Elisheva A. Perelman
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9789888528141
- eISBN:
- 9789882204959
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888528141.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
Chapter IV looks at late Meiji and early Taishō era politics as that predicated upon utilitarianism. This political philosophy seeks to ensure that actions are undertaken for the greatest good for ...
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Chapter IV looks at late Meiji and early Taishō era politics as that predicated upon utilitarianism. This political philosophy seeks to ensure that actions are undertaken for the greatest good for the greatest number, leaving out other abstractions of the philosophy. Politician Ōkuma, in addition to straddling the Meiji/Taishō divide, also personified this political philosophy extremely successfully. His utilization of various political players, with or without their full political complicity, served to create a nation that could successfully engage in the moral enterprise. Often, he was joined in his work by his American journalist friend and bulldog, Edward Howard House. It was by Ōkuma’s hand and those of his compatriots that tuberculosis often fell to medical missionary work, rather than government action during this period.Less
Chapter IV looks at late Meiji and early Taishō era politics as that predicated upon utilitarianism. This political philosophy seeks to ensure that actions are undertaken for the greatest good for the greatest number, leaving out other abstractions of the philosophy. Politician Ōkuma, in addition to straddling the Meiji/Taishō divide, also personified this political philosophy extremely successfully. His utilization of various political players, with or without their full political complicity, served to create a nation that could successfully engage in the moral enterprise. Often, he was joined in his work by his American journalist friend and bulldog, Edward Howard House. It was by Ōkuma’s hand and those of his compatriots that tuberculosis often fell to medical missionary work, rather than government action during this period.
