"When discussing real democracy, I don't place any evaluative meaning, either positive or negative, in the word ‘real.' Real means actual, existing, and authentic."
Alexander Zinoviev, "Real and Fake Democracy"
Dmitry Kulikov — The Western conception of liberal democracy was proclaimed the highest and, indeed, the only possible form of social organization after the Cold War. The United States justified its involvement in all modern conflicts and revolutions, from Yugoslavia to Iraq and Ukraine, by the noble goal of spreading democracy. But what does the West really offer the world? What is modern democracy? Is it related in any way to cultural and historical democracy, or real democracy as defined by Zinoviev? Or is it only an attractive brand for something else?
Democracy 1.0
Democracy first appeared in ancient Greek city-states as a form of government where the elite ruled the majority. This is a key point, because it is the defining feature of real democracy. The citizens of Greek city-states used democratic procedures tailored to their needs to rule everyone else, who was not privy to these procedures, that is, the majority of the population, consisting of non-citizens, slaves and women. Citizens used democratic procedures to gain access to nothing less than power. By gaining power (or a share of power), citizens also accepted the duty to take up arms and, if necessary, to die for their state. In a real democracy, the right to power was paid for with blood and even life, rather than money, as in later historical periods.
Likewise, the democracy of ancient Rome was the rule of a minority over the majority. As in Greece, the right to vote and stand for civil of public office was accompanied by the obligation to join the legions and lay down your life, if necessary, in Rome's military engagements. A clearly defined minority of Roman citizens, who formed a government based on democratic procedures and Roman law, governed huge territories and groups of people who did not participate in democracy and hence the government in any way. Ancient democracy began to erode when increasingly simpler ways of gaining citizenship were devised, when new citizens were brought into democracy and the right to power was no longer conditioned on the duty to die defending it. The small group of people that truly held power had to pay to support more and more people, who only formally had an equal right to power.
This led to the development of a form of social dependence called patronage (clientela), which means power exercised by a small group, disguised as mass democracy. Democracy went from being a form of government and power to a form of social organization that subdued the state. The Roman world that was built upon the state was disintegrating. Salvation lay in the restoration of the rule of the state, which is why Rome chose to be ruled by the strong hand of emperors. This effectively buried democracy for centuries to come, not only in society but also in the ranks of the state. This helped Rome survive for another 500 years, or even 1,500 years if we count Byzantium.
This was the first model of (real) democracy.
Democracy 2.0
The United States of America was built according to a design based on the ancient Roman notion of democracy. US democracy was created as a form of power in which a small minority ruled over a vast majority. Civil rights were restricted by a number of requirements. The US Constitution, which begins with "We the People of the United States," stipulates property, race, gender, and age qualifications for gaining political rights and creating a "government by the people."
At the time, the American people did not include Indians, slaves and other black people women, the poor, and stateless persons. The right to take part in democratic procedures was not paid for with one's life but with money. Those who could pay for the state's upkeep received the right to run it through democracy for the ruling class. Everyone else had no connection to democracy.
The degradation of US Democracy 2.0, which was very similar to the ancient model and was hence real democracy, was precipitated by the Soviet Union, which became the first to guarantee universal suffrage, even if only formally. By the 1960s, competition with the Soviet Union had forced the US to follow suit. Democracy progressed from mass democracy, as in the late Roman republic, to total democracy. Today, everyone has access to democracy, including those who don't pay for it with their lives or money. People who don't pay taxes or who receive government support in the form of benefits, social programs and other kinds of social assistance — all of these people (and there are many of them) now have equal political rights.
The real ruling class is again hiding behind the shroud of pseudo-democracy, exercising power through a carefully planned and devised consumerist society, manipulative election campaigns ("managed democracy"), government benefits and support for the poor. All of this is a modern form of the old Roman clientelism, with patrons and clients. But the main thing is that democracy is now form without real essence, and has become increasingly inadequate, as a growing number of people are coming to see. Real democracy ended in the 20th century.
What next?
Is a new kind of real democracy, Democracy 3.0, possible?
The proponents of liberal democracy in Russia and the West are discussing the possibility of reviving a qualifications-based democracy. They argue that political rights should only belong to the deserving, as determined by property and education qualifications. Recipients of social assistance should have no political rights. But the main qualification should be property, a sacred right in Anglo-Saxon civilization.
According to an alternative view, the right to power should be paid for by the surrender of the right to property and wealth. If you want a share of power, you will have to give up your property and savings. The argument is that a democratically organized ruling class must have no right to property.
However, the advocates of both scenarios agree that real democracy is a form of power exercised by a "select" minority that is only effective when there is a small ruling class and the subordinate masses that have no political rights. Modern democracy is a problem of European civilization rather than an ideology for general happiness ("secular religion") advocated by those behind a new world war "for democracy."
Dmitry Kulikov is a producer, member of the Rossiya Segodnya Zinoviev Club
