Re: Re: Japanese infrastructure question again

[Anthony DCosta <dcosta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, 18 Dec 2000, Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:

> Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 22:27:42 -0500
> From: Yoshie Furuhashi <furuhashi.1@xxxxxxx>
> Reply-To: pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To: pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [PEN-L:6385] Re: Japanese infrastructure question again
>
> Anthony said:
>
> >As for whether corruption has had its predatory effects, it is amply clear
> >that Japan is not an economy we can club with Zaire.  The economic effects
> >of, if you will, corruption is considerably greater than zero.  The sheer
> >physical infrastructure will indicate that, not to mention the entire
> >manufacturing productive base.
>
> Right, but the synergy of patronage politics and export-led
> industrial growth has already come to an end, it seems to me.  Kakuei
> Tanaka was the last of his kind.

But there is no necessary relationship between patronage politics and
export-led growth.  Patronage politics could be part of _any_ development
strategy.

Tanaka was Japanese prime minister
> between 1972 and 74.  He was forced to resign in 1974 because of
> financial malfeasance.  He was later tried for accepting over $2
> million in bribes from Lockheed and was convicted in 1983.

$2 million bribe is peanuts with what goes on in the bribery sphere.
Besides what will $2 million do when taken out of the total productive
investment. And what if the $2 million actually led to more investments in
physical infrastructure?


However,
> he remained powerful as a "king-maker" until 1987 when Noboru
> Takeshita won control of the LDP faction Tanaka had led.
>
> In the age of global neoliberalism, I think that patronage, too, has
> become an obstacle for accumulation, as well as social democracy in
> Western Europe, the New Deal/Great Society in the USA,
> Peronist-style populism & military dictatorship in Latin America, etc.
>
> Yoshie
>
True but this sounds like the "end of history" conclusion--remove
patronage and you will have social (liberal?) democracy. Patronage is
socially generated, you can't simply wish it away.


Cheers, Anthony D'Costa