Longreads + Open Thread

LTCM, Quora, Stephenson, Competition, Musk, Media, Bankrolls, Japan

Longreads

If you have a few seconds, we'd appreciate you taking this quick one-question reader survey.

Books

Planning for Empire: Reform Bureaucrats and the Japanese Wartime State: The early twentieth century was a Cambrian Explosion of political ideologies, most of which did not survive. That change can be read as partly a reaction to the collapse of monarchies within Europe and the decline of colonialism outside of it, but there was significant variation in how different places and institutions responded. Sometimes the family tree gets messy: the "reform bureaucrats" were an odd coalition of Marxists, fascists, admirers of the New Deal, and amorally ambitious political operators.

The odd coalitions did not just show up at a high level, but were fractally present at every level. For example, Japan's economy was dominated by zaibatsu, large networks of holding companies, often centered around a bank and trading company. The older zaibatsu were largely in favor of free markets, because they made so much money importing and exporting goods. The newer ones often cozied up to the government, both because they could get state subsidies and loans for heavy industry and as a competitive differentiator.

This era also showcased a bizarre form of federalism: Japan tested out some of its industrial policy and government plans in the puppet state of Manchukuo. It's easier to impose reforms at home if they've been demonstrated elsewhere, but no one was pursuing quite the model Japan aimed for, so they incubated their own policy laboratory. This was in one sense a decentralized governance model, but in another sense was an invitation to experiment with looser conceptions of human rights.

There's surprising continuity, both in terms of personnel and policy, between pre- and post-war Japanese economics. In both periods, the country wanted to secure access to raw materials and a market in which to safely sell finished goods. It turned out that this was not really possible with the Japanese military, at least once they a) didn't have access to American oil imports, and b) were, in fact, fighting America. But the US Navy was able to accomplish what the Imperial Japanese Navy was not, and to secure Japan's status as a modern, advanced economy.

Diff Jobs

Companies in the Diff network are actively looking for talent. See a sampling of current open roles below:

Even if you don't see an exact match for your skills and interests right now, we're happy to talk early so we can let you know if a good opportunity comes up.

If you’re at a company that's looking for talent, we should talk! Diff Jobs works with companies across fintech, hard tech, consumer software, enterprise software, and other areas—any company where finding unusually effective people is a top priority.

Open Thread