>Nirvana, no -- deeply egalitarian, and displaying >certain socialistic
>tendencies in its relations of production, yes. My >own take on Japanese
>capitalism:
Much less egalitarian than it used to be, as the last decade has seen income inequality go toward the US and Ireland end of the spectrum.
As for the relations of production, I emphatically disagree, certainly less 'socialist' than much of W. Europe in that sense. But again, we live in a world where 'socialism' is such a loaded term (when it shouldn't be). Is US spending on military socialism? (Even if entities like Carlyle Group rake the profits and act as the holding company of defense contractors).
Charles Jannuzi