03.05.2021, Moscow.
Political scientist and leader of the Essence of Time movement Sergey Kurginyan raised doubts about the possibility of a true democracy in a consumer society during the Evening with Vladimir Solovyov program on the Russia One TV channel on April 26th.
The political scientist reminded that, according to Hegel, democracy requires a civil society.
“Democracy presupposes a certain structure of society. This civil society is not a fiction. And then the question arises: what is contemporary society? Do we call it civil society? Do we equate it to the classical bourgeois society, which was called civil society some time between 1820 and 1840? Are we going back to that society?” asked Kurginyan.
According to Kurginyan, society has changed dramatically, which puts the very idea of democracy at risk. “It has long been said that this is a different society – a consumer society. Is democracy even possible in a consumer society?” the political scientist expressed doubts.
According to the political analyst, it is important to keep in mind the goals of building democracy by a society. “I have spoken many times to various western social groups: scientists, special services, politicians, finance experts, and so on. They all said, with their eyes wide open, that they have democracy. I asked: for what purpose?“
Kurginyan explained that democracy at the time of the French Revolution aimed to drive society towards progress and humanism, but both concepts have since been greatly reinterpreted.
“Democracy was the means to deliver progress and humanism. Now the question arises, have these goals been preserved? Do we still profess at least a linear theory of progress? Is it the democracy of development, the democracy of stagnation, or the democracy of descent, the democracy of degradation? After all, these types are also possible. Incidentally, it is significantly harder to pull a person upwards than to push him down,” Kurginyan emphasized.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
