ABSTRACT
THE discussions which have raged latterly on Japan’s competitive power in world markets almost invariably reach the point where the complainant dilates on the low standard of living among Japanese workers, and the defendant replies, “lower in money costs than those of Western workers, yes-actually lower, not necessarily; but in any case adequate.” There that particular argument seems to come to an end, as a definition of the word “adequate” eludes the disputants, as indeed it does most of us. And yet one feels that it is a point worth the most careful consideration, not only because its clarification would assist reciprocal understanding of economic viewpoints, but also because it seems to epitomize two almost distinct theories of civilization.
