(2) Increase in Total Profits through Politics

(2) Increase in Total Profits through Politics

 

a. Two Aspects of Canonical Politics

 

The canonical political process chosen to overcome the consumptive nature of war consists of two aspects: reorganization of order and decision-making activities. And it has two sides like the two sides of a coin, and can be summarized in [Tab.2.4].

 

[Tab.2.4] The Two Aspects of Canonical Political Process

Canonical Political Process	Characteristics	Difference
㉠ reorganization of order	Activity to reorganize cooperative relationships (order)	Objective of political activity
㉡ decision- making activity	Communication and decision-making among members	Process of Political Activity

 

The reorganization of order involves the creation, maintenance and modification of rules and systems to establish and change cooperative relationships[Ch.2.12]. A well-established cooperative relationship is the meaning of 'order' in the sense of common sense, and if the cooperation relationship is defined as a specific and limited entity, it becomes a rule system and is considered a 'political system'.

 

Thus, "order," "cooperative relationship," and "rule system" effectively refer to the same thing in the context of understanding political phenomena. Among them, the rule system is the most concrete and visible target that can be understood (especially when it is institutionalized). This is the reason why I use "rule system" as the central term in this book. In political phenomena, all order or cooperative relationships that take place within a specific political system can be replaced with this term, allowing for the explanation of many diverse political phenomena in a simple and consistent logic.

 

For example, the administrative system is a collection of rule systems for cooperation between the government and state institutions, and citizens who are engaged in their own professions or productive activities. If we view a family as a society and analyze its political aspects, there are roles for the mother and father and certain expected behavior rules for the children.

 

Decision-making activity is a concrete process of reorganizing the order. If reorganizing the order is the goal of canonical politics, then decision-making activity is the main behavior of canonical politics. Therefore, if there is something that can be called "politics" in all political phenomena, not just war, then the most absolute essential element that constitutes political phenomena is communication among the actorts (mostly individuals, or people) that make up political phenomena.

 

Therefore, in all political processes, big or small, representatives of each faction gather in the legislature to discuss and argue. This is an inevitable part of the unchangeable political phenomenon through East and West, past and present. In the Joseon dynasty, kings conducted political activities such as managing the state by debating with their officials. Just as the Liberation League held its first congress in January 1904 to diagnose Russia's situation, cooperate with each other, and discuss future policies, in chaotic times like during a revolution, gatherings and meetings between various groups are necessarily important political activities. On the other hand, the church in Western medieval times could not maintain an effective central government because communication and transportation were extremely difficult. This is a case where internal canonical politics in the church organization was not possible due to a lack of communication.