The “personal vs. impersonal”
signifies two contrasting types of social institutions. A social institution is personalized if its culture and power structure has a specific
person’s social
position as an essential factor for interactions. Such personalized relations include but are not limited to nepotism, patronage, acrimony, and other interactions. Person-based social institution is the basis of the patrimonial state in Thailand. In contrast to this is the impersonal social institution whose culture and power structure are based on certain criteria that are independent of personal or person-based relations. There are different forms and levels of criteria in various social institutions, such as laws, rules, regulations, standards, professionalism and principles. In reality, both types of social relations exist in every society and institution on earth. No society survives on only one type. The difference is in the extent to which each type obtains and in the relationship between the two types in a society, that is, in which type of social relations is the primary or dominant one informing social institutions and which is the secondary or supplemental one. Generally speaking, in small and less complex societies, social relations tend to be primarily person-based or personal. Rules and laws often become secondary or are selectively enforced according to the persons involved. Patrimonialism is the mode of power relations in this kind of society. In a larger and more complex society with intricate differences and conflicting interests, social institutions need to be primarily impersonal in nature, and adhere instead to laws, rules, regulations, standards, professionalism and principles.
Thai society is definitely a complex one, and yet its social institutions remain overly personal
and patrimonial. The “who” factor often matters more than laws, regulations, professionalism
or principle. Professionalism in some social institutions, such as journalism and academia, has not been adequately developed.
In the judicial system, for example, what is seen as a
rampant “double standard” in fact is one
standard, a standard that depends on
one’s social position.
Or perhaps no standard at all. Historically, laws and rules in ancient Siam were applied according to
a person’s
feudal rank. It seems that, despite modernity, the archaic culture persists. The most important principle isattentiv
eness to the “who” factor in social hierarchy.
These personal social relations, nevertheless, are also the basis for the charms and attractiveness of Thai society to many foreigners. Some see these social relations to be
“more human”
than impersonal institutions. In many cases, Thailand
’s charm is perceived in
contradistinction from what foreigners find missing in their societies. Getting entangled on occasion with the Thai police or judicial system may however make the detrimental side of person-based social institutions painfully obvious to them. The entire Thai education system, including higher education, is an infrastructure responsible for the reproduction and sustenance of person-based hierarchical relations over generations. Supporters of SOTUS tend to argue that it provides proper preparation for the real world. They are probably right in that SOTUS enhances patronage networks that can last an entire career, molding the next generation of practitioners of Thainess. It crystalizes the major values seen in real social relations in Thailand into teenage play, namely the importance of
seniority
or hierarchy, obedience to power or
order
, uncritical acceptance of
tradition
, the ultimate goal of