Those who criticise “sufficiency economy” are often called to account by those who like to refer back to the royal scriptures in which the wisdom of “reasonableness, moderation and immunity” were originally put forward. Whatever detail of sufficiency economy’s current manifestation is called into question, a royalist defence is mounted in terms of the appropriateness of the underlying principles. The trouble is that these general statements of principle are often so vague that they can be deployed to almost any end (as we have shown many times on New Mandala) This was nicely put by a New Mandala reader (Observer) in a recent comment:

There is nothing wrong with reasonableness, moderation and immunity. Neither is there anything wrong with happiness, beauty and safety. But without a bit more of an explanation, they are hardly useful principals for guiding an economy. … I also like Nourish, Replenish and Grow. Nothing wrong with them either, except they comprise the slogan for the Fertilizer Institute.

New Mandala would welcome other inspirational slogans (particularly those in auspicious triplicate) from Thailand, southeast Asia or further afield that could also provide guidance to troubled folk in the modern world. р╕нр╕▓р╕Ър╕нр╕Ър╕Щр╕зр╕Ф springs to mind (wash, dry, massage – sounds healthy and wholesome to me!) but I am sure there are many others much more worthy of being put alongside “reasonableness, moderation and inanity.”