4 ms·

Thinking of WWII, Japan's culture was not always on the right track... Coming from Germany, I also wonder how much of the economic success stories of Japan and

Thinking of WWII, Japan's culture was not always on the right track... Coming from Germany, I also wonder how much of the economic success stories of Japan and Germany is really because of cultural aspects, and how much is due to protectionism for example from the US. I think Germany was supported by the US a lot, as a shield against communism. Maybe a similar reasoning was at work in Japan.

nihonde 10y ago
Nothing happens in a vacuum. There are no "good guys" or "bad guys". Japan and Germany both pursued an agenda that were each ultimately misguided for a variety of different reasons. If you look for it, you will find similarly awful (and sometimes far worse) encroachments on the rights of human beings perpetrated by all kinds of people against all kinds of people. The important point is that the people who did those things are dead now. It's up to you and I to understand how they got to that point, and make decisions to avoid it happening again. Unfortunately, the history we're taught in school is very simplistic and does little to illuminate the causes for such an effect. In the end, the fact that Japan and Germany made a run for world domination is a signal that there is great strength and power in those civilizations. We should be looking for all the ways to harness that power to good ends.
- facepalm 10y ago
  I didn't say they are still fascists, just pointed out that their culture has also gone wrong at times, too.
- alphonsegaston 10y ago
  Or simply that they were enamored with the colonial example of the west and had a tradition of extreme militarism and more fortunate historical circumstances that allowed them to project this sadistic fantasy on to their neighbors. I think you should be cautious in positing "world domination," premised on mass-genocide and slavery, as a sign of strength. It was a massive regression of humanity that was thankfully checked.
  - nihonde 10y ago
    Is America a strong country in your mind? (It also has a history of mass genocide and slavery.)
    - alphonsegaston 10y ago
      In some realpolitik sense, of course. But never would I argue that the grotesque excesses of American history were signals of strength or potential in line with some greater ideality. They were unchecked manifestations of baser instincts which their societies failed to counter. Strength was to be found in those that, faced with these circumstances, stood against them.
      - nihonde 10y ago
        Well put. I agree.
alphonsegaston 10y ago
You are correct in your intuition. The US used Japan as a forward operating post for both the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and built up their infrastructure to support this. Quite callously, they also exerted pressure on both Korea and Taiwan (former Japanese colonies) to modernize themselves with goods and technology manufactured in Japan.

nihonde 10y ago

Nothing happens in a vacuum. There are no "good guys" or "bad guys". Japan and Germany both pursued an agenda that were each ultimately misguided for a variety of different reasons. If you look for it, you will find similarly awful (and sometimes far worse) encroachments on the rights of human beings perpetrated by all kinds of people against all kinds of people. The important point is that the people who did those things are dead now. It's up to you and I to understand how they got to that point, and make decisions to avoid it happening again. Unfortunately, the history we're taught in school is very simplistic and does little to illuminate the causes for such an effect. In the end, the fact that Japan and Germany made a run for world domination is a signal that there is great strength and power in those civilizations. We should be looking for all the ways to harness that power to good ends.

facepalm 10y ago
I didn't say they are still fascists, just pointed out that their culture has also gone wrong at times, too.
alphonsegaston 10y ago
Or simply that they were enamored with the colonial example of the west and had a tradition of extreme militarism and more fortunate historical circumstances that allowed them to project this sadistic fantasy on to their neighbors. I think you should be cautious in positing "world domination," premised on mass-genocide and slavery, as a sign of strength. It was a massive regression of humanity that was thankfully checked.
- nihonde 10y ago
  Is America a strong country in your mind? (It also has a history of mass genocide and slavery.)
  - alphonsegaston 10y ago
    In some realpolitik sense, of course. But never would I argue that the grotesque excesses of American history were signals of strength or potential in line with some greater ideality. They were unchecked manifestations of baser instincts which their societies failed to counter. Strength was to be found in those that, faced with these circumstances, stood against them.
    - nihonde 10y ago
      Well put. I agree.

alphonsegaston 10y ago

You are correct in your intuition. The US used Japan as a forward operating post for both the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and built up their infrastructure to support this. Quite callously, they also exerted pressure on both Korea and Taiwan (former Japanese colonies) to modernize themselves with goods and technology manufactured in Japan.