Mahidol University International College

Advanced English Communication II

Trimester 1 Year 2004-05

Rungkarn Rujiwarangkul (4680657)

Due date: Friday 3rd December 2004

Abstract
 In the Thai society, people can be classified into three types, according to their

consumption behaviour; they are the conscientious, the moderate, and the avaricious.

Every consumer’s behaviour has impacts on Thai society, particularly ‘the avaricious’

who have been manipulated by the so-called ‘consumption urge,’ causing many social

matters and also affecting the country’s economy. Although some people think the

consumption urge is a good method for expanding the economy, it is not leading us to

the better but instead categorises us as a ‘neo-liberalistic,’ or ‘false democratic’

country. However, there is an alternative-the theory of Buddhist economics- suggested

by a famous economist, E.F. Schumacher, that will be a suitable substitution for

Thailand’s current system.

Introduction
 Currently, Thailand is facing many problems, a majority of which are societal

problems that can be seen everyday from the news and papers. When these problems

are traced back to the root, they are always related to the individuals’ economic and

consumption predicament at some point. Consumer behaviour plays a crucial role in

Thai society because it can either lead the country to improvement or destruction,

both in social and economic perspectives. Hence the consequential behaviour of any

influences and the impacts of the behaviour on the country would be worth a

consideration.

Generally in Thailand, people can be classified into three types- the

conscientious, the moderate, and the avaricious- according to their consumption

pattern, regardless of age, sex, education, and financial status. As aforementioned,

most of the problems are based on the individuals’ hardship of consumption and it is

to be noted that ‘the avaricious’ habits are the main subject of such consequences.

Evidently from the past, it is certain that avariciousness was not in the nature

of Thai people. The traditional Thai lifestyle was generally based only on simplicity;

people only live on the minimum of basic needs. However, with an influence from the

western world, people are now being unconsciously manipulated by the so-called

‘consumption urge’ which comes in various forms, such as media, government’s

policies, and other propaganda, resulting in many social matters and also affecting the

country’s economy. So it is time for us to consider a solution to these long-chained

problems.

The Conscientious, the Moderate, and the Avaricious

 The characteristics of each type of consumption behaviour- the conscientious,

the moderate, and the avaricious- illustrate how people live their lives in their

environments, their personal values, and social expectations. The conscientious are

the people who are satisfied with what they have and only choose to spend on basic

needs. Generally these people do not regard luxury as a requirement for happiness;

instead they value other principles, such as dharma, which in turn adds to their

personal growth. Unfortunately, they only occupy a small portion of Thai society

when compared to the avaricious. Adjacent to the consumption gauge, the moderate

consumers are sampled by a majority of the middle-class. Not so much different from

the conscientious in terms of their personal virtue, the moderate usually have the good

sense as to what is necessary or not. Nevertheless, given available technology, they

are sometimes influenced by the temptations. They become somewhat susceptible to

peer pressure, the expectation of their environment, and sometimes overwhelmed by

the media until their good sense can no longer resist the seduction, yet they will never

cross into territory of immorality to get what exceeds their limits, as stated about their

personal virtue.

On the other hand, the avaricious people are those who consume immoderately

and tend to identify strongly with brand-named products and status-enhancing appeal,

such as expensive automobiles or rich jewellery. They judge others and themselves

merely from the power and fortune they possess. They go through the process of

“victimisation” by commercial messages and are easily manipulated by their peers,

their surroundings, and false social values. Sadly, this type of people adds up to a

large proportion, and they stand in every class- from the haves to the have-nots- of

Thai society. We have now reached the most bizarre time when even the homeless

decide to own a mobile phone.

The Avarice Effect

Why should we, as Thai people, be troubled by the other’s avarice when the

effect seems to be personal rather than social? Because this is not the end but rather

the beginning of many other problems. Although, according to consumerism theory,

an increasing consumption of goods is economically beneficial, every unwise

consumption of the avaricious can lead to a collapse of economy too. The avaricious’

consumption behaviour is based on materialism, meaning they are being attached to

and desire for material possessions. Such consumption behaviour, other than

economic problem, can also lead to cultural and societal problems. Being materialistic

can arouse one’s suppressed id and precipitate their supposedly conscientious

superego. In other words, they will become less concerned about ethical matters. This

thesis may not apply in all cases, yet it is common among many Thai communities,

particularly among young adults who lack experiences and conscience to distinguish

between right and wrong.

A case study is about a fourteen-year-old girl decided to engage in sexual

intercourse with a sixty-year-old man, only for the sake of four thousand baht. She paid

the price for her new handbag with her entire personal value as a feminine. Not long

after, she became an agent for her friends who wanted to do what she did, and got a

commission from the man. She admitted her family was not going through any kind of

crisis. She did it because she did not want to ask for money from her family and was

proud that she could earn money by herself and also help her friends do the same thing

[Suthisakorn 123].

A study carried out by ABAC shows an unbelievably high figure of almost five

hundred thousand youth prostitutes in Thailand [Rodpetch 2004]. According to Mr.

Rodpetch, “The youths’ avaricious habit causes them to turn to prostitution. Most of these
kids prostitute only because they want a new mobile phone or an expensive brand-named

handbag” [Rodpetch 2004].

Another example is about a nineteen-year-old boy, who had almost become a

victim of gambling system. He started off betting only one hundred baht on a football

match. His first sweet victory had triggered his greed and the amount of money he put on

each bet was increased. He was unavoidably forced to steal some money to redeem some

debt. He did not stop until the debt was up to fifty thousand baht and just realised that it

was out of his control. Luckily, his mother was finally able to pay it off, or otherwise he

might have to pay the cost of this lesson with his life. [Suthisakorn 127]

These two cases are only examples out of hundreds of other unending social

matters which occur as the consequence of people’s uncontrollable consumption. Some

choose to prostitute or gamble, while others may choose to cheat or rob. Wherever the

problems start, they often finish with the death of some innocent ones as we see daily on

the news.

The Consumption Urge: Growth or Catastrophe?

What influences people to become avaricious? The answer is the so-called

‘consumption urge’ by means of the media, advertisements, and the government’s

policies. These factors are highly forceful in terms of shaping people’s aspiration, values,

and consumption attitudes. With the images of young, good-looking models on the huge,

backlit billboard signs, or in the movies and soap operas on television, people’s decision

and judgement are now constantly induced by sophisticated manipulation of the media so

it becomes increasingly hard for them to identify reality from fantasy, truth from

deception. They are basically allured by the pretty illusion shot through camera, and

imitate those larger-than-life idols’ behaviour [Poshyananda 2004]. And because the

media’s techniques have been refined for many years, the mass believes in what media
tell them to do- what to buy, what to use, how to live- or simply it takes control of their

unconscious judgements and decisions.

Many economists see the encouragement on people’s consumption pattern as a

great tool used to expand the economy. In the past four years, under the government of

Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai economy has rapidly grown after we seriously suffered

from the trauma of “IMF (International Monetary Fund) crisis” in 1997. The Thai

economy began accelerating from a growth rate of 1.9 percent in 2001 (the year Dr.

Thaksin was elected Prime Minister) to 5.3 percent in 2002, to 6.5 percent in 2003, and

has been predicted to grow up to 8 percent by the end of 2004 [Looney 2003]. These

impressive figures have ranked us second place as the fastest-growing economy in the

world [Perrin 2003]. And the catalysts for these gains are media influence,

advertisements, and the government’s measures and policies such as the village fund

project and a three-year debt moratorium for farmers which aim to refresh rural

economies and stimulate domestic demand. In other words, these factors are not only

reinforcing the economy but the good old avaricious habits also.

Neo-liberalism and Capitalism

Under ruling of this government, Thailand is now operating on neo-liberalism,

which is a ‘new’ form of political-economic system that shares some similarities with the

old capitalism, which basically considers consumption to be the sole purpose of all

economic activities. The concepts of “the markets should be left to operate without

government interference” and “the free market system” seem to be idealistic for

everyone, but there is another side to this system [Eugene 2004]. Apparently, not

everyone is getting their shares as stated in the policies’ objective, and definitely the

grass-roots are not looking so ‘refreshing’ in the rural. There is only one group of people-

or the cartel- who has all the entrepreneurial power and gets all the benefits out of this
system. It is the same group of people who owns big multi-national corporations and

holds a large amount of shares in the market. It is the same group of people who has

controls over the media and has loud voices in the regimes. Despite the rapid growth on

the economic aspect, our domestic consumption and economic gains over the past three

years have been strongest in just two sectors- telecommunications and automobiles

[Samalapa 2004] (whose owners are ‘the same group of people’), while there is no real

gain in the agricultural sector where most of the population is working. This is where

avariciousness fits into, because the urge makes some people become materialistic, as a

matter of social values, for owning mobile phones or cars prior to decent food and home.

In addition, looking from political view, operating on neo-liberal is actually the

“destruction of democracy” as Mr. William McEwan, an American economist (Harvard)

put it [Eugene 2004] because the government (whose seats are mostly occupied by ‘the

same group of people’) uses “media and other propaganda to control information.” This

includes the use of any means “to promote candidates and issues that the power structure

approves as fads and fashions so that the majority choose them.” People will only know

what the government wants them to know or do (to favour the businesses; maybe in

telecommunications or automobiles sectors?) thus there is “no real basis for free choice”

[Eugene 2004].

The Urge Effect

The current economic growth, which is based on the people’s avaricious habits

alone, is not the way to expand Thai economy as many people think. This kind of

consumption urge will only benefit the Thai economy superficially as the figures show. In

reality, only the rich are getting richer, while the poor are getting poorer. Although

statistics show that the average household income has increased, the fact is that debt

levels are increasing even faster. Household debt has almost doubled over the past three
years [Samalapa 2004]. Under this circumstance, the Thai economy will continue to

expand but will ultimately exceed the point where this unbalanced system can no longer

hold together, and will result in an economic and social catastrophe; similar to the hard-

hit crisis we experienced in 1997. Because the (limited) resources eventually would not

be comparable to the (unlimited) demand in anyhow.

‘Back-to-the-Basic’ Buddhist Economics

“Economics without Buddhism is like sex without love.”

- E.F. Schumacher-

To conclude from all the evidences, needless to say Thailand is now running on

the edge in every aspect- political, societal, and economic. There is an alternative which

will pull this country from the brink of calamities; it is the Buddhist economy.

Economics, in general, does not consider whether or not human well-being is

negatively affected by that consumption, but Buddhist economics mainly signifies the

importance of human fulfilment and development of character such as simplicity,

education, and work efficiency, rather than concentration on physical substances and

intrinsic monetary value as in neo-liberalism or capitalism. The concept is similar to the

philosophy of ‘Sufficient economy’ as advocated by His Majesty King Bhumibol

Adulyadej, the King of Thailand.

"Sufficiency" means moderation, so "A Sufficient Economy" is the philosophy

which suggests that people of any class ought to conduct the principle of the middle

path at any level, from the within the individuals to communities, in order to keep up in

this modernising world as well as to protect ones’ country from unavoidable internal

and external shocks that arise [Self-Sufficiency Economy as Advocated by His Majesty

the King n.d.].

To achieve this, it is vital that education and application of knowledge must first

seek to make people more intelligent in making decisions about consumption. When a
majority of Thai population is not disciplined and is uneducated, particularly on

monetary matter, they tend to be easily manipulated and become materialistic. They

cannot control their income and expenditure to suit their financial status and lifestyles.

This is why the ‘three-year debt moratorium for farmers’ policy, which actually aims to

offer opportunity for saving, causes the increasing domestic debt rather than rural

economy refreshment [Cochrane 2004]. These people do not know what they should do

with the limited amount of money they have. So when they are given a chance to

suspend their debt, they choose to spend rather than save. Just like what the

advertisements ‘urge’ them to do, while they have been already attracted, persuaded,

and seduced by the media. The solution to this problem is we must simultaneously

educate these people, including the youngsters, emphasizing on how to manage

resources they have and how country can be affected by their every consumption habit.

Not only the education that is needed for Buddhist economics or “the economics

of permanence” as E.F. Schumacher, the author of ‘Small is Beautiful’ put it. The

appreciation of simplicity is also important. Capitalism and neo-liberalism are not the

best resolution because they only try to maximise the economic growth with a maximum

of consumption by exploiting on non-renewable resources which would eventually end

the system, while Buddhist economics essentially tries to maximise human well-being

with a minimum of consumption; therefore the optimal growth would be only at the point

of sufficiency. For instance, more people in America who are catching onto Buddhist

economics according to a survey done by Merck Foundation in 1995, are learning that by

consuming less, “they can live happier and more satisfied, productive lives” [Schumacher

43]. With this concept of simplicity, people are more concerned about the environment in

their community, better education, and cultural opportunities than the trend in the stock

market and the gross national product.

 Another factor which would contribute to the permanent growth is the individuals’

work efficiency. It is a universal agreement that the most fundamental source of wealth is

human labour and skills but supporting and developing work efficiency among the Thai

population has been long overlooked. In today’s society, many people are working just for

the sake of it. Many of which are white-collar workers, whose ability and knowledge are

highly important to the state of community, yet they are only concerned about their

monthly salary rather than the outcome of their work. From a Buddhist point of view,

people should enjoy doing their jobs, which in turn, would enlighten them and enhance

their personal growth, thus the overall result is the development of manhood, leading to

work efficiency and a promising country’s economy.

Conclusion

Although the avarice problem may seem trivial, it can lead to such disastrous

matters as mentioned. However, there are solutions for the problem, and one of which

is changing Thailand into a Buddhist economics country. This means the correct
understanding of human nature is more important than merely arouse desires in

people for a stable economic growth. To achieve this, cooperation from every party is

needed to stop all the haphazard urge, which benefits no one but the same group of

wealthy people, so that the consumers would then change their behaviours when

familiarised with the concept of Buddhism in economics. Ultimately, it depends on

the people’s comprehension on country’s current affairs, as well as how soon they

would feel responsible, rather than ignorant and indifferent, for the consequences of

their behaviours.

References

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