Ah, Utopia…hey! Where’s my lung?

About ten years ago, all the rage in the Prozac nation was to point to Japan as an example of Utopian Big Government. Big Brother-san had a strongly nationalized health system; massive government intervention in the economy (allegedly resulting in “perfect job security”); and a lot a laws and very little crime.

A few folks with clear thinking–and I was one of them–would point out that yes, in the short term, the iron fist of massive government can knock everything into temporary alignment. But, we said, “wait and see.” Japan might have some of the world’s top brain power, top productive drive and top work ethic, but not even Japan, Inc. could permanently escape the stresses that result from stonewalling economic laws.

Little wonder, then, while the non-economist economists here were soaking up the public sector gravy, I was the lone voice pointing out that a crisis was brewing in Japan. It was pretty easy to see it coming.

Japan’s economic woes continue to be headline fodder, and even the vampires in the International Monetary Fund have finally admitted that they expect contraction, not growth, in the Japanese economy. Of course, you’ve read about that in this column for a long time now, so you’ve been a step ahead of the IMF.

As for the Utopian safety there, a number of gruesome criminal tragedies boiled up, ranging from the sarin gas subway attack to stories of criminal gangs in buildings staving off liquidation and repossession of non-performing properties.

Finally, now, the underpinnings of heavily nationalized health care are, too, headline news. “Medical errors cause outrage in Japan,” says an AP story that ran in yesterday’s Saipan Tribune. Amongst some choice quotes: “A 58-year-old housewife died after a nurse accidentally injected her with disinfectant instead of blood mediation”

“Instead of fixing a 74-year-old man’s heart problem, surgeons removed part of his right lung.”

“A 7-year old boy had to undergo and operation to remove part of a surgical instrument mistakenly left inside his skull.”

Oh, yuck.

America, of course, will inevitably slide down the same slippery slope that Japan is confronting. Uncle Sam’s flock of sheeple crave the Big Utopian dream, and they’ll get it.

At that point, we’ll have to assume that the U.S. will fall farther than Japan in a lot of ways. After all, American society is one of the most notoriously dumbed down in the industrial world. When asked to locate Japan on a map, three out of four American students don’t know what a map is. Never mind Wall Street–in a lot of profound ways, the U.S. is fast becoming bankrupt, as it were.

So, for now, the Homer Simpsons can sit on the couch, eat their Cheetos, watch their television, and witness reports on Japan’s woes. There–grace of God or not–goes us.