The Politics of Policy Ideas and Kim Dae-jung’s Mass Economy Theory

Abstract

Kim Dae-jung' s mass economy(Taechunggy?ngjeron) theory is not only one chapter in Korean history, but it has become an important critical perspective in debates over developmental strategies and directions for the Korean economy. Mass economy theory has been highlighted as an alternative to the dominant Korean developmental strategy since the 1960s. Though the theory first appeared as the strategy of Kim Dae-jung, the presidential candidate for the New Korean Democratic Party in 1971, its origin was much older: its framework and contents have continued to evolve and it exists as one of the developmental strategies for the Korean economy, even after Kim Dae-jung took office as president in 1998. I investigate the historical evolution of mass economy theory from its origins to its expression of the parallel development of democracy and a market economy. The paper takes the mass economy theory as a policy idea created and expanded by a political entrepreneur. I also analyze how the theory was combined with democratic ideals and 'mass democratic system' theory as a political strategy. This research intends to show how Kim Dae-jung reacted to critical junctures -economic crisis, etc -as an individual decision maker, and how the philosophical principles of mass economy theory evolved under structural constraints in Korea and abroad.