So why is Western conformism bad and Japanese conformism good? Are you going to argue that it's because of Western conformism's bad faith?
On the logical level yes, you could say that it's better to be a conformist who values collectivism than a conformist who pretends to be a rebel. But I think consistency and the avoidance of ambiguity and paradox are over-rated, and I'm pretty bored with accusations of hypocrisy. So I'm inclined to find the West's paradox of conformist individualism a cute quirk, an eccentricity. There might be some narcissism built into that stance, because of course I don't escape the paradox myself.
But the real answer to your question -- why Japanese conformism is good -- is that I came to that view texturally. Not only is Japanese net originality not diminished one whit by its collectivism (I'm daily stunned by Japanese originality as much as by Japanese conformism; they ought to be at odds, but they aren't), but the daily habitus of Japanese culture is less toxic than any other society I've known, and certainly a lot less so than Britain. To specify why would be far beyond my powers of description -- you'd need a Max Weber for that. But that this is the case... well, I'm as sure of that as I am that the sun rises.
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Date: 2009-11-18 11:50 am (UTC)On the logical level yes, you could say that it's better to be a conformist who values collectivism than a conformist who pretends to be a rebel. But I think consistency and the avoidance of ambiguity and paradox are over-rated, and I'm pretty bored with accusations of hypocrisy. So I'm inclined to find the West's paradox of conformist individualism a cute quirk, an eccentricity. There might be some narcissism built into that stance, because of course I don't escape the paradox myself.
But the real answer to your question -- why Japanese conformism is good -- is that I came to that view texturally. Not only is Japanese net originality not diminished one whit by its collectivism (I'm daily stunned by Japanese originality as much as by Japanese conformism; they ought to be at odds, but they aren't), but the daily habitus of Japanese culture is less toxic than any other society I've known, and certainly a lot less so than Britain. To specify why would be far beyond my powers of description -- you'd need a Max Weber for that. But that this is the case... well, I'm as sure of that as I am that the sun rises.