№ 6 - 2014
Linetzky A.I.
Latent Institutions: Standard Behavior Patterns Occurred Spontaneously and Their Political Meaning

Social institutions play a key role in shaping human behavior. Especially, they produce standard patterns of human interaction both in economic and political life. However, it is unclear whether social institutions are the only source of these patterns. In the paper we argue that sometimes standard patterns of human interaction could occur spontaneously without influence of any social institution due to certain evolutionary reasons. Such standard patterns of human interaction might exist being not reflected in human consciousness. For a long time they might be not discovered and not studied but remain a force which could cause a strong political impact. To study such latent standard patterns of human interaction we have designed a new technical tool – so-called “latent institutions”. Then, we have discovered the two standard patterns of human interaction which deemed to be produced evolutionary and occurred spontaneously and which supposed to have a great political meaning. The both patterns determine aggressive human behavior in political interactions. The first of them is typical for the most part of population of modern Russia. The second one was typical for many in Western countries in the near past. We used the new technique of “latent institutions” to study the two new-discovered standard patterns. The result is that they are strictly opposite each other. Based on the result we have made certain predictions on the future development of the Russian and Western political systems.