In her longstanding career, celebrated Thai economist Pasuk Phongpaichit has been advocating on behalf of social justice and the fair distribution of land.
After more than two decades of tackling inequality, the professor of economics from Chulalongkorn University who earned a PhD from Cambridge University in England, said she has seen some progress.
But while most Thais want a peaceful society, she said she has not seen any fundamental policy shift that would correct the imbalance, while the level of inequality has been worsening over the years.
She vigorously supports the implementation of a bill on land development and building tax, which has been put on hold. She believes the bill would make things better as land distribution is too tightly concentrated.
"What we don't know is how many people who used to own land have subsequently lost it to loan sharks because the prices of agricultural goods are not very favourable now. They want to be agriculturalists but they don't have any access to land, so have to rent. But the system is exploitative," said Prof Pasuk.
"If you don't have any collateral to offer, it's hard to borrow money," she added.
Prof Pasuk believes more land development and the addition of a building tax would help narrow inequality.
As the bill has been delayed for over a year, however, she doubts the government's willingness to resolve the issue. She said this highlights the strong influence of the business sector and wealthy landowners on policy.
"Even though the bill is not perfect, passing it would show the government is serious about tackling this," she said.
Thailand is plagued by a "top down" system of formulating policies that does not require any participation from various stakeholders, according to Prof Pasuk.
She said most countries are facing heightened inequality due to the unfavourable economic environment. If this is not fixed, the feeling that society is not fair will lead to further discord, much like that which has plagued Thailand for years, she said.
Prof Pasuk is a two-time winner of the Senior Research Scholar award from the Thailand Research Fund. She also pocketed last year's Grand Fukuoka Prize, awarded to individuals who have made a significant contribution to Asian culture.
She, along with her husband and lifelong collaborator Chris Baker, have produced important bodies of works on Thai history, economy and politics.
Although we cannot eradicate inequality completely, Prof Pasuk said, for a society to be perceived as fair, it needs to embody justice, labour rights, and human rights. These values need to be put in place so society can enjoy at least a basic level of equality.
"An equal society doesn't mean everyone is equal in every respect. But at least we need to be equal in terms of opportunity, education and healthcare," she said.
The government is the key player in alleviating inequality, In countries where there is less inequality than Thailand, their governments have striven to reduce the gap by creating institutions, products, or tools to ease individual differences.
"A good system of government, proper institutional bodies, democracy and a good educational system can ease personal differences, which can contribute to more opportunities and eventually lead to a society with less inequality and more sustainability," she said.
Even European members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are facing heightened inequality because they have rushed to adopt a neoliberal ideology and adapt their policies accordingly, thereby gradually reducing the safety nets put in place to protect the public such as social security, she said.
In Asia however, the main factors contributing to intense inequality is the government's focus to prioritise economic growth over other aspects, overlooking negative impacts on society, resulted in monopolies. The government also allows the concentration of various kinds of wealth, especially land, she said.
"In Asia the land is very concentrated, except for Japan and Korea, due to the lack of an efficient policy to reduce asset disparity," she said, adding another issue that contributes to inequality is the fact that labourers and landless farmers have less power to negotiate.
Any solution, said Prof Pasuk, must involve various sectors of society, while the elites have to change their outlook.
They need to see that the cost of inequality will affect them one way or another, and that someone else's gain is not necessarily their loss, she said.
"They [the elites] need to see that if inequality isn't reduced we will never have a peaceful, livable society due to sluggish economic growth, heightened tensions in society, and citizens living in poor health conditions."
While cooperation from all stakeholders is necessary, the government needs to strike a balance in terms of the economy by building a better development strategy.
The current government emphasises export-led economic growth, which is no longer viable in this age because the dynamic has shifted due to curtailed exports and a global recession where demand is shrinking, with inequality on the rise.
"The government should gravitate from export-led growth to growth from within, funded by high-income citizens, a good distribution of income, and a greater reliance on domestic skills and technologies."
While there is much discussion about "Thailand 4.0" and the digital economy in general, Prof Pasuk said the current regime is overlooking the needs of the broader population where connectivity is concerned.
She argued that the linkage effect of the digital economy is not as widespread as was imagined because the infrastructure is focused on certain areas while other areas of the country remain relatively disconnected.
As such, a greater willingness to develop the economy and promote better quality education, as well as boosting investment in R&D, will help Thailand do better at lessening inequality, she said.
Prof Pasuk, as well as other academic giants, will serve as speakers at Chulalongkorn University's Bangkok Forum, the first international forum running under the banner of "Future Sustainable Asia". It starts tomorrow.
