For John, BLUF: North Korea's rigid ideology (Juche) means limited development and increased hunger. Nothing to see here; just move along.
We skip over to the Korean Peninsula to look at contrasting systems, North and South Korea. As someone noted:
At the end of WWII North Korea had virtually all of the industry on the Korean Peninsula including all of the electric power generation. It implemented a set of strongly collectivist policies while the South, after Syngman Rhee was ousted by Park Chung Hee, put in a bit more balanced system. The results after 50 years are instructive.From the Korea Times:
Hunger situation in North Korea this year worsened from the 1990s despite considerable amount of international aid to the communist nation, a Washington-based food institute showed Saturday.Two systems and two outcomes. It is North Korean Communism that helps create the problem, but also the ideology of Juche.The 2012 Global Hunger Index (GHI) published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) said hunger remains a serious problem worldwide, with alarming levels in some countries.
North Korea's hunger situation was at the "serious level," the report said, with its GHI standing at 19 points, higher than that of 15.7 in 1997.
According to Kim Jong-il's On the Juche Idea, the application of Juche in state policy entails the following:And, today, it is Kim Jong-il's grandson, Kim Jong-eun, and, sadly, little has changed.
The Juche outlook requires absolute loyalty to the revolutionary party and leader. In North Korea, these are the Workers' Party of Korea and the supreme commander, formerly Kim Jong-il.
- The people must have independence (chajusong) in thought and politics, economic self-sufficiency, and self-reliance in defense.
- Policy must reflect the will and aspirations of the masses and employ them fully in revolution and construction.
- Methods of revolution and construction must be suitable to the situation of the country.
- The most important work of revolution and construction is molding people ideologically as communists and mobilizing them to constructive action.
Regards — Cliff
1 comment:
It's always in the implementation, isn't it. I find it highly ironic that the ideology of Juche covers all the same bases as our own, if you substitute their euphemism of "revolution and construction" for our "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" stuff:
1. The people must have independence in thought and politics, (The vast majority of our Bill of Rights speaks to guaranteeing this), economic self-sufficiency, (capitalism, free enterprise, and the religion of job creation!), and self-reliance in defense. (Our 2nd Amendment).
2. Policy must reflect the will and aspirations of the masses and employ them fully in revolution and construction. (We the People, and the consent of the governed being the only justifiable basis of government is all over our Constitution).
3. Methods of revolution and construction must be suitable to the situation of the country. (Free enterprise rules!)
4. The most important work of revolution and construction is molding people ideologically as communists and mobilizing them to constructive action. (Ok, here you also have to substitute "free public education" for "molding people", but it's still in a similar ballpark).
So, if we all can agree that power is of the people, we're just disagreeing over whether or not those people can be trusted with the power to govern and defend themselves. Clearly, the North Korean government is based on the presumption that people cannot be trusted to govern or defend themselves.
I find it deeply disquieting that we seem to have forgotten the importance of defending ourselves, and we're rolling over without a murmer while we allow our government to snatch that power away from us. I wonder how long it will be before the "job creators" decide that it will be better for us, too, if they take away our power to un-elect them, too.
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