What is the content of low desire society? Book review of low desire society

Japan seems to have entered a "low desire society", and some young people have lost motivation, no desire and no motivation. The book "Low Desire Society" launched a series of discussions on the issue of "low desire" in view of the current economic situation in Japan. Of course, the author Kenichi Ohmae also said that young people should not be blamed for "low desire". When a society develops to a certain extent, it may become a reasonable choice for the younger generation. So how to deal with and transform is the key. This has also played a certain reference role for readers in other countries.

Book Review of Low Desire Society1;

In ancient times, "strong without desire" was a commendatory term, which to some extent described people with strong quality. However, in today's Japanese society, "low desire" or even "no desire" has become the chief culprit of Japan's economic stagnation and social development stagnation, and may eventually go to extinction.

The author Kenichi Ohmae is a famous Japanese management scientist and economic critic, and also a staunch anti-Abe economist. He defined the devastated Japanese society after the bubble economy as a "low-desire society", that is, a society in which everyone does not consume and everyone loses desire.

With the development of declining birthrate and aging, Japan's population is decreasing, and it may lose its futurity in the future. Also because of anxiety about the future, Japanese people, regardless of gender, age and age, desperately suppress their desire to spend money, preferring to save money regularly rather than invest; On the other hand, the increase of one-child families has also led to the loss of "competitiveness" of the younger generation. Coupled with the emergence of "otaku otaku", everyone fell into inaction; Compared with previous generations who are willing to fight hard, young people in Japan now regard "marriage" and "loan to buy a house" as a cage of life.

Kenichi Ohmae believes that all this is due to Abenomics.

In the book, Kenichi Ohmae condemned Abenomics:

From the tax system, the "narrow rich class" was born (high-income people who are unwilling to contribute to society because of paying high taxes and fees); The household registration system has aggravated the population decline; The harsh immigration system has curbed the growth of overseas labor force; "Centralization" restricts local development, and so on.

At the same time, in view of the above-mentioned problems, Kenichi Ohmae also gave his own views and plans, most of which were based on the successful cases of European and American countries.

I am happy to read the part describing the current situation of Japanese society and its reasons, but I can't fully agree with the series of improvement plans put forward by Kenichi Ohmae.

Even if you don't mention the logical confusion and overlapping chapters in the book, the views in the book will occasionally be reversed. For example, the author is worried about the low housing ownership rate of young people (young people choose not to own a house in order to avoid decades of high mortgage), but advocates renting a house to increase the possibility of "slightly expensive" consumption; There is also JDB(JapaneseDatabase), which is not limited by the times and national conditions. Even advocating the legalization of illegitimate children without considering the consequences of promoting population growth.

In any case, the problems facing Japan may be the problems we are about to face or already have. Although we know nothing about economics, it is better to know something than nothing.

Author: takaraicc (from Douban)

Book Review II of Low Desire Society;

Low-desire society is a common word, which often refers to the current general living conditions in Japan. Personally, I think the main reason is that Japan's economy has stagnated since the economic bubble in the 1980s and 1990s, the economic growth rate has slowed down, and the flow of natural wealth has also decreased. In this state, the class flow tends to be quiet, and the room for growth seems to be closed. Because Japan is in a developed country, people don't have to think too much about the decline of class, and the bursting of Japan's economic bubble has also dealt a great blow to the Japanese people. In such a hopeless state, it is natural to have such a low desire mentality.

Japan is in a low-desire society, but there is a big gap between the herbivorousness of young people and the energy of the older generation. We can often see many old people in their seventies and eighties still in high positions in Japan. These old people were born in the baby boom after World War II. With the defeat of Japan, a lot of opportunities appeared. These people have worked hard all the way. Even when they are old, their abilities and positions obviously don't match when they are old. The longevity of Japan has also aggravated this problem. Therefore, let these old people abdicate and let more young people have opportunities for promotion.

The author of this book criticized Abe's various economic measures, and the measures to encourage fertility missed the point. Abe's economic "three arrows" policy seems to have signs of collapse. Putting a lot of money into the market has not stimulated consumption, and these measures to stimulate the economy have led the Japanese government to invest a lot in government bonds. These big holes can only be made up by raising the tax rate, which seems to be a vicious circle.

The author believes that the reason why Japan's willingness to consume is not strong, its economy is sluggish, and it stores a large number of assets is because its citizens are not confident in the future development of the country. Self-confidence naturally stimulates consumption and the economy picks up, and the enhancement of self-confidence requires a lot of efforts and painful reforms.

The author puts forward a unique view in the face of Japan's declining population, loosening restrictions on Tokyo, constantly enhancing Tokyo's influence on the whole country and constantly absorbing the population. As a metropolis, people's cooperation in it can create more wealth and provide more employment opportunities. Although the population of Japan is decreasing, the population of Tokyo is still increasing, and the carrying capacity of the infrastructure in Tokyo, Japan can fully support more people. The author also puts forward the idea of developing Tokyo Bay Area and establishing a science and technology center, and various possibilities of developing Tokyo. For suburban rural areas, the author envisages improving traffic and developing tourism to attract domestic and foreign tourists.

The essence of this book is still in the first half. The analysis of Japanese social structure and national mentality in the first half gives me a new understanding of Japanese society, while the second half is mainly about solutions. However, the scheme provided by the author as a scholar is too idealistic, and the Abe government cannot be as incompetent as he said. As a politician, his plan is naturally reasonable, but it is really difficult to realize, some are too idealistic, but it is also feasible. And where the Japanese ship is going, we look at it and learn from it. After all, we will certainly experience the current situation in Japan.

Author: Zhiyu (from Douban)