[Tlc] Jory reply to Muscatg

[justinm at ucr.edu]

With all due respect, the point is not whether such programs
for the rural poor are merely of interest to well-meaning
social scientists. The original debate was whether the Thaksin
government's rural development programs were qualitatively new
and effective, or just old wine in new bottles. Prof. Keyes
presented rather convincing evidence (while pointing out the
need for further research) that these programs were indeed
relatively effective and therefore popular. They were
particularly significant for the much greater degree of local
participation involved in them (esp. via the new local
government bodies established under the now abrogated 1997
Constitution), as opposed to the paternalistic, top-down,
corruption-mired, ratchakan-style projects of earlier
governments (and indeed which continue today) that pay no heed
to the real needs of local communities, and in many cases are
merely a source of patronage for crony contractors with links
to the bureaucracy or the politician that administers that
ministry.

For Thais (though not for Thai Studies programs in Western
countries, perhaps) this debate is not a mere academic
exercise - especially in the context of the political
situation in Thailand today. Prof. Keyes' view would seem to
run counter to the argument that the apologists for the coup
put forward, that Thaksin's "populism" was just a cynical
political exercise to win power (in fact, I think the
criticism of Thaksin's so-called "populism" by many political
commentators, both Thai and Western, was in many cases highly
irresponsible and even irrational: if one buys votes and does
nothing one is condemned; if one buys votes and then delivers
on promised local development policies one is also condemned
as a "populist". It is very difficult to win against this
elitist, paternalistic mindset of many academics and political
commentators - in many cases the same ones who have been
crucial to building intellectual legitimacy for the coup).

Mr. Muscat's argument on the benefits of state-directed local
development, however, would be music to the ears of the
royalist-military regime that has seized power in Thailand,
which believes ratchakan knows best. Is this the sort of
support that we should be giving this regime?

Patrick Jory..

______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
2617 Humanities Building
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu