[Kim Seong-kon] Becoming both a progressive and a conservative

If someone says that they are both a progressive and a conservative, or leftwing and rightwing, we may think that they are a sly opportunist, a hopelessly contradictory person, or a case of dissociative identity disorder. Not anymore. Today, a perfectly normal person can become such a broadminded person who can cross the border between the two and embrace them, if they have courage and capacity. Moreover, they are an ideal person we need in order to build a non-polarized, better society.

The renowned critic Leslie Fiedler already perceived the advent of a polarized society and emphasized the importance of moderation in his monumental essay, “The Middle Against Both Ends.” For Fiedler, nothing could be more urgent in our extremely polarized society than to have someone who can stay in the middle, criticize both extremes and reconcile the two antagonizing ideologies. Of course, it is not easy to stay in the middle and mediate the two because he will be criticized by both extremes. Still, however, Fiedler urges us to “Cross the Border, Close the Gap,” in his famous article with the same title.

The famous American novelist Thomas Pynchon, too, warned of the polarity of our society, saying that we should avoid the “either/or mentality” and embrace the “both/and construction.” Pynchon urged us to overcome our monochromatic black-and-white perspectives and embrace colorfulness. Pynchon’s insight is appealing to us, especially in this era of crossovers and hybrid, fusion cultures.

We tend to divide things into two and give privileges to the one we choose and dismiss the other as untrue. It is wrong. In his celebrated novel, “The Crying of Lot 49,” Pynchon wrote that “both industrial capitalism and Marxism are part of the same creeping horrors,” if pushed to the extreme. Pynchon emphasized the necessity and importance of someone who can buffer the two extremes, sort out an entropic situation, and help restore order. Only such open-minded people can ensure that society staves off the inevitable total annihilation of a human civilization that shuns diversity.

Historically, South Korea has been a divided and polarized society due to its chronic ideological warfare. Since 1945, when Korea was liberated from Japan, Korean society has been sharply torn between the Left and the Right, or Marxism and capitalism. The result was the division of the Peninsula by the North and the South. Even inside South Korea, we are divided once again by progressivism and conservatism, ideologies that detest each other so much that it seems impossible that they might ever be reconciled. The problem is that, as we can see from the examples of Stalin and Hitler, both far left and far right are ultimately the “same creeping horrors.”

Recently, the Korean people were exhilarated and elated to hear the news that a Korean novelist received the 2024 Nobel Prize in literature. Once again, however, our nationwide festivities were immediately spoiled by ideological faction fights. The left-wing people celebrate it as their victory, whereas the right-wing people criticize the Nobel laureate’s "leftist" sense of history.

We should think about the tragic Sewol ferry disaster. Instead of mourning for the drowned, our politicians turned it into mud fights for political gain. The left-wing politicians have used the tragedy for winning elections and seizing power. Embarrassingly, the same thing is happening now. This time, right-wing extremists are turning the nationwide festive atmosphere into yet another arena for ideological warfare.

That is why today’s South Korea urgently needs those who can deconstruct and dismantle our narrow mindset based on binary oppositions. The world is not made of progressivism and conservatism only. Therefore, we need those who can boldly stand firm against the two extremes and reconcile them, so we can put an end to the seemingly never-ending ideological scuffles in our society for good.

Instead of trying to use the delightful news of a South Korean winning a Nobel Prize, we all should celebrate the meaningful occasion together. As for the tragic Sewol ferry disaster, we should sincerely mourn for the drowned. Humanity should come before ideology, and common sense should prevail over political brawls.

When pushed to the extreme, progressivism can easily turn into socialism or communism. Likewise, conservatism, too, can degenerate into racism, regional prejudices or anti-immigrant sentiments. That is why moderation and the middle ground are necessary and important. Unfortunately, however, our society is plagued by unprecedented polarization.

In a divided, polarized society, we should transcend bipolarity and seek diversity. We should each play a pivotal role in depolarizing our society and bringing back harmony and balance to our country. We should stop the fighting between the Left and the Right. After all, we need a pair of wings to fly and a pair of shoes to walk. If we have only one of the pair, we will end up falling from the sky or stumbling on the ground. “That is the way it is,” as Walter Cronkite said.

Kim Seong-kon

Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and a visiting scholar at Dartmouth College. The views expressed here are the writer’s own. -- Ed.