A thought-provoking request from the noble Vipul Naik, reprinted with his permission:


If you were to write a letter to Kim Jong-Un
with suggestions on how to improve living conditions in North Korea,
what would you write in the letter? Assume that you believe that Kim is
genuinely interested in the welfare of Koreans, but is constrained by
realpolitik, and also cares quite a bit for saving his own skin (so he
wouldn’t want to initiate any reform that makes him likely to get killed
in a coup).

Would you recommend a Mikhail Gorbachev-style glasnost/perestroika approach? If so, why? If not, why not?

PS: I got the idea from Milton Friedman, who used to write letters to autocratic leaders the world over with advice on how to reform.


Your answers?