[One Thousand Characters a Day] The Politics of Citizens <1>

Editor's Note"The Republic of Korea is a democratic republic. Sovereignty resides in the people, and all power emanates from the people." Article 1 of the Constitution defines our country as a democracy. Mature democracy is based on dialogue and debate, and its level is proportional to the knowledge and capabilities of its citizens. ＜The Politics of Citizens＞, written by Asia Economy reporter Im Chunhan, is a democracy textbook for adults. It clearly explains political concepts that we have only vaguely known, covering political systems, political thought, political institutions, and international politics. It presents the minimum content necessary for intellectual dialogue and debate as independent topics, allowing readers to explore the book according to their interests. You can read only the parts you need, or read it from start to finish in one go, and before you know it, you will have a comprehensive understanding of 'politics' and 'democracy.' Word count: 1072.

What is politics? Generally, one might think of the president, the National Assembly, war, diplomacy, or assemblies. This is not entirely wrong. We often use the words politics or political in everyday life, but it is actually difficult to provide a clear definition. According to the dictionary, politics refers to the activities of politicians in adjusting or controlling social interests, or the activities of individuals or groups to gain benefits and power. This too comes across as a very abstract meaning. The term politics is used in a wide range of meanings and contexts across various groups, societies, and the world.

German political philosopher Carl Schmitt defined politics as "the distinction between friend and enemy. All religious, moral, economic, racial, or other oppositions become political oppositions when they are strong enough to classify people as friends or enemies." In reality, politics, regardless of the system or institution adopted, clearly has aspects similar to war. In democratic countries, during election periods, politicians and supporters rally around political parties to defeat opposing parties. In authoritarian countries, forces opposing dictators or ruling parties are purged or eliminated. Considering the reality of Korean politics, where the president and ruling party fight against the opposition, progressives against conservatives, and regions such as Honam and Yeongnam are divided and clash, this explanation feels quite persuasive.

However, defining politics solely as a dichotomy of friend and enemy is too simplistic for modern society. Most conflicts are complex and do not fit neatly into simple categories. The saying that politics is the art of compromise and negotiation did not come about without reason. For example, economically, we can divide things into efficiency and inefficiency; morally, into good and evil; aesthetically, into beauty and ugliness. If we ask whether inefficiency, evil, and ugliness are necessarily enemies, the answer is no. There are cases where society must bear costs in the long term, moral standards vary by country, and not everything that is not beautiful in the world can be rejected.

Any political issue we must decide on never has only one aspect. In terms of political systems, democracy is the most inefficient but achieves the greatest social consensus.

－Im Chunhan, ＜The Politics of Citizens＞, Pakyoungsa, 23,000 KRW