2002  January

The Decline of Artificial Societies [0107-14]

 The new century will begin with the conflict between two different conservatisms: one is to guard 20th’s society that seek economic growth under the systems like nations, and another is to defend our nature including human beings. American republicans represent the former standpoint and EU the latter. Japanese people like to support EU, but their government cannot do it well. Since the first day of this year, Euro has become new currency in Europe. The entrance of another big currency will symbolize new confliction.

In 20th century humankind had conflicted with each other according to the axis of artificial societies, which is ruled by mechanical law. During the former of that century, they had been nations, and in the latter they were ideologies. But now, a nation that is called U.S. begins the war against no-artificial organization.

Though terror network has strict regulations, it is not artificial society like nations. It acts according to individual wills to revenge civilized countries. In terror network we can find central members who plot their action. But they are only the people who stimulate and coordinate terror attacks. After Ladin or other members are arrested, so who can stop terrorism itself?

Nevertheless, many American people do not understand this fact. They stay in the consciousness of the age of cold war. For them, it was the confliction between freedom and autocratic countries. Now they regard Islamic world as like anti freedom as well as socialism.

American people usually have not thought private companies as artificial but as natural like human communities. However, it is significant misunderstanding. Modern corporations that behave according civilized laws are artificial beings as well as nations, and sometimes utilize human beings for their profits.

With the development of economic globalization, American multinational corporations rule other countries economies. They devastate communities there, but American people do not notice well. As long as they are private corporations, American people cannot tell them from natural communities.

All people have right to live peacefully in their own communities. However, the globalization has harmed it with ignorance and indifference. The terrorism against U.S. is counterattack against it. While the powers of artificial societies are strong, their force had covered it. But now they cannot repress individual emotion against them enough. Already their power fell down with the cease of economic growth. Also new technologies make the wide possibilities that individuals rebel nation or huge corporations.

Though U.S. government had been disturbed peaceful communities in the world, most of American people do not understand this fact well, because for Americans all private organizations are located in the extension of natural communities.
 

The Existence of Islamic World for our Future [0118-24]

 Some American people say Islamic culture has problem to adapt modern civilization, because many disputing areas concentrate in Islamic World. I admit that their culture is more difficult to accept modern civilization than others, but it does not mean this culture is inferior to others including Christian’s. Rather, it may have significant possibility to correct the distortion of modern society.

One of the reasons why many disputing area are located in Islamic World is that some Islamic countries are interfered by western nations because of petroleum. I think it is doubtful that U.S. intervenes Afghanistan, if a lot of petroleum is not deposited in the north side of this country. Also, Islamic World traditionally has the strain against Israel. The trouble in Palestine tends to spread easily to Islamic societies. On the other hand, Turkey already belongs to NATO and accepted western civilization. Any way, it is wrong to say Islamic World is inferior.

If many people die in hospitals, nobody say they kill people. It is because hospitals exist for the people who suffer from diseases. In the same way, it is not unusual the people who suffer from modernization seek their help to their traditional religion. In Japan, also, the people who object over civilization tried to find their solution in Japanese traditional religions. Even in Russia, some intellectual people found their position in modern epoch within their faith of Orthodoxy. It is natural that the people who adapt themselves modern age seek their own ground to accept it in their traditional religions.

If there is significant problem for Islamic World to accept modern civilization, it is its unity of religion and politics. Already Alexis DeTocqueville pointed out this. However, the hardness shows how easily western world including Japan accept modern civilization ignoring traditional culture. It is true that we have been able to obtained free society from old customs, but at the same time, we has lost the stability of life, which had based on tight family bond. I do not think that Islamic World cannot overcome the problem between religion and politic, because both Islam and Christianity share common ideal to realize the kingdom of God. Rather, it shows how hard the unity of modern nation. It depends on its exclusive single law system that should be adapted all nations. The most hindrance for Islamic World to accept modern society is obstinateness of nation.

Rather, Christian people who enjoy economic prosperity in western World should listen to the voice of Islam. In the former, rich people who can be pious Christians, even if their economic activities harm many people out of it. They are not aware of what their innocent greed affects beyond their will. Though there is no malice, the system that lack of the ideal of unity can harm others automatically.
 

The Apathy of Japanese Society [0125-31]

 If someone tries to rob other’s last cloth to satisfy his own luxury, he will be blamed. However, in our economic world transmitted by money, such outrages are usual. The people who demand the budgets for their interests always deprive the money that should be used for real poor people. The enormous money that is circling speculative market makes unstable the life of usual people who live modestly with a little money compared with the former. Rich person shifts their money for his temporal convenience, but sometimes it may cause a crisis of modest families abroad as a result.

In over huge and confused our world, what we did is not correspondent what we want. We work for our lives, but the labor that we do does not always contribute human happiness. Even if we can get enough wages for our lives, there is little guarantee that it is effective for our happiness. Both our labor and commodities or services that we product are transformed transmitting in our society one after another.

Now Japanese society falls into apathy. It is because they cannot trust in the activities of cooperation. Yukijirushi that is famous dairy goods enterprise brought about a matter to disguise Australian beef as domestic for purchased by Japanese government. Now Japanese stock-raising industry is suffering from mad cow disease and the government decided to purchase beef that had been processed before the checking system established. Yukijirushi abused this helping system. This enterprise already had caused food poisoning for careless producing system. Many Japanese people are disgusted Yukijirushi and, on the other hand, many employees who work in it fall into the difficult situation to be fired.

Already the age of social organizations has gone, but many organizations like Kaisha dare to survive. The most significant unfortunate for Japanese businessmen is they do not have enough options to live out of these organizations. Japanese society has constructed stable system to bind individuals to these, but they cannot find the job, if they want more meaningful work. Their ethical desire cannot be realized without sacrificing their stability of living. Only the people who can live ignoring ethical sense can survive in Japanese business world.

If we can use the word of freedom, it is the freedom for ethical life. It means ethical obligation has priority to the idea freedom. Although it does not mean we must live ethically sacrificing our own living, we should hope the society, in which the people who want ethical life can pursue their desire as possible.

We must not forget the fact that we are survived by others beyond us, God. Even if social organizations give you food to live, you should not betray IT (HIM). If you are satisfied with food and material richness which are given by human made, you are in the same level of insects that only live for their material desire. Some people dare to justify their indifference to ethics by the necessity of ‘bread’. But it is absurd as long as human beings have such over products. Bible said, “Man cannot live on bread alone”. However, there are people who want to live only on bread. They can be satisfied their material and sensual pleasure ignoring others. They will deteriorate with material and sensual beings.