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Forum Index » 'Communist' States » Democratic People's Republic of Korea » Real and Perceived Human Rights Problems in the DPRK
04 Apr 2014, 20:27
A fellow comrade of mine sent me an article presenting an overview of perceived and real human rights problems in the DPRK, and how the Western academic and especially media representation has skewed perceptions of problems in North Korea to such an extent that few real existing problems can be discussed in a more or less neutral and constructive manner.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14672715.2014.863581
It's a short article, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14672715.2014.863581
It's a short article, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.
04 Apr 2014, 22:32
Indeed a very good paper. I liked it quite a bit especially this bit:
Unfortunately many communists (and even worse anarchists) repeat this same tactic. Especially on such shitholes as RevLeft.
Also:
This is a pretty significant counterpoint to so-called "songon policy".
Quote:The corollary is the resort to vilification, often on an ad hominem basis, of scholars and policy officials who do not toe the official line on supposed “truths” about North Korea.
Unfortunately many communists (and even worse anarchists) repeat this same tactic. Especially on such shitholes as RevLeft.
Also:
Quote:UN humanitarian agencies that have worked in the DPRK since the mid 1990s have not provided evidential support for the government’s use of political classification as the criteria for food allocation. Their research considered that the food rationing system was based on a matrix of occupation, gender, and age, with those in heavy industrial jobs allocated higher grain rations than those in light industrial jobs, young people, and the elderly.46 What is true is that loyalty to the government was found to count more than anything else in determining social status and those with high social status had, almost by definition, better life opportunities. Political loyalty had therefore an indirect but important relationship to standard of living, including income opportunities and food accessibility.
This is a pretty significant counterpoint to so-called "songon policy".
04 Apr 2014, 23:15
What it all boils down to is that the DPRK regime is a bad one, but bad in slightly different ways than the West is willing to objectively quantify as bad. Nowhere in the report does the revelation occur that DPRK is actually a great -or good, or average, or mediocre- place to live. Rest assured, this is a shithouse, and it's ripe for collapse, whether or not it occurs on the West's watch.
04 Apr 2014, 23:17
Yeah except that is nobody's contention. In fact the article makes it clear that India and Indonesia have far worse health stats than the DPRK but neither of them are pariahs or given the level of unsavory media attention, and neither of them are under ridiculously severe sanctions.
This is classic though. Claim that DPRK is actively lied about for political reasons, next they get accused of thinking the DPRK is some paradise or something.
This is classic though. Claim that DPRK is actively lied about for political reasons, next they get accused of thinking the DPRK is some paradise or something.
05 Apr 2014, 05:33
India is a nuclear state, and could easily be holding its neighbors hostage to the constant threat of provocation unless it receives monetary and food aid in return for not blowing them up. Even if a regional power such as China were to call its bluff, there'd be hell to pay.
Yet, no one ever hears of such things. Neither India or Indonesia are paradises by any stretch of the imagination, but they're not hermetically sealed, fantasy fueled nuthouses, either.
Yet, no one ever hears of such things. Neither India or Indonesia are paradises by any stretch of the imagination, but they're not hermetically sealed, fantasy fueled nuthouses, either.
05 Apr 2014, 13:24
Quote:India is a nuclear state, and could easily be holding its neighbors hostage to the constant threat of provocation unless it receives monetary and food aid in return for not blowing them up. Even if a regional power such as China were to call its bluff, there'd be hell to pay.
India has more than 1 billion inhabitants. They don't have enough nukes to feed them all. DPRK has only 20 millions. India isn't at war. DPRK is.
05 Apr 2014, 20:53
Also instead of choking sanctions they've got first world nations lining up to invest in India (and have for awhile) and still worse than the DPRK.