In Search of Peace and Democracy: Japanese Economic Debate in Political Context

TY - JOUR

T1 - In Search of Peace and Democracy

T2 - Japanese Economic Debate in Political Context

AU - Hein, Laura E.

N1 - Funding Information: LOST DISCUSSIONS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ECONOMIC POLICY in postwar Japan focus on the economy as an isolated sector, neglecting its place in Japanese history as a whole. Partly this is because discussion of the economy usually moves quickly to technical problems. Partly it is due to the common assumption that high-speed economic growth emerged out of an attempt to create high-speed economic growth for its own sake—thus making redundant any sustained inquiry into its origins (as opposed to its mechanisms). We now have a fairly clear understanding of the technical means by which Japan became rich: rapid growth was achieved through high savings used for technology-led investment, based both on market forces channeled into planned directions and a flexible response to unplanned opportunities, such as American assistance to Japanese economic development. What is murkier is the social and political context for economic growth. Many scholars simply assume that a general consensus developed in postwar Japan to pursue high-speed growth. Others argue that economic growth was produced by a smaller group of enlightened bureaucrats and businessmen who defined economic growth as their patriotic duty and then achieved it through intelligence and hard work. The historical validity of this consensus for economic growth—whether general or confined to the ruling elite—still needs exploration. As in the immediate postwar years, any such consensus was, at best, partial and contested (Hein 1990). Not only the strategies but also the goals and concepts of economic development were deeply controversial in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Moreover, the contours of that debate were shaped far less by a desire for growth itself than by the political struggles of that era. In other words, economic growth was not a separable goal in early postwar Japan. This alone should not be surprising—economic thought is deeply Laura E. Hein is Associate Professor of Japanese History at Northwestern University. The research for this article was conducted with the financial assistance of a Fulbright fellowship to Japan. Intellectual assistance from Funahashi Naomichi, Jeffrey Hanes, T. R. H. Havens, Solomon B. Levine, Joel Mokyr, Takafusa Nakamura, Konosuke Odaka, Michael Sherry, Koji Taira, Shigeto Tsuru, Kathleen Uno, audiences at the University of Illinois and the Association of Asian Studies in Los Angeles, and a. Journal of Asian Studies reviewer is gratefully acknowledged.

PY - 1994/8

Y1 - 1994/8

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84937313951&partnerID=8YFLogxK

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U2 - 10.2307/2059729

DO - 10.2307/2059729

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84937313951

SN - 0021-9118

VL - 53

SP - 752

EP - 778

JO - Journal of Asian Studies

JF - Journal of Asian Studies

IS - 3

ER -