59-05-032 Proceeding

105 Proceedings of the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Congress SUFFICIENCY ECONOMY: AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE EXTENSION OF THE ROYAL DEVELOPMENT STUDY CENTERS Suleeporn Bunbongkarn Choopavang The Chaipattana Foundation Abstract : The objective of this paper aims at exploring how Sufficiency Economy (SE) can lead the country and its people to self-reliance and sustainability. SE is an alternative concept of development which was bestowed by His Majesty the King of Thailand to lead the country to a more balanced development that can be applied in all levels including the national, provincial, and community levels. The concept is based on three principles which include moderation, reasonableness and immunity as well as two conditions which are knowledge andmorality.This paper is different from other research since its focus is mainly on the knowledge condition instead of the three principles. The knowledge condition is a key factor to create a stable foundation in order to support the further progress of development. The application of SE was described through the knowledge extension of the Royal Development Study Centers with the data collected mainly from documents and interviews. The conclusion of this paper stated that if the people receive thorough knowledge on the concept and its application, they will fully comprehend SE andwill, without doubt, embrace the concept and apply to their everyday life. Moreover, if the people hold on to themorality condition, it will serve as guidance to appropriate conducts. In this way, the development of the country will gear towards sustainability with the proper application of SE. Keywords : Knowledge, Royal Development Study Centers, Self-reliance, Sufficiency Economy I. Introduction After theWorldWar II, the development paradigm of most developing countries pursued the growth oriented theories including modernization theory, radical development theory and neo-liberalism. A strong emphasis on thesemainstreamgrowth oriented theories had been given in order to direct developing countries to go through various stages of growth which guided them to concentrate more on the economic growth rather than on other non-economic factors (Suwakitti, 2010). It was obvious that bywelcoming themainstreamdevelopment theories, the average income of the people has been increased. However, concerns over the failures of these theories have been highlighted. The income gaps between the rich and the poor became noticeably widened as well as other problems concerning environmental degradation and poverty in developing countries still remain due to the result of the rapid industrialization and economic growth (Clapp and Dauvergne, 2005; Wade, 2004).