The Liberalistic Tradition in Japan and Marxism

Abstract

The postwar sociology in Japan done by Takeshi Fukutake and other sociologists has developed under the slogan of modernization and democratization. There obviously has been ample liberal spirit in it ; unsimilar to “bourgeois sociology” begun by A. Comte, and moreover the Japanese sociology owns scientific aspect which could not be seen in his. Now, how do we understand the character of this positive sociology in relation to the so-called “postwar democracy” ? Moreover the problem offered by Masao Maruyama who is one of the opinion leaders of “postwar democracy” has not been fully solved yet. The flow of liberalizm from Yukichi Fukuzawa to Katsunan Kuga has been inherited by Katsunan Kuga, Nyozekan Hasegawa, Kanji Maruyama (Masao's father) and Masao Maruyama in order. Masao has possessed the tradition of the best and original liberalism. Observing the Era of Taisho democracy, the thought in Nyozekan Hasegawa or Manabu Sano, who later became a “glorious delegate” of the Japanese Comunist Party, has vivid sociological conception and theory. Former period of Sano's Marxism was “bourgeois sociology” itself, and, so that he made up his mind to convert it, Nyozekan's view of society was unique in those days - it could present a theoretical united front with Marxism. After 1933, the liberalism of Nyozekan Hasegawa, Kanji Maruyama or others has been weakened its spirit of resistance. It could not, therefore, overthrow the fascism. The postwar liberalists recognized this point, advocated “postwar democracy”, and postwar positive sociology, also, were founded on it. So that criticizm of Marxism in Japan should have the point of view and recognition in this respect.