Cantankerous Essays

Ronald Dore, a British sociologist specializing in Japanese economy and society and the comparative study of types of capitalism, is known internationally for his prodigious output as researcher, writer and commentator over the last half century. He is an associate of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics and is a fellow of the British Academy, the Japan Academy, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The citation for his eminent scholar award from the Academy of International Business describes him as ‘an outstanding scholar whose deep understanding of the empirical phenomena he studies and ability to build on it to develop theoretical contributions are highly respected not only by sociologists but also by economists, anthropologists, historians, and comparative business systems scholars’. His books City Life in Japan, Land Reform in Japan, Education in Tokugawa Japan, British Factory: Japanese Factory, The Diploma Disease: Education, Qualification and Development and Shinohata: Portrait of a Japanese Village are all considered classic texts.

• Introductory Musings Addendum 23 January 2015 Chapter 1 THE RETURN OF THE NEAR-NATIVE • The inequality debate • 2 July 2014: Collective self-defence: A revitalized opposition? • Press reaction • 14 September 2014 • 22 September 2014 • 27 September 2014: The China dog that didn’t bark Chapter 2 THE SOCIAL CONDITIONS FOR ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE AND THE PIKETTY BOOM • Economic performance: EP1 and EP2 • Economic conditions of both EP1 and EP2 • Social conditions for EP1 • Print money, not bonds • Social conditions for EP2 • Inequality: The mechanisms • The heart of the matter Chapter 3 OPMF, CENTRAL BANK CONSERVATISM AND FINANCIAL ECONOMICS • Sacrosanct targets • Problems with OPMF • Abenomics • The arguments for OPMF • Medicine turning into poison? • Be bold. Try it! Chapter 4 JAPAN AND CHINA: COLLISION COURSE • Senkaku: Recent history • The quiescent period • The first scuffles • Enter mischief • Nationalization to thwart Ishihara • Sheer implausibility • First exacerbating factor: History • Second exacerbating factor: Totalitarian solidarity • The official records • Third exacerbating factor: Strengthening of strategic military alliance against China • China’s diplomatic stance Chapter 5 JAPAN AND NORTH KOREA • What actually happened • The secret negotiations • Promise broken • North Korea’s sporadic attempts at resolution • Recent stirrings Chapter 6 A NEW BEGINNING? • Entrenched stalemate • Breaking the log-jam Chapter 7 THE NEW COLD WARS • The ending of the Cold War • The Putin era • The counter-bloc • What are the United States’ goals in the region? • MAD and the Medvedev interlude. • Good fences make good neighbours: The problem of buffer states • Ukraine • Crimea • Round number 3 • States and nation-states • Conclusion Chapter 8 FRIENDS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES Chapter 9 HUMAN PROGRESS…? • Changing perceptions: Aggression • Games theory • Towards world government? • The United Nations • The evolution of the UN Index