Thailand is located in Southeast Asia and is known as a neighbor to communist countries such as Vietnam and Laos. As a result of this similar geographical location, lots of individuals often assume that Thailand is a communist country. But is this assumption true for the Land of Smiles?
Without a doubt, Thailand is not a communist country as it is more like a capitalist country that combines both monarchical and democratic modes of government. From the comments of many Thais and expats on Quora, this assumption is common but quite annoying. To be factual, Thailand has never been a communist country despite its location around countries that were or are community nations. Only Thailand, Brunei, and Singapore have never been communist countries in Southeast Asia.
So, the next time you are thinking about Thailand, you should not consider this country as a communist nation. The leaders of Thailand have always been against the idea of communism and have dealt with strong communist activism in the past. Therefore, there is no reason to think or see this Southeast Asian country as a communist nation.
What kind of country is Thailand?
Before telling you the kind of country Thailand is, it is important to explain what communism means. According to Investopedia, communism refers to an economic and political concept that promotes a society without any class. In other words, everyone is considered to be equal.
In such a nation, no single individual owns all the wealth and properties. Everything is rather owned and shared communally. With this, private properties either don’t exist at all or are greatly reduced. Although the idea of communism is good on paper, it has so many flaws that make it unacceptable in numerous places around the world.
However, the economic and political scenes of Thailand are a direct opposite of such an ideology. Numerous private properties in the country are owned by different individuals. Besides, everyone is free to possess as much wealth and property as possible through legal means. For instance, the Royal Family of Thailand and different rich individuals have several properties around the country. As a result of this, Thailand can be viewed as a capitalist country.
Notably, capitalism only applies to the economic scene of Thailand. Politically, the country is both monarchical and democratic.
The monarchical and democratic government of Thailand
A monarchical government is a type of government that allows a single person to rule a country throughout his/her life. Such a person is considered a monarch and is usually chosen based on the family that he has come from. The person can bear titles such as King, Queen, Sultan, Emperor, Empress, Amir, and lots more. World Population Review notes that Thailand is one of the countries that still practice monarchical government today.
Thailand practices a self-proclaimed constitutional monarchy. In Thailand, the government is somewhat headed by the King of Thailand, who is considered as one of the richest kings in the world. However, the King of Thailand receives lots of support from Princes, Princesses, and other people from the Thai Royal Family. Under the constitution, the King of Thailand has little direct power to control the country. But he exercises the majority of his influence through the Council of Ministers, the National Assembly, and the Courts.
Nevertheless, like many other countries with monarchies, the King of Thailand does not have absolute power over the country. That is, his power has been diluted. This is because Thailand also practices some sort of democracy that allows a person to be elected by people to rule the country for a few years.
Normally, the country is supposed to be led politically by a Prime Minister. However, this is not usually the cause as military coup often takes place in Thailand. Following the coup, a military leader would take over the country for a few years. Military rules have become a common issue in Thailand. Nonetheless, there are numerous plans that the government is now taking to reduce the capability of the military to take over the country.
Thailand has always been an anti-communist nation
Instead of being a communist country, Thailand is a strong anti-communist nation. The country has always been working against any form of communism, and this could be seen in the government’s effort to deal with a communist party formed many years ago.
In 1942, the Communist Party of Siam was established to propagate the ideology of communism in the country. It later changed its name to the Communist Party of Thailand. This party tried as much as possible to promote Thailand’s communist activism which started in the 1920s.
Since it promoted communal ownership of properties in the country, many poor people in the country supported the movement. During its existence, this communist party had a great impact on the political affairs in southern Thailand, northern Thailand, and northeastern Thailand. It grew to enjoy support from around 4 million individuals, especially in the rural parts of the country. Also, it had more than 10,000 armed fighters who were ready to go extra mile for the cause of the party and its ideology.
Despite the rigorous activities of the members of the Communist Party of Thailand, the party never succeeded in making Thailand a communist nation. Factually, the monarchy and political leaders of the country fought strongly against communism. In the early 1990s, this party became virtually non-existent in Thailand. Some of the reasons for the disappearance of the Communist Party of Thailand include the conclusion of the Cold War, the Thai government’s amnesty for party members, and internal disputes in the party.
You can read more about the Communist Party in Thailand on Britannica.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, Thailand is not and has never been considered a communist country. Although some people still assume that Thailand is a communist nation, such an assumption is erroneous because the Land of Smiles is known as an anti-communist nation. This Southeast Asian country considers itself to be practicing constitutional monarchy where both a king and democratically elected Prime Minister rule the country.
