Wozniak over Jobs

A TV comedy program titled “Let’s revive the economy” gained much popularity in the 1990’s. A young man named “Economy” faces a life-threatening challenge, and his old mother comes out calling his name, “Oh, Economy,” and saves the son.

The Korean economy, which barely managed to pass through a critical crisis 15 years ago, is struggling again from a few years ago. However, the humor that we empathized with then seems not relevant anymore. Although newspapers continuously run corporate commercials saying “please revive the economy,” the National Assembly, often dubbed as the hall of the popular will, does not seem to pay attention. The popular will of this time must not be interested in reviving the economy for sure.

From several years ago, the belief that economic growth does not benefit the livelihood of ordinary people has been widespread. People have reached such a conclusion because their financial conditions did not get any better even though Korea’s economy is improved. Instead of collecting gold rings to revive the economy as they did 15 years ago, people have learned how to express their anger against the top 1% of people who monopolize the wealth, on behalf of the remaining 99%. This move made 2011 as the “year of anger,” triggered economic democratization and brought about changes to Korea’s capitalism.

Where will the popular minds be directed next year? Park Yong-man, the chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Doosan Group, forecast an economic recovery next year, but said, “There will be many concerns and complaints next year.” With an economic recovery in advanced nations, the Korean economy is expected to grow. But people are likely to be frustrated because their life is still tough.

Although Park said, “Economic democratization is distorted by political rhetoric,” few economic issues are handled out of political context. The Korean economy may face the rage of people even before rebuilding strength for economic recovery next year.

This kind of crisis can be overcome when people recognize that they have a symbiotic relationship. Martin Nowak, an evolutionary biologist, said, “What we need to pay attention to in the ecosystem is not competition that distinguishes between winners and losers, but natural cooperation that promotes cooperation in a competitive world.”

In the biographical movie “Jobs,” Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, was illustrated as a person who vigorously pursues success. Although his passion brought great innovation to humanity, he did not keep people lagging behind by his side. Whenever Steve Job was at an important crossroads, only Steve Wozniak, the cofounder of the company, stood by him. While Jobs made innovation to win a race, Wozniak supported him to win. As a result, Wozniak could always stand at the winning side.

The way for the Korean economy right now is to find the common ground for people and recover a sense of economic community. In this regard, businessmen to move the hearts of people next year will be those how takes after Wozniak rather than Jobs.