Ron Jacobs wrote this article: www.counterpunch.org/2012/10/12/lessons-from-korea/, and it would perhaps be worthwhile to read it for proper context. My critique of his article is pretty straightforward, so it is not necessary to read, but it would be better.
[begin critique]
Dear Sir,
I am American who works with my in-laws in Peru. We import rolling bearings into Peru (I live here in America), most of them as replacement parts for cars and commercial vehicles there. Most of our bearings come from South Korea. In May, I went to visit our two main suppliers (comments on them at my blog, May 2012).
WOW, your article comes close to making N Korea the rough equivalent of S Korea by your hagiography of George Katsiaficas and his book, and your NOT mentioning at all the absolutely brutal regime, for decades, of the Kim Dynasty in North Korea! Yes, there have been ugly characters with blood on their hands in S Korea's post WW-II history. But, the uprisings in S Korea have been tolerated and, yes, suppressed with relatively little bloodshed. ANYTHING similar in N Korea would have been bloodily crushed, and YOU know it. Shame on you.
S Korea's GDP per capita exceeds that of the UK. They have a fairly good democracy now.
They also have very advanced manufacturing (eg, Samsung and Hyundai). Their bearing plants (I visited four) were unlike anything I have ever seen, right out of Star Trek... In one of the provincial plants, I noted that it was not the traditional "one man, one machine" so often seen at other bearing plants, but "one man/woman, 20 machines". Yes, women on the (clean and safe) factory floor. They need BRAINS not brawn at Jecheon... N Korea exports weapons, fake money and drugs. I also took note of the complete freedom in S Korea, the youth there are free to be as idle or involved in "Korea Pop" as they so choose.
I understand that CounterPunch is hard left (which is great, First Amendment and all), and perhaps you have to toe a line (I visit CP fairly often, but more as an observer from the libertarian right). But, your leaving out the ALMOST INCREDIBLE achievements of the South Korean people, and yes, with the aid of the USA, is reprehensible. N Koreans flee to S Korea, while N Korea has to kidnap people from Japan's shores to gain "skills" and "instructors" they need. N Korea seeks the Nuke, counterfeits our money, regularly attacks (verbally and militarily) the South and is an active participant in the Asian drug trade. How can you discuss the Koreas, even if just reviewing a book, without mentioning the most barbaric, the WORST place on earth: North Korea? Have either you or Katsiaficas been to North Korea...? Or even seen the clandestine photos taken by tourists (Google them)?
As we say at Zero Hedge (www.zerohedge.com, you can start YOUR re-education today): minus 1
I know you have to play for your audience, but shame on you for not letting your fellow "Progressives" know of the logical extreme of Socialism. Such one-sided pieces are why the Left is in trouble here in the USA. The rest of us call this: "Selective Lying". That's the trouble with the Left, especially the Hard Left, lies are the main tool in your kit.
May you progress in your thinking and in your knowledge.
Best,
Robert A. Mix
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ReplyDeleteYou Can't have new Job Creation of meaningful good paying jobs in America anymore because of NAFTA, CAFTA, and World Trade Organization rules, coupled with Federal Reserve Corporation monetary policy destroying the value of the money you earn & save. Most Politicians are in on it.
ReplyDeleteI just thank the Creator every day for the Complete and Total Economic Collapse of the USA and the Entire Planet. It's the only thing that will solve most of our problems.
Eat Shit and Die USA, or Fix the Problem.
Hello, Michael! Thanks for the reply. While I certainly do not go that far, please do note that we buy NO BEARINGS from worthless (US bearing mfr) Timken, hiding behind mommie's skirt (US Commerce Dept.).
ReplyDeletePERU's Free Trade Agreement with Korea HAS made it easier for us to compete there. Yin and yang.
Robert,
ReplyDeleteI see that you are a fan of Pinochet ...
But that's all right, free speech and all.
A picture for you:
https://gs1.wac.edgecastcdn.net/8019B6/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbnzidkiqp1rir2hco1_500.jpg
Hello, Jim, thanks for your comment. Actually, no, I have never been a fan of the murderous Pinochet. I have not been to Chile, but I would bet that the echoes & ghosts of his bloody rule still are everywhere...
ReplyDeleteAnd, yes, MANY wrongs were committed by our country in its younger days re the Native Americans. That is GOOD that this is remembered... The picture illustrates some of our History very nicely. Hat Tip.
My point (if I had one -- drinking and posting again) ... it irritates me when folks use the term "hard left" or refer to Obama as a "Marxist". These things are not true, in fact. Obama is with the kleptocrats. Although it seems that the 'crats like Romney better these days.
ReplyDeleteAs my history teacher (who WAS a Marxist) once said, "what's more important, people or things?" ... but after decades of consideration, I have concluded that it's a matter of centralized/authoritarian rule vs distributed/local rule. And that the Founding Fathers understood this as only a colonial subject can.
I read your article on Counterpunch. It was an interesting bit of history, and I think it has some things to tell. After WWII the USA had pretty much complete control of the planet. Never before, and probably never hence, shall there be such a thing. But we've had some sixty or seventy years of Pax Americana. South Korea is currently the beneficiary of this situation thanks to a confluence of geography and history. Will it be ever so? I sort of doubt it.
What we are experiencing now is the edge of the petri dish. The Malthusian point. The end of growth. You might already know it, but growth is the basis of everything in the economy. The "Austrians" and the "Keynsians" and Krugman and ZH and everybody else are arguing about how to "restart growth" ... but of course the answer is that first we must have shrinkage. Growth can only occur when there is an excess of resources to support it.
So it hardly matters if your politics are "right" or "left" ... and I do envy your situation as a bi-national. It gives you flexibilty that many of us do not have.
Good night and good luck.
Thank you again Jim for your comment. Ruh roh! You have discovered the many risks of drinking and the Internet, they ought to pass a law... :)
ReplyDeleteI agree re distributed rule, the more local the better (usually).
Ron Jacobs's article caught me at a time when I was feeling unusually cranky, so I took the bait (easy in his case) and went after him. PURGED! And felt much better, having gotten "all of it" out of my system. Actually, one of my friends has been to NORTH KOREA, I am waiting to see if he would care to comment (or better yet, write up his trip, especially if he has pictures, and publish it here).
I have a real aversion to Communism, for two reasons. Number one is that my grandmother was hassled in Poland right after WWII by the Soviets, she headed up the American Red Cross effort there in Warsaw. Secondly, I myself (w/ a cousin) visited Poland and East Germany in 1984. I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears how much the Poles HATED Communism. Reagan was their HERO! Communism is BAD, take my word on that ("chumbawamba", for example, I strongly suspect has never been to such a place and would NOT know).
I believe, but do not KNOW, that you are right, that we will have to begin to plan on living in an era of scarcity. I have just started a book (Robert Kaplan's "The Revenge of Geography") which explores this idea. Our "Spare Parts Bitchez" business would nicely fit into a less energy-intensive world as people would use their vehicles longer before buying new again.
Best of luck to you too.
Well done, Robert. A good rebuttal. I'm sure it allowed you to blow off some steam, and just for this reason was probably worthwhile, but in my experience it's easier to convert Muslims to Christianity, to sell evolution to a creationist, and to herd cats than it is to establish any meaningful dialogue with a leftie. I cannot speak for Ron Jacobs as I've never come across him before, but if he's typical of the hard left your arguments will mean nothing to a person incapable of logical thought who lives by ideology, emotion and wishful thinking.
ReplyDeleteNice try though.
Sober now, more or less ...
ReplyDelete*shrug* I wasn't really defending the Counterpunch author. I actually consider myself to be a Republican. But Eisenhower isn't running for anything this election and the 'Republicans' of today have gone plumb crazy.
But I'm sticking to my thesis. North Korea is a lousy place to live, not because it follows any particular political philosopher, but because of the top-down nature of its government. It's like East Germany was before rejoining with Europe. Russia and China are still "Commuinist", but life has gotten better in those countries as the old 20th century dictators have finally died off and been replaced with somewhat less centralized committees.
Your first poster, Michael, mentioned NAFTA and the "new world order" orgs ... I might add the IMF / World Bank to the mix ... same deal. Top-down, autocratic rule. Do what we say or else. Does not lead to general happiness.
And finally, the thing that got me to think about this problem a decade ago. That water thing in Bolivia, made me think about this -- putting a resource under control of a giant multinational corporation did not seem to make sense. Hyper-local control did not make sense either, as you had neighbors competing to drill deeper into the aquifer. So there's probably a middle ground in that controversy, a management scope on a par with the size of the resource. I don't think all the answers come from Hobbes or Marx or any particular philosopher.
But getting back to the left-right thing: please note that you can have an asshole dictator from either end of the political spectrum, and as far as you're concerned if you live under him, it is just as bad. It's why I mentioned Pinochet.
* signing out and heading for the wine rack *