Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
transformation in the way they see themselves and others is important. That
is, if the objective is to face the ever-returning and inherent problem of how to
ensure democratic and egalitarian political systems in late capitalist societies,
which is seeing many outcomes to the contrary. It raises questions about the
role of the individual in perceiving ethics in the social world. Ethics is central to
understanding what the political means for young people here. Ethics is an
internalised position that is not easily enforced from the outside, however
seemingly attractive a political system may be in place. The Japanese case of
an industrialised, democratic complex in a globalised world at the beginning of
the twenty-
rst century illustrates the multifaceted relationship between state,
society (the media), and the individual
er-
ent happens when these young people believe that through their own beha-
viour and through a collective political response that promotes an ethical
perspective in the world of politics, they have a chance of in
'
s life and environment. Something di
uencing for the
better the society in which they live. Weber argued that the pragmatic
'
ethic
of responsibility
of the religious
adherent are irreconcilable, but also not mutually exclusive (Weber 1991).
Chapter 3
explored a time of particular tension between the political con-
ditions in which politicians presented themselves in terms of their
'
of the politician and the
'
ethic of ultimate ends
'
'
ethic of
responsibility
. In the
end, the supporters had to give in at a time that looked exceedingly bleak. One
could conclude that they failed, or their party failed, by
'
against supporters
'
wish for an
'
ethic of ultimate ends
'
'
'
to what was
perceived as unstoppable powers that moved in the opposite direction. While
these young supporters wanted to stop the
giving in
'
very special means, namely, power
backed up by violence
(Weber 1991: 119) that was the decision the Japanese
government took in relation to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and to which
Komeito had to agree or not, stopping a democratically elected superpower
from going to war was a formidable task. Yet, because this failed, it did not
mean that supporters surrendered their ethical ideals, nor did most give up
trying to in
'
uence an irreconcilable political reality, which perhaps arguably
could be said for the party they supported, albeit from a more abstract level
of analysis. Supporters had to live with an ethical tension if they wished to
continue to support Komeito, still perceived as the better choice in front of
them. Although they believed in an ethics of ultimate ends (a paci
st stance) on a
personal level, supporters
personal commitment to and trust in politicians
made them re-evaluate the consequences of upholding such an ethical stance at
thesociallevel,giventhespeci
'
c circumstances (Weber 1991: 120).
Their religious or philosophical ideals made them stay connected with the
political reality, for good or for bad, believing it to be their responsibility to
do something, while it was simultaneously the same ideals that gave rise to
the situation being viewed as undesirable. The complexity of taking concrete
political action to try to achieve ideals of goodwill in a pluralistic world seems
grounded in an internalised ethical commitment rather than a form of exter-
nally imposed mass behaviour that follows a moral code. What is essentially a
'
religious
'
commitment, so far as this is taken to mean a commitment to inner
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