Why Thailand isn't communist1. Concessions.The previous King of Thailand, King Rama IX came to power after King Rama VIII (who was only 11) died under mysterious circumstances. King Rama IX, or King Bhumibol, was a populist. He was the first King to really acknowledge the struggle and poverty that most Thais endure especially in rural areas. He started many programs to raise the productive forces (yes I'm using that term, no it does not mean I support monarchy) in the Thai countryside. Most notably teaching the farmers how to grow and process silk so that they could have more selling power. My Dad used to tell me that my grandfather was a socialist and a Monarchist, but it's just that it's only for the specific monarchy that he supports.
So as this is going on, there is in fact a communist insurgency going on. This period was from about the 1950s-1980s. While they did have an armed struggle with the communists, much of which was lead by the then Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, King Bhumibol made many concessions to the communists. You can listen to him talk about it in an interview here:
https://youtu.be/zEmz_cNZ5fYHe was very charismatic and talented in the arts. So it is not hard to see how he became popular. Eventually, his charisma would win out and in the 80s, the CPT jungle maoists would give up their insurgency having been pacified. They were never killed off.
Note that two years ago there were mass protests in Thailand over monarchy reforms. The maoists never showed up.
Also I still think the Milk Tea Alliance was an op.
2. AuthoritarianismThailand is authoritarian. That is the most simple way I can put it, it is more authoritarian than the DPRK. You do not understand what a cult of personality is until you've seen portraits of the King
everywhere you go. Lese-majeste will get you thrown and prison and shanked. Thai communists get shot trying to escape across the Mekong. Hue and cry over East Germany, I don't want to hear shit if you don't know about Thailand. Everybody knowssl the Tiananmen Square Massacre, yet nobody knows about the Thammasat University Massacre which had a similar number of casualties. The story is that some students recreated photos of police killing two labor activists, one of the students remarked (probably over the radio) that one of the victims looked like Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, the Thai Royal Army was sent in, escalation occured, and hundreds of students and communists were slaughtered and lynched. We even have our "tank man equivalent" of a man getting lynched and beaten with a chair.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6_October_1976_massacreThere even used to be a "Che Guevara" of Thailand. He was a poet named Jit Phumisak who got shot in the chest in the northeast Isaan region (the jungle).
If the media gave half as much attention to authoritarianism in their little puppet as it does in the DPRK things might look very different…
But they won't, and this post won't change anything either. It will all be lost to the void like it always does, and the status quo will take over again, and corruption will run rampant. The people of Thailand have become so used to this that they have simply given up fighting.
3. CultureOne time my Dad sat me down and told me what his Grandfather told him. "Never trust a Thai person". We think we're special because we were never colonized. And in a country that is basically coated in gold, it reflects our attitudes very well. All we care about is getting that bag. It's the reason my Dad was a Reaganite in the 80's. It's for these reasons that it makes sense why the Thai people elected Pita. He's a young capitalist that says "it's ok to be corrupt as long as you play by the rules." He's the new kid on the block, the hungry new money. He is what many Thai people aspire to be, sometimes living under the humiliation of poverty makes us idolize the sauce and "become lost in it".
Honestly I probably could stretch this post out longer but I'm happy with the length, this should give you a pretty good idea as to why Thailand tragically never fell in the domino effect. The communist insurgency was once powerful and forced many concessions, but they were slowly pacified eventually many of them became royalists themselves. It's too late for us now bros, we're ngmi.
I'll leave you with a song by Jit Phumisak, "Starlight of Faith". Which reflects an historical truth, that the far-right will always appropriate from the far-left. This song was written by a communists and it is now sung by all political groups including the yellow shirts. The lyrics are about the humiliation of poverty, and how the stars and the sky look down on us indifferently…
https://youtu.be/F2HZpDeV8Qg