Showing 1 - 8 of 8
Don't play roulette with Thai society
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 01/07/2015
» Since the National Council for Peace and Order took the reins of government 13 months ago, Thailand was supposed to be on a path of reform — to make major changes for the better. The National Reform Assembly (NRA), with members chosen from various groups of presumably wise Thais, was set up to put together what needs to be changed.
Four horsemen of Thai democracy ride on apathy
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 03/06/2015
» We are presumably more than half done with yet another constitution. Not counting the temporary ones issued after the many coup d'etats, this will be the 17th since absolute monarchy was abolished in 1932. Debates have been raging whether the new constitution will — finally — help Thailand reach its goal of being governed by democratic principles. I think not, for these reasons.
A tale of two Isan villages’ attempts to end poverty
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 07/05/2014
» About three decades ago, a seemingly great idea was put forward with the express purpose of raising the incomes of the people of Isan — the Northeast — so that they would no longer be the poorest compared with Thais in other regions of the country. Having relatively less water, it was believed, was the key factor contributing to Isan’s lower level of development and poverty. With more water, Isan could be planted with more crops, including trees such as eucalyptus to be harvested as feedstock for paper mills, making it green all year round as well as generating more income for its people.
Face of change needs more than a mask
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 05/06/2013
» Wearing a Guy Fawkes mask as a way of holding one's nose against the government seems to have caught on.
Moderation provides key to happiness
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 02/01/2013
» On June 6 of last year, I wrote in this column that the Great Recession starting in 2008 was bad for most people except those who wrote about it. Dozens of books have been published and I mentioned three that had interested me in particular _ two by Joseph Stiglitz and one by Jeffrey Sachs. These books ask more fundamental questions than most about the causes of the current economic problems.
The universal truth of sufficiency economy
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 06/06/2012
» The Great Recession of 2008 has been bad for most people, with one exception perhaps _ those who write about it. As I wrote in this column on April 28, 2010, I had counted 34 books on the subject published in the United States up to that point. Many more have come out since.
Some self-evident truths
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 07/03/2012
» With apologies to the writers of the United States' Declaration of Independence, the following sentence seems to have rung in my ears every time I scanned the daily headlines or watched events unfolding on television these past few months: "These truths are held to be self-evident, that the executive branch is irresponsible, that the legislative branch is in shambles, that the judiciary branch is undependable, that Thailand is shamelessly corruptible."
From the year of fury to the year of doom?
News, Sawai Boonma, Published on 05/01/2012
» With a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hitting Japan in March, causing vast destruction and leaving nearly 20,000 people killed or missing, 2011 should register as one of the years that the four elements _ earth, air, fire and water _ had unleashed its most destructive fury.