4 ms·

Well, it's hard to argue that this is non-growth rather than negative-growth masquerading as non-growth. There is a very strong argument that many corps in Japa

by ihsw 10y ago

Well, it's hard to argue that this is non-growth rather than negative-growth masquerading as non-growth. There is a very strong argument that many corps in Japan should've given way to market forces and died out, but they are instead kept on life-support as a form of social welfare. One has to wonder what the rationale for all of this is -- what are they afraid of? If they are suddenly left to their own devices, are these people going to starve to death? Has no-one ever been faced with the prospect of having to find a new job? Many nations on Earth are being confronted with the notion that larger and larger sections of their society are now unemployable, and they are all handling it differently. Japan seems to have been confronted with this sooner than anybody else and they are choosing to keep their businesses afloat under the assumption that they will not institute deep and painful budget cuts, specifically slashing the employment workforce. And it looks like Japanese corps are cooperating.

TheOtherHobbes 10y ago
It's ironically Keynesian only without the potential benefits, because most of the money is lost on play acting make-work and not on productive activity. Even more ironically, it's practically nationalisation by the back door. >Many nations on Earth are being confronted with the notion that larger and larger sections of their society are now unemployable People are not unemployable. The problem is more that the current system isn't smart enough to work out how they can be usefully employed. Every country in the world has a huge amount of work that could be done - infrastructure improvement, education, housing improvement, art and culture, even software and startups. But the current value system deems most of these activities "uneconomic" because funding them would decrease the short-term net worth of a small number of very wealthy individuals. It's a nonsense reason, but it's going to be a problem until the value system becomes intelligent enough to plan rationally for the medium and long term.
- mjevans 10y ago
  Aside from 'benevolent dictatorships', maybe even questioning those as well, has the 'value system' EVER been that intelligent?
intopieces 10y ago
>One has to wonder what the rationale for all of this is -- what are they afraid of? If they are suddenly left to their own devices, are these people going to starve to death? Has no-one ever been faced with the prospect of having to find a new job? Practically. A little perspective on Japanese culture might help to answer this question. The Japanese value company loyalty, tradition, and conformity. They have more than 21,000 companies that are more than a hundred years old. [0] From a 'pure market' perspective, most of these companies should have given way to market forces, yes, but Japan is deeply averse to what that entails for individual workers. [0]https://www.tofugu.com/japan/oldest-businesses-in-japan/ https://www.tofugu.com/japan/oldest-businesses-in-japan/
nradov 10y ago
For an explanation of why the Japanese government keeps kicking the can down the road instead of facing their problems directly I recommend the book "Dogs and Demons: Tales From the Dark Side of Modern Japan" by Alex Kerr. It was published in 2002 but nothing has really changed. http://us.macmillan.com/books/9780809039432 http://us.macmillan.com/books/9780809039432

by ihsw 10y ago

TheOtherHobbes 10y ago

It's ironically Keynesian only without the potential benefits, because most of the money is lost on play acting make-work and not on productive activity. Even more ironically, it's practically nationalisation by the back door. >Many nations on Earth are being confronted with the notion that larger and larger sections of their society are now unemployable People are not unemployable. The problem is more that the current system isn't smart enough to work out how they can be usefully employed. Every country in the world has a huge amount of work that could be done - infrastructure improvement, education, housing improvement, art and culture, even software and startups. But the current value system deems most of these activities "uneconomic" because funding them would decrease the short-term net worth of a small number of very wealthy individuals. It's a nonsense reason, but it's going to be a problem until the value system becomes intelligent enough to plan rationally for the medium and long term.

mjevans 10y ago
Aside from 'benevolent dictatorships', maybe even questioning those as well, has the 'value system' EVER been that intelligent?

intopieces 10y ago

>One has to wonder what the rationale for all of this is -- what are they afraid of? If they are suddenly left to their own devices, are these people going to starve to death? Has no-one ever been faced with the prospect of having to find a new job? Practically. A little perspective on Japanese culture might help to answer this question. The Japanese value company loyalty, tradition, and conformity. They have more than 21,000 companies that are more than a hundred years old. [0] From a 'pure market' perspective, most of these companies should have given way to market forces, yes, but Japan is deeply averse to what that entails for individual workers. [0]https://www.tofugu.com/japan/oldest-businesses-in-japan/ https://www.tofugu.com/japan/oldest-businesses-in-japan/

nradov 10y ago

For an explanation of why the Japanese government keeps kicking the can down the road instead of facing their problems directly I recommend the book "Dogs and Demons: Tales From the Dark Side of Modern Japan" by Alex Kerr. It was published in 2002 but nothing has really changed. http://us.macmillan.com/books/9780809039432 http://us.macmillan.com/books/9780809039432