[p2p-research] Japanese revolution over Peak Population, basic income, and p2p :-)

[Ryan Lanham]

Nice collections of excerpts, Paul.  I've been watching this for a few weeks
with some of the financial blogs.  It really is a surprising and radical
shift to a Nordic-styled left in Japan.  I think those who say it is a move
away are not as accurate as those who argue it is a move toward.  That's
always a big question in elections.  I wonder (and personally hope) whether
the US is behind and about to move in that direction as well.  Time will
tell.

Hatoyama is definitely anti-West...especially anti-US...and pro-China,
though he has toned down that rhetoric.  And that frightens American
business interests.  Watch the Japanese stock market on Monday...and then
the US market. If both markets fall, people are OK with it.  If Japan falls
and the US rises sharply...people are terribly frightened...that's my read.

Ryan




On Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 9:34 AM, Paul D. Fernhout <
pdfernhout at kurtz-fernhout.com> wrote:

> OK, that subject line is little strong, :-) but consider:
>
> "Japan Vote Points to Political Upheaval"
> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/world/asia/31japan.html
>
> Excerpts from there:
>
> Basic Income related:
>
> "Analysts also expect the Democrats to focus in the first months on
> domestic issues. The party has pledged to change Japan’s postwar paradigm
> here by handing more money and social benefits directly to consumers, and
> not to industry or other interest groups."
>
> Peak Population related:
>
> "It has promised to slash Japan’s traditionally hefty public works spending
> in favor of strengthening the social safety net and trying to raise graying
> Japan’s low birth rate by giving families cash handouts of $270 per month
> per child."
>
> Which is a tiny bit of my plan here: :-)
>
> http://www.pdfernhout.net/towards-a-post-scarcity-new-york-state-of-mind.html
>
> And from:
> "Next Japan PM talks of "fraternity" and love"
> http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKTRE57T0S720090830
>
> Peer-to-Peer related:
> """
> Democratic Party leader Yukio Hatoyama has put the fuzzy notion of "yuai,"
> or fraternity, at the core of his political philosophy, puzzling many voters
> and raising eyebrows abroad when he twins it with criticism of global
> capitalism. ... Though seen by some analysts as vague, Hatoyama uses the
> word to advocate his goals for closer-knit communities at home and better
> relations with countries abroad, especially East Asia.
> """
>
> In defense of this email's subject line, :-) from an Australian
> commentator:
>  "Pivotal moment in Japan's history"
> http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26004520-5013460,00.html
> """
> Hatoyama and his Democratic Party of Japan promise to break down the
> influence of Japan's all-powerful bureaucracy and put power into the hands
> of politicians. They also promise to reverse the crippling fertility
> decline, which has led to Japan's population starting to decrease, to seek a
> more independent foreign policy, to redistribute money and spending power to
> the consumer and most of all to normalise Japanese politics - to create a
> competitive two-party system. It's a grand sweep of history, to wipe away
> the post-war settlement under which Japan has changed government just once
> since the mid-1950s. It could be as big and bold and thunderingly
> significant as the last two great Japanese pivots - the Meiji Restoration in
> the late 1800s and the post-war economic revival.
> """
>
> Japan's a world leader in solar electric power, too: :-)
>  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_Japan#Renewable_energy
>
> And, soon, maybe robot nurses:
>  "Japanese create teddy bear robot nurse"
>  http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10320851-1.html
>
> My point: there are lots of ways to spin the news. :-)
>
> So, not only won't the revolution be televised,
>  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Revolution_Will_Not_Be_Televised
> frankly, it mostly won't even be noticed or understood. :-)
>
> --Paul Fernhout
> http://www.pdfernhout.net/
>
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