A lot in that commentary has been aired before, but some key points tend to get forgotten.Originally Posted by kommentariat
I cannot imagine what it is like not to have many of the freedoms I enjoy. But I grew up in a country which went through many centuries of democratic development and where universal one-man-one-vote was introduced only in 1948. In Australia it was only in 1962. Across the pond, America was founded on the very basis of individual freedoms and every American takes these absolutely for granted. Yet one-man-one-vote was only achieved in 1965."Thais have never learned about democracy, never really compared democracy with dictatorship to see which is better," he says. "They just look at what's in front of them and see a hero, but a hero never lasts long" . . .
The traditional Hindu-Buddhist culture - emphasizing deference to authority in a hierarchical system, acceptance of one's fate and avoidance of confrontation - runs against emerging individualism, egalitarianism and rule of law. The old values also breed power brokers who dole out rewards to subordinates whose loyalty flows to them rather than to state institutions.
"Patronage relations dominate all aspects of Thai society and have a crippling effect on democratic institutions and political culture," said Marc Saxer of the Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung, a German foundation promoting democracy. "Never mind the democratic facade, key decisions are made by a network of patrons in the backroom."
Much of Asia has millennia of different forms of non-democratic autocratic rule where individualism has been actively discouraged. The group takes absolute precedence. As recent events in the Middle East are showing, you cannot suddenly impose democracy without spending time first putting in place the various democratic institutions that will make democracy flourish. That only results in the "democratic facade" referred to above. Is Iraq a democracy? Libya? Egypt? Similarly real checks and balances need to be in place before you have a chance of getting rid of the hierarchical system and old values.
As westerners with our freedoms, we think we can place ourselves in the minds of Thais. We cannot. Thai logic is totally different from almost any other I have encountered and I still fail to understand it. We can promote our own values and project them on to the Thais. In the end, though, the Thais will find their own solutions without paying too much attention to the outside world.
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