This book is devoted to analyzing contemporary capitalism both in Japan and in the world economy by using the theoretical framework of the Frenchrégulation theory and by revisiting the theory of civil society in postwar Japan. The Japanese theory of civil society proposed unique thinking about freedom and equality and human rights in the postwar era but could not help to come up with effective concepts for an economic analysis of that capitalism of the period. On the other hand, therégulation theory born in the 1970s is well known by its definition of postwar capitalism as Fordism, based on the elaboration of a new conceptual framework, but it soon proved unable to directly explain Japans experience by that central concept of Fordism. Inspired by consideration of Japanese civil society and also by the regulationist framework, the author has forged new analytical concepts such as companyism to understand Japanese capitalism including the recent lost decades, and he elaborates more carefully the concepts of growth regime and institutional change to grasp the dynamics of the world economy including todays neoliberal trend. The original benefits of the book consist in 1) reviving a Japanese theory of civil society in the postwar period, 2) applying therégulation theory to the analysis of contemporary Japan, and 3) offering theoretical reflections on the conception of the world economy. Consequently, the author pays special attention to the relationship between the political and the economic as well as regulationist tools and the theory of civil societys perspective. The principal message of the book is that capitalism or the market economy must be supported by a sound civil society.

Toshio Yamada is Emeritus Professor at Nagoya University, having previously served as Professor of Economic Theories at Osaka City University, Nagoya University, etc. in Japan. He graduated from Graduate School of Economics of Nagoya University, and got a doctors degree in economics from Osaka City University. He is a director of the Société Franco-Japonaise des Sciences Economiques and a member of the European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy. His research interests focus on Frenchrégulation theory, Japanese civil society thought, and contemporary capitalism. His works in English includeJapanese Capitalism in Crisis: A Regulationist Interpretation (2000, co-edited with Robert Boyer).

 

Part I: Postwar Japan and the Theory of Civil Society.- Chapter 1: Political Economy in Japan after World War II.- Chapter 2: Yoshihiko Uchida and his Thoughts on Civil Society: Between Equality in Exchange and Equality as Human Beings.- Chapter 3: Kiyoaki Hirata and his Thoughts on Civil Society.- Part II: The Rise and Fall of Contemporary Japanese Capitalism.- Chapter 4: The Introduction of Régulation Theory in Japan.- Chapter 5: Postwar Japanese Capitalism and Companyist Régulation.- Chapter 6: The Collapse of Companyism and Todays Post-companyist Transformation.- Chapter 7: Analyses of Japanese Capitalism Based on the Régulation Approach: An Overview of Thirty Years of Research.- Part III: Theoretical Considerations of Contemporary Capitalism.- Chapter 8: Stage Theory or Typology?: Methodological Reflections on the Comparative Analysis of Capitalism.- Chapter 9: Economic Crises and Growth Regimes.- Chapter 10: The Neoliberal Regime and its Possible Crisis: A Reflection from the Viewpoint of Institutional Change.- Chapter 11: Transition Economies and State Capitalism.