Democracy will be Thai style or not at all

JC Wilcox seems compelled to repeatedly lecture us on the meaning and principles of democracy, as they appear to him. However, his attempt to link democracy with golf goes somewhat astray when he states that the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews sets the rules of golf worldwide. In fact, any golfer whose knowledge of the game is up to par will know that the R&A’s writ does not extend to the United States and Mexico, where the US Golf Association sets the rules.

More importantly, the writer’s assertion that democracy must be defined by a standard set of rules and principles is also way off the mark. Different countries around the world have evolved a bewildering array of different systems of government which can be described as democratic in the sense that they are supported by a majority of the electorate. In the United Kingdom, for instance, we don’t even have a written constitution, but we seem to muddle through.

Rather than sounding like a broken down record endlessly repeating the same soundtrack, why doesn’t the writer accept a more demanding challenge and explain to us how his vision of a democratic utopia can actually be achieved in Thailand? 

Robin Grant

Bangkok