Show Posts
11011
3DHS / Re: Enough said.
« on: August 23, 2007, 11:30:00 AM »
"As far as I know, the vast majority of the American people, including its journalists, academics and military and political leaders, had no such doubts"
we can agree to disagree, but I think you greatly overstate the "no doubt democracy will easily work in Japan" that most Americans held after WW2. there was concern about post WW2 Japan and how they would accept MacArthur promoting the development of democracy in Japan
MacArthur:
Early in the occupation MacArthur saw the need to drastically change the Meiji Constitution. In his autobiography, MacArthur argued:
"We could not simply encourage the growth of democracy. We had to make sure that it grew. Under the old constitution, government flowed downward from the emperor, who held the supreme authority, to those to whom he had delegated power. It was a dictatorship to begin with, a hereditary one, and the people existed to serve it."
http://www.crf-usa.org/election_central/japan_democracy.htm
we can agree to disagree, but I think you greatly overstate the "no doubt democracy will easily work in Japan" that most Americans held after WW2. there was concern about post WW2 Japan and how they would accept MacArthur promoting the development of democracy in Japan
MacArthur:
Early in the occupation MacArthur saw the need to drastically change the Meiji Constitution. In his autobiography, MacArthur argued:
"We could not simply encourage the growth of democracy. We had to make sure that it grew. Under the old constitution, government flowed downward from the emperor, who held the supreme authority, to those to whom he had delegated power. It was a dictatorship to begin with, a hereditary one, and the people existed to serve it."
http://www.crf-usa.org/election_central/japan_democracy.htm
