Can South Korea Save Liberalism?

While much of the world’s attention is fixated on North Korea and its nuclear ambitions, something with the potential to be equally globe-rattling is taking place, generally unnoticed, in South Korea. There, new President Moon Jae-in is charting an entirely contrary course in economic policy than much of the rest of the developed world. If successful, the experiment could alter how governments tackle the most challenging problems of our day.

Moon is embarking on a highly liberal economic program -- and unapologetically at that -- that’s heavily dependent on the kind of taxing and spending conservatives loathe. The goal is to boost household income, workers’ welfare and small businesses. As the Ministry of Strategy and Finance outlined in a July statement, Moon intends to raise wages, build more public housing and increase unemployment insurance and other benefits to widen the social safety net. Education spending will be beefed up; so will job training programs. To pay for all this, Moon plans to raise taxes on the wealthy.