Royal Capitalism

Wealth, Class, and Monarchy in Thailand
Erscheinungsjahr 2022
ISBN: 978-0-299-32604-3
Verlag: University of Wisconsin Press

Buch, Englisch, 336 Seiten, Paperback, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

Reihe: New Perspectives in SE Asian Studies

Thanks to its active role in national politics, the market economy, and popular culture, the Thai crown remains both the country's dominant institution and one of the world's wealthiest monarchies. Puangchon Unchanam examines the reign of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej or Rama IX (1946–2016) and how the crown thrived by transforming itself into a distinctly "bourgeois" monarchy that co-opted middle-class values of hard work, frugality, and self-sufficiency.

The kingdom positioned itself to connect business elites, patronize local industries, and form strategic partnerships with global corporations. Instead of restraining or regulating royal power, white-collar workers joined with the crown to form a dynamic, symbiotic force that has left the lower classes to struggle in their wake. Unchanam presents a surprising case study that kings and queens live long and large in cooperation with the bourgeoisie's interests and ideology.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Soziale Gruppen & Klassen
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- List of Abbreviations
- A Note on Translation and Transliteration
- Introduction: The King Is (Not) Dead, Long Live Capitalism!
- 1. The Genesis of the Bourgeois Monarchy
- 2. The Rise and Triumph of the Bourgeois Crown
- 3. The King and (Bourgeois) Eyes
- 4. The Crown versus the Crowd
- 5. All Hail the King
- Appendix
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index

Über Autor(innen)

Puangchon Unchanam is a lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Naresuan University.