Innovative Ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Radicalization of Modern Political Transformations

• Main Author: L. A. Gainutdinova
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Grani 2018-11-01
• Series: Aspekti Publìčnogo Upravlìnnâ
• Subjects: J.-J. Rousseau; social contract; radical liberalism; freedom; democratization; civil society; revolution; civil disobedience
• Online Access: https://aspects.org.ua/index.php/journal/article/view/460

The ideological romanticism of freedom and equality, having its origins in the political philosophy of Zh. J. Russo, does not lose its relevance today. The revolutionary ideas of J.J.Russault, which laid the foundations for a radical democratic paradigm, inspire new reformist and revolutionary movements around the world. The practical implementation of these ideas often leads to a radicalization of the order of political transformation, substantially reducing the line between democracy and dictatorship. This has been repeatedly observed in political history, beginning with the French Revolution and ending with a modern wave of revolutions in different countries, where radical democrats, destroying and capturing power, proclaim freedom in the name of new equality. By neglecting the real limits of historical action, redefining the role and significance of revolutionary violence, the radicals launch a process that can lead to serious danger for society and the state. Indeed, in reality, equality means only a break with the former public asymmetry, which is replaced by new values – privileged access to a new system of hierarchies. In this case, the national fabric is torn apart, all the public cells collapse, the will to establish freedom, leads to terror, destroying this same freedom, and the revolution turns into a counter to what served as its beginning. As soon as it seems to the people that he (the one who «made» this revolution) receives all the full power, this power, well-founded in numerous theories and concepts, in reality slips out of his hands and becomes elusive. The ideas that prevailed in the pre-revolutionary period and played a positive role in the process of preparing revolutionary events are highlighted as completely incapacitated.