สำนักราชบัณฑิตยสภา

185 ชาย โพธิสิ ตา วารสารราชบัณฑิตยสถาน ปีที่ ๓๗ ฉบับที่ ๔ ต.ค.-ธ.ค. ๒๕๕๕ Abstract Rural Thai Villages in Capitalism Chai Podhisita Associate Fellow of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, The Royal Institute, Thailand This article demonstrates that change from the subsistence mode of produc - tion, which existed long over the history of Thailand, to the capital mode has clearly emerged since the beginning of the 19th century. Characterized by monoculture, de - pendence on market, capital, technology and connection with the outside world, this mode of production–couple with the national economic policy that puts more emphasis on industrial development during the past 50 years–has had significant impacts on the rural agricultural households. These include reduction of the number of households and labor force in agriculture, decrease in the role of agriculture as a main source of income, increasing number of poor and landless households and those with more debts. It is recommended that as it is impractical to turn the mode of production back to the subsistence economy, significant reform at the policy level is necessary in order to maintain agriculture as the important and sustainable life-base for rural households. Keywords: rural Thailand, agriculture, subsistence production, capitalist production, agricultural households