a. ㉢ Profit Equilibrium Condition and Profit Equilibrium Flow

㉢ Profit Equilibrium Condition and Profit Equilibrium Flow

 

Regime change force varies according to the profit equilibrium, which is represented by a geometric point reflecting social changes. Therefore, the profit equilibrium condition is similar to the concept of the "substructure" mentioned by Marx in contrast to the "superstructure" when explaining social change. Marx's explanation of the English Civil War states that despite changes in ownership relations in the substructure, the political apparatus of the superstructure was not suited to these changes, leading to a gap between the two. The concepts of superstructure and substructure are helpful for a deep understanding of political change, but they have two problems.

 

Firstly, there is a problem of limiting the concept of "substructure" to only the economic aspect. The fundamental conditions that actually affect political change include not only economic conditions, but also military and ideological conditions of society. In the 17th century, the European-style modern military reorganization began with Maurits of Nassau in Italy, and Europe became militarily powerful compared to other regions, resulting in the rapid expansion of Western Europe, which is an example of a military substructure that brought about a new international political order. Other factors such as history and culture should also be considered as substructures.

 

Secondly, the concept of "substructure" is too broad. Therefore, everything can be encompassed under the name of "substructure." This makes the explanation meaningless. Therefore, it is necessary to simplify the concept as much as possible. The profit equilibrium condition, which only considers the balance of interests of relevant political actors, is introduced for this reason.

 

The term "profit equilibrium condition" refers to a rule system that would have been established in reality if there were no legal or political coercion, similar to the leasing practices that emerged after the Black Death in the 14th century. This refers to the rational choice content of those who "know" the unequal reality "without" wearing Rawls' veil of ignorance, and is not a deontological concept like social contract theory but a virtual rule system that goes one step ahead of reality. A simpler example of the change in profit equilibrium condition than the leasing practices is a situation where the threat of wolves disappears and the threat of hunger arises. In this case, the current rule system is a cooperative relationship centered on the strong Peter's capacity, but considering the situation, a cooperative relationship centered on Kevin's capacity to find food should be established. Then, the interests of Peter, Kevin, and their friends, Ben and Samjae, would differ. In the end, the change in profit equilibrium due to the change in the situation is the important cause of regime change, and this change in "profit equilibrium" is a result of the change in the rule system.

 

The profit equilibrium flow is the trajectory of changes in profit equilibrium conditions. For example, if there is an agreement that industrial development should be promoted in a situation where the country is devastated by war, then a tax system that is advantageous to wealthy entrepreneurs would be the profit equilibrium condition. However, after industrial development takes place, a tax system that is more advantageous to the poor would become the profit equilibrium condition. Such changes do not always move in one direction, and the degree of change sometimes varies, so the profit equilibrium flow, which is the temporal connection of profit equilibrium conditions, becomes a curve.