Culture,liberation, and 'development'

Most of the socio-economic changes taking place in Africa and much of the South are externally driven. External agencies, often in league with the State, by-pass working people and do not involve them in the decision-making processes. Their economic approaches ignore people's cultures and their world view. This denies working people a creative capacity to adapt new techniques and knowledge to their own concrete reality. This article argues for the importance of the historical frame of reference and for the centrality of culture in socio-economic processes. The author argues against approaches which are not culturally familiar to working people.     

蓬勃发展的柬埔寨旅游业

柬埔寨的旅游业是近十年才开始发展起来的新兴产业。柬埔寨有着悠久的历史和古老的文明,有被誉为东方古代四大奇迹之一的吴哥寺和多姿多彩的民族风情;然而这些名胜古迹和风景区,在1953年独立到1970年初西哈努克统治时期,仅用来接待外国国家元首、重要代表团参观游览。在1956年仅接待外宾2200人,到战争爆发前的1969年才增加至4万人。由此可见柬埔寨虽然具有丰富的旅游资源,但旅游业却处于未开发状态。从1970年至1991年《巴黎和平协议》签署的20多年里,连绵不断的战争使柬埔寨这个东南亚的鱼米之乡变成了世界上最不发达的国家之一。柬埔寨问题…