Familyism

A general term for the idea of ​​extending the human relationships, lifestyles, and attitudes seen within a family to social groups outside the family, as well as the policies or institutional practices based on this. In this case, the model was the patriarchal family in Western Europe, and in Japan the relationship between the head of the family and various family members in the "ie" system, and the extended kinship or parent-child relationships between the main and branch families.

In cases where agriculture, arts, and commerce are self-run family businesses and are the main industries that support society, and where the state is headed by a hereditary monarchical family, the likening of the state to a family and the king to a patriarch was seen in theories of monarchy under absolute monarchy in the West as well. In modern Japan, where the term "state" was used to translate the ancient Chinese term "state," the idea of ​​the Japanese family was expanded and analogized along with Confucian thought, and the national moral theory preaching about the state under the Meiji Constitution received wide support with the encouragement of the government. A familial view of the state was made the norm, with expressions such as "family state" and "the people are the children of the emperor." The basis of this view of the state was the life of the people, who made a living through family businesses such as rice-based farms and small-scale commerce and industry based on the family unit, and the development of the capitalist economy of modern Japan, under the banner of enriching the country and strengthening its military, was supported by the structure of towns and villages formed by alliances of families. The supply of low-wage labor that could withstand competition from developed countries, the pool of excess labor, subcontracting organizations that bear the brunt of rapid expansion and contraction of production, and small merchants that support end-user distribution organizations with meager profits, have allowed families to endure low living standards through mutual aid. This was also considered a virtue of familialism. Even in large companies that have no connection to families, a patronage-based approach that compares the boss to a parent and the company to a family has continued to this day, known as managerial familialism.

[Takashi Nakano]

"Genealogy of Japanese Management by Hiroshi Hazama (1963, Japan Management Association)" ▽ "Japanese Management: The Merits and Demerits of Collectivism by Hiroshi Hazama (Nikkei Shinsho)" ▽ "The Turning Point of Japanese Management, edited by Kikuo Ando and Akihiro Ishikawa (1980, Yuhikaku)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

家族内にみられる人間関係や生活態度ないし意識を、家族以外の社会集団へまでも拡大適用しようとする考え方や、これに基づく政策ないし制度慣習の総称。この場合、西欧では家父長的家族が、また日本では「家(いえ)」制度体における家長と各種の家成員との関係や、その展開である本家・分家の同族関係ないし親方・子方関係が模範とされた。

　農工商が家業の自営として営まれ、それが社会を支える主要な産業である場合、しかも世襲する君主の家系を支配の頂点とする国家の場合、国家を家族に見立て国王を家父長に例えることは、西欧でも絶対王政下の君主論にみられた。中国に「国家」という表現が古代よりあったのをstateの訳語にあてた日本の近代でも、儒教思想とあわせて日本自身の家の思想を拡大類推させ、明治憲法下の国家を説く国民道徳論が政府の奨励のもとに広い支持を受けた。そして「家族国家」とか「国民は天皇の赤子(せきし)である」とかいう表現を伴って家族主義的国家観がたてまえとされた。このような国家観の基礎に、稲作中心の農家をはじめとして、家を単位とした零細な商工業などの家業経営によって生計をたてる国民生活があり、富国強兵を旗印とした近代日本の資本主義経済の発展は、家と家連合による町や村の構造に支えられてきた。先進諸国との競争に耐えた低賃金労働の供給、過剰労働力のプール、急激な生産の拡大・縮小のしわ寄せ先となる下請け組織、乏しい利益で末端流通組織を支える零細商家経営など、家と家連合が相互扶助で低い生活水準に耐えてきた。これも家族主義の美徳とされた。また家と無関係な大企業でも、上司を親に見立てて企業を家に例える恩情主義が、経営家族主義とよばれ近時に及んだ。

［中野　卓］

『間宏著『日本的経営の系譜』（1963・日本能率協会）』▽『間宏著『日本的経営　集団主義の功罪』（日経新書）』▽『安藤喜久雄・石川晃弘編『日本的経営の転機』（1980・有斐閣）』

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