Cue, Routine and Reward

     A good book is "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg.  The author describes how people, and animals in general, use routine on a much more regular basis than you might expect.  It is not a broad generalization to say that most of us operate daily on 1) cue, 2) routine, and 3) reward.  It saves brain power and it can make life more or less efficient.  Most people don't spend a lot of time deciding how to tie their shoes or brush their teeth.  It is a matter of habit and what you know.  You have a cue, say your untied shoe, the routine of ensuring it is tied properly, and finally a reward of perhaps getting to work on time.
     How does this apply on a large scale, in a macroeconomic sense?  Do international relations function in some way shape or form in this fashion?  Do whole societies and civilizations function on a cue, routine and reward?  It would seem so.  It starts in terms of internal affairs and priming a population on patriotism.  If the national anthem is played, you stand up, you remain silent and respectful and a reward you feel good about yourself.  You did the right thing.  Congratulations, you are officially a patriot.  A whole society can respond to outside stimuli or cues, enact a routine and receive a reward.  Russia is a strange duck in the sense that many nations around the world can't recognize or process what their own cues, routines and rewards could be.  It is simply not possible to project your own nation's routines on Russia, you must look at it from the inside out.  The fact is that the Russian world war experience is still out of the psychological reach of many.  Sovietologists never have to worry.  The fact is that they will always remain gainfully employed.