‘Après moi, le deluge’, said France's King Louis XV, warning of a revolution that was brewing. While most monarchies of the world went into extinction due to the emergence of democracy, the Thai royal institution demonstrated its adaptability, turning itself around from the great decline brought about by the abolition of absolute monarchy in 1932. It defied Western theories against its anachronistic nature, rising to regain its political and economic prominence in a country where the monarchy has been made a religion. This book, Royal capitalism: Wealth, class and monarchy in Thailand, examines the hegemonic status of the monarchy, focusing on its dominance as cut-throat capitalists. It argues that the constant reinvention of the Thai monarchy was its remarkable asset, one that powerfully shaped the politico-economic contours of the country. Today, as Thailand is entering into uncharted waters under King Vajiralongkorn, Puangchon is convinced that the Thai monarchy will continue to survive. In his final sentences, he says, ‘The monarchy is not dead, after all, in the age of global capitalism. Alive and kicking, it is here to stay’ (p. 238).

Puangchon defines the Thai monarchy as a ‘bourgeois monarchy’, underlining its successful self-transformation from an archaic political actor into becoming an institution compatible with capitalist ideology (p. 5). Puangchon excellently puts forward a background on the dichotomous concepts of monarchy and capitalism. History informs us that monarchies should not survive the capitalist age simply because of their very nature, which is monopolistic and anticompetitive. The author however contests this convention. He argues that certain monarchies effectively create a new environment to accommodate the arrival of capitalism, while still sitting comfortably in the driver's seat. There were steps to accomplishing this, including alliance-making with the bourgeoisie while keeping hierarchical and social structures intact, the expression of leadership in development, and the promotion of consumerism (p. 14). After all, capitalism is not always antithetical to the monarchy. Often, the monarchy in Thailand has been a champion of the poor because the royal family used its own wealth to reduce economic grievances among the subjects.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej (1946–2016) exemplifies a monarch who assertively played a hegemonic role in politics and economy, albeit one that was constitutionally constrained. He was the country's biggest capitalist entrepreneur. Yet, he was an active promoter of the ‘sufficiency economy philosophy’, a royally crafted concept popularised through the Thai school curriculum and mainstream media. He combined the different strengths imbued in European constitutional monarchies and Arab-style absolute monarchy to reconstruct his own monarchism (p. 20). The Cold War proffered a vital context for the re-strengthening of the Thai monarchy and its super-rich status, aided by the United States. Along the way, Bhumibol was able to conserve the feudal structure while embracing the market economy of the world. He aligned with the nobles, the bureaucrats and the merchants, domesticating the bourgeoisie, sympathising with the peasants, and befriending the Sino-Thai community. Indeed, the Chinese community in Thailand became a source of loyalty to the king.

Hijacked by the revolutionists of 1932, the Crown Property Bureau (CPB), the monarchy's investment arm, underwent considerable reform under Bhumibol. The CPB emerged as a primary engine for the royal family's wealth, investing in a variety of businesses, from land rental to property development. This process took place as Bhumibol entrenched himself in politics. Soon the two domains — the CPB and politics — were integrated. The CPB was involved in the royal developmental projects, which were listed as government policy. Although the CPB was hit hard by the 1997 financial crisis, its immediate downsizing of investments and the state's support kept it alive (p. 86). Indeed, the re-emergence of the CPB was explained on the basis of the sufficiency economy philosophy, testifying the importance of ‘walking a middle path’ as immunity against financial shocks. Being a ‘responsible capitalist’ was the key message.

Puangchon extensively elaborates the royal propaganda and glorification programmes as part of constructing the revered image of Bhumibol before the eyes of the giant conglomerates and the affluent middle class. The different personas of the king as intellectual, able sportsman, gifted musician, hardworking developer and more, powerfully juxtaposed Bhumibol with the capitalist branding. It was a branding that matched the jarit, or inner sense, among Thai cosmopolitans. This explains the practice of donations to the crown by rich companies as a token of allegiance and symbol of clientelism. But the royal capitalist image appreciated by the middle class came at a heavy price. It further alienated those who lived far from the centre, widening the gulf between the privileged and underprivileged. The royal sympathy toward the poor of yesteryear, sustained by royal developmental projects, encapsulated within the discourse of the sufficiency economy, was falsified by the power of capitalism endorsed by the monarchy in the first place. Cracks were beginning to be seen soon after the advent of Thaksin Shinawatra as prime minister in 2001. The birth of the Red Shirts, supporters of Thaksin, was not just a political phenomenon, but also a shameful reminder of the existence of social and economic inequality between the bourgeoisie and the rural residents (p. 170).

As capitalism invaded Siam, the monarchs chose not to beat it but join it. Many decades later as the throne faced unhappy crowds, it beat them first and let them die. King Vajiralongkorn might be a newcomer in the capitalist Thailand. But he has learned fast. He now controls all assets under the CBP, legalised in 2018, officially making him the richest monarch on earth, worth between US$30–60 billion. The king's new financial status coincides with the world turning even more brutally capitalist. Puangchon discusses the case of Donald Trump, the first billionaire president in American history who indeed lives like a king. This global trend of aggravated capitalism further consolidates the wealth status of Vajiralongkorn, whether the underprivileged in Thailand like it or not.