4대강 사업 : 반생태적 사유에 근원을 둔 사회적 퇴행의 동아시아 생태축 훼손

Abstract

Lee Myung–bak Administration is pushing Four Major Rivers Project ahead without any consideration on ecological aspects. Furthermore the administration has ignored nearly all legal procedures required for such a large scaled project. The project is based on anti–ecological thought, which negates the others in a system and is totally ego–centric. Anti–ecological thought seeks value from the others in terms of utilization for self. Although every biological member of an ecosystem uses the others as resources for its own survival, it never denies the others’ existence. A species except for human species never thoroughly exploits natural entities because of its physical limitation of ability. The limitation gives biological entities of an ecosystem frugal wisdom of unintentional coexistence of all entities in the ecosystem. If we pursue the living based on ecological thought of such wisdom of nature for coexistence, then the human society with fairness will be ensured. The Four Major Rivers Project, however, has been driven by the administration rooted on the anti–ecological thought that considers nature simply tools for human existence. This kind of attitude does not simply deny ecological entities of nature but also negates otherness in a human society. In addition, for self, it ignores almost all legal requirements and has brought in the socio–culturally retrogressive behavior that disregard all the legal procedures required. The result of such retrogressive behavior is the Four Major Rivers Project, and is going to hinder a democratic society from being built. Korean Peninsula, especially the four major rivers, is so significant in reserving migratory waterbirds of the earth as an ecological axis of the east asian–australasian flyway. Ignorance of such ecological values of the rivers negates obligation as a member of the global culture community. The project has disclosed such anti–ecological attitude hidden deep in the Korean society, and will be a key to make democratic society more concrete if we nip the retrogressive project off in the bud and materialize ecological thought in our society.