The author of the book is Jon Halliday, not Fred Haliday. It is called "A Political History of Japanese Capitalism" and it is indeed well worth reading. Marty Hart-Landsberg On Sun, 28 Sep 1997, Louis N Proyect wrote: > Fred Haliday wrote an interesting book on Japan's emerge as a major > capitalist nation. Although I read it about 20 years ago, the arguments > remain vivid in my mind. The Japanese bourgeoisie made a political > decision to isolate itself from the West, unlike China. The literal > insular character of Japanese society provided a incubator for normal > capitalist class relations to develop. Also, the Mejii restoration--while > superficially appearing as a dispute between emperor and barons--was > critical in establishing the rule of the nascent Japanese bourgeoisie. > None of these sorts of things happened in China, which Haliday makes a > point of comparing in extensive detail to Japan. Out of print, but highly > recommended. > > Louis Proyect > > > > On Sat, 27 Sep 1997, Anthony P D'Costa wrote: > > > To claim that capital formation is weak or not there is a complete > > mis-reading of the Asian situation. While these countries may not become > > like imperialists in the military sphere, economic imperialism is already > > quite evident. Historically Japan is the classic example of a rise of a > > new imperial power. Its presence is felt in Asia in a big way even though > > it has little military muscle to flex. As for predicting who may or may > > not become new powers, let's not forget the state of powerful Britain and > > the Soviet Union! > > > >
