What’s interesting about the Sufficiency Economy is that it is a distinctly Thai approach, complimentary but quite different to the Western concept of sustainable development. As Sirimas Hengrasmee observes in her chapter in Living Within A Fair Share Ecological Footprint, sustainable development can tend to emphasize what you can’t have, by stressing limits and boundaries. In focusing on moderation and living within your means, Sufficiency Economy is more likely to foster contentment and appreciation of what you do have. It aims for ‘reasonableness’ and meeting needs, rather than drawing lines that say ‘this far and no more
’It’s also more holistic and sees right living as a virtue, whereas sustainability is more of a technical term. And sustainability is an empty word, with nothing to say on the actual value or quality of what is being sustained, while the Sufficiency Economy is clearly seen as a good thing in itself.
The point is not that we should adopt these principles, but by looking into them we can broaden our own understanding of good living in a finite world, and fill in any gaps. We should remember too that concepts like sustainable development are not necessarily globally shared, and that there are lots of different ways of expressing the same thing. Different cultures and languages will have their own perspectives on our global environmental challenges, and we will need all of them to create a truly global response.