(2) a. ㉠ Interdependence of Power Relations

(2) Explanation and Examples of the 1st Law

a. Interdependence of Power Relations and Rule Systems

 

㉠ Interdependence of Power Relations

 

The following is a formal explanation of the 1st law. The central concept of the 1st law is the size (relative) of power and political capacity, where political capacity refers to the three capacities of military, economic, and ideological capacities.

 

First, let's examine the size of power. Since the ability to command others is the definition of power^[Ch.2.7], all power is relative. The size of the power that two political actors a and b have relative to each other is always relative, and it is determined by the relative ratio of each person's capacity size^[Ch.2.9a]. For example, if Peter and Kevin have political capacities of 3:2, Peter has power of 3/2 over Kevin. Generalizing, if M and N are political capacities of a and b, respectively, then a's power is M/N and b's power is N/M, as formalized in equation^[Fmla.2.2].

 

This explanation encompasses two aspects. One is that the attribute of power is fundamentally relative as it is a cooperative relationship, and the other is that one's power over others grows as their political capacity increases.

 

First, let us delve into the point that the attribute of power is a cooperative relationship^[Ch.2.8] in a more quantified manner. The size of a's power represented as M/N is the ratio assumed when the power of the other party is 1. That is, when the power of Kevin over Peter is assumed to be 1, the power of Peter over Kevin is M/N. This means that when Kevin can demand one from Peter, Peter can demand M/N from Kevin. When we think of the term 'political power,' it may feel that the person with great power can unilaterally force everything onto others, but even the President or the Member of Parliament with great power can be forced into political action by the petitions of the citizens, as seen with the South Korean government sending emergency medical helicopters to universities in response to public petitions. This is not just in modern democratic societies, but also in the Joseon dynasty of the feudal era, the actions of the king were influenced by the petitions of the nobles. In the relationship between a master with great differences in capacity and power and a slave, the master must still provide the slave with "unappetizing" food so that the slave does not die of starvation. As a result, the slave can ultimately force something upon the master.

 

The fact that the political capacity determining the size of power is the Samjae capacity, operating in three dimensions, is another cause that may induce a misunderstanding that power operates only unidirectionally without interaction. Consider the power relationship between a perpetrator who has the means of violence (armed capacity) and the victim who has money (economic capacity). When the perpetrator threatens, the victim may appear to have no power at all. However, when the victim is told that they must go to the bank to withdraw a large amount of cash, the perpetrator is forced to coerce the victim to go to the bank in any way possible. If a large corporation with economic capacity wants to enhance its reputation, it must invest some funds as required by a service organization that receives its support (ideological capacity). Such behavior is not referred to as "compulsion," but it is compulsory in the sense that it goes against the will of the other party.

 

Second, the size of power is proportional to the size of political capacity possessed by each actor. In the early 1950s in North Korea, Park Heon-young was able to solidify his political power base due to the mobilization of underground southern activists and the activation of the Ppalchi-san movement during the 6.25 War. He later lost power due to the failure of the Ppalchi-san movement. He gained power when he showed that he was capable of doing something, and lost power when he failed to do so. As a somewhat more macro-level example, Hitler completely solved Germany's unemployment problem and established social order in 1936, and in foreign affairs, he demonstrated his capacity by stopping Germany's war reparations, and soon he took control of the German government.

 

 

㉡ Power and Rule System

 

A political regime is a power structure and a power structure is a system in which people establish and command rules. This is nothing more than a comprehensive rule system. Since power relations are mutual, the parties involved in power relations must all know the rules and it is here that the rule system arises. The mutuality of power relations and the political regime as a rule system are intertwined like the front and back sides of a coin.