Paradoxical Modernity and the Quest for a Neo-Communitarian Alternative

Abstract

The paradoxical nature of modernity as being embedded in institutional and cultural developments in history has been noted by many scholars. In that sense, it can be said that modernity has both bright and dark sides. Not only in the West, but also in Asia, the paradoxical nature of modernity has made people pay attention to communitarian alternatives to liberalism combined with modernity. By the way, two types of communitarianism can be discerned. One is more or less authoritarian, whilst the other democratic and participatory. In this paper, the latter type of ommunitarianism is called 'neo-communitarianism,' which has been expressed in such recent experiences in South Korea as NGO's participation in the 2000 General Election, soccer team supporters in the 2002 World Cup Games, the 2002 presidential election, and the emergence of the 386 generation as a self-conscious political agency which pursue participation and democracy by the help of the Internet.