CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF “SUFFICIENCY ECONOMY”
3.1 The Philosophy of “Sufficiency Economy”
The strength of the Thai Nation has been nurtured and developed by His
Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is the soul of nation. Through His caring
leadership, His Majesty has earned the abiding love and profound respect of His
people, and through His thinking His Majesty has graciously laid the foundation
for and inspired his country’s development strategy. His Majesty’s philosophy of
“Sufficiency Economy” (SE) lies at the heart of Thailand’s development thinking, and
indeed it can serve as guidance for the country’s sustainable developments.1
Over the past three decades, His Majesty has graciously reminded Thai
people through his royal remarks on many occasions of a step-by-step and balanced
approach to development based on a principle of self-reliance, which is now known
as the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy. The philosophy provides guidance to
appropriate conduct covering numerous aspects of life. The following is one
example of an excerpt from His royal speech in 1974:
“Economic development must be pursued sequentially step by step. It should begin
with the strengthening of our economic foundation, by assuring that the majority of our
1 Excerpt partly from the conference statement of the 10th UNCTAD in February 2000, in Bangkok.
Sufficiency Economy and Healthy Community 9
population has enough to live on. ... Once reasonable progress has been achieved, we should
then embark on the next steps, by pursuing more advanced levels of economic development.
Here, if one focuses only on rapid economic expansion without making sure that such plan is
appropriate for our people and the conditions of our country, it will inevitably result in
various imbalances and eventually end up as failure or crisis as found in other countries.”
(Royal Speech, 1974)
After the economic crisis in 1997, His Majesty has reiterated and expanded
on the concept of Sufficiency Economy in remarks made in December 1997 and the
following years. The concept points the way for recovery that will lead to a more
resilient, balanced and sustainable development, and to better able to meet the
challenges arising from globalization and other changes.
With an aim to encapsulate this profound thinking, during the year of 1999,
the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) invited a group of
eminent persons to construct the definition of the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy.
The endeavor has resulted as the following definition:
“Sufficiency Economy” is a philosophy that stresses the middle path as an
overriding principle for appropriate conduct by the populace at all levels. This applies to
conduct starting from the level of the families, communities, as well as the level of nation in
development and administration so as to modernize in line with the forces of globalization.
“Sufficiency” means moderation, reasonableness, and the need of self-immunity
mechanism for sufficient protection from impact arising from internal and external changes.
To achieve this, an application of knowledge with due consideration and prudence is
essential. In particular, great care is needed in the utilization of theories and methodologies
for planning and implementation in every step. At the same time, it is essential to
strengthen the moral fibre of the nation, so that everyone, particularly public officials,
academia, businessmen at all levels, adhere first and foremost to the principle of honesty and
integrity. In addition, a way of life based on patience, perseverance, diligence, wisdom and
prudence is indispensable to create balance and be able to cope appropriately with critical
challenges arising from extensive and rapid socioeconomic, environmental, and cultural
changes in the world.” 1
3.2 Interpretation of “Sufficiency Economy”
Based on the foregoing official definition of the philosophy and conferring
with relevant Royal speeches, a working group in the NESDB concludes that
‘Sufficiency Economy (SE)’ is a philosophy that guides the way of living or behaviour
of people at all levels through a middle path (Piboolsravut, 2003a). The aim of SE is
to create balance and be able to cope appropriately with critical challenges arising
from extensive and rapid changes. Its application domain is scalable and universal:
individual, household, community, project, business, management, institution,
polity, society, nation state, region, humanity, and biosphere. As the foundation for
1 Unofficial translation of the Thai working definition approved by His Majesty and sent by His Majesty’s
Principal Private Secretary to the NESDB on November 29, 1999.
Sufficiency Economy and Healthy Community 10
an economic framework, SE is complete, governing everything from motivation
(utility, drives, etc.), to criteria (goals, objectives, etc.), from behaviour (production,
consumption, investment, etc.), to system (collectivity, connectivity, etc.), and can be
said to, at least