A Reflection Toward Convergent
Political Economy (經世濟民) of Life
The privatization of
the property has a long history; and yet it takes an extreme form in the
neo-liberal ideology and its global regime is threatening the cosmic order of
life for all living beings. This statement may be regarded as one sided.
However, I feel that the current global economic regime and its impact make a
colossal impact to the life of all living beings. On this reading of the signs
of times I am reflecting on a vision for a political economy of life of all
living beings in the cosmos, rising from some religious thoughts of Asia .
The notion of the
political economy of life is a device to think about the political economy in
an integral (multidisciplinary across all disciplines) study of life of all
living beings in conviviality (common living) in the cosmos. It reaches beyond
the human community, and it includes the political economic order—“OIKOS of
Life” (the household of living beings.).
Asian religions have
social dimensions, which have economic and political implications in the past
as well as in the present global situation. We need to examine critically any
illicit symbiotic relations between religions end political and economic powers
in such a case as that of relationship between Christianity and capitalism.
This applies to Asian religions as well in different ways. However, we are
interested in those religious thoughts and philosophies, which have made
creative contributions toward political economies of the people in the broader
context of their cosmic environment.
Seeking a Convergent
Vision out of Divergent Traditions
At the middle of the
19th century there rose a religious movement, which was named later
as the Tonghak(東學). It is a
counterpart of the T’aiping Peasant Movement in China Korea
The Tonghak people proposed an alternative
economic principles: All beings are realized into one and this천entails an economic order in
which the land and main means of production are to ben under the public
management, the result of which would be overcoming the gap between haves and
have-nots. This means socio-economic democracy for all people.
Donghak
community taught that the Humanity is the Heaven(人乃天) and this led to the doctrine of
unity of humanity with the nature.(人吾同胞物吾同胞). This is
an expansion of the political economy from human society to the cosmic
community.
Tonghak
teaching had drawn an ancient Korean scholar, Choi Chi Won, who combined the
teachings of Buddhism, Lao-Jang teachings, Sunism(仙道) and Confucianism and
integrated them into a unique teaching, Pungryu(風流). It is a way of life
in the cosmic community. This was taken as a starting point to integrate all
wisdom of the people into a new way of life (political economy included). [3]
In this there is a Korean Buddhist component. The Buddhist stream of thought for the political economy of life is manifest in the Meitraiya tradition of the Western paradise in
The Doctrine of
Interconnectedness(Pratītyasamutpāda) (緣起說)
is a foundational notion. The being and non-being and their rise and fall(因) are all interconnected and interdependent,
and thus all beings are relations(緣)
of interdependent mutuality in the cosmos of all living beings. All living
beings are the cause and the land and environment is the relation. All living
beings are interconnected one in body, mind, and heart in cosmic community [5] Buddhists recognize a Buddha nature in every sentient
being - the potential to be whole and enlightened. Our minds create and pervade
every thing, hence physical reality is open for the spiritual. humans are
viewed as being part of a larger whole.(萬物同體) with which they
can communicate by opening up their hearts and minds.
The practice of eight
right paths(八正道) is the
way to realize the vision of the political economy. The eight paths are: 正見 Samyag-dṛṣṭi) (②正思 Samyak-saṁkalpa(③正語 Samyag-vac), (④正業 Samyak-karmānta) (⑤正命 Samyag-ājīva), (⑦正念 Samyak-smṛti), (⑥正精進
Samyag-vyāyāma), ⑧正定 Samyak- samādhi).
The right work (正業 Samyak-karmānta) is closely related to the
realization of the political economy, although all others are interconnected.
The mode of practice of the political economy are in the (sangha, 僧伽) in the human communities and cosmic
community.
Upon this Buddhist spiritual foundation, the Buddhist
economics are being discussed.
EF Schumacher states, “It is clear, therefore, that
Buddhist economics must be very different from the economics of modern
materialism, since the Buddhist sees the essence of civilisation not in a
multiplication of wants but in the purification of human character. Character,
at the same time, is formed primarily by a man's work. And work, properly
conducted in conditions of human dignity and freedom, blesses those who do it
and equally their products." It is economic of compassion(慈悲,自利利他).
Fundament
of Buddhism is Yongki緣起, Kong空, Musang(無相) and Mua(無我). This means “non-possesion” in relation to property. All beings
form one great life, and every individual life lives in it. There is no
property relation of possession. This is the principle of non-possession (無所有之易理). In the early Buddhism the
monks lived in the community of common possesion(共有), the people lived in a
corporate or social possesion(社有). The monk cannot have any property.
In these spiritual
traditions, the political economy of life is an convergence of the three
divergent dimensions of life: 1) Spiritual community, 2) human community and 3 cosmic
community of living beings in the nature.
A Vision of Korean
Confucian Political Economy
Confucianism has
marked East Asian civilization. Until the beginning of the 20th
century Confucian dynasties ruled East Asian Countries. Political economy has
been organized by Confucian principles. This is especially true in China Korea Japan
We are interested in
the vision of Confucian political economy to order to meet the serious
challenges in the context of globalization.
There is no question that the traditional Confucian political economy cannot
provide an alternative to the present global economy. We are seeking a salient
wisdom to evolve a vision of political economy alternative to the present
economic life. We believe that this is a relevant search, for we are in need of
radically new vision of political economic life.
Confucianism is a
social and utopian thinking. Confucianism has a visionary thinking rooted in
the ancient history of China, Yao Shun age, in the Confucian scriptures[6] and
in its various historical manifestations. We will take these three points as
our departure. However, we cannot exhaust the entire literature and history of
Confucianism. We will select a Korean Confucian reformer, Chong Yak Yong
(1762-1836)[7],
who had been a revolutionary thinker, as a point of departure. He is a Minjung
Confucian scholar. His intellectual achievements have a long lasting and broad
significance in the Confucian world. He has been much studied in Korea East Asia .
Furthermore, a study of Chong Yak Yong, whose thinking is based upon not only
Korean national experiences but also upon the local socio-economic experiences
in the South Western province, which is traditionally most exploited and
oppressed as well as today.
Chong is an
outstanding Confucian scholar of Reformation. His works are innumerous,
including Mokminsimso(牧民心書=the Book
for Shepherding the People), Kyongse Yupyo (經世遺表=Standard
of Ruling with Scriptures). Signs of his time are the weakening of the national
economy, the beginning of commercialization of agriculture, the extreme
oppression and the exploitation of the common people by the state bureaucracy
and the Yangban aristocratic class. He belongs to the School of Real Learning
(Silhak=實學), which
has been a movement of reform and renewal of Confucianism in the 18-19 century
Korea.
Chong’s Teaching of Self Reliance
Chong’s Confucianism
transcends geo-politically China China
Progressive and Revolutionary Outlook of Chong’s
Confucianism
Chong is a
progressive Confucian in that the people, not the elite (saints), are the
motive dynamic of the historical progress; and in that the material conditions
have the foremost importance for the welfare of the people; and in that the
morality (public good) is expressed through the welfare of the people. He
believed that history is changing from the past to the future. The past is the
resource for the new future for him. He reversed the order of priority in
progress. The morality follows the welfare of the people, which the people
realize through the practical wisdom (“science and technology). The improvement
of the material conditions for the life of the people was regarded as the
priority. This historical progress is realized by the efforts and struggle of
the people for their welfare in accordance with the trend of times.[8] For
him this historical progress is centered at the people’s efforts such as
productive activities for life, and this material progress will joint
consequently with the moral order. This view of history has a certain affinity
to the modern idea of progress, but it is thoroughly Confucian in that the
moral order in human society and in cosmos is integrated into the material
progress of the people. Previously the moral order belongs to the Confucian
saints (elite), and the moral order is regarded as the motive power of history.
But for Chong reversed this priority of the moral order to the material
welfare, which the people produce. This is a key dynamics of the Confucian
reform (revolutionary) movement in the school of Silhak
Confucianism
Chong’s Idea of Land Reform and the Alternative Political
Economy
Chong’s land reform
is aimed at the transformation of the feudalistic Confucian land system of his
time into a public land system in which the land belong to the state and to the
collective village community(閭). He
proposed the collective agricultural management to overcome feudalistic
agricultural productive relations. Namely it is to dismantle the feudal
landlord system by equalitarian agricultural production. This idea is rooted in
the vision of the ancient Confucian utopia.
He advocated a
radical land reform and agricultural production and distribution system. His
Yojonron(閭田論) is a
system, in which the natural village (Yo=閭)
owns the land, the agricultural labor is collectively managed to secure the poorest
household economy. This system means equal distribution of the land to the
actual tillers. This is the reform principle to dismantle the landlordism, that
is, the private ownership system in which the landlord exacts high tax (50%)
from the peasants. Chong’s land reform has the principle of the public
ownership of the land at the core of his thinking. The ultimate purpose of the
land reform is to protect the livelihood of the poor peasants.
Let us look into the
outline of his alternative vision of the political economy. In the first place
he sought to abolish the private ownership of the agricultural land. The land
would be managed collectively by the Yo (,閭)
which is the natural village community. It is not an ownership of the land by
the state, which had been advocated often by the reformers. It could be called
a kind of public ownership of the land. And this ownership is a right to
cultivate; it is not an absolute ownership. The distribution of the produce is
according to the labor amount and a degree of technical contribution toward the
production. The record of labor hours will be kept for the use in distribution.
The tax would be 10% of the produce; and the high tenant’s (about 50%) to the
landlord would be eliminated. The organization of the production is based upon
the Yo, which is th4e basic unit. 5 Yo(閭)s’
will form a Li((里); 5 Li(里)s’ will form a Pang(坊); 5 Pang(坊)s’
will form an Eup(邑). This is
a kind of bottom up social organization for the political economy. It is a
sharp contrast to the existing social system, which is organized from the top
to the bottom, to exact and exploit the people.
Chong has also
proposed that the people can move freely from one village to another for 8 to 9
years. He believed that this would naturally balance the gap between different
villages and localities. The government is not to interfere the natural
democracy. The responsibility of the government is to eliminate the private
landlords to exploit the peasants and to make them poor. This is the role of
the government for him. Chong believed that the landlord system is a regime to
destroy the life of the people.
Economically
speaking, Chong has promoted the collective community production of
agricultural goods through mutual cooperation. Such management is to strengthen
the economy of the state as well as to protect the life of the poor people. He
advocated tax reform, reform of grain saving and distribution system, and
relief system reform, all of which are same foundation of the people centrism
and objectives to secure the state and household economic life of the people.
Roots of Chong’s
Vision
Roots of Chong’s
radical and revolutionary reform are in the ancient utopia. He was definitely
against the ideology of the neo-Confucian conservatism on the basis of his
faith. He re-asserted strongly the principle of the people-centrism(Minbonjuui:民本主義). Other roots are his concern for the
national economy and for the household economy. This is his philosophical root
for the revolutionary reform. Another source and passion for this reform is his
acquaintance with the suffering of the people due to their economic plight.
Confucian
philosophical foundation of his reforms
Chong’s reform
program is based upon his radical re-interpretation of Confucian scriptures and
history of Confucianism. He used a sort of textual criticism on the Confucian
scriptures to undermine the ideological and orthodox interpretation of the
prevailing regime. He took a radical “empirical” approach(實事求是=Seeking of the Real Meaning) for new
meanings and praxis in the textual criticism or verbal/linguistic verification
(訓古學) rather than a
metaphysical speculation for medieval ideological justification.
Furthermore, Chong
was very much stimulated and influenced by the Roman Catholicism, which had
been transmitted to Korea China
Contemporary Implications of Chong’s Minjung Confucianism
What is the role of
the Confucian traditional wisdom in the present globalization? This question is
relevant to the peoples in North East Asia .
But it may have some implications to expose the brutal forces of the present
globalization.
In the past two
centuries the Confucian intellectual leaders were divided into three
perspectives in how to meet the challenges. The first perspective is to reject
the Western civilization in its Toto. The second perspective is the Confucian
reformist school. The third is to replace Confucianism with modernization,
socialist or capitalist.
In the context of
globalization Confucianism is discussed in relation to a success of East Asian
economies (Asian Tigers + Japan China East Asia : the disciplined work ethics and ethics of
social harmony and stability. At the same time advocates of modernization
believed that Confucianism is a traditionalist ideology and culture,
dysfunction to accommodate the Western science and technology as well as its
culture. This is discussed in the context of the modernistic developments in
Asian countries.
Now a new question is
on the Confucian civilization in the global context. Would there be a
civilisational clash between the Western civilization and East Asian
civilization? So far no Asian countries advocate a new Confucian civilization
as an alternative to the Western civilization in the global context. However,
the Confucian civilization as a way of life has very great implications for the
life of the global village.
A long history of
East Asian civilization cannot be forgotten, even though a new Confucian
civilization may not be conceived on the global or East Asian context. In the
first place the Confucian civilization clearly exposes the limits of the
Western civilization. Confucian wisdoms from its teachings and histories can
provided to “tame” the destructive forces of globalization for humane and full
life.
I would like to make
seven points to illustrate how Confucianism, when appropriated in the
perspective of radical revolutionary Confucianism, as we find in Chong’s School of Confucianism
1. On the question of global peace, the idea of
Taepyong (太平=T’aiping)
is very relevant. For the reformed Confucianism as in Chong and in the T’aiping
Revolutionary Movement it is a moral and harmonious order of universe from
home, nation, earth and heaven. It is not a military hegemonic order of power.
In this order all human beings, especially the poor and the least, find a
secure life.
2. Political economy of the reformed
Confucianism rejects the private and collective ownership of land and
<resources> to exploit the people and to harm the public life of the
people. It rejects any conflict among the people due to the pursuit of the
immoral selfishness (Li=利). This
would be very much against the profit maximization through infinite competition
in the market. The goal of the Confucian political economy is the ordering of
life according to the Scriptures and the caring of the people (Kyongse Jemin=經世濟民). Chong’s land reform idea and policy is
especially relevant for today in that the local cooperative community is
central in the land cultivation, agricultural production and management to
secure economic life of poor household.
3. Chong’s proposal for democratic Confucian
political order is indeed a revolutionary proposal. He has historical
limitations. However, for him the political order is for the people to be
subjects of their life, and royal authority is the pivot to curb and dismantle
the oppressive hierarchical political, economic and social order. He has laid a
philosophical foundation for participatory politics of the people. This was the
way he interpreted the Mencius’ principle of “the people’s heart is the heart
of the heaven” (Minsim Ch’onsim=民心天心).
4. Confucian social ethics is based upon the
philosophy of ‘mutual love” (In=仁), which
is the basis of social harmony. This is a radical anti-thesis of the social
Darwinism of the survival of the fittest. It is regarded that historical
Confucian social harmony is hierarchical and authoritarian. However, the
people-centered interpretation of the “In” could overcome this oppressive order
of the feudalistic hierarchy, patriarchal authoritarianism and the exclusive
relations.
5. Confucian cultural value is highly developed
in terms of arts and rites. There is a coherent relation between arts and high
moral values. Chong was keenly interested in the scientific and technological
development, and his interest was in tune with the people’s welfare and in tune
with Confucian cosmic moral order. It has been Confucian preoccupation of
integrating the science and technology into a humane and cosmic moral order.
The Confucians cannot accept the concept of neutral objectivity of science and
technology.
6. In terms of ecological thinking there is no
separation of the humans and the nature as it is found in the modern Western
civilization. There is an organic living harmony of all beings of the cosmos. All
things are organically related to the pervasive principle of Li and Ki, which
governs an individual person, family, village, nation and cosmos. All things
are co-living (Sangsaeng=相生) and
convivial (Kongsaeng=共生).
Biological and cosmic order as well as social order is co-related in an organic
way. This is very much apparent in the oriental medicine, which treats human
body in a holistic and cosmic order.
7.
It is said
that Confucianism is atheistic. But this is not true. It recognizes the
spiritual world in the first place. Confucianism practices the so-called
ancestor worship, which is a central religious ritual. But also they believe in
the personal “Heaven” or the “Heavenly Lord” as the ultimate authority. It is
asserted by some scholars of Confucianism that the Christian God, who is the
Creator of all things, has transformed the cosmology of Chong’s Confucianism.
As we have indicated that the concept of the Heavenly Lord has mediated Chong’s
shift in the cosmic paradigm. This is the source of his radicalism and his
revolutionary reform proposal.
Biblical Foundations for the Garden of Life
The life is affirmed in the
story of Creation. Life is created in the Garden of Life
Garden of Life
It was the Spirit and the
Word of God that is the power of the Creation. The vision of the Garden in the
Creation is manifest against the background of the imperial domination as well
as the despotic oppression of the powers and principalities. In the Sabbath is
the center of the created order of the garden of life. Here the life is living
together based upon the justice and power of God. This is the original vision
of the conviviality (common life). The garden is the bosom of life, and the
creation is the womb of life.[11][12]
Farming
is a Stewardship as Gardener[13],[14] of
life. It Means the Refusal to be Maniplator of Life.
Humans sought arbitrary fertility of life throughout history. There had
been various fertility cults, which sought to go beyond the limits of life and
nature, set by the Creation. The imperial powers sought to go beyond the limits
of life through their political powers of “omnipotence. They sought to be equal
to the Creator of life. In modern times the modern civilization the industrial
civilization sought to conquer the nature and life to satisfy human greed. This
brought about the end of renewal of natural resources, and ecological
destruction, poisoning the earth (soil and land), which is the cradle of life.
Now the capitalist market is seeking the greater and unlimited
“fertilization of life” of all living beings, such as seeds, animals and humans
through the genetic engineering and manipulation. The world of gene and virus
is subject of human control and manipulation beyond the limits of life, set by
the created order.[15]
Human Civilization to
Overcome the Flood Creates Imperial Dominion.
The first effort for the
survival over the threats of life has been the human attempt to conquer the
forces of the nature, such as flood. In this context the despotic hydralic
civilization has risen. As it is struggling against all the “hostile” political
as well as natural environment, it has developed into a power of imperial
domination. The story of the Babel
Tower Egypt China
This development is an
historical irony. All these developments are to overcome threats of death. Yet
its power brings the mechanical system of death through such civilization in
the name of saving the life.[16]
God’s Covenant of Life
Already in the Garden of Life
The Exodus is the liberation
of the oppressed people and their abode for life in the garden. The vision of
the community if life is implanted in the Exodus people in the Promised Land.
The organization of the oikonomia in the promised land was to be according to
the covenant law. The Jubilee and the Sabbath are to be practiced in this
community against the background of the imperial and despotic domination and
oppression.[18]
Jesus invoked the
Manna economy against the political economy of Roman
Empire . It is a yeast or a seed of the Political Economy. When
Jesus was tempted by the devil to make the bread out of the stone, he invoked
the principle of the Manna economy, saying that the human should not live by
bread alone, but by the word that comes from the mouth of God (Deut. 8:3). This
is the principle of sufficient economy.
According the law of the
Deutronomy 8 the people of God is provided in terms of their daily needs for
forty years in the pilgrimage in the desert. The stipulation is that the people
are to take what they need on the basis of their daily needs. The reason may
have been that some member of the community might go hungry, if some one takes
more. This may be called the principle of the daily need. This is the essence
of the Manna economy, which has sustained the people in the desert. This
principle has also an efficacy in the Promised Land as well.[19]
Land distribution and Land
Sabbath in the Political Economy of the Tribal Community
After the Hebrew people
entered into the Promised Land, the land was distributed to the tribes of Israel
Today
land has become a private property, not a resource for all. It is
commercialized as commodities and it is concentrated in the hands of the rich
and powerful. It is speculated for the maximum profit. Land market is turned
into a speculative casino. At the same time is spoiled by chemicals and genetic
modification for maximum output for the maximum profit. It is the destruction
of the land, which is the base of life. The land yearns for its Sabbath.
Sabbath
Year in the Political Economy of the Tribal Community
Obviously the tribal
communities were encroached by the violations of the Mosaic covenant. Thus the
Code of Covenant was formulated, and the tribal communities were required to
keep them. It is to do with the Exodus economy. The community was required to
abolish slavery in every 7th year. What this means that the abolition of the
slavery is the heart of the covenant. The Exodus is manifested in the midst of
the community. This is the most progressive social legislation in history and it
concerns the socio-economic rights of the people. This is theologically under
girded. [21]
Jubilee
Year in the Political Economy of Kingdoms
Jubilee is basically a
different version of the Sabbath Law in a different context. Most probably it
is instituted in the context of the kingly and the imperial rules. It is a
restoration of the original political economy of life as intended in the
Creation. It is concerned with justice and covenant.
Justice in the Naboth story
is to be realized in the Jubilee.
Kingdom has been an ambiguous
institution in the people of Israel Kingdom
of Israelite
In the story of Naboth’s
vineyard, Ahab takes the vineyard of Naboth arbitrarily by accepting Jezebel’s
advice. Jezebel practices Baalism, which is the religion of a despotic
kingship. The despotic king can confiscate the land and can won the life of
subjects. This political econmy is a sharp contrast to the political economy of
the covenant.
According to the covenant law
the land that has been inherited cannot be transfered in any circumstances. Its
transfer would mean a breakdown of the political economy of life for the
community of th people of God. Therefore it was natural that Naboth had refused
the demand of King Ahab. Thus the dictates of Jezebel murdered Naboth and his
land had been taken. [22]
(13)
Political Economy of the Reign of God for Life according to Gospels
Political
Economy of Life in Gallilee against the Roman Empire
Political economy of the Jubilee[23] is
the basic framework of the OIKONOMIA of the Reign of God as it is manifested in
the Lord’s prayer and the Jesus announcement of the Day of the Lord in Luke 4.
It is not to co-exist with the political economy
of Mammon[24],
that is, the political economy of the Roman Empire .
On the question of the tax, what is God’s and what is Caesar’s are mutually
exclusive. This means that the political economy of the Jubilee is pitted
against that of the Roman Empire . Furthermore,
it is counterposed with the political economy of the temple, that is, that of
the established Jewish religion. [25] If
the political economy of the Roman Empire is
“making the stone into bread,” the political economy of the Kingdom of God
In reality the incarnation of God as the Immanuel,
that is, God dwelling among the people (in the tabernacle), is the OIKONOMIA of
God. The Incarnated God is the Creator and the Liberator of the whole creation.[27]
This is the political economy of whole creation in Christ. This is manifest as
a vision of the political economy of life in the Messianic Reign in Revelations
(21 & 22).
The political economy of the
early Christian community according to Luke and Paul. ==Early
Christian community inherited the political economy of the Hebrew people. When
the Holy Spirit filled the community, it became a truly sharing community of
all things, and there were no poor in it.[28]
Political Economy of Life
under the New Heaven and on the New Earth is the New Garden
The greed is the universal
agent to destroy the life in the universe. The natural decay is to be
understood in connection with this thesis.
The greed is not merely
personal and individual evil that destroy life. It is primarily a corporate
entity. It has manifested most vividly in the imperial powers in historical
terms. In the history of civilizations, the despotic imperial powers have been
the most destructive powers of evil that caused destruction of life on earth.
Christian religion recognized
this reality. All world religions as well as cultures and wisdoms of the people
have revealed this insight. It is our discernment that the modern colonialism
and imperialism are expressions of the greed. Most recently the powers and
principalities of the greed are manifest in the global market and dictate the
whole universe.
More concretely the greed is
manifested in the global capitalism, and its institutions are dominant agents,
causing the death and destruction of life on earth.
Political
Economy of Jubilee
As in the case of the King
Ahab, the political economy of the covenant could not be maintained in the kingdom of Israel
Sabbath of the land[30], Jubilee
(Debt
Cancellation :Korean Farmer’s Debts must be discussed[31]);
(Also the restoration of the land from the private exploitation and from the
convensional agriculture). Chong Tasan viewed the land, the earth and the
cosmos and the bossom of life as the Korean farmers would.)
Any alternative to the
current globalization can be thought of in terms of ways and means to overcome
the power this greed and to transform the global market into the Garden of Life
1.
In
the light of the insights and wisdom of our Political Economy of Life, we begin
with the cry of the people in the local context. It is to do with justice for
life in the OIKOS (political economy). Justice is the core of the life.
2.
It
is to recognize the people and all living beings are equally the subjects of
life, not the objects.
3.
It
is to recognize that the locality is the abode of life in a fundamental and
radical sense.
4.
It
is to recognize that any universalization and globalization cannot be allowed
without radical affirmation of locality of life.
5.
It
is recognize that the abode (OIKOS) of life is not to be constructed as a human
arbitrary space; but it is an abode of conviviality of all life together. This
means that any competition for survival is not the ultimate, but cooperation
and solidarity for common life and conviviality is primary.
6.
It
is recognized that life is common sharing. It is a koinonia; it is a manna
economy.
7.
It
is to recognize that the life cannot be reduced to elements and cannot be
fragmented as parts. The life is a whole reality. All parts and elements are to
be connected in a whole of life.
8.
Living
beings as well as human beings are mutually and commonly nurturing and
gardening common life.
Conclusion
The global regime
that rules our global economy today, are composed of the G7 (the world’s industrialized countries),
IMF and the World Bank (together known as the ‘Washington consensus’), and it prescribe
the world a neoliberal recipe of privatization, decentralization and market
reform, assuming that our common interests are best served by the invisible
hand of the market. “Economic theory presuppose that each participant is a
profit center bent on maximizing profits to the exclusion of all other
considerations "The theory employed, based on the assumption of scarcity
and hence competition, is not up to the task
We are moving towards
a new economic paradigm, one that is not based on maximizing ownership and
profits or boosting abstracts statistics such as GNP, but concerned with
managing creativity and knowledge, and improving the quality of our lives in
the cosmic community.
The philosophical
foundation of the Silhak Confucianism for the radical reform of the political
economy is a very important element to overcome the Confucian political
ideology of the established Confucian dynasty 200 years ago. A vision of
participatory and cooperative village community as a unit is a crucial wisdom
to build an alternative political economy for the Minjung I at that time.
As we have indicated,
the Tonghak sought to convergent integration of the Korean traditions. The
Silhak school sought to integrate the Caholic vision. All these convergences
for integration are in the direction of searching alternative vision for
political economy of life. I do believe that we are in need for searching an
integral and convergent vision which will lead to an alternative political
order for the cosmic community.
Prof.
Kim Yong-Bock
Chancellor
Advanced Institute for Integral Study of Life &
Chancellor
Advanced Institute for Integral Study of Life &
E;mail: oikozoe@kornet.net; oikozoe@gmail.com
Address: Naesori 543-3, Tojimyon, Gurye-gun,
Website:www.oikozoe.or.kr
Tel:+82-61-783-6086; Fax:+82-27622312
[1] 혁명의 이념적 바탕이 된 동학은 교조 최제우(崔濟愚)가 풍수사상과 유(儒) ·불(佛) ·선(仙)의 교리를 토대로 서학(西學:기독교)에 대항하여 ‘인내천(人乃天):천심즉인심(天心則人心)’을 내걸고, 새로운 세계는 내세(來世)가 아니라 현세에 있음을 갈파하여, 당시 재야에 있던 양반계급은 물론 학정과 가난에 시달리던 백성들에게 요원의 불길처럼 퍼져나가 커다란 종교세력을 이루게 되었다. 그러자 조정에서는 1863년 최제우를 체포, 대구에서 1864년 3월 사형에 처하였다
보국안민(輔國安民)이 이루어져야 한다고 하였다. 보국은 나라를 돕자는 뜻이요, 안민은 인민의 생활을 평안하게 만들자는 뜻이다. 그러나 엄밀히 따져보면 보국이란 그저 나라를 돕자는 것이 아니다.
잘못된 나라를 바로잡는 것, 즉 정의로운 국가를 만들자는 것이다. 그리고 안민 역시 백성을 평안하게 만들기 위해 모든 인민에게 최소한의 생활을 보장해주며 최소한의 존엄성을 보장하여 줄 수 있는 사회제도를 만들자는 것이다. 온 천지의 생명체계와 한 몸이 되어 사는 사회, 모든 사람이 한울님처럼 대접받을 수 있는 사회를 만들자는 것이다.
[3] 풍류사상은 생명학, 생명사상의 모태로 작용할 수 있다. 신라말 사상가 崔致遠은 <難浪秘書>에서 “우리나라에는 현묘가 도가 있으니 이를 풍류라고 한다. …애당초 유불선 삼교를 포함하는 것으로서 군생(뭇생명)과 접촉하여 이를 교화한다”고 기록하고 있다. 풍류사상은 근대의 동학사상으로 이어져 그 깊은 생성론과 혼돈적 생명론을 창조적으로 부활시켰다
[9] Gen. 11
Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed,
and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in
it." And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding
seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it.
And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning,
the third day. 14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the
sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for
seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the dome of the
sky to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16 God made the two
great lights-- the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule
the night-- and the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give light
upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the
light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening
and there was morning, the fourth day. 20 And God said, "Let the waters
bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth
across the dome of the sky." 21 So God created the great sea monsters and
every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm,
and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God
blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the
seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23 And there was evening and
there was morning, the fifth day. 24 And God said, "Let the earth bring
forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild
animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild
animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and
everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was
good.
[10] Gen 1:1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the
earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a
wind from God swept over the face of the waters….9 And God said, "Let the
waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land
appear." And it was so.
10 God called the
dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And
God saw that it was good.
[11] 26 Then
God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness;
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the
air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." 27 So God created
humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he
created them.
31 God saw everything that he had made, and
indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the
sixth day. 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their
multitude.
[12] 2 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he
rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done.
3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed
it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. 4
These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
In the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 when no plant of
the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up-- for
the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to
till the ground; 6 but a stream
would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground—
7 then the LORD
God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life; and the man became a living being. 8 And the LORD God planted a
garden in Eden
[13] Gen. 2: 15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it
and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of
every tree of the garden;…19 So out of the ground the LORD God formed every
animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to
see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature,
that was its name
[14]
28 God blessed them, and God said to them,
"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have
dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every
living thing that moves upon the earth."
29 God said,
"See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of
all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for
food.
30 And to every
beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps
on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green
plant for food." And it was so.
[15] 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall
die."
2 And as they
migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar
9 Therefore it was
called Babel
[17] 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be
cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to
destroy the earth." 12 God said, "This is the sign of the covenant
that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for
all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a
sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the
earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is
between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall
never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the
clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and
every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." 17 God said to
Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me
and all flesh that is on the earth."
[18] Exodus 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you
swore to them by your own self, saying to them, 'I will multiply your
descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I
will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'"
Deut. 6:23
He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land that
he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 Then the LORD commanded us to observe
all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our lasting good, so as to
keep us alive, as is now the case. 25 If we diligently observe this entire
commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, we will be in the
right."
[19] Exodus?:31 The house of Israel
[20] 23 The land shall not be sold in
perpetuity, for the land is mine;
with me you are but aliens and tenants. 24 Throughout the land that you hold, you shall provide for the redemption of the land. 25 If anyone of your kin falls
into difficulty and sells a piece of property, then the next of kin shall come
and redeem what the relative has sold.
34 Then the land
shall enjoy its sabbath years as long as it lies desolate, while you are in the
land of your enemies; then the land shall rest, and enjoy its sabbath
years. 35 As long as it lies desolate, it shall have the rest it did not have
on your sabbaths when you were living on it.
[22] Mt. 6:
[23] 9 "Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11
Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have
forgiven our debtors.
[24] 24 "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one
and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot
serve God and wealth.
[25] 17 He was teaching and saying, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be
called a house of prayer for all the
nations'? But you have made it a den
of robbers."15 He is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of all creation; 16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were
created, things visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers-- all things have
been created through him and for
him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
[26] 25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will
eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life
more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the
air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And can any of you
by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28 And why do you worry
about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither
toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed
like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is
alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe
you-- you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we
eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' 32 For it is the
Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father
knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God
[28] 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke
bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God
and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to
their number those who were being saved.
[29] NRS Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first
heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2 And I saw the
holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a
bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a
loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with
them;
4 he will wipe
every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain
will be no more, for the first things have passed away."
abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written
in the Lamb's book of life.
NRS Revelation 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of
the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the
Lamb
2 through the
middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of
life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the
leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
[30] Leviticus 25:1 The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying: 2 Speak to
the people of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving
you, the land shall observe a sabbath for the LORD. 3 Six years you shall sow
your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their
yield; 4 but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for
the land, a sabbath for the LORD: you shall not sow your field or prune your
vineyard. 5 You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the
grapes of your unpruned vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land.
6 You may eat what the land yields during its
sabbath-- you, your male and female slaves, your hired and your bound laborers
who live with you; 7 for your livestock also, and for the wild animals in your
land all its yield shall be for food. 8 You shall count off seven weeks of
years, seven times seven years, so that the period of seven weeks of years
gives forty-nine years.
[31] 9 Then you shall have the trumpet sounded loud; on the tenth day of the
seventh month-- on the day of atonement-- you shall have the trumpet sounded
throughout all your land. 10 And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you
shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be
a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and
every one of you to your family. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for
you: you shall not sow, or reap the aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines.
12 For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you: you shall eat only what the
field itself produces. 13 In this year of jubilee you shall return, every one
of you, to your property. 14 When you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from
your neighbor, you shall not cheat one another. 15 When you buy from your
neighbor, you shall pay only for the number of years since the jubilee; the
seller shall charge you only for the remaining crop years.16 If the years are
more, you shall increase the price, and if the years are fewer, you shall
diminish the price; for it is a certain number of harvests that are being sold
to you. 17 You shall not cheat one another, but you shall fear your God; for I
am the LORD your God. 18 You shall observe my statutes and faithfully keep my
ordinances, so that you may live on the land securely. 19 The land will yield
its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live on it securely. 20 Should you
ask, What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our
crop?20 Should you ask, What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not
sow or gather in our crop? 21 I will order my blessing for you in the sixth
year, so that it will yield a crop for three years. 22 When you sow in the
eighth year, you will be eating from the old crop; until the ninth year, when
its produce comes in, you shall eat the old. 23 The land shall not be sold in
perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are 24 Throughout the land that
you hold, you shall provide for the redemption of the land. of kin shall come and
redeem what the relative has sold. 26 If the person has no one to redeem it,
but then prospers and finds sufficient means to do so, 27 the years since its
sale shall be computed and the difference shall be refunded to the person to
whom it was sold, and the property shall be returned. 28 But if there is not
sufficient means to recover it, what was sold shall remain with the purchaser
until the year of jubilee; in the jubilee it shall be released, and the
property shall be returned. 29 If anyone sells a dwelling house in a walled
city, it may be redeemed until a year has elapsed since its sale; the right of
redemption shall be one year. Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your
God.
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