Those Who Regret It First

Wilhelm Röpke (Roepke, 1899–1966), the German liberal economist, once classified several types of people who become collectivists and asserted that, whatever their motivation, collectivism can never be an alternative. According to his classification, some support collectivism because they expect that, once society becomes collectivist and property and income are forcibly redistributed, they will have nothing to lose and only something to gain. Others become collectivists in order to seize power, like populist politicians. Still others become collectivists out of a sense of justice rooted in humanism, equality, and justice itself, believing that the inequality and injustice found in real society must be eliminated. Röpke believed that, especially in cases where people become collectivists from humanitarian motives, no matter how noble their ideals may be, the reality they create can never be a viable alternative because it runs completely counter to human reason and experience.

One important reason is that collectivists seek to replace the market price mechanism that allocates resources with planning dependent on the human mind, but reality is far too complex—more complex than we can imagine. Collectivists can never solve the problem of knowledge and information, and they reject competition while greatly weakening the mechanisms that generate incentives. As a result, in a collectivist economy, a gap between plans and actual outcomes is bound to emerge, and coercive political power inevitably appears in order to narrow that gap. In the end, Röpke was convinced that “collectivism brings tyranny, division, centralization, despotic organization, the destruction of individuality, totalitarianism, inefficiency, and the rigid mechanization of human society in politics, economics, and society alike.” South Korea would hardly be exempt from such harms.

Unfortunately, the thinking of key figures in the current government and ruling party is collectivist. They pursue not “small government–big market” but “big government–small market.” They trust government regulation and control more than the free activity of individuals and markets. They also place collective interests ahead of individual liberty. All of these are traits not of individualism and liberalism, but of collectivism. Among these key figures are even some who openly declare, “I am a socialist.” Socialism and communism, along with Nazism, are forms in which collectivism has progressed to an extreme. As noted earlier, the harms brought about by this collectivism are clear and certain.

Yet in this regard, some interesting developments have recently been unfolding. Some of those who had until now supported the current government and ruling party, or actively worked alongside them, have turned their backs on them and begun criticizing them. Jin Jungkwon, former professor at Dongyang University and known as a leading “progressive commentator,” said, “They do not believe in the public’s reason or moral consciousness. They see the public as something that can be manipulated and incited. That mindset is horrifying, repulsive, and frightening.” Kim Kyungyul, former co-chair of the Executive Committee of the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, said, “The people in the Blue House have no morals.” A lawyer affiliated with Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) wrote that he had “quietly withdrawn my support for this administration on my own at the end of last year,” adding, “I am afraid of what this fearless administration, which does not care what the people think, might do.”

Milton Friedman said that the expansion of government power and the like are “mostly led by people with good intentions, but for that very reason they become the first to regret that it was the wrong path.” Former Professor Jin Jungkwon and others do appear to regret it, but so far their regret does not seem to have reached the kind of regret Friedman had in mind. That is because they still believe the path they pursued remains valid, and that the wrongful conduct or negative phenomena now appearing are problems of the wrong people. Only when they recognize and regret that this is not a problem of people but a problem of the wrong path—a problem of collectivism—will it become the kind of regret Friedman spoke of. Now that the harms of collectivism are beginning to reveal themselves in earnest, one cannot help but expect that those who led the way with good intentions, but who come to regret first that it was the wrong path, will soon emerge.

Hyukchul Kwon

Vice President, Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

Original title: 가장 먼저 후회하는 사람들

Author: Hyeok-cheol Kwon

Date: 2020-02-17

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=press&pn=22&idx=22394