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Contemporary Capitalism and Civil Society

The Japanese Experience

  • Book
  • © 2018

Overview

Authors:
  1. Toshio Yamada

    1. Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan

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  • Introduces and analyzes the Japanese theory of civil society, a unique and influential social science in postwar Japan
  • Explores Japan’s contemporary capitalism based on the French régulation approach, creating the concept of “companyism” instead of Fordism
  • Proposes theoretical points for the development of the régulation approach, thus contributing to an interaction of economic and political sciences

Part of the book series: Evolutionary Economics and Social Complexity Science (EESCS, volume 14)

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
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  2. Postwar Japan and the Theory of Civil Society

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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    2. Political Economy in Japan After World War II

      • Toshio Yamada
      Pages 3-25

    3. Yoshihiko Uchida and His Thoughts on Civil Society: Between Equality in Exchange and Equality as Human Beings

      • Toshio Yamada
      Pages 27-47

    4. Kiyoaki Hirata and His Thoughts on Civil Society

      • Toshio Yamada
      Pages 49-67

  4. Theoretical Considerations of Contemporary Capitalism

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 151-151
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    2. Stage Theory or Typology?: Methodological Reflections on the Comparative Analysis of Capitalism

      • Toshio Yamada
      Pages 153-166

    3. Economic Crises and Growth Regimes

      • Toshio Yamada
      Pages 167-186

    4. The Neoliberal Regime and its Possible Crisis: A Reflection from the Viewpoint of Institutional Change

      • Toshio Yamada
      Pages 187-206

    5. Transition Economies and State Capitalism

      • Toshio Yamada
      Pages 207-225
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Keywords

About this book

This book is devoted to analyzing contemporary capitalism both in Japan and in the world economy by using the theoretical framework of the French régulation theory and by revisiting the theory of civil society in postwar Japan. The Japanese theory of civil society proposed unique thinking about “freedom and equality” and “human rights” in the postwar era but could not help to come up with effective concepts for an economic analysis of that capitalism of the period. On the other hand, the régulation theory born in the 1970s is well known by its definition of postwar capitalism as Fordism, based on the elaboration of a new conceptual framework, but it soon proved unable to directly explain Japan’s experience by that central concept of Fordism. Inspired by consideration of Japanese civil society and also by the regulationist framework, the author has forged new analytical concepts such as “companyism” to understand Japanese capitalism including the recent “lost decades”, and he elaborates more carefully the concepts of “growth regime” and “institutional change” to grasp the dynamics of the world economy including today’s neoliberal trend. The original benefits of the book consist in 1) reviving a Japanese theory of civil society in the postwar period, 2) applying the régulation theory to the analysis of contemporary Japan, and 3) offering theoretical reflections on the conception of the world economy. Consequently, the author pays special attention to the relationship between the political and the economic as well as regulationist tools and the theory of civil society’s perspective. The principal message of the book is that capitalism or the market economy must be supported by a sound civil society.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan

    Toshio Yamada

About the author

Toshio Yamada is Emeritus Professor at Nagoya University, having previously served as Professor of Economic Theories at Osaka City University, Nagoya University, etc. in Japan. He graduated from Graduate School of Economics of Nagoya University, and got a doctor’s degree in economics from Osaka City University. He is a director of the Société Franco-Japonaise des Sciences Economiques and a member of the European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy. His research interests focus on French régulation theory, Japanese civil society thought, and contemporary capitalism. His works in English include Japanese Capitalism in Crisis: A Regulationist Interpretation (2000, co-edited with Robert Boyer).

 

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