제4부의 상상력
- Page
- 193
- Publication Date
- December 27, 2024
- ISBN
- 9788932043463
“It is with immense satisfaction and pride that the Foundation sees that Ahn’s
original idea has now acquired flesh and blood, while its prospects promise to be
far reaching in their impact.”
—Anthony Kefalas&Achilles Tsaltas(Democracy&Culture Foundation)
Can nonhumans have the right to vote? In Imagining the Fourth Branch, Ahn Byong-jin, a political scientist and public intellectual, designs with his in-depth understanding of the politics in both Korea and the Unites States a new political order. Based on his speech at the Athens Democracy Forum 2023, he developed his visionary ideas into a more concrete proposal.
As its title suggests, the book presents the author’s plan to establish the fourth branch, or what he calls “Future Deliberative Branch” along with the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. By introducing this fourth branch into the system of separation of powers, Ahn argues, it becomes possible to represent the voices of nonhumans as well as future generations of humankind. In the era of the climate crisis, which now calls for direct actions more than ever, Ahn’s blueprint can thus be regarded as an ecological reorganization of democracy.
Imagining the Fourth Branch first points out that the U.S. democratic model in fact has been inherently anthropocentric since its inception, and in turn proposes a new political perspectives: bio-republicanism, which enables us to see even nonhumans as members of our society. To reify his discourse, the author takes a look at the thoughts of Thomas Berry, Martha Nussbaum, and Hans Jonas. After reviewing other alternatives raised by the scholars, his concept of the fourth branch takes shape through a combination of trustees and citizens’ jury system.
What distinguishes this book lies in its elaboration. While taking into account the political distinctiveness of both Korea and the U.S., it successfully proposes a feasible and meaningful alternative in the real world. Amid the rise of far-right political movement that threatens the democracy, this book offers a deeper, further understanding of democratic possibilities.