[Green Growth:Korea's New Strategy (22)]Green growth and its sociocultural implications

The following is the 22nd in a series of articles focusing on the Korean government`s "green growth" strategy. The series will also introduce the increasing efforts of major advanced countries of the world to promote a green economy. - Ed.

On Aug. 15, 2008, on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Korea, the government proposed a new state vision of "low carbon, green growth." President Lee Myung-bak defined green growth as "reducing greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution for sustainable growth." He added that green growth was "a new national development paradigm supplying clean energy and jobs as a new engine for growth."

There are broadly two positive implications of the green growth policy.

Firstly, on an international scale, global warming, among other environmental problems, poses a fundamental threat to the future of humanity. Secondly, on a domestic scale, Korea needs to prepare for a new development goal after its success in building a nation and achieving industrialization and democratization. Keeping this in mind, it seems both timely and wise for the government to propose green growth.

Even so, there are several aspects of the green growth theory which leave room for improvement. For one, economy-centered thinking on economic growth and job creation still dominates discourse on green growth. Science technology-based thinking also dictates the search for solutions to problems related to the environment or energy. Added to this, a reliance on the traditional top-down approach dependent on government leadership is still prevalent. The theoretical base describing the legitimacy of green growth and its implementation possibilities are also unclear. Lastly, design at an institutional level to achieve green growth is rather inadequate.

While sharing a general agreement and support for the green growth theory, this article proposes a different perspective. The emphasis will be on the sociocultural implications of the green growth theory. Green growth should not be understood merely as a new source for economic growth or as representing technical progress for environmental protection. Moreover, green growth should not end as a political slogan or discourse. Instead, its reappraisal as a form of cultural movement or even a cultural revolution related to social integration and lifestyle is necessary.

Green civilization era

Owing to modern industrial civilization, humanity has seen astounding progress over the last several hundred years.

Economically, production has increased exponentially. Politically, the rationality of government has expanded greatly. Socially, great progress has been made in matters of equality, tolerance and openness.

Realizing these achievements has not come without a cost. From the very beginning, the limits of growth due to energy depletion were foreseeable, which, as fate would have it, our generation has been destined to confront.

It is now no longer a matter of choice but a matter of necessity that humanity becomes a low carbon society. It is not a problem confined to one particular nation, but is a global concern. According to Charles Darwin`s evolutionary perspective, the changes made by civilization at this time will represent an important watershed which will determine the survival and prosperity of future humankind.

What is important to note here is that we are not promoting "counter-civilization" but an alternative "new civilization." The ecological crisis and limitations should not give cause for human society`s great evolution and progress to stop here. The realistic and right answer, therefore, lies in the "ecological modernization" advocated by Anthony Giddens.

The age of green growth seeks to transcend the conflicts created between sheer economism and fundamental environmentalism to arrive at a win-win relationship benefiting both economic activity and human ecology. The importance of the economy in the lives of humanity cannot be belittled.

However, as Karl Polanyi has pointed out, in some aspects, modern industrial civilization has resulted in the loss of "society" even as it made significant gains in the economy. In other words, social community based on trust and reciprocity has been lost as competitive market principles have become more important.

From this perspective, the green civilization as a humanity-centered socio-cultural discourse represents an opportunity to restore the degraded society of high carbon civilization.

Not only the economic but also the political paradigm needs to change with the advent of green growth. In the industrial age, public planning played an active role in the modern state structure. Especially in the 20th century, the global trend can be summed up in James Scott`s appropriate expression, "seeing like a state." However, the social engineering approach taken under the banner of "high modernism" resulted in side effects and limitations which could be simply disregarded. However, it has become increasingly evident that ignoring local diversity cannot enhance humanity`s quality of life regardless of the amount of collective effort.

As a matter of fact, it is historically undeniable that non-governmental civil society has grown enormously as a reaction against the government planning system of the late 20th century. Indeed, environmental problems were at the center of so-called new social movements. Even so, environmental movements in the industrial age showed a great deal of elite-centered hierarchical characteristics which could be either political or ideological in nature.

In comparison, a green growth society could overcome the obsolete ways of statism while at the same time proposing an alternative civil movement. It would consist of no less than the ordinary people contributing to daily life at the grass root level.

This concept falls under Thomas Friedman`s "nation-building at home" concept. Nation-building is no longer confined to wars, industrial sites or school education. In the green growth era, nationalism plays out on the stage of daily life, the home, or village. Green growth civilization ultimately means the restoration of a community seeking "vitality from below."

Green growth and social integration

Korean society today is in a serious crisis of conflict.

The current social conflict in Korea can be seen as consisting of two major aspects. Firstly, there is omni-directional conflict following widespread socio-psychological dissatisfaction. Since the 1960s, in the span of only several decades, Korea has grown into an economic powerhouse from being a country mired in absolute poverty. Even though Korea has succeeded in escaping from being a "hungry society," it has recently become an "angry society" at an unprecedented scale. The gap between the rich and the poor has grown, and feelings of relative inferiority and a sense of deprivation are pervading Korean society.

Secondly, Korea has seen the formation of a "fundamentalistic" line of conflict that is built on the angry age. This fundamentalistic conflict gives expression to not only the seriousness of the situation, but may actually suggest that any realistic compromise has already become impossible.

Not only does the structure of the conflict - which pits conservatives against progressives, or the left against the right - have deeply embedded roots in Korean history, but polarization is so extreme that it is reminiscent of a sort of religious or ideological war. This state of affairs is very dissipating and dangerous for Korean society at large.

At this point, green growth becomes a promising social discourse with a potential to heal the polarized social conflicts of an angry society. Above else, green growth can be a psychological common denominator for social unity and integration. As Ulrich Beck points out, environmental crisis does not discriminate the right from the left, nor does it distinguish conservatives from progressives. The saying that "poverty is hierarchical, but smog is democratic" shows the universal nature of the environmental problem. In this aspect, green growth, while not a cure-all solution, can be a potent medicine against the conflict riven structure of Korean society.

The environmental crisis is not a crisis of the future but a crisis of the present. It is already at our doorsteps. Green growth would be a type of symbolic code facilitating mutual understanding and social communication. It may provide the only alternative to the current dismal situation. It is in this context that President Lee Myung-bak stated that green growth is "not a road which can or cannot be taken, but rather a road on which we must go and are already traveling."

It should also be noted that green growth falls under the governance model. According to this model, the distinction between the subject and object of government loses all meaning, which leads to a natural decrease of conflict over power, wealth or social position. Under the governance system, the tension and conflict between social groups shifts from the centralized arena of national power to a gradual decentralization or to a trend of localization. In addition, ideological politics will give way to political pragmatism, opening a way to resolve social problems more easily.

Governance is based on creativity and cooperation from below, leading to a productive marriage of two camps in lieu of exhausting conflict between government policy and civil movements. In this context, green growth can produce a once in a lifetime opportunity to upgrade the past "Saemaeul Movement."

In short, green growth equals governance. Without governance, it is not green growth at all. It needs to be seen as the new driving force fueling Korea`s future development. The state power cannot return being the government era`s national planner. For today`s age of governance, the state must become a sort of vision provider, with green growth pertaining a pertinent government vision.

There are other expectations of how green growth can resolve social conflict. Green growth is beneficial to both labor and management regarding class conflict. As companies provide the drive for growth and increase employment opportunities for laborers, green growth does not see a zero-sum relationship in the problems of growth and welfare. Instead, it sees the best welfare as job creation through growth. Green growth which aims for co-existence and co-prosperity places great emphasis on ethical obligations of corporations through social entrepreneurship.

Green growth also provides solutions regarding gender and cross-generational social conflict. The central stage for green growth is located in the everyday lives of ordinary people, to such an extent that harmony between the sexes and cooperation between generations will determine the success or failure of green growth itself.

Both patriarchal authoritarianism and combative feminism are far removed from the ecological modernism or new civilization green growth seeks. Green growth is future-oriented. This is because it is not based solely on contemporary social integration but on a social contract across time.

Instead of the present generation handing down to the next generation, green growth is based on the assumption that the next generation can actively participate. Consequently, green growth is a national strategy which transcends generations to create a "sustainable Korea."

Green growth can be effective in healing the ferocious ideological conflict in Korean society, because it provides a buffer between conservative and progressive ideologies.

Green growth itself is free from traditional left-right ideology. If the environmental movement, which in the past had relatively progressive tendencies, were assimilated into green growth, there would be an opportunity to lessen the extremes of ideological conflict.

Furthermore, green growth could become a new basis to follow the so-called sunshine policy. The de-ideological nature of green growth could not only lead to the alleviation of conflict within South Korea but also help alleviate the tension between North and South Korea.

Finally, green growth provides a prescription to the new potential cause of conflict in the process of becoming a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic nation.

Following the trend of globalization, the opening of Korean society and the resulting diversity of social members is an inevitable and desirable condition.

As Richard Florida points out, the center for economic growth and social development springs from where there is cultural diversity and rich social capital. Thus the present emphasis on mono-ethnic lineage is inconsistent with a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. The new identity and the social solidarity of Koreans in the 21st century needs to be reassessed and redefined according to the concepts of green citizenship. Only in this way can cultural conflict be prevented ahead of time.

Green growth and quality of life

Ultimately, the social integration effects of green growth need to be linked with improvements in the quality of life. In this regard, green growth will ultimately lead to a cultural revolution creating a new way of life. The present Korean society needs to take the opportunity provided by green growth to create the lifestyle and culture of an advanced nation.

As part of this, a much safer society needs to be created through green growth. Famously, Korea has been reduced to a high and complex risk society during its compressed growth process. Through an indiscriminate development process, Korea`s land and cities have experienced devastation, and many Koreans are exposed to anxiety and danger in daily life, in such areas as crime, housing, food products and so on. In addition, the current social safety net available for the socially underprivileged cannot be more inadequate. In this aspect, green growth needs to be a milestone at which Korea makes a transition into becoming a safe society.

Secondly, Korea must use green growth to transform itself into a high trust society from being a low trust society.

Today`s Korea is facing a collapse of social norms and immature rule of law, and consequently has relatively little social capital at the national level compared to other developed nations.

The social capital Korea has in abundance is sectoral, such as nepotism and parochialism. Green growth provides an excellent opportunity to become a society based on trust since it calls for a national consensus and voluntary participation. Just as a social accord to conserve energy is another energy in itself, green growth can produce a form of intangible social energy which can lead to social trust.

Finally, green growth will provide a chance to elevate the average lives of citizens. The success of the industrial civilization in solving basic problems of food, clothing and shelter should not be overlooked or ignored. However, such a lifestyle, which is dependent on quantity and speed, does not need to be extended into the low carbon civilization. It is time to turn our sights to internal happiness and cultural values. Needless to say, green growth will be a great navigator to open a new human renaissance as we begin the 21st century.

Looking towards the future

Green growth is a new beginning and it starts now. It is at once an "open" theory as well as an "empty" container. This, however, does not make green growth unstable or imperfect. Instead, because of this, it is a flexible concept which can be utilized for the greater good depending on our efforts.

By exploring the sociocultural denotations of green growth it is clear that it is a discourse of an ecological new civilization spanning the history of social development. Therefore, we need to include the humanities and social sciences in our expanded awareness of green growth. We don`t have to do it on purpose - the concept of green growth originally includes this.

By Jun Sang-in