ELITE AS AN AGENT OF SOCIAL LIFE

Very often the results of opinion polls among leaders of public opinion and experts, or the Belarusian elite, are disparaged both among democrats (“we know what we think about this, while nomenclature doesn’t decide anything!”) and in the official circles (“this is just an opinion of ‘self-titled pseudo-elite’ which doesn’t play any role in the public life!”) In our opinion, such arrogance only increases alienation of both groups from reality and therefore cuts their ability to influence social and political life. The other countries give as much attention to professional opinion polls among the elite as to public opinion polls because the viewpoints of the elite help see the direction in which it may develop.

The first and the foremost in estimating elite as an agent of social life is its expertise and awareness which help it better assess social and political situation. In this regards, higher education (all respondents have it) and availability of the state-run sources of information don’t tell much about them under the Belarusian conditions as such knowledge and such information doesn’t differ much from those to which the general audience has access. The knowledge necessary for independent political situation-assessment can be acquired from alternative sources of information only. Data of Tables 1 and 2 show to which extent the polled elite is different from the population in general.

Table 1. Distribution of answers to the question “Did you happen to come across the results of independent researches of public opinion in Belarus over the past year (in the mass media, leaflets, while communicating with people, etc.)?”, %

Table 2. Distribution of answers to the question “New radio stations have recently started broadcasting (in Russian and Belarusian) from EU countries to Belarus. Do you listen to their programs?”, %

Thus, the respondents – especially those from civil organizations and private business – have greater access to alternative sources of information than the general audience; hence they have the knowledge inaccessible for the majority.

Another important criterion of elite assessment is its ability (and possibility) to publicize its knowledge and opinion. Without this, it will not become an agent of social life even if it possesses unique knowledge and information (See Table 3).

Table 3. Distribution of answers to the question “Have you performed in public (at meetings, rallies, concerts, in the mass media, etc.) over the past three years?”, %

As it goes from the Table 3, the elite polled, especially that from the private sector, actively transmits its knowledge in the society.

The next criterion is intense social and political life of the elite, its participation in the activity not related to its occupation (See Tables 4 and 5).

Table 4. Distribution of answers to the question “Do you participate in the activity of a public organization or an association?”, %

Table 5. Distribution of answers to the question “Are you a member of a political party?”, %

It is evident that social and political life of respondents, especially from the private sector, is much more intense than of the electorate in general.

Thus, in all the three most significant criteria – expertise and awareness, ability (possibility) to publicize knowledge and opinion, and intense social and political life – the polled opinion leaders and experts can be recognized as the elite. Clearly, it does not stand in the vanguard of the Belarusian society as it is a part of this society, with all its advantages and disadvantages. However, potentially it plays a significant role in the country’s social life. Those who really want to know possible prospects of Belarus should rather take this into account.