Against the Merger of Power and Property in Russia (On the 90th Anniversary of the Birth of A.S. Akhiezer)

The article examines the theoretical and philosophical aspects of the problem of merging power and property using the example of modern Russia. The author’s methodological approach is based on A.S. Akhiezer’s conception of the philosophy of history and social development. Thus, the merging of power and property is considered as a factor that blocks the development of a country. The author introduces the concept of “power-property-administration” syncretism and uses this concept to explain the thinking and actions of the leaders of perestroika and liberal-democratic reforms in Russia in the 1980-1990s. The article propose to consider the efforts to disassociate the “power-property-administration ”syncretism as a continuation of the idea of separation of powers, which was developed by West European democratic thinkers J. Locke and C.-L. Montesquieu as well as by the “founding fathers” of the U.S. Constitution (A. Hamilton, J. Madison and J. Jay). Meanwhile, the classical Western conceptions of democratic reforms do not take into account that the separation of political powers is not sufficient; it is also necessary to institutionalize the relationship between political power and economic power. Thus, A.S. Akhiezer’s methodology for the analysis of historical experience is based on taking into account the totality of all factors: political, economic, social and cultural phenomena. For example, the monopoly is interpreted by Akhiezer not only as an economic but also as a social and historical phenomenon, which originated even in the early stages of human history. The author concludes that, using such concepts of Akhiezer’s socio-cultural theory as “collusion,” “divide” and “mediation,” it is possible to develop a strategy and tactics for overcoming the “power-property-administration” syncretism and to conduct broad political reforms that will establish a dialogue between government and society.

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