[Shinsho Grand Prize 2022] "A History of Salaryman Finance: Consumer Finance and Japanese Society" (by Yohei Kojima, Chuko Shinsho) - Questions and Methods for History
I'd like to take a look at a Shinsho (new book) publication.
It's a hardcore book with quite a lot of pages. It is "A History of Salaryman Finance," which won the Shinsho Grand Prize 2022.
I don't necessarily feel that this is a so-called "bestseller" theme. However, the author has sincerely researched and studied a topic that had not been shed light on until now, or if it had, was thought to be refracted by bias, and has presented the results and conclusions in an orderly and vivid manner.
Although it is a Shinsho, the feeling of each sentence being carefully built up into a unified system is just like an academic paper (though I have never actually read an academic paper properly (lol)).
Also, I feel there are few conjunctions (!).
I think a text that is persuasive despite having few conjunctions is one where the logical development is clear and leaves little room for other interpretations.
I aspire to be able to write sentences like this too.
On the other hand, it is a text that keeps throwing straight pitches that are right on the edge of being outlaw, and there are no sentences that you can read while relaxing (?), so conversely, if you read it aimlessly, you might lose track of something along the way.
When reading this book, I feel it will be easier to grasp if you understand the questions and perspectives in advance.
Question: The mystery of what is rational despite appearing irrational at first glance
Why can salaryman finance companies lend money to poor people?
In this book, it is stated that the author wants to consider the historical background that created the "strange situation" where salaryman finance replaced the safety net .
The "strange situation" follows the logic below in summary.
The poorer a person is, the lower their ability to repay debt.
→ If repayment ability is low, the risk of default is high.
→ Financial institutions find it difficult to lend money.
→ Poor people cannot borrow money from financial institutions.
→ Poor people have no choice but to borrow from salaryman finance.
→ Salaryman finance becomes a safety net for poor people.
The question that emerges from this "strange situation" is
"Why can salaryman finance companies lend money to poor people?"
.
The fact that salaryman finance, which lends money to poor people, enjoyed a period of prosperity might be described as "the irrationality of the part transforming into the rationality of the whole."
This idea that "partial irrationality at first glance transforms into overall rationality" seems to be the logic of the critical core of "Competitive Strategy as a Story" (though the salaryman finance industry later falls into a predicament due to the external environment). In that sense, I think it can also be viewed as a management practice.
The idea that "partial irrationality transforms into overall rationality" is unexpected and makes for a worthwhile question.
And there, a direct "question" is posed. Bam!
"Why can salaryman finance companies lend money to poor people? Unraveling that mystery!?" If you read while thinking this (and recall it if you forget), I feel it will be easier to absorb.
Perspective: Macro-like and micro-like, or objective-like and subjective-like
I think it is easier to read if you also grasp how the perspectives are set up.
These are two perspectives with a sense of pacing.
Financial Technology
The first is "financial technology."
This includes not only IT-related technology but also steady, diligent work.
What kind of financial technology is utilized in each process of credit screening, debt collection, and fundraising?
Financial institutions are making continuous efforts to streamline their operations and maximize profits, but because salaryman finance companies had limited funds and found it difficult to trade with prime companies, they polished their financial technology more than banks and achieved "innovation" it is said.
It's like they were actively adopting the cutting edge of the time, such as "Mujinkun" (automated loan machines).
People
The second is "people."
Many unique salaryman finance founders appear. In history, focusing on specific people is a classic approach. The parts with biographical descriptions are easy to read.
Also, there is drama for those who borrow money and those who lend and collect it. I think there are also dramatic descriptions that focus on these points.
Furthermore, there are descriptions that branch out into work styles, consumption patterns, family relationships, and gender. The garden of thought expands.
Balance
These two perspectives develop the argument while balancing what seems objective and what seems subjective, and what seems macro and what seems micro (I say "seems" because I'm not confident if that's quite right).
I don't know what color it is, but because it uses different colors like black and white, or red and blue, I feel the balance of the whole book is very well-adjusted.
I haven't used markers, but I feel like if I read it while color-coding with markers, it would separate quite cleanly.
Note that the order of the description is basically chronological.
Therefore, I feel that if you keep in mind "financial technology" on the horizontal axis and "people" on the vertical axis, it will be easier to understand.
Stance
Do not unilaterally condemn salaryman finance
This book states that it "strove to consciously suppress excessive criticism of salaryman finance itself." It is said that negative feelings toward salaryman finance carry the danger of easily leading to hatred and discrimination (such as the historical accusation that Jews were malicious usurers). It asserts that it is a problem if discourse criticizing salaryman finance emphasizes cruelty or abnormality, and as a result, reinforces discriminatory views toward specific occupations.
Do not justify salaryman finance
On the other hand, this book "does not justify salaryman finance either."
It naturally views as a problem the fact that salaryman finance engaged in excessive lending and drove many people to suicide and poverty.
The attitude the author took was to "depict the history of salaryman finance intrinsically, structurally, and critically."
In other words, this stance is maintained throughout to structurally grasp the reality that while salaryman finance founders had noble ideals, a vast number of victims were created.
Specifically, it seems he did not interview the parties involved, but used philological methods. It's like "Hero's Choices," I suppose (you can't interview historical figures directly).
The problem of salaryman finance needs to be distanced from the industry for the time being and organized critically as history. However, it is difficult to reveal the full picture of the problem solely from the perspective of the victims. Why did the subjective and innovative management efforts of salaryman lenders drive so many people to ruin? This book's attempt was to explain that specific process as intrinsically as possible, taking into account the circumstances of both the salaryman lenders and the users.
Maintaining this balance is a feature of this book, and I feel that if you read it with that in mind, it will be even easier to understand.
Finance and the connection between people
Finally, this book states that we should think about the salaryman finance problem as a "personal matter."
It says that the reason salaryman finance once reached its peak was because it converted "human relationships" into money.
If you unravel the history of salaryman finance head-on through the above stance, you can see that salaryman finance cleverly and extremely rationally infiltrated human networks.
It can also be rephrased as a technology for cashing in on connections between people, and it can be seen that excessive cashing technology has developed while consuming human relationships.
If so, it is necessary to perceive it not as "someone else's problem" but as a "personal matter."
If we look squarely at the history of salaryman finance, which was created by none other than this Japanese society, it becomes clear that it was deeply involved in our way of life and work. Salaryman finance has grown in places too close to us to dismiss people who have fallen into multiple debts as "self-responsibility." By recognizing the problems caused by salaryman finance as a "personal matter" rather than someone else's, we can finally calmly discuss the future of finance and the economy, and perhaps conceive of a society truly supported by connections between people.
If you read it thinking that you can unravel the foundation for conceiving a society truly supported by connections between people from the "history of salaryman finance," you might be able to read it with unexpected depth.
Summary
I will summarize it below.
If controlled fastballs are thrown continuously, it is brilliant in itself, but it is tiring if the pitch count is high. At that time, I will summarize what might be useful if you take a little time out and look back.
Question
"Why can salaryman finance lend money to poor people?"
(Unraveling the mystery of how the irrationality of the part turned into the rationality of the whole)Perspective
"Financial technology" and "people"
Macro and micro, subjective and objective, well-balanced and brilliantStance
Neither unilateral condemnation nor justification
"Depict the history of salaryman finance intrinsically, structurally, and critically"
View as historical philology.Development/Depth
Conceiving a society truly supported by connections between people
That is all. I will try reading more Shinsho books~
This commentary video by the author himself is also very helpful.
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