re: "Protesters call for lower cost of living" (BP, December 1, 2021)
Dear editor,
Whilst their specific suggestions by the network of labour groups and activists protesting in front of Government House to reduce the cost of living are not unreasonable, the protestors should perhaps address the deeper problem, which is not that the cost of living is rising according to free market laws. The underlying problem is the grossly unjust distribution of the wealth of the Thai nation, which is considerable.
When 1% own 67% of the nation's wealth (Credit Suisse, 2018), something is seriously amiss. But of course, gross inequality that cannot plausibly be a result of just process is precisely the sort of thing that Thai law against free speech exists to prevent discussion of, lest the cumulative injustices of many, many decades come to public understanding. It would not suit the 1% to allow transparency, openness or accountability to mess up the revered injustice of benevolent and righteous tradition manifested in a proper inequality of wealth distribution that respectfully reflects the Thai reality that the better class of people are vastly more equal than the struggling masses whose work has created Thailand's national wealth.
Felix Qui
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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.
The text as edited was published in PostBag on December 3, 2021, under the title "See the real problem" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2225967/see-the-real-problem
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