North Korea Demystified By Han S. Park

in terms of human psychology and a macro perspective in terms of the causes of revolution. This was done in an attempt to make the theory more universally applicable than other ideological constructs, such as classical democracy or non-Marxist variations of socialism. An admissible theory of development should also capture the mechanism of change—that is, how things change—as well as where a change came from and where it is headed. In this way, a theory should be able to explain and predict change. Finally, a theory should also address relevant and significant problem areas in the real world. If a theory is not relevant and cannot resolve empirical and historical problems, it loses its raison d’être.

Development has common objectives at any level of social complexity: individual, group, state, and that of the global community itself. The common objectives suggested here are survival for the individual, continuity (maintenance of patterned structures and functions) for the group, security of the state, and peaceful coexistence within the global community. One universal and important objective of development is need satisfaction. This concept is applicable universally; thus, development can be defined as the process in which members of the political system (country) pursue and obtain need satisfaction. This conception of development is so universal that it defies ideological and cultural barriers. We would submit that this is virtually an axiom in development studies; it is true even of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The question, then, is whether one can identify a set of specific human needs that are truly universal. Based on an earlier theory of development introduced by this book’s lead editor (Park, 1984), we contend that there is indeed a hierarchically structured set of needs common to all human beings: survival, belonging, leisure, and control (relative gratification). On the premise that a state’s political power is legitimized by the support (consent) of the people, the goal of any government is to generate the people’s support, an aim that requires the provision of need satisfaction for the public. This premise is not a democratic creed but a universal one.