Somsak Jeamteerasakul, A Conception of Historical Mistake, and the 6 October Student Movement

Abstract

This paper studies the so-called “conception of historical mistake” proposed by Somsak Jeamteerasakul, and applies it to evaluate the 6 October student movement. The question is how the 6 October student movement should be remembered according to Somsak's conception of historical mistake. This paper argues that although Somsak did not explicitly say that the 6 October student movement made a historical mistake, this is an inevitable conclusion if we follow his reasoning: the movement made a historical mistake for becoming the left movement dominated by the thought of the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT). This is because the CPT's thought is deeply incompatible with the foundation of liberal democracy. The implication is that we should not remember the 6 October student movement as those who fought for a political ideal that is worth pursuing. Nevertheless, this does not justify the violence in the 6 October event.