Socialism & Ecology in Japan-Look back to '47

[Jean-Christophe Helary]

Well, in the case of Japan, I see the veil of ignorance, but I don't know 
where you find the "unanimous contract between rational and reasonable
beings deliberating in an ideal speech situation" from the late 40's to now.
Isn't it only a few months ago that the construction ministry totally
ignored a local referendum that opposed the construction of a dam on the
Yoshino river and said the referendum was a mockery of democracy ? What is a
mockery of democracy ? When the people fights with the few democratic
weapons that are left to him condecendingly by the law makers ? Or when the
bureaucracy allied with the big business both not elected and thus not
representing any interests but theirs make decisions without refering to
related citizens ?

There is no "unanimous contract between rational and reasonable beings
deliberating in an ideal speech situation", because there is no ideal speech
situation here. Your point about Japan being 'less bad' than other countries
in the region is pointless. Japan had a potential at the end of ww2 that has
totally been wasted by MacArthur. MacArthur could have abolished the
imperial system and convicted Hirohito of crimes against humanity but the
Tokyo trial was a joke of a trial as any book on the subject will show you.
Mac could have pushed for a reform of the law that totally banished the
family system (a remnant of the feudal system), etc etc. Ooops, Of course he
did not do all this because the cold war was already starting, so the
purpose of the occupation became to create an advanced post to defend
american interests in the area. And it meant smashing the democratic
opposition, like they did all over the world.

Saying that bad is better than very bad, is not trying to make a point, it
is just a personal statement. So what ?

JC Helary

----------
>From: Brad De Long <delong at econ.Berkeley.EDU>
>To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
>Subject: Re: Socialism & Ecology in Japan-Look back to '47
>Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2000 12:35:12 -0700
>


> Of course not! It rests on a unanimous contract between rational and
> reasonable beings deliberating in an ideal speech situation behind a
> veil of ignorance!