US Domestic Politics & Its Global Effects
ไฟป่าแคลิฟอร์เนีย จากภัยพิบัติสู่ปล้นสะดม ทำไมคนอเมริกันถึงเป็นแบบนี้ แต่คนไทยไม่เป็น
Summary
The 2025 California wildfires were followed by looting, including a case of someone impersonating a firefighter to rob a house.
In Thailand, from the 2004 tsunami through COVID, donation centres were overwhelmed by what people brought.
The question raised is whether the difference has cultural roots — Buddhism against individualism.
Key points
The pattern repeats; it is not one event
Looting statistics run from Hurricane Katrina to the wildfires, which makes it a trend rather than an accident.
Cultural explanations need care
The difference may come from inequality and trust in the state as much as from religion.
Generosity is trained
Helping behaviour in Thailand has long-standing religious scaffolding behind it, not a temporary reaction.
This advantage does not appear in the economic figures
Thailand remains liveable in dimensions GDP does not measure, and that deserves counting.