Unequal, feudal

Readers might be interested in a new article at the French-language Gavroche, “La préservation des privilèges, ce paradigme si thaïlandais .” By Philippe Bergues, it has some interesting commentary on monarchy and lese majeste. It begins:

On the eve of a possible dissolution of the Move Forward party, our columnist Philippe Bergues takes up his pen. What about equality in Thai society?…

Anyone who knows Thailand knows that the country is one of the most unequal in the world. Not only from an economic point of view, but also in the assessment of the social treatment of the individual. And also in the judicial system, with its culture of impunity or double standards for the benefit of the Poo-Yai (privileged social superiors) to the detriment of the Poo-Noi (social inferiors making up the people). This logic of privileges is explained by the fact that Thailand today continues to think of its society in a pyramid system, a sort of “Siamese feudalism.”