Debates on the Economic Crisis within the Korean Left

A Marxist perspective is used to determine whether business conglomerations, neoliberal thought, or overproduction were responsible for South Korea's 1997 economic collapse. Although conglomerations are the most popular targets among Korean progressives, several problems with such an assertion...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Rethinking Marxism 1999-03, Vol.11 (2), p.85-97
Main Authors: Jeong, Seongjin, Shin, Jo-Young
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business
Capitalism
Economic Crises
Economic Structure
Left Wing Politics
Marxist Analysis
South Korea
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Summary:A Marxist perspective is used to determine whether business conglomerations, neoliberal thought, or overproduction were responsible for South Korea's 1997 economic collapse. Although conglomerations are the most popular targets among Korean progressives, several problems with such an assertion are presented, eg, the inability to blame economic recession in other capitalist societies on conglomerations. Arguments are offered to counter positions that place blame on neoliberalism; eg, such reasoning largely disregards precollapse structural problems of Korea's capitalist system. Perspectives that view Korea's economic downfall as the product of collaboration between conglomerates & neoliberal thought are rejected, & viewpoints that hold overproduction accountable for Korea's crisis are repudiated on several grounds, eg, failure to account for the causes of Korea's economic depression. An approach based on Marxist crisis theory that acknowledges structural, cyclical, & chronic factors as responsible for Korea's collapse is advocated. 11 References. J. W. Parker
ISSN:0893-5696
1475-8059
DOI:10.1080/08935699908685584