The death of North Korea's leader at the beginning of 2301 is actually fortunate since it allows us put to put a few items on this week's agenda in context. (For background click on Kim Jong-Il and North Korea.)
First, North Korea is organized as an autocratic - totalitarian state, meaning that one person possesses sovereign authority (and that it is by definition a tyrannical system - there is no limit on the power of the leader), and there is no individual freedom allowed - the lives of the people are organized according to the whims of the state. As you should figure out from the class material, autocratic systems are noteworthy for their arbitrary nature, and Kim Jong-Il was famously unpredictable - and apparently clever at negotiating.
Being a totalitarian state of the first order, North Korea has one of the worst human rights records in the world (these two tend to go hand in hand). As is common in such states, it is very poor and the per capita GDP is among the lowest in the world. The CIA Factbook places it 160th about of 193 countries, while it places South Korea 31st. the fact that these two nations are essentially the same except for their political systems has allowed for comparisons of the two systems. This illustrates a point made in the class material that free societies tend to be wealthier then repressive ones. Keeping the population poor is actually a good idea if one want to stay in power. Countries become wealthy because they allow their people to develop their talents and apply their ingenuity to problem solving. While this may lead to greater wealth, it also tend to incubate political opponents, not a good thing is one wishes to stay in charge.
We might want to consider what makes a society repressive. How can a population be effectively controlled? North Korea does so externally and internally. External controls are imposed when anyone who seems likely to be a dissident is punished. The nation (which is very secretive) has a system of prisons where political prisoners (itself an interesting species of criminal) and their families are sent. This is old fashioned coercion. But the more effective way to control people seems to be by doing so internally, controlling how they think (Orwell's thought control). Korea has an extensive apparatus designed to create support for their leader (of course, in a sense, we do too, but more on this later). One of the words used to describe this process is propaganda, but it can be deeper and more pernicious. The people of North Korea were born and raised thinking that all that they have is due to the beneficence of Kim Jong-Il. They may not be able to formulate thoughts that his rule was unjust and they should not be forced to live under coercive rule. This leads to an additional point worth pondering as we continue.
I spend a good amount of time in the introductory material detailing the idea that American government rests on the consent of the governed. This is the alternative to rule by coercion, and it is based on the idea that rational people are not willing to consent to be ruled by an autocratic dictator, but is this really true? One of the news items that came out when the death was announced was the public weeping and wailing that occurred across the nation when people learned he had died. We in the west tend to think these were faked, or perhaps coerced. It may very well be that these are genuine however, and the nation's attempt to control how people think and feel has been successful to the point that they willingly consent to a governing that system that we can hardly imagine accepting.
- Some useful links via The Dish.
A few thoughts to consider, I welcome your comments and input.
