Could an African Country Adopt Juche?

We've been over this last time. "Juche is racists" isn't necessarily true. Don't confuse North Korean nationalism with their economic "self-reliance" policies.

What North Korea says doesn't mean it follows that in reality.

North Korea also says that they are a fully functioning multi-party democracy.
 

whitecrow

Banned
What North Korea says doesn't mean it follows that in reality.

North Korea also says that they are a fully functioning multi-party democracy.
Again, don't confuse their nationalism/ethnic policy with their economic policy. Juche is an economic policy centered on self reliance.
 
The wikipedia entry is missing a lot. In fact, there's this one professor (can't remember his name) that sums it up quiet nicely. Juche, actually believes North Koreans are morally superior to all other racists.
 
We've been over this last time. "Juche is racists" isn't necessarily true. Don't confuse North Korean nationalism with their economic "self-reliance" policies.
The nonsense philosophy NK puts forward internationally is not a reflection on the Juche that the people of North Korea are exposed to. The North Korean state philosophy as taught to its people is a racist ideology - if you're interested, the book The Cleanest Race is an excellent resource. You can say that Juche is just an economic policy that means self reliance and militarism, but as conceived of in North Korea, the reason for those are based in the philosophical underpinnings of racial superiority. I'm not particularly interested in getting in an unanswerable semantic argument about what is and isn't really Juche. I stand by my original statement: No non-Korean country will institute Juche as it is known in North Korea. It may institute a similar system of militarist autarky and call it Juche, for whatever reason. Which I think is a statement that holds under either of our points of view.
 
No it doesn't. The Cleanest Race is a good book, but try to take it with a grain of salt. The Juche is the same in or out of the country. The propaganda focus is what is different, not the ideology.

The relevant North Korean sub-ideology dealing with race is 우리민족제일주의 (not sure how they translate that, probably Our-Race-First-ism works well enough). According to the book I have (bought in Pyongyang two years ago, it states:

"Our-Race-First-ism has no connection with racialism or racial exclusionism. Our-Race-First-ism emphasizes the need to have pride and confidence in one's race and to become the master of one's destiny. Our-Race-First-ism does not state that the biological construction of Koreans is different from others."

Then it goes on about "bourgeois racial thought" and its terribleness for awhile. And then,

"There are no separate superior or inferior races. Every race carries creative wisdom and ability."

Then some shit about imperialism for a bit. Then, the important bit:

"Juche Sasang is a human-centred ideology that views people as the masters of all things and the most precious being on earth, and resolutely supports the independence of the masses. Therefore, Juche fundamentally repudiates racial hatred, exclusionism and imperialism."

That's a hasty translation but you get the gist. Sure, in practice there is a fair bit of racism in North Korea, promoted in odd ways by the government. But the ideology is _explicitly_ anti-racist, and the DPRK spent a lot of time and money promoting it around the world. When I went to Juche tower it was covered in placards from Juche study groups all over the world, with many from Africa.

Juche at the end of the day is nothing much more than national Stalinism with an emphasis on the leader and self-sufficiency. There is a lot of random fluff about "the physical life given by one's parents and the socio-political life given by the leader" but its not that important. Romania under Ceausescu modelled itself to a degree on the DPRK, as they were in similar political circumstances.

So replicate that in an African country and it should work. You need a Communist country with a strong leader, politically isolated.
 
I would have to say that the former Zaire with its "authenticite" ideology is the closest to DPRK-style Juche. That is, if you can dismiss the polyester leisure suits won by Mobutu and friends!
 
If by the term 'Juche',you mean an ideology which involves the glorification of one's race and country and personal glorification of the Head of State or Ruling Party, any dictator strong enough to keep his country under his firm control might be tempted to adopt it. Eritrea and Zimbabwe may be the most suitable candidates at present. Africa had a long list of rulers in the past who would have loved to learn the lessons of Juche from the Kim father-son duo.
 
Top