Unfettered capitalism

By Steven L. Shields

The powers that be tell us the economy must grow. Governments, corporations and entrepreneurs do everything they can to increase their financial resources. We are caught in a seemingly vicious cycle. More population means more jobs; more jobs need more money and a bigger economy. Built-in obsolescence is the norm for manufacturing because if products lasted longer, there would be less demand for products and less need for workers, and the economy would retract.

Governments give huge tax breaks to corporations in return for "investment" and "creating jobs" in their city. We see city and provincial governments almost fighting with each other to get the newest XYZ factory built in their territory. The scramble by the government to get a huge expo to take place in Busan is almost comical. They don't tell us how many billions of won of taxpayer money they are spending to do so. They claim it's an "investment" to attract factories and businesses and create jobs. But does that honestly offer long-term or well-enough-paying jobs to the citizenry?

Foreign workers, who work at low wages, must be increasingly imported. But what about the thousands of young Korean people who cannot find jobs? The authorities are not doing much to help them. Instead, the government provides for big corporations to capitalize on cheap labor. Lately, with the relaxing of restrictions, workers from other countries have been flocking to Korea for what for them will be well-paying jobs. Why can't we have well-paying jobs in Korea for Koreans?

Why, then, with all the growth of the economy, is the middle class shrinking rather than growing? The trend is backward. The buying power of your salary, even though the total numbers on your paycheck might be more, has left you no better off than 20 or 30 years ago. Your standard of living has not increased. Oh, don't confuse the standard of living with all the clutter of consumerism.

The big companies tell us we need to buy more of their latest products to "grow the economy." Their minions in the R&D shops and factories are working hard to improve on last year's cellphone model because to grow the economy, you and I need to replace our 1- to 2-year-old cellphones with the latest ones, which means we never stop paying for our cellphones. I guess that was the downfall of manual typewriter manufacturers. Once you bought one, it never needed to be replaced ― at least not in the long term.

Young couples in Korea today ― even middle-aged couples ― can no more save money to buy a home than fly to the moon. They must commute further and longer than ever before, stripping them of any time to rest or relax with their families, even over the evening meal. And rental costs are pushing more and more families to the periphery of the metropolis to find housing on their meager salaries.

Capitalism is not a case of working harder, being goal-oriented or developing a strong work ethic. The system is against the ordinary middle-class salary person. I don't know anyone in my circle of friends and contacts who doesn't work their hardest and best at what they do and take home only a barely livable salary. And it's worse for everyone else in the lower reaches of economic prosperity, or perhaps we should say despair.

I was recently in Las Vegas, Nevada, which has been suffering an unprecedented water shortage for several years, with no respite in sight. Yet, the government authorities continue to give property developers permits to build more houses, demanding more water resources. At the same time, the government requires residents to cut back on their water use and pay increasingly higher fees for less water consumption.

Why does the government allow a handful of property developers to profiteer on the backs of hardworking citizens? They say that property developers create jobs and more jobs are important for the economy's growth. But what is the nature of the jobs they create? Are they long-term, career-level opportunities for the masses? Or are they short-term, low-pay transient jobs that a worker struggles to get by, only to have the job expire and all they've been able to do is work paycheck to paycheck for their whole life, never able to enjoy the fleeting middle-class dream?

The city government has canceled the 35-story limit on apartment buildings in Seoul. They say taller buildings will provide a better city planning environment. The city government claims that such a move will somehow make life better. Wait a minute! When will we say "enough"? When a property developer can put 100 more units on a plot of land, the only benefit I can see is that it maximizes the developer's profit margin. Life in the chicken cage apartment buildings of Korea is stifling at best.

Stop and think. Hold on to your smartphone for two more years. Skip the next two or three annual models. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you must always have the latest model with all the bells and whistles.

The unfettered capitalism that prevails today and the gross profiteering by a handful of wealthy people and their octopus-like corporations are killing most of us, stripping us of dignity and the ability to make progress and to fulfill our dreams. Just say no to the big corporations!

Rev. Steven L. Shields (slshields@gmail.com) has lived in Korea for many years, beginning in the 1970s. He is the president of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea. He served as copy editor of The Korea Times in 1977. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect The Korea Times' editorial stance.