ABSTRACT
Takata Yasuma (1883–1972) was an eminent sociologist and economist in Japan. As a sociologist, he founded his theoretical system in the 1920s that focused on the forms of ‘combination’ of society. As an economist, he was one of the first to assimilate the general equilibrium theory, but he intended further to introduce the element of ‘power.’ In this chapter, after a brief discussion on the concept of ‘society’ in Japan, we follow Takata’s sociological investigation that started with a sociological version of ‘division of labor’ and arrived at the ‘third view of the history’ as his alternative to the materialistic view of the history. In economics, Takata could not satisfy himself with the neoclassical theory of utility maximizer and focused on the effect of ‘social power’ that took the form of ‘dignity’ and ‘resistance’ of agents. Though he could not succeed in his project of ‘power theory in economics,’ it is worth reappraisal from the current post-Walrasian view in economics. During war years, Takata dealt with ‘ethnic nations’ often. He applied the circulation theory of class to the worldwide confrontation of colored nations with the imperialistic hegemony of the white. He legitimized the Japanese’s role as the former’s leader. The author closes this chapter by suggesting that the lack of the basic concepts of individuals and civil society in Takata might be the reason for this tragic failure.
