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

COMMUNICATION
A response to Dr. Jeremy Kemp's review on Political Attitudes of the
Bureaucratic Elite and Modernization in Thailand, ~ppearing in the Journal
of Siam Society, Volume 64 Part I, January 1976, pp. 413-416.
In response to Dr. Jeremy Kemp's review, let me say that it is an
honour to have my book commented on by such a renowned scholar as
himself. However, as in all intellectual discourses, agreements and
disagreements cannot be avoided, Tbe points in his review that I agree
with are the following :
(a) On p. 414 Dr. Kemp stated that "the somewhat grandiose title
of the work bears little relation to the empirical study contained within
it". I certainly agree with this comment. But let me point out,
however, that the title was intended to mean that the study is of the
political attitudes of the bureaucratic elite (liberal/conservative), and
the impact of their attitudes on the prospects and processes of
modernization in Thailand. I don't think that the title matters as much
as the fact that the linkage between the elite's attitudes and the prospects
of modernization is not a tenuous one. The discussion of the role
of the elite in the prospect of modernization is carried on by the
hypothesis that the elite can bring about change, given the fact that there
is a large number of liberal officials in Thailand. Here lies the weakness
of the linkage.
(b) I could not agree with him more that there is a disadvantage
to working with a small group (p. 414). But given the limited research
budget and time, and taking into account the fact that co-operation from
the bureaucratic elite is difficult to engage, the result of the findings
should be of considerable value, at least as hypotheses for further studies.
I must point out that in my later research on the sociological attributes
of Special Grade and First Grade Officials of all ministries (excluding
the Ministry of Defence), including the entire population of 2,160
members and a sample of 2,394 of higher civil servants of Thailand, my
findings have confirmed my former study. (That point will be discussed
later.) There is no question that in the next research project on this
subject, a larger sample should be studied. However, Dr. Kemp bas