Asianometry
2 HN recommenders · recommended in 3 months, 2023–2026
18:08 · 2.8M views · Oct 10, 2021
Asianometry traces how the Japanese zaibatsu families grew into vast industrial combines and how postwar reforms abruptly broke up their wealth and control.
Recommended as a look at how Japan's monopolies were dismantled and how that shaped later industry.
3 comments from Hacker News
Yes, thank you for compressing it. They start their answer with: > Here is the answer I want to suggest: Japanese companies excel in lots of very different domains because it’s inherent in how they’re structured. Which is then backed by some economists saying something similar (generally), but all of which completely ignores Japan’s specific history. As a better example Of examining Japan, here’s a look at Japan’s monopolies, how they were broken up, and partly how that effected the future of their industry: this video
+1 Love his "What [course of action] did for [country]" videos. E.g. What eating the rich did for Japan. this video
I think Communism could have worked out in Japan post WWII .. due to the Weber-like work ethic :) [LINK] > The organization was able to mobilize a large section of white-collar workers in government and civil service sectors. Salaries in the public sectors were about a half of salaries in the private sector, a fact that enabled the public sector to become a centre of radical trade unionism [LINK] this explains why it was okay to "renazify" Japan eg Abe's granddad this video (See comments for nuance "from the ground". Fictionally, I recall that communist vs fascist sympathies were a backdrop in Murakami Haruki's earlier work.. he sneered at both) [LINK] Sorry to glaze over the cybernetics earlier here is something I revisit from time to time that you might also find interesting: [LINK] (Which points to [LINK] Rhymes with enshittification.. ) > Writing in the 1920s, Kondratiev proposed to apply the theory to the 19th century: -1790–1849, with a turning point in 1815. -1850–1896, with a turning point in 1873. As to the failure/distrust of (mature) institutions.. my latest hunch says it's somehow hard (="complex") for a bunch of hominids to collectively decide whether they want to solve a strong link or weak link problem. How does this turn into a cybernetic mechanism?