Creator and Senior Editor of Project Pathumwan
matthew@projectpathumwan.org
Essays
- The Wrong Priority Placed on Public Subsidies for Personal EVs in Thailand
The emphasis of this discussion is that we need to prioritize the development of a proper transportation foundation, one that serves the needs and offers benefits to a broad share of, if not the entire, population before adding in those types of technologies that primarily benefit only a small segment of the population. - Economists and Corporations: Partners or Opponents?
Economists should challenge corporate power, not be cheerleaders for it; because corporations are anti-social, anti-democratic, and extractive institutions which contradict the most fundamental normative theories that are taught in principles, intermediate, and advanced courses. - Capitalism and Democracy: Investors Prefer Stable Authoritarianism to “Dirty Democracy”
In this extended essay, I challenge recent political commentary claiming a mutually supportive relationship between capitalism and democracy, I shed light on the propaganda system surrounding such beliefs, and I argue that the Hong Kong protests stem from something deeper than defense of democracy – mainly capitalism at its core. - Anti-Colonial Imperialism: A Critical Omission of the U.S. Development Model
While Americans have achieved on average a high relative standard of living and have enjoyed numerous freedoms compared to other countries, I argue that America is an inappropriate model of development, because it is an unsustainable model built on empire, which many countries cannot, and I would argue should not seek to, emulate. - Suggested Principles for Rationing Road Space in Bangkok to Deal with Congestion
If the residents of Bangkok are serious about reducing commute times for all commuters, not just motorists, I suggest we take an honest look at the root of the problem and then I will offer some technical and non-technical solutions. One solution, in principle, is simple. Let’s start by removing all users so we begin with an empty road. Who should be the first to be allocated road space? - Self-Labeled “Capitalists” Who Do Not Quite Understand Capitalism
If society is to have any constructive discussion about our economic system and possible institutional changes for a better, more sustainable, future, we need to reach a mutual understanding about the system we currently have. Part of the problem stems from economics education, in which the term capitalism is rarely used. - Economists Should Promote Self-Esteem Through Non-Consumptive Means
Promoting self-esteem through non-consumptive means is more economic in the sense that it does not take as much energy and material throughput to achieve the same goal, nor does it come at the mental health cost of unrecognizably lowering self-esteem only to raise it back to a baseline level through the consumption of products. - Why History and Philosophy are Critical for Teaching Economics
Why are historical and philosophical context important for teaching economics? It depends what the goal of economics education is. If the goal is to use economics to promote the current economic system, then it makes sense to abstract from value questions in teaching, because the underlying values of the system are already built into the mainstream economics curriculum. If the goal is to use economics education to help society, then it is important for a number of reasons.