The ghost of totalitarianism revived

Choi Hoon
The author is the chief editor of the JoongAng Ilbo.

The aftermath of the parliamentary vote to approve the prosecution’s request for an arrest warrant for Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung last month epitomized the disappointing image of the majority party, which holds 168 of the 300 seats in the legislature. The liberal party’s leadership went after some 30 betrayers who voted for his arrest. Pro-Lee lawmakers and his die-hard supporters started a merciless hunt — and purge — for DP lawmakers who “colluded with the prosecution.” Lee’s devout supporters even blacklisted the names of 14 lawmakers “who pretend to be DP members but are actually aligned with the [governing] People Power Party.”

Some DP legislators on Facebook even posted a shot of their vote disapproving the arrest of their boss, going against the purpose of the secret ballot. Lee’s hard-core supporters were not satisfied until they checked every last DP ballot.

It was as if the specter of totalitarianism from the 1930s came back to life in broad daylight in the 21st century in Korea. The behemoth party was born during the pandemic-enforced despotism. As the government gained its mighty and omnipotent authority amid the unprecedented public health scare, people had to surrender individual freedom under the mandatory mask-wearing and restrictions in economic activities, assembly and privacy.

A parliamentary election held in April 2020 during the panic brought about a sweeping victory for the then-governing DP. The Moon Jae-in administration compensated and dumbed the public by lavishing them with disaster relief money. Government debt ballooned to 965 trillion won ($715 billion) — 47 percent of the GDP — after 416 trillion won in debt was added. But the government was all engaging with North Korea, the worst totalitarian regime in the world. The party even ousted Rep. Geum Tae-seop for disagreeing with the party’s proposal to establish a new investigative agency on senior government officials in place of the prosecution. The meaning of “freedom” became muddled. Thankfully, the DP’s plan to enact a bill aimed to suppress the freedom of the press was stopped.

Totalitarianism does not tolerate dissent. Failure to comply with the dogma is an act of betrayal. The doctrine is shaped by mixing fiction with facts, statistics and science to mislead the public. Such practices are usually associated with dictators savvy enough to use propaganda tools. The first rule is that the leader is always right.

Autocrats need an enemy, as Jews were to Adolf Hitler — and as the czar, bourgeoisie and landlords were to Joseph Stalin. They despised any debate on reason, freedom of expression, fair election, and independent judiciary.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung and his colleagues in the majority party denounce the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration for its “dictatorship through the prosecution” in the National Assembly on Feb. 17.

The first rule in the DP is that its leader Lee Jae-myung is flawless. He glided into the governing party and became its head without going through any self-retrospection, soul-searching or respite, even after his defeat in the presidential election. I cannot remember exactly what he did to contribute to the country’s democracy except for his greedy pursuit of power and outstanding skills to survive and defend himself. The main opposition — which should focus on challenging the government for stifling regulations, economic woes, inequalities and injustice, as well as the North Korean nuclear threat — is entirely engrossed in attacking the president and Japan. It has morphed into a one-eyed monster that does not care about any criticism from outside.

Another feature of totalitarianism is stigmatizing the enemy. The Nazis had the Jews wear the Star of David, just like Red Guards did to capitalists and anti-state figures during the Cultural Revolution. Under Stalin’s rule, dissidents were stigmatized as the enemy of the people and proletariats. The secret army of dictators goes after the target. The labeling, bombarding with malicious texts and intimidation by DP loyalists are all acts of psychological terrorism.

The biggest problem is that the hard-liners are not unaware of their wrongdoing because they are under the collective spell. After examining the trial of Adolf Eichmann — one of the major organizers of the Holocaust — German philosopher Hannah Arendt famously observed the “banality of evil” as Eichmann had neither guilt for his actions nor hatred for those trying him, as he bore no responsibility for simply “doing his job.” Under the theory, evil is not monstrous as it can take place under the guise of normality. It can be perpetuated when immoral principles become normalized over time by people who do not think about things from the standpoint of others. The evil does not think, and the tendency to build judgment without thinking can allow evil’s banality to flourish.

The DP is built on the pride of fighting for democracy and freedom against dictatorial regimes. It was expected to check the conservative party, which has long been dominated by the logic of power. The DP must be a living model of freedom and democracy, but it is ruining its identity. It must fight off the specter and return to its original state that embraced differences.