Individualism and Socialism - Kawai Eijiro’s Life and Thought (1891–1944)

Kawai Eijiro was a controversial figure in Japan during the interwar years. Dedicated to the idea that the socialist aspiration for economic equality could be combined with a classical liberal commitment to individual political and civil rights, he antagonized both Marxists and Japanese nationalists. He was hounded by the government as a leftist and brought to trial during World War II.
This is the first study of Kawai in English. Atsuko Hirai examines the family and school influences that contributed to the development of Kawai's thought, and analyzes the manner in which the ideas of such Western philosophers as Kant, Hegel, John Stuart Mill, Marx, T. H. Green, and the British labor ideologues were absorbed into a receptive and creative East Asian mind. The events of Kawai's life are intertwined with the development of his idealist political philosophy, all culminating in a trial of unprecedented scale.

Summary

Kawai Eijiro was a controversial figure in Japan during the interwar years. Atsuko Hirai examines the family and school influences that contributed to the development of Kawai’s thought, and analyzes the manner in which the ideas of Western philosophers and British labor ideologues were absorbed into a receptive and creative East Asian mind.

Product details

• Authors: A. Hirai, Atsuko Hirai
• Publisher: Harvard University, Asia Center
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 25.03.1987
• EAN: 9780674451254
• ISBN: 978-0-674-45125-4
• No. of pages: 298
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 33 mm
• Weight: 658 g
• Illustrations: 2 halftones
• Series: Harvard East Asian Monographs; East Asian Monograph; Harvard East Asian Monographs; East Asian Monograph; Harvard East Asian Monographs (HUP)
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business > Politics; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political theories and the history of ideas