Some say it is far from unique to Korea. “I think there is a middle class crisis in all wealthy countries,” Pae Hee-kyung, who runs an educational institute near Seoul, told Asia Times.
Across the developed, post-industrial world, middle classes are under perceived siege from falling living standards, evaporating opportunities and rising wealth inequality. These trends have arisen against the backdrop of a globalizing world that distributes capital and jobs away from customary centers of investment, manufacturing and related prosperities.
Some pundits posit that these issues explain Brexit in the UK, the election of Donald Trump in the US and the protests of young Hong Kongers.The dream turns into a nightmare for many as capital flows to where it is most "productive" (read profitable). A big reason for profitability is the ability to socialize negative externality. In addition, economic value does not take social value into consideration. Is this one of the factors undermining the appeal of capitalism as a socio-economic subsystem of the larger social and ecological system?
Asia Times
75% of young want to escape South Korean ‘Hell’
Andrew Solomon
1 comment:
South Korea, in several socioeconomic measures, is a nation of superlatives.
e.g. hours worked, alcohol consumption, birth rate, suicide rate.
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