Ryabov Andrey

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  • № 2, 2018

    • Modern Barbarism: Reasons and Concequences

      The article is devoted to the analysis of the phenomenon of “barbarism”, which is still relevant today for the public and political sphere. The authors focus on the so-called “vertical barbarism”. In contrast to the “horizontal barbarism”, which is known since the ancient times, “vertical barbarism” is not associated with the direct clash of peoples, but rather with complex social processes, primarily, powerful vertical mobility and vast expansion of the access of broad social strata to the achievements of civilization.

      The authors believe that the birth of the “vertical barbarism” is associated with the phenomenon described as “the revolt of the masses” by Jose Ortega y Gasset, the Spanish philosopher. This is one of the most important

      social and cultural shifts in the history of mankind, when the development of democracy and industrial technologies resulted in a new space for people’s existence and brought to the forefront of public and political life the “man of the masses”. “The revolt of the masses” in the first half of the 20th century entailed a wave of the “vertical barbarism” across Europe, which resulted in the establishment of fascist, Nazi and right-wing authoritarian regimes in several European countries. After the end of the World War II, the first wave of the “vertical barbarism” rolled back, and the consumer society started to develop, in which a “mass man” turned from an aggressive political subject into a relatively passive political object.

      The authors interpret the recent political wakeup of a “mass man” as a new wave of the “vertical barbarism”. In their opinion, this wave is caused by the fear and frustration of a “mass man” who failed to adapt to the vast expansion of the space for her life and the qualitative change in the social sphere engendered by the development of democracy and the technological revolution of the late 20th — early 21st century. The lack of proper attention from the political forces and structures to the ongoing shifts aggravates the situation, making a “mass man” feel “abandoned” by the power and the state, which encourages her to rebel against the established order and throw out a challenge to the modern civilization.

      DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2018-89-2-6-22

      Pages: 6-22