The Post‐war Japanese Economy and Schumpeter′s Corporatist Principle

Joseph A. Schumpeter advocated a corporatist principle of economic organization enunciated by Pius XI in the encyclical Quadragesimo Anno. Schumpeter insisted that a corporatism of associations could provide social leadership and economic co‐ordination to ensure a stable,high employment economy, while maintaining individual freedom. To implement a corporatist system, moral reform would be necessary. Recently, economists have asserted that post‐war Japan approximates to Schumpeter′s corporatist model. Suggests that Japan′s post‐war economy is in conflict with two of the fundamental features of Schumpeter′s corporatism. First, the problem of resource allocation is often solved by bureaucratic intervention rather than by co‐ordination by private producers. Second, Japanese morals and ethics emphasize group efforts rather than Schumpeter′s requisite individual egoistic ethic. Concludes that the practicality of Schumpeter′s corporatism is not substantiated by post‐war Japan.