Inertia: Resistance and Endurance

Inertia is known as a fundamental and effective phenomenon in nature, humans and human (social) institutions. This phenomenon is woven into their warp and weft. In this chapter, inertia and its place in physical and non-physical structures is studied by examining the history of this concept and phenomenon as a mental model. There are two main viewpoints on inertia, i.e., Newton’s point of view about inertia (as a virtual force and a resistance factor to changes in motion), and Mach and Graneau’s point of view about inertia (as a real force and a preservative factor for the structure of bodies and universe). By reviewing the literature and taking this subject into contemplation, it is concluded that inertia consists of positive and negative aspects: the positive aspect works as a structure preservative and stabilizing force (Endurance Force), and the negative aspect works as a resistant force to structure change and dynamic state (Resistance Force). These two aspects of inertia have a fundamental and vital role in institutions’ structure, dynamics, and preservation. Furthermore, topics such as angular momentum and moment of inertia, wide applications of inertia, the origin of inertia, inertia as a mental model, cognitive inertia, inertia in society, phylogenetic inertia and ecological pressure in institutional evolution, and entropic inertia in institutional evolution are also studied. Finally, the institutional renewal time function is introduced and proposed, and the result of the balance between inertia and overcoming it, that is, the evolution of structural preservation, is also considered, emphasizing future research on the application of institutional renewal time function to different institutions and economies, and especially comparative studies on economies at different levels of development for a deeper understanding of institutional inertia.