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“ประเทศไทยในอนาคต Future Thailand : มิติที่ 2 สังคม ชนบท ท้องถิ่น” โดย สถาบันพระปกเกล้า

agricultural production, decreases production, affects prices and reduces income stability,
and has resulted in value changes among young workers who are no longer interested in

working in the agricultural sector.
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the national and global economies.
Employment rates in the service and industrial sectors have fallen, resulting in significant
numbers of people to return to rural area. Rural area have therefore become places to

accommodate the burden of the pandemic.
With relation to global economics and political movements, trade treaties and
agreements on the exchange of goods such as tariff arrangements and the contract farming
have affected the socio-economic quality of rural areas. For instance, agricultural product

imports have resulted in falling prices of similar goods produced in Thailand and an
oversupply of goods in the market. There is a monopoly of seeds and mode of production,
which have raised production costs for rural farmers, such as the introduction of smart farm
systems causing an inequality gap between different types of farmers, particularly between

those with access to capital and those without such access. People will become more highly
dependent on technology, resulting in higher capital costs of production. Furthermore, since
most agricultural sector workers are elderly, they are unable to keep pace with advances

technologies.
Although the spread of technology has resulted in positive impacts in terms of
sharing and communication information quickly and widely, it has also resulted in a number
of negative impacts. For instance, extreme beliefs in political ideologies, causing political
polarization and conflicts in the community. Fast and convenient communication have also

resulted in a reduction of face-to-face interactions within the rural community and reduced
family and migrant workers' relationships and ties with communities.
The final external factors is globalization, which has affected the quality of rural

society through the dominance of capitalism, liberalism, and gender equality. The
dominance of capitalism has affected the modes of production and the traditional rural
economy, from an economy guided by a social system with social instituted support into a
market-oriented rural economy. Consequently, rural people have become more

materialistic. Capitalism also resulted in people becoming more distanced from rural culture
and traditions. The younger generation seek to gain greater freedom of thought and
expression. Despite the regulation being implement, the social norms of rural society have
tended to decrease. Gender equality has helped increase the number of women gaining

positions in different organizations and participation in politics.
Continuous national development has resulted in overall improvements among rural
communities, with people now earning a larger income, yet socio-economic stability has
decreased. Social quality has improved yet it is problematic. Positive consequences include

infrastructure development and access to healthcare and education. The negative effects of

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