Consumption cult and degradation

The formation of social gap, which lasted in Ukraine for decades, seems to be reaching its climax. Last week three pieces of news seem very contrast against the background of social protests and government’s allegations about that there are no money in budget for funding social benefits. Here is what the news was.

Information on the website Nashi Hroshi (Our Money) concerning the fact that there were 485 laptops bought for the use by the Supreme Council MPs for total worth of 5.49 million hryvnias. Each computer worth 11,300 hryvnias has installed memory of at least 4 GB and 23 inches diagonal monitor.

According to the same site, management of capital construction of the Donetsk City Council on November 21 after the tender has entered into an agreement with LLC “Triol-Avto” to buy a car Volkswagen Passat Limousine B7 Comfortline worth 324,000 hryvnias.

Comments magazine was ranking the most expensive cars of Ukraine and has estimated how much money daily ride on country roads. The list they made included 42 models of cars, each worth of 100,000 dollars, which are officially sold in Ukraine. At the official request to the Center of Road Safety and Automated Systems of MIA of Ukraine, it was reported to the Comments that as of November 8, 2011 in Ukraine there were 109,347 registered vehicles that meet the specified price criteria. In Kyiv only there are over 30,000 VIP autos registered. The capital has the lion’s share of all the luxury vehicles.

We must say that journalists are to blame, to a great extent, for indulging in the phenomenon of uncontrolled greed of the officials. They for a long time simply closed their eyes to such facts. “Politicians should be brought up,” said Maksym SUKHENKO, chief editor of the program Money (TV channel “1+1”). “If you take a puppy it first eases nature all over the place but you keep training him for a period of time making some effort. The same thing is with politicians. When a person caught on receiving a bribe will lose his political or official career once, twice, or more it will be a precedent and a signal for others. In particular, countries like Great Britain live according to legal precedent; it means that their politicians are brought up on the negative experiences of their predecessors. If journalism does not pay attention to it (and there is no one else who can do it except for us) and if public thinks it is normal then politicians will continue doing so and will become more and more impudent. However, if journalists will draw people’s attention to such facts (journalism is that first step), people will react in some ways and there will appear a real concept of feedback from public to officials. Perhaps, at last for all the time of the existence of our country they will understand that there is a reaction to their actions. This work is certainly needed and we are very pleased that our stories provoke reactions. Sometimes we have to make three, four, or even five materials. Therefore, when journalism will be more persistent, when we will be bringing everything to its logical end, the officials will respond.”

On the origin of the phenomenon of Ukrainian officials’ greed we spoke with Vadym MENZHULIN, Ph.D., associate professor of National University Kyiv Mohyla Academy:

“It is a great mistake to narrow this general social problem solely to the greed of officials. If you won’t look at this through the prism of habits and sentiments of all the people, you can end up constantly accusing some officials and you can even put them to prison for some cases of abuse, but new people will come from the masses and they will become just as greedy. The phenomenon that you cautiously called uncontrolled greed is, in fact, one of the rods of ‘social agreement’ that emerged throughout post-Soviet world, perhaps, with the exception of the Baltic countries. The post-Soviet countries are in captivity of an illusion that anti-communism, meaning overcoming of homo sovieticus, lies in orientation on wealth and property. In general, this idea is correct, as communist ideology persecuted natural attractions of man to property and wealth. The Soviet system got destroyed because in the last decades of its existence its elite ceased to reproduce the communist-ascetic ideal in relation to wealth (say, as it still was in time of Stalin’s rule: one greatcoat and one pair of boots). Degradation of the Soviet elite began due to the consumption cult. During the perestroika time instruction for receiving material pleasures was legalized and accepted by the society (with the exception of some outcasts) – as I mentioned before, in form of social agreement: what is the way to overcome homo sovieticus – it is the path to prosperity. This idea was accepted very literally and this gave rise to the cult of excessive consumption.

“There is another global problem which has emerged as a result of fight against homo sovieticus: it became fashionable to do anything for friends, family, and for the beloved children. Soviet ideology said: nepotism, promoting one’s own children is corruption. And now, the people’s idea about how to overcome homo sovieticus includes the thought that everything should be done for the kids and that parents should save up for them. The following psychology works here: I can limit myself to a certain income, but I have to accumulate more and more for my kids and grand kids – another apartment, another summer house, another car… In a normal state of law, if a child broke a law, parents turn solely to the court and its justice. Ukrainian parents will certainly seek for an opportunity for bribes only to ‘save’ their child.

“Officials are the mirror of our society. We can overcome these complexes only severely criticizing the cult of consumption: purchase of madly expensive cars, which seem to be produced exclusively for us, laptops… Social criticism should be expressed through media, while mass media, on the contrary, promote glamour and gloss. Thus, the painful situation in the national consciousness only deepens. There have already been four presidents, great number of prime ministers, governors, MPs – but the logic is the same! The only sense of life is wealth and not justice or acknowledgment for professional dignity… Realization of that it is simply dangerous to continue living with such values depends, to a large extent, on charismatic personalities, maybe in mass media or literature, art, or politics. Charismatic figures of ascetic type, who will confront the popular image of ‘growing fat,’ are needed. But, of course, such figures may not appear and we can slip into post oligarchic reality, in such a swamp.”

Speaking about the global context. Intellectuals all over the world talk today about the crisis of capitalism and postmodern. How does Ukraine with its post Soviet complexes fit in those global processes?

“I have a rather extravagant idea that Ukraine is anti-format and anti-trend country. We are always not in the trend. The world tried, but failed to catch Hryhorii Skovoroda because he was always elsewhere, not where everyone was. This is true about us all. It is believed that it is our weak side: all the processes take place in our country behind schedule – until something will finally happen in Ukraine there will be new trends in the West. Maybe this is our chance? As one of our leaders said: ‘we manage to pass round the drops.’ That is true that financial or late capitalism, culture of postmodern is its artifact, stands on the brink. It is not known whether it and the corresponding culture will survive. But I think that the fact the Ukraine substantially lags behind, in this case, could be to its advantage. We have not yet forgotten the idea of material production (and the capitalism that is now in crisis has forgotten about it and is now producing mostly financial and information simulacra). That is why, in case of return to new industrial society model we will get a chance.”