About Progressive Social Democrats
In the 2020s, Russia enters the decade as a country with some of the highest levels of social inequality1 and corruption2 in the world, and its future appears more than uncertain. What kind of political force is needed to change Russia’s development trajectory, significantly accelerating progress to give the country a chance to finally approach the living standards of developed nations? Moreover, what political force could address the massive array of emerging global challenges? One of our journal’s objectives is to formulate the foundational principles of such a policy and develop a concrete plan for Russia’s development.
The first step is to define a value system, as it determines the nature of a political movement — whether it will lean left or right. Throughout almost all of Russian history, conservative values have predominated in society. In pre-industrial times, when military victories and the vastness of controlled territories were the measures of success, conservative values were effective. However, in an era of technological progress, these values lead only to stagnation, if not outright degradation. Conservative ideology is one of the key causes of Russia’s current state of disrepair. Even socialism and liberalism in the country have been supplanted by conservative movements—Stalinists and right-wing liberals—neither of which solves Russia’s problems but rather exacerbates them. This is why a social-democratic movement can only be based on progressive values.
Next, we must determine an economic program. In individual articles, we examine the reasons for the inefficiency of both planned economies and laissez-faire free markets. In a series of articles on the nomenklatura, we explain how, under a planned economy, capitalists are replaced by an equally exploitative class that is far less effective. For these reasons, we must develop economic principles for a regulated market that maximize the realization of progressive values.
Another critical task for progressive social democrats is the design and implementation of a political democracy that is resilient against conservative populism, the emergence of a new nomenklatura, and oligarchy while genuinely reflecting the interests of the majority of citizens.
Our mission involves several key objectives. First, we must objectively reassess Russia’s historical experience to identify the most effective political principles for advancing progressive values under current conditions and discard unsuccessful approaches. This is the purpose of our historical analyses. Second, we aim to develop a transformation program rooted in progressive social-democratic proposals, heavily informed by this historical experience. Finally, we must also focus on creating a political party capable of implementing this program.
- Россия лидирует в мире по уровню имущественного неравенства // Forbes (www.forbes.ru). 9 октября 2013 года, 19:11. [Электронный ресурс]. URL: https://www.forbes.ru/news/246002-rossiya-lidiruet-v-mire-po-urovnyu-imushchestvennogo-neravenstva (дата обращения: 24.12.2019).
- Corruption Perceptions Index 2018 // Transparency International (www.transparency.org). [Электронный ресурс]. URL: https://www.transparency.org/cpi2018/results (дата обращения: 24.12.2019).