this theme has vanished from discussions at COB-sites;
but it begins to emerge on those sites which ignore the existence of COB. For example: the article by S. Valtsev “Elite and domination” (site “Internet versus TV-screen”, Feb.07, 2008, http://contrtv.ru/print/2599/).
S. Valtsev started his article with:
“To answer the question on reasons of society degradation it is necessary for us to gain an understanding of:
first, what is a society;
second, how does a society development mechanism work.
A society is a historically developing system consisting of people and relationships between them and serving as an effective mean of satisfying material and spiritual needs of people.
Relations with other people bring the person material benefits which can be divided in two groups.
The first one – benefits from joint actions: for example, one person can't shift stirring stone, but two persons can. By jointing efforts people dig channels, raise buildings and do many other things that one person can't do.
The second group – benefits of specialization. Hardly a doctor should try to understand the device of TV-set – it's much easier to call for a TV-master. In turn, TV-master hardly should try to treat illness – it's better to call for a doctor.
The society also plays important role in satisfying of person's spiritual needs. Person can't be a person without other persons; he becomes a person in a society. Finally, self-actualization is disclosing of inner “me” for others. Really, why to write verses if no one reads them, why to draw pictures if no one sees them?
A man can't be without society; therefore no one interrupts contacts with society voluntarily”.
As to last statement, such cases happened repeatedly, though it is a specific theme. And as for whole we are agree with what S. Valtsev told in that fragment. After it, S. Valtsev continues:
“The society is always guided by ruling class. In general it is obvious: never a more or less large collective is guided by everybody, whether it would be a large enterprise or State Duma.
In relation to this it is possible to completely agree with elitologists, exactly with one of forefathers of elitology – Italian sociologist G. Mosca, who formulated his credo as follows:
‘One thing becomes obvious even at the most superficial sight. In all societies, since hardly coming nearer civilization and finishing with modern advanced and powerful, two classes always appear – the class which guides and the class which is guided. First class, always less numerous, carries out all political functions, monopolizes power, while other class, more numerous, is guided and controlled by first class in way, providing functioning of political organism’.
As we shall see further, ruling class and elite – are not the same. In the beginning, we shall define what ‘ruling class’ is.
A ruling class is the layer of society which really rules the society outside of any moral or other qualitative characteristics. Nominally, main social functions of ruling class are tactical management, strategic forecasting, formation of spiritual sphere of society; and main social objects are – consolidation of society for protection of society from external aggression and with a view of material and spiritual perfection of society”.
And further S. Valtsev names three reasons, which cause a society to have such character of organization. However we shall describe them ourselves: 1) the in ruling of the vast majority of people, 2) the procedural difficulty of organizing everyone’s participation in current ruling, 3) the absence of interest of the vast majority to problems and real society ruling process. However, actually it is not absolutely so.
Above all, if look at society life corresponding with DOTU (DOTU – is transliteration of Russian abbreviation for the Sufficiently General Theory of Ruling)[4] and its section “The Theory of Supersystems”, then one of quality ratios of ruling the supersystem, staying in interaction with environment, is the supersystem’s stability reserve, expressed as an amount of free elements, which do not act in current interaction of the supersystem and environment, provided that the quality of this interaction admits as satisfactory.
According to this circumstance, the problem is not with organization of everybody’s participation in ruling the society as a whole (a ruling of all-supersystem level), but with uselessness and harm of such organization: any kind of activity should be extremely effective, including ruling activity. And for the maintenance of supersystem’s stability reserve minimally necessary amount of elements should be borrowed in any activity. It also concerns the sphere of ruling.
The history gives numerous examples confirming this position practically: flourishing of persistent mass-meeting subcultures through society entails crises which lead to social disasters, until there are professional rulers resolutely stopping mass-meetings up to application of brute force, or a “meeting” stops by itself in the shortest terms with 1) allocation of professional rulers from “meeting” environment or invitation them from aside, 2) granting them powers and as well recognizing them to have rights and status of heads for not fixed time or due to the next “meeting”.
S. Valtsev writes the following about the division of societies into professional rulers and people borrowed in other fields of activity, caused by these reasons:
“The certain layer of people exists in society, which to the greatest degree approach for a role of a dominating class. Functions and tasks executed by a dominating class are the most important for society normal life. Therefore the best members of society can execute these functions and tasks. This society layer got name ‘social elite’, or in brief – ‘elite’.
Elite is a layer of society whose main task is care of safety, material and spiritual perfection of society. Elite does its task by means of tactical management, strategic planning of society development and formation of ethical and aesthetic bases of society culture.
In real life people, to the greatest degree corresponding for execution of given functions, don't really always execute these functions. But it happens so, that if not best players gather in national football team, then this circumstance is not so pitiable for society as if ruling class consists not of elite but of casual people.
In any big enough society there exists elite-imperious misbalance.
Elite-imperious misbalance – is an indicator, showing the discrepancy of elite position in relation to a ruling class. Part of elite, which is part of ruling class, may be dominating elite. Part of elite, which doesn't enter the ruling class and often stays in opposition to dominating elite, may be named counter-elite. Part of ruling class, not being elite, but at the same time being at authority, may be named pseudo-elite.
The basic distinction between elite and pseudo-elite: pseudo-elite operates a society proceeding from own interests, while elite – proceeding from society interests.