No Dokdo, no boobies, no Canadian English teachers acting silly, but plenty of political economy to chew on, courtesy AEI scholar Nick Eberstadt (and kindly sent to me by a reader). In his latest installment, Big Nick suggests that classical Stalinism, rather than Pyongyang’s “socialism with Korean characteristics,” may offer a solution to the DPRK’s political-economic dilemma. It’s a lengthy piece, and definitely worth your time reading. Here’s just a sample:
North Korea’s conspicuous economic failure, therefore, can only be explained as a consequence of “socialism with Korean characteristics” as it evolved in the D.P.R.K. over the past generation-what North Korean officialdom terms “our own style of socialism.” Aside from hypermilitarization, there are several other ways in which North Korea has wrecked its economy by going to extremes unheard of in other communist states.
The state has ruthlessly suppressed the consumer sector, impairing the development of human capital and destroying incentives for work. Pyongyang has largely removed money from the economy, meaning that many transactions have to be accomplished using barter (a situation still true despite the limited reintroduction of money via the consumer sector through the so-called “July 2002 reforms”). There is little financial intermediation, and indeed the political system is hostile to entrepreneurial activity, even by state-owned companies. North Korea has defiantly refused to pay its international debts since the 1970s, meaning it is unable to get credit, and it shuns trade with countries it regards as imperialist.
This imposing array of destructive policies and practices makes it depressingly clear why North Korea has been stuck in prolonged and severe economic decline. But it also offers a ray of hope: Reversing course could bring huge benefits. In fact, merely reverting to a range of economic policies such as those pursued by the Soviet Union under Josef Stalin–i.e., classic central economic planning–could potentially bring about improvements that would qualify in North Korea today as a veritable economic renaissance.
Stalinism would also entail cutting back military spending and resources to those needed to maintain a sufficient deterrent against an attack by South Korean and U.S. forces. North Korean leaders might worry that demobilization and reduction of the constant barrage of propaganda about impending attack might make it harder to maintain loyalty to the regime. But just as for Stalin after World War II, this would hardly look to be an insurmountable problem-and North Korea today is if anything an even more “perfect” police state than Stalin’s Soviet Union.
Read the rest on your own.
21 Comments
Eberstadt doesn’t know s* about communism. The word is “bureaucracy”. Communism dies out because there is no incentive for hard work and then the big B sets in to destroy whatever is left. Five signatures to buy a pencil..You know the song.
Communism does not work! Period. This a**ho** Eberstadt still believes it can work? Which century is he from?
I can’t tell if Ebarstadt is being farcical or not, but hyundai seems to have missed the point. Even the failings of Stalinism as practiced by the Soviet Union and then Eastern Europe would be a considerable improvement over the present conditions of North Korea. Which right now as they stand are probably lower than sub-saharan Africa despite the fact that the country is surprisingly urbanized and has a substantial educated population. There is only one explanation as to why North Korea is in a mess, and that lies squarely at the feet of Kim’s insane economic policies (even by communist standards).
Urbanized? Those buildings in PyungYang do not have elevators. Ten story building with no elevators…Ouch. Why not? No electricity. Why no electricity? No oil. Why no oil? No dollar.
And, only country that will sell oil to NK is China. And, China charges mulla money and a whole team of GipumJo(?????=hand-picked prostitues for Kim’s entertainment) per barrel.
And, bureaucracy is a monster that keeps growing. The case in point is the following story.
In 1990’s SK together with the U.S. developed a strain of rice that can withstand cold weather and bad soil condition. They named it the unification rice,????????. They gave it to NK for free and thought NK’s food shortage was solved.
No. Several years later, NK was still not growing that rice. Why not? The paperwork was going through the system. First, the local authority has to sign. They have no autonomous authority; they had to get authorization to sign from someone higher than them. So, they waited and waited. The answer never came.
After they sign then the doc has to the next layer of authority chain. And, the whole thing repeats. The fact is that the only person who can authorize this rice is KimJongIl himself. And, he is preoccupied with other things such as whom he is going to sleep with tonight.
They are still not growing that rice.
Food can be a tool to control people. Kim gives food to his communist party members, soldiers and local police. He lets others whom he cannot trust slowly starve and die out.
1984, Baby. Totalitarian state. Kim is perfecting it.
Say what you will about N.Korea. But both S.Korea and N.Korea are very similiar in its own ways. I think that’s one of the big reasons why South Koreans just don’t get bothered by all the propaganda that’s coming out of Pyong Yang. Hell, S.Korea does the same things so they understand the type of language (it takes one to know one). Both countries have pretty simple childish minds, unable to grasp the concept of true globalism. Both countries are susceptable to information campaigns of the masses who go hysterical. Both countries have very bad media press. Both countries like to parade around token foreigners tasting kimchi or putting up signs “Tokdo is our land” to point out how wonderful Korea is. Both countries need a good paddling on the butts, and need a lot of growing up to do. And if you don’t believe me on this, just read any of the S.Korean English prints. They sound just like N.Korean press.
And oh yeah, I might want to add, both countries like to suck China’s ass because both countries have always thought of China as the big brother. No matter, both countries are slated to be integrated into one of the provincial states within the PRC in few years. Both countries hate the US and Japan. The only difference is that S.Korea only tolerates them because they need them for now. Both countries profess self reliance but fail to realize the impossiblity of that. Both countries like to get together, hold hands, and sing Korea is one. Both countries don’t care if people are being starved to death in concentration camps in the north. It doesn’t bother them at all. Both countries don’t want reunification.
Stalinism in North Korea. Great idea. Their military could use a good purge.
Hell, while we’re at it, let’s just set up the whole damn thing like Animal Farm. Kim Jong-Il could be Napoleon, and Chung Dong-Young can be Squealer.
Who should play Snowball?
Isn’t it the non-stalinist aspects of NK’s regime that both they and the south are so proud of? The whole personality cult, the “duche” ideology: that they can be their own masters and that they don’t need anybody else “controlling” (assisting) them……….while they quietly take international aid and remove the international labels. It’s stalinism mixed with irrational nationalism……….thats what they seem to love, so i can’t see them changing.
Not speaking of this post in particular, but you tend to quote from random personal blogs as if they’re the New York Times. It’s often misleading. You also have an annoying habit of speaking with an air of authority on all matters Korean. Why don’t you give us your credentials oh mr. wise one?
hk,
who was your post directed toward?
I like the Canadian Teachers Acting Silly Stories.
Yeah, that sounds good. Replace one failed system with another failed system.
Not to argue with the idea that NK needs change-ANY change but for them to adopt Stalinism would be gay guy with a bad case of hemorrhoids needing to have sex with his man. Next to them changing nothing, that has got to be the worst thing for them to do. As for HK and his comment, while I agree whole heartedly with him on his views on moving to Korea and quoting other blogs like they are fact, I did notice that his own blog seemed more the ranting of a person in need of some anger management rather than a highly educated student of Korean/Korean studies like he lets on to be.
It’s hard to see what information Eberstadt bases his argument on. Like many of the comments so far, he’s just basing it on the tired old unsubstantiated stuff you find in the media, rather than an understanding of the current, or even recent, situation in the DPRK. He says “the political system is hostile to entrepreneurial activity, even by state-owned companies,” but that’s long out of date IMO. The problem is they don’t have a clue how to do it.
James — to be fair to HK, I don’t think he’s ever let on to be a highly educated student of Korean/Korean studies. As for quoting blogs as if they were fact, I quote commentary from other blogs, which is by definition opinion, not fact. I could be wrong, of course, but I don’t think I’ve ever quoted a news story from another blog that wasn’t backed up with a primary source.
It’s a joke, isn’t it?
Nick should’ve gone a bit farther back in his modest proposal and said the DPRK needs Leninism and an NEP system. Heh.
“NK needs change-ANY change but for them to adopt Stalinism would be gay guy with a bad case of hemorrhoids needing to have sex with his man.”
What the………….? Are you speaking from experience? This has got to be the funniest comment I have read yet on this blog. I can imagine someday, someone , getting up in front of a group of academia and journalist and say…………………..it would be like a gay guy with a bad case of hemorrhoids needing to have sex with his man.
I wonder if they will someday teach this phrase to students learning English?
I am sorry, I was under the impression this was a somewhat informal forum to discuss Korea related issues and so my comments were written in a spirit of humor. They are never meant to be offensive. As for the Marmot, you are right and I was not acccusing you of quoting opinions ass fact but rather responding to the posting made by HK.
Hmmm… a piece from the “non-partisan” AEP. And he says that “ordinary Stalinism” is superior to “communism with Korean Characteristecs.” This is something I think many of us can agree with considering this “Songun Juche” Korea is only marginally superior to Pol Pot’s agrarian utopia.
But I couldn’t help but wonder if Eberstadt was trying to convince his conservative peers about “carrot” based approach. The assumption seems to be that DPRK will never reform to a level that will be satisfactory, hence any baby-step approach will be better than where we are now—especially in order to start DPRK on the road to “legitimacy.”
Am I reading this thing wrong?
A trully memorable quote–NK is the only urbanized literate society to experience famine…
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