ABSTRACT
In 1975, Pol Pot and the leadership of the Khmer Rouge decided to ban all forms of currency, foreign and domestic, in an effort to remove all traces of Western capitalism from Cambodia. According to the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), money financed inequality, and its abolition would eliminate long-standing social hierarchies within the country. This chapter explains the ideology and strategy behind the abolition of currency. It also includes a general timeline of the decision-making process and evolution of the policy from the early 1970s to late 1978. Sources for this part of the book include CPK documents, interviews, renowned scholars of Cambodian history, and survivors of the regime.
