The history of wage struggle in Cambodia is a case study for the history of global capitalism as a whole.
Here's how it works: Multi-national corporations exploit
workers in the most exploitable countries, producing goods at
rock-bottom prices that are sold for sky-high profits in affluent
countries. When the workers protest the injustice, the armed force of
the state *always* intervenes to protect the interests of the capitalist
ownership class and maintain the on-going exploitation. This is why
many workers around the world know capitalism viscerally as a system
that rob workers at gunpoint.
This capitalist system of exploitation could not continue to exist
without the armed intervention of the state. Without the police brutally
cracking down on workers, businesses would have long ago started paying
workers living, dignified wages and many would likely become
worker-owned and managed. So much for free markets.
