The course of history shows that democracy has succeeded in flourishing in masssociety, and has been able to do so to this day. The popular masses' battle cries against colonial overlords and authoritarian rulers have helped democracy mature and growstronger. It is the very voice of the popular masses filling public streets and squaresthat has constantly reminded the citizens of mass society that is it them who are the bearers of sovereign power. The March 1st Movement was an outcry by which the Korean masses proclaimed themselves to be the citizens of an independent, sovereign state. But in the Orientalist biased debates of authoritarian ruling elites and intellectuals alike who in trying to characterize East Asian culture mainly by reference to "Confucian" values and a supposedly "Confucian" meritocracy have persistently refused to acknowledge the popular masses as political agents in their own right.