On the question of elections, the “middle class” was allegedly willing to deny 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 pinion” in favor of reforms.