Andrew Walker. Thailand's Political Peasants: Power in the Modern Rural Economy. Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2012, xiii+277p.

Abstract

Thailand's Political Peasants: Power Modern Rural Economy Andrew Walker Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2012, xiii+277p.This is a very important book for understanding political conflict contemporary Thailand. The stated aim of this book is to investigate the underlying economic, political, and cultural processes that contributed to Thailand's contemporary contests over (p. 5). To achieve this aim Walker examines transformations that have produced a major new player Thai politi- cal landscape: middle-income via ethnographic engagement Ban Tiam, a village of 130 Chiang Mai province, a major town of Northern Thailand (p. 5). Walker argues that in order to understand politics of Thailand's middle-income peasantry-including its strong electoral support for Thaksin's populist policies, political passions that brought red shirts to Bangkok, and electoral triumph of Yingluck Shinawatra-it is necessary to address how power is perceived a context of rising living standards and a transformed relationship with (pp. 5-6).According to Walker, most Thai peasants are no longer poor. 1960s some 96 percent of rural were living below poverty line. However, sustained economic growth since then helped to reduce number of poor rural to 10 percent 2007 (p. 39). Thailand's poverty line that year was 57,000 baht per household per year (p. 41). Annual income of rural was 187,000 baht Central Plains, 175,000 baht South, 166,000 baht Northeast, and 160,000 baht North (p. 39). As a result, In most areas of rural Thailand, primary livelihood challenges have moved away from classic low-income challenges of food security and subsistence survival to middle-income challenges of diversification and produc- tivity (p. 8). Most Thai middle-income peasants engage farming and non-farming economic activities. Only some 20 percent of rural rely solely on agricultural income. More importantly, nonagricultural sources of income have proliferated and they are now more significant than farming for a great many rural households (p. 8).The emergence of middle-income peasants mentioned above is a result of state support for rural development. Worried about spread of communist influence countryside, 1950s and 1960s Thai governments started to invest rural areas aimed at improving living standards of peasants. A program of investment rural development was laid out first National Social and Economic Development Plan (p. 49). 1970s pressure from politically assertive peasant movements and victory of communist revolutions Indochina saw Thai state increase its efforts to win over rural populations. Since then, argues Walker, there have been important long-term shifts fiscal treatment of countryside, laying foundation for emergence of a middle-income peasantry (p. 50).Such policy alters state-peasants relationships areas ranging from taxation to subsidies (pp. 8-9). Agricultural tax, such as rice premium, which taxed rice exports to generate state revenue and reduce domestic rice prices, was abolished 1986 (pp. 49-50), while government invested heavily rural development. Apart from infrastructure, government supported farmers on price, credit, land tenure, health, education, and welfare among others (p. 56).Despite significant improvement of living standards rural areas Walker argues that disparities income and living standards between rural and urban populations are widening. The income gap between richest 20 percent of population and poorest 20 percent rose from 8 times 1970s to between 12 and 14 2000s. The average household Bangkok is about three times higher than rural northeast and north. …