The Thai path of development

ECONOMY: As Thailand sinks deeper into economic catastrophe, Prof Dr Prawase Wasi, a highly-respected thinker who is often called a 'moral torchlight', offers a way out which could save not only our country but also our souls

--> PROF DR PRAWASE WASI

We must be direct when talking about economic matters. We must also hit hard at the roots of the present crisis - which is a false view.

The Buddha teaches that ditthi, meaning the view or concept, determines everything else that follows. If our view is wrong, or micchaditthi, our deeds will be wrong, leading us straight to disaster.

But if we begin with the right view, the deeds that follow will be righteous, thus leading us to well-being. This is why the Buddha specifies that the right view precedes everything else in the Noble Eightfold Path, the path that leads to the cessation of suffering.

The present global economy is wrong because it springs from a wrong and fragmented view which enshrines money as the ultimate goal. In search of big money, we do not hesitate to oppress, exploit, or destroy just about anyone and anything that we can turn into money. It does not matter if we do it at the expense of our own health, our humanity, families, communities, cultures, the environment, other people or other countries. For only making money counts.

Money obtained in this fashion is sheer greed. The world which is driven by money is therefore full of conflicts and destruction. So much so that the whole world has become exhausted and distressed. Nowadays, humanity is sinking deeper into suffering, lassitude and worry because life is full of uncertainties. Economic situations are unpredicatable and highly fluctuating. Our human nerves cannot cope with this kind of intense stress, leading to neurosis, psychological problems, suicide, drug addiction and a myriad of other social violence. They are the results of an economic system which is obsessed with money.

This is a deficient system. Money should be the tool to enable people, society and the environment to live in harmony. It should not be the cause of crisis as it is now. The world must rethink its view on money and make it a tool to support goodness. If we want to change ditthi, or the fundamental view of economic development, we must change the way we measure it.

It is a truth is that the behaviour will turn out the way it is measured. This truth applies to both objects and life forms.

Take education. The method of examination will determine the behaviour of the students. If the university entrance examination measures one's ability to memorise, then the education of the students nationwide will be geared towards memorisation. Students, therefore, will be weak in thinking and doing.

Electrons, for example, can be both particles and wave energy at the same time. They will appear as particles if measured so. And as waves if measured as such.

The measurement, then, determines the behaviour.

Nowadays, we measure progress by money. People's behaviour, then, is governed by money-making motives. That is why GDP, or gross domestic product, is used as an indicator of a country's economic growth.

To change the concept of development, we must change its indicator. GDH must be more important than GDP.

H is happiness or well-being.

Happiness is more all-encompassing than P, which is production only. It incorporates mutual caring, loving families, strong communities, healthy environment, vibrant culture and self-reliant economy.

We might call it an economic indicator Thai-style.

There were a group of American tourists who complained about the traffic jams. When asked why they kept coming back every year, they answered because the Thais are happy people.

We Thais used to be happy people. We are called the Land of Smiles. People who are happy generally want to make others happy too, which in turn, makes them happier. Happiness depends on how we view the world and on our attitudes in life. It does not come from money alone.

If we compete on GDP standards, we can never win against the Unites States because the scale of its economy is mammoth. Bigger things pull in smaller ones. If we play their game by their rules, we will end up doomed and penniless.

It might be another matter altogether if we use the happiness indicator. We might already be happier than the Americans. Or we can make ourselves happier. That is, if we measure happiness on:

- mutual caring and generosity

- family togetherness

- strong communities

- cultural confidence

- healthy environment

- self-sufficient economy

If we can develop these factors of happiness effectively, we can even become a model to help the Americans learn to be happy too.

A self-sufficient, or fundamental, economy is not about money alone. It means an economy which is interconnected with the well-being of our minds, families, communities, culture and the environment. It is a holistic economy. An economy of balance. An economy of morality.

It is the state of balance which prevents a breakdown.

Losing balance leads to a crisis.

A fundamental economy is one that benefits everyone in society, not only the rich few whose missteps can bring the whole country down. The fundamental economy aims at empowering the base of society. With a strong foundation, our whole country can grow steadily and permanently.

A fundamental economy focuses on society's strengths.

A strong society bolsters the economy, make politics ethical and sustains morality.

Society can become strong through grouping of the citizens in various forms. They can range from groups, clubs, foundations, associations, co-operatives, communities or a civil society. Here, we'll call them "community".

A strong community is the one which can solve its problems by itself, be they about their own self-reliant economy or social, cultural, educational, environmental or public health matters.

There are plenty of fundamental businesses that local communities can do. They include integrated or mixed farming, handicrafts, village businesses, cottage industries and many other services.

Integrated farming is a shift from mono cash crop farming - rice, sugar cane, cassava plantations, for example - which destroy the environment and plunges farmers into debt. Integrated farming aims to provide farmers with year-round food security first and foremost.

Instead of growing one cash crop, farmers grow different crops such as rice, vegetables, fruit and herbs, as well as obtaining firewood and timber for their own use, and raising fish and poultry on the side. By doing so, they will have enough to eat and can sell the surplus so they can get out of debt and save.

In the process, the land will turn green with trees, a boon to both the environment and the economy. And the older the farmers get, the easier life will be for them because their trees will be bigger, thus yielding more produce. It's like having bank savings yielding interest every day.

Being able to produce one's own food and medicinal herbs is not only economical, it is good business. Thai fruits, for example, are among the world's best. They can bring us foreign currency from export while creating employment and sustaining the environment. We should think of something like producing instant tom yam of good quality and packaging to sell on the world market. Just an example of how we could connect industry and export business with local communities.

Meanwhile, the communities can group themselves to work on community business together. For example, they can set up village-run gas stations or food businesses. Among the possibilities are chemical pesticide-free food, all sorts of preserved food, medicinal herbs, handicrafts, and many other tools or household wares that the villages can produce themselves.

The villagers can even venture in community-run ecotourism. Every tambon can set up their own Thai traditional medicine centre. Their services can start with traditional massage, hot herbal press, and selling herbal medicines, 60 kinds of which have been proven as effective for primary health care.

Every village and tambon should have their own community fund or village bank. They will encourage the villagers to save while the savings can be used as business loans for the villagers who otherwise do not have access to formal credit. The savings can be managed to provide welfare schemes to the fund members as well. These village banks will strengthen the local communities and improve their well-being.

These are just some examples of what a self-sufficient economy and community businesses can achieve. After studying this grassroots movement for over 20 years, I guarantee that Thailand can eradicate poverty throughout the country through a self-sufficient economy. Simultaneously, it will enable families to stay together. The local communities will be strong. People healthy. Their cultures dynamic. And the environment nurtured. This things create a peaceful atmosphere which is favourable for one to develop one's spirituality further.

This is real development.

This is what we can attain when development is defined as spiritual development, not as ever-increasing wealth.

In the past three or four centuries, this spiritual dimension of human development has been neglected. When we have lost our humanity, we have then sunken into deep stress, resulting in all sorts of perversions. This is a worldwide problem.

The Thai path of development is, therefore, not a desperate chase to keep up with farang. We have learned that the western model of development is a mistake because it is based on a money chase.

Our path must transcend this. We must stay one step ahead of the world by remaining faithful to the right concept, or sammaditthi, of development. It is one which focuses on goodness while interlocking the economy with mind, family, community, culture and the environment. All this provides basic happiness which can be measured by various indicators.

That is why GDH is more important than GDP.

In the future, the world will eventually switch to the GDH measurement because the use of GDP has resulted in intolerable stress and strain.

The Thai path of development could also be called a tai path, another word in Thai which means freedom. It is the path which liberates us from being intellectually and spiritually enslaved. It liberates us from oppression.

Actually, the virtue of emancipation exists in all religious teachings. We should go back to study the core teachings and virtues of our own respective religions and use them as the basis to solve this economic crisis. Don't just follow the rules of the game of those with big capital. It is a natural law that the bigger thing will engulf the lesser until we have nothing left, as has already happened. We should follow religious virtues which are more holistic and holier than the god of money.

We might have little money. But this does not mean that we don't have anything left.

We still have ourselves. We still retain our humanity and an ability to care for one another. We have brains that can still learn. And a religion which is a system of profound wisdom.

All these have much more dignity and value than money.

We are certainly not poor in this respect. And not at a dead end.

Let us shed our enslavement and follow the path of freedom. Let us transcend the domination of old thinking toward a free mind which respects human dignity. Let us find our own path of development which, unlike the present economic system, nurtures human values.

It is the micchaditthi, or wrong view, that leads to catastrophe.

The sammaditthi, or the right view, leads to well-being for us all.