Thailand’s Sufficiency Economy: Origins and Comparisons with Other Systems of Religious Economics
Abstract
The contemporary world is witnessing the growing re-assertion of public religion, including attempts to reorient economic organization and action according to religious teachings. One such attempt is the Thai concept of “sufficiency economy,” an economic model based on the collected sayings and development projects of Thailand’s king. The author examines the sufficiency economy model from three perspectives. First, he analyzes the origins and principles of sufficiency economy as a model for Buddhist economics. Second, he critically analyzes some possible political uses and misuses of the sufficiency economy discourse. Finally, he comparatively examines sufficiency economy in relation to Islamic finance and Gandhian economics.