Inequality, Sociocultures And Habitus In Thailand

This paper studies social inequality in contemporary Thailand on the basis of a critical reading of Pierre Bourdieu's sociology. It argues that pre-capitalist social structures combine with a capitalist structure of social classes to form a peculiar double-faced hierarchy. The study discerns seven habitus types; one being rooted in the village, two in the sakdina structure, three in capitalism and one cutting across the dividing line between sakdina and capitalist structures. The paper draws on sixty-two qualitative interviews that were conducted and interpreted on the basis of a methodology inspired by the documentary method.