Globalisation isn't the only path to prosperity; other options might lie within easy reach
The best solutions are often right under our nose. That's the theory called "positive deviance" which suggests that people search for solutions from local wisdom. Positive deviance was introduced by Jerry Sternin after he worked in the field of child nutrition in Vietnam in the 1990s. Sternin and his wife based the theory on a concept laid out by Marian Zeitlin, professor of nutrition science and policy at Tufts University. He found an exemplary model from certain communities who managed to provide their children with quality food by using resources readily available in local rice fields, such as crabs and shrimps.
The concept seems easy. But it isn't so obvious for people who tend to look for widely accepted solutions from the outside, instead of looking at what they have in the first place.
Positive deviance suggests that we do not have to look far for answers to difficult questions, because the most effective solutions tend to pre-exist in the immediate community or locale. But many ignore this and strive to look for something that is not suitable for the background or situation in question. Positive deviance simply requires leadership and courage to take an initiative from what the community already offers.
While this concept is currently being promoted by leading Western institutes, the same idea has in fact long been around in Thailand, if only under a different name - the "sufficiency economy" theory, as championed by His Majesty the King.
With its traditional strength as an agriculture-based country, Thailand should strive to further enhance its rural stability. Innovative programmes under the sufficiency economy theory can help improve the Kingdom's immunity from outside turbulence. For instance, the system of mixed farming has been promoted, and it has proved to be successful because it relies on what local people already are familiar with. Over-dependence on outside factors can wreak havoc on competitiveness. The 1997 financial crisis served as a lesson on how reliance on foreign loans could cause an economic shock with subsequent job losses. Fortunately, back then, the Thai rural sector absorbed that shock, as many who lost their jobs in Bangkok found a traditional social safety net back home in the provinces.
The model success of Bangladesh's Grameen Bank, the rural micro-credit bank, can be explained under the same notion that each community can find solutions to problems in the strength and wisdom of the community, and then act upon it.
Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2006, defied the Western view that Bangladesh is a basket case that will always have to rely on external factors, such as foreign aid. He instead looked at the strength of the community before founding Grameen Bank. However, the model of micro-credit loans may not work effectively elsewhere as it did in Bangladesh. A similar model didn't yield the same rate of success in the US because of the different characteristics in the society. The American social network, which is relatively more individualistic, was not strong enough for a system where members monitor each others' behaviour, as in Grameen Bank.
Thailand meanwhile has a number of characteristics the nation can deem as assets: A strong agricultural sector, family values, and the Thai ability to accept differences in others. However, these characteristics have been eroded by the whirlwind of social and economic changes over recent decades.
With the country facing dual crises - economically and politically - perhaps it's time for people to look at the resources and assets they already have in order to find solutions. Some countries have started to seek an alternative path for development by looking at their local strengths instead of following the global economic development pattern, which may not be sustainable. The latter fails to address real needs, or utilise local resources, or create a sense of ownership among local people.
Local knowledge and wisdom are a country's assets that should be preserved and further explored. The challenge for Thailand is to promote the co-existence of modernisation and long-standing agricultural tradition.
