301.3
Association As a Tool or As a Principle?: The Reception and Usage of the Concept of the Association in Postwar Japanese Modernization Theory
For some sociologists, “Association” was theorized as an alternative to market society, for some legal scholars, the state was defined as a contract of association, in order to submit State Power to Civil Society’s control. In either case, the basic principle of association was the union of different peoples to accomplish their common purpose.
Comparing the French case, this paper focuses on the place of the association in Japanese Modernization Theory. This theory stressed the liberation of individuals from traditional ties, rather than Civil Society’s independence from the State.
As a result, first, the association was understood as one type of secondary group, which is contrasted with the local bonding community, and not as a principle for the society as a whole.
Second, the association was not considered to contribute to the Modernization Process. In Japan, Modernization took the form of individualization in the free Market Society.
Today, Japanese society has been thoroughly modernized in that sense; individuals are free from tradition and customs. Paradoxically, engagement with local community activities has been revalorized and is considered to be an individual choice. Tradition became one of the resources that create the voluntary associative relationship.
These situations seem similar to Giddens’ “Reflexive Modernity” in appearance. However, today the Japanese regard the association as a tool for solving problems, not as a principle of society that unifies different peoples for the good of the commonwealth.
Retracing this history, we would like to critically examine why we have understood the association as a tool, rather than a principle, and how this understanding affects today’s policy.