Thais can be Anarchists at times. The Cultural reasons are discussed

Is Thailand Feudal or Democratic

Apart from a few very short periods in the past, Thailand has always been governed by feudalistic and not democratic principles. Today’s Thailand is ruled with the tacit support of the élite upper class. They are supported by the military, the police, the Chinese-Thai big businesses, and wealthy landowners.

The support is given willingly because they are given wealth, favours, land, and power by the elite in return for propping them up. It is a quid pro quo arrangement, you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours!

The ordinary Thai is not party to these arrangements. They are deliberately not taught about democratic systems. They are taught to obey their “betters”, those high up in the hierarchy. Their only recourse is to show their contempt and lack of respect for the feudal system by cocking a snook at authority.

Bikers, if not wearing a safety helmet when nearing a checkpoint, will make a swift detour or even just ride on. They are openly flouting the law. How else can they register their protest? They cannot do so via the ballot box.

Here’s a more mundane example showing how commonplace this cultural concept is, Thais putting up a garden fence.

They did not want to do it. That became clear, but it was not immediately obvious. We had agreed a fixed rate for the job of erecting posts around the perimeter fence. They had worked hard and quickly, but some of the posts were not that firmly positioned in the ground. When I noticed that, I bought more cement and sand and they used the concrete to position the posts more securely.

The supervisor said that he could not come back the next day as his mother was in hospital. The next day’s excuse was that one of the team had a problem with his motor bike.

They had made good money from the job, but did not welcome having to do the remedial work. They never came back and they only received payment for the work they had done. One more day and they would have finished the job to everyone’s satisfaction and have been fully paid.

A Thai is paranoid on how he or she is perceived by others.

Money is a huge motivator in Thai culture. But in reality, maybe the “illusion” of being wealthy will suffice with most Thais. You will see wealth, or lack of it, play a role in every facet of the culture.

Thais take note of the way people are dressed, how much they paid for their houses and cars (yes, they will ask), how much gold is dripping from their necks, arms and fingers, and the fascination with wealth is observed with the ancient tradition of dowries for marriage (sinsot) where the groom makes gifts to the bride’s parents.

At wedding ceremonies, you will see jewellery, gold, and wads of pristine bank notes being handed over and put on display for the guests to see. Sometimes this sinsot is quietly returned to the newly-married couple after the ceremony is over. Sometimes the bundles of money would have been borrowed from the bank and will similarly be returned, the bank charging interest for the few hours it was on display.

Thais will judge others based on their perceived wealth. Even the darkness or lightness of a person’s skin can affect how someone is perceived! It is assumed that darker skinned Thais are menial labourers, while lighter skinned Thais have enough money and would never think of working in a manual job. This is one reason why topical skin whiteners have become very popular in Thailand. But maybe they would prefer using skin lighteners and relaxing with a beer instead of finishing work they were hired for?

They did not want to do it

We had been tactful about showing where the faults were and they cheerfully went about putting some of the posts right. No, I think they had just decided that they did not want to do any more work. They were happy with what they had received and not bothered about losing the rest of the payment.

We smile and acknowledge one another when I see them in the village, so there are no hard feelings.

Doing what they want is a Cultural attribute

Foreigners just have to accept, as the locals do, that Thais can often just do what they want to do. Living in Thailand, one sees many instances that can be put down to a lack of self-discipline, responsibility, and ambition. A mai pen rai attitude and I suppose a somewhat stubborn streak.

Be careful how close you get to Thais

Thais like to be flattered and the more you refer to their skills and abilities the better. Commenting on a worker being geng (clever) or his work as being suay (beautiful, a good job), are compliments they routinely expect.

But you need to keep a distance between yourself and the workers. They don’t feel comfortable in your getting too close or friendly. They find it strange that farangs often treat them as equals rather than people employed to do a job. A Thai would never do that. I still like to have a joke with them though but am careful how far I go.

Bargain with Thais but don’t let them lose Face

You need to drive a hard bargain when working out a price and always give the impression that you feel the figure agreed is not that much of a good deal. If you don’t, the price will go up next time.

In this case, maybe I had unknowingly made them feel I had got the better part of the transaction. They would lose face if they asked for more at the end of the job so they could not do that. But one reason for not wanting to complete the work may have been that they were embarrassed that they could have got more for the job initially but did not do so.

Face is completely non-negotiable in Thailand.