Korean peasants, early 19th century

I’m listening to a 48-lecture Teaching Company course on the Foundations of Eastern Civilization.  It is a great course; the subject of today’s lecture was Korean history.  The professor noted that in the early 19th century Korean peasants had a heavy burden of taxation, occasionally leading to peasant revolts.

I later read in the Times that the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy looked at the local tax burden in every state.  “According to the study, in 2015 the poorest fifth of Americans will pay on average 10.9 percent of their income in state and local taxes, the middle fifth will pay 9.4 percent and the top 1 percent will average 5.4 percent.”  (“Study Finds Local Taxes Hit Lower Wage Earners Harder: by Patricia Cohen, p. B-1.)

What’s the major difference between Korean peasants of 1800 and the poorest fifth in America today?  Korean peasants couldn’t vote. Americans can vote, but they either do not or they don’t know their own interests.  In the upcoming election this fall, we will be lucky to get a 20% turnout.