7 - The Wages of Construction

Summary

During the quarter-century following their defeat, Germany and Japan gradually conquered world markets with goods they designed and manufactured. In the process, Germans and Japanese households became steadily more affluent, directing a considerable amount of their newfound wealth into savings, but also using it to purchase their way into mass consumer society. Together, these factors drove their economies forward in a virtuous circle, and Germany and Japan entered the highly select club of the richest nations. As a direct result of this success, however, Germany and Japan confronted new and different challenges. Harrowing experiences of heavy industrial pollution and consumer waste crises associated with extremely rapid industrialisation and growth of consumerism stimulated social and political change both in Germany and in Japan. More recently, they also prompted innovation as many German and Japanese companies embraced green technology for growth, especially in foreign markets. The other side of the coin, however, is that industrial pollution and waste continue to plague both countries, with the added realisation of the challenges of climate change coming to the fore since the 1990s. Environmental scandals and legacy, moreover, have formed a key dimension of the recurring need to deal with the unmastered past for both countries.