Considerations for applying foreign political philosophies to your own country: a computer science perspective

Some people believe that if you import foreign political philosophies and ideologies into your country, things will magically improve.

But is that necessarily true?

I don't think so.

This is because it would be following in the footsteps of the scholar-officials of Little Sinocentrism during the Joseon Dynasty, who believed that only certain ideas were correct, and that the rest were speculative.

The idea that foreign political philosophies and political ideologies should be transplanted into the country is nothing more than grandiose.

And the main reason why I think so is that the mental system, history, social structure, tradition and culture, geography, and political structure of foreign countries are very different from our own.

It is similar to how applications that run on Windows operating systems do not run smoothly on Linux operating systems, and applications that run on Linux operating systems do not run smoothly on Windows operating systems.

In this case, the mental system, history, social structure, tradition and culture, geography, political structure, etc. underlying each country can be compared to an operating system in computer science. And the political philosophy of a country can be compared to an application, which is the software that runs on top of the operating system.

The operating system is the core software of a computer system, the system software that manages and controls the interaction between the computer's hardware and application software. It manages the computer's resources efficiently and allows applications to interact seamlessly with the hardware.

So, what causes a program programmed for a specific operating system to not run smoothly under another operating system?

First, there's operating system compatibility. Each operating system has its own kernel, system structure, application program interfaces (APIs), and so on. For example, a program that runs on the Windows operating system may rely on certain features, libraries, and APIs that are specific to the Windows operating system and may not be compatible with those features on other operating systems. More specifically, a program tailored for a particular operating system might rely on its APIs and libraries, but those APIs and libraries might not exist on other operating systems or might be available in a different form. In such a case, a program that is specific to one operating system may not work when you try to run it on another operating system.

Second, there are architectural differences. For example, the Windows operating system is based on the x86 architecture, while other operating systems support different architectures (e.g. ARM). Therefore, Windows programs optimized for the x86 architecture may not run directly on other architectures.

Now, suppose you want to run a program that is optimized for a specific operating system on another operating system by any means necessary. What problems can arise?

First, there's the compatibility issue, which we discussed earlier. Some programs use APIs or device drivers that are specific to a particular operating system, and other operating systems may not support those features or implement them in a different way, causing compatibility issues.

Second, there are performance issues. Imagine running a program programmed for a specific operating system on another operating system using emulation or virtualization, which we'll discuss later. This can lead to performance degradation. Imagine running a Linux operating system through a virtual machine on a Windows operating system to run a program that runs under Linux, or vice versa. In this case, performance degradation can occur due to the way virtual machines work and the partitioning of system resources. A virtual machine runs on top of a host operating system and runs a guest operating system through virtualized hardware. This process requires interaction between the host operating system and the virtual machine, which can cause some performance degradation. Because VMs partition hardware resources, they require resource sharing and scheduling between the host and guest operating systems. This introduces some overhead and can degrade performance. It can also affect the performance of the host system on which the virtual machine is running. Performance degradation can vary depending on the virtual machine's settings, hardware performance, and the type and usage of the operating system and applications. In general, you can expect to see some performance degradation when using a virtual machine compared to the original physical environment, but this can vary depending on your usage and performance requirements.

Third, there are security issues. There can be security differences between different operating systems. For example, running a Windows program on another operating system can expose security vulnerabilities, and it can also expose you to malware or viruses.

Now, let's get back to political philosophy. As I mentioned earlier, whether or not it is possible to import and apply political philosophies and ideologies from abroad to Korea depends on many factors. Political philosophies and ideologies are influenced by many factors, including the culture, history, and social context of each country, so it's not always possible to apply them to Korea simply because they seem to be good. There are a few things to keep in mind when applying these political philosophies and ideologies to your country.

First, there are cultural differences. Each country has a unique culture and value system. Therefore, it is important to consider cultural differences when applying foreign political philosophies and ideologies to your country. If you don't take this into account, the results may not fit or clash with your country's society.

Second is the social context. Political philosophies and political ideologies are shaped by the social context of the country. Therefore, when applying foreign theories to your own country, you should consider the characteristics and circumstances of your own society. For example, a foreign theory of democracy may need to be adapted to your country's political context and perceptions.

Third, the political system and institutions. Political philosophy and political ideology have been developed under the assumption of a specific political system or institution. Therefore, when applying foreign theories to your country, you should consider your country's political system and institutions. It may be difficult to apply theories that do not fit the your country's political system or institutions.

This may make it seem like it's impossible to run a program for a specific operating system on another operating system or to apply a foreign political philosophy to your country. But it's not impossible at all. Let's go back to computer science and explain the technical elements that make it possible to run programs that run on one operating system on another.

First, emulation. Emulation is the implementation of Windows APIs in another operating system in order to run Windows programs on that operating system, or vice versa. For example, emulation software called Wine implements Windows APIs in Linux to run Windows programs on Linux. This allows Windows programs to work on other operating systems.

Second, virtualization, which is the practice of running other operating systems virtually on one operating system. For example, Linux or macOS users can use virtualization software to create a virtual machine of the Windows operating system and run Windows programs inside it. The virtual machine provides the same environment as the Windows operating system, so Windows programs can function normally. However, there is a risk of performance degradation.

Third, cross-compilation. Cross-compilation is a method of recompiling a program developed for one operating system to run on another operating system. This allows you to convert the source code of an OS-specific program into a form that can run on other operating systems. However, it may require modifications to the source code.

Now, let's get back to political philosophy. To explain how to adapt a foreign political philosophy or ideology to your own, I'll use the analogy of how to run Windows programs on other operating systems.

1. Emulation: Emulation is the implementation of Windows APIs in another operating system in order to run Windows programs on that operating system. Similarly, when adapting a foreign political philosophy or ideology to your country, you must adapt it to your country's culture, social context, and political structure. You must reinterpret and adapt the political philosophy so that it interacts with your society's value system and harmonizes with your ethos and political structure.

2. Virtualization: Virtualization is the virtual execution of the Windows operating system on another operating system. Similarly, when applying a foreign political philosophy or political ideology to your country, you can apply it virtually by considering your country's political system and institutions. You can simulate the interaction with your own political structure and evaluate the applicability and limitations of the political ideology. This helps you find the right variant for your country.

Cross-compiling: Cross-compiling is the conversion of a Windows program into a form that can run on other operating systems.Similarly, when applying a foreign political philosophy or political ideology to your own country, you need to adapt the theory to your own culture and value system. The core concepts and principles of the political ideology must be retained, but reinterpreted and reorganized into a form that is compatible with your society.

To adapt a foreign political philosophy or ideology to your country, you may consider the following approaches

1. Cultural adaptation: In order to adapt foreign theories to your own culture and value system, you need to deeply understand the characteristics of your society and cultural background. Based on this, you can interpret and adapt the concepts and principles of the theory to the social context of your country. 

2. Practical application: Students should apply political ideology in a practical manner by considering the political structure and institutions of their country. Evaluate and adjust the applicability and limitations of the theory to find harmony between the ideal values of the political ideology and the actual situation in their own country.

3. Dialogue and discussion: The process of applying foreign political ideologies to one's own country requires dialogue and discussion with various stakeholders. By gathering the opinions and perspectives of their own citizens and interacting with various stakeholders, theories can be adapted and developed more appropriately.

Alternatively, you might consider a different approach, one that attempts to make the mental structure of your people similar to the mental structure of the people in the country where the political ideology originated in order to make it work better in your country. This can be analogized to software porting in computer science.

Software porting is the process of modifying software designed to run on a specific hardware platform to run on another hardware platform. It does not change the code of the software itself, but rather modifies the way the software works to solve problems caused by differences in hardware.

Similarly, in order to make the mental structure of its citizens similar to the mental structure of people in the country where the political ideology originated, it is necessary to solve problems caused by differences in mental structure, such as cultural characteristics and values. This can be done by modifying their political attitudes and behavior, rather than completely changing their mental structure.

Specifically, you can make the mental structure of your people similar to the mental structure of people in the country where the foreign political ideology originated in the following ways.

First, educate your people about the background and philosophy of the political ideology to increase understanding and build empathy.

Second, interpret the political ideology in a way that harmonizes with the cultural characteristics and values of your own people. (This is the same as the previous point).

Third, they create a social climate through education, outreach, and cultural events that can change the political attitudes and behaviors of their citizens.

However, as with software porting, it is not easy to change the mental structure of a country's population. Korean cultural traits and values have been formed over a long period of time, and it is not realistic to change them in a short period of time. Therefore, it's important to take a long-term perspective and engage the people in the process.

There is also the possibility that the majority of Nationals may be opposed to the idea of changing the mental structure, so it is possible that the government will have to be willing to undermine the current liberal democracy in order to accomplish the task of enlightenment.

It will also be important to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens by abandoning efforts to realize political ideologies that, given your country's geopolitical, economic, and demographic conditions, have no contact whatsoever and converge to 0% feasibility no matter what simulations are run.