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I'm not convinced that South Korea is the best example - much of its economic growth(until 1987) occurred under what Wikipedia describes as dictatorial then des

I'm not convinced that South Korea is the best example - much of its economic growth(until 1987) occurred under what Wikipedia describes as dictatorial then despotic rule and I'd be tempted to attribute some of the difference to having the US as an ally instead of the collapsing Soviet Union.

toss1 3y ago
Sure, maybe not the best example off the top of my head. But not bad either. While levels of democracy were bad (i.e., higher autocracy) in the early years, the trend has certainly been towards democracy, and growth has been solid under both conditions, and steadier in the last few decades. Sure, trading with the US and ER is also a factor, but that is also a benefit of being a democracy, instead of being an autocracy and relying on international criminal activities for currency, as does NK. And while these factors may account for some of the difference it certainly doesn't count for all of it. While they're on two halves of the same patch of land, NK should also have some advantages with their direct land connections to China an Russia. Yet, NK residents are literally kept ignorant and starving, while SK is one of the most prosperous nations in the world. It would be extreme paternalism to argue that even if they had good information and the means to make a self-determining government, that they would not do so. In fact, parts of the experiment have already been done in NK — while any type of private enterprise was absolutely banned, it still sprung up all the time, and in one of their earlier famines, the govt relented and it was allowed because it did help better distribute resources. Just because people who don't like what thy have and are powerless to change it, does not mean that they want it or it is best for them. [0] https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/KOR/south-korea/gdp-growth-rate https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/KOR/south-korea/gdp-gr...

toss1 3y ago

Sure, maybe not the best example off the top of my head. But not bad either. While levels of democracy were bad (i.e., higher autocracy) in the early years, the trend has certainly been towards democracy, and growth has been solid under both conditions, and steadier in the last few decades. Sure, trading with the US and ER is also a factor, but that is also a benefit of being a democracy, instead of being an autocracy and relying on international criminal activities for currency, as does NK. And while these factors may account for some of the difference it certainly doesn't count for all of it. While they're on two halves of the same patch of land, NK should also have some advantages with their direct land connections to China an Russia. Yet, NK residents are literally kept ignorant and starving, while SK is one of the most prosperous nations in the world. It would be extreme paternalism to argue that even if they had good information and the means to make a self-determining government, that they would not do so. In fact, parts of the experiment have already been done in NK — while any type of private enterprise was absolutely banned, it still sprung up all the time, and in one of their earlier famines, the govt relented and it was allowed because it did help better distribute resources. Just because people who don't like what thy have and are powerless to change it, does not mean that they want it or it is best for them. [0] https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/KOR/south-korea/gdp-growth-rate https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/KOR/south-korea/gdp-gr...