕▓р╕йр╕▓р╣Др╕Чр╕вр╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕ар╕▓р╕йр╕▓р╕нр╕▒р╕Зр╕Бр╕др╕й р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕кр╕│р╕лр╕гр╕▒р╕Ър╣Ар╕ер╣Ир╕бр╕Щр╕╡р╣Йр╕Щр╕▒р╣Йр╕Щ р╣Ар╕Фр╕┤р╕бр╕Чр╕▓р╕Зр╕ир╕╣р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕п р╕Бр╣Зр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Хр╕Бр╕ер╕Зр╣Бр╕ер╣Йр╕зр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╕Ир╕░р╕зр╕▓р╕Зр╕Вр╕▓р╕вр╣Гр╕лр╣Й р╣Бр╕Хр╣Ир╕Бр╣Зр╕Бр╕ер╕▒р╕Ър╕Др╕│р╕Юр╕┤р╕Ир╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╕▓
р╕гр╕и.р╣Гр╕Ир╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕зр╣Ир╕▓ р╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕кр╕нр╕Ър╕Цр╕▓р╕бр╕Щр╕▓р╕вр╕Чр╕гр╕Зр╕вр╕и р╕кр╕▓р╕бр╕Бр╕йр╕▒р╕Хр╕гр╕┤р╕вр╣М р╕гр╕нр╕Зр╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╕Ир╕▒р╕Фр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕ир╕╣р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕п р╕Бр╣Зр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕гр╕▒р╕Ър╕Чр╕▓р╕Зр╣Ар╕лр╕Хр╕╕р╕Ьр╕е р╕Лр╕╢р╣Ир╕Зр╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╣Ар╕лр╕╕р╕Ьр╕ер╕кр╣Ир╕зр╕Щр╕Хр╕▒р╕зр╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕Щр╕▓р╕вр╕Чр╕гр╕Зр╕вр╕ир╕зр╣Ир╕▓ р╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╣Ар╕Юр╕гр╕▓р╕░р╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Фр╕▒р╕Зр╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕бр╕╡р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕нр╣Йр╕▓р╕Зр╕нр╕┤р╕Зр╕Зр╕▓р╕Щр╣Ар╕Вр╕╡р╕вр╕Щр╕Вр╕нр╕З Paul Handley (р╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╣Ар╕Вр╕╡р╕вр╕Щ The King Never Smile)
р╕нр╕вр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╣Др╕гр╕Бр╣Зр╕Фр╕╡ р╣Гр╕Щр╣Ар╕зр╕ер╕▓р╕Щр╕╡р╣Йр╕Чр╕▓р╕Зр╕ир╕╣р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕п р╕вр╕▒р╕Зр╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕бр╕╡р╕Др╕│р╕Хр╕нр╕Ър╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Кр╕▒р╕Фр╣Ар╕Ир╕Щ р╕Цр╕╢р╕Зр╕Бр╕гр╕нр╕Ър╕лр╕ер╕▒р╕Бр╣Ар╕Бр╕Ур╕Ср╣Мр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Юр╕┤р╕Ир╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╕▓ р╕гр╕зр╕бр╕Цр╕╢р╕Зр╕гр╕░р╕вр╕░р╣Ар╕зр╕ер╕▓р╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Ир╕░р╕Юр╕┤р╕Ир╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╕▓р╣Ар╕кр╕гр╣Зр╕Ир╕кр╕┤р╣Йр╕Щ р╕нр╕╡р╕Бр╕Чр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╕Вр╣Йр╕нр╕бр╕╣р╕ер╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕ир╕╕р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕п р╕Бр╣Зр╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕Хр╕гр╕Зр╣Др╕Ыр╕Хр╕гр╕Зр╕бр╕▓ р╣Ар╕Кр╣Ир╕Щ р╣Ар╕Ир╣Йр╕▓р╕лр╕Щр╣Йр╕▓р╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕гр╕░р╕Фр╕▒р╕Ър╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╣Бр╕Ир╣Йр╕Зр╕Хр╣Ир╕нр╕гр╕и.р╣Гр╕Ир╕зр╣Ир╕▓ р╕Бр╕гр╕░р╕Ър╕зр╕Щр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕зр╕ер╕▓р╕Щр╕╡р╣Йр╕Бр╕│р╕ер╕▒р╕Зр╕нр╕вр╕╣р╣Ир╕гр╕░р╕лр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Юр╕┤р╕Ир╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╕▓ р╕Лр╕╢р╣Ир╕Зр╕бр╕╡р╕Бр╕гр╕гр╕бр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Чр╣Ир╕▓р╕Щр╕лр╕Щр╕╢р╣Ир╕Зр╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕ир╕╣р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕п р╕Бр╕│р╕ер╕▒р╕Зр╕Юр╕┤р╕Ир╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╕▓ р╣Бр╕Хр╣Ир╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕кр╕нр╕Ър╕Цр╕▓р╕бр╕Хр╣Ир╕н р╕Бр╕гр╕гр╕бр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Чр╣Ир╕▓р╕Щр╕Щр╕▒р╣Йр╕Щр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Ыр╕Пр╕┤р╣Ар╕кр╕Ш р╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╣Др╕бр╣Ир╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Юр╕┤р╕Ир╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╕▓р╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕н ‘A Coup for the Rich’
р╕Чр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╕Щр╕╡р╣Й р╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕н ‘A Coup For the Rich: Thailand’s political Crisis’ р╕лр╕гр╕╖р╕н ‘р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕Юр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕Др╕Щр╕гр╕зр╕в : р╕зр╕┤р╕Бр╕др╕Хр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╕нр╕Зр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╣Ар╕Чр╕ир╣Др╕Чр╕в’ р╕Щр╕▒р╣Йр╕Щ р╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕зр╕┤р╣Ар╕Др╕гр╕▓р╕░р╕лр╣Мр╕кр╕Цр╕▓р╕Щр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╣Мр╕зр╕┤р╕Бр╕др╕Хр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╣Мр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╕нр╕Зр╣Др╕Чр╕в р╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Хр╣Йр╕нр╕Зр╣Ар╕Ьр╕Кр╕┤р╕Нр╕лр╕Щр╣Йр╕▓р╕Бр╕▒р╕Ър╕Чр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╕зр╕┤р╕Бр╕др╕Хр╕Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕Чр╕▒р╕Бр╕йр╕┤р╕У р╕зр╕┤р╕Бр╕др╕Хр╕Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕Др╕Ур╕░р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕г р╕зр╕┤р╕Бр╕др╕Хр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕бр╕▓р╕Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕Кр╕Щр╕Кр╕▒р╣Йр╕Щр╕Щр╕│р╕нр╕▒р╕Щр╕лр╕ер╕▓р╕Бр╕лр╕ер╕▓р╕вр╕Лр╕╢р╣Ир╕Зр╕гр╕зр╕бр╕Цр╕╢р╕Зр╕гр╕░р╕Ър╕нр╕Ър╕гр╕▓р╕Кр╕▓р╕Шр╕┤р╕Ыр╣Др╕Хр╕в р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕вр╕▒р╕Зр╕бр╕╡р╕кр╕Цр╕▓р╕Щр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╣Мр╕Др╕зр╕▓р╕бр╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕кр╕Зр╕Ър╣Гр╕Щр╕ар╕▓р╕Др╣Гр╕Хр╣Й
р╕Щр╕нр╕Бр╕Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕Щр╕╡р╣Й р╕гр╕и.р╣Гр╕И р╣Гр╕лр╣Йр╕Вр╣Йр╕нр╕бр╕╣р╕ер╣Ар╕Юр╕┤р╣Ир╕бр╣Ар╕Хр╕┤р╕бр╕зр╣Ир╕▓ р╕Щр╕▓р╕вр╕Чр╕гр╕Зр╕вр╕и р╕кр╕▓р╕бр╕Бр╕йр╕▒р╕Хр╕гр╕┤р╕вр╣М р╕гр╕нр╕Зр╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╕Ир╕▒р╕Фр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕ир╕╣р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕нр╕Ир╕╕р╕мр╕▓р╕п р╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╕Вр╕Ур╕░р╕Щр╕╡р╣Йр╕Чр╕▓р╕Зр╕ир╕╣р╕Щр╕вр╣Мр╕п р╕вр╕нр╕бр╣Гр╕лр╣Йр╕Вр╕▓р╕вр╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕н ‘р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕г 19 р╕Бр╕▒р╕Щр╕вр╕▓ р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕Юр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕гр╕░р╕Ър╕нр╕Ър╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Кр╕▓р╕Шр╕┤р╕Ыр╣Др╕Хр╕вр╕нр╕▒р╕Щр╕бр╕╡р╕Юр╕гр╕░р╕бр╕лр╕▓р╕Бр╕йр╕▒р╕Хр╕гр╕┤р╕вр╣Мр╕Чр╕гр╕Зр╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕бр╕╕р╕В’ р╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕кр╕│р╕Щр╕▒р╕Бр╕Юр╕┤р╕бр╕Юр╣Мр╕Яр╣Йр╕▓р╣Ар╕Фр╕╡р╕вр╕зр╕Бр╕▒р╕Щр╣Бр╕ер╣Йр╕з
р╣Вр╕Фр╕в : р╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Кр╕▓р╣Др╕Ч
р╕зр╕▒р╕Щр╕Чр╕╡р╣И : 14/2/2550
Evaluating the 30 baht health care program
30-baht program: two more recent articles.
1) Viroj Na Ranong and Anchana Na Ranong. 2006. “Universal Health Care Coverage: Impacts of the 30-Baht Health-Care Scheme on the Poor in Thailand.” TDRI Quarterly Review, September, pp. 3-10.
One of their conclusion reads, “Although the number of people who seek health care has increased substantially following the implementation of the 30-Baht Scheme, our fieldwork suggests that the health-seeking behaviors of the poor have not changed much after the Scheme started, as most of them have rather limited choices. For most people, including the low-income group, the financial costs for health care did not change drastically after the implementation of the 30-Baht Scheme. However, most people feel more secure with this Scheme in place, as they now have an insurance against a drastic or catastrophic illness that they could suffer in the future.” Field research was done in 2001 and 2003 in seven provinces.
2) Chalermpol Chamchan and Mizuno Kosuke. 2006. “Assessment of People’s Views of Thailand’s Universal Coverage (UC): A Field Survey in Thangkwang Subdistrict, Khonkaen.” Southeast Asian Studies 44 (2):250-266.
The study was done in only one village with 80 respondents (9-20 March 2005). Unsurprisingly, most of them very much liked the program. The lower-level income goups spent proportionally more on health care than the higher-income-groups=inequity; also unsurprising. Before the introduction of the 30-Baht scheme, most were covered by the medical welfare scheme (12%) and the health card program (49%). 38.5% had been uninsured. The scheme improved the “ability of patients to access medical care ansd the confidence in the quality of care provided. At the same time, it raises a concern about over-utilisation..as a result of negligence in taking care of their personal health and too much dependency upon the health system, even for minor illnesses.”
The poor stay poor, the rich stay rich
Come on, HP: stop talking and just do it!! (the representative sample; but, please, a survey is no analytical approach of which you are so fond, for which reason you will have to come up with some theory and then some hypothesis first; you’ll know the methodological details, I assume)
Opium takes to Thai soil?
I might add that from the perspective of someone living in Yangon (c. 2000) armed ethnic groups were rebels involved in insurgency. I’m not claiming that what follows is the full truth, just one perspective on the situation.
For instance, Wa could often be found completely armed in Yangon since they were given permission to carry their weapons even in urban areas like Yangon by the government. I remember encountering a bunch of them loaded in the back of a pickup truck in the evening on the ring road that runs around the national stadium in Yangon while I was doing my daily running exercise. I was also downtown in China town when all hell broke loose down the block. People said that the Wa had got in gunfight. Also access to Moulmein or Ye (Byeik) even further south was cut off to foreigners after the supposedly supposedly cut off the monthly amount of money they were paying, I believe a Mon, “rebel” organisation to stop fighting. They had raided a gold shop in Moulmein supposedly which made it sound like banditry. In fact banditry seems to be quite common in Burma. I remember when I was staying in Taungyi in the Shan States, bandits had struck along the main road from Taung-gyi to Thazi.
In Martin Smith’s book the list of acronyms of armed ethnic, religious, student, or political groups takes up a whole page I believe. Clearly, this is not sustainable in any modern nation state.
On the other hand, the methods of the Burmese military have always exacerbated the situation, like pressganging people or basically kidnapping them and using them as porters. We had a Tamil clothes washer (Dobi) with three children whose husband had supposedly disappeared in this fashion. I knew someone else who was seized as they were crossing the Salween on a ferry boat.
Also everytime we opened the curtains of our apartment in Yangon we peered into the bare cavernous unfinished floor of the next door apartment where the family of the contractor were camped out. The story ran that he had financed construction by taking money up front from buyers and from a Wa owned bank. One of the numerous sudden economic shocks that hit Yangon (for example Burma-Thailand border war shoots gas price up because of stockpiling, shooting the exchange rate up and sudden inflation, of course with jail threats to market vendors who raise their prices) an economic shock had apparently made the project unfeasible, he could not complete the building project, was arrested, tried, and imprisoned on fraud charges. Thus his family camping out in the hulk of the abandoned building waiting for him to return. Again, this is just one perspective. I knew someone with a small fertliser import business who was also caught in the middle when the oil price shock happened. The only one’s legally allowed to hold dollars were passport holders.
The work of activists in documenting all the hideous rights atrocities is admirable, but you have to remember that Burma-Myanmar is essentially a little alternative universe sealed off from the world, an alternative universe that really hardly gets reported on at all in the media or books except for certain issues from a certain perspective, repeated over and over again. IMHO this mono-focus is not constructive and won’t help solve the near 20 year impasse. Thant Myint U seems to have a more nuanced persective on the situation and history.
Opium takes to Thai soil?
There’s gotta be some way we can blame this on Thaksin….
Sufficiency valentine
I really see no reason why urban romantics should be protected from market forces in relation to the purchase of what is, quite clearly, a luxury item.
How much effort did the rose growers of Tak put into shepherding in the junta? The Bangkok upper classes should be rewarded for their moral sacrifices.
Opium takes to Thai soil?
“The problem is the military regime that has, in my opinion, driven the ethnic minorities into rebellion and effectively destroyed the economy.”
This statement may not be completely accurate since according to my understanding warfare in this region has never really ceased since the end of WWII. (See Thant Myint U’s recent book or Martin Smith’s)
Putting aside the issue of blame for conflict for a moment, does opium cultivation and heroin production thrive in areas of indirect rule where the Burmese government has cut a deal with local political forces like the Wa or the Shan? It seems that indirect rule creates peace but also creates conditions favourable to drug production.
Admittedly, I don’t know anything about the topic of drug production in the Shan States. Are there good surveys to gain a working knowledge of the situation?
From the archives: funding funerals
HP: May I ask you what the textbooks are from which you have taken your epistemological and methodological wisdom, and in which year that was? Are you also a radical individualist who denies the possibility of collective terms?
Sufficiency economy, insufficient money
Generally speaking, science has been quite successful in providing us with knowledge about the physical world. However, it has hardly contributed anything so far to our understanding of how society works. This so far has remained a promise that has been left unfullfilled in the fields of sociology, political science, or anthropology. And that’s the reason why this approach has not managed to leave its position at the margins of our quest for knowledge on the social.
Similarly, science has not left the field of Thai studies. Rather, it has never entered it (or has it?).
As for myself, I am rather pragmatic in my approach, that is, I don’t like works of social science that do not fulfill its professional standards. But I also don’t like “scientific” work that merely manages to produce some research artifacts and present them as the scientific truth.
In this context, I would be interested in knowing what “scientific” works on Thailand you think have contributed to the field of Thai studies. Ten titles would satisfy my curiosity.
I am also eagerly awaiting your “scientific”, hypotheses- and experiment-based work on the Sonthi/PAD protests, the coup, and the current constitution drafting. But I won’t hold my breath.
Sufficiency valentine
my procrastinating self went to Tops today and paid 250 for a single rose arrangement, a dozen was 1000 baht. (Tops supermarket on Yen Akart road, Sathorn).
Thaksin’s Aussie interview a dud!
Here is an audio only link (3.1 MB):
http://www.box.net/public/jlusr4h1p5
Not much to the interview really. Thaksin has been rehearsing his answers.
Thaksin’s Aussie interview a dud!
“Maybe thats why he went to so much trouble setting up tax haven companies etc to avoid tax – so he has more money available for his charity work.”
Yes, that makes sense. Because while Thaksin knew that he himself only cared for the country and would use the money selflessly for the benefit of the people, he also realized that the government was headed by people who were only interested in putting tax money in their pockets (presumably so they could in the future use the money selflessly for the benefit of the people).
HP Boothe
The poor stay poor, the rich stay rich
Mr Fromthefield (#27) asks me to “go to the field yourself then let us know about Thai people opinions! We are open to any other discourse! This is just one examle, maybe you can find contradictory ones…so just do it!”
No, this is exactly the problem. Having armies of “researchers” collecting random anecdotes with no systematic method only leads to a cacophany. Why would I (or anyone else) want to add to that? If you or I or Mr Walker or anyone else is seriously interested in obtaining a representative view of rural Thais, we ought to define our populations, put together a validated survey instrument, and implement it. As a self described “anthropologist” invovled in development issues, I had expected this from Mr. Walker, but instead I find the usual anectodal reportage covered with questionable extrapolation.
Best regards,
HP Boothe
Sufficiency economy, insufficient money
Srithanonchai – from what I see passing for “social investigation”, i think you’re correct that actual science has left the field, at least as Thai studies is concerned. Science makes no pretense at “fundamental questions on the possibility of human knowledge”, it is a simple method for understanding observable phenomena that leads to useful results, like being able to build bridges and tell if it’s likely to rain. Strictly speaking, all science develops “theories” on reality – a term which is also misunderstood. The test of a theory is not whether it is “real” (the epistomological and frankly boring argument you put forth), but whether it is “useful” – that is, predictive.
Scientific methodology consists of developing hypotheses, formulating experiments to validate or refute those hypotheses, and analyzing the results of the experiment to draw a conclusion about the original hypothesis. You have a better method for understanding the world and coming to useful conclusions? Perhaps you feel it’s more useful to use our own memories and experiences and argue with others who have different memories and experiences? Because that’s exactly what I see in Thai “social investigation”.
HP Boothe