Sergey Gavrov, Alexander Melikhov Imperial Dream As Option Patriotism

Magazine «Star», number 6, 2009. Russia, St. Petersburg

Sergey Gavrov, Alexander Melikhov

Imperial dream as option patriotism

After the collapse of the Soviet empire nearly seams on national patriotic feelings of national minorities became suspicious, not only to Russian nationalists and Russian liberals. Modern liberalism in general, believes the threat of individual freedom of any recognition of collective claims, and in Russian patriotism, he saw a particular danger - the danger of its transformation into a national extremism. Although in reality the national extremism is also a normal reaction to a threat to national, as the high temperature is a normal reaction to an organism introduced infection. That is patriotism - the main factor that preserves the unity of the country, the economic interests of many regions and social groups are more likely to decay. At the dissolution ultimately work and aspirations of ethnic «patriotism». And confront these aspirations can only say so, a new type of patriotism. Rather, wellforgotten old. We refer to imperial patriotism. Historically, the ethno-cultural differences in Russian regions is substantial. And preserve them in a single-ethnic state is largely provided by the inertia of historical tradition, shared cultural meanings, including those of people with dreams, illusions, illusions and memories. When in the course of historical time, with the change of generations is weakening the memory of the general mifologizirovannom the past, the common

trials and victories, and to replace the dreams of a brilliant future jointly created a revived mythology, in which each ethnic group wants to play an independent role or topping - in such epochs «collapse of the old and new conflict of dreams» States are on break. The risk of rupture increases especially when the former starts to be unacceptable levels of public violence, always increases with increase in national movements and declining in their attenuation. With a known percentage of conditionality technology central government control over inokulturnymi, inoetnicheskimi areas can be reduced to the classic lines of «buy, kill, and to convince»; same proportion in the use of certain areas defined by specific historical conditions and capabilities of central authority. In modern societies, especially after the Second World War, for social, ethnic monitoring mainly in flexible social technology, in which belief, or rather, suggestion is the most important tool of control over the public consciousness. These techniques manipulate human consciousness led to perceive the world want to do and how to goodwill, «at their own request». The most effective components of this manipulation have become popular culture, public relations and advertising. It is they who set the norms and values of the social mainstream, the successful and unsuccessful, desirable and undesirable behaviors. In other words, they «programs» consciousness and human behavior. This

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consciousness, but predsoznaniyu not understood and not refleksiruetsya man. And because the most solid and the natural power of the one in which a supervisor - the super-ego - controls the minds and behavior within the human being. This interiorizirovannogo external control can be avoided only in part, uskolzaya in the area of mental disorders, or being conscious of Nonconformist position that the force only a few mentally unstable, or, conversely, sverhrezistentnym, sverhavtonomnym individuals. (Recall that, by itself, intellectual, psychological independence is not dignity, idiots and criminals, she has a no less than the geniuses and saints.)

How now acceptable with the help of social technologies can monitor the diversity of ethno-cultural flows are increasingly acquiring Ethnopolitical orientation? First of all, through design and implementation in the public consciousness of mass myths, dreams, illusions, dreams. There is no need, however, think that society yield to any suggestion - the illusion should increase rather than reduce the psychological comfort of people. So at each stage of historical development of «work» a myth, that which most fully corresponds to public expectations, formed as an information policy, and the real conditions of life, which is an essential part of art as institutionalized (books, films), and natural, diffuse forms (news, gossip, dream). At the stage of economic growth in the core content of mass culture - as a rule, the myth of individual salvation and success in a society of consumption. Power consumption dreams especially increased if the period of growth coincides with a period of frustration in some massive collective dream given the meaning of life «fathers». In these cases, «child» with cruelty and cynicism with the base is obmanuvshey their story. Some time they may even live in the certainty that. his tales are not required, that the material and social success is able to eliminate the unavoidable existential problems of human existence (the most important of which is the problem of loneliness, helplessness before the ruthless man and omnipotent Cronos, sooner or later privative all that man dearly, including his own life). At the stage of intoxication the consumption of people whose desire to be modeled PR and advertising (the world of glamor), maintain public peace and stability of the state. At the same stage of satiety, and in particular the economic downturn, where mass culture imposed by the standards of consumption are not available, frustrated individuals turn to the search of dreams, able to weaken the existential horror of nullity, to increase dramatically in conditions of social failure: a sense of nullity in society awakens to the sense of gloom temporarily nullity in the Universe. And bezreligioznom society, ethnic community, including the elite, go to compensatory mechanisms of ethno-political nationalism, as the ethnicity -

the only thing that connects the individual with something far more powerful and durable than himself. In fact, for the vast majority of emotional connection with the ethnic group, nation is the only surrogate immortality. To make at least a part of something powerful and immortal - one of the most important existential human needs, and consumption growth may be temporary unless its anesthetic. Public policy does not notice this desire, too, can hope only for a temporary success. However, large uniting society - as, indeed, and the disjunctive it - the illusion, the collective dreams of the past and the future does not arise often. In the USSR such a great unifying vision for a time was communism in the late Soviet era dominated dissociative dream, the dream of a capitalist paradise, where each individual can become bounty consumer society. As we know, a new social myth, says that parliamentary democracy, the impact of localization of the CPSU, and later - the dismantling of the Soviet citizens of the former Soviet Union will give the opportunity to benefit from development of capitalism, while avoiding its costs, not far lasted as long as the Communist myth. It is not only a practical reduction in living standards, unemployment and the like - Communist chimera yielded incomparably more terrible disaster, and yet its adherents felt honor, valor and heroism to believe in it, despite all the atrocities and the meanness of communist rule. There, in sight of grief, still lying sunny edge nepochaty - and it gave strength to the mountains of Brest, which was never completed. But much harder on their own struggle for personal survival, unable to suppress a sense of pride for a small part in the great and noble common cause. Much more patience and faith in the future are shown, where the myth of paradise and capitalist economic prosperity processed in the clothing of ethnic collective salvation, and the economic prosperity magically became a consequence of national liberation. The new myth of the society to destroy a multi-country, due to its inherent elements of a collective ethno-national salvation, but for those lucky ones who have been the predominant ethnic identity, the same myth strengthens the illusion of strength, beauty and immortality. But for those unfortunate, who was

the dominant imperial identity, fell immediately and the material and psychological deprivation. Therefore, it was easy to predict that «doubly resentful» soon also try to compensate for their loss of the psychological double devotion somehow is not imperial, and national chimeras. In a much better psychological situation were those who felt themselves part of the beautiful, powerful and immortal civilized world. Faster in the capitalist paradise! And if the move prevents ballast - former Soviet republics - to reset them with «steamship of modernity»! If the inside Russia in the confused feet economically unsuccessful professional and age groups (pensioners, the collective farmer, «Public Employment»), the disappearance or minimization «livestock» - a clear benefit. Index - An introduction to dream, to the modern Western capitalism, rather than the historical and sociocultural reproduction izzhivshego ourselves in the old communist guise imperial state. After the collapse of the USSR cruel economic reality has changed the nature of the myth of salvation for some time it became a purely individual, with each for itself, but one God for all - unless there are personal myths in general, because individualism is not even a phantom promises of immortality. Nevertheless, when in the early 1990's the dream of personal success in the capitalist Eden confronted with reality, it changed direction, has become more private, it is no longer generalize all layers. At some time the majority of the population has become almost indifferent to the total, including the political interests of their ethnic group, every left only the personal economic interests. And this lasted almost the entire post-Soviet era: the growth stage of the dream of individual success in the material race of capitalism is largely blocked the inclusion of compensatory mechanisms ethnicity. At the same stage of the economic crisis, when to reach economic prosperity has become increasingly difficult, the economic vision of capitalism, losing its anesthetic function is likely to start replaced the nationalist dream of a common salvation, with a predominance of non-economic compensatory illusions.

But there is another historically stable, self in the decorations of a historical era dream, which can, if not completely replace the dream-illusions pomerkshie consumer society, at least help a lot of conservation-ethnic state - this imperial dream. This is the dream of a big, powerful, culturally diverse imperial state as timeless, almost sacred values, which can correlate my life and mentally to perceive it more meaningful, historically, not random, attached to transvremennoy essence. And in this imperial dream could compete with the dream, the National etnonatsi. Since the essential difference is that the imperial dream unites polyethnic state and ethno-national dream - destroy. Strangely enough it may seem today, the imperial dream is quite competitive in comparison with the dream of ethno-national, because it allows a person to join a wider and multisyllable than the nation, universe. This imperial vision comes to the less severe contradiction with the processes of socio-cultural, including language unify large geographical and civilizational spaces, it is closer to global peace. It is not by the preceding phase of globalization was based on the harmonization and coordination of large spaces of the imperial British, AustroHungary, the Russian empires. Recalling the life of many prominent people age, we see the development of their biographies in the different geographical and cultural locations in Europe and the world: «The power of European culture until the mid-century, was in her confusion, overlap: born in Budapest, lived in Vienna, wrote in German, spoken in Hungarian. The very possibility that the geographic and socio-cultural mobility play a role in the fate of teleology, including in the professional field. And today the implementation of the imperial dreams increases the chances of human life to a social success, it can give a person more than the realization of dreams of ethnonational. For the imperial dream of the scale and variety, are small potentially big plays not only in the existential charm, but also in social pragmatics, like a small

speaker replaced a stronger, more widespread - including English. Possession of these languages provides the opportunity to be heard and understood in a much larger territories, which increases his chances to make even a successful consumer, that under modern capitalism is the ultimate expression of mass social success. The embodiment of imperial dreams can give more than the embodiment of dreams ethno-national, and in today's Russia. The dream of the Russian imperial world can do no less attractive than, for example, the American dream of peace. This is not the dream of restoring the Soviet Union with a stable of Trojan horses, as possessing all the formal attributes of independence, national republic - this is the dream of the Russian imperial world as an enormous space of life opportunities, geographical space and social mobility, carried out regardless of ethno-national affiliation Rights . In this space of the imperial world represented all or nearly all, are all distracted from existential horror of life, there are no dull uniformity, there are no guarantees of long-term and sustainable wealth and poverty, the place in the social hierarchy - there can be almost instantaneous ascending and descending vertical mobility. The dream of the imperial world includes social success, which is determined by a personal contribution to the imperial cause and the personal success of each. Civil society empire founded on the idea of ministry. This idea embodies the imperial nobility, expressed in its social life, the idea of serving the Empire, the essence of its ethnic composition of old imperial principle: no matter what you blood, it is important that you serve the Empire, in our case, the Russian universe. Crowned imperial dream to dream about the world as a system of imperial universums exempting the person from the goods of ethnicity, are attached to the values of a large world, gradually preparing him to the world, global sirech, citizenship. Today it is an American imperial world, and the emerging universe of European Union and Russia resurgent kvaziimpersky world. In doing so, our imperial dream naturally grows out of Russia's historical and socio-cultural

traditions, yet despite everything does not die out during the years of life in the not-too-comfortable nation state. What does this dream can become today? In combination, at first glance, nesochetaemogo - freedom and service, voluntary service of hereditary aristocratic values. The first step should be an ideological perception that the imperial spirit is not a concentrated form of national egoism, but, rather, is to overcome for the sake of prosperity of a multinational: the mature empires provide examples of relatively peaceful and lasting coexistence raznokulturnyh ethnic groups - with their much greater autonomy than is usual in national states. The house, which is ruled by a wise master, life is not only safer, but more freely than in the equally communal. Because tolerance may be limited to those who are confident in their strength and responsibility, those who feel the owner. The first practical step would seem to be making programs revival polyethnic imperial aristocracy. And while that is a complicated topic, the first principle can be set today: the reliance on talented and romantic. The main direction of design as the old imperial aristocracy of the imperial world - it assumes the inclusion of the aristocracy etnonatsio-national. Unfortunately, in today's Russia there is no or almost no, not only universal in the spirit of the imperial aristocracy, but also lokalistskoy ethno-national aristocracy. But there are some people, there are social groups from which you can recruit neophytes to the imperial aristocracy, the imperial civil society - perhaps the most ready to execute the mission science. Also, we see an opportunity to revive the imperial aristocracy, through the revival of honor professional classes, officers, workers, government officials. You can, thanks to the numerous historical evidence, to remember the Russian Academy yunkerskie that prevailed in the special spirit. You may recall the Petrograd workers and the beginning of last century, which was the case prior to a general, whole, to the State and the reasonable, equitable life in it. And then let all

of this desire justice and degenerated zahlebnulos during the Soviet era, it remains a valuable model of care on the general, not only for their own good. In other words, the imperial aristocracy are those who can serve the interests of the empire, the imperial civil society, those who own material success sopodchinyaet general imperial success. Of course, such allegations sound a little pafosno and almost from the Soviet. But do not forget that in Japan, for example, the descendants of noble (samurai), the birth will be happy to appoint to senior management positions, including those in private business. In old Europe, this practice is also quite widespread. The point is that these people can make important decisions based on the sverhekonomicheskih property of their perceptions of the dignity and welfare of the state. These people can not or almost can not buy them very difficult to convince falsify financial statements to deceive the state and shareholders, as happened, for example, the company's senior management prisnopamyatnoy «Enron». They can only kill, but it is quite different quality of person, his senior imperial quality. Imperial aristocracy represent people of different classes and ranks, of different ethnicities, this notion is more a hereditary aristocracy, although where possible, in many ways grows out of her and her relationship to the world. It consists of people care for the common cause, people for whom it is not less personal than your home and family. Of the people who are willing to build and defend a universal imperial space, sacrificing the private for the success of the total. Such people and many in Russia today, but they do not represent any organized force, and, moreover, the state does not provide them with the slightest support to such a reproduction. (Public support in the first stage should be no social institutions, but has already proven to single, and in doing so should not be so great to bring scallywag.) Revival of the imperial aristocracy - it is nadetnicheskaya idea without at least partial realization of which it is impossible to translate any other large-scale ideas, calculated for several generations.

It is involved in such projects creates a sense of public unity, in which the so-called ordinary people need even more than themselves aristocrats because he really does nothing to obscure the existential horror of nullity. It is imperial aristocracy is a core, the core of the empire of civil society, based on the idea of ministry. In this society dominated by repeat perpetual imperial principle: no matter what you have blood, no matter your social background is important as you serve the Empire. In order clarifying the principle that in today's world, military service to be the main stops. Because of the great powers possessing nuclear weapons today, there are no material reasons to fight each other: all that you can capture, it is cheaper to buy. A fight for the false influence, supporting each other adventurist regimes, rather than keep them under control - this is not cynical geopolitics, but disinterested communal squabbles. If the dream of a common humanity, it is high time to realize that even the mighty player in the international arena is not able podmyat the whole world under its protectorate - to unite all of the heroes. By a common humanity imperial worlds can only move together. Using competition with each other only truly effective means - the temptation. And winning will be the one who will take the upper hand in the event of dreams.