Recently I have visited the Kingdom of Thailand to take part in a short business course. During my staying there I was trying to find out how Thailand has developed its economy within a short period of time after the Thai originated Asian financial crisis known as “Tom Yam Gung” crisis in 1997. It was His Majesty the King Bhumibol’s Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy originated from the idea of middle path of Buddhism helped the Thai Economy boost up again. This philosophy is very much similar to non-extravagance philosophy of Islam. Let’s see Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) and Bangladesh context.
Sufficiency Economy is a philosophy that guides the livelihood and behavior of people at all levels, from the family to the community to the country, on matters concerning national development and administration. This philosophy emphasizes moderation, reasonable consumption, and resilience to external and internal shocks. This self-sufficiency does not mean that every family must grow food and make clothes for themselves. But in a village there should be a reasonable amount of sufficiency. If they grow or produce something more than they need, they can sell the rest. They do not need to sell them very far; they can sell them in nearby places and save high transport costs. Intelligence, attentiveness, and extreme care should be used to ensure that all plans and every step of their implementation are based on knowledge. At the same time we must build up the spiritual foundation of all people, especially state officials, scholars, and business people at all levels, so they are conscious of moral integrity and honesty and they strive for the appropriate wisdom to live life with forbearance, diligence, self-awareness, intelligence, and attentiveness. So we see that this philosophy would work if we can ensure two elements: knowledge and Integrity. If we can ensure these two elements, we can hope to maintain balance and be ready to cope with rapid physical, social, environmental, and cultural changes from the outside world. The goals of SEP:
1. To lead to a more resilient and sustainable economy
2. To meet the challenges arising from globalization and other changes
3. Balanced development
Balanced development can be achieved through a combination of patience, perseverance, diligence, wisdom and prudence by ensuring social protection, competitiveness, good governance, and environmental protection. The new goal for developing the country can be shifting the original focus of increasing wealth through escalating the economic growth to forming a strong foundation and distributing the benefits equally. This can solve problems of poverty and income distribution, while broadening the ability and opportunity of becoming self-sufficient.
If we analyze scenario of Bangladesh, we will see that SEP could work here to bring development of our beloved country. We have to remember that the development of a country must be done step by step. It must start with basic sufficiency in food and adequate living, using techniques and instruments which are economical but technically sound. When this foundation is secured, higher economic position and development can be established. And SEP could be an important tool for this development.
Sufficiency Economy is a philosophy that guides the livelihood and behavior of people at all levels, from the family to the community to the country, on matters concerning national development and administration. This philosophy emphasizes moderation, reasonable consumption, and resilience to external and internal shocks. This self-sufficiency does not mean that every family must grow food and make clothes for themselves. But in a village there should be a reasonable amount of sufficiency. If they grow or produce something more than they need, they can sell the rest. They do not need to sell them very far; they can sell them in nearby places and save high transport costs. Intelligence, attentiveness, and extreme care should be used to ensure that all plans and every step of their implementation are based on knowledge. At the same time we must build up the spiritual foundation of all people, especially state officials, scholars, and business people at all levels, so they are conscious of moral integrity and honesty and they strive for the appropriate wisdom to live life with forbearance, diligence, self-awareness, intelligence, and attentiveness. So we see that this philosophy would work if we can ensure two elements: knowledge and Integrity. If we can ensure these two elements, we can hope to maintain balance and be ready to cope with rapid physical, social, environmental, and cultural changes from the outside world. The goals of SEP:
1. To lead to a more resilient and sustainable economy
2. To meet the challenges arising from globalization and other changes
3. Balanced development
Balanced development can be achieved through a combination of patience, perseverance, diligence, wisdom and prudence by ensuring social protection, competitiveness, good governance, and environmental protection. The new goal for developing the country can be shifting the original focus of increasing wealth through escalating the economic growth to forming a strong foundation and distributing the benefits equally. This can solve problems of poverty and income distribution, while broadening the ability and opportunity of becoming self-sufficient.
If we analyze scenario of Bangladesh, we will see that SEP could work here to bring development of our beloved country. We have to remember that the development of a country must be done step by step. It must start with basic sufficiency in food and adequate living, using techniques and instruments which are economical but technically sound. When this foundation is secured, higher economic position and development can be established. And SEP could be an important tool for this development.
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