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[Synbios459]

I know that there are other countrys that are really poor as well, but I heard that cambodia was one of the poorest. It got me thinking, why are countrys like that so poor? Is it just merely a corrupt government, or is it simply to many people and not enough supplies? And do you think we'll ever reach a point where every country in the world is as prosperous as the United States?

 

[videogamer]

I know that there are other countrys that are really poor as well, but I heard that cambodia was one of the poorest. It got me thinking, why are countrys like that so poor? Is it just merely a corrupt government, or is it simply to many people and not enough supplies? And do you think we'll ever reach a point where every country in the world is as prosperous as the United States?

Why do you think that Cambodia may have too many people relative to its resources?

 

[Boogie]

I, for one, do not have the ambition to detail the world's economic development over the past three hundred years, and anyone who gives you a five-line answer is wrong.

 

[thomaser]

Well, one of the many things that are holding them back now is that the whole country is absolutely riddled with live mines, so just going from place to place there is dangerous. Or was that Laos? Probably both, I guess.

 

[909er]

I know that there are other countrys that are really poor as well, but I heard that cambodia was one of the poorest. It got me thinking, why are countrys like that so poor? Is it just merely a corrupt government, or is it simply to many people and not enough supplies? And do you think we'll ever reach a point where every country in the world is as prosperous as the United States?

It's probably the goverment and education.

Look at Japan. Bombed back to the stone age, basically every city burned to the ground during WW2, and it lacks resources but has a large urban population. Yet, within the span of something like 20 years after WW2 it rebuilt the cities and became the worlds second largest economy after the US, a title it still holds. So war shit and lack of resources isn't necesarilly that big of an obstacle.

 

[sprsk]

well, you do know that most of cambodias population was killed by an evil dictator?

 

[bionic77]

The Man keeps countries like Cambodia down.

 

[ChrisReid]

In addition to government, education and many other factors.. one additional issue is the economic sustenance methods of the population. A lot of the people engage in subsistence agriculture. People are just farming to meet their needs. They *could* try to expand and become more productive, but there are inherent risks with those things. And at they level they're living, any drop in stable incoming/production results in death and starvation, so there is no compelling incentive to take the risks necessary for growth.

 

[Asbel]

It's probably the goverment and education.

Look at Japan. Bombed back to the stone age, basically every city burned to the ground during WW2, and it lacks resources but has a large urban population. Yet, within the span of something like 20 years after WW2 it rebuilt the cities and became the worlds second largest economy after the US, a title it still holds. So war shit and lack of resources isn't necesarilly that big of an obstacle.

I believe there was large support from the US to help them get back on their feet. I believe South Korea went the same way too. I don't know if Cambodia was aloud trade with the US but that makes a big difference.

 

[Boogie]

I believe there was large support from the US to help them get back on their feet. I believe South Korea went the same way too. I don't know if Cambodia was aloud trade with the US but that makes a big difference.

It also helped that Japan was the most industrialized and modernized country in Asia before WWII as well. It's easier to rebuild when you already know how to lay the foundation for economic success.

 

[Jeffahn]

Lack of foreign investment is another problem because IIRC you can't actually own land in Cambodia, you have to lease from the government at their discretion.

...

 

[Asbel]

It also helped that Japan was the most industrialized and modernized country in Asia before WWII as well. It's easier to rebuild when you already know how to lay the foundation for economic success.

Oh yeah, I don't deny the genius of the Japanese system. But say, if Japan went to Russia at the end of WW2, things would probably be a lot different.

 

[Boogie]

Oh yeah, I don't deny the genius of the Japanese system. But say, if Japan went to Russia at the end of WW2, things would probably be a lot different.

Absolutely. I wasn't contesting your point, just adding to it.

 

[ChrisReid]

To add another thing, the US was marginally punitive towards Japan after WW2. It was the Korean War that caused the US to invest heavily in Japan as an industrial and military satellite.

 

[NLB2]

I know that there are other countrys that are really poor as well, but I heard that cambodia was one of the poorest. It got me thinking, why are countrys like that so poor? Is it just merely a corrupt government, or is it simply to many people and not enough supplies? And do you think we'll ever reach a point where every country in the world is as prosperous as the United States?

Keynes said that in the near future, we'd be so prosperous that we'd only need to work 3 hours a day. Invest in nanotech!

 

[Tabris]

Well one factor specific to Cambodia is in the early 70's, there was a near genocide on the educated citizens of Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge in an attempt to create an agrarian society.

That event is going to leave marks on Cambodia's culture, people and economy for decades to come.

 

[Folder]

Well one factor specific to Cambodia is in the early 70's, there was a near genocide on the educated citizens of Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge in an attempt to create an agrarian society.

That event is going to leave marks on Cambodia's culture, people and economy for decades to come.

Just after the US tore out the country's heart...

 

[Tabris]

I'm surprised no one else posted about the Khmer Rouge incident.

It's one of the grossest displays in humanity's history. Or at least from the last century.

Cambodia suffered the worst genocide in terms of percentages inflicted by it's own people, ever. There has been none greater (in terms of percentages). I believe it's something like 1/3rd or 1/4th of the population was killed.

 

[LakeEarth]

I remember doing a project on Cambodia in grade school. Didn't Pol Pot kill all the educated people for some reason? Like he didn't graduate from grade 2 so he had to kill everyone who was smarter than him?

 

[evilromero]

It's probably the goverment and education.

Look at Japan. Bombed back to the stone age, basically every city burned to the ground during WW2, and it lacks resources but has a large urban population. Yet, within the span of something like 20 years after WW2 it rebuilt the cities and became the worlds second largest economy after the US, a title it still holds. So war shit and lack of resources isn't necesarilly that big of an obstacle.

Actually, "basically every city" was NOT burned to the ground. Tokyo, among others was, but many major cities, such as Kyoto were spared for its historical heritage. Also, Macarthur was the real force behind Japan's restructure. He elected to keep the Japanese emperor system erect as a means of sustaining some kind of Japanese moral and unity. Same goes for the zaibatsu, who remained in tact, which more than anything lead to Japan's significant restructuring, ushering in the corporate age.

 

[BigGreenMat]

Generally there is a trend that the more tropical the climate the poorer the country, but it is a very multi-factorial problem.

 

[Incognito]

The Man keeps countries like Cambodia down.

:lol :lol :lol