In the midst of the economic crisis, in December 1997 and again in 1998, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej reemphasized a concept he has propounded since the 1970s: the philosophy of the “Sufficiency Economy” and urged all Thais to practice it to the greatest extent possible. Sufficiency Economy sets out to shield the Thai people and nation from adverse internal and external shocks by acknowledging the interdependency among people at all levels.