Concepts: The Developmental State

A detailed Summary of Concepts: The Developmental State

Johnson presents some positive aspects of the developmental state model of (soft or hard) authoritarianism that are morally troubling because they are appealing in so many ways. It is hard to oppose growth that has solved so many problems that plague developing nations: growth with redistribution is more or less achieved; in Japan, the standard of living has considerably improved; success has brought legitimacy to controlling bureaucracies; and most importantly in view of the current destabilizing influence of financial markets, there are important political benefits to be gained from the ability to maintain long-term goals by not relying heavily on shareholders and stockmarket analysts for success. In the developmental states, the profit-motive does not undermine long-term goals for the public good as it so often does in the West. Of course there are concerns around the definition of the "public good" and more importantly who gets to define it, but in the developmental system the power granted to the government presents at least scope for the establishment genuinely equitable goals. While the West is left increasingly to the mercy of private interests of short-term

gain, orientation of the economy towards long-term public needs is becoming impossible. And a long-term lens does not only refer to issues of continued growth, it is also absolutely necessary to begin to deal with issues of sustainability. As far as efficiency in carrying out long-term plans, the "soft-authoritarianism-capitalism nexus" has proven far more effective in conjuring the impression of stability and other incentives that are so crucial for enterprise, while directing it to the ends that have benefited a greater proportion of society than orthodox capitalist developmental states have managed to.

In relation to List's theory of the integral importance of a sense of cultural unity, it is interesting that Japanese proclamations about cultural purity and superiority are presented by Hein to be a means of deflecting popular attention from issues of political freedom and domestic divisions. Regardless of its origin, such nationalist sentiment seems to contribute to the legitimacy of rulers, while the looming presence of an enemy - the American hegemon - seems significant in the Japanese case (and likely the Korean one too). Instead of List's protectionist policies, Johnson states that "a united people for economic goals" is an important element of the developmental model for the alternative reason that it transfers authority to a governin

Some common words found in the essay are:
Developmental Johnson, Korea Taiwan, Instead List's, Doubling Plan, Monetary Fund, South-East Asia, Reading Response, long-term goals, developmental model, long-term plans, developmental system,

Approximate Word count = 914
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics

join now Save Paper

Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

"Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
Jack M.
"With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
Brian P.
"I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
Sara J.
"I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
Rachel W.
"I love this site!!!"
Marie N.

Concepts: The Developmental State

Related Essays

Professional Essays

Saved Paper

Newest Essays

Testimonials