ABOUT SYMBOLIC AND PRAGMATIC POWER

Changes for the better in public attitude of mind registered in the course of the September opinion poll are also confirmed in the answers to the question: “Do you agree that a strong leader can do more for the country today than good laws?” A strong leader is in a sense an antirecessionary manager that is why the need for him is reduced under the conditions of social stability. A year ago 54.6% of respondents answered the cited question in the affirmative, today – 47.4%, and the ratio of those who agree to those who do not agree decreased from 1.5 percentage points to 1.1 during the year. If it continues like that than the number of adherents of a law-governed state in Belarus will soon exceed the number of authoritarianism supporters. However, one should not hasten with fundamental conclusions regarding the mentioned above: any slowing down in the rate of growth of the population’s income, to say nothing about its real decrease, is going to turn the registered tendency back.

Interchange of black and white stripes occurs in the life of any society at regular intervals, and each color has its heroes. Under the circumstances of personalistic authoritarian political regimes, when making of all important decisions is assigned to one person, it would seem that when a black stripe begins the search of an answer to the question “Whose fault it is?” should not present any difficulties. In practice, however, the mentioned conclusion often does not prove to be true.

In the opinion of 54.6% of respondents salaries and pensions in Belarus grow thanks to the personal efforts of one person – the head of state (Table 1). Contribution of other subjects of power and business, and these are hundreds of thousands of people, is considerably smaller.

Table 1. Distribution of answers to the question: “Who, in your opinion, should be given the main credit of salaries, pensions and benefits increase?” (more than one answer is possible)

However, the government in particular is appointed responsible for economic negative (rise in prices) by the public opinion in Belarus. As the saying goes: to each – his own! The president in authoritarian societies is entrusted with a symbolic function in the first place. The president is not only a symbol of the nation. He is also the symbol of Good and Light. Let us illustrate the mentioned thought with a quotation borrowed from the deputy head of the presidential administration academician A. Rubinov: “All this (progress in economic, political and social spheres) became possible thanks to the unique personality of the president of the country, who managed to unite around himself the overwhelming part of the society, showed simple and clear ways of our development. Having himself come out from the heart of the people, having taken in their needs and hopes our president builds his policy proceeding from the earth, the life and not from any theoretical patterns and abstract logical constructions. This exactly guards us against extremes, against temptations of quick and radical decisions, against fast-ripening reforms providing thereby for evolutionary, advancing development of the society without shock and upheavals”.

The government is assigned a purely pragmatic function near such a symbolic personality that is why in case of the presidential course failure it plays the part of “a whipping boy”. Please, pay attention to the following: “responsibility ratings” by all the subjects listed in Table 2 turned out to be higher than “accomplishments ratings” given in Table 1except for one thing, though – responsibility of the president has decreased.

Table 2. Distribution of answers to the question: “Who, in your opinion, should be made responsible for the rise in prices in the first place?” (more than one answer is possible)

Let us repeat it once again: the president is a symbolic figure in the opinion of the population; and perception of symbols by the population happens according to the laws of social mythology – the empiric experience is secondary here. That does not mean that the president is completely exempt from responsibility. The second line which he occupies in Table 2 is a vivid confirmation of it. However, his responsibility in many respects finds itself in the symbolic field; hence he possesses great potential to appoint concrete people at fault in case of need. Of course, there is a limit to everything, and under the circumstances of a deep systematic crisis the rating of a symbol leader may collapse, what was observed in the course of Gorbachev perestroika.

Bifurcation of the power into symbolic and pragmatic ones is historically secured in the well-known formula: “A good tsar – bad boyars”. The majority of the Belarusians pin all their hopes on the figure of “a good tsar” up to the present time. They are sure that there is nobody else to hope for. From this follows non-alternativeness of the leader. All other representatives of power are traditionally regarded from the negative point of view. In the opinion of the population they are heartless officials and corrupt bureaucrats from whom “a good tsar” is called upon to protect them.

In the present context the part of “the bad boyars” is played by external factors in increasing frequency, as superfluous activity of “the good tsar” in searching for the guilty ones amidst his own team might negatively tell on the internal stability. Considerable media resources are used to “form” such factors. The data given in Table 3 testify to their effectiveness.

Table 3. Distribution of answers to the question: “In your opinion, what is rise in prices for foodstuff connected with in the first place?” (more than one answer is possible)

According to sociologist L. Sedov, “Just as Minerva was borne from the head of Jupiter, leaders are borne from the millions heads of people”. This mass delivery is caused by the need of people for a strong power personified in a strong leader. However, in practice the strong power begotten by such mass demand shows its worth in the ability of self-retention rather than in economic effectiveness. It is realized in control and not in economic output. It easily and quickly deals with its political opponents, and then for years unsuccessfully fights against corruption, stealing and another “bouquet” of social vices generated by it.

Repressiveness of such power is selective. The majority of the common people in Belarus do not sense it. For them a symbolic leader is in the first place an attentive “father”. The charge for his care is in essence minimal – you only have to keep as far as possible from the politics and do not ask unnecessary questions aloud.