The chief proponent of localism in Thailand or "moso" is King Bhumibol Adulyadej's philosophy of "sufficiency economy". The foundations of King Bhumibol's theory include sustainability, moderation, and broad-based development. The Learning Centre of King Bhumibol's Philosophy of Economic Sufficiency claim the concept is focused on living a moderate, self-dependent life without greed or overexploitation of, for example, natural resources.
According to the opinion expressed in a leaked unclassified, yet sensitive, message from the US ambassador in Thailand to the US Secretary of State, the tenets of sufficiency economy are "vague and malleable", and its popularity is due to a "public reluctance to criticize anything associated with the revered King.
After the 2006 coup d'état, the military junta claimed that the policies of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra were inconsistent with the king's philosophy.
The junta-appointed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont pledged to allocate 10 billion baht (almost US$300 million) for projects to promote well-being in line with King Bhumibol's sufficiency economy principle.
In 2007, the Democrat Party-run Bangkok Metropolitan Administration gave a million baht to each city community that joined.
Foreigners were, for the most part, left confused. There is a concurrent risk that the royal philosophy will be twisted by less scrupulous government officials as an opportunity to abuse their authority for rent-seeking and extortion, particularly among foreign-invested concerns". NGO activists hoping to use sufficiency economy theory to oppose the construction of large-scale dams were sharply criticized by Bhumibol, a long-time advocate of dam construction, who claimed that the deforestation caused by dams was a necessary evil to provide consistent energy and water sources for farmers.