Order by Accident: The Origins and Consequences of Conformity in Contemporary Japan

169 Pages·2001·13.32 MB·English

by  Alan Miller

Order by Accident
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Order by Accident
The Origins and
Consequences of Conformity in
Contemporary
Alan S. Miller
Satoshi Kanazawa
, A Member of the Perseus Books Cixaup
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permission in wri-iting from tl-re publisher.
Crjpyright O 241CNl by Westview Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group
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Library of Crjngress Cataloging-in-Publicat.ion Data
A CIP catatog record for tl~ibs ook is avail&le from the Library of Crjngress.
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This book is dedicated to my parents, Joscph and Thelmn Miller, wllo
never discoclraged me fvom pursuing my interests, even though, in
retrospect, they aften should have.-A.S.M.
To Michael Hechter, without wl~um
I would not be intevested in japan in the slightest.-S.K.
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Contents
List of T~bleas nd iciyzres
Achtowledpen ls
Part One: Theoretical Orientation
1 Social Order md Social Co~~troAln: Introduction
Ironies of Social Structure, 4
Social Order, 5
Informal Social Control, B
The Organization of the Book, 11
2 The SsZidaristic: Theory of Social Order
Wow Social Qrder Emerges as an Unilltmded
Consequence of Croup Solidarity, 14
Wow Groups Produce Solidarity, 16
Conclusion, 19
Part Two: Social Xnstittxlions
3 The Education System: Social Irlitiation
Depedcrxnce md NormaGve Obligations, 24
Visibility, Monitoring, and Sanctioning, 34
Conclusio~3~7,
4 Work: A Continuation
Bpendence cvld Normati:vc (17bligations, 40
Visibility, Monitoring, and Sanctioning, 46
Conclusio~4~9,
5 The Family
Division of Labor, 51
Family Patterns, 56
Relationship ta Social Control, 58
Conclusio~5~9,
6 Crime
Theories of Crime, 63
The Japanese Social Stucturcl and Its Relationship
to Crhe, 68
Conclusio~7~7,
Part Three: Nonintuitive Consequences
7 Crime Revisited: White-Collar Crimes
Refinfng Our Concept of Mlhite-CotZar Crime, 82
Companies as Subcultt~res8, 5
Examples of Whitcl-Collar Crbe in Japan, tS8
Conclusion, 91
8 The Religious LJmdseape of Japan
Religion in Japan,9 3
The Japmese Social Strudure and Its Impact
on Religion, 98
Empirical Support, 100
Conclusio~1~0, 3
9 Trust
Are Japanese Gmup-Oriented? 105
Generalized Trust, 107'
kdefjning a Culture of Collectivism, 114
Conclusion, 116
Part Four: Speculations and Conclusions
10 The Emergmee of Cooperatiw Social Institutions
MatA re Cooperative Social Institutions? 121.
How Do Cooperative Social hstitutions Emerge? 124
I-low Did the Unique Coopmathe I~~stituths
Emerge Chly in Japan? 129
Conclusion, 231
11 Conclusion
Tables and Figures
Tables
11 Total nurnber of Nobel Prizes wo11 (afnmgh 1995)
1.2 Hmicide rate per 100,000 populatjon
3.1 Juvenile suspects per 180,000 population
3.2 Petaent of students who studied in after-school programs
while in elementary school and junior high school
4.1 .A cornparism of annual working hours, 1995
42 A comparison of lahor productivity 1994
5.1 Mothers' attitudes toward their sons md daughters
5.2 Attitudes toward traditional gender roles
5.3 Japanese at;litudes toward a gende~hasedd ivision of )ahor
6.1 Cross-national crime rates per 100,000 population
6.2 Uncmployxn,ent rates for the United States,
United Kingdom, and Japan, 196&1998
6.3 Percent of eportclld homicides and assaults cleared by arrest
6.4 %verity of sentencing practicrs
7,1 Cross-nationai comparison of fraud and embezzfement rates
72 hternational comparison of perceived corruption
7.3 Pet~enwt ho must be convinced before fnlIowing
questionable orders
7,4 H w m uch control do you have over yow own life (0-1U)T
""yes
8.1 Percent answering typical religion wstions
8.2 Percent answerhg ""yes" to other questions on religiosity
8.3 The relationship between job involvement and religiosiw
8.4 The ~lationshipb etwen social suppcrrt and affiliation
in New Religions
9,1 A Japan-U.S. comparison of generatized tmst