The Value of Freedom and Markets That Shines Everywhere

People generally look to Western philosophy to learn about liberalism. That is perhaps only natural, since many of the major scholars who contributed to liberalism were from the West and the academic roots of the tradition lie there. But the values of liberty and the market can also be found in Eastern thought. They can even be found in Silhak, the Practical Learning tradition of late Joseon. In this way, liberalism has drawn attention across regions since long ago.

Han Feizi, an ancient Chinese thinker, left behind remarks that are strikingly relevant to the market economy. He said, “A doctor sucks pus from a patient’s wound not because he pities the patient, but in order to cure the illness and receive payment.” He also said, “While a carriage maker hopes people become rich quickly, a coffin maker hopes people die quickly—not because the carriage maker is benevolent and the coffin maker cruel, but because the carriage maker can sell more carriages only if many people become rich, and the coffin maker can sell more coffins only if many people die.”

In other words, what moves the human mind is not affection, compassion, loyalty, or fellow feeling so much as “individual interest.” Adam Smith, who was active in 18th-century Britain, likewise referred to the “invisible hand” and self-interest in The Wealth of Nations. Yet Han Feizi came much earlier chronologically.

Not only Han Feizi, but also Pak Chega, a Silhak scholar active in late Joseon, deserves attention as a remarkable figure who could well be called “Joseon’s Adam Smith.” In fact, Pak Chega and Adam Smith were active around a similar period.

Even in its later years, Joseon did not have money circulating in any meaningful practical sense. Most goods were traded in kind rather than through currency. Roads were not well developed either, so exchange and travel between regions were not easy.

At such a time, Pak Chega advocated the use of money, road improvement, and the use of carts. These were highly unconventional proposals for the period. He also broke with the fixed idea that frugality was a virtue and presented the “well theory,” which held that consumption is like a well. He further said, “It is difficult for one person to make everything for his own use. It is beneficial for several people—A, B, C—each to make something by making use of the ‘specialty’ each possesses.” This was, in effect, an emphasis on the division of labor. Through such arguments, Pak Chega criticized empty ideological debates and sought to promote the development of commerce and industry, which were then looked down upon.

Moreover, in his book Bukhakui, Pak Chega even proposed a “theory of making Chinese a common language.” This was partly influenced by his Sinocentric outlook, but also by his expectation that if Chinese were designated a common language, trade and exchange with China would increase further, commerce would develop, and Joseon would change in a positive direction. Had that happened, Joseon might have found it far easier to accept Western civilization and institutions.

Besides the empirical Pak Chega, who championed use and welfare and mercantilism, there were many outstanding figures of the time, including Choe Hangi and Jeong Yakyong. All of them embodied the buds of modern and liberal thought. Regrettably, however, their arguments were not accepted in Joseon. Those in power, intent on preserving their vested interests, failed to embrace their ideas and ultimately turned away from them.

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Original title: 어디서든 빛나는 자유와 시장의 가치

Author: Seong-woo Jung

Date: 2021-02-25

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=free_opinion&pn=12&idx=23533