Max Weber sought to understand the nature and causes of social change and unlike Marx he rejected the materialist and class conflict (which will be discussed later) of social change. He argued that human motivation and ideas were the forces behind social change. Ideas, values and beliefs have the power to bring about change to society, and the individual has the ability to act and shape their future. With the emergence of modern society came major shifts in patterns of social action. Individuals started to move away from the traditional beliefs supported by religion, custom and habit and increasingly engaged in rational, instrumental calculations that took into account efficiency and future consequences. The development of science, modern technology and bureaucracy was described by Weber as Rationalisation. Giddens (2001) states that this is the organisation of social and economic life according to the principles of efficiency and on the basis of technical knowledge. In Weber’s view, the industrial revolution and the rise of capitalism were proof of a large shift towards Rationalisation. Weber saw the scientific quality of the west as one of its most distinctive traits. Moreover, bureaucracy expands with economic and political growth, and is seen to be the most effective way of organising large numbers of people.
The economist Walt Rostow designed a model that suggests that the development of human society to be both be a process of evolution, and to possess an inner logic, which leads societies towards Modernisation. His work is based on the idea that development can happen in five stages. The first stage is called traditional society; this is feudal societies based primarily on agriculture production. These societies are constrained by the limited technology on which agriculture is based. However, feudal societies do contain within them the ability and potential for further development. The second is the transitional stage or precondition for take off. The important preconditions include increases in scientific and technological discoveries which are used to improve the production process. Secondly, there develops a group of individuals who see the advantages in investment in factory production. At this state of the development Rostow said that there is a growth of lateral relations of world trade between nations, and finally the growth of the modern state which uses rational ideas. The third is called the take off stage, this happens to different countries at different times in history. In this way the unevenness of the process is pinpointed as being important, for example because England was one of the first countries to modernise it lead the way for others to follow. Approximately sixty years after the take off stage comes the maturity stage, in which countries consolidate their new found production process based on investment and the factories. Last is the mass consumer or mass consumption stage, in which all the benefits of the production process are diffused throughout society as a whole.
While the theories Durkheim and Weber could argue that global modernisation can be explain primarily in terms of the development of certain values, norms and motivations, Marx’s theory of Capital sets the structure for theories of underdevelopment and dependency. For Marx, a class is a group of people who stand in a common relationship to the means of production. The two main classes in this theory are those that own the means of production which, for example, in the third world this would be the land, factories and instruments used to tend crops. The other class is those who earn their living by selling their labour or time to the class that owns the means of production. Marx the owners class, the bourgeoisie or upper class and the people who sold their labour or time for wages the proletariat or working class. The relationship between the classes is an exploitative one and with the development of modern capitalism and globalisation wealth is produced on a scale far beyond anything seen before, yet the proletariats have little access to the wealth that their labour creates. They remain relatively poor, while the wealth accumulated by the capitalist class grows. These inequalities between the capitalist and the working class were not strictly economic in nature, because alienation also occurred which Marx explained as the development of modern factories and the mechanisation of production, caused the work to become dull and oppressive.
The economist Andre Gunder Frank has coined the phrase ‘the development of underdevelopment’ to describe the evolution of the Third world countries. These countries have become poor as a direct result of their subordinate position in relation to the industrialised countries. The First world has become rich at the expense of the Third world, which has been created through imperialism and neo-imperialism. (Frank, 1970) stated that ‘development and underdevelopment are two sides to the same coin’. To become industrialised, the capitalists would have to exploit the working class. In this case, the first world exploits the third world. The first world countries form a metropolitan centre, around which the satellites of the third world countries are grouped. Their economies being dependant upon those of the more advanced countries, while they themselves become impoverished.
World system theory is the most complex of all attempts to understand world patterns of inequality, as from the sixteenth century onwards a world system has developed. This consists of a series of economic and political connections stretching across the globe, based on the expansion of the capitalist world economy. The capitalist world economy is made up of the core countries (which correspond with Frank’s metropolis theory), the semi-periphery, the periphery and the external area. The core states are those in which modern economic enterprise first emerged and underwent processes of industrialisation. The core areas contained a range of emerging manufacturing, industry and relatively advanced forms of agricultural production, which had centralised forms of government. The peripheries are countries that have a weak political structure with frequent changes of government. These are also very agrian and depend on exporting to the core states for capital, which usually only means exporting one or two cash crops and importing all high technologies. The semi-periphery are countries that have no democratic government and normally have repressive regimes in control. They have a large cheap manufacturing and agrian economy sector. The semi-periphery is the key to keep the world system going, thus they are exploited by the periphery, which in turn are exploited by the core. Since the core countries dominate the world system, they are able to organise world trade to favor their interests. The first world countries have established a position in which they are able to exploit the resources of the third world societies for their needs. World system theory is Marx’s theory of stratification on a global scale.
Even thou Japan in the 21st century is one of the most secular societies on Earth, it is easy to see the effect that the Japanese religions of Confucianism, Shintoinm and Buddhism has had on the Japanese economic industries though out history.
The oldest religion in Japan is Shintoism; this religion can be classed as animism. Animism is the belief that all things organic and inorganic contain a sole or living spirit which gives these objects a particular nature and characteristics. The sociologist Emile Durkheim (2001) while studying Totanism and Animalism said ‘it was a unified system of beliefs and practices related to secret things, that is to say things set apart and forbidden – beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community’.
The religions of Shintoism was established several hundred years before the ideas and beliefs were every written down. The general ideas of Shintoism are that the islands of Japan were formed by Gods and Goddess. These Gods and Goddess had many children, some of which were Gods and some that were mortal, the mortal children populated the islands. The Emperors and people of Japan believed they were all descendants of Gods and Goddess in one way or another, this was believed up until the middle of the 20th century. The religion of Shinto therefore encourages ancestral worship along with the worship of nature. The ceremonies for this religion emphasize ritual purity and cleanness, the washing of mouth and hands before worship being pivotal. These tasks are often related to occasions like birth and deaths to harvesting of crops and erection of new buildings.
The religion of Buddhism came to Japan via China and Korean, but has its main origins in India. The Buddha was not a divine God, but more of a teacher. His teaching consisted of four noble truths, which its followers should try and achieve. The first is that the world and life contains suffering, second the source of this suffering is desires and cravings, third suffering can be ended by extinguishing the desires and cravings, last the end of suffering and the attainment of enlightenment can be achieved by following the eightfold path of the dhamma.
The eightfold path is a set of values that should be followed to achieve enlightenment; these consist of right views, right intention, right speech, right actions, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. The first two steps refer to the necessity of seeking salvation and acceptance of the dhamma. The following three are concerned with morality and can also be stated the five precepts of abstention taking life, from stealing, from illicit sex, from taking intoxicants and observance of honesty. The final three steps in the eightfold path are concerned with meditation and though it, the achievement tranquility and the attainment of wisdom. The religion Buddhism already had a rich history before it was exported to Japan; this history included a developed sophisticated series of texts, philosophy and rituals. This religion and its history had a major influence on Japanese courtly class and because of its writings, created a more sophisticated and general demeanor.
The Confucian influence in Japan is a different order then that of the Shinto and Buddhism religions. Confucius was a teacher and government adviser, who was born in the 5th century BC. Confucian teachings tell of the naturally existing affection found in the family group, this is the cornerstone of all social morality. The affection that is extended to the family should be extended to the whole of society in general. There was a Confucian code, man should have a desire to see clearly when he looks at something, a desire to hear every detail when listening to something, a desire to present a tranquil countenance, a desire to preserve an attitude of respect, a desire to be sincere in words, a desire to see clearly when he looks at something, a desire to be careful in his work, a willingness to enquire further in to anything about which he has doubts, a willingness to bear in mind the difficulties consequent on anger and a willingness to consider moral values when presented with the possibility of profit. These values serve two role’s, the first is a general guidelines for which men should live by. The second is a social one, if the ruling elite in society adhere to these values, there will be social order, morality and harmony in society in general. Reader, (1991). Hamilton, (1995) & Hendry, (1996).The values that the Confucian teaching teaches the Japanese people can be seen when looking at Japanese Managerial practices.
In Weber’s most famous book, the protestant Ethic and the spirit of Capitalism, Weber examines the relationship between the rise of certain forms of Protestantism and the development of western industrial capitalism. Weber tries to establish that a particular from Protestantism, ascetic Calvinist Protestantism preceded the developed of capitalism. He also tries to show that capitalism developed in areas where religion was very influential.
The doctrine of predestination advocated by Calvin seems less likely to produce capitalism. If certain individuals are destined for heaven regardless of their earthly behavior, and the rest were equally unable to change their damnation there would be little point in hard work on Earth. The Calvinists had a major psychological problem; they did not know who was among the elect chosen to go to heaven. They reasoned with themselves that only the chosen people of God could lead a good life on earth. If their behavior was exemplary they could feel confident that they would go to heaven after death. The interpretation the Calvinists put on the doctrine of predestination contributed to them becoming the first Capitalists.
The protestant Ethic which Weber descries, and which enabled Calvinists to convince themselves that they were amongst the elect developed first in the seventeenth century Western Europe. The ethic was ascetic, encouraging abstinence from life’s pleasures, an austere lifestyle and rigorous self discipline. It produced individuals who worked hard in their careers and callings. Making money was the concrete indication in one’s success in one’s calling, while success in calling meant the individual had not lost the grace in Gods sight. The riches that were made could not be spent on luxuries, fine clothes, lavish homes and frivolous entertainment, but in the glory of God. This meant that being successful in the term’s of one’s calling, which in practice meant reinvesting profit in the business. The Protestants attacked time wasting, laziness and more sleep than was necessary. They frowned on sexual pleasures; intercourse was only within marriage and only for the procreation of children. Basically anything that might distract people from their calling was condemned. Living life in terms of these guidelines was an indication that the individual had not lost the grace of God. Weber, (1992). Haralambos, & Holborn, (1995). Giddens, (2002).
In the 1980’s the economic success of Japan was attributed to the characteristics of large Japanese corporations, these differ from most corporations in the west. Many aspects of Japanese managerial practices on behalf of the organisations and the individuals can be attributed to the teachings of the Japanese religions of Shinto, Confucianism and Buddhism. These practices which were different to western corporations, include bottom up decision making, employees working low down in the organisation are consulted regarding policies being proposed by management, less specialisation/full training – employees are trained extensively in various departments and rotate through a variety of positions, this makes them more flexible with an increased understanding of the whole operation of the corporation, job security – large companies are committed to life time employment to those which they hire, the employee is guaranteed a job, pay, and responsibility with seniority. Merging of work and private lives; the relationship between employer and employee is not just an economic one but also a social commitment by each party. The corporations operate significant employee reward and loyalty bonus schemes, loans, and payments for births, deaths and marriages. In return the employee is fully committed to the corporation and has its best interests at heart. This system of managerial practice has helped Japan to become a super power in economic terms.
In conclusion to this essay, it is easy to see that the rapid industrialisation of Japan wasn’t caused by one individual factor or event, but a combination of factors and events over a long history. In historical terms, Japan was never invaded until World War two. This gave Japan an edge over other countries at around the same time, because they were never invade, they could start developing at a better stage then counties like India and Africa, who had been colonised. This happened again after World War two, when Japan was reconstructed with the help of the American invaders and their ideology of capitalism, along with Rostow’s five steps to Capitalism theory. The idea of assimilation of others nation’s knowledge and technologies comes across very strongly in Japanese society. This had been from the Meiji period and sending students to universities outside Japan to the massive corporations of today and car manufacturing. The beliefs of the Japanese society in its religions can not be discounted, as the view of this essay is that the religious beliefs, values and codes that have been followed by its society are the man catalyst in the development of industrial Japan. Like Weber’s, (2001) protestant ethic, religion is imbedded deep in Japans national mind. The religious beliefs cause the worker to be a subordinate to the company in the same way a honey bee is subordinate to the hive and queen. In the classic Marx’s tradition, Japanese salary men or working class seem to be the ideal class to revolt if only they were unhappy. As Japan is the second biggest economy on earth in a country around the same land mass as England, who can complain.
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