I've heard taking a holiday to his country while he ruled was not a great idea.
The US dropped a lot of bombs on Cambodia. I don't think the Khmer Rouge can be understood without that acknowledgement.
SHORT, Philip - Pol Pot. Anatomy of a Nightmare Probably the best on Pol Pot and his relation to China and Vietnam.
He looked at Mao’s Great Leap Forward and decided to try to one up him with a ‘Super Great Leap Forward’.
A lot of people will say Pol Pot’s not a communist, and I get taking that approach when talking to most people, but I personally count him as part of the socialist projects of the 20th century. It’s worth reading some stuff about him, even if only to see what went wrong.
If you want literature, I’ve recently started reading Pol Pot Plans the Future. It has translated party documents, with analysis.
He twisted communism beyond all recognition. He was an ultra leftist that fetishized violence and poverty.
It's a term for leftists who have twisted a left ideology beyond the point where it's helpful or can be a positive force in the world. Basically a leftist who's lost sight of the goal of a leftist ideology, and who don't care for the consequences of their strategy. The Gang of Four were also ultra-left.
"During the “cultural revolution” the Gang of Four raised the absurd slogan, “Better to be poor under socialism and communism than to be rich under capitalism.” It may sound reasonable to reject the goal of becoming rich under capitalism. But how can we advocate being poor under socialism and communism? It was that kind of thinking that brought China to a standstill. That situation forced us to re-examine the question." Good ol' Gang of Four.
