Patangism

Patangism (Kabu: Patangisme), sometimes referred to as Purnama Sutoro Thought (Kabu: Pikir Purnama Sutoro) or Sutorism (Kabu: Sutorisme) is a North Kabuese political philosophy emerging from the teachings of Kabuese lawyer and anti-colonial activist Purnama Sutoro (1889-1942) in order to serve as the basis of an independent Kabu nation free from Estmerish anti-colonial rule.

With the name of the ideology deriving from the Kabu word patang, meaning "four" in a formal register, its ideological underpinnings are founded on what Sutoro considered to be four fundamental principles for a healthy nation: unity, statism, populism and welfare. Initially laid out in his 1925 pamphlet Four Principles of an Independent Kabu, the four principles set out have been reinterpreted and built upon both by Sutoro and future leaders of North Kabu, especially in the wake of the anti-colonial movement's significant advances during the Great War and the Kabu Civil War as followers of Sutoro's ideas fought against socialists who would later go on to found South Kabu. The ideology still greatly influences North Kabuese politics, with both the conservative Republican People's Party and the liberal Democratic Reform Party drawing ideological inspiration from the movement.

Origins

A member of the mixed-race middle class of Kabu, Sutoro's maternal grandfather was an Estmerish civil servant, while his father was a prominent native community leader within the town of Karangmangu. He was therefore given significant educational opportunities, and took a particular interest in the political developments of Euclean nations, learning about the growth of ideologies such as nationalism, liberalism, radicalism and socialism.

His interest in these ideologies was further developed as he studied in Estmere at the University of Morwall, yet he began to develop anti-colonialist views as a result of racism he experienced from many other students at the university, with this leading to the development of his views on Kabu independence and self-governance. However, the emphasis on the role of a strong state and the need of a state to supply welfare to its people would come from the Great Collapse and seeing the great poverty many Kabuese lived in upon his return to the nation, with the use of economic policies from the Knowlesby School to correct the throws of poverty serving as an example of the need for a strong state to serve the people.

Principles

Persatuan or Unity

Unity or unionism (Kabuese: Persatuan) is often placed as the first of the ideology's four principles. In the context of Sutoro's writings, the principle was used to illustrate a desire for a united, independent Kabuese nation with social harmony between its members - Sutoro was influenced by the Estmerish idea of one-nation conservatism, expressing a concern that divides between the nation's growing middle class and both the rural and urban poor, as well as between members of different tribes and traditional social roles. The idea of unity in the context of Patangism refers to a desire to dissolve both these traditional and newfound divisions within the Kabuese people to create a united and strong nation.

Notably, however, this principle has been innovated upon since the Kabu Civil War to advocate for the reunification of the Kabuese nation under the Northern government, with many of Sutoro's successors opposing the division of the archipelago into the BKMI-led south and the Patangist-led north, with the nation still making an active claim on the territory of South Kabu. It has also been applied to the situation of Kingsport and Nouvel Anglet, with the principle being applied before 1997 to justify a North Kabuese claim to sovereignty to both islands.

Negara Kuwat or Statism

Statism (Kabuese: Negara Kuwat) is often considered the second of the ideology's four principles. In his writings, Sutoro advocated for a strong, centralised state to direct the country's development and deliver prosperity. Sutoro's descriptions of this principle associate it with specific economic, social and foreign policies, with ideas of protectionism, developmentalism and interventionism being proposed as a means for the Kabuese nation to develop economically, while also advocating for a culture of national pride and a strong allegiance to the Kabuese state through such means as national service and patriotic education.

It is thought that this principle was inspired by Sutoro's recollections of the effects of the Great Collapse on Euclea, which he diagnosed as a problem pertaining to the laissez-faire attitudes of many Euclean states at the time and through interacting with the works of the Knowlesby School and historical traditions of institutional economics he had become convinced in the need for active state policy to help remedy such crises and bring the Kabuese nation out of the poverty it had experienced under Estmerish colonial rule. Sutoro did not go into particular detail about the exact structure of an ideal state, yet notably he criticised the idea of a strongman, opining that giving one man too much power would "corrupt him", which has been used to justify North Kabu's historical directorial structure and current semi-presidential one.

Aturane Rakyat or Populism

Populism (Kabuese: Aturane Rakyat), referred to in some works as democracy (Kabuese: Demokrasi), is often listed as the ideology's third principle. Heavily inspired by traditional liberal and radical movements in Euclea he had studied, Sutoro became convinced of the need for active citizen participation in government, declaring that a nation would be "nothing without a role for the common people" in decision making and strongly argued that legislative and executive power were only legitimate if derived from proper representatives of the common people. However, Sutoro was critical of Euclean liberal democracy, denouncing the role political parties played in many Euclean countries, declaring that "neither the Traditionalists nor the Liberals have the interests of the Estmerish people at heart".

In stead, Sutoro advocated for Kabuese democracy to take an alternative form, advocating for a largely nonpartisan form of democracy and placing emphasis on the idea of plebiscites and local community decision making, with his works advocating for towns and villages to be given significant control of their local affairs within the confines of the centralised Patangist state. However, Sutoro was often accused of hypocrisy after the creation of the League Against Imperialism in the aftermath of the Great War, yet defended its creation as a "vehicle" for Patangist notions of democracy to be advanced through. Furthermore, the modern North Kabuese state has also been criticised for betraying this principle through its post-1990 embracement of a traditional liberal democracy.

Kesejahteraan or Welfare

Welfare (Kabuese: Kesejahteeran) is often listed as the ideology's fourth principle, with Sutoro adding it after the other three principles after returning to Kabu in the early 1920's and witnessing the poor standards of living in much of rural Kabu. Sutoro advocated for an independent Kabu to take significant action to improve illiteracy, malnutrition, illness and inadequate housing, with Sutoro declaring that a universal education system and adequate healthcare coverage should both be long-term priorities for the Kabuese nation, as should efforts to ensure decent living standards in terms of food and housing.