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its aims. With the deaths of so many able-bodied people, the Cambodian population might have been described as a body without a head. Pol Pot’s ideas failed to take account of the fact that intelligent and educated people are needed for any infrastructure to remain functional, whether communist in principle or otherwise. His lack of cognitive ability had let him down in a catastrophic way, seeing widespread famine and associated disease take a grip on his nation. To make matters worse, the Khmer Rouge rejected outside humanitarian aid when the world outside realised what was going on.
Despite these disastrous internal affairs, Pol Pot now chose to wage war on the Vietnamese, who had formerly been his ally. One thing led to another and eventually the Viet Minh decided enough was enough. In late 1978, they invaded Cambodia to overthrow the Khmer Rouge, which they achieved very quickly. Pol Pot went into hiding at the border with Thailand. He, and a hardcore Khmer Rouge following, remained there through 1979. They were not pursued because the Vietnamese justified their occupation of Cambodia by the continued existence of the Khmer Rouge.
Over the next ten years there existed a shifting power struggle between the Vietnamese controlled governments and the Khmer Rouge. During this period, Pol Pot contracted cancer. He resigned in 1985 and became de facto leader, due to the loyalty of his following. In 1997, he was arrested and put under house arrest for the murder of a colleague who had attempted to broker a peace deal between the Khmer Rouge and the government. He died from natural causes six months later at the age of seventy-three.
Pol Pot clearly had ideas above his station. As with many tyrants, the ‘perfect wave’ theory allows them to rise to positions of power and influence that do not suit their intellect. They then find themselves wholly inadequate for the task in hand and resort to simplistic measures in an attempt to resolve problems, only to create more. In Pol Pot’s case, he had only a rudimentary understanding of communist ideology and ended up killing off the very people who could have made it work for him. What he failed to grasp is that you need intelligent and educated leftists to build a successful communist state, and even then it doesn’t work very well because human nature is fundamentally one of selfishness, which leads to corruption.
Joseph Stalin
It would be fair to say that Joseph Stalin was a man who let power go to his head. In so doing he grew increasingly paranoid that people were out to get him. His way of dealing with his suspicions was to have countless people murdered or sent to labour camps. He then found himself in a vicious cycle, as he then had good reason to think that he had enemies. So his obsession with guarding his own back turned him into a maniacal tyrant. In the end, his ideology had very little to do with communism, for he had established an administration structured with the very worst kind of hierarchy.
Stalin had played a key role in the February Revolution in Russia in 1917. The Russian population had had enough of imperialist rule, because the tsar and his court displayed a blatant disregard for the welfare of the common man. The Bolsheviks and Mensheviks formed an uprising with the aim of turning Russia into a communist state. The royal family were placed under house arrest and then executed to prevent a monarchist reprisal. So the Romanov royal lineage came to an abrupt end and Russia became a brave new world.
From February to October 1917 there was a provisional communist government in Russia, but the October (Bolshevik) Revolution saw the Bolsheviks take control. Vladimir Lenin became leader of the Soviet Communist Party from that time until his death in 1924. There then came a power struggle between Joseph Stalin, another Bolshevik, and Leon Trotsky, a Menshevik. Stalin ultimately won the fight and so began a twenty-nine-year run as leader. Trotsky was
Despite these disastrous internal affairs, Pol Pot now chose to wage war on the Vietnamese, who had formerly been his ally. One thing led to another and eventually the Viet Minh decided enough was enough. In late 1978, they invaded Cambodia to overthrow the Khmer Rouge, which they achieved very quickly. Pol Pot went into hiding at the border with Thailand. He, and a hardcore Khmer Rouge following, remained there through 1979. They were not pursued because the Vietnamese justified their occupation of Cambodia by the continued existence of the Khmer Rouge.
Over the next ten years there existed a shifting power struggle between the Vietnamese controlled governments and the Khmer Rouge. During this period, Pol Pot contracted cancer. He resigned in 1985 and became de facto leader, due to the loyalty of his following. In 1997, he was arrested and put under house arrest for the murder of a colleague who had attempted to broker a peace deal between the Khmer Rouge and the government. He died from natural causes six months later at the age of seventy-three.
Pol Pot clearly had ideas above his station. As with many tyrants, the ‘perfect wave’ theory allows them to rise to positions of power and influence that do not suit their intellect. They then find themselves wholly inadequate for the task in hand and resort to simplistic measures in an attempt to resolve problems, only to create more. In Pol Pot’s case, he had only a rudimentary understanding of communist ideology and ended up killing off the very people who could have made it work for him. What he failed to grasp is that you need intelligent and educated leftists to build a successful communist state, and even then it doesn’t work very well because human nature is fundamentally one of selfishness, which leads to corruption.
Joseph Stalin
It would be fair to say that Joseph Stalin was a man who let power go to his head. In so doing he grew increasingly paranoid that people were out to get him. His way of dealing with his suspicions was to have countless people murdered or sent to labour camps. He then found himself in a vicious cycle, as he then had good reason to think that he had enemies. So his obsession with guarding his own back turned him into a maniacal tyrant. In the end, his ideology had very little to do with communism, for he had established an administration structured with the very worst kind of hierarchy.
Stalin had played a key role in the February Revolution in Russia in 1917. The Russian population had had enough of imperialist rule, because the tsar and his court displayed a blatant disregard for the welfare of the common man. The Bolsheviks and Mensheviks formed an uprising with the aim of turning Russia into a communist state. The royal family were placed under house arrest and then executed to prevent a monarchist reprisal. So the Romanov royal lineage came to an abrupt end and Russia became a brave new world.
From February to October 1917 there was a provisional communist government in Russia, but the October (Bolshevik) Revolution saw the Bolsheviks take control. Vladimir Lenin became leader of the Soviet Communist Party from that time until his death in 1924. There then came a power struggle between Joseph Stalin, another Bolshevik, and Leon Trotsky, a Menshevik. Stalin ultimately won the fight and so began a twenty-nine-year run as leader. Trotsky was
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