Lions Led By Donkeys Podcast Episode 134 - The Khmer Rouge Part 2: Year Zero
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Dec 21, 2020 Dive into the harrowing realities under the Khmer Rouge regime, where fear and paranoia permeated everyday life. Explore the psychological toll on researchers as they confront unsettling histories, akin to dystopian narratives. Discover the brutal tactics used to dismantle families and enforce control, culminating in a devastating legacy of agrarian policies that led to starvation. Amidst the darkness, humor surfaces in unexpected places, including the quirky antics of urban rats. Witness the tragic targeting of ethnic minorities and the extremes of survival in a state of brutality.
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Year Zero As Radical Social Reset
- Pol Pot launched "Year Zero" to erase modern life and restart society from an agrarian baseline.
- He forcibly evacuated cities and severed external ties to remake Cambodia into Democratic Kampuchea.
External Support Without Control
- China supported the Khmer Rouge materially but did not control Pol Pot's extreme policies.
- Pol Pot ignored Chinese warnings and accelerated radical measures anyway.
Human Lives Treated As Disposable
- Pol Pot reduced society to rigid class categories and aimed to force everyone into the peasant class.
- "To keep you is no gain; to lose you is no loss" captured their disposability logic.