The Origin and Development of Uchida’s Social Science

The thought of Yoshihiko Uchida is often called that of “civil society.” The word “civil society” or “bürgerliche Gesellschaft” is expressed in Japanese as shimin shakai. The term shimin shakai, while originating from Western connotations, came to have its own Japanese connotations, especially in postwar Japan, and as such played a role in postwar Japanese democratic thought. Uchida’s concept of “civil society” is no exception. In this chapter, we will follow the process of the formation and development of Uchida’s thought on civil society and social science. After a short introduction (Sect. 2.1), I will show that the young Uchida’s original understanding of civil society, which he formed through his research in various fields such as the debate over Japanese capitalism, economic history, social policy, and technology theory, is not yet settled and is in the midst of a great “shaking.” From these examinations, I will extract his original understanding of civil society (Sects. 2.2–2.3). Thereafter, Uchida dives into the study of Adam Smith looking for a way to settle this shaking. I trace the process by which his main work, The Birth of Economic Science (1953), finds a specific answer (Sect. 2.4). Finally, I will review how, in the latter half of his life, Uchida developed a concept of civil society unique to Japan and indeed even unique to Uchida. This concept went beyond the understanding in his first book, Birth (Sects. 2.5–2.6). A short conclusion follows (Sect. 2.7).