OCR Text |
Show Liberalism In Japan BY K. S. INUT, Department of Political Science, University Uni-versity of Southern California. Up to the early part of tho seventies seven-ties Japan was divided into two classes, aristocrats and commoners. The aristocracy was divided again into tho literary or civil, and feudal or military. Commoners wero divide into three classes, farmers, artisans! an,d merchants. The last occupied tho lowest strata of society next only to tho "etta" or outcast. After thirty years of constitutional struggle Hara finally formed a cabinet cabi-net two j'ears ago on a party basis. This was considered to be an unqualified unquali-fied signal victory for the commoners. common-ers. But the commoners of Japan havo changed during the last decade. One peculiarity of Japan is that hpr skilled laborers havo never formed a class. Xor have ; they been, an organized organ-ized influence in society. This is becauso manufacturing in that country was limited to home industry in-dustry and hand work. There was very littlo division of labor. Hence when tho laborer became skilled he In- i cldentally became an artisan, and occupied oc-cupied a superior place to that of the merchant. With the restoration of power from the Shogun. tho feudal head, to the mikado, the civil head, militarists ranked with the people. Moreover, with the Introduction of modern machinery and factory sys-tom sys-tom tho now people began to divido themselves Into two classes. Japan passed through the cxpeflcnco of all modern nations. She created1 her capitalists, the privileged class on, the one hand and laborers or exploited on the other. In the west capitalism and industrialism indus-trialism aro the products of centuries. In Japan the adoption of the modern system of production brought this result re-sult within the last two decaaes. j Though few, Japan has her Rockcfel-' lors and Morgana in her Mitsui andj "Sumitomo. p "While the liberalism of Hara and his party was waging a gallant and ! political war for tho once oppressed and exploited merchants and land-: lords thoy had grown to manhood. |