Beyond Our Means

Introduction 1 Chapter 1: The Origins of Saving in the Western World 17 Chapter 2: Organizing Thrift in the Age of Nation-States 48 Chapter 3: America the Exceptional 84 Chapter 4: Japanese Traditions of Diligence and Thrift 120 Chapter 5: Saving for the New Japan 143 Chapter 6: Mobilizing for the Great War 168 Chapter 7: Save Now, Buy Later: World War II and Beyond 194 Chapter 8: "Luxury is the Enemy": Japan in Peace and War 221 Chapter 9: Postwar Japan's National Salvation 255 Chapter 10. Exporting Thrift, or the Myth of "Asian Values" 292 Chapter 11. "There IS Money. Spend It": America since 1945 317 Chapter 12. Keep on Saving? Questions for the Twenty-fi rst Century 356 Acknowledgments 377 Appendix 381 Abbreviations 383 Notes 385 Selected Bibliography 435 Index 449

Sheldon Garon is the Nissan Professor of History and East Asian Studies at Princeton University. He is the author of "Molding Japanese Minds: The State in Everyday Life" (Princeton) and coeditor of "The Ambivalent Consumer: Questioning Consumption in East Asia and the West".

"Garon makes a powerful case that savings isn't about culture. It's policy... You'll think about savings policies differently after [you] pick up a copy of Beyond Our Means."--Christopher Farrell, economics editor of Marketplace Money "Professor Garon offers brilliant scholarship, engaging reading, and some practical insights for dealing with our current financial crisis worldwide. An insightful and provocative book that ... will be a unique and important volume for historians, policymakers, and the general public."--Claude Ury, San Francisco Book Review "How the Anglo-world came to live 'beyond their means ... while the world saves' is the big question of Sheldon Garon's fascinating book. It could not be more timely. Readers who worry that it might be too technical, do not fear. This is a history of flesh and blood, as Garon reclaims the topic from the economists. Facts and figures are surrounded by real people and rich illustrations that convey how passionate societies came to be about saving. Postal saving has never been so sexy."--Frank Trentmann, BBC History Magazine "Garon's policy recommendations could help shift the national trend towards saving more and position Americans towards greater financial health."--Worth "[O]ne of the world's leading authorities on the history of saving."--Joshua Rothman, Boston Globe "[A] fascinating new book... Garon believes the tide can turn, and offers some levelheaded policy suggestions for how America can restore a lasting balance between spending and saving."--Larry Cox, King Features Weekly Service "[A] very important book for critics of capitalism... Garon explains in an ambitious book that roams across centuries and continents ... why much of Europe and Asia embraced, and stuck with, a savings culture while the US first adopted and then abandoned one. It's intriguing social history."--Stephen Matchett, Australian "Garon's story is interesting and informative when focused on the history of small saving and is a