Kraisak Choonhavan followed the same strange political trajectory as many so-called intellectuals in his generation in Thailand. In the 1970s he stood up against military dictatorship, but in the past few decades he became a rabid royalist.
He was one of many formerly progressive Thai intellectuals who became entranced by the myths of Thai royalism and obsessively opposed to Thaksin Shinawatra. In his final decades he was, frankly, loony and dangerous.
In the 1970s he published quite radical articles under the pseudonym Marian Mallett, but he supported the 2006 coup and became friends with the notorious Russian-funded troll Michael Pirsch, aka Tony Cartalucci.
One of the mysteries of Thailand is why so many radical intellectuals of the 1970s later became totally brainwashed by the cult of Bhumibol. Luckily, the young radicals of today are much smarter.
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