Jim—That’s an interesting theory and, like you, I have no idea if Fingleton is right. But I do think we should have a pretty heavy dose of skepticism. Fingleton is deeply invested in the idea that the Japan Inc. model is superior to America’s. In the 1980s and 1990s, he was one of the foremost champions of the idea. In 1995 he came out with Blindside: Why Japan Is Still Winning the Battle for Global Supremacy (alternative title Blindside: Why Japan Is Still on Track to Overtake the U.S. By the Year 2000). As far as I know he’s never given up on the idea that Japan’s corporatist model is superior to America’s messy version of capitalism (indeed, a chapter to one book is titled “Sayonara Capitalism”). Here he is earlier this year claiming that the two lost decades storyline is a myth.
Again, he may be right. But I would be extremely skeptical until an expert—several experts actually—in Japanese economics lacking his preferences and biases corroborates his conclusions.
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