Thaksin doesn't own copyright on populist policy
It was a clever ploy for Robin Grant to praise Prayut Chan-o-cha while at the same time gleefully crediting Thaksin for having initiated the universal healthcare scheme and other populist policies for the poor.
Indeed, Thaksin deserves credit for being the first Thai politician to successfully improve the health and wealth of the poor. However, he did not invent the successful measures, but copied them from foreign politicians like Evita Peron and the economist John Maynard Keynes. The common belief that Thaksin “owns” the populist measures now being copied by Prayut is incorrect, since the policies were originally developed as part of social and economic processes in other countries, and are thus “owned” by the world. Any leaders can adopt them if they’re deemed warranted.
In life, a single corrupt deed can erase all your achievements and might even lead to you being ostracised. And, according to Thai Buddhist principles, your sins cannot be traded for merit-making.
Songdej Praditsmanont
