The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXIV, Part 1-2, 1976 - Khamkoo

416 REVIEWS
twelve indicate a distinct bunching towards the liberal end of the scale
suggest over-all a remarkably homogeneous set of responses. Why
should this be so? Does it reflect an underlying genuine homogeneity
of attitudes in the Thai elite or really is it a formal expression of a
general bureaucratic ideology, tbe expression of safe and standard views.
One has to ask whether or not the responses of these highly trained, very
sophisticated and professional individuals to such questions as "The
foreign policy of Thailand since the second World War has been
pro-Western. We should not change this policy. Do you agree?" or
"Do you agree that people with strange ideas that go against customs
cannot be trusted?" really do reveal much of the respondents' underlying
opinions or of the way in which they are likely to make decisions.
As for the analysis of the contemporary political situation and the
author's proposals, subsequent events must not be used to unfairly
condemn some of his statements. There are, however, some general
points which are relevant to what is now happening. Firstly the statement
that the ideal leader is a charismatic one and that in the absence
of such a person one requires a strong benevolent dictator is particularly
suspect. Too many dictators have ceased to be benevolent once
challenged. Fur"thermore if the dictator is in a strong position backed
whole-heartedly by a unified elite why should any attempt be made
to politicise the peasantry? One of the interesting features of Thai
society when compared to others which experienced colonialism is
the very fact that the indigenous elite did not have to reach out and
mobilize the countryside and in the process create an effective political
party system in order to wrest power from the colonial overlords. In
conclusion it would seem that the author manifests a very traditional
Thai attitude in expecting the impetus for social and political change to
come from the top, others might contend that a more satisfactory
approach would be to examine the basic socio-economic structure of the
society and the changes which are now affecting it.
Faculty of Social Sciences,
University of Kent at Cante1·bury
Jeremy H. Kemp