Work Left Out of the 'Economy': Insights from the South Korean Book 'When I, a Housewife, Read Marx's Capital' [Book Review]

A while ago, the Japanese Prime Minister kept repeating, 'Economy! Economy! Economy!'

He claimed that 'the economy is the number one priority.'

But most citizens have already realized it.
That the 'economy' they speak of has a terribly narrow meaning.

For example, the process my mother goes through at the nursing home—sacrificing her sleep at home to brainstorm recreation ideas to entertain the residents—is not included in the economy they envision.

The labor of caring for family members, cleaning up vomit or excrement, and fully engaging one's emotions is surely not included in the economy.

Since bear sightings began near the home of my sibling, who lives in a mountain area devastated by the declining birthrate and aging population, they have started picking up and dropping off their child, but the time spent on those measures is not included.

The energy spent by the person responsible for home cooking, who struggles with rising food costs and tries to plan nutritious menus on a limited budget, is also not included.

Furthermore, perhaps the chair of the large business federation that is close to the Prime Minister's party sits too high up, as they do not seem to see the landscape I described above.

Japanese executives who are old friends with the charismatic CEO—who outsourced the upbringing of his 11 children to others, continues to gamble for adrenaline, and bought the company with the blue bird logo—and who loudly proclaim that immigration policy is necessary for the future economy, likely do not think deeply about the child-rearing or caregiving needs of immigrants.

Raise wages. Reskill. Invest instead of just saving. If you're a regular employee, men should take childcare leave too. Women and the elderly should work to solve labor shortages. If you're a manager, practice 'human capital management.' Since disclosure is now mandatory, somehow make the numbers add up and do something about the ratio of male to female managers.

And if you are a parent raising a child, ensure they acquire academic ability and skills before sending them out into society. It might be hard to raise them, but that is the parent's responsibility.

—These are the messages that rain down from 'on high,' directed indirectly or directly at various parties.

As a result of these unreasonable demands and constant anxiety raining down like a hailstorm, even though this society is full of people with various circumstances, everything is being reduced to simple binary oppositions.

Regular employees vs. non-regular employees. Men vs. women. Employees who have given birth vs. those who haven't. Corporate slave employees vs. relaxed career employees. Seniors vs. the young.

The fruitless conflicts that turn organizations and regions into deserts eventually converge on the theory of self-responsibility for those who feel 'deprived,' and the capacity for solidarity is stripped away.

—This has turned into nothing but complaints, but after reading 'When I, a Housewife, Read Marx's Capital: Understanding the Past, Present, and Future of Housework and Capitalism Through 15 Books' by South Korean author Jung A-eun, I cried my eyes out in the final chapter.

Why are people living in modern society becoming obsessed with 'only now,' 'only money,' 'only myself,' and 'only my own children'? As I unraveled the 'economy' together with the author, a housewife herself, the cause and effect began to come into view little by little.

Although the environment and circumstances differ between South Korea and Japan, I remembered that I, too, had once thought about similar things in circles...

In a society where the love and labor required for 'care' and 'service' are not included in the 'economy,' the self-esteem of those who provide them is damaged. I feel that the harmful effects of this are appearing in various situations.