The Seven Damning Sins of Soka Gakkai-Komeito

A Conservative Constitution - Religion Basically Conservative

The matter which makes the political attitude of Soka Gakkai-Komeito more vague is the following question: "Are they conservative, or progressive?"
President Ikeda has used this affected expression, "If you ask whether we are conservative or progressive~ we are the most progressive among the progressives." However, we can say that religion is basically conservative. Since Komeito is based on religious doctrine, it can be accurately judged to be basically conservative.  Of course there are also progressives among religionists, and among a group of believers as large as Komeito there are certainly some progressives and some reformists.  This has been substantiated by surveys among their members, and the fact cannot be denied that their members hold various political ideologies. However, religion itself, as a collective body, no matter how large it becomes is not so constituted as to of itself develop in the direction of progressivism.  If it were to develop in the direction of progressivism it would deny its present doctrines and would become splintered and disorganized.
To be sure they advocate "destroy the status quo" slogans and criticize and attack the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, and at first glance they might appear to be developing into a progressive political movement.  However, because their policies are a patchwork of those of other parties, and their political activity is frequently both to the left and to the right, it is difficult to determine their actual position. If we look closely we will see that it is nothing more than a rivalry between progressive ideas and conservative constitution. That is, it may be said that this dilemma has resulted from the natural condition of the stratum which has become the foundation of Soka Gakkai.
From the standpoint of the sequence of events in Soka Gakkai-Komeito's assuming the helm of state, the first step is the overthrow of other relgions and religious groups-their authority and their power.  They understand that the time for launching an all-out attack to come into power, has not yet arrived, therefore, they freely make political swaps and compromises with the Liberal Democratic Party and through these swaps and compromises, in spite of the fact that they oppose the Liberal Democratic Party, the impossibility of overcoming their conservatism and conservative character is expressed.  Their plan for coming to power may be divided into three stages: first, by concentrating the strength of their membership, upon a religious dimension, is to dominate the religious world; the second stage is to spread Soka Gakkai (kosen rufu) throughout the nation; thirdly, to take political power. Until this time, they will concentrate the energy of their membership on the first and second steps and Komeito will shoulder the initiative for the third-this seems to be their battle strategy. However, it may be that the order of the second and third steps could be reversed.
Therefore, for this purpose, from the religious standpoint, they aim at the overthrow of existing religions and religious groups, and while politically they advocate progressivism, its political substance is groundless.  So, for them, the terms "conservative", and "progressive", in and of themselves, have little meaning.  Komeito's slogan "true progressivism  is simply nothing more than a subjective expression.  Therefore, the "true progressivism" of President Ikeda, and "the most progressive among progressives" advocated by Komeito, which imitates President Ikeda's word like a parrot,-these slogans seem to have been hurriedly adopted after they discussed whether they were conservative or progressive, since the people began to doubt the policy of Komeito and journalists began to make searching. inquiries.  It may be said that President Ikeda finally selected this expression.  To embroider these slogans further they say that the progressivism advocated by Komeito is the progressivism of a higher dimension and different from the old conception of conservatism and progressivism of the past.  We must say it is stupid even if mere pleasant words.  Though, with a great voice, they. shout: "progressive among the progressives."
However, in spite of their conservative constitution, in outward appearance, it is a fact that they aim at reformism.  Especially recently among the executive staff of Komeito-Soka Gakkai some petite-bourgeoise intellectuals have been appointed, and they are the motive force in the development of Soka Gakkai and they desire reforms in the present set-up and are the spearhead of fierce activity.  We cannot deny that there is a tendency toward their becoming the center of the political movement in Soka Gakkai-Komeito.
Whether they can add some progressive policies to the basically conservative tendencies in their constitution as a religious power depends upon whether they can greatly alter the "Ikeda order" itself, as well as the conservatism in the consititution of Soka Gakkai, and the former depends upon the results of the latter.  Thus, the political course of Soka Gakkai-Komeito may be possibly varied gradually by their action, but we may say that the tendency toward progressivism and transformation within Soka Gakkai's constitution will not exceed the level of the idealistic progressivism of the old middle class which supported fascism.