the farmers the chance to exercise their political rights on the grounds that “if
Thailand was limited to Bangkok, undesirable politicians from the rural areas would
not have been sent to Parliament” (Sungsidh and Pasuk 1993a, pp. 108–9). In other
words, a perspective based on class theory was propounded. Proponents of this view
argued that throughout the 1990s, the “middle class,” as the major beneficiary of the
fruits of urban-centered development, both manifested and championed a form of
political consciousness advantageous to its own class interest. This perspective also
found its way into debates in the real political world over the need for political and
social reforms. On the one hand, political reformers of the 1990s regarded the “middle
class” as a friendly force outside Parliament, which would help raise “public