Recently, on the initiative of Center for scientific political thought and ideology Stepan Sulakshin was held all-Russian business meeting. Stepan Stepanovich Sulakshin is a wonderful person by their energy and diligence. He gathered around him a cohesive team of economists and social scientists that explore the length and breadth of our society. They try to do this by rigorous methods borrowed from the natural Sciences. (He S. S. — physicist, PhD).
I want to believe that, when after the collapse and decline will start to finally build our country and useful to this research. And not just a research Center Sulakshin offers very specific development.
Incidentally, when the Bolsheviks came to power, they used the achievements of tsarist regime — the same GOELRO plan. It is essential to have some plans of action, because when you want to act, to think and to plan will have no time. In this I see the value of such brain centers.
However, sometimes Sulakshin Center goes beyond the purely intellectual studies. One day I happened to attend the discussion of the establishment of many parties of a new type. (I wrote about it in LJ).
A business meeting is a phenomenon of this series. The idea was this: economists together with the business approach the authorities and to the President with petition: to change monetary policy so that it doesn’t block any development, as it is today. Seemingly elegant hall of the Radisson-Slavyanskaya had to break from the Patriotic businessmen who came, as they said in the old days, from all corners of our vast country, to voice their concerns. No you can’t. The business meeting was very small — who you would think? It is business people. The organizers sent out ten thousand invitations to the heads of business enterprises of different profiles and sizes. Responded a hundred people. Why? It’s not interesting? It seems to be extremely interesting and urgent. What is it then?
I think the reason is this. We have, despite all the talk, there is no business class (class, stratum — say what you want). Those people that have the class itself do not feel. Business class is not very liquid and weak. And a business meeting demonstrated this.
An intellectual might say: they are afraid that they will be persecuted, will send checks, will take away business. I’m sure that isn’t the point. Still, they are not as timid weaklings, our businessmen. Yes and there is nothing to fear: a respectable and loyal. They just don’t believe that they — at least some force, is able to communicate its common position to the authorities.
And that is very bad.
Our entrepreneurs are not trying to organize into some coherent political force. They prefer just to find a track to individual authorities to “poreshat questions”. And solve their problems, so to speak, on an individual basis. This is not always the very corruption that plays in our public consciousness the role of evil spirits. Sometimes it’s just the informal interaction state power and business: I will bring you through, and you are the road or patch up some money for district event will throw. “In the area” this type of relationship is especially noticeable.
Sometimes I even think that maybe a political organization, the creation of the party, this is something that a) Western, b) belonging to the Modern society, as it is now commonly expressed. That is now obsolete. And in Russia at all it is necessary to look for some other forms of life. It’s possible, that seems wrong, the deviation is the embryo of something else, another rule. But this idea still need to think through, this is just preliminary guesses.
Meanwhile, entrepreneurs — people are important everywhere though. These are people who spin the wheels of the economic mechanism. Not the invisible hand of the market is doing. These people as you can, do business: trade, build, produce something, plow the land and raise bread and potatoes. Our entrepreneurs often do it badly, clumsily, crookedly, but — do.
I absolutely do not take into consideration the so-called oligarchs: this is not the entrepreneurs are the nobles, who were given some resources on feeding in response to different services. In the Middle ages the main wealth was land — and gave the land, now give oil wells or steel plants.
The main feature of these entrepreneurs is an organization of national labour. Someone needs to organize it? Someone needs to start new projects, to bring them to realization? This can be either a state Commissioner, or a private owner. Or various combinations of both. Nothing else I do not see: themselves things are not done. When we start to rebuild our economy (and it will have to do) is what forces? I have a strong doubt that our entrepreneurial class, such as it is, is able to bear on their shoulders the inevitable new industrialization. And it’s not those or other laws. The case is deeper, it is something internal in the souls and minds of people.
Once Western entrepreneurs to work pushed the Protestant ethic: worked, were made to be saved for the hereafter. Sergei Bulgakov believed that the role of Western countries in the development of the industry we have played the old believers. Apparently, this is true: almost all of our pre-revolutionary industrial enterprises were either old believers or foreigners. Here’s to old believer work ethic and psychology would be good to look closer and learn. How I imagine the head of the company was considered the old believers something of a heads of a large family, responsible for everything to have been learned, fed, assigned to the case, severely punished in case of laziness and neglect.
Once in Soviet history books about the revolution of the 17th, wrote that de bourgeoisie in Russia was “weak” and the government is not held. I remember then very surprised: how so? Therefore, probably, and remember. And now, it seems, understood.
What follows from this? Socialism should be. To put it more correctly — high level of state involvement in the economy. And in life in General.
The state should be the main organizer, head of household. That is to do the opposite of what happens now: not to leave the state should the economy, but rather to return to it. Without this, any development we can not see. And another thing: labour bourgeois, entrepreneur — we have to form. Educate. It is said that in China, entrepreneurs are in the Communist party and their bringing up, among other things, our party — in any case, they are subject to party discipline. Uh, we would…
We have yet to form an employment business bar. In General, we need a society where all people — workers, only one is working as an entrepreneur, the other as the scientist, and the third as a working. And all for the common benefit.
Someone erudite, for sure, will see in the last paragraph a hint of the corporate state. Don’t bother looking for hints: I really think the corporate state best native social structure.
