The Tragedy of Values : Reflections on Economism and Democracy in Our Historical Experience

이 글은 이러한 마음가짐으로 부끄러운 오늘의 현실과 마주하여 이를 살피고자 했다. 역사의 수치는 망각과 호도의 대상이 아니라 기억과 성찰의 대상이다. 사소한 일로 소란을 피우는 들뜬 이 시대의 경박성에 맞서, 한국인문사회과학회가 또다시 민주주의를 주제로 삼아 이를 함께 되새기자며 연 이 해의 학술 모임은 외로운, 그러나 무거운 비판 의식을 증언한다. 이 글은 60년 전 군사 쿠데타 이후 우리가 겪은 가치의 어지러움과 뒤바뀜, 삶의 뒤틀림과 아픔에 대한 되새김 하나이다.

This article examines the unfortunate history of a military coup that took place 60 years ago and brought about the distortion and deterioration of our democracy. First of all, I provide a brief summary of my interest in saving the study of democracy in Korea by noting that its historical significance has been neglected, and point out that democracy is located at the opposite end of economism by briefly surveying Mencius' theme of ‘hangsan-hangshim' (a constant livelihood-a constant mind), which infiltrated the Eastern culture and the story of the Exodus, which has influenced Western culture, examined by Walzer's analysis. Next, I point out that from Plato to Tocqueville, the problem of human character was the basis of their argument for questioning the rule of majority in democracy. Today, this refers to the greed of the people who have lost their moderation, meaning that the acquisition and maintenance of power depends on the ability to mobilize this greed. In this context, I look into the reality of Korean society. The aspiration for democracy is always crushed by the appeal of economism. In other words, the ‘economical’ as a ‘condition' of life does not stay as a ‘condition' but rises to the supreme ‘value’ which controls our life. Democracy is always second. Neither left-right confrontation nor generational boundaries has much effect in the face of the power of economism. We are yet to be freed from the domination of the economistic consciousness that ‘hang-sim’ is only possible after ‘hang-san’. It is the desolation and tragedy of life. Breaking through this cannot be done by politicians who have to serve the majority conforming to economism. This is the responsibility of ‘citizens’ who think about the dignity of life and oppose economism.