Contemporary Korean Political Thought and Park Chung-hee (CEACOP East Asian Comparative Ethics, Politics and Philosophy of Law)

This important new book identifies the distinctive characteristics of the ideological terrain in contemporary (South) Korean politics and reexamines the political thought of Park Chung-hee (1917–1979), the most revered, albeit the most controversial, former president in the history of South Korea, in light of those characteristics. Jung In Kang articulates “simultaneity of the nonsimultaneous” and the “sanctification of nationalism” as the most preeminent characteristics of the Korean ideological topography, which are distinct from those of modern Western Europe, while acknowledging the overwhelming and informing influence of modern Western civilization in shaping contemporary Korean politics and ideologies. He goes on to analyze the political thought of Park Chung-hee, in this way investigating and confirming the academic validity and relevance of those ideological characteristics in more specific terms. The book assesses how nonsimultaneity and sanctification are interwoven with Park’s thought, while reconstructing the political thought of President Park in terms of four modern ideologies: liberalism (liberal democracy), conservatism, nationalism and radicalism. Kang concludes by tracing the changes undergone by simultaneity and sanctification in the three decades since democratization, with some speculation on their future, and by examining the ideological legacy and ramifications of Park Chung-hee’s authoritarian politics in the twenty-first century. German ordoliberalism originated at the end of the Weimar Republic (1918-1933) in a context of hyper-inflation, depression, mass unemployment and social unrest. For ordoliberalism, a free economy is premised on a sound political, legal, social and moral framework to secure its cohesion. The role of the state is to ensure a liberal economic order. Ordoliberalism is a contested account of post-neoliberal political some argue that it offers a more restrained and socially just market order; others, in complete contrast, that is a form of authoritarian liberalism and that it is the theoretical foundation for the austerity politics that the EU has actively promoted in recent years. Foucault discusses ordoliberalism at length in The Birth of Biopolitics, and Bonefelds book provides a thought-provoking companion to those lectures by offering a more comprehensive investigation of the theoretical foundation of ordoliberal thought and its historical and theoretical contexts. The Strong State And The Free Economy: German Ordoliberalism, Political Theology And European Democracy -- Free Economy As Political Practice -- Democracy And Freedom: On Authoritarian Liberalism -- Economic Constitution And Social Order: On The Freedom Of Complete Competition -- Social Policy: From The Class Society To The Enterprise Society -- European And The Idea Of Subsidiarity: On The Elements Of Ordoliberalism -- European Monetary Union: Economic Constitution And Ordnungspolitik -- Authoritarian Liberalism And The Euro: On The Political Theology Of The Executive State. Werner Bonefeld. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "This book examines the political thought of Park Chung-hee (1917-1979), the most revered, albeit the most controversial, former president in the history of South Korea. It looks at the trends in the ideological terrain of contemporary South Korean politics, and the legacy of Park Chung-hee's authoritarian politics"--Provided by publisher An investigation into the theoretical foundations of ordoliberal thought and its historical and theoretical contexts.