Death of Despair and the Destruction of Neoliberalism in East Asia: Economic Development, Democratization, and Social Pressure in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan

Abstract

Japan, South Korea and Taiwan (China) successively achieved economic miracles and political democratisation between the 1960s and 1990s. The international community attributes these achievements to the application of neoliberalism in East Asia. However, neoliberalism brought not only economic success but also destruction, which, along with the traditions of East Asian societies, resulted in more severe political consequences in civil society. This paper argues that in East Asian societies, democracy is the result of economic development and not the other way round, while further exploring the application of the concept of death of despair in East Asian societies and providing a critical review of the neoliberal paradigm.