This is the starting point of social revolution. As the basis of the product complex changes, culture is inevitably transformed, be it gradually or rapidly.
External pressure is not confined to military power: economic power is just as strong a force. The goods and cultures that flowed into Japan and Europe from overseas resulted in massive trade deficits, putting them under severe economic pressure. The production revolutions in Japan and Europe occurred in response to this pressure, and by achieving domestic production and self-sufficiency they both succeeded in developing production-based economies at the beginning of the nineteenth century. While Japan maintained its policy of national seclusion, Europe built up a Christian economic sphere spanning the Atlantic Ocean. We must not overlook this massive economic threat brought by the sea at the dawn of modern civilization.
