Dangerous Indicator of Social Attitudes
Dangerous Indicators of Changing Social Attitudes in Cambodia Cambodia may be facing a troubling shift in social attitudes. The concern is not simply that harmful behaviour exists—every society experiences crime, corruption, violence, manipulation and injustice. The deeper danger emerges when such behaviour gradually becomes normalised : when people begin to think, “This is how things work,” “Everyone does it,” or even, “There is nothing wrong with it as long as I benefit.” Several developments in Cambodia can be viewed through this lens. They occur at different levels of society and may appear unrelated, but together they raise an important question: Are we witnessing an erosion of the social boundaries that distinguish acceptable from unacceptable behaviour? When Making Money Becomes More Important Than How Money Is Made One disturbing indicator is the apparent normalisation of wealth accumulation without sufficient concern about how that wealth is generated. The gro...