A Moderate Balance in Governing
Nakae Chōmin first published A Discourse by Three Drunkards on Government in 1887, during the Meiji Restoration, a historical turning point in Japan’s political and economic development. This turning point was heavily induced by the introduction to the outside western civilization. This introduction pushed Japan to determine how to improve its current government to better compete with that of the West. In Nakae Chōmin’s, A Discourse by Three Drunkards on Government, there are three intellectuals: the Gentlemen of Western Learning, the Champion, and Master Nankai, who all debate about the way Japan’s government should be modeled. As titled, The Gentlemen, has a more democratic and pacifist view on the direction …show more content…
Furthermore, his most important political view was he believed in democracy. Conversing with the Gentleman, Master Nankai said “Ah, democracy, democracy! Absolute monarchy is stupid. It is unaware of its faults. Constitutionalism is aware of its faults but has corrected only half of them. Democracy though is open and frank, without a speck of impurity in its heart,” (Chōmin, 1984, 50). Although, the Gentleman did not say that, in fact agreed with Master Nankai’s claim, with support of explaining historical mutinies, such as Charles I of Great Britain, and King Louis XVI of France (Chōmin, 1984, 53). This supported the idea that monarchy is not an effective form of government, because “the only people who can be called human beings are the royal family and aristocrats” (Chōmin, 1984, 69). In other words, citizens feel like they have a say or even a purpose, other to serve the needs of the wealthy and ruling. An important, but yet just a piece of what a strong nation consist of is unity. And in order to achieve such unity, the government should be fair in the sense that the commoner has a say or at least a bigger purpose other than serving the …show more content…
The Champion believes that there should be an army present and strong, because there is always war present (Chōmin, 1984, 91). This idea is realistic unlike that of the Gentlemen and the belief that there should not be a military present in an advanced society. Because an army allows insurance, protection, and security to the civilians the military is fighting for. However, a less realistic view the Champion shares is that in order for Japan to come close to competing with other nations it must start conquering other countries. He says “But unless we build up the number of soldiers and battleships and increase our nation’s wealth and enlarge our land, we may perish,” (Chōmin, 1984, 99). Although, this does sound reasonable, the Champion suggest conquering countries such as Africa and only takes in consideration of military power and not the implications it has on the civilians. Especially since Japan is still relatively fragile for it to attack a large area of land such as Africa, would require a lot of resources that Japan cannot afford to lose. Even, if Japan could ultimately succeed in such an aggressive assault on a massive country such as Africa or Asia, the implications it would bring to the motherland, and the distance between the two territories would could potentially lead in collapse. Also, the Champion has this overall idea that war is good and pleasurable, and he goes about
Nakae Chōmin first published A Discourse by Three Drunkards on Government in 1887, during the Meiji Restoration, a historical turning point in Japan’s political and economic development. This turning point was heavily induced by the introduction to the outside western civilization. This introduction pushed Japan to determine how to improve its current government to better compete with that of the West. In Nakae Chōmin’s, A Discourse by Three Drunkards on Government, there are three intellectuals: the Gentlemen of Western Learning, the Champion, and Master Nankai, who all debate about the way Japan’s government should be modeled. As titled, The Gentlemen, has a more democratic and pacifist view on the direction …show more content…
Furthermore, his most important political view was he believed in democracy. Conversing with the Gentleman, Master Nankai said “Ah, democracy, democracy! Absolute monarchy is stupid. It is unaware of its faults. Constitutionalism is aware of its faults but has corrected only half of them. Democracy though is open and frank, without a speck of impurity in its heart,” (Chōmin, 1984, 50). Although, the Gentleman did not say that, in fact agreed with Master Nankai’s claim, with support of explaining historical mutinies, such as Charles I of Great Britain, and King Louis XVI of France (Chōmin, 1984, 53). This supported the idea that monarchy is not an effective form of government, because “the only people who can be called human beings are the royal family and aristocrats” (Chōmin, 1984, 69). In other words, citizens feel like they have a say or even a purpose, other to serve the needs of the wealthy and ruling. An important, but yet just a piece of what a strong nation consist of is unity. And in order to achieve such unity, the government should be fair in the sense that the commoner has a say or at least a bigger purpose other than serving the …show more content…
The Champion believes that there should be an army present and strong, because there is always war present (Chōmin, 1984, 91). This idea is realistic unlike that of the Gentlemen and the belief that there should not be a military present in an advanced society. Because an army allows insurance, protection, and security to the civilians the military is fighting for. However, a less realistic view the Champion shares is that in order for Japan to come close to competing with other nations it must start conquering other countries. He says “But unless we build up the number of soldiers and battleships and increase our nation’s wealth and enlarge our land, we may perish,” (Chōmin, 1984, 99). Although, this does sound reasonable, the Champion suggest conquering countries such as Africa and only takes in consideration of military power and not the implications it has on the civilians. Especially since Japan is still relatively fragile for it to attack a large area of land such as Africa, would require a lot of resources that Japan cannot afford to lose. Even, if Japan could ultimately succeed in such an aggressive assault on a massive country such as Africa or Asia, the implications it would bring to the motherland, and the distance between the two territories would could potentially lead in collapse. Also, the Champion has this overall idea that war is good and pleasurable, and he goes about