Mechanism of Politics

by Lee, Chang Hoo

Chapter 1. Basic Principles of Political Phenomena

B. Naturality of Survival Condition

(1) The 1st Law of Naturality: Law of Inertia

The 1st law of inertia is the 1st law of classical mechanics by Newton, which can be universally applied not only to physics but also to all phenomena. Why is this so? In my view, inertia can be defined in a universally valid way, close to an a priori dimension, not just an empirical one. For example, inertia can be defined as a universal concept as follows.:

Consider an object that is moving. This is one phenomenon. A new force is exerted from outside the object's movement (pheno- menon), i.e. (the force trying to stop it). Despite this, the object still tries to move. This is called inertia, meaning the original phenomenon, the object's movement, remains despite the force being applied.

It doesn't matter if the phenomenon here is not a physical phenomenon, but rather a political or economic one. When there is a threat of a beast, If Kevin and Ben listened to the brave words of Peter during a threat from the tiger, they will still listen to Peter's words even after the tiger has disappeared. This remains the same even across generations. Therefore, as historians say, it is a matter of course that humans always pass on a part of the past to their descendants and that history cannot be broken in any society where its members do not disappear at the same time, like a sword being sharpened.

In 1689 during the construction of the American colony, Jacob Leisler of German origin staged a military uprising in New York and overthrew the then ruling Captain Nicolson, taking on the role of the new leader. However, in 1691, he was executed for treason. Despite Leisler's downfall, the conflict between "Leislerians" and "anti-Leislerians" in colonial politics continued for several years. This is because the phenomenon of people following Leisler persisted through inertia. This also accurately represents the concept of inertia that we know. Even after African countries gained independence from Western powers, they still inherited the basic infrastructure such as borders, capital, roads and railways, as well as language education and administrative systems from the colonial era. The phenomenon of colonization of a country has also remained through inertia, even after successful reformations or revolutions aimed at improving it.

Therefore, the "law of inertia" worthy of introduction in social sciences or political science means the following statement.

Inertia can be seen in both macro-level and micro-level phenomena. For example, the preservation of the existing social and government structures in the Spanish region ruled by Visigoths when the Roman Empire fell in the 6th century, and the continuing importance of Turkic customs in the Ottoman Empire even after it developed administratively and legally by adopting Islamic practices in the Islamic world of the Middle East and East Asia, are all macro-level phenomena of inertia, either at the national or international level. On the other hand, the continued following of traditions, such as the placement of the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, the hero of the Imjin War, in the Korean Parliament, the continued existence of modern-day witch hunts in India in 2011 and Tanzania in 2014, and the continued adherence to camaraderie by former soldiers of a long-serving professional army, are examples of micro-level inertia.

The law of inertia can be seen as a simple principle that can substitute for complex mechanisms that influence political and social phenomena among various psychological effects. Inertia's law can summarize many complex social phenomena, such as repeated decisions being made in the same way as in the past due to being trapped in successful experiences, or social behavior and norms being strengthened by self-fulfilling prophecies.

The Mamluks, who were slave soldiers of the liberal states and renowned for their bravery, were horseback archers who could shoot arrows freely and were highly skilled. They were the strongest military force at that time, even surpassing the professional Christian soldiers who established the Crusaders' Kingdom. However, they faced the gunpowder revolution in the early 16th century and ultimately perished completely at the hands of the Ottoman gunpowder troops after refusing to use guns. Despite witnessing the effects of protective tariffs in protecting their own industries by Germany and Japan in the 19th century, Britain, which greatly expanded its national power through economic prosperity due to their liberal ideology, still remained committed to liberal policies, which is an example of being trapped in a successful experience.

A self-fulfilling prophecy refers to a mechanism in which social norms are strengthened through fixed beliefs. For example, "If many people have the fixed belief that women are passive and dependent and that blacks are lazy and sluggish, then they will treat women and blacks in that way, and in turn create the very same traits and behaviors related to such fixed beliefs." Although these phenomena appear complex and diverse, one of the important key points is that existing conditions persist in a circular manner.

The law of inertia can also give people a feeling of political frustration. This is because even successful efforts such as a change in government, reformation, or revolution do not seem to bring about real change. During the reign of Jin-nara, the government imposed strict laws by conscripting people into the army or conscripting them to labor, and by levying heavy taxes during the war for unification, but these laws did not ease even after the war was over. In 1720 to 1721, local autonomy reform that was introduced following the example of advanced European countries by the emperor of Puytler failed due to conflicts between the localities and their relationships, and in Brazilian politics, there was a political practice called "clientelism politics" in which the President and ruling party distribute clerks and budgets to various parties, but despite being criticized by the workers' party, this clientelism politics continued even after they took power and was revealed in the postal corruption case in June 2005.

Despite that, the political and social situation is also constantly changing. It's the end of inertia in each part. The origin of leading new changes after stopping inertia is the 0th law of political phenomenon, which is the survival process theory[Ch.1.1]. For example, Spain did not adopt the modern military training method developed by Maurice due to their obsession with the tradition of their own army, but after the Tercios army suffered a defeat to the French army in the Battle of Rocroi (1643), they changed their previous military practices.

The Basis of the Law of Inertia in Politics: The Effect of Habit and Legitimacy

The specific basis of the law of inertia in political phenomena is people's habitual behavior. That is, people act as they have done before. The power of such habits is so strong that it is frequently mentioned by scholars in various fields. Social psychologist Triandis emphasized habits as one of the factors that strongly influence human behavior, as learned behavioral tendencies of individuals. Philosopher J. S. Mill pointed out that the power of habit is so strong that it makes it difficult for human reasoning to take effect in habitual behavior, and Bertrand Russell also pointed out that habits have a strong impact on political influence in voting with significant political impact.

The powerful force of social inertia that operates through habit can be seen in the United States' rejection of the metric system and their persistence with the irregular and inefficient traditional units of measurement, as well as in the Chinese Cannibal culture. In 1866, the US Congress promoted a bill to use the decimal measurement units, and ten years later, the country became the 17th to sign the Treaty of the Meter, but soon returned to their familiar past measurement system. China's unique Cannibal culture also shows the general power of habit. Although capturing and eating people in war is something that can occur from time to time in any culture, the Chinese Cannibal culture is special. Despite not being justified in China's moral standards, the Cannibal culture of capturing and eating people has persisted throughout Chinese history and continues to this day.

A socially sustained phenomenon can also lead to legitimization effects. The fact that the accounting and audit departments in the British government organizations became independent departments with high authority, separate from the royal family, was because the two organizations had established themselves over the course of two centuries. In Russia, the second Empress of Russia, Catherine the Great, came to power in 1762 through a coup, but after a long time, the memory of the coup (coup) faded and legitimacy regarding governance was born there. This kind of legitimization effect creates a driving force for the given phenomenon to persist. The café monarchy of France secured a lasting position due to its continuous lineage of passing down the throne from father to son for 341 years, and powerful figures like King Louis VI (1108-1137), King Philip John (1180-1223), and King Louis IX (1226-1270) who reigned for a long time also greatly contributed to strengthening the monarchy. The way in which the notion of ownership and rights is created is also the same. When a human takes care of animals in a fixed location, leads a flock, plants crops, and harvests them, they naturally come to expect ownership and rights, and similarly, a sense of animosity towards those who infringe upon those rights develops rapidly.

To observe a more micro-level phenomenon, when Sultan Mahmud II (ruled 1808-1839), one of the main reformers in the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 19th century, introduced a new headgear known as the "fez," people showed anger and hatred, calling it an innovation of the infidels. Then, when the fez became accepted and became a symbol of secularism, the same sense of dignity was demonstrated when the first president of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, banned the wearing of the fez in 1925, leading to fierce opposition. Similar events took place when Russian tsar Peter the Great (1682-1725) ordered his soldiers to shave their beards. At the end of the 19th century, when the reform proposal to cut men's hair in a Western style came out in Joseon Korea, Korean intellectuals cried out, "If you want to cut my hair, cut my neck first," and resisted.

However, there are also reasonable aspects to this legitimization effect. Just as our saying "old habits die hard" means, it is because past practices that have continued become experiences that have been verified and act. In the Western world, before the Middle Ages, habits and long-standing customs provided accurate guidelines for most situations that occurred in daily life, and in the Middle Ages, the idea that "change is bad" had the effect of protecting peasants from lords who aimed to increase their territories, rents, and corvees.

The origin of such legitimizing effect seems to be rooted in the regression instinct that all people have from their childhood. All people yearn for their childhood experiences and evaluate them positively. For example, even though people who spent their childhood during the Japanese colonization era speak about the past fondly, saying "some things were good back then," those who suffered poverty and hunger during their childhood say "still, those days were good." This change in attitude cannot be caused by education or knowledge change, but only by the repetition of another behavior.

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