{"title":"Buddhism in the service of a capitalist elite: An impediment to social rights?","authors":"Sunanta Pamela Ward","doi":"10.1111/ijsw.70008","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>In recent years, several gameshows centred on ‘assisting and rescuing’ the poor have emerged with the rise of digital television in Thailand. This has highlighted the social inequality between the underprivileged contestants and the providers – the judges - on the game shows. This research investigates how Buddhist ideology is used to reinforce and justify social inequality in two popular gameshows: ‘<i>Tee-ded-luk-nee</i>’ and ‘<i>Game-tor-chee-wit</i>’. I examine the conversations on the gameshows in terms of Buddhist ideology and social disadvantage. In conclusion I argue that the concept of karma in Thai Buddhist ideology has played a significant role in normalising social inequality, as there is a cognitive belief in Thai society that social status is a result of karma, and poverty is a punishment for personal behaviour rather than a structural problem.</p>","PeriodicalId":47567,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Social Welfare","volume":"34 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Social Welfare","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijsw.70008","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"SOCIAL WORK","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In recent years, several gameshows centred on ‘assisting and rescuing’ the poor have emerged with the rise of digital television in Thailand. This has highlighted the social inequality between the underprivileged contestants and the providers – the judges - on the game shows. This research investigates how Buddhist ideology is used to reinforce and justify social inequality in two popular gameshows: ‘Tee-ded-luk-nee’ and ‘Game-tor-chee-wit’. I examine the conversations on the gameshows in terms of Buddhist ideology and social disadvantage. In conclusion I argue that the concept of karma in Thai Buddhist ideology has played a significant role in normalising social inequality, as there is a cognitive belief in Thai society that social status is a result of karma, and poverty is a punishment for personal behaviour rather than a structural problem.
期刊介绍：
The International Journal of Social Welfare publishes original articles in English on social welfare and social work. Its interdisciplinary approach and comparative perspective promote examination of the most pressing social welfare issues of the day by researchers from the various branches of the applied social sciences. The journal seeks to disseminate knowledge and to encourage debate about these issues and their regional and global implications.
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