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Looking at the Sun: The Rise of the New East Asian Economic and Political System
In a timely, even prophetic, portrait of Asia's rise and the magnitude of its challenge to the West, Fallows demolishes the myth that Japan is a capitalist country built on the Western model. He demonstrates instead how Japan's economic system treats business as an instrument of national interest while casting aside the traditional Western values of individual enterprise and human rights.
544 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 22, 2009
Okay, I love James Fallows. This is a collection of his articles from the Atlantic when he served as their Japan correspondent in the late 80s, re-edited and with some new material.
He paints an extremely depressing picture of the US's myopic view of Japan that manages to escape both the traps of the era of high Japanese-American tension. As a result, his stories do not seem like dated period pieces in the way pop culture of the same period does. Instead, Fallows lays out the systemic differences between the US and Japan in ways that suggest neither Japanese invincibility nor Japanese perfidy. His central point is that the Western Anglo understanding of economics is not as universally accepted as we think it is, and so discussions that are premised on the superiority of unfettered trade frequently miss the point. His theory that national industrial policy can and does lead to industrial gains in thoughtful countries has been borne out by the success of Korean automotive and electronics firms, and his complaints about naive free-traders of the early 90s (specifically Robert Reich, who seems to be regarded as an idiot by both Fallows and Krugman) have been similarly vindicated.
The book does a phenomenal job of showing the cultural impacts in Asia of the Japanese rise to prominence in the 80s, and of showing why Asian countries might be resistant to the US worldview without us ever fully being aware of it. Overall, it provided an orientation towards area study that was extremely informative, written in the easy-to-read Fallows way.
The one obviously-dated bit of the book was his evaluation of China's economic significance. But his position on that reminds us that it was China's actions that led to its new dominance in the region; when he was writing, the government had not yet decided to embark on the current path, and Fallows recognized the potential.
Highly recommended, if for no reason other than as a reminder to keep looking around to understand what's going on.
He paints an extremely depressing picture of the US's myopic view of Japan that manages to escape both the traps of the era of high Japanese-American tension. As a result, his stories do not seem like dated period pieces in the way pop culture of the same period does. Instead, Fallows lays out the systemic differences between the US and Japan in ways that suggest neither Japanese invincibility nor Japanese perfidy. His central point is that the Western Anglo understanding of economics is not as universally accepted as we think it is, and so discussions that are premised on the superiority of unfettered trade frequently miss the point. His theory that national industrial policy can and does lead to industrial gains in thoughtful countries has been borne out by the success of Korean automotive and electronics firms, and his complaints about naive free-traders of the early 90s (specifically Robert Reich, who seems to be regarded as an idiot by both Fallows and Krugman) have been similarly vindicated.
The book does a phenomenal job of showing the cultural impacts in Asia of the Japanese rise to prominence in the 80s, and of showing why Asian countries might be resistant to the US worldview without us ever fully being aware of it. Overall, it provided an orientation towards area study that was extremely informative, written in the easy-to-read Fallows way.
The one obviously-dated bit of the book was his evaluation of China's economic significance. But his position on that reminds us that it was China's actions that led to its new dominance in the region; when he was writing, the government had not yet decided to embark on the current path, and Fallows recognized the potential.
Highly recommended, if for no reason other than as a reminder to keep looking around to understand what's going on.
October 28, 2017
Looking at the sun (James Fallows 1995) Twenty years ago, journalist James Fallows spent more than five years in Asia collecting information and building a compelling case for how and why this area of the planet was growing so fast, especially in Japan. This is what this book is about.
Western civilization is based on the ideas of three people: I. Newton, A. Smith and JJ Rousseau. Modern science, free market economics and political theory are the product of these three people. However, Fallows argues that Asia has developed an alternative form of capitalism based not on Smith's thinking but on the work of German economist Friedrich List.
The ways in which Western economy differs from List's ideas are: (i) consumers versus producers, (ii) the free market versus government intervention, (ii) automatic growth versus deliberate development, and (iv) individual against the nation. For example, the way in which (i) operates is the following. While in the West it is quite common to offer the consumer a wide variety of products at affordable prices, in Japan it is very common that prices of the same product is two or three times higher in Japan than abroad. The excess generated in domestic sales is used as a war chest to fight against its foreign competitors. Thus, for example, Hitachi would advise its sales representatives to bid 10% below competitors. If competitors re-quote, they bid again and the bidding ends when Hitachi wins. Using this strategy, Japanese companies become strong and push away their competitors from the game and in the end the Japanese wouldl totally control the market. This is how the consumer vs. producers operates, by making the producer stronger at the expense of the domestic consumer.
To illustrate how government intervention works, let's use the Intel example. Intel in the US invented flash memory technology in the 1980s, but back then because they were unable to mass-produce this in the US, then they sought partnership with Japan. But the government did not allowed Intel to operate in Japan unless they licence its technology to them. These days, mostly Japanese brands manufacture flash drives.
This is a very good reading and it helped me to understand Japanese society more. I think my way of thinking of Japan has changed after reading this fantastic book.
Western civilization is based on the ideas of three people: I. Newton, A. Smith and JJ Rousseau. Modern science, free market economics and political theory are the product of these three people. However, Fallows argues that Asia has developed an alternative form of capitalism based not on Smith's thinking but on the work of German economist Friedrich List.
The ways in which Western economy differs from List's ideas are: (i) consumers versus producers, (ii) the free market versus government intervention, (ii) automatic growth versus deliberate development, and (iv) individual against the nation. For example, the way in which (i) operates is the following. While in the West it is quite common to offer the consumer a wide variety of products at affordable prices, in Japan it is very common that prices of the same product is two or three times higher in Japan than abroad. The excess generated in domestic sales is used as a war chest to fight against its foreign competitors. Thus, for example, Hitachi would advise its sales representatives to bid 10% below competitors. If competitors re-quote, they bid again and the bidding ends when Hitachi wins. Using this strategy, Japanese companies become strong and push away their competitors from the game and in the end the Japanese wouldl totally control the market. This is how the consumer vs. producers operates, by making the producer stronger at the expense of the domestic consumer.
To illustrate how government intervention works, let's use the Intel example. Intel in the US invented flash memory technology in the 1980s, but back then because they were unable to mass-produce this in the US, then they sought partnership with Japan. But the government did not allowed Intel to operate in Japan unless they licence its technology to them. These days, mostly Japanese brands manufacture flash drives.
This is a very good reading and it helped me to understand Japanese society more. I think my way of thinking of Japan has changed after reading this fantastic book.
December 31, 2024
This is collection of articles by James fallows.
Which tells us about the power shift from the east which is against the west.
The analysis is correct.
But this is from 80s.
So a bit outdated.
Overall a good observation.
Now we can see the change happening.
Which tells us about the power shift from the east which is against the west.
The analysis is correct.
But this is from 80s.
So a bit outdated.
Overall a good observation.
Now we can see the change happening.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews