Re: Japan (and the path to fundamental change)

[charlie <charles1848@xxxxxxxxx>]

I can't think of an example of a purely economic downturn leading
to a change of social system (polite phrase for the archival
record). But wars have led to several.

There have also been overthrows of the existing order at the
culmination of decades-long struggles -- the anti-colonial
struggles, for example, China and Vietnam. In a way, this pattern
is more likely to be repeated in the U.S. Almost surely,
capitalism will survive cyclical downturns. Rather, the issue is
the grinding decline in living standards for most and the
relentless growth of inequality to such proportions that it makes
a qualitative change in the political and social order. It has
been going for almost thirty years now. It provides the
opportunity for work as persistent and dogged as the anti-
imperialist campaigns I just mentioned.

Regards,

Charles Andrews
Web site for my book is at http://www.LaborRepublic.org