Pol Pot

==== Rural reform ====
From 1975 onward, all of those Cambodians who were living in rural co-operatives, meaning the vast majority of Cambodia's population, were reclassified as members of one of three groups: the full-rights members, the candidates, and the depositees.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=292}} The full-rights members, most of whom were poor or lower-middle peasants, were entitled to full rations, and able to hold political posts in the co-operatives and join both the army and the Communist Party.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=292}} Candidates could still hold low-level administrative positions.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=292}} The application of this tripartite system was uneven and it was introduced to different areas at different times.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=292}} On the ground, the basic societal division remained between the "base" people and the "new" people.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=292}} It was never Pol Pot and the party's intention to exterminate all "new" people although the latter were usually treated harshly and this led some commentators to believe extermination was the government's desire.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=292}} Pol Pot instead wanted to double or triple the country's population, hoping it could reach between 15 and 20 million within a decade.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=321}}

Within the village co-operatives, Khmer Rouge militia regularly killed those Cambodians who they deemed to be "bad elements".{{sfn|Short|2004|p=322}} A common statement used by the Khmer Rouge to those they executed was that "to keep you is no profit, to destroy you is no loss."{{sfnm|1a1=Chandler|1y=1992|1p=123|2a1=Short|2y=2004|2p=322}} Those killed were often buried by the fields, to act as fertiliser.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=322}} During the first year of Khmer Rouge rule, most areas of the country were able to stave off starvation despite significant population increases caused by the evacuation of the cities. There were exceptions, such as parts of the North-West Zone and western areas of [[Kampong Chhnang Province|Kompong Chhnang]], where starvation did occur in 1975.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=319}}

The new Standing Committee decreed that the population would work ten day weeks with one day off from labor; a system modelled on that used after the French Revolution.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=321}} Measures were taken to indoctrinate those living in the co-operatives, with set phrases about hard work and loving Cambodia being widely employed, for instance broadcast via loudspeakers or on the radio.{{sfn|Short|2004|pp=323–24}} [[Neologism]]s were introduced and everyday vocabulary was altered to encourage a more collectivist mentality; Cambodians were encouraged to talk about themselves in the plural "we" rather than the singular "I".{{sfn|Short|2004|pp=324–25}} While working in the fields, people were typically segregated by sex.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=326}} Sport was prohibited.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=326}} The only reading material that the population were permitted to read was that produced by the government, most notably the newspaper ''Padevat'' ("Revolution").{{sfn|Short|2004|p=326}} Restrictions were placed on movement, with people permitted to travel only with the permission of the local Khmer Rouge authorities.{{sfn|Short|2004|p=333}}