In retrospect, the year 2009 was truly eventful. Due to the global financial/real crisis of 2008, most countries have been suffering from economic stagnation and unemployment. In the political and military realms, due to tension in the territories of Iran, North Korea, and Afghanistan, it seems as if we are walking through a mine field. At the same time, starvation, disease, crime, and the environment destruction seem to be increasing around the globe.
   What kind of shadow will the global economic crisis of the 21st century last across human history? Recently, as the reasons behind the collapse of financial capitalism are closely examined, New Liberalism, a belief in the market's "invisible hand," is being condemned. On the other hand, Post Keynesian thought, which advocates the restoration of the government's "skillful hand," is rising to the surface.
   South Korea's past myth of "high growt" has ended, and its competitiveness is falling into the swamp of social conflict. Korea is ranked 4th (Social Conflict Index: 0.71, above the average of 0.44 among 27 OECD countries) in terms of severe social conflict. The Lee Myung-bak government is trying to cure this by "strengthening the moderate, "but a national consensus upon what "moderate" and "pragmatism" mean has not been achieved.
   Recently, I compared the philosophy of the East with that of the West, focusing upon the "realist idea" of the late Joseon dynasty, and wrote about "Neopragmatism" and its difference from existing philosophies. I define Neopragmatism as a thought that pursues a humanitarian community that values human dignity, autonomy, and creativity by satisfying the basic needs of humans for "the greatest happiness of the greatest number" based on morality and procedural democracy.
   Neopragmatism values consequential performance as well, but puts emphasis on the process of reaching a choice and how democratic the choice is. No matter how important "being full and warm" and a "society with a well-off middle class" are, not only should the ways to achieve "national identity" be clearly different but there should also be a clear "national choice."
   The strategic goal of Neopragmatism is to follow sustainable growth with full employment, stable prices, and equitable income distribution. This is because, as A.C. Pigou stated, "growth, distribution, and stability" are the prerequisites for maximizing a society's welfare.
   The method of Neopragmatism is to heighten a nation's competitiveness through a Schumpeterian "Techno-Economic Development Strategy." In a market economy system, the core of national competitiveness is enterprise competitiveness, created by: resource competitiveness → development/manufacture competitiveness → quality competitiveness → market competitiveness → customer satisfaction. Heightened competitiveness leads to international competitiveness, favorable balance of international payments, and harmony of growth, employment, and distribution.
   Now, while thinking over the national ruin of 1910 and the financial crisis of 1997, we should get over the recent global financial crisis and build a "world first-class nation" through Neopragmatism, which is defined as "a country that strives to improve the quality of life of its constituents internally, and pursues universal values with a high national competitiveness externally."
   To promote Neopragmatism, national leadership is most important. Three features are required. First, a leader should lead factions and conflicts between them into harmony. Second, through education, a leader should show a new behavioral model and a will to accomplish. Last, a leader should promote productivity by indicating a vision to the constituents and making them become aware of goals, challenges, and achievements.

Lim Yang-taek
(Prof., College of Economics and Finance, Hanyang Univ.)