Freedom and Dependence, Society in Thailand's History

The book delves into the overall structure and operation of the society of the Thai people. It covers several political eras, a millennium of history, up to 1957. This is an endless but an important subject -- the society is crucial in the life of the people and in the course of the nation's history. The Thailand case is rather positive: the rural society has provided a good life. and the upper society has shown a remarkable stability.
The history starts as a community and regional informal rural society in China, spreads into Thailand where it achieves freedom, and becomes a structured vertical society with a separate rural base (in the 1400s). After that, the rural part develops itself gradually as a successful and enjoyable decentralized society, oriented to freedom, coping with government impositions. The urban part spreads out of its official vertical structure in the 1800s (in Bangkok), and eventually a Thai urban private sector (disallowed previously) grows up. The society shows its strength, coping with the blows and the revolution of the 1900s.
It is a lively story with human interest, because the society was built on human nature and emotions (in contrast to China and India). Other aspects discussed include personal vertical links of dependence in official society, the exclusion of independent components of society (pursuits in arts, business, academia, etc.), upper society designed to be high control from the top down but not always succeeding, the effects of having a timeless cosmic construct as the background for society, and the perverse effects of the infusion of European ideas and developments.
Comparisons with China, India and Europe are included. Aiming at brevity, the story still takes 300 pages and 170 references. Hopefully it is useful in graduate studies in sociology. The overall hope is that its analysis may contribute something to constructive discussion of Thailand's society in the past... and thus to understanding of it at present.

Dettagli