Conflict, Legitimacy and Government Reform: Equitable Allocation of ...
Conflict, Legitimacy and Government Reform: Equitable Allocation of ...
Conflict, Legitimacy and Government Reform: Equitable Allocation of ...
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50 KPI Congress XI<br />
inheritance tax that aims at mitigating inequality <strong>and</strong> preventing<br />
speculative asset hoarding.<br />
Why were such drastic changes feasible in Japan? One reason was<br />
the earlier ruling class <strong>of</strong> Japan lost in World War II, stripping them <strong>of</strong><br />
their status <strong>and</strong> credibility <strong>and</strong> leaving a room for American consultants<br />
led by General McArthur to successfully implement policies to mitigate<br />
inequality. As a result, labor unions could negotiate with employers.<br />
In my opinion, one interesting point from Japan is generally many<br />
Japanese wanted a more equitable society <strong>and</strong> agreed with American<br />
consultants. Moreover, they could pass on the belief in the value <strong>of</strong><br />
equality until now.<br />
So-called ‘political will’ or the willingness <strong>of</strong> a government to<br />
implement policies to mitigate inequality is very crucial. Policies might<br />
change as time goes by. As observed over the past 10 years, income<br />
distribution in developed countries such as the United States, Engl<strong>and</strong>,<br />
France <strong>and</strong> Italy has turned sour because governments wanted to<br />
implement more liberal economic policies, resulting in reduction <strong>of</strong><br />
social security <strong>and</strong> welfare budgets, but income distribution in countries<br />
that still adopt welfare state policies such as Norway, Sweden <strong>and</strong><br />
Denmark is still in good shape.<br />
In our country, inequality have risen during the early stages <strong>of</strong><br />
economic development, which corresponds to Kuznets’ explanation, that<br />
is, saving concentration lies the h<strong>and</strong>s <strong>of</strong> a marginal number <strong>of</strong> people;<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>it increases at a faster rate compared to wages; income <strong>of</strong> urbanites<br />
rises faster than rural people <strong>and</strong> so forth. Inequality in Thail<strong>and</strong> have<br />
not subsided but still remained because opportunities which the masses<br />
can earn more are limited, especially those in rural areas. Furthermore,<br />
modern governments <strong>of</strong> Thail<strong>and</strong> have never initiated any mitigation<br />
policies to suppress inequality through fiscal policy <strong>and</strong> other policies like<br />
other countries cited above. In other words, Thail<strong>and</strong> never had a<br />
political will <strong>and</strong> labor unions <strong>and</strong> other social movements (e.g. farmers)<br />
have never been strong enough to pressure governments or become a