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318 Soraj Hongladarom

paintings, the Internet can even be a tool for cultural preservation
and propagation. In this sense it does not globalize, but localize,
making people more attuned to their own cultural heritage. None-
theless, as an embodiment of cosmopolitan culture, it is clear that
the Internet globalizes in this way—as a means by which global
communication and community-building, if only “thinly” in Michael
Walzer’s (1994) sense, becomes possible.
According to Walzer, moral arguments are “thin” when they
lose the particular histories and other cultural embodiments that
make them integral parts of a cultural entity. These are the parts
that make the arguments “thick.” To use Walzer’s own example,
when Americans watched Czechs carry placards bearing words like
“Truth” and “Justice,” they could relate immediately to the situa-
tion and sympathized with the marchers. However, when the argu-
ments are at the local level, as to which version of distributive
justice should be in place, there might well be disagreements, and
Americans may find themselves disagreeing with the particular
conception of justice which is eventually adopted. The sympathetic
feeling one feels across the Ocean is part of the “thin” morality, but
the localized and contextualized working of those moral concepts is
part of the “thick” (Walzer 1994, 1–19).
The thread of discussion in SCT concerning the language to be
used in the forum illustrates the tension between local and global
cultures, or thick and thin conceptions, very well. As usually hap-
pens in international conferences, talking only about the weather to
those with whom one does not share much is rather boring. Many
non-Thai Internet surfers do not know much about Thailand and the
variously subtle nuances of her culture; their contributions therefore
are generally limited to asking for information, and when they ven-
ture to provide information or ideas of their own, they often reveal
that they are quite ignorant of the deeply-rooted culture. In order to
communicate with non-Thais on topics related to Thai culture, Thais
have to supply an adequate amount of background information in
order to make themselves understood. It is much easier for them just
to talk to fellow Thais who already share such background knowl-
edge. This way they can mix Thai words in the posts, refer to “kwais”
or “heas,” or allude to characters in the classical literature without
fear of not being understood. Consequently, participants in interna-
tional gatherings sometimes drift off to form their own smaller
groups, banding with those to whom they share background knowl-
edge. The situation also happens on the Internet. The founding char-
ter of SCT states that the newsgroup is created in order to exchange