Japanese State Formation as an Unsuccessful 'Bourgeois Revolution' (original) (raw)

In the majority of cases, modern democracy, first conceived in Western Europe, is a consequence of the rise of the bourgeoisie. Whether in alliance with a substantial portion of the aristocracy or with the help of peasants, this merchant, manufacturing and finance class had a decisive hand in the formation of the modern state. Barrington Moore Jr., in his book The Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy (1966), attempts to clarify this by comparing the history of Britain, France, and the USA to the history of Germany, Japan, China, and Russia. In the absence of a strong, upward-moving bourgeoisie, either feudal lords or the peasant classes wield power in a position antithetical to parliamentary democracy, with its crucial antecedents in an independent civil society. Moore argues that in Japan in particular, industrialization and urbanization proceeded along undemocratic lines, relying heavily on the ‘revolution from above’ thesis elaborated by E. Herbert Norman two decades prior. This essay begins with E.H. Norman’s account of transition, comparing it to the account in Moore’s (very similar) argument, in order, ultimately, to evaluate Moore’s contribution to a theory of class struggle and nation-state.