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I have trouble getting any value from this article, which seems relatively devoid of pertinent facts. The author wants to claim "Japanization" of America after

I have trouble getting any value from this article, which seems relatively devoid of pertinent facts. The author wants to claim "Japanization" of America after the Great Recession because of a reduced fertility rate and an emphasis on the experience economy. But, although he notes that fertility declines are a mark of industrialized nations, he fails to adequately compare the U.S. phenomenon to other countries, to compare and contrast those relationships with the relationship between the U.S. and Japan. In brief: the author presents no cogent argument as to why this is Japanization rather than, say, Frenchification (the French are notoriously anti-materialistic, preferring travel and cuisine to accumulating junk). This New Yorker article appears to be nothing more than a blog post detailing some personal interpretive lens with no new information or analysis.

knuththetruth 9y ago
Orientalist mystique is doing a lot of the legwork in a piece that you correctly describe as holding true for most advanced Capitalist economies.
temp-dude-87844 9y ago
The author doesn't make a compelling case at all, and instead correlates the general trend of post-industrial transition to elements of Japanese culture and sensibilities gaining appeal with younger generations in the US. That may be so, but it's doubtful the US can even undergo the same kind of transition as Japan. Inequality in Japan -- although on the rise -- is famously low, and the income disparity between people with low educational attainment and high educational attainment is not drastic. Taxes on the rich are high, and inheritance taxes also, making it difficult to accumulate and retain large amounts of wealth through multiple generations, which keeps inequality lower. The US has higher levels of inequality, and incomes correlate with a number of confounding factors that amount to structural stratification that's difficult to overcome. Egalitarian stagnation of young generations, kept orderly by generous government safety nets, a process that could easily take place in Japan, or Denmark, or a hypothetical post-boom Qatar, could hardly happen in the US.
- torstenvl 9y ago
  Yeah, there are a number of ways that superficially similar phenomena are radically different between the two. For one, American life delays are heavily attributable to economic uncertainty about basic needs like healthcare, whereas Japan has a healthy social safety net (related to your point about income equality and tax structure). Effective fertility rate in particular is also radically different. As the author of the OP article points out, Japanese youth are delaying relationships and sex. In America, however, as in most other industrialized countries, the declining birthrate is mostly attributable to birth control, not abstinence.
  - mistermann 9y ago
    A lot of Canadians are using birth control far longer than they'd prefer because they're hoping to some day reach a point where they feel economically secure enough to reproduce.
  - stuartaxelowen 9y ago
    The social safety net here in Japan is amazing, but the stigma of relying on it is so high that utilization by those most in need is very low, and that taking risks that could potentially lead to needing to utilize it are strongly avoided (among other social reasons for low risk taking).
IkmoIkmo 9y ago
Uhh, that's silly, have you not seen his other article on the Japanese Republic of France? /s
Barrin92 9y ago
I think that's a little bit harsh because the general points about post industrial societies, especially the changing role of consumption is pretty insightful and important to talk about, but I agree that there was no specific need to tie it to Japan. What's a little bit funny is that the author literally mentions the Gibsonesque Japan hype of the 80s, with everybody thinking that we'd all be living in Neo-Tokyo in 30 years. Obviously, as the author notes, it didn't really pan out that way. Some cultural exports of Japan are without much doubt very popular and there are commonalities in culture, but every region and country still has its own way to deal with future changes, and in many cases very different demograhpics. There's no need to reduce it to any generic *-ification.
- ShabbosGoy 9y ago
  > Obviously, as the author notes, it didn't really pan out that way. Some cultural exports of Japan are without much doubt very popular and there are commonalities in culture, but every region and country still has its own way to deal with future changes, and in many cases very different demograhpics. There's no need to reduce it to any generic *-ification. Very true. I think it’s undeniable that certain subcultures arose due to influence from Japanese cultural exports. But it’s a bit of a stretch to call it “Japanification”.
hudibras 9y ago
>But, although he notes that fertility declines are a mark of industrialized nations, he fails to adequately compare the U.S. phenomenon to other countries, to compare and contrast those relationships with the relationship between the U.S. and Japan. In brief: the author presents no cogent argument as to why this is Japanization rather than, say, Frenchification (the French are notoriously anti-materialistic, preferring travel and cuisine to accumulating junk). >This New Yorker article appears to be nothing more than a blog post detailing some personal interpretive lens with no new information or analysis. It's just a magazine article, not a doctoral dissertation. Lighten up.

knuththetruth 9y ago

Orientalist mystique is doing a lot of the legwork in a piece that you correctly describe as holding true for most advanced Capitalist economies.

temp-dude-87844 9y ago

The author doesn't make a compelling case at all, and instead correlates the general trend of post-industrial transition to elements of Japanese culture and sensibilities gaining appeal with younger generations in the US. That may be so, but it's doubtful the US can even undergo the same kind of transition as Japan. Inequality in Japan -- although on the rise -- is famously low, and the income disparity between people with low educational attainment and high educational attainment is not drastic. Taxes on the rich are high, and inheritance taxes also, making it difficult to accumulate and retain large amounts of wealth through multiple generations, which keeps inequality lower. The US has higher levels of inequality, and incomes correlate with a number of confounding factors that amount to structural stratification that's difficult to overcome. Egalitarian stagnation of young generations, kept orderly by generous government safety nets, a process that could easily take place in Japan, or Denmark, or a hypothetical post-boom Qatar, could hardly happen in the US.

torstenvl 9y ago
Yeah, there are a number of ways that superficially similar phenomena are radically different between the two. For one, American life delays are heavily attributable to economic uncertainty about basic needs like healthcare, whereas Japan has a healthy social safety net (related to your point about income equality and tax structure). Effective fertility rate in particular is also radically different. As the author of the OP article points out, Japanese youth are delaying relationships and sex. In America, however, as in most other industrialized countries, the declining birthrate is mostly attributable to birth control, not abstinence.
- mistermann 9y ago
  A lot of Canadians are using birth control far longer than they'd prefer because they're hoping to some day reach a point where they feel economically secure enough to reproduce.
- stuartaxelowen 9y ago
  The social safety net here in Japan is amazing, but the stigma of relying on it is so high that utilization by those most in need is very low, and that taking risks that could potentially lead to needing to utilize it are strongly avoided (among other social reasons for low risk taking).

IkmoIkmo 9y ago

Uhh, that's silly, have you not seen his other article on the Japanese Republic of France? /s

Barrin92 9y ago

I think that's a little bit harsh because the general points about post industrial societies, especially the changing role of consumption is pretty insightful and important to talk about, but I agree that there was no specific need to tie it to Japan. What's a little bit funny is that the author literally mentions the Gibsonesque Japan hype of the 80s, with everybody thinking that we'd all be living in Neo-Tokyo in 30 years. Obviously, as the author notes, it didn't really pan out that way. Some cultural exports of Japan are without much doubt very popular and there are commonalities in culture, but every region and country still has its own way to deal with future changes, and in many cases very different demograhpics. There's no need to reduce it to any generic *-ification.

ShabbosGoy 9y ago
> Obviously, as the author notes, it didn't really pan out that way. Some cultural exports of Japan are without much doubt very popular and there are commonalities in culture, but every region and country still has its own way to deal with future changes, and in many cases very different demograhpics. There's no need to reduce it to any generic *-ification. Very true. I think it’s undeniable that certain subcultures arose due to influence from Japanese cultural exports. But it’s a bit of a stretch to call it “Japanification”.

hudibras 9y ago

>But, although he notes that fertility declines are a mark of industrialized nations, he fails to adequately compare the U.S. phenomenon to other countries, to compare and contrast those relationships with the relationship between the U.S. and Japan. In brief: the author presents no cogent argument as to why this is Japanization rather than, say, Frenchification (the French are notoriously anti-materialistic, preferring travel and cuisine to accumulating junk). >This New Yorker article appears to be nothing more than a blog post detailing some personal interpretive lens with no new information or analysis. It's just a magazine article, not a doctoral dissertation. Lighten up.