ABSTRACT
Among the five Communist countries that remain in the world, Laos, formally known as the Lao People's Democratic Republic, receives the least attention either from the media or from scholars. The journalist Stan Sesser has called it the "forgotten country" (see Sesser). Our purpose here is to discuss the future of the political and economic system of Laos, and its potential for long-term sustainability. Of special interest is the distinctive Lao approach to development, which we shall term "Laoism."
