>> And how are the
>> keiretsu going to create a EU-style superstate out of Korea(s), China,
>> Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan?
Dennis RR replied:
>I wonder about this myself. I'm not sure they'll have anything to do with
>it; it might be that the developmental states will have to take the lead
>here. It could be that this is the central task facing the East Asian Left
>right now: how to transition from resisting malevolent developmental
>dictatorships, to building welfare states. In the East Asian
>semi-periphery, the task is building developmental states in the first
>place, of course.
Well if you were referring to Japan in particular, I can tell you the country has more of a welfare state than any American is ever going to see. No, they don't have bragging rights on the term, but most everyone has rights to unemployment payments, medical insurance, and some sort of social security payment if retired or disabled. One recent American visitor quipped (as they always do) as if he knew what was 'wrong' with Japan (as they always do): You know what's wrong with Japan? (No, tell me.) They have European style welfare but they only pay US levels of taxes. The current lurchership, under strict supervision from the US, is working hard at solving both problems.
Charles Jannuzi
PS: Carlyle stuff tomorrow, promise