ASIA 150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Weimar Culture, Consumer Capitalism, Fixed Capital
Document Summary
Japan"s erotic-grotesque society, sexuality, and decolonization from the west. Combination of expanding middle and leisure classes with consumer capitalism. Density of fixed capital: theatres; cinemas; dance halls; bars; clubs. Consumer society appeared overnight in japan"s urban areas. Japan economic takeoff a result of japan"s tight mercantilism articulating its colonies in korea, taiwan, manchuria with the osaka and tokyo metropoles, and export boom (pharmaceuticals; light-industry) to white europeans slaughtering each other in wwi. Urban japanese exposed as never before to new rhythms of urban capitalism driven by commodification. Japan marxist theorists thought that the human nervous system itself was being colonized by the commodity form. Most leftists dismissive of new commodity society, but not all. A way to categorize things in the world. A way to understand how things work in the world. Yang: male, day, dry, up, hot, high, active, hard, heaven, birds, rise, healthier cooking (steam, boil, use water)
