Conflicting Cultural Imperatives in Modern Thailand: Global Perspectives

Thailand is now in a critical period, facing the need to restore stable economic growth and prosperity after the disastrous devaluation of the Baht in 1997, and the subsequent recession that followed. To do so will require a careful and artful blending of new capitalist methods with traditional Buddhist values, a new economic synthesis of eastern and western values. Based upon Hofstede's culture theory and the essence of Thai Buddhism, this research explores the potential conflicts involved in this course of action and provides some insights into a possible twenty-first century economy that will pave the way for economic development through a constructive confrontation of differing views, both inside and outside Thai society.