Sinister Cultural Marxist
2nd February 2011, 20:42
I was thinking of doing TEFL, and Laos was on the list of possibilities. On one hand, I am interested in South Asian cultures, in particular buddhist cultures, and I am also interested in socialist politics. As it is a country which has tried to combine them, and to see the connections between Buddhist dialectics, Dharmic religion and Marxism, I am interested to see what their ideology consists of.
I am also interested in their economic model. From my understanding they are trying to build state-owned hydropower dams as a means to obtain foreign currency to subsidize their development. However, considering the way China bought up land to build the three gorges dam without regard to the environment and the needs of the local people, I am suspicious as to the true motives of the government. Will that money go to buy schools and hospitals or mercedes? I did read some worrying articles about large Laotian casinos next to the border with China, where various "lumpen" activities occur such as drugs and prostitution.
Also, I can imagine that their police and bureaucracy are quite corrupt, at least if its anything like India (where I spent some time as a student). And considering some of the less appealing aspects of the Vietnamese war in Laos, I want to know if the government is no longer in conflict with its hmong residents or other tribal people. One friend also mentioned religious repression, which I imagine refers to Buddhists and Christians who practice outside of the state-run sangha and church.
Obviously a little country like Laos is going to be somewhat subject to the whims of its neighbors. But it would be nice to know before going there if it has a better or worse human rights record (I'd consider going anyway, I'm also considering China and their human rights violations are well documented, but I at least want to know what kind of government we're talking about). I doubt its as simple as "They are pure gold-hearted revolutionaries", likewise I doubt they are "all tyrannical fascists" or "cold hearted neoliberals", it is somewhere in between these three I am sure. But where does that middle point lie in the case of the Lao PDR?
(1) how is their economy/industry/ag structured?
(2) how corrupt/clean is their government/ruling party?
(3) how much does the government or unaccountable vigilantes participate in ethnic, gender, religious or lgbt repression?
I am also interested in their economic model. From my understanding they are trying to build state-owned hydropower dams as a means to obtain foreign currency to subsidize their development. However, considering the way China bought up land to build the three gorges dam without regard to the environment and the needs of the local people, I am suspicious as to the true motives of the government. Will that money go to buy schools and hospitals or mercedes? I did read some worrying articles about large Laotian casinos next to the border with China, where various "lumpen" activities occur such as drugs and prostitution.
Also, I can imagine that their police and bureaucracy are quite corrupt, at least if its anything like India (where I spent some time as a student). And considering some of the less appealing aspects of the Vietnamese war in Laos, I want to know if the government is no longer in conflict with its hmong residents or other tribal people. One friend also mentioned religious repression, which I imagine refers to Buddhists and Christians who practice outside of the state-run sangha and church.
Obviously a little country like Laos is going to be somewhat subject to the whims of its neighbors. But it would be nice to know before going there if it has a better or worse human rights record (I'd consider going anyway, I'm also considering China and their human rights violations are well documented, but I at least want to know what kind of government we're talking about). I doubt its as simple as "They are pure gold-hearted revolutionaries", likewise I doubt they are "all tyrannical fascists" or "cold hearted neoliberals", it is somewhere in between these three I am sure. But where does that middle point lie in the case of the Lao PDR?
(1) how is their economy/industry/ag structured?
(2) how corrupt/clean is their government/ruling party?
(3) how much does the government or unaccountable vigilantes participate in ethnic, gender, religious or lgbt repression?