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Modernization in Thailand |
| Section: CULTURE / CROSSROADS |
| Author: Pinit Ratanakul |
| Publication:
The World & I Online |
| Issue Date: 2/1/1986 |
| Size: 9,048 Words, 57,285 Characters |
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Thailand, one of the oldest nations in Southeast Asia, with a culture stretching back several thousand years, has been struggling to be integrated into the modern world for decades - with some success and some failure. This article will focus on the modernizing efforts of Thai governments to transform their traditional society into a modern state.
The modernization process is not the same in all developing nations. Nevertheless the problem Thailand has been facing, since its adopting of modernization ideology from Western countries in the nineteenth century, are not confined only to itself but can be found in many developing nations which have chosen westernization as the means towards modernity. Similarly, the desire of Thailand to find for herself, instead of the alien Western models, some paradigms of development that are attuned to the indigenous culture and aspirations of her people are shared by all emerging nations.
Thailand could be said to have become fully exposed to the focus of modernizations by 1855 in the reign of King Mongkut or Rama IV (1851-1868), when the Browning Treaty was concluded with Britain. This and subsequent treaties opened the country to the West, making it more vulnerable to Western imperialism.
To preserve national independence, King Mongkut began to pursue a policy of modernization to accommodate Thailand to the modern world. Threatened by the Western powers, the king was not interested in the conceptual and definitional problem of modernization. Facing him was the concrete reality of how to catch up with Western modernized countries in order to survive. He therefore equated modernization with westernization, and used it as a means to reduce the disparity between Thailand and the countries in the West.
The modernization process imitated by King Mongkut involved the selective adoption of Western technology, education, and administrative and economic organizations to replace traditional education, an outdated administrative system and a subsistent economy.
Modern education was introduced primarily to acquaint the Thai elite with Western technology and scientific knowledge, and to reform attitudes and beliefs in the hope that they would begin to use reason and scientific methods for the solution of problems, rather than rely on magic and superstition. Education and other reforms were carried out along Western patterns, but the adoption was made with careful selection.
However, only those aspects of westernization that were conducive to the welfare of the nation were chosen to be assimilated into Thai culture. Most of Thai traditional culture was kept and only those outdated customs that humiliated the sense of human dignity were abolished.
Apart from educational and cultural reforms, King Mongkut's modernizing efforts resulted in religious modernization both and socioeconomic changes. His religious modernization advocated a return to the original Pali Buddhism, which was more rational and scientific without the mythological and magical underpinnings of popular Buddhism. This initiative paved the way for subsequent effort towards the adjustment of Buddhism to the modern world.
Social reforms consisted of administrative reorganization to consolidate the power of the central government and the improvement of transport and communication systems to facilitate the new Thai economy. Introduced for the first time to the world market system, Thailand began to be transformed from a self-sufficient economy into a commodity production economy with rice as its specialization.
King Mongkut's modernization policy was pursued by his son. King Chulalongkorn or Rama V (1868-1910). His goal was not only to avoid colonialism but also to make Thailand a strong modern state. As a result, many modernization programs were launched.
Administrative reforms, patterned on the French administrative system, put an end to the quasi-autonomous powers of provincial governors and thus consolidated the power of provincial governors and thus consolidated the power of the kind as head of the state. In line with Western administrative models, the four 400-year-old ministries (Krom Wang -- palace ministry; Krom Pra Klang - Treasury; Krom Muang - Ministry of Land) were replaced by twelve new ministries, each with a distinct function.
Along with these institutional changes King Chulalongkorn modernized the armed forces, and the legal and treasury systems. He also introduced Western technology to agriculture to raise its productivity, and created economic infrastructures such as a communications network and a transportation system to facilitate economic development. His social reforms were steered towards the radical transformation of the traditional structure of Thai society into a new socioeconomic structure. This was possible through the abolition of slavery and the Prai and corvee systems.
These two systems, developed before a modern tax system and draft registration, when government officials were unpaid, had been used by the government as a source of income and military strength. Before the Reformation (1892-1910), the Thai population consisted of the ruling elite (the King, members of the royal family and the noble families), Dasa (slaves) and Prai (bonded commoners). Between the ruling elite and the commons there existed a small number of traders of alien, origin, mostly Chinese, Arabs, Indians, and Westerners. These traders were usually absorbed into the political system and became part of the ruling class. For example, those who traded with China for the government were given feudal ranks and titles.
One result of this radical struc...
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...e, the new para-grass-roots level. At the same time, the new paradigm should strive for global ideals, such as social justice and self-reliance. The inclusion of these ideals is necessary because it universalizes the goals of development in Thailand, and thus enables the nation to be integrated into the global community and to participate in the ongoing process of modernization in the world.
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Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
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The World & I Online is a
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Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
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