EDITORIAL: A society at war with itself: Yes, that's Thailand

Published on June 10, 2010
We thought we lived in a tolerant and peaceful country, but apparently that is no longer the case
Thailand ranks 124th in the recently released Global Peace Index (GPI) of 149 nations, way down in the lower half of the survey. The figure reflects the country's unsatisfactory performance and political violence. Overall, the GPI report suggests that the world has become less peaceful over the last year, despite a drop in the number of armed conflicts. But uneven economic development is also a source of conflict, as evidenced in Thailand.

For Thais, the ranking should not come as a surprise, as we have seen so much instability in recent years. Thailand was once a peaceful nation. However, the political conflict and general confrontational atmosphere, as well as the insurgent violence in the deep South have changed that perception. It is unfortunate, as we have long prided ourselves on being tolerant advocates of peace.

The release of the report is timely. However, peace cannot be brought about by any one party alone; it requires cooperation and effort from all in society.

The GPI report says that societies that are peaceful also perform exceptionally well in many other ways. They have higher per capita income, high levels of personal well-being, more freedom, they perform better in terms of economic sustainability, and appear to have a more equitable distribution of social spending.

For the second year running, New Zealand is rated the most peaceful country in the world, with Iceland climbing back up to second place, after dropping from the top slot in 2008 to fourth place last year. Japan ranks third. Fifteen of the top 20 countries are western or central European states, and all Scandinavian countries are listed in the top 10, suggesting that small, stable, democratic countries are the most successful models for development. At the same time, Iraq was found to be the least peaceful country for the fourth year running, followed by Somalia, Afghanistan and Sudan. Russia ranked 143rd.

The GPI report added that what is important is not whether peace creates economic success, rather the realisation that what creates a peaceful society also allows for a fuller expression of human potential, and in many diverse forms.

The challenges are global. They include economic management, environmental sustainability, and measures to tackle a wide variety of social ills. Conflict often arises from the failure to adequately address the cause of discontent and create remedies. The GPI report says that this can be seen in the breakdown of the Copenhagen climate-change talks, burgeoning government and private-sector debt, the lack of regulation of the speculative aspects of the financial system, and our inability to even articulate good capitalist models that aren't totally based on consumption.

Meanwhile, the conflict in Thailand can be attributed to the country's ineffective economic management, which has led to a disparity of income distribution and opportunity. As a result a significant number of people feel they have been unfairly treated or even victimised. The red-shirt movement thus arose as people in rural areas have been unfairly deprived of economic opportunities. It is not simply a question of economic failure or disadvantage, but a feeling of being unjustly treated over a long period of time. In comparison, during the financial crisis of 1997, when a large number of Thais were left unemployed, there was no social unrest because those affected didn't feel that they had been systematically treated unfairly; the crisis was the result of financial mismanagement that affected people across all social classes.

Another challenging issue for Thais is that of limited resources. The issues of sustainability and the irresponsible consumption of resources have increasingly become issues of conflict in Thailand. Increasingly, communities will require industries and individuals to be more accountable for their consumption.

Peace requires an understanding of the problems and the sustainable solutions. As the GPI reports says, peace "is a proxy for many other things that create the optimum environment for humanity to flourish. These can be defined as the structures that create peace and the social attitudes that support it".

Peace is a key to co-existence. But peace will not come from passive action; it requires everyone's contribution. One cannot ask for peace without contributing to the process and playing a meaningful part in enriching society. We can start the process at the individual level by trying to understand ourselves and others, trying to seek and apply wisdom, and trying to use our potential to the full.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Privacy Policy © 2009 Nation Multimedia Group
June 10, 2010 04:16 pm (Thai local time)
www.nationmultimedia.com