The Real 'People's State'

Before I left for south-east Asia I watched the first part of Ayn Rand’s ‘Atlas Shrugged’. I wanted to know how the story ended so I started reading the 1,500 page novel. As a business student I found much of the work’s objectivist philosophy to be of merit. The plot deals with how corrupt government officials and their allies can appropriate entrepreneurial gains for their own interests. It shows how this can retard a nation’s growth and even bring it to its knees.

These literal implications of the novel seemed a bit far-fetched to me until I visited Cambodia. On my last day there, I had a chance to talk with my hotel’s owner.  He told me that the country has remained an unofficial communist dictatorship since the fall of the Khmer Rouge 40 years ago. Mostly, it has remained under the rule of a single family.

 Many commodities and state assets have been subject to government manipulation.  In a country where some cannot afford the costs of subsistence, gas costs much more than in the U.S.  Many museums charge above market rates for all patrons because they are now controled by the governing family, which has amassed billions of dollars.

Wealth is not a bad thing. However, from the discussions I had, it seemed to me that if one has enough success the regime will make matters difficult for that person’s business in the name of the public good.

In such an environment, it is little wonder that the country has struggled economically compared to other south-east Asian nations. Cambodia currently produces little. It relies on aid and must import many products and necessities from neighboring Thailand. Services in the country also lag behind. Tellingly for those who have read the novel, all railroad service in the country ceased a few years ago.

My final day in Cambodia was Election Day. My hotel owner did not bother to vote. “Even if we managed to elect the opposition those in power would just throw the results out” he said.  In this light, the power of Rand’s message seems clear. There can be no path forward until business can be perused on individual merit -- and until its rewards can be enjoyed by those who deserve them.