By Misha Goussev, January 2010
Previously published in The Wharton Journal
As the world is entering a new phase of globalization marked by virtually unlimited technological possibilities on the one hand and by very tangible problems of global warming, terrorism and financial uncertainty on the other, the need for new models of society, our relationship with nature and co-existence between countries is becoming more and more obvious. While the West was leading the Industrial Revolution, the East may be instrumental in helping us develop solutions to many challenges that come with it.
This article invites readers to take another look at Japan, the country full contrasts and paradoxes, in search of inspiration and possible answers. Japan, in my view, is a unique example of a highly industrialized democratic (!) society, which is able to maintain its position as a leading economic power, while preserving its core cultural principles and a true union with nature. Perhaps it is one of the working examples of the sustainable development models the West is moving towards- a form of Enlightened Capitalism.
If the 19th century was the age of the industrial revolution, the 20th century was the age of technological breakthroughs, which forever changed the dynamic of life and literally made science fiction become reality. While the pace of the technological evolution in principle allows for the possibility of colonization of the Moon (and perhaps even Mars), the question of immediate importance is where we go next as the human race here on Earth? In other words, what models of society and co-existence between countries will work best in the 21st century?
I would like to invite you to take another look at Japan, the country full of contrasts and paradoxes, in search of inspiration and possible answers. Despite its small size in geographic terms, this tiny islands-based country has become one of the world’s leading economic powers (third after the US and China).[1] Even though the Japanese economy has been in decline since the 1990s, officially entering into a recession in 2008, one can’t help but be surprised by the level of technological sophistication, advanced public infrastructure and the overall vitality of the society upon visiting Japan. Even temporary workers without a permanent home (read “unemployed” and “homeless”) have an opportunity to sleep at a capsule hotel, once a symbol of Japan’s prosperity and built for the businessman who worked too late to catch the train or stayed out drinking all night.[2] Finally, despite its prominent status in the world, as both an economic power and a cultural attraction, Japan remains surprisingly closed to the Western influence and maintains its ancient roots and traditions in its DNA behind the façade of modernity.
My experience with the Japanese lifestyle, customs, and worldview has a long history and is multifaceted. In my early teens I remember being deeply touched by a Russian writer, Vsevolod Ovchinnikov, who did a masterful job in comparing and contrasting key cultural nuances of Japanese and British culture in his book Sakura and Oak. For instance, he explained, when placing a vase on a table, a Japanese would instinctively place it asymmetrically, while Westerners would generally put it in the center. This minor detail highlights an important aspect of the Japanese national character, namely, to follow the natural order in everything. And nature, as we know, does not tolerate symmetry. Like the majority of teenagers around the world (or at least in Russia), I grew up worshiping Japanese electronics as the manifestation of perfection of quality of sound and image. In my later teens I began practicing karate and learned Japanese terminology for punches and blocks, as well as stories about the life of “the father of modern karate” Gichin Funakoshi.[3] Finally, after my third year at university, I decided to spend my summer break near the Sea of Japan as a member of a geological expedition to the Far East of Russia. Despite the geographic proximity, Japan continued to remain a mysterious and abstract land and culture for me.
Fast forward twenty years, and I found myself living in the United States, having graduated from Wharton, and working on Wall Street in New York City. Despite my immersion into the world of finance, my fascination with East Asia and Japan in particular never lost its grip on me, but became even more important. Since then, I’ve had several opportunities to visit Japan, every time discovering something new and becoming more amazed by its delicate culture and hard-working people.
The first impression is always powerful. One can’t help but be surprised by the quality of the customer service and the overall public infrastructure everywhere – not just in the major cities. Train conductors wearing white gloves and bowing reception staff are not perks limited only to the first-class passengers and five-star hotels, but a norm everywhere. Clean public bathrooms and spotless common areas everywhere redefine the standards of hygiene. Most importantly, an always up-to-the-minute precise transportation system inspires a sense of awe and provides a feeling of security and reliability – whether you are traveling by plane, local metro, or by bus in a remote mountain region. Brief observation and conversations with the locals reveal that the high standards are not the results of the laws and regulations, which are of course vigorously enforced too, but are upheld mostly based on the strong work ethic and commitment to do the absolute best at one’s job. Japanese are known for being hard workers and for putting in long hours, but it’s not quite obvious why. On my question to one Japanese manager why he chooses to spend often up to sixteen hours a day six days a week at his job he replied: “It is a Japanese thing – you will not understand…”
Japanese are also known for their efficiency at recycling and taking great care of their environment. This, perhaps, can be explained more easily with the rationale that a country with the third largest economy in the world and with severely limited natural resources due to its geography does not have a choice but to recycle. This is certainly true but, again, the commitment to recycling is not so much a result of the government laws and regulations, which of course exist, but rather stems from the internal understanding of its importance by ordinary Japanese citizens. If you have doubts about it, consider how effective the anti-littering laws are in the United States and especially in New York City.
Finally, the hard work and commitment to do best for the society pays off for Japanese (or at least it used to). Most Japanese companies guarantee lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force, a benefit that has now began to erode due to the dual pressure of globalization and domestic geographic change. Nevertheless, Japanese enjoy one of the most technologically advanced lifestyles and the highest life expectancy among the developed countries, and third in the word (according to the CIA World Factbook).[4]
Not everything can be painted in rosy colors, as there would not be an upside without a downside. On the flipside of Japanese advances in many areas and the nation’s overall success is the need to conform to the customs and the way of life. Compared to many Western countries, where individuality is taken for granted due to the makeup of the fabric of the society consisting of various ethnic groups and cultures, in Japan individuality is not a norm, but rather an exception. A homogeneous people, Japanese seem to be living a very communal life, and in many respects place the interests of the society above their own individual interests – to put it in a very simplistic form.
This is rather a curious paradox considering Japan’s leading economic power and the ease of access to the Western world (for example, many countries do not require visas for Japanese citizens), including the United States’ influence after WWII. A historical reference may provide some perspective on this. In the period of 1603 to 1854, Japan was literally isolated from all foreign influence by the Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) in order to secure its power. Perhaps it is during this period, as the West was entering the Age of Enlightenment (as a precursor to the Industrial Revolution and science), that Japan was developing and solidifying the inner core of its culture before opening its doors to the West and the resulting modernization.
Perhaps it is due to its conformist culture that Japan ranks rather low on the Life Satisfaction scale[5] (#34) and comes behind all Western countries. To be objective, I have done additional research on how Japan ranks against other countries in a variety of categories and I was rather disappointed – the numbers paint a picture which is rather controversial:
Apart from its high life expectancy, relatively good health, low crime rate, and reasonable GDP per capita (far from exceptional, though), Japan ranks well behind Western countries in all other fields, from freedom, democracy and gender issues, to quality of accommodation, life satisfaction and happiness. So, based on these numbers, can Japan be considered a good place to live from the point of view of quality of life? Worldwide, yes, but comparing to almost any Western countries certainly not.[6]
Despite this sobering summary, we have to consider this information in the context of the opening question of this essay: What models of society and coexistence between countries will work best in the 21st century? In the short-term the Western model, which is largely based on the assumption of unlimited resources and unceasing economic growth, certainly produces the return we all benefit from. The big question, however, we have to ask ourselves is whether these returns are going to last and whether these assumptions are going to hold true indefinitely. The current wealth creation machine must be fueled by unceasing (and ever increasing!) consumption on the one hand and by the availability of low-cost production facilities (like the ones offered now by China and India) on the other. Neither is a likely scenario in the long run. Absolute growth is a fantasy – whatever comes up must eventually come down based on the laws of physics. What we call “progress” today is generating an equally powerful and offsetting force we will have to deal with as humanity as a whole in the not very distant future. Many minds are trying to foresee what this future may be. One such scenario has been brilliantly painted in the recent movie Avatar, showing humans as colonizers of a remote planet in search of profit and material resources, as our own planet was no longer able to provide for us in the 22nd century. In his book Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World, Richard Heinberg presents and explores four main scenarios for how our civilization may develop once the lack of resources becomes imminent as a result of continuous growth and industrial expansion: Last One Standing: The Way of War and Competition, Powerdown: The Path of Self-Limitation, Waiting for the Magic Elixir: False Hopes, Wishful Thinking and Denial and Building Lifeboats: The Path of Community. I will leave it up to the reader to decide whether this list is comprehensive, but I would make an argument that the playbooks for all four scenarios are already being written and tested today.
As I am personally a believer in the superiority of the capitalist democratic system over others (despite some serious side effects), I see hope in the emergence of the so-called Enlightened Capitalism scenario as the next phase of the evolution of society, where external competition (and greed being an extreme form of it) must be coupled with an internal sense of responsibility for one’s actions and the realization that the individual freedoms we all enjoy must also be unified with the collective consciousness and Mother Nature.
What does this have to do with Japan? As we experience difficulties due to the constraints of resources, pollution, overpopulation, wars and other problems, we may be forced to surrender our individuality (at least parts of it) for the sake of higher principles in order to survive. This has already been evident based on reactions to recent cataclysms such as the threats of global terrorism and the financial crisis. In both cases, as a result of retaliation, we have lost some of our individual freedoms for the sake of security and stability. As we continue to face global challenges and threats, new models may be required to help us deal with them. While the West was leading the Industrial Revolution, the East may be instrumental in helping us develop solutions to many challenges that come with it. Japan, in my view, is a unique example of a highly industrialized democratic (!) society, which is able to maintain its position as a leading economic power, while preserving its core cultural principles and a true union with nature. In the event, if the future of human kind comes down to choosing one of the four scenarios presented by Heinberg, I would make an argument that Japan is better positioned among the developed countries to adapt the path of self limitation and/or the path of community, as these principles are already deeply embedded in its cultural psyche and way of living. I also believe that Japan is a working example (or the closest approximation) of the Enlightened Capitalism model, and allows us to have a glimpse of one of the futures the world will face in the 21st century. •
[1] CIA World Factbook: Country Comparison
[2] Japan’s capsule hotels now coffin-sized homes
[3] Gichin Funakoshi
[4] CIA World Factbook: Japan
[5] Life satisfaction (most recent) by country
[6] Quality of Life Ranking: Japan