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44 การประชุมวิชาการ
สถาบันพระปกเกล้า ครั้งที่ 16

selected the drafting constitution council or committee. Congratulations, I hope this
time it is going to last longer than four years. Since 1932, when the major political

reform took place here in Bangkok, the inspiration was from Europe. The inspiration
was from the struggle for freedom, for liberty, for political rights enshrined in the
documents, in the history of our friends in Europe. The Magna Carta. The other name

of the Magna Carta 1215 was the Big Charter of Liberties. The French Revolution
1889, was also liberty, equality and fraternity. Liberty is there, freedom is there,

equality is there. And in between, of course, the American Revolution of 1776 when
the famous phrase “all men are created equal, endowed with certain inalienable rights,
among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” That phrase was very, very

powerful. That phrase was the inspiration of many, many countries fighting and
struggling for independence and for freedom themselves. The People’s Committee

(คณะราษฎร์) in Thailand, returning from Europe, absorbed the inspiration and the
ideas of democracy, came back and thought the Thai people were ready for the same
civilized way of governance, therefore the reform of 1932. We have been working on

that path. We have been walking on that direction and journey for the last eight
decades. Things have changed tremendously since 1932. A lot of our people have

been better educated, wealth has been created, tremendous wealth has been created,
and a lot of people around the country have grown up, hoping and looking for
opportunities to participate more meaningfully in the governance of our country. Well,

they have been disappointed many, many times along the way. First and foremost, by
the time 1932 came, we, the Thai polity, has inherited the system of governance that

was very, very centralized here in Bangkok. Centralization came earlier at the end of
19th century because the Thai monarchs, Thai sovereigns, the center of power of the
Thai state had to struggle, had to fight against colonial powers. With the country

dispersed with many, many governing families - Chiangmai, Uttaradit, Nakornsawan,
Phitsanulok, Nakornsrithammarat and Songkla - the country was not in a good shape

to resist colonialism. So, Rama IV and Rama V centralized the country and that
centralization has remained up until today. When socioeconomic changes have taken
place, when income has risen, when production, transformation and industrialization

have taken place here in Thailand, particularly since the end of 1960s onward.
So income has risen, the economy has diversified. Thailand is the second largest

economy in ASEAN but most diversified. Every profession you can find here.
Because of that diversity and prosperity, the people and the country need more space
to breathe, to live, to work and to manage their own affairs. Came the year 2544

B.E [2001 C.E], right after the Asian financial crisis, 2540-2543 B.E [1997-2000 C.E],
the frustration was all around the country. People want more from the state. People