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Thais have little concept of the collective good
By The Nation
Selfish exploitation and abuse of public spaces is perhaps one reason why our society fails to instil a sense of responsibility and public duty
Many Thais still continue to interpret common areas, or public space, as places where anyone can do anything they like, and nobody should feel responsible for them. Such an attitude can be readily observed in public parks, where many people throw litter at will and have a complete absence of a sense of common ownership and care.
The same attitude is seen in private areas, too. For example, many of Bangkok's condominiums do not have allotted car-parking spaces for every resident. Thus, residents face the problem of battling for a space. This leads to a belief by some car-owners that once they have parked their vehicle in a specific place in the common parking area, they should continue to own the right to be able to park in the same spot forever. Others who park in that same spot then get into arguments because the person who had earlier parked there feels that his or her "private space" has been violated.
Confrontations like this have led to the intentional scratching of car paint, or even physical violence between people. Many condominium management teams end up having to install CCTV in order to reduce the risk of unlawful acts of revenge.
Another example of lack of awareness is the common disregard for semi-public areas within condominium compounds, where some residents feel they can add or remove any plants or trees, which are in the common areas, but which are otherwise close to their units. At the same time, others leave litter and cigarette butts in the common garden areas, as they believe they can do whatever they like in those places and that there are other people paid to clean up the space.
Some of the building managers wrongly believe that residents can do whatever they like there because it's "their common area". They fail to remember that because it is a common area and common property, every co-owner must take care not to impose upon other co-owners.
Public areas are owned by society as a whole. That means all of us. But Thais have little concept that streets, public parks, national forest reserves and so on, are the common property of everyone, and that everyone has a responsibility to look after them. For too long, Thais have believed that public areas are not owned by anyone and are there only to be exploited.
Such attitudes lead to filthy streets and parks in cities, and deforestation and garbage dumping in rural areas. It's also fertile ground for corruption of all sorts. Corruption because those who engage in graft do not think they are violating anyone else's rights. They have no idea that the common space is owned by themselves and others. They see the land as not belonging to them, but still available for exploitation.
As long as people continue to think that public areas are a free-for-all instead of common assets to be looked after and cared for, Thai society will continue to have a problem safeguarding the wider public interest.
The common good needs to be defended and looked after by society as a whole. Without a sense of collective ownership, Thailand cannot hope to advance far as a society because people will continue to be unable to see their private interest as being linked to the public good.
Schools and universities must try harder to instil a sense of public responsibility. Adults who recognise the importance of the matter must also lead by example and contribute to the protection of public spaces.
The current deep political divide may also be addressed by first having all sides recognise that society does not belong to just one group - themselves - but to different groups of people who hold different political views. The great challenge will be how we can co-exist in this common space called society without selfishly destroying what we all share.
-- The Nation 2010-07-22
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