Short, Authoritative, Useful eBooks
Short, Authoritative, Useful eBooks
$7
Learn About the Principles of Society in 60 Minutes offers a clear, accessible introduction to the fundamental mechanisms that drive how societies form, develop, and change — insights rarely taught in school yet essential for anyone navigating modern life.
Written by Dr. Atsushi Sakahara — economist, entrepreneur, filmmaker, and novelist — this eBook distills decades of global experience into a concise and thought-provoking guide. Drawing on Western philosophy, economic theory, and original models, Sakahara introduces readers to the core forces shaping every society: the natural environment, economic activity, political structures, and the deepest layer of all — human values.
At the heart of the book is the concept of dialectics — the idea that society advances through the creative tension between opposing forces. Using vivid examples, from the invention of the steam engine to the rise of the Internet, Sakahara demonstrates how technology continually collides with existing society to produce something entirely new. His signature Four-Layer Cone model provides a powerful visual framework for understanding these dynamics, replacing Marx’s base-superstructure theory with a more nuanced and actionable structure.
Practical chapters offer tailored guidance for young readers entering different career paths — as entrepreneurs, scientists, politicians, educators, or employees of large organizations — illuminating how each role fits within the broader machinery of society. Thoughtful supplements explore the gig economy, the speed of change across society’s layers, the nature of companies, and the emergence of a fully information-driven future.
Rooted in the Japanese philosophical concept of fueki ryuko — what endures versus what changes — this book argues that while technology and politics shift rapidly, the underlying principles of society remain constant.
~15,000 words (Body)
~3,000 words (Workbook)
So how about human society? Every society has its own set of values. At first glance, these may seem similar, but on closer inspection, they can be very different—food is a good example.
In Islam and Judaism, there are dietary laws called halal and kosher; in both religions, eating pork is forbidden. In Hinduism, eating beef is forbidden. Modern Japanese people will eat almost anything, but people in the past didn’t eat much meat—likely due to Buddhist influence. These are all values deeply shaped by religion.
But not all values are religious. For instance, in eastern Japan (like Tokyo), many people love natto (fermented soybeans), while in the west (like Kyoto), far fewer do. This has to do with tradition and creativity for survival—using available ingredients, shaped by natural environment and the limits of transportation over the centuries.
In Shiga Prefecture, near Lake Biwa, there’s a local delicacy called funazushi (fermented fish sushi), a rare treat that many outsiders find only ‘stinky and sour’. Interestingly, there’s something very similar in Sweden, a country by the sea: surströmming, known as the world’s smelliest canned fish. Despite one coming from a lake and the other from the sea, both arose and evolved in waterside cultures, shaped by various other factors as well.
Values are shaped by history, culture, and religion. People who are strong believers might see culture as being ‘beneath’ or derived from religion. Others may think that religions themselves were shaped by the natural environments in which they arose. For example, some suggest that Islam and Judaism, both born in the hot climates of the Middle East, developed dietary laws partly to avoid eating spoiled food.
In any case, the natural environment has a powerful influence. And, because societies’ values are cultivated over long periods, they also change, if at all, very slowly.
Atsushi Sakahara is a Japanese entrepreneur, film director, producer, writer, and novelist based in Kyoto, Japan. He holds a BA in Economics from Kyoto University, Japan; an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, USA: and a Ph.D. in Engineering from Utsunomiya University in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.
He served as a lecturer for English at Kyoto Seika University from 2021 to 2025 and taught Economics at the Graduate School of Economics at Osaka Metropolitan University from 2022 to 2026.
He produced Bean Cake, a short film that won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001. He also directed the short film Don’t Call Me Father, whose producer, Paul Milgrom, later received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2020.
Sakahara directed the documentary Me and the Cult Leader: A Modern Report on the Banality of Evil (2020), which premiered at Sheffield DocFest, the UK’s leading documentary festival and one of the world’s most influential markets for documentary projects, and was invited to numerous international film festivals. The film was shortlisted for the IDA Awards and won the Grand Prix in the Asian Competition at the EBS International Documentary Film Festival.
As a novelist, he is a member of the Japan P.E.N. Club, and is known for works that blend storytelling with management and business theory, offering insights comparable to those taught in MBA programs.
In 2018, he was interviewed by French novelist Olivia Rosenthal, a conversation that would inspire her 2022 novel, Un singe à ma fenêtre (A Monkey at My Window).
Sakahara is the co-founder of Logiglish Inc, an EdTech startup he launched with a student from Osaka Metropolitan University. The company aims to transform global education and promote greater equality through innovative learning technologies.
Atsushi Sakahara is a Japanese entrepreneur, film director, producer, writer, and novelist based in Kyoto, Japan. He holds a BA in Economics from Kyoto University, Japan; an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, USA: and a Ph.D. in Engineering from Utsunomiya University in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.
He served as a lecturer for English at Kyoto Seika University from 2021 to 2025 and taught Economics at the Graduate School of Economics at Osaka Metropolitan University from 2022 to 2026.
He produced Bean Cake, a short film that won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001. He also directed the short film Don’t Call Me Father, whose producer, Paul Milgrom, later received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2020.
Sakahara directed the documentary Me and the Cult Leader: A Modern Report on the Banality of Evil (2020), which premiered at Sheffield DocFest, the UK’s leading documentary festival and one of the world’s most influential markets for documentary projects, and was invited to numerous international film festivals. The film was shortlisted for the IDA Awards and won the Grand Prix in the Asian Competition at the EBS International Documentary Film Festival.
As a novelist, he is a member of the Japan P.E.N. Club, and is known for works that blend storytelling with management and business theory, offering insights comparable to those taught in MBA programs.
In 2018, he was interviewed by French novelist Olivia Rosenthal, a conversation that would inspire her 2022 novel, Un singe à ma fenêtre (A Monkey at My Window).
Sakahara is the co-founder of Logiglish Inc, an EdTech startup he launched with a student from Osaka Metropolitan University. The company aims to transform global education and promote greater equality through innovative learning technologies.