The Arctic and Its Future
April 2009
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John Kenneth Galbraith--Economics, a Weapon for People's Happiness
The time was August 1945, the place the Tokyo Imperial Hotel, just after the end of World War II.
Someone was knocking at the door. A tall figure of a man measuring over two meters got out of bed. The 36-year-old Dr. J. K. Galbraith had come to Japan to investigate conditions following the aerial bombardment by U.S. forces. After toiling in the burnt-out ruins of Tokyo until he was totally exhausted, he had at long last managed to climb into bed.
He opened the door to find a Japanese man carrying a large basket, tightly packed with bottles of whiskey. "Hello, dear gentleman! How about one bottle?" The label on the bottle was printed in English: "Specially bottled for the occupation forces visiting Japan." The man was trying to sell whiskey to an American--someone who had been his enemy just a few days earlier.
A smile spread across Galbraith's face. "What amazing commercial flair!" he thought. "This scorched soil of Tokyo shows nothing but scars, yet the wisdom and spirit of the people have refused to succumb." He was convinced that Japan's economic reconstruction was not far away.
Less than two months earlier, on July 3, 1945, my mentor Josei Toda was released from Toyotama Prison after finally triumphing over the oppression of the military authorities. During those final days of the war, you could never tell when B29s overhead were going to unleash their bombs.
Leaving the prison behind him, Toda boarded a train at Nakano Station. Inside the carriage, he overheard a conversation between strangers talking about the incendiary bombs.
"I wonder what it's called, that Yankee steel. Damn good quality! I made a shovel out of it, and it's an absolute marvel!"
"Well, I used it to make kitchen knives, and very good they are too! I could get 10 knives out of a single shell!"
Truly tenacious, Toda reflected: Japan was not in such a bad state after all!
In this way, at around the same time and in the same place, Dr. Galbraith and Josei Toda were both witnessing the strength and rugged tenacity of ordinary people. Maybe it was nothing more than a dubious bottle of liquor or a used bombshell, but in the end human wisdom had transformed them both into a means to live.
Talk of "economics" conjures up images of mathematics and statistics, but there's also another element that cannot be quantified and measured, the drive that brings us to declare, "Whatever may happen, I'm going to get through this!" or "Without fail, I'm going to succeed!" When we make up our minds in this way, we have already won, but without such a determined purpose we will never make progress.
Dr. Galbraith has said that the motivator of economics is man. If humankind stands up, a driving force of transformation, revival and dramatic development--a force that can guide society to prosperity--will without fail be generated. It is only when there is a "mighty ocean" of the common people that the "ship" called economics can sail forward.
From 1950, when his business was in its most dire predicament, Josei Toda personally tutored me in all branches of learning. He taught me the essence of each subject and phenomenon, and economics was the first item on the curriculum of "Toda University."
At the time, Toda was suffering from serious debt. There were people who spoke ill of him and walked out on him, even though he had treated them with unwavering kindness and consideration. My mentor was a businessman through and through, but he was facing ruin. He never said to me, "Daisaku, I'm mortified!" but I could fully comprehend the agonizing turmoil in his heart.
Polishing the Sword
Toda used to tell me, "Unless you understand economics, you cannot undertake your life's work, you cannot become a first-class leader." He maintained that economic power is the modern equivalent of a sword. To be a first-rate human being, you have to polish the sword of economic power before you can accomplish any significant task.
It had always been Toda who supported the financial base of the Soka Gakkai, ever since before the war. That is why he taught the essence of economics to me, his successor. He was truly a mentor who inspired infinite gratitude. Even when things were going badly, Toda did his best to bring profit to those with whom he did business. That same spirit remains deeply ingrained in me to this day.
I repaid all my mentor's debts, and rebuilt the businesses that had failed. I paid off all the liabilities that remained with the Soka Gakkai after he passed away. Since then, I have established the Min-On Concert Association, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum, Soka University and the Soka school system, one after the other. One of my priorities has always been to secure the finances of all these institutions. The tuition I received from my mentor lives on in all of that.
Whenever he met someone in financial distress, Toda always used to say, "Make lots of money! But it's not for you. It's for the world, for the people!" Throughout his life, Toda placed himself alongside the needy, and he explained a Buddhist theory of economics in a way that was easy to understand. We do not need big words. What are economics for anyway? The question is whether or not ordinary people--a mother and her child--can live happily. That is what matters.
The true meaning of economics is to support people, the people on whom society depends. If the people are forgotten, economics ceases to have meaning.
SGI President Ikeda and John Kenneth Galbraith talk prior to Mr. Ikeda's speech at Harvard University, September 1993
[© Seikyo Shimbun]
When I met Dr. Galbraith, I found myself in deep agreement with many of his statements. He declared, "Economics is a tool, a weapon to materialize the happiness of human beings." He did not attach much importance to forecasts and predictions of economic trends, saying that even if a forecast turns out to be right, it is basically unconnected with the happiness or unhappiness of the human being. I think so too. Economics must not be used to create disparities between rich and poor. And, of course, it goes without saying that economics must not be a game or a form of gambling.
There is "Housewife Economics" for the homemaker, and there is "Managing Director Economics" for the manager of a business. They both want to enrich their lives as much as they can, and they both do whatever they can to prosper. However, that in itself does not bring true fulfillment in life.
To a greater or lesser degree every one of us shares responsibility for the destiny of society as a whole, as an individual economic person. Society will collapse if this point is neglected.
"As an economist I would like to make some contribution, however small, to the happiness of human beings." Dr. Galbraith was unable to forgive the absurdity of the world: inequality, discrimination, the rich-poor divide and the arrogance of those who look down on their fellow human beings. Even at nearly 100 years old, he continued to fight against injustice and absurdity in society with the passion of a young man.
Josei Toda and Dr. Galbraith both advocated that the purpose of economics is to make people happy. In today's world, there is a plentiful supply of experts and analysts in the money game, but there have not been many who really question what the true purpose of economics is.
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