Between Flexible Life and Flexible Labor

Abstract

■ This article contextualizes the historical emergence of liberal socialism (socialism with a strong stance against the state and social power over individual) in South Korea and its inadvertent convergence with neoliberalism. By observing experiences of three leftist single independent women who embodied liberal socialism through the democratization movement towards neoliberalization (1987—2007), this article situates ways in which South Korean leftist intellectuals enjoy a flexible lifestyle and at the same time criticize flexible labor. On the one hand, the article elucidates that liberal individualism was both means and product of socialist struggles against the late-developing authoritarian capitalist state in South Korea. However, it argues that socialist adaptation of liberal values is no longer effective in countering a neoliberal capitalism that requires flexible labor and autonomous individuals.