History and Conceptual Richness of “public” and “private”: from Europe to East Asia

This book focuses on modern, highly developed East Asian societies and their social issues, particularly ones that are related to family and health. The examples are from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Myanmar, Singapore, and the Pacific Islands, while references are made to contrasting examples in other Asian societies, especially China, because of its regional and global importance as well as its cultural importance in the region. Since discourses on the delicate balance between private and public sectors are very much global and based primarily on the experiences of the affluent societies in Western Europe and North America, we have also taken a look at parallels with relevant counterparts elsewhere. In short, the East Asian discourses and developments have been deeply influenced by developments elsewhere while East Asian societies are bound to influence other societies, due to the global reach of East Asian economies and the increased political weight of East Asian societies. This book shows that the East Asian discourses have raised new concerns, and quite often the distinctive features are connected with local social and cultural traditions. However, the traditions are constantly being reinterpreted and surely there is nowhere any simple and coherent East Asian model that would be based on shared cultural traditions. Instead, tradition itself is a highly contested terrain, and the demarcation between private and public spheres in East Asia needs to take into account the changing meanings attached to all relevant institutions.