The State and Capitalist Development in Thailand

Abstract

Marxist discussions of the role of the state in capitalist development in the Third World have indicated that the state and local bourgeois classes can cooperate to enhance domestic capitalism, often in competition with international capital. This research has suggested that dependency theorists have, by their focus on imperialism, tended to obscure the total process of class formation and reproduction and the continuing accumulation of capital in the Third World. … Contrary to the tenets of dependency theory, it is clear that some Third World states are not acting in the interests of international capital alone. Domestic bourgeoisies have been able to manipulate the state to provide the conditions they require for expanded accumulation. It is thus important to delineate the strengths of the domestic bourgeoisie if a clear picture of the state’s relationship with the bourgeoisie is to be determined …. This article will argue that a domestic bourgeoisie, capable of acting as a relatively independent class within the international capitalist system, has emerged in Thailand, and that the state has played a substantial role in securing and expanding this class’s accumulative base in finance and industry.