by absorbing elements from other social groups who then operate within the
established framework”(Girling 1984 : 445). He contends that in these circum-
stances there is little chance for social change. From a culturalistic perspective this
view is confirmed by Rajadhon ( 1968 : 29):“The social system, habits and customs
as seen in modern times are superficial modifications of the fundamentals and in a
comparative degree only.”
4.9 The Thai Value System................................
Generally speaking, the Thai social system is essentially a society where
“self-centeredness”and interpersonal relationships are of utmost importance. Even
though the Thai self-image is often described as individualistic, I prefer to term it as
a“weak”rather than a strong personality. This is also the opinion of Brummelhuis
and Kemp ( 1984 ): “The individual’s preoccupation is not so much with
self-realization and autonomy as with the adaptation to the social or cosmological
environment. If a notion of Thai individualism is to have any specific meaning it is
in designating that particular mode of retreat, avoidance and distrust, which colors
so many forms of behavior and social relationships.”(Brummelhuis and Kemp
1984 :44–45; see also Kashima et al. 2002 ). Prasertkul (1989a: 64) is more critical:
“Our national traits, which I think are very strong, are:firstly, Thais do not like
serious matters; they like to crack jokes and talk about sensational matters, espe-
cially dirty‘under the belt’-matters. Secondly, they are egotist. They use group
benefits to be their norms. If matters are not relevant to their own lives, they will not
take them into account.”That kind of egoism leads Mulder ( 2000 : 49) to conclude
that“it is not unlikely that Thai society generates culturally unique psychological
tensions by repressing individuals through identifying them with their presentation,
thus stifling their needs for self-expression and open communication.”For instance,
commenting on the annual deadly road accidents, the third highest in the world
according to the World Health Organizations (WHO) and the almost nonexistent
follow-ups by police or policy makers to address these issues, Techawongtham
( 2016 ) explains:
In my opinion, this‘attitude’is part of a larger and more troubling Thai character trait
embedded in our cultural DNA. The Thai word for this ismak ngai. It may be translated
roughly to English as the predisposition to take an easy way out without regard to con-
sequences or others (and often to oneself as well). Simply put, it’sa‘mefirst and me only’
attitude. We can see this attitude expressed everywhere in everyday life.
One of the scholars who has been trying tofind value patterns in different
cultures is Hofstede ( 1980 , 1991 ). He surveyed over a hundred thousand workers in
multinational organizations in more thanfifty countries and identified a number of
value dimensions that are influenced and modified by culture. In their latest work
(Hofstede and Hofstede 2005 ), they identified six value dimensions that are
influenced and modified by culture: (a) individualism-collectivism, (b) uncertainty
4.8 Growing Pains: Modernization and Tradition 61