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tl;dr: Japan, as the Asian Tiger economy most distant from the rising China, is viscerally experiencing the inadequacies of neoliberal policies. They know they

tl;dr: Japan, as the Asian Tiger economy most distant from the rising China, is viscerally experiencing the inadequacies of neoliberal policies. They know they will become the "sick man of Asia", isolated and weak, if they keep the current trajectory -- a massive reversal from just 50 years ago.

AlchemistCamp 5y ago
The four tigers were Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Korea. Japan was never one of the group.
- pphysch 5y ago
  True, Japan was the "proto Tiger" but not one of the following Four that it inspired. My point stands
greydius 5y ago
What are inadequacies of neoliberal policies?
- pphysch 5y ago
  TFA explains them succinctly -- lack of investment in public goods leads to a high cost of living which has many long-term negative effects, including low childbirth rates. Neoliberal policies tend to optimize for GDP in a shallow sense and neglect other indicators.
atweiden 5y ago
> They know they will become the "sick man of Asia", isolated and weak, if they keep the current trajectory -- a massive reversal from just 50 years ago. Better to have a culture worthy of defense than to defend a cultural wasteland. Population growth figures aren’t a good indicator of societal healthiness. We can’t afford to mistake wealth for safety. If Japan is the “sick man of Asia”, the whole world is sick.
- pphysch 5y ago
  What does cultural preservation have to do with any of this...?
  - atweiden 5y ago
    Japan is the world’s most advanced major society by a number of metrics: public safety, technological and educational achievements, natural and architectural beauty, a perfectly preserved and closely associated cultural tradition. I can’t do it justice — truly, I can’t speak highly enough of Japan. What do you suggest Japan does to “reverse course” if not sacrifice the very things which create its remarkable culture? Perhaps it’s the rest of the world’s cancerous, unsustainable focus on growth which is the problem here, not countries like Japan which don’t overvalue economic might at the cost of social cohesion.

AlchemistCamp 5y ago

The four tigers were Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Korea. Japan was never one of the group.

pphysch 5y ago
True, Japan was the "proto Tiger" but not one of the following Four that it inspired. My point stands

greydius 5y ago

What are inadequacies of neoliberal policies?

pphysch 5y ago
TFA explains them succinctly -- lack of investment in public goods leads to a high cost of living which has many long-term negative effects, including low childbirth rates. Neoliberal policies tend to optimize for GDP in a shallow sense and neglect other indicators.

atweiden 5y ago

> They know they will become the "sick man of Asia", isolated and weak, if they keep the current trajectory -- a massive reversal from just 50 years ago. Better to have a culture worthy of defense than to defend a cultural wasteland. Population growth figures aren’t a good indicator of societal healthiness. We can’t afford to mistake wealth for safety. If Japan is the “sick man of Asia”, the whole world is sick.

pphysch 5y ago
What does cultural preservation have to do with any of this...?
- atweiden 5y ago
  Japan is the world’s most advanced major society by a number of metrics: public safety, technological and educational achievements, natural and architectural beauty, a perfectly preserved and closely associated cultural tradition. I can’t do it justice — truly, I can’t speak highly enough of Japan. What do you suggest Japan does to “reverse course” if not sacrifice the very things which create its remarkable culture? Perhaps it’s the rest of the world’s cancerous, unsustainable focus on growth which is the problem here, not countries like Japan which don’t overvalue economic might at the cost of social cohesion.