Thailand's Delusion of Grandeur

 Thailand's Delusion of Grandeur

In the past month, I've seen some disturbing rhetoric from Thai TV pundits, especially from Thai Channel 8, suggesting that Thai people are inherently better than the Khmer people. The swipe is not only borderline racist but also a delusion of grandeur.

Yes, Cambodia is poor. Cambodia is at the bottom of the food chain. I get it.

Thailand, although richer than Cambodia, still ranks 73rd out of 145 countries in terms of GDP per capita. Thailand's low rank means that while Thailand's economy is better than Cambodia's, its income is still relatively low. Thailand is still poor. Only the elites are wealthy. There's no middle class. Thailand's $7,000 GDP per capita is a stark contrast to the $80,000-$100,000 per year in developed countries. This disparity is a crucial aspect of the economic landscape that Thai pundits have completely ignored.

Over 400,000 Thai nationals migrated to Western countries in search of work with higher income. Millions more would go if they could.

One can argue that Thailand is a failed state. There's a military coup or a new prime minister every few years. Paetongtarn was just the latest casualty. There's no real democracy.

Thailand's average income has stagnated over the past several years, and it will continue to do so unless significant reforms are implemented. This stagnation underscores the urgent need for reform in the country's economic and social systems.

To distract the population from its economic troubles, the Thai military created a pretext for war with Cambodia. The Thai army believed that annexing half of Cambodia's Prey Chan village in Banteay Meanchey province and several other mountains within Cambodia's borders would satisfy their population indefinitely, but it was only a reprieve. Sooner or later, there will be another protest like the one in 2014. The majority of the people of Thailand want political and economic reform, not the same military rule as in the past decade.

It's puzzling that Thai Channel 8 pundits equate Cambodia's misfortunes with Thailand's greatness. Millions of people in Thailand still make $500-$600 per month, challenging the notion of Thai greatness. Western countries make 10 times more.

In July 2025, the World Bank downgraded its forecast for Thailand's GDP growth rate to a level significantly lower than expected. The Ministry of Tourism reported a 7% decrease in tourism for the first 8 months of 2025.

I guess killing Cambodia's provincial soldiers and annexing half of Cambodia's Prey Chan village during the border dispute was well worth it?

Speaking of greatness, what has Thailand ever invented?

From Isaac Newton's classical theory of gravity to Einstein's theory of general relativity, what have the people of Thailand ever contributed to math or science? Where was Thailand when Maxwell developed the unified equation for electricity and magnetism? Where was Thailand when the English invented the steam engine? Where was Thailand when Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison gave the world light? Where was Thailand when Alan Turing invented the first computer?

What about modern technologies such as smartphones, electric vehicles, the internet, satellites, computer chips, cryptography, solar panels, vaccines, and panaceas? Anything at all?

What about mathematical breakthroughs?

What about theoretical physics? Surely, there must be a Thai physicist somewhere who has made meaningful contributions to physics? Did Thailand discover the four fundamental forces of physics: gravity, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force? Maybe it's the discovery of some other fundamental scientific law, such as the conservation of energy, thermodynamics, or quantum mechanics?

Perhaps, not.

Maybe science and math aren't Thailand's specialty? Perhaps it could be something else, such as culture, religion, or writing?

The Thai script originated from the Brahmi script 2000 years before the people of Thailand learned it. Thailand's main religion, Buddhism, originated in Lumbini approximately 1,000 years before the people of Thailand adopted it. Hinduism originated in India approximately 3,000 years before Thailand crafted its first Hindu sculpture.

If it's not writing or religion, the country's average income is pitifully low; the people haven't contributed much to math and science, or invented anything new. Then, what exactly is this "greatness" that Thai Channel 8 news is referring to again?

I don't think anybody from Cambodia is claiming the Khmer people are above anyone else. Homosapiens, under the right environment, can excel at anything, including the people of Thailand and Cambodia.

Many Khmer refugees who fled to the United States in the 80s have become exemplary individuals. Some even helped develop Silicon Valley during the dotcom era in the early 2000s. One of the early programmers of eBay is Khmer.

How do I know this? I met them.

Of the 300,000 Khmers who called themselves Americans, many became doctors, lawyers, programmers, police officers, etc. Some even climbed the corporate ladder to become directors, vice presidents, and presidents of medium to large enterprises.

Successful Khmer Americans demonstrate that, under different circumstances and a political system, the Khmer people are just as capable as any other group. In a liberal democratic system like America, anyone from any background can succeed.

It's no secret that Cambodia is a country with a history of genocide, communism, repression, colonialism, and land mines. Geopolitics combined with a misinformed king siding with communism in the 70s culled 40% of the population, sending the country back to the Stone Age. Today is a continuation of that legacy.

Thailand's delusion of grandeur goes further. Almost every celebrity in Thailand is mixed with Caucasian. Does Thailand secretly hate itself? Why do the people of Thailand worship idols that do not look ethnically Thai? This phenomenon is incomprehensible to me. I bet even Steven Pinker, the renowned Canadian psychologist, would be stumped by this.

I do not harbor any ill will towards the people of Thailand. Conflict can bring out the worst in us. Nationalism can breed more animosity. As an outside observer from the United States, I find it ironic that Thai Channel 8 news would proclaim Thailand's greatness; however, in the broader context, Thailand's national accomplishments pale in comparison to those of other groups of people who also inhabit this planet we call Earth - one of the groups has even been to the moon and back.