LAND

REFORMAND J APAN' S
DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMI C
R. P.
DORE
There i s general agreement among the students of J apan' s economi c
devel opment that agri cul ture' s contri buti on to the task of bui l di ng a
strong i ndustri al base was a consi derabl e one. I t provi ded export earn-
i ngs and i mport substi tutes whi ch hel ped i n acqui ri ng the machi nery
and rawmateri al s whi ch had ta be bought abroad. I t managed a steady
expansi on of the suppl y of stapl e f oQds whi ch enabl ed a growi ng town
popul ati on to be f ed reasonabl y cheap f ood. I t contri buted through the
l and tax a substanti al porti on of the f unds whi ch provi ded the i nf ra-
structure of communi cati ons, govemment and educati on, and through the
prof i ts of the l andl ords some 0L the capi tal whi ch devel oped especi al l y
the smal l i ndustri es. And i t was i n part a growth i n producti vi ty whi ch
made thi s " squeeze " possi bl e wi thout such a drasti c l oweri ng of rural
l i vi ng standards as to cause uncontrol l abl e pol i ti cal i nstabi l i ty.
Was thi s i n part because of , or i n spi te of , the nature of the l and
tenure system? I t has by nowbecome a trui smtbat one i mportant
Lactor determi ni ng the producti vi ty of agri cul ture i s the systemof pro-
perty i nsti tuti ons under whi ch l and i s owned and used. The questi on
whi ch natural l y ari ses, theref ore, i s thi s : granted that agri cul ture made
a substanti al contri buti on to J apan' s economi c growth, was i t the best
that i t coul d have made ? Or i s i t possi bl e that under a di f f erent l and
tenure systemi t coul d have done more ?
Thi s questi on, I i ke al l the other "i f " questi ons about human hi story,
can onl y be answered by guesses deri ved f romcompari son wi th other
countri es. For such compari sons i t i s usef ul to have a typol ogy. rrhe
one I suggest bel owhas no parti cul ar meri t except that i t seems to be
appl i cabl e to a vari ety of si tuati ons and i s a handy basi s f or general i zati on.
Tl l e typol ogy i s l i ttl e more than a di sti ncti on between two types of
l and ref orms based on the ki nd of l andl ord whose power and property
i s af f ected. The key i s thereL0re the def i ni ti on of the two types of
l andl ord. The f i rst i s typi cal l y one who acqui res control of a terri tory
by mi l i tary conquest or by i nf eudati on- bci ng al l ocated terri tpry by a
warri or chi ef who thereby secures hi s al l egi ance. At f rst he i s l ord and
_ _= i
48 8
The Devel of )i ng Economi es
master i n every sense ; he draws produce f romthe cul ti vator by vi rtue
of hi s monopol y of vi ol ence ; pol i ti cal control and economi c expl oi tati on
are one and i ndi vi si bl e and there i s no conceptual di sti ncti on between
rents and taxes.
At a l ater stage of devel opment the autonomy and arbi trari ness of
hi s pol i ti cal power may become ci rcumscri bed by the devel opment of a
central state authori ty. The central government may cl ai mthe sol e ri ght
to tax and the f ormer f eudal magnate nowonl y draws a rent. He may
sti l l , however, exerci se. pol i ti cal power i n hi s heredi tary f i ef by ascri pti ve
ri gl l t, though he may exerci se i t through del egates, he hi msel f l i vi ng i n
the central capi tal and onl y occasi onal l y vi si ti ng hi s estates f or supervi sory
or ceremoni al purposes.
The second type of l andl ord i s characteri sti cal l y one who achi eves
hi s posi ti on by econol ' l i c means wi thi n the f ramework of a systemof
establ i shed pol i ti cal order ; not by warf are or that mi l der type of rarf are
that i s pol i ti cs. Someti mes he i s a merchant, someti mes a thri f ty f armer
who acqui res l and f romthe i mprovi dence or mi sf ortunes of others, some-
ti mes a i noney- 1ender. He may al so exerci se some pol i ti cal power, but
i t i s power exerci sed through the f ramework of a systemof government
i n whi ch he has no ascri pti ve ri ght, onl y the power of mani pul ati on
gai ned by vi rtue of hi s superi or weal th. Such l andl ords have smal l er
estates than the f i rst ki nd, and they general l y l i ve near the l and they
own. They may, i n Marxi st terms, act as the rural wi ng of the bour-
geoi si e, a conservati ve pol i ti cal f orce whi ch gai ns advantages f or i tsel f
f romcontacts wi th the urban pol i ti ci ans, and provi des the l atter wi th a
necessary basi s of support i n proto- democrati c systems. They are not
necessari l y obstacl es to al l economi c progress and can i n some cases
serve as the agents of economi c devel opment.
The next di sti ncti on f ol l ows l ogi cal l y f romthe f i rst. What wi l l be
cal l ed a Stage I redi stri buti ori i s one whi ch expropri ates, or i n some
way drasti cal l y reduces the power of , Type 1 I andl ords. A Stage I I
l and redi stri buti on i s one whi ch expropri ates or weakens the second
type of I andl ord.
For some countri es the cl assi f i cati on seems cl earl y apposi te. One
can pi npoi nt the two di sti nct hi stori cal events representi ng the two
stages of l and ref orm. I n Czechosl ovaki a, Yugosl avi a, and other countri es
of the ol d Austro- Hungari an Enl pi re the l and ref orms whi ch took pl ace
af ter the Fi rst Worl d War were Stage I reL0rms ; those whi ch came
af ter the Second Worl d War were Stage 11 ref orms. I n Russi a one
may take the l and redi stri buti on f ol l owi ng the revol uti on as the f i rst
L Z4R 4n4E 0 0 o D 8ZO 6 489
stage and co11ecti vi zati on destroyi ng the power of the kul aks as the
second Ther6are other countri es such s Engl and where there has
been no rststage ref orm and where the Type I l andl ords have never
di sappeared Thei r l ocal pol i ti cal power has been whi ttl ed away to the
poi nt where onl y i n the more remote areas of ural Scotl and can the
sci Qns of nobl e f ami l i es such as Lord I l ome cl ai m a parl i amentary seat
al most s a heredi tary ri ght Thei r economi c hol d over the l and remai ns
however though i t i s i n no sense di f f erent f rom that of the Type I I
l andl o dsthose who acqui red thei r l and by economi c means of ten by
i nvesti ng 11sma1 estates the pro ts deri ved f rom i ndustry and commerce
Al ready by the si xteenth century i t i s di cul t to sep rate the two types
of l andl ords as v ess the hi stori ans7di sputes about the ri se or f aU of
the gentry or the ari stocracy
F ance by contrast qui te cl earl y had a S ge I edi stri budon i n
tke cel ebrated events whi ch took pl ace i n 1789 but i n nei ther France
nor Engl and has a Stage I I redi stri buti on ken p1 ce I nstead i n both
countri es the Type I I l a ndl ords who supPorted the bourgeoi s r6gi mes Qf
the ni neteenth century were f orcedl as thei r pol i ti cal power waned to
accept tenancy ref orms whi ch redi stri buted i ncome w thout redi stri buti ng
the ownershi p of l and I n these countri es and i n Engl and especi al l y i n
dustr ahzati on b 8popul ati on growth created seri ous pressure on the
l and and the abi l i ty of l andl ords to accept gradual ref orm i f onl y
because they had al ready acqui red substanti al i ndustri al i nterests oo
has created a si tuati on where the entrepreneuri al tenant can be counted
as a member of the prosperous mi ddl e cl ass I n I rel and on the other
hand grea er popul ati on pressure greater tenant di stress and a more
i ntransi gent mwi l l i ngness of l andl ords to accept ref orm l ed not to
evol uti on but to drasti c changes whi ch saw the vi tual el i mi nadon of
the Type I l andl ords i n the space of a decade
Agai n there are comtri es where a rststage l and ref orm has onl y
recentl y been car ed out I ndi a f or exampl e where the removal o the
j agadi rs and zami ndars di d not i mmedi atel y af f ect the Type I I l andl ords
and I ran where onl y the hol ders of whol e vi 11ages were a ected by the
ori gi nal l and ref orm measure
A new phenomenon i n the modem worl d however i s the acce1
erated spread of communi cati ons educati on and pol i ti cal consci ousness
one of the resul ts of whi ch i s that the pol i ti cal demand f or l and ref orm
can become i rresi sti bl e i n countri es whi ch are otherwi se at a l evel of
economi c devel opment at whi ch a century ago ef f ecti vel y organi zed
popul ar pol i ti cal demands of any ki nd woul d have been unth kabl e

490
Th D 8Z gEoO 0 85
Hence the strong Po1 ti cal pressure f or a Stage I I l and ref orm i l l I ndi a
onl y a decade or so af ter the f i rst H ence the second wave of l and
ref orms i n I ran whi ch i s ai med two years af ter the f i rst at the estates
of the smal l er I andl brds Hence too countri es where the l nd ref orm
whi ch has taken pl ace has been i n e ect a tel escoped Stage I pl us
Stage I I operati on j umpi ng f rom a structure of I arge f eudal hol di ngs
to atomi zed peasant propri etorshi p Bol i vi a i s an outstandi ng recel l t
exampl e
I f the reader sti l l thi nks that the typol ogy h s any va i di ty he wi l l
have no doubt where to t J apan i nto the pi cture The Mei j l Restora
ti on and the cre ti on of a central i zed system of government di spossessed
though wi th handsome compensati on J apan s Type I l andl ords the
4 They remai ned weal thy but thei r weal th was no l onger i n
l anded propertyThey al most enti rel y l ost l ocal pol i ti cal i n uence and
became a metropol i tan ari stocracy and al though they were granted to
be sure a pl ace n the pol i ti cal system i n the House of Peers at no
ti me was the House of Peers at the centre of po1 ti cal power
Th s f act i n i tsel f was of consi derabl e i mportance f or J apan s i ndus
tri al i zati on Those who control l ed pol i cy af ter the Mei j i Restorati on
were not l anded gentl emen but members of a bureaucracy who depended
f or the r i ncome on thei r sal ar es and on the l ess f ormal i ncome chamel s
provi ded by thei r more or l ess corrupt rel ati ons wi th the new i ndustri al
cl ass They had th6ref ore no personahnterest i n protecti ng agri cul tural
i ncomes at the cost of sl owi ng the growth of i ndustry They coul d
and di d mai ntai l l a hi gh l evel of taxati on on agri cul ture There i s a
marked contrast here wi th the si tuati on i n say Engl and where the
l anded ari stocracy wi th strong personal agri cul tural i nterests mai ntai ned
thei r pol i ti cal i nHuence unti l a rel ati vel y advance l stage of i n l ustri al
devel opment I t was not unti l the mi ddl e of the ni neteenth century
that the repeal of the Com Laws marked the nal emergence to pol i ti cal
supremacy of i ndustri al i nterests Si mi l arl y i n a good f nany Lati n
Ameri can countri es today the conti nued pol i ti cal power of a tradi ti onal
l andl ord cl ass f orti ed by those who have urban weal th back i nto the
purchase of l anded estates and adopted tradi ti onal val ues remai ns an
obstacl e to seri ous i ndustri al devel opment
The removal o the y 1ef t a cl ear f i el d f or the Type I I l and
10rds those sm 11er vi l l age l ndl o ds who had been acqui ri ng control
over l and by economi c means n the l atter hal f of the Tokugawa
peri od The f i rst decades of the new r6gi me saw an extensi on o thei r
power3var ous f actors but especi al l y the operati on of the new tax
L4 4R4 7 4EoO 0 Z 6 ZoP Z 12 491
system i ncreased the amount of l and whi ch such l andl ords control l ed
f rom about30to about45per cent of the tota1 They remai ned the
don i nant economi c and pol i t cal i nHuel l ce i l l the countrysi de unti l J pan s
Stage I I l and ref orm put them out of busi ness i n19471949
No one can seri ousl y doubt that the Stage I l and ref orm represented
by the di spossessi on of the 4 7 was an essenti al pre col l di ti on or
J apan s devel opment The questi on whether or not the l and tenure
system af ter1870was the best one to promote that devel opment resol ves
i tsel f theref ore i nto the questi on coul d the Stage I I l and ref orm wi th
advantage have come e rl i erP Supposi ng that the Mei j i govemment
had i nsi sted that the l and certi cates i ssued i n the1870 s shoul d al ways
be gi ven to the actual cul ti vator an l that al l other cl ai ms and l i ens shoul d
be i gnored or compensated f or3 and supPosi ng that i t had set ri gi 1
1i mi ts to the a ea of l and whi ch any f ami l y mi ght subsequel l tl y acqui re
by purchase supPosi ng i n other words that the St ge I and Stage I I
l and ref orms had been tel escoped i nto one thus establ i shi l l g i mmedi atel y
a smal l peasant hol di ng system woul d the growth of gri cul tural pro
d cti vi y have been f aster or agri cul ture s con ri buti on to econom c
devel opl nent i n general gre ter
There are some good grounds f or nsweri ng no One mi ght l i st
them as f ol l ows
1 These l andl ords were vi l l age l andl ords themsel ves of ten f armers
wi th an un l erstandi ng of agri cul ture and personal moti ves f or i mprovi ng
thei r tenants standards of husbandry Though rents were genera11y xed
rents i n produce the tradi ti on of rent reducti ons i n years of bad harvest
preserved el emel l ts of a sha e system Mal l y of them through experi ence
as vi l l age headmen and contact wi th the5 cl ass had devel oped
Con uci an i deas of paternal responsi bi l i ty whi ch meant that thei r eco
nomi c i nterests were someti mes rei nf orced by a sense of moral duty to
i l nprove thei r tenants producti on methods f or the l atter s own good As
consequence they had the o to use thei r economi cal l y based
pol i ti cal col l trol of vi l l age soci ety to i mprove agri cul tuf e
1 ThO l i tera ure avai l abl e i n Engl i sh reHects onl y a f racti on of the i nf ormati on avai l abl e
i l l the works of J apanese schol ars but good general i dea of the devel opment Qf
agri cul ture i n J apan and i n pa ti cul ar of the rol e of the l andl ords may be gai ned f rom
the f ol l owi ng B F J ohnston Agri cul tural Devel opment and Economi c Transf ormat n
AComparati veStudyof heJ apaneseExper ence o R 5 z5 85 5
Vo1 I I I No 3 November 1962 l T Ogura Ag Z 7 D 8Zo 8 04
J apal l FAO Associ ati on 19631K Ohkawa and H Rosovsky The Rol e of Agri
cul tu ei nModemJ apaneseEconomi cDevel opment E o o D 8 3 4
C Z g October 1960 Pt 2 R P Dore Agri cul utural I mprovement i n
The Devel opi rtg Economi es 492
2. Secondl y, they al so were i n a better posi ti on than other vi l l agers
to have the ; e/ nowl edge to do so. Bei ng ri cher they had more l ei sure
and travel l ed more. They brought thei r bri des f romf urther af i el d and
consequentl y had wi der ki nshi p connecti ons. They coul d af f ord educati on
and were someti mes the onl y l i terate members of thei r vi l l age. They
were consequentl y i n a better posi ti on to l earn of superi or methods
practi sed el sewhere and to keep i n touch wi th the nati onal centres of
techni cal i nnovati on- as wel l as someti mes bei ng i nventors and experi -
menters themsel ves.
3. Many of the producti ve i nnovati ons i n agri cul ture i n thi s peri od
requi red the creati on of newf ormal organi zati ons. Consol i dated schei nes
f or the reorgani zati on of f i el d si zes, i rri gati on and drai nage systems
certai nl y di d. So di d the creati on of newmarketi ng channel s, of
i ncenti ve- creati ng shows and competi ti ons, of the pri mi ti ve travel l i ng-
l ecturer systemof agri cul tural extensi on, and so on. Such organi zati ons
coul d be created much more easi l y i n an authori tari an manner by use
of the l andl ord' s tradi ti onal power than they coul d have been i f i t had
been necessary td persuade the maj ori ty of the vi l l agers to come together
to L0rmsuch organi zati ons on a f ooti ng of equal i ty i n a democrati c
manner.
4. The l andl ords' r6l e as l i nks i n a communi cati on systemj oi ni ng
the vi l l ages to the centre of government was i mportant L0r more than
j ust the di f f usi on of agri cul tural i mprovements. They were i nterpreters
of government pol i ci es wi thout whomthere mi ght have been f ar i nore
peasant upri si ngs and general pol i ti cal unrest that there i n f act was. At
the same ti me thei r own pol i ti cal ambi ti ons L0rced the creati on of l ocal
government systems whi ch coul d be gradua. 1l y ex anded to meet i ncreas-
i ng demands f or pol i ti cal parti ci pati on, whereas i f there had been no
l andl ord cl ass to make demands whi ch were of a nature moderate enough
to be acceptabl e wi th modi f i cati ons to the ml i ng Tokyo ol i garchy, con-
cessi ons mi ght have beerL del a. yed and. real l y revol uti onary f orces bui l t
up whi ch mi gl l t have destroyed the whol e stnl cture of admi ni strati on;
The l andl ords were parti cul arl y i mportant as i nterpreters of the govern-
ment' s educati onal pol i cy and of ten pl ayed a l eadi ng part i n the bui l di ng
J apan : 1870- 1900, " Econol ni c Devel op, 1l ent and Cul tural Change, October, 1960, Pt. 2 ;
R. P. Dore, " The J apanese Landl ord : Good or Bad ? " J ournal of Asi an Studi es, Vol .
XVI I I , No. 2 (May, 1959) ; T. C. Smi th, " Landl ords and Rural Capi tal i sts i n the
Moderni zati on of J apan, " J oul nal of Econol ' l i c Hi story, J une, 1956 ; J . I . Nakamura,
" The Gl owth of J apanese Agncul ture 1875 1920 " mW. W. Lockwood ed. , The
State a' i d Economi c Enterpri se i n Moderu J apal h Pri nceton, Pri ncetol l Uni versi ty Press,
1965 ; S. Sawada, " I nnovat, i on i n J apanese Agri cul ture, " i n i bi d.
L 4R 4E 0 0 6D6 6ZO 493
and expansi on of school s As vi l l age l andl ords they sent thei r own
chi l dren to the vi l l age school s and hence had a di rect i nterest i n them
Even when they became absentees f or one Or two generat ons they
m i ntai ned cl ose l i nks wi th thei r vi l l age and the desi re tQ mai ntai n the
presti ge of the house i n the vi l l age where the f ami l y I nd nd graves
were prompted many of them not o begrudge taxes 11d co tri buti ons
f or vi l l age school s and publ i c works
5 The l andl ords commanded the agri cul tural surpl us I n thei r
hands i t w s more e ecti vel y tax bl e Moreover many of them used
thei r weal th i n producti ve waysi n the educati on of thei r chi l dren and
i n i nvestment i n f ood processi ng and other l ocal i ndustri es I f thi s weal th
had not been squeezed out of thei r tenants i t woul d have been used f or
di rect consumpti on l the overal hate of savi ngs woul d h ve been l ower
and economi c devel opment sl ower
6 By anal ogy one mi ght argue f rom si tuat ns such as Bol i vi a wl l ere
a tel escoped Stage I Stage I I l and ref orm l ef t the vi l l ages wi thout smal l
l andl ords and wi thout a stn cture of l ocal l eadershi p and where there
seems to have been not onl y no economi c devel opment but i n f ac a
decl i ne i n producti on and admi ni strati ve anarchy
As agai nst these one mi ght set t e f ol l owi ng arguments f or the
contrary poi nt of vi ew
1 The l andl ords may have brought new i deas and techni ques to the
vmages but thi s advantage was cancel l ed out by the wel l known dra w
backs of a tenancy sys em the f act that tenants wi th onl y nsecure
tenure had no mot1ve f or carryi ng out i mprovements wi th l ongterm
ef ects and the f act that the burden of rents kept them so poor that
they coul d not af f ord the k1nd of i nves ent i n f or i nstance f erti 1 zers
whi ch was most capabl e of bri ngi ng bi g i ncreases i n producti on
2 I t i s debatabl e wkether the tradi ti on sancti oned authori ty of the
l andl ords was a necessary condi ti on f or creati ng the organi zadonal st c
ture necessary to mprove agri cul tural practi ces The tradi ti on of vi l l age
co perati on between equal s i s n ol d one i n J a anese rural areas There
were vi I l ages parti cul arl y n the commerci 11y more devel oped areas of
central J apan f rom Gi f u to Hi roshi ma where l andl ord i nf l uence was l ess
strong and a more egal i tari an type of vi l l age st cture prevai l ed These
areas were not notabl y sl ow i n devel op ng the cooperati ve6 gan zati on
requi red f or agri cul tural devel opment andl there i s no reason to suppose
that the more uthori tari an vi 11 ges coul d not h ve adapted to more
egal i t i anf si f th6i nHuence f thel and1 rdswasrem vedasi n
f act they di d af ter 1950
494 Th8D6 8ZO g E60 0 Z 85
3 The l andl ords may have i nvested some of the i ncome they squeezed
out of thei r ten nts i n producti ve ways but they al so consumed con
spi cuousl y to some extent i n l uxury i n ported goods I f there had beel l
greater equal i ty of vi l l age i ncomes there mi ght not have been as much
l ocal i nvestment i n commerce and i ndustry but there woul d have been
a qui cker and wi der di f f usi on of popul ar educati on Many more vi Uagers
mi ght have sent thei r chi l dren to school f or say si x ye rs i nstead of
f our
4 The preempti on of l ocal f ormal pol i ti cal authori ty by the l andl ords
was a l oss not a gai n f or agri cul ture As soon as they were aUowed
representati on i n the nati onal Di et thei r I nai n i nterest was di rected
towards reduci ng thei r tax burden Thi s pressure on the nati onal budget
sl owed the growth of agri cul tural research and extensi ol l servi ces and of
the devel opmental subsi dy system I f the voi ce of the vi l l ages i n the
Di et had been the voi ce of practi si ng f armers these thi ngs woul d not
have been negl ected
5 The pol i ti cal stabi l i ty of the countrysi de ensured by the I and
10rds power was al so a I oss rather than a gai n I f the l emand f or
pol i ti cal parti ci pati on had bui l t up to revol uti onary proporti ons bef ore
concessi ons were contempl ated and a real revol uti on had taken pl ace
there mi ght earl i er have emerged a democrati c pol i ti cal system wi th a
govemment real l y devqted to the cause of popul ar wel f are
I t i s i mpossi bl e to reach any de ni te concl usi ons on thi s matter On
bal ance i t seems d cul t to bel i eve gi ven the l evel of vi ol ence associ ated
even wi th mi ddl ecl ass pol i ti cs and even i n the1920 s and1930 s that
a r6gi me of any stabi l i ty or any power to pl an economi c devel opment
coul d have emerged f f om a successf ul popul ar revol uti on at any ti me i n
he Mei j i peri od I t equal l y seems di cul t to bel i eve that orgal l i zati onal
and techni cal i nnovati ol l i n the vi l l ages coul d have proceeded as f ast
wi thout the backi ng of tradi ti onal l andl ord authori ty I am i ncl i ned to
bel i eve that economi c devel opment woul d ave been sl ower i f there had
been a Stage I I l and ref orm at any ti me bef ore say 1900
But the si tuati on was al ready di eren by1920 By then most
f armers were l i terate and more capabl e both of i nf ormi ng themsel ves
i ndi vi du 11y about new agri cul tural methods and of f ormi ng the organi
zati ons necessary to put them i nto practi ce As Gal brai th has recentl y
sai d nowhere i n the worl d i s there an i l l i terate peasantry that i s
progressi ve Nowhere i s there a l i terate peasantry that i s not More
K Gal brai th Eco o o D8 J o 7 8 R P8 8 Cambri dge Mass Harvard
Uni versi ty Press 1963 p 49
L 4R 7 4 4EoO 20 f 6Z 8 8ZO Z6 495
i mportant i f the l andl ord s tradi ti onal authori ty h44been put to produc
ti ve purposes i n the Mei j peri od thi s was onl y because that authori ty
was c4 4by the tenants By1920tenants were begi nn1ng to l ose
thdr def erenti al submi ssi venessas the growi ng number of di s1 utes over
rents and the f ormati on of tenant uni ons testi f y Hence by thi s ti me
the advantages of l andl ord control had al l but di sapPeared Onl y the
di sadvantages of poor i ncenti ves and tenant poverty remai ned A Stage
I I ref orm at any ti me af ter1920woul d probabl y have hastened economi c
devel opmel l t as wel l as conduci ng to a mqre sati sf actory i ntem 1pol i ti cal
struc re more sati sf actory by our presentday val ues and possi bl y
modi f yi ng J apanese extemal pol i ci es as we1L
Therearetwof urtherco entsworthmaki ngonthi si ssue The
f i rst concerns the eval uati ve i mpl i cati ons of the f acti f i t i s a f act
that the Mei j i l andl ords contri buted to the cause of J ap nese economi c
devel opment J apanese hi stori ans are i ncHned to wri te of the I andl ord
system i n the Mei j i peri od as a soci l evi 1 I n part thi s i s a back
proj ecti on i nto the past of j udgements about recent si tuati ons but i n so
f ar as thi s i s l l ot the case what woul d they make of the asserti on that
on bal ance economi c devel opment took pl ace more I api dl y wi th l al l dl ords
than i t woul d have done wi thout them One answer whi ch woul d
probabl y be f avoured by the maj ori ty i s that the asse ti on i s wrong and
that my summary of the bal ance between the two sets of arguments i s
t f aul t There i s however another answer One can accept the assump
ti on and sti l l argue that a Stage I I I and ref orm was desi rabl e at a very
ear1 stage I t may be granted at the l andl ords hel ped to hasten the
pace of economi c devel opment but thi s was done at the expense of
mi serabl e poverty on the part of tenants and at the cost of preservi ng
a system of soci al rel ati ons i n the vi l l ages whi ch was an a ont to
human di gni ty I t woul d have been better i t can be argued to have
i mproved the l ot of the Ml ei j i tenant even i f thi s meant a sl ower pace
of economi c gr wth even i f i t meant postponi ng the arri val of tel evi si on
sets i n the vi l l ages f rom1960to1980 to the generati on of those tenants
greatgrandchi l dren rather than thei r grandchi l dren Tl l i s i s a perf ectl y
v l i d argument Economi c growth i s not the onl y en i i n l i f e J ust
how much sacri ce of personal wel f are by the present generati on i s
j usti ed by how much i mproved wel f are f or f ut e gener ti ons i s a
di cul t val ue questi on whi ch every devel opment pl anner must f ace
The second comment i s thi s none shoul d try wi thout very drasti c
modi cati ons to draw f rom the hi story of Mei j i J apan the concl usi on
that a smal l vi l 1 ge1 ndl ord system i s a bene c l f actor n the i n ti a1
496 Th8 D8 l o g E o zo 65
stages of economi c growth and seek to appl y thi s as a 1esson to the
si ul ati on of the devel opi ng countri es today I t i s i napPropri ate as a
l esson f rom many poi nts of vi ew The popul ati on growth rate i n most
of the devel opi ng countri es i s much hi gher than i t was i n Mei j i J apan
thus addi ng a new di mensi on to the probl em of rural devel opment
Communi cati ons techni ques have i mproved consi derabl y maki ng l ess
necessary the i nf ormal i ntermedi ate pol i cyi nte reti ng f uncti on of the
Mei j i l andl ord Many comtri es have l ess need to squeeze i ndustri al
capi tal out Qf the tradi ti onal agri cul tural sector because of mi ner 1
revenues f orei gn ai d or the taxati on of agri cul tur 1exports produced by
capi tal i st pl antati ons Above a11 the pol i ti cal revol uti on of the twenti eth
centurythe new assumpti on that al l govemments ought to deri ve the r
power f rom el ectoral consenttogether wi th the devel opment of mass
medi a i n even poor comtri es has creat6d a pol i ti cal del hand f or1 nd
ref orm even i n economi es whi ch are characteri zed by an al most whony
subsi stence agri cul ture Whatthi smeans i s that the tradi ti ona1 6 66
0f l andl ord authori tya necessary condi ti on f or l andl ords to pl ay the
ki l l d of usef ul rol e they pl ayed i n Me j i J apanhas al ready been de
stroyed Soci al rel ati ons i n the vi l l ages have of ten reached a l evel of
conHi ct si mi l ar to that of J apan i n the1920 s even though agri cul tural
devel opment may remai n at J apan s18701eveL
The troubl e wi th these i f questi ons about hi story i s not onl y
that one can rarel y arri ve at sati sf yi ng answers Even i f one ge s an
answer i t i s rare that one can draw any si mpl e l essons f rom i t f or
the sol ut on of contemporary probl ems For i f there are some senses i n
whi ch the countri es of the worl d are movi ng i n di f f e ent di recti onsr
the poor perhaps getti ng rel ati vel y poorer and the ri ch rel ati vel y ri cher
there are other waysi n the accumul ati ng stock of sci enti f i c knowl edge
and pol i ti cal i deasi n whi ch the worl d as a whol e moves on