Korea, Wishing You a Happy New Year…

Improving Individual Lives Through the Capitalist Market Economy

It is regrettable that government intervention in our society is growing

I hope this will be a year in which the Economic Freedom Index rises

A new year has dawned. People meeting one another on the street exchange greetings of “Happy New Year” and wish each other happiness. Is not happiness what everyone desires? We all pursue a better life, and in that process we feel happiness. The ultimate goal of life is happiness, and that happiness ultimately resides within each person’s heart. No matter how favorable the environment may be, if an individual is not satisfied, that person can be unhappy; conversely, even in difficult circumstances, one can be happy if one feels contentment.

But the human mind is truly complex and subtle. It is easily shaken by one’s surroundings. To remain happy and at ease even in a harsh and painful environment would require extraordinary mental discipline—something beyond the reach of ordinary people. The saying, “Eating wild greens, drinking water, and lying with one’s arm as a pillow—is that not happiness?” does not readily resonate with most people. Happiness does not come from material abundance in food, clothing, and shelter, but from the things each person inwardly cherishes and cultivates. Yet when one must worry over every meal each day and anxiously struggle to find a means of making a living, one cannot satisfy spiritual desires and feel happy. Mencius’s phrase, “Without a stable livelihood, there can be no stable heart,” means that peace of mind requires economic security. Because the happiness within us is deeply affected by our environment, an important task is determining what kind of social environment we should create in order to pursue a better life.

When individual choices are constantly obstructed by external forces, people grow further from happiness. If they are prevented from buying the things they want or live in an environment where they cannot freely do what they wish, dissatisfaction inevitably accumulates. Such a society robs people of happiness. It is obvious which kind of society is happier: one in which anyone can invent, discover new things, and freely pursue what they want to do, or one in which everything requires permission.

The former is precisely the capitalist market economy. A capitalist market economy is a system in which individuals can freely act on their subjective desires. This means that every person is the master of his or her own life and has the right to live it in the manner he or she chooses, so long as that does not infringe on the rights of others. As Zhuangzi says in the “Perfect Joy” chapter, “People’s abilities are not all the same, and neither are their tasks; thus, the way to preserve happiness is to let each remain in a station suited to reality and follow what accords with his nature.” According to the Economic Freedom of the World published annually by the Fraser Institute, the higher a country’s economic freedom index—that is, the closer it is to a capitalist market economy—the higher its level of happiness.

There are many misunderstandings about this capitalist market economy. Many claim that it represents only the interests of certain groups in society—namely, the propertied class, capitalists, and entrepreneurs. But after the capitalist market economy was introduced following the Industrial Revolution, the pattern of human life changed and living standards improved for everyone. Countries that moved in the opposite direction all collapsed or suffered serious hardship. Given these realities, it is mistaken to claim that the capitalist market economy serves only the interests of a particular class.

A society in which particular individuals or groups receive special favors from the government and exercise monopoly power is a socialist, collectivist, and heavily government-intervened and government-controlled society. In such anti-capitalist societies, resources and wealth are allocated not according to ability and effort but according to cronyism based on family ties, regional ties, and school ties. The reality of North Korea, a socialist state, demonstrates this very clearly. In North Korea, the easiest way to gain privilege is to show loyalty to Chairman Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader. Those who are loyal gain privileges such as the right to engage in trade with foreign countries, and they use those privileges to enjoy wealth. Such people make up less than 1% of North Korea’s population. Everyone else lives in poverty.

Unfortunately, our society is moving farther and farther away from the capitalist market economy. Matters that individuals should decide autonomously are increasingly being decided by the government and political forces. As a result, cronyism has increased, and our lives have become more rigid and harsh. We must move toward a society that reduces interference by the government and political forces and expands individuals’ power to decide for themselves. Only then will our lives improve and become happier. I hope that this year we can create such a society. “Republic of Korea, may you have a blessed New Year!”

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Original title: 대한민국, 새해 복 많이 받기를…

Author: Jae-wook Ahn

Date: 2025-02-02

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=press&idx=27294