The Postwar Japanese System Cultural Economy and Economic Transformation

by Tabb, William K.

• ISBN13: 9780195089509
• ISBN10: 0195089502
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780195358292
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1995-04-20
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

While other industrialized and developing countries look towards Japan as an economic model, the political, cultural, and social arrangements that have so far allowed Japan to succeed are eroding. In particular, Japan faces a system of industrial relations that places great strain on all of Japanese society. In The Postwar Japanese System , William Tabb distinguishes between those aspects of Japanese success that can and cannot be transferred successfully to help in the revitalization of the American economy. The author discusses Japanese economic history from before the Meiji Restoration to the present, and looks at Japanese politics, state-corporate relations, the labor relations system in Japan and the nature of work as experienced by Japanese employees. He examines the organization of the Japanese corporation versus the American corporation, industrial policy, education, urban and regional reorganization, and Japan's role in the world today (and tomorrow). And, Tabb thoughtfully explores the fundamental social, political, and economic transitions the Japanese are currently experiencing. The Postwar Japanese System succeeds in placing the economic "miracle" in its proper social and political framework. A broad, intelligent overview of the Japanese political economy, the book suggests important implications for the United States in the story of Japan's prosperity and current distress. It will be a key resource for all those interested in Japanese society.

Author Biography

William K. Tabb is Professor of Sociology and Economics at the City University of New York Graduate Center and Queens College. He is the author of Marxism and the Metropolis (Oxford, 1983).

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 3
From Garbagne to the Coast of Bohemia, or, Assume a Japan	p. 11
Competition, Culture, and the Economy	p. 35
The Modernization Process	p. 61
The Japanese System in the Golden Age	p. 86
The Case of the Automobile Industry	p. 112
The Industrial Relations Regime	p. 140
Capital Versus the Regions	p. 169
Overaccumulation, Speculation, and Corruption	p. 198
Trade Antagonism and Industrial Policy	p. 225
Economic Transformation and the World System	p. 255
Japan and the New Competition	p. 285
Through a Rashomon Mirror Darkly	p. 311
Notes	p. 339
Bibliography	p. 381
Index	p. 399
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.