There are turns in the river of history so dramatic, even overwhelming, that we must demand more than progressive adaptation, we must demand a fundamental restructuring of every aspect of our society.
This moment is such a moment and I declare my candidacy for president of the United States not because I desire the perks that accompany that position, perks that have grown gaudy as that institution has decayed, but because there will be no hope of stanching the flow of our nation’s lifeblood unless those who have benefited the most from our finest traditions are willing to throw themselves into the battle.
The time has come for a politics founded in truth, and not an appeal to whim or to fleeting emotions. We cannot look away from the profound moral decay that has laid waste to our beloved United States. We must combine a deep empathy for the sufferings of ordinary people with an inspiring vision for what this country could be.
This campaign does not offer you glittering false promises. Until we restore a discourse in politics that is honest and we reestablish a government that holds up an ideal, and implements that ideal, promises made by politicians, whether they call themselves “conservative” or “progressive,” will not mean much.
Today, our government, our journalism, our educational institutions, our communities and our families all teeter on the brink of collapse. Lost in self-deception we cannot even bring ourselves to face the wasteland that lies before us.
All that I contend for is this: We must struggle together to build participatory institutions in every neighborhood that will permit our citizens to establish the ideals, to practice the habits, and to prepare the policies that will form the foundations on which we will rebuild this republic.
If we cannot form communities, if we cannot see each other as anything other than objects to be used, to be exploited for profit, no degree of policy reform at the highest levels can save us.
Citizens today are no longer citizens, but mere consumers who are force fed pre-packaged fantasies cranked out by public relations firms, firms hired by the same corporations that shower money on every politician.
We are taught by the corrupt media that we have only a role as observers and that we have no choice but to send money to politicians who will never meet with us, or represent us, or even answer our phone calls. The media, controlled by a handful of powerful corporations, works hard to convince us that we must seek out magicians to solve our problems for us, and that we must shun leaders who could inspire us to build a better society with our own hands. There is no road to good government until we start to build it, with our own hands.
As Frederick Douglass wrote, “Who would be free themselves must strike the blow.”
This campaign for the presidency is not about exposure. It would be better to create our own citizens’ journalism than to grovel before the fetid media swamp that demands of us that we be its slaves. That media is unanimous in their contempt for me — and I welcome their contempt.
I do not ask you merely to vote in November. I ask you to join us a struggle to transform the United States, and to work with us, every day. Your efforts will create the sinews that bind citizens to a government which is accountable. If our neighborhood organizations are not democratic and participatory, they cannot support a national democracy.
Whether it is the sprawling prisons filled with the innocent, the decaying infrastructure that condemns our children to misery, or the promulgation of a culture of consumption and indulgence that has destroyed the virtues of frugality, modesty and humility, truly, the hour is late.
This republic should function like a delicate clock, responding predictably to the needs of citizens. But what do we do if the clock’s fan fly is gummed up with muck, if its escape wheel is fractured, or its hammer rod is warped?
Do we leave the clock alone, knowing that it will slow down, eventually coming to an irreparable stop? Or do we pause the clock for a moment, and clean the entirety from head to toe, repairing and improving? The later approach runs the risk of tempting tyranny. But the former virtually guarantees it. Better to prepare for a dangerous, but critical, surgery than to watch in idle indulgence the collapse of the republic.
When it becomes painfully self-evident that a long train of abuses and usurpations are born of the pursuit of absolute despotism, it then becomes our right, and our duty, to provide new guards for the people’s future security.
Let me suggest two fundamental principles that will undergird all future action:
The scientific search for truth
Democracy is the process by which the needs and the wisdom of the people are converted into policy. But if the people are misled, sated with distorted and embellished journalism, if they are taught to be self-indulgent and thus lose interest in governance, then we a democracy without people. If the debate on policy is not grounded in truth, then we have a fantasy democracy. However, and this is the hard part, truth is never democratic. If we are voting to determine what is true, then we have already slipped into an orderly, and all too reasonable, psychosis.
We will seek out the truth about the poverty in our country and its causes, about the motivations behind the foreign wars that we fight, about the decline of education and of communities, and we will encourage you, support you, as you go forward to investigate your neighborhood, and we will help you raise up in yourself the moral courage to formulate, and then to implement, solutions.
The establishment of a government that is, to quote President Abraham Lincoln, “of the people, by the people and for the people” is our purpose. This goal cannot be achieved through the election of a single person, or by the passage of a single bill. It will only come about as a result of a profound shift in our culture and in our habits.
We offer not fool’s gold to distract you from the massive transfer of wealth from the commons to the hands of the super-rich, bloody and deceitful men. We will speak the truth and fear no evil. Only then can we end those endless wars, only then will the ruthless exploitation of ordinary people in the United States be stopped.
A government for the people
The United States Constitution lays out a blueprint for a government that represents the people, and not the powerful. The process of building this republic has been imperfect, tainted by the crimes of slavery and marred by the slaughter of the natives. Nevertheless, we can still glimpse the flame of the Constitution shining from behind the shattered edifice that remains.
Now is the moment to reinvent government, not as a PR gimmick funded by corporations, or as a gateway for contractors in search of profits, but as something that protects the welfare of the people and defends those who oppose the powerful.
The radical concentration of wealth, the catastrophic collapse of our environment, and the foolish drive for militarism as a road to riches, these crimes are not even considered as topics for discussion in polite company today. Those who are supposed to lead us, prefer rather to wrap themselves in a blanket woven of cowardice and hypocrisy, and to ape the honored practice of the four monkeys.
But there is a terrible hidden cost for that choice of silence. Nightmares wrap around our youth, in the stark mountain passes of Afghanistan or in the dank hallways of Walter Reed Medical Center, where they lie in their own urine trying to piece together a fragmented mind, or in the cells of private prisons where they stare all day at blank walls.
Let us bring a ray of hope to those who must work constantly at miserable jobs, day and night, to feed their children. Let them know that a government will be created that places their interests at the center of the national agenda. Let them know that we are not afraid to call slavery, slavery and that we are not afraid to call war, war!
The Truth goes marching on
With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering and forbearing, let us go forward together. Our campaign must be confrontational at times, but it will always be rooted and grounded in love. We will demand that the wealthy who gather by vanity shall be diminished and that those who gather by labor shall increase. We will make it clear to all that the most valuable things are precisely those that are invisible: the core values that guide us, as individuals, as groups, and as a nation, to sacrifice ourselves readily, not only for the benefit of the whole, but also for the pursuit of truth.
The damage done to our environment by petroleum and plastic, the trillions of dollars squirreled away off-shore by the rich, the manner in which the internet is used to reduce us to base animals with no self-control, these facts, and more, will be made manifest for all to see as part of this great transformation. Verily, fellow citizens, the truth shall set you free.
Emanuel Pastreich
2020
Seventeen Point Platform
1)
We will not recognize any election that is not fair
The current election system is so corrupt as to be meaningless. The qualified candidate is not allowed on the ballot, and his or her ideas, and activities, are blocked out by a media that denies citizens access to critical information. Votes are counted using computer systems designed to be hacked, leaving no evidence of the sacred choice of the people. Regions inhabited by the poor are supplied with so few voting machines that tired mothers and fathers must wait for hours in line, shivering as the dusk descends.
We cannot recognize as legitimate any election for president, or for any other office, until the nation holds an internationally-supervised election in which every citizen is guaranteed the right to vote in a manner easily verified, and every qualified candidate can present his or her policies directly to the people. The entire election must be handled in a transparent manner and commercial advertising must be banned.
We do not have legitimate elections, but we do have a moral obligation to reject this entire process. I do not worry that, running for president, no rich men will fund me, no political parties will back me. We know that the election of 2020 will be so fraudulent that we cannot accept the results, or recognize those who claim to have won. Moreover, those who are “elected” will soon prove that they do not represent “we the people” in any sense of the word. We the people will wait until a legitimate election is held, one in which candidates, like myself, are allowed to participate.
2)
Climate change is the overwhelming security threat;
The response must involve every aspect of domestic and foreign policy
A full commitment to a hundred-year plan for the mitigation of, and the adaptation to, climate change must be at the center of all security, economic and educational policy for the United States. We must devote all resources, committing ourselves to the equivalent of a war economy, in order to reduce the use of petroleum and coal to zero within two to three years.
The government will set forth directives that require the rapid reduction in the use of fossil fuels, that end the use of private automobiles and that restrict the use of airplanes. We will finance the installation of solar power and wind power generators in every neighborhood. All intellectual property rights for these technologies will be taken over by the government for this purpose. Upgrades for all buildings to near zero carbon emissions will be undertaken immediately, including maximum insulation for all homes within two months. The government will do so, employing 50-year loans that will make renewable energy cheaper than fossil fuels.
We will end all subsidies for petroleum, coal and uranium. Those fuels will be designated as controlled substances that cannot be sold for profit.
The military will convert to 100% renewable energy more quickly than the rest of the country and it will be transformed thereby from the greatest enemy of the environment to its most powerful defender. Polluting fighter planes and outdated aircraft carriers will be scrapped immediately without concern for the profits that they might generate for corporations. Those who stand to lose their jobs will be guaranteed employment in renewable energy projects.
Oil and gas corporations have made trillions of dollars pushing dangerous substances on citizens that they knew full well were destroying the environment. Such actions are criminal by law. The assets of these corporations, and of their owners, will be seized by the government and used to finance the transformation of our economy.
Wasting energy, food and natural resources will be recognized for the abomination that it is and will never be promoted as a symbol of a better life.
The government will supervise the creation of truly sustainable urban and suburban communities and undertake the restoration of wild areas to assure biodiversity. That will mean tearing up the malls, the parking lots, the factories and the freeways that have defiled our sacred forests and our precious wetlands.
3)
Eliminate nuclear weapons by any means necessary
Humanity faces an unprecedented risk of nuclear war, made even more dire by the promotion of “usable” mini nuclear devices. We will commit ourselves to the elimination of these dangerous weapons from the Earth, painful as that process will be. For the sake of our children, we will forcibly confiscate, and destroy, all nuclear weapons, starting in the United States, and then in all the other nations of the world. We will work with committed groups of citizens at home and abroad, inside government and outside. The development of nuclear weapons must be stopped.
4)
Launch international scientific investigations into the past that so many refuse to confront
We cannot come to grips with the threat of climate change and of nuclear war until we shake off the culture of denial that has gripped us for the last twenty years. We must conduct a fearless investigation into the actions taken by a small group of powerful men after the 2000 election, including the so-called “9/11” incident.
The power of the scientific method must be employed by international “truth and reconciliation” teams to reveal the honest story for our citizens, and for the world, to see. There should be no limits on how far the investigation goes. Granted the seriousness of the case, all related materials must be declassified. Nor should we be satisfied with simplistic tales that blame just one group or another. Murder on the Orient Express was a solvable crime.
5)
Bring the US military home and upgrade the United Nations
The United States must bring back the troops deployed around the world, troops often exploited in mercenary enterprises to serve the interests of the wealthy. We must be ready to fight, and to die, for true international security, but to do so only in the strictest sense as defined by the charter of the United Nations. It would be better to risk our lives in the noble battle against the forces of greed to protect the soil beneath our feet, to assure that the pure waters of our oceans are not poisoned, and to preserve forests in perpetuity than to fight these pointless wars.
The United Nations must be the primary space wherein we plan the future for our fragile planet, and then implement it. But that can only be done if that institution undergoes a complete reform that empowers it to represent the citizens of the Earth without the interference of corporations or of wealthy individuals.
6)
Corporations are not people;
The rich get only one vote
Corporations are not people and they have no role to play in the formulation of policy. The same is true for the super-rich and for the investment banks through which they exert their will. The information required by policy makers must be supplied by life-long civil servants, professors and other experts who can engage in an objective evaluation of the current state of our country without pressure to derive profit.
The rich are just people. They have no more rights than anyone else. They should not have a special role in the determination of policy. Those who use money, directly or indirectly, to influence policy are engaged in corruption and bribery; do not hide such criminality by using the innocuous terms “consulting” and “lobbying.”
We must empower the civil service so that the government regains independence from corporations and can produce strict regulatory systems to protect the people. We have done it before and we can do it again. In that process, many corporations, such as banks, or communications and energy companies, will be nationalized, and run by a competent staff of civil servants who have the common good as their sacred mission. Such ethical governance has precedents dating back to ancient times and does not require ideological decorations.
7)
An economy of the people and for the people
Without economic equality and the strict regulation of finance, democracy is not possible. While we slept, an elite faction generated great wealth by illegal and immoral means for decades and then hoarded it overseas. Most of our citizens cannot even conceive of the corruption that has spread everywhere behind the sparkling facades of industry and government.
All this will stop. We empower thousands of professional auditors at the Internal Revenue Service, and other government bureaus, who, supported by the FBI, will go forward and fearlessly conduct complete audits of all branches of government, including the Department of Defense. We will demand a full financial audit of the Congress and of all its members. So also will the entire Executive branch and all the major members of the Judiciary, be audited. We will not be afraid to fire, fine and imprison thousands of people, or more, if necessary.
Once the government is focused once again on the concerns of our honorable citizens, we will do the same for corporations and for the super-rich.
Remember that those who roll in obscene wealth obtained it through unfair access to capital combined with illegal business practices. Their assets must be cut down to size so that they can no longer use these funds to undermine journalism, politics or education. Finance from now on will be a highly regulated field, primarily overseen by government organizations accountable to the people. Regional banks will be transformed into cooperatives that are run by the citizens for the sake of the local economy.
8)
Support true education and investigative journalism
Politics cannot be legitimate if our citizens are denied access to the quality education they need in order to think critically about the state of our society and to make full use of the infinite potential locked away in their imaginations. They need to learn history and literature, philosophy and science, from a young age in order to be able to comprehend the complex issues of our generation.
We will create a new education system in which all citizens are treated equally. The funds for schools will never be tied to local real estate taxes. Teachers will be as well rewarded as any member of society. Everyone will be entitled to a quality education because we expect everyone to be an active citizen.
Journalism is an extension of education. Journalism should inform our citizens about real issues, not sensationalist happenings, and it should teach them how to think critically about the economic and cultural realities behind the surface of things. Sadly, journalism has degenerated into a disgraceful sludge that fills newspapers, TV broadcasts and internet postings with grotesque images and meretricious phrases, content that appeals to our worst angels.
Whereas citizens should be learning to think objectively and to work together to create a better society, they are bombarded instead with refuse that stimulates sexual desire or promotes mindless consumption.
The government must support an independent media at the local and national level that is dedicated to the pursuit of truth and that encourages citizens to think for themselves. Investigative journalism about the serious issues of our time, brave journalism, must once again become a viable career.
Art, whether painting, sculpture, design, drama, music or literature, must be part of our citizens’ lives. The government will support such activities because they give citizens the confidence to express themselves, and to articulate a vision for our future on their own, without relying on shiny images or glib phrases produced by the corporate media.
Fostering artistic expression will free youth from the banal and manipulative culture they face today, one which directs them towards short-term pleasures and robs them of the ability to contribute to their society. Giving them the opportunity to make their own films, their own newspapers and their own paintings and photographs, while being paid a decent wage for that work, will give them confidence they can change society. We will replace banal and demeaning commercial art with the redeeming and inspiring art of our citizens.
9)
The 13th amendment and the end of slavery
The 13th amendment of our Constitution explicitly prohibits slavery. Yet we have citizens, many forced into debt by contemptible practices, who work in factories and stores as effective slaves. We have citizens in prisons, often on trumped-up charges, forced to work for no pay, forced to pay for the right to see their loved ones. All these crimes are for the profit of corporations. These despicable practices will be ended, without exception, by the rigorous application of the 13th amendment.
10)
Trade must be ecological and truly free
Trade can be helpful on occasion, but as it is practiced today it is deeply damaging to our precious ecosystem and to our people. Trade has become another word for massive container ships, controlled by investment banks, spewing horrid smoke as they carry goods across oceans in the interests of the few, not of those who make the goods, nor of those who use them.
It is not a positive, and it is certainly is not internationalization, for local industries and farms to be destroyed by “trade” and for citizens to be rendered dependent on imported goods against their will.
We must, together, completely rethink what trade means and create a 100% fossil-fuel free trade system that is accessible to everyone and that respects the needs of local communities.
11)
Moral decadence lies at the core of this political crisis
The current crisis is above all a spiritual crisis. We have fallen deep into decadence and narcissism. They taint even those with the best of intentions. Modesty, frugality and integrity have vanished from our vocabulary. The invisible inner world of values and character has been replaced by a spectacle that renders the citizen a passive consumer of filth.
Until we can control our own actions and, only then, form communities that can demand justice and righteousness, until we can trust our neighbors, talk frankly with our children and uphold common values, we will be incapable of standing up to the powers that have seized control of our country.
Moral corruption means that many of those who speak of “freedom” and “justice” are happy to take covert payments that they avoid speaking too much truth. This also must end.
12)
Transform the military-intelligence complex
The out-of-control military allows corporations to take our tax dollars and transfer them directly to their bank accounts through the sales of overpriced weapons, not subject to outside review or to scientific tests.
We need men and women willing to give their lives for their country. Those noble sentiments have been cynically misdirected. The military, and the intelligence “community” that surrounds it as a penumbra, must be transformed and dedicated, above all, to the mitigation of, and the adaptation to, climate change, and to other real security threats.
The bravery of soldiers must be redirected to the dangerous duty of ending the rule of our country by fossil fuel giants, and their lackeys, and to the task of transforming our economy. Soldiers! If you cannot stand up to the energy czars, how can you call yourselves brave?
In violation of George Washington’s warning of the dangers of “entangling our peace and prosperity” with the intentions of foreign countries, we have launched into numerous secret treaties, casually termed “intelligence sharing” and “security cooperation,” that are leading us to a catastrophe like that of 1914. Back then, a horrific domino effect was set off by such secret treaties that dragged the world into a catastrophic war.
All of you who work at underpaid contract jobs for the NSA, all of you who must read through our endless emails, all of you required to harass simple folk over foolish things for wanton corporations, listen to me! Verily, I say unto thee, “Come with us! Thou hast nothing to lose but thy chains.”
13)
Stop the dangerous influence of technology on our citizens
The corporate media presents the exponential evolution of technology as an unmitigated positive. Yet, in most cases, exposure to such new technologies robs us of the ability to focus, deprives us of the power to think for ourselves, and strips us of the awareness necessary to function as citizens in society. Technology is used increasingly as a means of inducing in us addiction to short-term stimulation. Such products generate profits, but they render citizens incapable of understanding the seriousness of the crisis we face.
We want to interact with others, and we need jobs that let us cooperate with others. But all we encounter is recorded messages, automated checkouts and long rows of supercomputers coldly calculating corporate profits. We find ourselves entirely alone in a digital desert. This is no accident but rather a premeditated crime.
We must critically review how technology impacts society before we employ it. Technology can be immensely helpful, but only if it is applied to solve the real challenges of our age, and not used to manipulate us.
Scientific understanding of the state of our Earth, and of our society, must be our goal always. We confuse science with technology at our peril. As Paul Goodman wrote, “Whether or not it draws on new scientific research, technology is a branch of moral philosophy, not of science.”
14)
Halt the anti-intellectual campaigns to dumb us down
Our citizens are subject to unending campaigns that encourage anti-intellectual sentiments and that discourage thinking deeply about the world. These changes in our culture are not natural, but are imposed by hidden forces seeking to render us docile.
We must raise the level of intellectual engagement in every corner of our country, and encourage people to think for themselves, and to propose solutions of their own. Reading, writing and debate are critical to that process and must be encouraged. Citizens should never rely on the facile and jejune opinions offered up by celebrities.
We cannot allow the poisonous forest of advertising and public relations firms to dumb down the citizenry, to impose from above a culture of narcissism and to promote the insidious cult of the self. Terrible indeed is the damage they have already done. Our citizens confront banal wasteland that offers nothing, but has taken over every TV channel, occupied every mall and conquered every office.
The advertising and PR industry must be subject to the strictest regulations so that our citizens are exposed to images in the media which encourage intellectual engagement and that support a healthy community. Citizens have the right to read articles, and watch broadcasts, that the describe the reality of our lives in a scientific manner, and the right not to be subject to programs that hold up as a model scenes from the indulgent lives of the rich.
15)
Revive the Iroquois principle of seven generations;
End the cult of growth and consumption
Although the constitution of the Iroquois Nation had a profound influence on the United States Constitution, its focus on sustainability was tragically overlooked by our founding fathers. The traditions of the Iroquois, and of other native nations, must never be forgotten. The “seventh generation” principle of the Iroquois Nation demands that we consider how our decisions today will influence the lives of our descendants seven generations in the future. This principle is scientific and rational, and it stands in marked contrast to the irrational assumption that the oceans, forests and grasslands are commodities that belong to individuals or corporations, and can be destroyed for personal profit.
The “seventh generation” principle must be added to the Constitution as an amendment, serving as the basis for the complete revaluation of our economic and cultural assumptions.
We must stop using deceptive terms like “growth” and “consumption” to assess the well-being of the nation. We must consider together the health of all our citizens, the weal of the environment and the prosperity of wild animals and plants.
Cooperation is essential to our survival. We cannot solve problems through budgets if budgets merely encourage dependency on money. We must create barter systems between citizens so that neighbors can assist each other and set up programs for mutual support that make families and communities self-sufficient.
Health care cannot be provided merely by sloshing government money from one account to another. We must also empower citizens to care for each other, to learn enough of medicine, of herbal remedies and of proper exercise, to cure many illnesses on their own without using money at all.
16)
Farming for the people and a healthy and fair food economy
The rapid rise in temperature brought on by global warming will cause an exponential increase in the cost of food over the next decade and make farming once again the most critical activity for survival. We have not even started to prepare for this catastrophe.
We must leave behind this bankrupt system of industrial farming and return to farming by the people and for the people. The land must be distributed to large numbers of citizens to be used as family farms. There is nothing to lament or decry herein. The soil and the water granted to us by our mother Earth has never been, and never will, the property of corporations.
The entire distribution system for agriculture must be regulated and thereby made fair. It is far more important to produce food in a manner that does not damage our soil and water than it is for the few to make fortunes from agricultural exports. Americans must embrace sustainable organic farming, and do so now.
17)
Neither the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party are described in the Constitution
The three-ring circus of impeachment revealed to us that the current political system has nothing to do with the Constitution. Governance is dead and politics has been reduced to a brawl between corporate lobbyists, investment bankers, media pundits and the rich whom they serve. The media, having long abandoned any scrap of journalistic integrity, merely eggs on the wrestlers like a drunken mob.
All debate surrounding the formulation and implementation of policy must be handled in a transparent manner within the government offices defined by the Constitution.
Yet today, policy is made by corporations, or debated within opaque and unaccountable political parties, in a blatantly unconstitutional manner. Do not be deceived. The Democratic Party and the Republican Party are not described in the Constitution and they do not represent the vast majority of our citizens.
Leaving decisions on policy to political parties that are not regulated by the Constitution is both criminal and unconstitutional, and the practice must be stopped.
Political parties are an appropriate venue for citizens at the local level to meet and to exchange ideas. The Constitution grants the Democratic and Republican parties no role in governance or in the formulation of policy.
민간 연구소 ‘아시아인스티튜트’의 임마뉴엘 페스트라이쉬(Emanuel Pastreich) 소장은 북한이 드론, 즉 무인기나 3D 프린팅 등 신기술을 이용해 동북아 지역 안보를 위협할 수 있다고 경고했습니다. 김소영 기자가 보도합니다.
페스트라이쉬 소장은 7일 미국 조지워싱턴대학에서 열린 학술 발표회에서 동북아 지역에 안보 위협을 가져올 수 있는 북한의 신무기에 대해 거론했습니다.
그는 역사적으로 새로운 위협이 닥쳤을 때 늑장 대응을 하는 경향을 보여왔다며 10여년 뒤 북한이 개발해 사용할 수 있는 북한의 신기술에 대해 미리 경각심을 가져야 한다고 강조했습니다.
페스트라이쉬 소장은 북한이 드론, 즉 무인기나 차세대 로봇 기술을 이용해 새로운 형태의 전투기를 개발할 수 있다고 내다봤습니다.
실제로 미국 뉴욕에 있는 바드 칼리지 드론연구센터가 지난해 발표한 보고서에 따르면 북한은 수백에서 1천개의 무인기를 보유하고 있는 것으로 추정됩니다.
이 중에는 미국이나 중국, 러시아의 모델을 변형해 개발한 대공 유도무기용 표적기나 무인타격기 등도 있습니다.
페스트라이쉬 소장은 또 프린터로 평면이 아닌 입체도형을 찍어내는 기술인 ‘3D 프린팅’ 역시 새로운 위협이 될 수 있다고 경고했습니다.
페스트라이쉬소장: 저는 지금 당장이 아니라 5 년에서 10 년 안에 가능한 일을 말하는 것입니다. 3D 프린터를 이용해 기관총이나 드론, 전투기 등 어떤 것도 제작할 수 있습니다. 이것은 동북아 지역 안보에 변화를 가져오기 때문에 우리가 신중히 다뤄야 할 북한 문제입니다.
한편 페스트라이쉬 소장은 동북아 지역의 핵확산 문제 차원에서 북한의 핵무기 개발은 북한 자체의 위협에서 그치는 것이 아니라 주변국인 일본과 중국의 핵 경쟁을 불러 일으킬 것이라고 우려했습니다.
페스트라이쉬소장: 북한의 핵무기 증가가 가져올 가장 위험한 핵확산 문제는 중국과 일본도 핵무기를 늘리는 방식으로 대응하는 것입니다. 만약 중일 양국 간 무기경쟁이 벌어지면 각각 5,000~1만 개의 핵무기를 쉽게 만들어 낼 수 있을 것입니다.
페스트라이쉬 소장은 이러한 핵무기 경쟁이 동북아 지역 전체의 안보를 뒤흔들 수 있다고 경고했습니다.
WHO Director-General’s Statement on IHR Emergency Committee on Novel Coronavirus
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
2020/02/05
Good evening to everyone in the room, and to everyone online.
Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed the emergence of a previously unknown pathogen, which has escalated into an unprecedented outbreak, and which has been met by an unprecedented response.
As I have said repeatedly since my return from Beijing, the Chinese government is to be congratulated for the extraordinary measures it has taken to contain the outbreak, despite the severe social and economic impact those measures are having on the Chinese people.
We would have seen many more cases outside China by now – and probably deaths – if it were not for the government’s efforts, and the progress they have made to protect their own people and the people of the world.
The speed with which China detected the outbreak, isolated the virus, sequenced the genome and shared it with WHO and the world are very impressive, and beyond words. So is China’s commitment to transparency and to supporting other countries.
In many ways, China is actually setting a new standard for outbreak response. It’s not an exaggeration.
I also offer my profound respect and thanks to the thousands of brave health professionals and all frontline responders, who in the midst of the Spring Festival, are working 24/7 to treat the sick, save lives and bring this outbreak under control.
Thanks to their efforts, the number of cases in the rest of the world so far has remained relatively small.
There are now 98 cases in 18 countries outside China, including 8 cases of human-to-human transmission in four countries: Germany, Japan, Viet Nam and the United States of America.
So far we have not seen any deaths outside China, for which we must all be grateful. Although these numbers are still relatively small compared to the number of cases in China, we must all act together now to limit further spread.
The vast majority of cases outside China have a travel history to Wuhan, or contact with someone with a travel history to Wuhan.
We don’t know what sort of damage this virus could do if it were to spread in a country with a weaker health system.
We must act now to help countries prepare for that possibility.
For all of these reasons, I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of novel coronavirus.
The main reason for this declaration is not because of what is happening in China, but because of what is happening in other countries.
Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems, and which are ill-prepared to deal with it.
Let me be clear: this declaration is not a vote of no confidence in China. On the contrary, WHO continues to have confidence in China’s capacity to control the outbreak.
As you know, I was in China just a few days ago, where I met with President Xi Jinping. I left in absolutely no doubt about China’s commitment to transparency, and to protecting the world’s people.
To the people of China and to all of those around the world who have been affected by this outbreak, we want you to know that the world stands with you. We are working diligently with national and international public health partners to bring this outbreak under control as fast as possible.
In total, there are now 7834 confirmed cases, including 7736 in China, representing almost 99% of all reported cases worldwide. 170 people have lost their lives to this outbreak, all of them in China.
We must remember that these are people, not numbers.
More important than the declaration of a public health emergency are the committee’s recommendations for preventing the spread of the virus and ensuring a measured and evidence-based response.
I would like to summarize those recommendations in seven key areas.
First, there is no reason for measures that unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade. WHO doesn’t recommend limiting trade and movement.
We call on all countries to implement decisions that are evidence-based and consistent. WHO stands ready to provide advice to any country that is considering which measures to take.
Second, we must support countries with weaker health systems.
Third, accelerate the development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.
Fourth, combat the spread of rumours and misinformation.
Fifth, review preparedness plans, identify gaps and evaluate the resources needed to identify, isolate and care for cases, and prevent transmission.
Sixth, share data, knowledge and experience with WHO and the world.
And seventh, the only way we will defeat this outbreak is for all countries to work together in a spirit of solidarity and cooperation. We are all in this together, and we can only stop it together.
“Remember, the corruption we see today spans the Earth. There is no place which is beyond its reach and there is likewise no place where there are not sprouts of freedom and righteousness.”
Emanuel Pastreich
Let us also remember always what Frederick Douglass wrote,
“This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress. In the light of these ideas, Negroes will be hunted at the North and held and flogged at the South so long as they submit to those devilish outrages and make no resistance, either moral or physical. Men may not get all they pay for in this world, but they must certainly pay for all they get. If we ever get free from the oppressions and wrongs heaped upon us, we must pay for their removal. We must do this by labor, by suffering, by sacrifice, and if needs be, by our lives and the lives of others.”
오늘날 미국은 동북아시아에서 무한한 재난에 직면해 있는데 이는 중국과의 경솔한 무역 전쟁, 일본 및 한국과의 동반 관세 분쟁 및 중국을 군사적 위협으로 홍보함으로써 광범위한 협력 노력을 악화시킨 데 따른 결과이다. 우리는 점잖은 무시가 악의적인 무시로 전이되는 것을 조용히 지켜 보고 있는 상황이다. 아시아인들은 말하기를 꺼리는 편이지만, 워싱턴을 파괴적인 세력으로 인식하는 이들이 급격히 늘고 있다.
트위터에 의해 지배되는 행정부와 국제 사회에 대한 ‘트럼프 퍼스트’의 새 버전은 UN 본부가 위치해 있고 핵확산 금지, 무역 및 테러 방지 등을 처리할 국제 조약을 지지하며 자유의 여신상을 통해 구현된 미국의 국제주의 전통을 묻어 둔 채 단기 이익만을 추구하는 경향을 가속화할 뿐이다.
동북아의 이러한 위기는 평양에서 발생한 것이 아니며 오히려 탐욕스럽고 자기도취적인 워싱턴 모델이 아시아의 수도들에서 새로운 주인을 찾은 데서 기인한다.
미국이 잃어버린 명성을 회복하기보다는 오히려 아시아 지역에서 밀려나게 될 가능성이 매우 높은 신냉전을 조장하는 데에 납세자들의 돈을 실제로 소비해야 할 필요가 있을까?
또한 일본은 한국과의 군사적 충돌 가능성을 상정하고 있다. 우리에게는 한국, 일본, 중국 및 다른 국가 간의 무기 경쟁 및 경제 전쟁 발생에 따른 상상할 수 없는 악몽을 피할 수 있도록 새로운 방향을 설정하기 전에 낭비할 시간이 없다. 이러한 전개는 이 지역에서 미국의 역할이 끝남을 포함해 많은 것을 의미할 수 있다.
이러한 동북아의 위기는 현란한 정상회담이나 의회에서 일부 법을 제정하는 것만으로는 해결되지 않을 것이다. 우리에게는 변화하는 동북아의 미래를 향해 나아갈 방법과 뚜렷한 희망을 제시할 수 있는 비전이 필요하다.
일본의 철학자 오규 소라이에 따르면, 세상에는 두 가지 종류의 체스 장인이 있다고 한다. 규칙을 완벽하게 알아서 모든 게임을 쉽게 이길 수 있는 사람들과 체스는 경기할 규칙을 제정하는 사람들의 두 부류이다.
후자의 접근 방식은 눈에 띄게 생소하다. 우리는 새로운 질서를 만들기보다는 제2차 세계대전의 종료 당시 제정된 세계 질서를 유지하는 데에 익숙해 있다. 그러나 점진적인 개혁만으로는 동아시아에서 점점 약화되고 있는 미국의 지위를 바꿀 수 없다. 이제 우리는 동아시아에서 미국의 역할을 근본적으로 바꿔야 한다.
그리고 아시아에서 미국의 역할을 정의하기 위해 시작한 투쟁은 타자의 악마화가 조건이 아니며 예상치 못한 곳에서 답이 나올 수 있다.
최근 UN의 기후행동 정상회의에서 이루어진 그레타 툰베리의 연설은 전 세계에서 기후 문제에 대해 대책을 요구하는 사람들의 요구가 절정에 달했음을 드러낸 사례이다. 수만 명의 열정적인 젊은이들이 기후변화의 재난으로부터 우리를 구할 수 있도록 기존의 모든 경제, 정치 및 문화적 측면에서 근본적인 변화를 요구했다. 그들은 기후변화가 최악의 결과로 이어질 수 있음을 알고 있다.
세계에서 일어나고 있는 근본적인 변화에 대한 요구는 동북아에서 미국의 역할을 재정의하고 중국과의 대립을 해결하는 한편 한국과 일본의 협력을 장려할 수 있는 귀중한 기회가 된다.
미국은 기후변화 자체가 해수면 상승, 해양 온난화, 사막화의 확산 또는 열대성 폭풍우와 같이 동북 아시아의 주요 위협이 되고 있음을 인식해야 한다. 그로 인해 많은 사람들이 죽어 가고 있으며 향후 수년간 수백만 명이 죽게 될 것이다.
이러한 근본적인 변화를 달성하기 위해서는 우리의 모든 가정을 변경해야 하는데, 그레타 툰베리가 요구한 것이 바로 이것이다.
이는 미국이 비행기, 배, 총알 및 미사일 등의 군사적 측면에 초점을 맞추어왔던 데서 벗어나 화석 연료의 사용 금지와 숲의 복원 및 해양 및 강의 생태계를 보호하는 것으로 안보의 주요 임무를 재정의함을 의미한다. 현재 최대 환경 오염 유발자 중 하나인 미군으로 하여금 오염을 정화하고 석유 시추 및 석탄 사용을 금지하는 데에 주력하도록 기본 임무를 재설계할 수 있다.
이러한 비전은 지나치게 이상적일 수 있다. 그러나 문자 그대로 너무 큰 위기여서 모든 것을 재고해야 한다.
동아시아의 경우 기존의 전투 수행에서 벗어나 나무를 심고 생태계를 보호하며 기업들로 하여금 지구의 소중한 자원을 영리 목적으로 파괴하지 않도록 함으로써 기후변화를 완화하는 데에 주력하도록 미군의 주요 임무를 변경함으로써 여러 전선에서 일본 및 한국군과 협력할 수 있을 것이다. 각국의 군대들이 기후변화에 대한 적응 및 완화에 군사적 초점을 맞추게 되면 중국과의 군사 협력도 쉬워질 것이다.
군대는 애초에 그러한 변화의 역할을 수행하도록 만들어진 것이 아니므로 어쨌든 기존의 안보 및 방어 개념을 고수할 것이다. 그러나 군대가 그런 방식으로 역할을 하기 시작할 경우 민간 부문보다 그러한 변화를 더 빠르게 이행할 수 있다.
군대는 수익성에 대한 우려 없이 첨단 기술 개발을 위한 장기 예산을 책정할 수 있는데 예를 들어 다음 달까지 모든 전력을 태양열이나 풍력을 통해 생산하도록 할 수도 있다. 우리는 미국, 한국, 일본의 노하우를 결합함으로써 그러한 해결책을 제시하고 기후변화 해결에 전혀 도움이 되지 않는 위험한 군사 시설 건설에서 벗어날 수 있다.
1. 잠시 시간이 있다면 교보문고의 영어 도서 섹션에 가보는 것이 좋다. 영어 도서 섹션의 중간에 위치한 해외 독자들을 위해 영어로 출간된 북한 관련 도서들을 발견하게 될 것이다. 이 책들은 밝은 색상의 매력적인 표지들로 덮여 있다.
북한 관련 서적에는 세 가지 장르가 있다. 첫 번째는 끊임없이 전쟁을 벌이고 무기를 사용하여 한국, 일본 및 미국을 공격하려 하는 호전적인 군사 독재국가로 북한을 묘사한 유사 학술 서적이다. 이 책들은 독자층이 다소 제한되어 있으며 북한의 의도나 군사력을 진지하게 비교 분석하기보다는 한국, 일본 및 미국이 고가의 무기 시스템을 구매해야 함을 사람들에게 설득하기 위한 수단으로 출판되고 있다.
이러한 무기 시스템의 구매는 단순히 북한에 대한 오해의 결과가 아니며 군수 산업을 통해 돈을 벌어들이는 은행 및 다른 투자자들이 소수의 사람들을 위한 이익을 창출하기 위해 일반인들이 낸 세금을 사용하는 방법의 일환으로 의도적으로 그러한 이미지를 널리 홍보하는 것이다.
나는 많은 이들이 북한의 위협에 대한 이 지루한 책들을 정말 끝까지 읽었을 것인가에 대해 의심이 든다.
북한 관련 서적의 두 번째 장르는 수많은 지독한 시련과 끔찍한 고통을 겪은 후 한국이나 미국에서 자유를 찾은 용감하고 고결한 사람들이 북한의 압제적이고 범죄적인 환경으로부터 탈출하는 것을 묘사한 책들이다. 대개 탈북자들이 서구 작가의 ‘도움’을 받아 쓴 이러한 이야기들은 극적인 반전과 서사 구조를 조합함으로써 북한을 세계의 다른 어느 나라보다 끔찍하게 보이도록 만들었고 서양과 서구 문화가 안전하고 평화롭고 자유로운 환경을 제공함을 시사함으로써 위험하고 무서운 북한과 대조를 이루고 있다.
이 흥미진진한 이야기들은 모험 소설로 더 잘 분류되며 실제 경험을 바탕으로 한 섹션들이 포함되어 있음은 의심의 여지가 없지만 더욱 강렬하고 호소력을 갖도록 서구 편집자들에 의해 각색되었다. 이러한 책들은 북한에서의 생활에 대해 자세히 설명하는 것이 아니라 에드거 앨런 포의 소설들처럼 가슴 아프거나 끔찍한 장면들을 설명하는 데에 더욱 중점을 두고 있다.
이 책들이 북한 사람들이 자신들의 의지에 반해서 한국에 머무르도록 강요당하는 방법과 한국이나 미국에서 학대 및 조종당하는 방법 또는 지배 계급이 노동자와 농민을 학대하는 전 세계의 다른 많은 개발 도상국들과 북한 사이의 유사점에 대해서는 아무것도 묘사하지 않는 점에 주목할 필요가 있다. 이러한 이야기들에서 북한은 여전히 독자적인 상태로 남아 있다는 사실이 중요하다.
2. 나는 약 2년 전 서울에서 열렸던 공개 행사에서 작가로서 새로운 경력을 쌓으려고 노력하는 한 탈북 여성 옆에 앉을 기회를 가졌다. 그녀는 탈북자 중 가장 유명 인사는 아니지만 탈북자의 이야기를 출판 시장에 내놓으려고 열심히 노력하고 있었다. 그녀는 그 행사에 에이전트와 함께 왔는데 이벤트를 진행하는 과정에서 중요한 역할을 했다. 그녀는 행사를 위해 진한 화장을 하고 매력적인 드레스를 입었다. 그녀는 북한에 있는 형제 자매들의 대변인이라기 보다는 모델이나 가수가 되려고 노력 중인 사람처럼 보였다.
가장 중요한 것은 그녀가 청중의 질문에 답변했을 때 나라 전체가 전 세계 어느 곳보다도 억압적이고 폐쇄적이며 전체주의적임을 시사하면서 북한에 대한 모든 것들을 무조건적으로 비난했다는 사실이었다. 그녀는 북한의 어떤 것에 대해서도 긍정적인 말을 할 수 없었고 지나치게 부정적이었기 때문에 자신이 자란 나라를 묘사하기보다는 정해진 대본에 따라 말하는 것처럼 보였다.
이러한 ‘북한 탈출’ 이야기를 읽으려고 시도할 때마다 나는 인위적인 구성에 금방 질려버리게 된다. 나는 북한에 가본 적은 없지만 이런 이야기들이 북한을 기상천외할 정도로 악의 소굴로 보이도록 윤색되어 있다고 말할 수 있다. 반면에 비록 극소수지만 이 이야기들 중 일부는 북한의 검소하고 상업주의에 물들지 않았으며 스마트폰이 없는 생활의 미덕을 시사하고 있다.
또한 이러한 ‘탈출’ 소설 장르는 필연적으로 북한이 자유롭고 개방된 시장 경제를 채택하지 못했고 정부가 자유 무역을 개방하려는 의지가 없으며 자유 무역을 위한 시장 개방에 대한 정부의 의지가 결여된 것이 현재 북한이 직면한 기근과 빈곤의 원인임을 암시하고 있음에 주목할 필요가 있다. 시장 경제가 미국과 한국에 미친 엄청난 피해를 살펴본다면 코카콜라와 디즈니 상품의 소비가 국가에 긍정적인 것으로 보기는 어렵다. 전 세계인들은 이른바 자유 무역에 매우 적대적이다. 더욱이 한국에서 대량 광고를 통한 소비문화의 홍보로 인해 엄청난 불행이 발생했다.
3. 그러나 또한 우리는 북한 사회의 잔인성이 미국, 일본, 한국에서처럼 부와 지위의 찬미에서 비롯된 지배 계급들의 이기심과 관련이 있는지에 대해 스스로 자문해볼 필요가 있다.
소비재 상품의 보유에 따라 가치가 결정되는 문화의 진흥은 북한이든 한국이든 관계없이 사회에 강력한 영향을 미치며 우리가 그러한 문을 여는 가치에 대해 진지하게 의문을 제기해야 할 수도 있다. 사람들이 그토록 가난한 시기에 그러한 소비 주도 경제에 문을 여는 것이 가치가 있는지에 대해 심각하게 고민해봐야 할 것이다. 북한이 직면한 문제들에 대한 해결책이 시장 경제라고 말할 이유가 과연 있을까? 소비에 집착하는 한국이 어떤 의미에서든 북한의 모델이 될 수 있을까?
예를 들어, 강철환이 피에르 리굴로의 도움을 받아 쓴 베스트셀러 <평양의 수족관: 북한 강제 수용소에서 보낸 10년(The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag)>을 살펴보자. 저자 강철환은 자신과 가족들이 어리석고 세뇌된 북한 사람들과는 대조적으로 매우 강인하고 유능했음을 상세하게 설명하고 있다. 그는 북한의 강제 수용소에서 살아남아서 북한을 탈출할 수 있었다. 그는 한국에서 코카콜라를 마실 수 있게 되었을 때에 느꼈던 안도감에 대해 말하고 있다.
북한 감옥의 야만성에 대해서는 의심의 여지가 없지만, 북한 감옥이 전 세계의 다른 감옥들보다 더욱 끔찍한 곳이라고 확신할 수는 없다. 어쨌든 이 책에서 칭찬하고 있는 미국은 북한을 비롯한 다른 어느 나라보다도 많은 인구를 감옥에 수감하고 있으며 특히 미국의 감옥은 악랄하고 위험하여 많은 사망자가 발생하고 있다. 미국과 북한 감옥들의 잔혹성에 대한 비교는 도움이 될 수 있겠지만 저자에게 그러한 비교는 관심의 대상이 아니었다.
다음으로 우리는 성매매범들로부터 학대받았던 탈북 여성의 고통스러운 이야기를 다룬 박연미의 저서 <내가 본 것을 당신이 알게 됐으면(In Order To Live: A North Korean’s Journey to Freedom)>(정지현 옮김, 21세기북스 펴냄)를 살펴보기로 하자. 이 책은 대부분 실제 사건들에 기반한 것이 분명하다. 그렇지만 이 책의 저자는 여전히 선진국에 비해 북한이 얼마나 뒤떨어져 있는지 듣고 싶어 하는 서구 독자들에게 영합하려는 것으로 보인다.
미국인으로서 박 씨의 책을 읽었을 때 북한을 익숙하지 않은 곳으로 소개하기 때문에 필자와 같은 독자들이 이 책에 끌린다는 느낌을 받았다. 북한은 한국인이나 미국인이 자신이 살고 있는 사회에서 제도와 도덕이 붕괴되는 데에 대한 두려움과 우려를 투영할 수 있는 장소 역할을 한다. 이 책은 여성 학대가 한국과 미국을 포함한 전 세계에서 보편적으로 벌어지고 있다는 사실에 대해 눈을 감도록 부추기고 있다. 여기에서는 사람들이 보편적으로 겪는 인간적 경험을 무시하고 북한을 정말로 특이한 공포의 대상으로 그리고 있다.
우리는 북한인들이 겪고 있는 기아와 박탈 또는 자유의 부재를 미국의 흑인들이나 멕시코의 원주민 또는 한국에 사는 캄보디아 이민자들의 경험과 비교한 적이 없다. 그러한 비교는 전체적인 맥락에서 북한을 이해하는 데에 크게 도움이 될 것이다. 그러나 그러한 비유는 문제의 진정한 원인이 북한의 이데올로기보다는 무자비한 시장의 속성이나 부의 집중에서 비롯되었음을 시사할 것이다.
4. 북한 관련 서적들의 세 번째 장르는 제3자들의 보고서나 단기간의 북한 여행을 통해 스스로 관측한 바에 근거해 작성된 서방 전문가들의 글로 이러한 글들은 북한의 모든 측면을 제대로 작동하지 못하고 전체주의적이며 범죄적 특성을 가진 것으로 다루고 있다. 그런 책들의 범위는 다양하며 일부는 다른 책들보다 더 객관적이지만 대부분은 이 고립되고 끔찍한 나라가 얼마나 기괴하고 으스스하며 기이하고 잔인하며 비인간적인지를 허구적으로 묘사한 이야기들로 되어 있다. 이러한 책들은 북한의 지역별로 다른 문화나 지리적 차이를 제제로 설명하지 않으며 현직 정부 관리, 정책, 인프라나 핵무기를 제외한 과학 기술에 대해 상술하고 있지 않다. 북한과 관련된 인기 있는 영어 도서에서 지난 500년간 북한의 각 지역이나 도시의 고유한 특성이나 지역별 제도적 변화에 대해 설명한 것을 본 적이 없다. 프랑스나 독일에 관련해서는 그러한 지역적 특성이나 제도적 측면을 다룬 책들이 많이 있다. 그렇지만 어떻게든지 북한은 전혀 하나의 국가로 취급되지 않는다.
직설적으로 말하자면, 이 책들은 북한을 이해하려는 시도가 아니라 차라리 다른 나라들과 달리 동양에 대한 환상으로 국가 전체를 나타내려는 문학적 프로젝트에 가깝다.
이러한 분석을 위한 접근 방식은 서양인들이 터키와 아랍에서 시작해서 나중에는 인도, 중국, 일본으로 확대된 동양에 대해 매력을 느끼는 데에서 시작된 ‘오리엔탈리즘’의 오랜 전통에서 전혀 벗어나지 않는다. 서양인들은 이러한 ‘동양’ 문화를 유럽의 모든 규범으로부터 벗어났으므로 매력적이지만 궁극적으로는 기이하고 알 수 없는 신비한 세계로 보기를 원했다.
19세기와 20세기 오리엔탈리즘의 전통은 다른 문화를 이해하려는 노력과는 아무 관련이 없었고 오히려 에드워드 사이드의 고전 연구 <오리엔탈리즘>에서 입증된 것처럼 국내 문화와 정치를 정당화하고 설명하기 위한 수단으로서 가장 중요했다.
영국은 인도가 매우 낙후되어서 합리적으로 만들어야 했기 때문에 인도를 식민지로 만들 권리가 있었다. 그러나 진실은 영국이 주로 경제적 이익을 위해 인도를 착취하는 데 관심이 있었다는 것이다. 영국인들은 인도나 터키를 기이하고 흥미롭지만 부패하고 비이성적인 문화로 묘사함으로써 그러한 동양 국가들보다 훨씬 더 기이하고 잔인하게 여겨왔던 중앙아시아와 아프리카 지역에서 이익을 얻기 위해 잔인한 식민지 전쟁에 참여했을 때 우월감을 느낄 수 있었다.
5. 북한은 이 북한 전문가들의 손에 의해 미국에서 정확히 이 역할을 수행하고 있다. 코카콜라를 마시지 못하거나 한국의 아이돌 그룹들을 볼 수 없는 폐쇄적이고 억압적인 사회가 묘사될 때 그러한 설명은 북한에 대한 설명만큼 가치가 있는 것이 아니라 오히려 한국과 미국의 소비 지향 문화를 정당화하는 역할을 한다. 대중문화. 북한 연구 서적을 읽는 독자들은 돈이 충분하다면 자신이 이러한 모든 소비재에 접근할 수 있고 자신이 원하는 것을 자유롭게 구매할 수 있다는 점에 대해 감사하게 생각할 것이다.
그러나 한국의 현 상태를 기이하고 권위주의적인 북한과 대비해 이를 정당화하는 것은 증가하는 자살과 과도한 경쟁에서부터 시작해 SNS 중독 및 가정의 붕괴에 이르기까지 현재 한국을 휩쓸고 있는 심각한 병폐들로부터 사람들의 주의를 돌리는 데에 도움이 된다. 이는 매우 심각한 문제들로 언론 매체들은 여기에 대해 언급하는 것을 꺼리고 있다. 끔찍한 북한에 관한 이야기는 한국의 현상을 정당화하는 데에 이용된다. 그렇다고 북한에 비극이나 잔인성이 없다는 의미는 아니다.
서구의 전문가들이 쓴 두 권의 북한 관련 유명 도서인 브라이언 R. 마이어스의 <왜 북한은 극우의 나라인가(The Cleanest Race)>(권오열·고명희 옮김, 시그마북스 펴냄)과 미국에서 가장 유명한 한국 정치학자 빅터 차의 <불가사의한 국가(The Impossible State)>(김용순 옮김, 아산정책연구원 펴냄)를 살펴보자.
북한 전문가를 자칭하는 브라이언 R. 마이어스는 미국 언론에 현 통치자 김정은 및 그의 아버지 김정일과 할아버지 김일성에 대한 극단적인 개인 숭배가 북한을 얼마나 지배하고 있는지에 대해 기고하면서 북한의 정치 선전에서 찾아볼 수 있는 한민족의 순수성에 대한 강조가 2차 대전 이전 일본의 파시즘으로부터 영향을 받은 결과라고 주장한다.
마이어스의 책에서 많은 부분은 사실이지만 문제는 그것이 특이하게 기이하고 무서운 나라의 이야기를 만드는 방법으로 사용되었다는 것이다.
나는 개인적으로 북한의 구호에서 인종적 순수성을 사용하는 것에 대해 불안하게 생각한다. 그것은 오해와 차별을 부추기는 것이 위험한 전략이라고 생각한다. 그러나 마이어스의 책은 북한의 인종 정책과 미국이나 유럽 정치에 사용되는 인종 정책 사이의 유사성을 전혀 밝히지 않는다. 그러한 비교는 지나치게 계몽적이지만 저자가 자신의 독자들이 보기를 원치 않았던 정치에서 ‘인종적 순수성’의 문제는 후진적인 북한에만 국한된 것이 아닌 보편적이라는 사실을 알 수 있도록 할 것이다.
마이어스는 축구 경기나 학생 집회에서 드러나는 북한의 행동을 심하게 병든 정치 체제를 대표하는 것으로 해석한다. 그의 책 속에는 북한이 자신들 나름의 방식으로 북한인들을 이해하거나 또는 북한 문화의 왜곡이 억압적인 정부뿐만 아니라 북한이 겪었던 잔혹한 전쟁과 외부적 요건으로 인해 강요되었던 지독한 고립의 결과였음을 분석하려는 시도가 전혀 없다.
그러나 내게 있어 이 책의 모든 전제는 지성에 대한 심한 모욕으로 여겨진다. 그렇다. 인종적 순수성을 지향하는 북한의 이데올로기는 뭔가 불안한 것이 있다. 그러나 무자비한 경제 확장을 목적으로 외국에서 수백만 명을 살해하고 자유와 민주주의의 명목하에 천연자원 확보를 위해 전쟁에서 열화우라늄의 사용을 정당화하는 미국의 이데올로기는 어떨까? 그것은 위험한 이데올로기이다. 그러나 마이어스의 책에서는 ‘북한은 미국이 제국주의 및 팽창주의 이데올로기를 가진 것과 마찬가지로 인종주의적 이데올로기를 갖고 있다’고 이야기하지 않는다. 그러한 북한 전문가들에게는 북한을 스탈린 시대 러시아나 나치 독일을 제외한 다른 국가들과 비교하는 것이 불가능하다.
마이어스는 북한이 자신의 존재를 정당화하기 위해서는 그와 같은 미국에 대한 적대감이 필요하다고 시사한다. 물론 그 진술은 사실이다. 북한의 정치 지도자들은 미국에 대해 저항한다는 명목으로 주민들을 모으고 그들의 권력을 정당화한다.
물론 미국이 지속적으로 북한을 공격하겠다고 위협하고 종전 평화 조약을 체결하지 않고 있기 때문에 북한 정치인들이 이러한 주장을 쉽게 할 수 있을 것이다. 그러나 마이어스가 제기하지 않으며 제기할 수도 없는 질문은 미국이 자신의 존재를 정당화하기 위해 북한을 이용하는지 여부이다.
이 문제에 대해 깊이 생각하지 않은 사람들에게는 이 질문은 터무니없을 수도 있겠지만, 물어 볼 만한 가치가 있는 질문이다. 미국은 기후변화에 대처하고 자국 내의 지독한 부의 편중을 줄이거나 수천 개의 핵무기로 인한 핵전쟁 위험을 줄이는 데에 자원을 할애할 수 있었다. 그러나 오히려 미국에서는 광적인 무기 구축 사업에 점점 더 많은 투자가 이루어지고 있다. 무기 제작은 몇 안 되는 미국 내 제조 산업 중 하나가 되고 있다. 미국 경제의 군사화가 정당화되는 이유는 무엇인가? 상상화된 북한의 위협은 경제 왜곡을 정당화하는 데에 있어 큰 부분을 차지한다. 북한은 미국의 광기 어린 경제 정책을 정당화하는 데 사용되는 위협이다.
6. 다음에는 CSIS의 우수한 한국 전문가 빅터 차와 그의 판타지 소설 <불가사의한 국가>에 대해 살펴보도록 하자.
이 책에서는 북한을 이해하기 어려운 이상한 나라로 너무 기이하고 이해할 수 없을 정도로 무너져서 붕괴되어야 마땅한데 계속 유지되고 있는 사회로 소개하고 있다. 빅터 차에게 있어 북한의 미스터리는 그것이 작동한다는 것이다.
이 책에서는 전기 사용이 극도로 제한되어 자동차가 많지 않기 때문에 ‘불능’ 도시로 간주되는 평양의 거리에 대해 상세하게 묘사하고 있다. 그러나 모든 기후변화 전문가들은 최대한 빨리 자동차를 제거하고 전기 사용을 크게 제한해야 한다고 말할 것이다. 그 문제에 대해서 북한 청소년들이 기업의 이익 증대를 추구하기 위해 중독되도록 독려하는 스마트폰에 빠져들지 않는 것이 좋은지 나쁜지 여부를 묻는 것은 좋은 질문이다.
또한 이 책은 북한 주민들의 상대적으로 검소한 생활을 기이하고 후진적인 것으로 여김으로써 부패한 미국 문화를 조장한다. 이러한 접근 방식은 자연과 조화를 이루며 지속 가능한 삶을 살았던 미국 원주민들을 ‘야만인’으로 묘사하면서 광물 자원을 착취하고 야생 동물들을 무차별적으로 사냥해 멸종에 이르게 했으며 거대 도시들을 건설해 환경에 큰 피해를 가져왔던 서구인들과 매우 유사하다.
이 책은 자유롭고 개방된 국가인 미국과 대조적으로 북한이 조잡하고 조작된 선전을 통해 김 씨 일가의 학정에 대해 사람들을 오도하는 방법을 설명하고 있다.
그러나 이 책에 대해서 실제로는 자동차를 운전하고 큰 집에서 살면서 많은 에너지를 낭비하지 않는다면 자유롭지 못하다고 제시함으로써 미국 사회의 깊은 모순으로부터 사람들의 주의를 돌리도록 하는 선전 선동의 걸작이라고 주장할 수도 있을 것이다. 궁극적으로 ‘불능’ 국가는 실제로 잔인하고 억압적임에도 불구하고 북한이 아니라 오히려 미국 자신이다.
트럼프 행정부의 증가하는 광기와 국내에서의 통치 붕괴를 둘러싼 정치적 혼란은 미국 정치의 오랜 부패의 결과일 뿐이며 그 기원은 2000년 선거 당시로 거슬러 올라간다. 북한은 미국의 활동을 제어할 수 없다.
빅터 차에게 북한은 미국에서 점점 확산되고 있는 권위주의에 대한 실질적 불확실성을 투영할 수 있는 장소이다. 미국인들이 신문을 선전으로 가득 채우는 방식에 대해 스스로 정직할 수 없다면 대상이 ‘미국’이 아닌 ‘북한’일 경우에는 적어도 이 진실을 간접적으로 인식할 수 있을 것이다. 내부의 사회적 모순을 그처럼 생경한 북한에 전달, 계획하는 것은 많은 미국인들로 하여금 미국으로 알려진 ‘불능’ 국가에 대해 더욱 편안하게 느끼도록 만든다.
The request from the Trump administration that South Korea join a new naval mission to the Strait of Hormuz, at precisely the moment the entire region is on fire, places Seoul in a difficult position. Not only is the push for military conflict with Iran, which is making Secretary of State Mike Pompeo immensely unpopular with many Americans (including many in the military), the plan has also been met with profound skepticism on the part of many American allies. Many question the legitimacy, and the logic, of assassinating Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. Few think that there will be any positive result from military action.
The risk of South Korea being drawn into a massive, and crippling, military conflict, and one in which the United States does not have overwhelming advantage as was the case in the first Gulf War, are high. The threat that Iran will break off diplomatic relations with Seoul, and perhaps even encourage attacks on Koreans around the world, is real.
At the same time, South Korea has benefitted immensely from the U.S.-Korea alliance and the ties between the two countries in culture, education, politics and economics are profound. A decision by South Korea to avoid the Hormuz mission, as Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has suggested, could do significant damage to bilateral relations and create resentment the extends far beyond the Trump administration.
The choice is incredibly difficult, but it must be made.
I will not pretend to offer a miracle cure. What I would like to suggest here is that this crisis offers South Korea a chance for a profound consideration of its true national security and an opportunity to launch a complete transformation of its economy and culture that will make future choices more strategically sound and will keep South Korea out of such impossible positions.
Energy resources from the Middle East are critical to the Korean Economy at multiple levels. Korea uses those energy sources in its economy, it produces products that require those energy sources such as automobiles and ships that are sold globally (and is therefore sensitive to fluctuations in the price of oil), and Korea sells many products and services to the Middle East so that the economic health of that part of the world has a direct impact at home.
So dangerous it the instability in the Middle East that Koreans must respond by focusing their full attention on the solution (putting away their smartphones) and they must make energy security the national priority.
However, this crisis, which I think is the equivalent of war, does not mean that Korea must buy even more weapons systems, or send its military into the Middle East to face tremendous dangers in an ambiguous struggle. Instead, making Korea completely independent of imported fossil fuels must become the priority. We must create the equivalent of a military economy to get us there quickly. We have no time to waste.
The rapid end of dependency on petroleum and other energy sources imported from abroad must be made such a fundamental security priority that the response of the stock market, short-term profits for business, the convenience of citizens and traditional economic growth metrics become secondary in the discussion.
The government must reassert its authority to set a national long-term agenda and to mobilize citizens, working together with all sectors, so that we can rapidly transform our economy, our means of production and our culture. It is an imperative, “the moral equivalent of war,” to quote President Jimmy Carter, that we become entirely independent of fossil fuels in the next few years.
Once we recognize that the overwhelming priority for Korea is national security, and not economic growth, and that national security will only come when we end the importation of petroleum from the Middle East, and from elsewhere, we will make real progress. Climate change engendered by emissions from fossil fuels will destroy Korea over the next 40 years (and the predictions about global warming of scientists over the last 30 years have been quite accurate) and constant dependency on imported energy means that Korea can be economically destroyed at any time by a break in the flow of petroleum and coal into the country.
The first step is for the government to ignore the cries of short-sighted business representatives who have no long-term strategy for the nation and who are more interested in overseas profits than in the well-being of Koreans.
We must set an ambitious plan to make Korea 100 percent carbon-free in four years, or fewer. Such a plan will go even beyond the most ambitious efforts elsewhere in the world and make Korea number one. Moreover, it must be even more comprehensive an effort than the Korean drive for rapid growth in the 1960s and 1970s. To be successful, this goal of independence from fossil fuels must become a critical part of the lives of all citizens, giving new meaning to every action and creating a new sense of community. Citizens should be placed at the center of this national movement to end imports of energy, thus encouraging a sense of common purpose and a habit of mutual support, as opposed to narcissistic self-indulgence and greedy competition.
We must make plans for South Korea in which energy independence is set as the top priority and in which policies are no longer evaluated with regards to the profits they may derive for wealthy investors.
First, the government must reinvent finance to serve in much the manner it does in a war-time economy. As was true in the 1960s and 1970s, finance must be nationalized and used for the common good. Foreign capital which is not directed at the long-term interests of Korea, specifically energy independence, must be rejected.
The goal of zero imported fuel is necessary for survival. Profit and consumption are far lesser concerns.
The entire economy must be mobilized to manufacture and distribute wind-powered and solar powered sources of energy. Those sources of energy should be heavily subsidized for the purpose of national security and must completely displace oil and coal power. The technology should be open source and all residents should be required by law to employ renewable energy. We must see solar and wind power devices attached to every residence, every office building and spread across the country. Every plane or bus or automobile must be covered with solar panels that generate energy.
But the process goes further than that. Buildings that waste energy must be entirely rebuilt for maximum efficiency, including the installation of insulation and the use of double or triple storm windows. We should not hesitate to demolish buildings that cannot be energy efficient. Moreover, we must increase the number of trees in public spaces, even tearing down many buildings in cities to make space for plants.
Employing electric cars that can be charged using solar panels will be a critical first step. But we can only do so effectively if we require that all existing automobiles be turned in for replacement with electric vehicles within six months.
But many people should simply give up their cars forever. Moreover, South Korea should move beyond its economic dependence on the automotive sector. The ultimate plan will be to eliminate most automobiles and to redesign cities so the vehicles are no longer needed.
The scale of the transformation will be massive and must be pushed forward by a social movement that includes all citizens. Citizens must learn at local meetings, much as they did in the 1960s and 1970s, about the dangers of climate change, about the imperative to stop the use of gasoline, of plastics, and of everything related to imported petroleum. We must educate everyone about the existential danger for Korea posed by climate change and the national security risks of dependence on imported energy. We must make everyone aware of how each of their daily actions, driving a car, buying a plastic toy, eating food wrapped in plastic and imported, make Korea less secure and increase the dangers that we face.
This movement should include everyone, from every block, from every village, across Korea.
To achieve such a goal we must make reading, writing, analysis and debate central to Korean society. The link between climate change and fossil fuels, and the deep threat to Korean security posed by importing energy, can only be made clear if we revive intellectual discourse in our society and make citizens participants in the process. We must encourage Koreans to be citizens and to engage their minds in policy, not just in mindless entertainment.
But there is more. To eliminate imported energy, and thereby assure national security, we must return to our traditional values. Koreans once held frugality, modesty, self-sufficiency and humility as the highest values. It was once considered shameful to throw away a grain of rice, or to dispose of any object that had still value. Koreans wasted nothing. Thrift was a great virtue.
But Korea has been taken over by an indulgent culture of consumption that makes waste a virtue. We are encouraged by television shows, commercials and the alien concept of consumption-based economics to waste. In fact, the more we waste, the better our economy will be ― or so we are told. We have thrown away close family ties and deep friendships. Instead, we pass our days buried in our smartphones, watching stupid videos, photographs of food, video games or pornography. This flawed culture encourages a fabulous waste of energy that makes the southern side of the Korean Peninsula visible from space. It is a catastrophe, not an achievement that South Korea is lit up, and this waste deeply compromises our security. All that energy is imported, and all that energy is destroying the climate.
As we push for true energy independence, we also will be forced to reconsider the concept of trade. Trade has been presented to us as a critical aspect of the economy, and this position on the importance of trade is shared by representatives of the left and of the right.
Trade is a sacred topic, one that no one can question.
But if Korea wants true security, we must ask the hard questions. The United States, and Japan and China have already started to ask those hard questions about trade.
The ships that bring us products from around the world also consume immense amounts of imported fossil fuels and they contribute to climate change. Moreover, Korea’s dependency on raw materials and finished goods that are imported vastly increases the risks for Korea in the case of a conflict. Whereas most tools and furniture were once made in Korea, now most must be brought from abroad. Jobs have been sacrificed, the nation’s security has been compromised and local expertise diminished. If trade stops in a crisis, the Korean economy will stop.
Increased self-sufficiency is critical to Korea’s survival; the myth that the only road to prosperity is through trade must be questioned. If trade makes us insecure, we must limit trade. We are in a position where most Koreans would starve in a few weeks if food imports ceased.
The Middle East crisis is as serious as it looks. But the ultimate message for us is NOT that we need to send warships and tanks into that growing chaos. No. Rather, we must come together in Korea, to exercise great political will, and to make Korea truly independent of imported energy. That is the first step toward true security.
The struggle to change direction will be enormous. Everyone must be involved. But as we know, Korea has succeeded against the odds before.
