JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Giorgo's past comments

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  GiorgoJul. 23, 2009 - 03:02PM JST

  What we have here is a political development gap far more than and Oriental vs Western gap.

  @tkoind, what we have here is a teleological assumption. I'm not sure the social order that exists in Japan today is any more "primitive" or less "developed" than the European one. It's just the product of a different history. The reason changes like the erosion of lifetime employment are now happening is not a sign of progress, but a sign of the increasing hegemony of Western liberal capitalism, for better or for worse.

  But let's not jump to the conclusion that that's the "final goal" of politics.

  @senseiman: besides needing to get a better screen-name :P, you make good points. Alex Farrell, you can't just take four or five anecdotal examples of what you've witnessed and make sweeping judgements on the character of a nation. That's the classic tourist mistake. Just because Japan's history has seen an emphasis on order doesn't mean that it's forever ingrained in the Japanese psyche. Granted, the Japanese may be more perceptive to the language of order than more Western norms such as charity, but this is in no way significant enough to make judgements, and especially not analyses.

  Upon visiting Rome, I urge you to go around giving massive slaps to people in the face, and see how many of them adhere to the Catholic exhortation to "turn the other cheek". Religion has very little effect on people's behaviour, but because it's one of the most strikingly different things about foreign countries, we tend to ascribe all differences in behaviour to what is most salient to us.

  Posted in: Western justice and Oriental order

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