CC BY
7Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 3 (2009 2) 301-304
УДК 316.32
Political and Economical Elites' Influence Over the Process of Globalization Becoming
Nataliya S. Dureeva*
Siberian Federal University, 79 Svobodny, Krasnoyarsk, 660041 Russia 1
Received 14.08.2009, received in revised form 21.08.2009, accepted 28.08.2009
In the given article we consider globalization as a social phenomenon and its consequences for the world society. We have made an attempt to show, that globalization is expressed in the formation of an integral interdependent world, built on the principals of «a new world order». Preservation and consolidation of national spiritual, moral and ethic values make difficulties on the way of globalization development.
Keywords: essence; phenomenon; process; society; mankind; globalization.
Point
At the end of XX - at the beginning of XXI centuries, globalization, as a social phenomenon, becomes more and more important in the political and economical spheres and has a significant influence on spiritual life and moral values of the society.
In its broad sense, «globalization» is a today's process of planetary integration of all the spheres of human life; it includes industry, technology, commerce, culture, political and state institutions, it controls the world finance and the world banking (Mkrtchan, 2005).
At present time there are several points of view of globalization:
- it is a process of formation and further development of the integral world-wide finance-economical sphere on the basis of new, mainly computer technologies (Deljagin, 2003);
* Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected]
1 © Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved
- It is a steady civilizational tendency (and a process) of the formation of integral humanity, as a strongly interconnected world society (Ursul, 2001);
- It is an attempt to spread the integral system of neo-liberal values (Inozemcev, 2004).
In spite of all the variety of points of views, we must admit that, actually, the main tendency of globalization development is the formation of an integral interdependent world, interaction, mutual influence of various societies, cultures and organizations, and in which basis there is power, accumulated in the hands of one certain political elite.
Independently from its political and state interests, elite maintains control over economy, finance, resources, industry, education, culture and other spheres of social life. Thereat, society becomes double-poled: on one side there is ruling
elite, and on the other side there are people, who subordinate the elite's interest, and it does not matter which exactly elite: the communist one, democratic or liberal. That is why the process of globalization develops in the elite's interests.
One of the tasks of globalization is to transfigure society, people, into a homogeneous, untalented, uneducated and degrading «gray mass». It is easier to rule such «masses» and to control their activity in a necessary (for elite) direction. And really, «masses» are easier to be ruled, than clever and educated people, who have their own point of view. Clever and educated people quite comprehend what this or that elite and its politics are leading to. They can make their choice not in a favour of the given elite, if they see some danger for the society development in its activity. And it is simple and easy to implant the necessary politics into the degrading «masses», thereat not explaining its tasks, goals and consequences, having only pointed at some splendid perspectives and having created the illusion of saving, of preservation, of some «radiant future» and so on.
But there is one more specific social stratum in this bipolar society «elite-people». It is so called intelligentzia. The given social group always acts (it is mainly verbal) in order to please the present ruling elite. Elites can change, but intelligentzia will stay. As soon as new elite comes to power, the point of view of intelligentzia changes correspondingly, intelligentzia begins immediately praising the new government, propagating its new political courses, and thus implanting distemper in people's minds.
Example
In every state, there is its own ruling elite. But the process of globalization brings to the formation of single ruling elite, which will subordinate the elites of all the rest of the states. Today, it is already obvious, that the ruling elite
of USA will be «a new world governor». Its main interest is the world domination by means of «new world order» establishing. By its essence, this «order» is expressed in a total control after the world economy development, after natural and human resources of the countries of the whole world. And right for this purpose, after the events of September 11, 2002, the American president has announced a «global» politico-military strategy: a world-wide struggle against terrorism and has made the assertion: «Who is not with us is against us». Thus, the leader of the USA elite has begun confidently subordinating the elites of all the countries for «the struggle against terrorism». And in the result of the action, «the new world order» has begun to be established, headed by the American elite.
Moreover, in the modern society, there is explicit orientation not only to implementation of the political order, military strategy and economical order according to the western (American) pattern, but also to implantation of «the western standards» into the culture of every separately taken country of the world, and creation of the so called world culture. Undoubtfully, it results in demolition of self-sufficiency and independence, in economical crisis, and what is the main - in destruction of cultural, spiritual and moral foundations, existing in a concrete society.
Implantation of the western order is quite dangerous and destructive for the Russian society, which has its own, peculiar way of development, which is similar neither to the western, nor to the eastern one. From the very beginning of their historical development, the Russians have accustomed to collegiality and collectivity, and that is why they cannot admit western individualism and time-serving. Consequently, they cannot follow the way of globalization and live according to the western pattern. Though, the modern Russian elite does not take it into consideration, and for Russian
people its behavior is very important (Valjanskij, Kalljuzhnyj, 2006), as far as the fate as of the whole society, so of various men depends upon the elite's political course. Just the same as the elites of other countries, the modern Russian elite is subordinated to the American elite as well.
For a particular example, we can consider the reforms in the Russian classic education and reorganization of classic state higher education institutions into federal and national ones, where the process of education passes according to the western pattern. In the result of Bologna agreement, now we do not prepare specialists, but masters and bachelors. It will result in the fact, that higher education will as such outlive its usefulness and the people will gradually become an ignorant controlled crowd. And bachelors, the same as college graduates, will become man power for producing goods and serving the elite.
In the Russian economy, an entrenchment of the market system in exchange for the planned one and of private enterprises, takes place. That is unacceptable for Russian society. While working at a private enterprise, the employee does not have any means of production, he is deprived of them. The main part of the profit is appropriated by the owner. The employee gets the minimal part of what he has earned. Thereat, the owner can dismiss the employee at any moment, leaving him without any means of living, and replacing him by a more «obedient» or advantageous one for his interests.
At a collective enterprise all the means of production are in common property and that is why all the products and all the profit belong to the employees. That is why the planned economy system is characterized by steady growth rates of labour and by a constantly growing wealth of the main population mass - the people (Chervov, 2003).
Speaking about the political life, we can everywhere trace the transition to the western
democracy and affiliation to various parties. In the Russian monarchical cathedral society there was always only one ruler at the head of the country - it was tsar (in Kievan Russia it was konung). Later, after all the revolutionary convulsions, there was established a collective society simultaneously with the USSR formation. And again it was headed by one political party -the communist party. After the Soviet Union's disintegration the Russian society passed over to democracy. It is very difficult to single out, what precisely the advantages of democracy over socialism are, which are used to be spoken about. For example, in the Soviet Union, after graduating from educational institutions, certified specialists got their appointments to different enterprises, which provided housing to their employees. But democracy implies full freedom in choosing: what to be, after having finished one's education, where to live and other alternatives. In other words, employment and housing purchase is one's own problem of every man. In the result, there appear more and more unemployed and homeless people in our modern society. People have to accommodate themselves to it, in order to survive in the conditions of market capitalism. Besides, modern people experience the change of ideals, values and goals, their impressions about the past are distorted in their conscious. It was always so in Russia, that the state took care about its people and the people took care about their state, thus feeling stability and confident about the future. The goal of every man was to strengthen the state, wherein he and his children would live, and spiritual and moral values were based on that, that every person felt with pride to be a part of one whole stable state. In the modern globalised society with its liberal-democratic values, man is «absolutely free» and takes care of himself by himself. In the result, the main goal of every man becomes his survival and self-protection, as in a wild primitive society. Thus, it
is not the promised progress being awaited in the globalised world, which is so much spoken about and is actually remains virtual, but a regress, degrading and becoming wild. It is nothing else, but a progress of society's self-destruction, which is observed in the modern world.
Resume
Every country on our planet, including Russia, can overcome the tragedy of globalization
consequences, if it preserves its nationality and independence. Every country can forewarn itself and its people from destruction, if it refuses form crashing its for-ages-accustomed political, economical, cultural, moral-ethic and spiritual principals. Humanity can survive and save its countries, if it comprehends, that the way of development, leading some states to progress and prosperity, leads others to backwardness and destruction.
References
S.S. Mkrtchan, V.N. Kirillov, S.I. Korochkova. Globalization at the Beginning of XXI Century. Materials of the Extramural Interregional Scientific Workshop Conference «Russian National Security in the Conditions of Globalization: Problems and Perspectives». - St. Petersburg: Publishing House of the Management and Economics Institute, 2005, p. 10-15.
M.G. Deljagin. The World Crisis: the General Theory of Globalization. 2-d revised and enlarged edition. - Moscow: INFRA-M, 2003. - 768 p.
A.D. Ursul. The Model of Education in XXI Century: Problems of Steady Development and Security // Security of Eurasia. 2001. №4. p. 61-97.
V.L. Inozemcev. Westernization as Globalization and «Globalization» as Americanization // Voprosy filosofii. 2004. №4. p.58-69.
S.I. Valjanskij, D.V. Kaljuzhnyj. The Russian Revolution Forgotten History. From Alexander I to Vladimir Putin. - Moscow: Veche, 2006. - 352 p.
N.F. Chervov. Provocations against Russia. - Moscow: OLMA-PRESS Education, 2003. - 637 p.
