Thai opinion: Reasons why a government may not be necessary

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STOPPAGE TIME
Reasons why a government may not be necessary
Tulsathit Taptim

BANGKOK: -- "Show me a man or a woman alone and I’ll show you a saint. Give me two and they’ll fall in love. Give me three and they’ll invent the charming thing we call ’society’. Give me four and they’ll build a pyramid. Give me five and they’ll make one an outcast. Give me six and they’ll reinvent prejudice. Give me seven and in seven years they’ll reinvent warfare."

- Stephen King, The Stand

Give me 60 million Thais and they'll prove they don't need a government. Or an orthodox government at least. Call this sarcasm or a joke, but we should seriously consider the possibility of living without the main cause of our misery. And before the pro-Yingluck camp goes wild on the keyboards, this is not just about "this" government, but "any" government as we know it.

Let's cut to the chase. Here are reasons why Thais will do just fine without an elected, or non-elected, team of "administrators" we know full well are no better than us:

1. If a habit is formed after 21 days as they say, our non-government life should be more than secure by now. Street campaigns against the Pheu Thai government began late last year. The House of Representatives was dissolved in December. Ever since, we have had a caretaker government, which has done anything but prove it's in control.

2. Tap water still flows. Schools and convenience stores remain open. There has been no looting. They still collect our taxes. We continue to be connected to the Internet. Both biased and neutral media outlets continue to operate in full force. In other words, the nation has been flying smoothly on auto-pilot.

3. One way or another, a new government will end up like this one, so what's the point?

4. What is a "government", really? It's a way of making a lot of people live together peacefully. Can our government - I mean "any" government - do that?

5. What is a "government" supposed to do, really? It's supposed to make the people happy, right? Can our government - "any" government - do that?

6. A government is about putting the most efficient, capable people in charge of things like improving national education, right? Well, don't get me started on this one.

7. If a government is about making people respect the laws, our system is an epic fail.

8. I know permanent state officials have to be paid, and their services need funding. The much-needed money traditionally comes from the "budget" that a government proposes and seeks parliamentary approval for. But if you have a choice between letting guys like Nuttawut Saikuar decide on how much money the whole agricultural sector needs and on an entirely new way of budget allocation, what will that be? (Sorry if you're a Nuttawut fan. How about allowing guys like Chalerm Yoobamrung have a say on the police budget and its spending?)

9. If a government is about promoting unity and harmony so national resources can be properly utilised, look around you.

10. If a government is about setting good examples (like paying taxes properly), again, that must be a government in some other universe.

11. What about drought, other forms of natural disasters, border patrol and national security? Well, our problem is that a government "as we know it" has to handle every one of them. Is it in anybody's best interests to, say, have the best goalkeeper play as a striker one day and a midfielder the next?

12. The above points concern what good a government is supposed to do. But we don't need a government when it comes to bad things, either. If corruption is okay, we no longer need a government to tell us so. Of course, bad morals sometimes need endorsement at a high level in order to go viral, but we have seen enough examples to do well on our own.

13. Nations need leaders because "visions" are necessary, you may argue. Well, show me a good political vision and I'll show you 10 bad ones.

14. A government is necessary because nobody else can help the underprivileged and tackle inequality, some say. Who will take rich people's taxes and use them to help the poor? Who can make sure the grassroots have access to good healthcare?

Here are my answers: Those things are noble. Trusting a government as we know it to do noble things is like giving a temple boy Bt1,000 to put in the donation box and turning away and driving home.

"We'll give it a shot. We're half way there. Livin' on a prayer. Take my hand and we'll make it, I swear."

- Bon Jovi, Livin' on a Prayer


-- The Nation 2014-04-23

[noitom]

This guy's hypothetical blundering, stumbling, and deep intellectual thought is pontificating that Thais can get by without a government.

[MrJohnson]

This has to be one of the cynical pieces of political comment I have ever read but, unfortunately, in the current polical climate in Thailand, totally understandable. The writer is cynical and jaded by the state of politics in thus country. And who wouldn't be? The old adage " that people get the government they deserve" May well be appropriate. It may also be said that it is high time that a real political debate be allowed. A political debate that is not muzzled by defamation and other laws that restrict free speech. It is a debate where all voices need to be heard regardless of where you are from or what your family name is. Maybe it's time to tip everything on the ground start again. But then again I am reminded of that other old saying " I used to be apathetic, but now I just don't care".

[rijit]

Ararchy can work, Switzerland is ARGUABLY the nearest thing to a modern day anarchic state, and that works well.

[PatOngo]

"We'll give it a shot. We're half way there. Livin' on a prayer. Take my hand and we'll make it, I swear."
- Bon Jovi, Livin' on a Prayer

When I look around, I see most people Livin' on Credit.

[focus27]

Switch off all the traffic lights in Bangkok and the traffic will still flow. In many places it will be no worse than with the traffic lights functioning. Even the sporadic gridlocks clear up during the night.

After a while, someone gets the bright idea to set up a toll gate to manage the flow. This is not very popular so needs security - welcome to the start of a new government.

[Cricketnut]

What a doozy this character is, just means the military will run the country once more.

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE 8.2 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[noitom]

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What a doozy this character is, just means the military will run the country once more.

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Seems so.

[ginjag]

What a doozy this character is, just means the military will run the country once more.

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Or a.n.other. + academics - farang protesters. We know about corrupt practices, we can fix that in 1 week.

[Thait Spot]

Some governments are certainly less necessary than others

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[Tokay]

The country is already more or less lawless. It's just a matter of time before it slips into either civil war or a military controlled version of the old Burma .

[The stuttering parrot]

The Nation.

The yellow shirt bible.

Nothing bias in any of it's reporting .

Who needs a government when you've got the peoples medium who going to solve all of Thailands problems.

Like the first two words thai opinion ! So even through they put out those bias polls now we have one guy who knows and writes about thai opinion.

Keep it up and next time can you add a picture of something or someone that has nothing to do with you stories anyway.

Thai opinion my............

[snairb]

I agree, i see no change here (udon) I think the thais are ideal for a state of no central govenrment, they are anarchists in the way they operate watch a thai driver, queues or lack of ,

the police are not really policing they apply the laws or dont to suit the situation

big c staff are just as helpful as they have always been

the thai government has been in suspended aniimation since Nov last year so no big spending projects most of which run into problems

the state of the baht is weaker but no big change and is probably due to the dollar not being printed , no big debts, gdp down but still above most european countries

unemployment low

one of the highest % spends in the world on education

at least one party a week in local villages

most resort cabins in asia

can waste water in the middle of a drought

can waste water per se

can do what u want when u want

can bet on number of gove plate when somone is maimed in an accident

can drink whiskey ,play cards

can borrow money from local government to drink whisky and play cards

cant get much better can it ?

[rabas]

Switch off all the traffic lights in Bangkok and the traffic will still flow. In many places it will be no worse than with the traffic lights functioning. Even the sporadic gridlocks clear up during the night.

After a while, someone gets the bright idea to set up a toll gate to manage the flow. This is not very popular so needs security - welcome to the start of a new government.

Did you ever notice that wherever traffic is truly snarled is where there are traffic police?

[gabruce]

Excellent, thoughtful opinion piece. I agree. Less government is definitely better.

[issanaus]

There is no functioning "Government" but the still is government (Thai style)

What is frightening both about Feb 2 and the Senate vote is the number of Thai people that have given up on Government

[ChrisY1]

Journalism here in Thailand really is abissmal.....!!

This person doesn't have the intelligence level to understand what he/she is writing......very dissapointing really...and being an English site, tries to get the reading public down to his level.....

Anyway......military rule or dictatorship come to mind to start with......

[Mentors]

Another naive nonsense from the deep Yellow Newspaper.

[caughtintheact]

Anyone who thinks that traffic would be better without lights should have been here when there were traffic circles, practically no lights and it could take 2 hours to get from Sathorn to Wong Wien Yai

But think of the bright side...no more visa runs, no more 90 day reports, no visas needed, no taxes, and no getting stopped by police. On the other hand be ready to help your neighbor or risk a shooting war, because nothing you have will be yours to keep if someone else wants it. And there will be no place where you can complain....except here of course.

[Sakeopete]

Corrupt useless civilian government or corrupt useless military government same same.

[JoeThePoster]

i'm beginning to think journalists may not be necessary in Thailand.

[Scamper]

The conclusion of this article - to do away with government - can be comically viewed as being even more impractical than the present situation, and can as such be easily dismissed. Having said that, the enumerated points the writer makes - as he cites all the areas of wanton neglect now present - is hard to argue with. He paints a pretty accurate portrait of it all going amok. The level of corruption that he infers is also hard to disagree with. And it is also hard to disagree with the point that any administration outside of the present one would be absent these inequalities. So the problem with this article is that although it paints an all too accurate portrait of the political reality, the antidote to it is frivolous. Though it also must be said that when much of an article is full of insight, one can forgive the absence of it elsewhere.

[Cricketnut]

I agree, i see no change here (udon) I think the thais are ideal for a state of no central govenrment, they are anarchists in the way they operate watch a thai driver, queues or lack of ,

the police are not really policing they apply the laws or dont to suit the situation

big c staff are just as helpful as they have always been

the thai government has been in suspended aniimation since Nov last year so no big spending projects most of which run into problems

the state of the baht is weaker but no big change and is probably due to the dollar not being printed , no big debts, gdp down but still above most european countries

unemployment low

one of the highest % spends in the world on education

at least one party a week in local villages

most resort cabins in asia

can waste water in the middle of a drought

can waste water per se

can do what u want when u want

can bet on number of gove plate when somone is maimed in an accident

can drink whiskey ,play cards

can borrow money from local government to drink whisky and play cards

cant get much better can it ?

nope and that's why we love the place so much lol...

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[billd766]

This guy's hypothetical blundering, stumbling, and deep intellectual thought is pontificating that Thais can get by without a government.

Who do you think actually runs the country?

The government?

The civil service?

That the civil service can run the country without a government as has been seen in the last 5 months.

Could the government actually do anything without the civil service functioning?

Not a chance in hell.

This government can't even run itself let alone a country.

A few examples. The Finance Ministry stops work, NO government officials get paid, no taxes are collected and no bills get paid.

The immigration Police stop work and every international airport and every border crossing shuts. Nobody gets in or out of the country.

Customs and Excise stop work. NO imports of exports happen. No tax is collected.

The Thai police stop work and nobody notices except people can't pay bribe any more.

If the government stops work nobody really notices either BUT the country still keeps running.

You still believe that Thailand can't exist without a government?

Well they have been for 5 months.

Edited April 23, 2014 by billd766

[bigbamboo]

If you go down to the Parliament building ( when it's actually open and if everyone bothers to show up) you will see 500 reasons why Thailand does not need a government.

[fab4]

Tulsathit Taptim, a Journalist of our Times.

As long as the "times" in question are pre 1932, that is.

[attento]

As in many societies, the people who seek public office are not necessarily those most suited to that exacting task.

Edited April 23, 2014 by attento

[attento]

i'm beginning to think journalists may not be necessary in Thailand.

Define "journalist" .

[Robby nz]

Government as in parliament is for the most part not needed.

However competent cabinet ministers, separate from elected politicians are really needed to oversee the ministries.

Give them a mandate of honesty, efficiency and doing away with corruption and things would improve.

The present (caretaker) cabinet is mostly made up of those who have been given the job as some sort of reward for services rendered and not for any expertise in the job they were given, couple that with the revolving chair aspect, 6 reshuffles in 2 years, and you get incomatents trying to get as much for themselves before they are replaced with the next "best man for the job".

With an appointed cabinet (it is appointed anyway) of uncorrupt as possible people who know what they are doing and each ministry responsible for proposing policy and producing audited budgets then there is little need for a parliament other than as a rubber stamp for said policy and budgets, with of course a senate as an overall check.

Let the politicians have their election then sit them in their flash building with their expensive clocks and coffee tables and air con in the garbage room, let them argue and fight, throw chairs and shoes at each other, hand them the important bits of paper to sign then otherwise ignore them.

[issanaus]

i'm beginning to think journalists may not be necessary in Thailand.

Define "journalist" .

In 2014 definition -is someone with a keyboard who is more willing than a prostitute to assume impossible position in return for money -IMHO