2009/02/10 by Jim Taylor · 2 citations
Social Sciences · #Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies #Anthropological Studies and Insights #Asian Studies and History #Buddhism #Politics #Order (exchange) #Individualism #Convention #Sociology #Reflexivity #Capital (architecture) #Social order #Function (biology) #Gender studies #Aesthetics #Humanities #Political science #Social science #History #Art #Philosophy #Law #Ancient history #Theology
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1835-9310.1989.tb00100.x
openalex publication_date 2009/02/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This paper is concerned with the ongoing intense interest in Thailand of two controversial urban Buddhist movements which have appeared since the beginning of the seventies, Santi Asok and Thammakaai. Essentially, I view both as a resonance of the perceived need for ‘change’ among an articulate aspiring new middle class. I also argue that both Santi Asok and Thammakaai in their expressions — Thammakaai the specious discursive function of capital, Santi Asok by confrontation and spurning what they consider an ‘amoralistic’ establishment — are predicating a radical critique of the Thai social order, a call for collective ‘inner-worldly activism’ and ‘individualistic’ reflexive response to convention.