… More than 30 years after “Year Zero” and more

than a decade after the “return to democracy,”

Cambodia remains in a league of its own —

miserable, corrupt and compassionless. Only the

toughest and the most unscrupulous can “make

it” and get ahead. There is hardly any social net to

speak of; the savage insanity of the Khmer Rouge

has been replaced with savage capitalism, but

often with the same people in charge.…

— Andre Vitchek,

“A Tortured History and Unanswered Questions”


What does the author of this 2006 passage

conclude?

(1) As democracy develops, circumstances will

improve.

(2) Though governments change, circumstances

often remain the same.

(3) New leadership is determined to replace the

Khmer Rouge.

(4) Harsh living conditions have caused people to

rely extensively on a social net.