I know this is a little off thread but just on the Japanese model. You can't really compare Japan to any of those other nations RE their economy. The original pre WWII Japanese economy was the standard Imperialist interventionist style economy; they had an empire that included Taiwan, Korea, Manchuria, and parts of China.Cus Geezer wrote:Except that Spain and Portugal, the orginators of the Atlantic slave trade have had a weaker economy than say Japan, who had no involvement in the Atlantic slave trade.TS does have a point about "Western" economic strength being largely a product of the slave trade
This taking over of other countries was an economic necessity, giving Japan the raw materials in which the Japanese islands were lacking.
After Japan's defeat in WWII, the American government played a crucial role in Japan’s initial economic recovery with massive investment. A crucial part of this was the Korean War. The US created an economic boom in Japan by way of excessive military spending, creating an export market for the Japanese.
When the Americans handed Japan back to its people, the Japanese then set about creating an economic miracle by stimulating private sector growth, concentrating on trade expansion and public sector investment in the communications sector and development of the country's transport infrastructure.
Yeah, sorry - this is getting long winded isn't it? Basically the Americans created the Japanese economic regrowth after WWII and the Japanese worked incredibly hard to expand their economy. Should have just wrote that probably, huh?
Just one last intriguing point though; The book, The Yamato Dynasty, claims that the Japanese economic boom originated from the secretly hidden fortune that Japan amassed during its mass looting of East Asian countries during World War II.
...which is just sour grapes really.
