Progress

I was out shopping this weekend (grocery shopping, that is) and then eating with a friend when she mentioned that Cambodia has really changed since she arrived (many years ago). Even in the brief stint that I’ve been living here, things are different. Soon, a 40-story building will grace Phnom Penh’s skyline, and the KFC opens either this month or next month. There are SUV’s (and I mean luxury SUVs—Hummers, Range Rovers, Mercedes) driving down the streets. As I looked around the shopping center we were in, I couldn’t help but wonder, is this progress?

Many would argue that an economic boom in Cambodia is a great thing. I certainly think that it’s helpful for people to have employment, and that a self-sustaining economy for Cambodia is a must. However, I’m not sure that what has happened in this country is what we should be aiming for in development. The rich are getting richer, and the gap between the richest and poorest Cambodians is widening. So the wealth benefits the few, not the many (some of you are now declaring me a communist—hang in there, I’ll explain).

I guess what drives me crazy is that the stability and growth of the Cambodian economy doesn’t seem to be improving things like health care, hunger, or justice. The tax structure is abominable, and though there is more money flowing in from business, the huge amount of foreign aid received here isn’t changing ($601 million in 2007). Instead, what has appeared are massive office and apartment buildings that the poor cannot afford; luxury items (plasma screens? really?) that people simply don’t need; and foreign imports that just aren’t any good (KFC, McDonald’s… American culture at it’s finest). In other words, all that new money can be shunted right into conspicuous consumption; it’s a practice I find suspect anyway, and certainly one I’m not about to endorse for a recently stabilized economy.

Living here has forced me to examine the value of living simply—it’s not something I’ve ever been good at. The words “need” and “want” are badly conflated in my vocabulary. But I’ve examined how I use the things that I purchase, and I think twice about whether or not I’ll really eat all the food that I buy (because after looking at hungry kids, I’ve changed my mind about mindlessly filling my fridge). So it’s really difficult for me to look around and see a class of rich Cambodians living off the fruit of cheap labor or foreign investment when there are children picking trash at the city dump. Is there a way to ensure that the wealth gets spread around? Is it a case of selfishness?

At the end of the day, I’m not sure what true progress looks like. I have an inkling, though, that it might have something to do with fewer hungry kids, more people getting an education, less disease, and certainly a reduction in poverty. I think what I’m craving here is not just a new economy, but a new value system—one more closely aligned with the Kingdom vision in the Gospels. In that case, it has to be more than just improving businesses and structures; it has to do with reaching people’s hearts.