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Since the late-19th century, Japan has made remarkable strides in industrialization. Beginning with the economic vision of Miura Baien in the 18th century, and employing a detailed comparison with the West, this book delves into the economic thought of the scholars who played a pivotal role in Japan's modernization process.
The author takes Fukuzawa Yukichi's theory of 'civilization' as the standard measure of Japan's modernization and compares it with differing visions from various critics whose research focused on rural poverty and social problems, such as Maeda Masana, early socialists, Yanagita Kunio and Kawakami Hajime. Further, the book explores new liberalism (Ishibashi Tanzan, Fukuda Tokuzo) and Marxism (Yamada Moritaro, Uno Kozo) in the 1920s and 1930s. After discussing the dilemmas faced by economists during wartime (Takata Yasuma, Ryu Shintaro, Shibata Kei), the author concludes this intellectual history with the country's post-1945 democratic reforms and their early demise.
This book is valuable reading for students and researchers of Japan's intellectual history. However, due to the book's comparative perspective, as well as the universality of the modernization experience, it will also appeal to students and researchers of the history of economic thought and modern intellectual history.
List of contents
- Prologue: Before Meeting Western Economic Thought 2. Miura Baien’s Kagen: In Comparison with the Contemporary European Economic Thoughts 3. Civilization and Political Economy in Fukuzawa Yukichi: Grounds for Laws of Political Economy 4. Economic Liberalism and Industrial Promotion in the Meiji Era: Taguchi Ukichi and Maeda Masana 5. Early Socialism and Social Policy from the 1900s to 1920s: Turn, Split, and Rivalry 6. Yanagita Kunio’s Rural Economy: Investigation into the Nationality of Japan 7. Egoism and Altruism in the Sentiment of an Economist: Kawakami Hajime’s Difficult Path to Marxism 8. New Liberalism in the Far East: Ishibashi Tanzan and J. M. Keynes 9. Introducing the Social into Economics: Power and Communal Elements in Takata Yasuma 10. Marxian Economics and Japanese Capitalism: Reproduction with Semi-feudal Agriculture 11. Collaboration and Reform under War Economy: Ryū Shintarō and Shibata Kei 12. Epilogue: Revolving Door for Economists 1945-1950
Summary
Since the mid-19th century, Japan has made remarkable strides in industrialization. Beginning with the economic vision of Miura Baien in the 18th century, and employing a detailed comparison with the West, this book delves into the economic thought of the scholars who have played a pivotal role in Japan’s modernization process.
