“On the contrary, history has shown—and continues to show—how tragically nations have fared when they pursued policies aimed at equalizing everyone’s ‘means.’”
November 30, 2019
A close friend of mine, one of the most avid readers I know, who, like me, subscribes to four monthly journals, said to me, “You and your senior, Professor Kaji, seem to be in resonance.”
The following is from the lead essay titled “Certain and Unchanging” by Professor Nobuyuki Kaji, Professor Emeritus at Osaka University, published in the November 26 issue of Hanada magazine.
“This senile old man in the midst of cognitive decline cannot make sense of the world these days.”
Recently, there was apparently a fuss over a so-called verbal misstep by the Minister of Education.
When I hear “verbal misstep,” I assume something grave—like abolishing compulsory education, shutting down all universities, or declaring that every women’s university toilet should include facilities for old men.
But no. What the Minister said to university entrance examinees was simply: “Do your best according to your means.”
And that was deemed a major gaffe. I can’t understand it at all.
As it turns out, the issue was that private English tests used for university entrance exams posed a financial burden, and the test centers were concentrated in urban areas—disadvantaging rural students.
Thus, the term “according to your means” was interpreted as telling students to accept their economic status, which was criticized as discriminatory.
But let me pose a counter-question:
Can anyone name a country where everyone’s “means” (e.g., income level) is, more or less, the same?
There is no such country.
The only places such uniformity exists are in the Christian concept of Heaven or the Indian religious concept of Paradise—both post-mortem realms.
In the Confucian cultural sphere to which we belong, such uniformity does not exist—not in life, not in death.
Never in world history has it ever existed.
On the contrary, history is full of examples of countries that pursued equalization of “means” and ended in disaster.
The collapsed Soviet Union, China now on the brink, and North Korea, which can’t even achieve equal means—how do those opposing “according to your means” explain these?
It is precisely because people’s “means” are not equal that we find the motivation to rise.
From equal “means,” nothing new is ever born, because human beings inherently seek a life of ease.
Take my own case: my family was poor.
When I entered university, I couldn’t afford to live in a boarding house.
So I commuted from Osaka to my university in Kyoto.
I woke up every morning at six.
Since I went to bed at midnight, I dozed on the train daily.
On three or four evenings a week, I worked two private tutoring jobs on my way home.
I covered most of my tuition myself.
And I studied earnestly.
I’ve written this before, but I will say it again.
While explaining a lesson during tutoring, I noticed the junior high school girl I was teaching staring at the cuff of my sleeve.
I only owned one school uniform, and the cuff was worn and frayed.
But I didn’t care.
All the money I earned from tutoring went to tuition or, more importantly, books on Chinese classical studies, which was my chosen field.
People are different.
I never resented anyone for being poor.
Among friends in similar circumstances, some resented society, and a few became activists.
And what of them now?
Those very people are living comfortable lives in capitalist society, enjoying favorable treatment.
Where did their resentment go?
I was poor then, and I’m poor now.
Yet I live a spiritually rich old age.
My youthful poverty did not dictate the direction of my life.
I simply had a passionate desire to study Chinese classics.
To do so, I worked multiple tutoring jobs to afford the necessary books.
Not once did I blame my family’s poverty.
Back then, and even more now, university education is viewed only through an economic lens.
But the only true reason for going to university should be a will to learn for a purpose—not money.
If you have the will, you can find a way, financially or otherwise.
As the ancient sages said:
“Heaven moves vigorously; the noble person never ceases in his self-improvement.”
“Where there is a will, there is always a way to achieve one’s goal.”
