Korean radical poli-econ

Patrick Bond pbond at wn.apc.org
Sat Sep 25 05:04:05 PDT 1999


Are there comrades on these lists from South Korea, or involved in solidarity work? I'm making my first trip there next week, and am curious about political-intellectual traditions behind -- and practical implications of -- the following excellent excerpts from movement leaders there:

The intensification of the fantastic and

imperialistic neoliberal offensive and the economic

crisis is the dual expression of one entity: the

overaccumulation (overproduction) of capital since

the 1970s. The global economy is characterised by

overproduction and a decline in the rate of profit.

Efforts of capital are concentrated on increasing

the rate of profit, leading to greater

monopolisation. And the global monopolies and their

metropoles are intent on driving out state

intervention in the process of reproduction. This is

what is undertaken under the name of "deregulation."

Furthermore, the decline in the rate of profit

due to overproduction has meant that capital can no

longer find sufficiently profitable areas for

investment in production or distribution. This has

forced capital to turn to speculation. The birth of

mammoth speculative capital, fostered by the changes

in global financial practices, has transformed the

system into a "casino capitalism."

Koh Young-joo

General Secretary, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions

March 1999

The ship of Korean economy was wrecked in the high

sea of capital globalization. We have tried to

repair the ship prior to anything else, only to

realize that it is hardly enough to rectify the

problematic situation. The high sea exonerating no

ship to remain safe, we cannot help but think of

having such safety systems as a typhoon-alarming

equipment or pirate-defensive armaments ready for

any upcoming disaster. It is a time, in other words,

to direct our attention not only to the

restructuring of domestic economy but to that of the

world financial system.

In the rapid currents of globalization, which

effectively erase the traditional demarcation

between the inside and the outside, a fire beyond

the river turns itself quickly enough into a fire on

our own houses. The credibility game of borderless

capital drastically narrowing down policy choices of

national governments, the potential power of the

world citizens is the only hope left for the

renovation of the current, deeply destabilizing,

world financial order. Now is a time, therefore, for

the citizens of the world to put the question of the

world economic justice on the agenda of global civic

movement. It is not only a mandate of our own age

but also an important focus of global civic society.

Kim Young-ho

Chairperson, Taegu Round Korea Committee

September 1999

Patrick Bond (Wits University Graduate School of Public and Development Management) home: 51 Somerset Road, Kensington 2094, Johannesburg office: 22 Gordon Building, Wits University Parktown Campus mailing address: PO Box 601 WITS 2050 phones: (h) (2711) 614-8088; (o) 488-5917; fax 484-2729 emails: (h) pbond at wn.apc.org; (o) bondp at zeus.mgmt.wits.ac.za



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