Transcript Document

Evolutionary LAW:
with the examples from
US-Russia «dichotomy»
A ideaephony in 7 movements)
Put together
by Vlad Radkov,
MUSKIE-2011
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Prelude: Disclaimer
• Analogy is one powerful tool of science which
sometimes can turn into its deadly weapon.
• Most ideas in that presentation may be viewed as
copyrighted more than once. I can provide you
with detailed cover story on each, would you
choose that.
• English is my second language and that happily
restricts my freedom of expression)
• Offense exists only when it’s taken
• Humor saves souls, though.
Wisdom of Words
We can allow satellites, planets, suns,
universe, nay whole systems of universes,
to be governed by laws, but the smallest
insect, we wish to be created at once by
special act.
Charles Darwin
Movement 1. Singularity – diversity
1. Universe changes (Aristotle: “Movement is
life”)
2. Changing, while in the expanding phase,
Universe has to become more complex
3. So matter manifests itself through
mass/particle (substance), impulse (energy)
and entropy (information) which evolve
4. Properties of matter produce natural laws
GUESS
WHAT?
)
Laws of change
(Hegel-Marx-Engels: Taijitu)
• Unity and conflict of opposites
• Passage of quantitative changes into
qualitative changes
• Negation of the negation
- lead to increase of complexity (> of time)
Movement 2. Physics – biology
&
• Inert matter evolves into living matter (crystals
and viruses) – speed of evolution increases
• Natural laws come out through evolution
Law-based behavior evolves into genetics-based
(L.Zelenov)
Evolution triad
• Genetic drift (thesis)
• Mutation (antithesis)
• Natural selection (synthesis)
• In any evolutionary system in which there is variation and
heredity, there is, in the absence of constraint, a tendency
for diversity and complexity to increase (McShea, Brandon).
• Big discussion about what is the primary unit of evolution:
individual, population or gene/meme (Richard Dawkins)
• Statement: Wider ecosystem is the best representation of
gene)
Genetics-based behavior evolves into value-based (Zelenov)
Biopsychology
(species vs population)
• Natural selection favors reflection, reaction,
instincts, rituals and finally consciousness
• Animal behavior contains instinct patterns
related as “natural moral” (K.Lorenz through
V. Dolnik), but not ALL behavior has
necessarily to be moral (Lorenz, Aggression).
• Social animals have mechanisms of reinforcing
morals and transferring experience which
smtms resemble those of society (hierarchy,
roles etc.)
From Herd to Community
• People are social animals, inheriting features
from many earlier species. Instincts, traditions,
beliefs, religion and culture evolve from the core
of subconscious behavioral controls.
• However, consciousness and abstract thinking
provide powerful mechanisms for overriding
natural laws.
• Memes make ape a “person” (Dennett)
• Language is a beneficial tool for transferring the
experience in space and time.
Life expectancy of religious versus secular communes.
A Norenzayan, A F Shariff Science 2008;322:58-62
Published by AAAS
Movement 3. Population – society
• Evolutionary sense of media switch: need to
increase pace of memetic transfer nongenetically
• Genetically-related forms of control transcend to
conscience-related forms (magic, religion, law,
ethics) at some point of population increase
(>150) (Norenzayan, Shariff)
• Consciousness favors increasing the size of
population
• Increase, in turn, is helpful for diversity and
survival
Evolution of “imaginary friends”
• “Humans are unique among animals in maintaining
large, stable coalitions of unrelated individuals, strongly
bonded by mutual trust” (Boyer).
• Brain structure is influenced by repetition.
• Early religion: “These behaviours include stereotyped,
highly repetitive actions that participants feel they
must do, even though most have no clear, observable
results” (Boyer) – LAW of BODY
• Laws tried to mix presets with rationality – LAW of
MIND
• Bioethics – shift to INTEGRAL LAW of SPIRIT (Gebser)?
Breakdance (limits of control)
• Consciousness provides us with means to override
plenty of physical, biological, societal and mental
controls
• That doesn’t mean that there’ll be NO response to
overriding from the environment
• “Freedom results in responsibility -- often more than
most people can endure”. “[Terror] was necessary to
remove abstractions from everything, especially
Freedom. Finding a context for Freedom would enable
society to overcome the Terror” (Hegel)
• “The deity is within you, not in ideas and books. Truth
is lived, not taught” (Herman Hesse)
What are our tools for…
• Not Inbreeding (multiculturalism?)
• Community inner safety (criminal law?)
• Sustaining an individual +property (human
rights?)
• Mating (Facebook?)
• Controlling the size of population (gay marriage?)
?
Movement 4. Community – Empire
Throw away morality and justice,
and people will do the right thing.
Lao-Tzu, Tao Te Ching
Many know how to manage their families
Some know how to manage communities
Few know how to manage empires
(And what about managing oneself?)
Things to consider
• The effect of spatial and temporal scale on legal
and reinforcement system
• Time priority: group decision making vs. assigned
decision-making (is it Congress or IRS who makes
decisions?)
• The price of error and the price of time (“the pig
is dead”)
• Prospective on individual’s value and rights
• Subdivisions: vassalage, federalism, autonomies
Some questions
• Why do empires fail?
• Why didn’t Britain sustain control over states?
• What did the American legal evolution favour:
federalism or autonomy?
• Human rights and fight with terrorism: does
democracy has to choose?
Movement 5. Geographical dimension
• Geographical conditions define social and cultural
structure a lot. These, in turn, influence the law
and other social norms (Ratzel, Mackinder,
Brzezinski).
• "In the long run, global politics are bound to
become increasingly uncongenial to the
concentration of hegemonic power in the hands
of a single state. Hence, America is not only the
first, as well as the only, truly global superpower,
but it is also likely to be the very last.“(Brzezinski)
McKinder: Eurasia is a Pivot Area!
Why do you think?
Essence of Geopolitics
• Noosphere acknowledges humanity as global power
(Vernadsky)
• Social phenomena always have environmental
dimension, if not an explanations
• Subjects: domination of national states is weakened
by transnational corporations (70% of world trade)
and noospheral communities (Iglin)
• Phenomenon of world cities (EACH city is global) –
is B-town a global one?
Comparative study: US and Russia
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Vast territory and diverse nature
Good supply of natural resources
Multinational population, “superethnos”
Cultural assimilation and export
Superpower experience and mentality
Core values of community and freedom
Derivative of Roman legislation and Christian ethics
… but there are differences both in reality and
reflection in law
Real differences (compared to US)
• Climate and variety of natural conditions
• Borders and neighbors - war and peace
• Historical heritage and multiculturalism (mosaic vs
melting pot)
• Multinationalism vs racial/class aspects
• Communal patterns (interaction, property,
direction) due to higher fixed costs of survival
Legal differences (compared to US)
• More power on national level, extensive legislation
on natural resources
• Uniformity reinforced by law to keep nation together
• Forced security, no public ownership of weapon,
stronger regulation of market
• Noted national relativity of federalism
• Less impact of religion on law
• Law paternalism (insurance, education, social care),
property controversy
History of Russian Law
• Traditional (based on common law of the
multiple nations)
• Derived (adopted gradually from Roman and
European practices)
• Projected (Soviet time mix of rationality and
ideology)
• Transplanted (from Western models in early
post-Soviet times)
Legal institutions
• Constitution (resembles US but with extensive
human rights guarantees, much more rights
and instruments for the Federation)
• Separated Codes (Budget, Taxation, Crime,
Spatial planning, Forest, Water, Family, Civic,
Land, Air, Judiciary, Labour, Habitat etc.)
• Same legal institutions in principle
• Direct elections
• Local government role set in Constitution
Federalism (Constitution)
• Explicitly stated the jurisdiction of Federation
and common jurisdiction of Federation and
subjects
• Constitutional rights of subjects are implicit
• Most rights are in common jurisdiction, but
application of that diverses (recent years
brought more federal power in fact)
• Local government is protected but within the
federalist framework (also recently)
Courts and judicial decision making
• 4 types of courts (Constitution, common
jurisdiction courts
(civic/criminal/administrative combined),
Arbitrary – dealing with economic affairs,
military)
• Independence and guarantees for judges
• 3 levels (instances)
• 23 200 federal judges, 6800 regional, civic
9 mln., criminal 1,2 bln, administrative 5 bln.
cases
Administrative Agencies
• Executive agencies have de facto extended
powers though limited mandate
• Several tides of reform brought the model of
Ministry – Agency (Policy – Implementation)
• Ongoing shift to work with private
subcontractors
• Real experts being replaced by political
appointees
• Growing structures (iceberg model)
Information
• Increase of the access through coMedia
(global tendency)
• Late adaptation of FOI framework
• Privacy delimited through terrorism and
national security issues
• Abundant structures and use of private
contractors give opportunities to “fake” access
• Freedom of speech is controversial for
broader public
Public Contracting
• Attempt to reinforce competition gave rise to
sensible bureaucracy and corruption
• But at the same time FOI gives public access
to the cases
• With many industries naturally monopolistic
the scheme fails to work
• Expectations for SME were postponed
Private Property and the Government
• Regulation released
• Foreign capital invasion and off-shores
• Controversy with privatization of land and
nature resources
• Corruption on the lower levels
• Mechanisms of control
Some questions
• Are we OVERusing law?
• How do you think the differences in legislation
relate to difference of realities for both
countries?
• How to establish the border between privacy
in business and freedom of information?
• Why the drug war is not succeeding?
Movement 6. Nations – “The Globe”
• Global communications
• Global travel
• Global information
But…
• Violations of privacy
• Visas
• Copyright
Who will take control?
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Nations (xenophobic and oppressive)
TNCs (profit-oriented, but immoral)
World government (2 fails of the UN)
Sustainable communities network
Anarchistic “Dark Ages”?
“The Matrix” or “The Skynet”?
Is the international law possible? How?
Movement 7. Present – Future
Challenges for Brave New Global World
• Environment devastation and modification
• Scale of human activities and lack of antidotes
• Resources (incl. water, energy and food
supply)
• Population growth
• Inequality
…. You name it
The Future of the Law
• What do you think will be the challenges for
global law?
• What universalities would YOU suggest to the
draft world legislation?
• Can sustainability become real de jure and de
facto?
• What about other living species?
• What about artificial intelligence? (clones,
nanobots and GMOs included)
Final Remarks
• Humanity’s designed to speed up evolution
• For that, we are given unprecedented powers
of overriding physical and biological
dimensions
• However, the deeper we go, probability of
failure increases with its risk.
• Will we be chosen for the next level by natural
selection depends on the roads we take (and
the laws we make)
Words of Wisdom
It is not the strongest of the species that
survives, nor the most intelligent that
survives. It is the one that is the most
adaptable to change.
Charles Darwin
THANK YOU!)