Social contract dialogue as a recipe for national stability and post-victory reconstruction

Social contract dialogue as a recipe for national stability and post-victory reconstruction



Does every society have its own social contract? Perhaps there is one general social contract in the world that works for everyone and is universal? Should such an agreement be legally binding or is it a metaphor? Is a social contract even necessary in today’s world? The social contract as a concept and a tool for the consolidation of society should become a subject of reflection especially now, when Ukraine has to secure an existential victory for itself and already now to project its post-war future. Many foreign classical philosophers, including Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, expressed their opinions about the social contract. At the same time, it is important to understand the peculiarities of the modern Ukrainian social contract, the values ​​and principles that unite Ukrainians, and the differences that should be paid attention to. Precisely for a thorough understanding of the concept of a social contract, its national characteristics and the search for a realistic idea of ​​a common future, Aspen Institute Kyiv launched a project in which leaders of various industries discuss the social contract and its individual aspects. The basis for the discussions was a collection of essays by Ukrainian intellectuals and experts who expressed their vision regarding the Ukrainian social contract, its importance in the life of society and the development of Ukraine. The collection “(Re)interpretation of the social contract of Ukraine” is available at the link. What is a social contract in the understanding of intellectuals? The social contract tempts with the insidious transparency of its meaning. It would seem that everyone understands the meaning of the words “public” and “agreement”. However, it can be quite difficult to determine exactly what is meant by the combination of these words. That is why one of the cross-cutting themes of the collection was the concept of a social contract. According to the philosopher and one of the compilers of the collection Oleg Khoma, the philosophers who formulated the concept of social agreement in the Enlightenment gave it a different meaning than we do now. Their concept corresponded precisely to the contemporary needs determined by a certain historical period. In their understanding, the conclusion of such an agreement is equal to the creation of a society. If we use this understanding, it is quite dangerous to talk about “renegotiation” of the contract today. Because this will mean that we have to denounce the previous agreement, and accordingly the entire Ukrainian nation. Instead, we can use the metaphor of a social contract, but with the awareness that we give it a different meaning – because it is obvious that we do not want and cannot renegotiate the Ukrainian people. Undoubtedly, the existence of a social agreement indicates the maturity of society and its formation. Political infantility, which could have been characteristic of Ukrainians until February 24, 2022, has changed to confidence and understanding of many processes taking place in the state. That is, we can say with confidence that the Ukrainian people have taken place, because we have a social agreement. But the next question arises – what is the social agreement of Ukraine? The concept of “theoretical defects” of modern human nature was addressed by Serhii Proleyev and his colleague Victoria Shamrai, Ukrainian philosophers, in their work. They note that the modern concept of the social contract was based on certain principles that have some “defects” of the theoretical foundations of thinking about man. The modern understanding of human nature, quite vulnerable in its justifications, should now be seriously corrected when considering the modern model of society. At the same time, Serhiy Proleev proposes a formula for a social contract, which is inherent in the social project of modernism. Social contract — metaphor or law? One of the important factors in the development of society is public imagination. Products of such public imagination are, for example, successful political nations — Western European, American. According to the philosopher Vakhtang Kebuladze, our future directly depends on how the imagination of Ukrainians and the entire civilized world will work. At the same time, some authors, in particular, the legal scholar Vsevolod Rechytskyi and the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to Japan Serhii Korsunskyi, define the social contract not as a metaphor, but as a concrete document and advocate for its provisions to be enshrined in the Constitution. In turn, the Constitution uses national codes as a source, which cannot be mixed with each other. Our task is to understand our national code and lay the foundation of the Basic Law. However, there are some models of constitutionalism and social contract that should be taken into account in Ukraine as well. The essays also offer very specific algorithms for the conclusion and provisions of the social contract. According to Vsevolod Rechytsky, the model for Ukraine is the US model, which is based on absolute freedom and enables this state to comprehensively develop and play a leading role in various spheres: economy, creativity, science, culture, geopolitics. Synergy of the past and the future – what has changed and still needs to change in the Ukrainian social contract? In the conditions of a full-scale war, a new level of trust between the government and the people emerged. That is, instead of total mistrust of the bureaucratic system, the connection between citizens and the state began to be established. This “honeymoon” should turn into a stable marriage. Historian Yaroslav Hrytsak emphasizes this. He believes that this requires the institutionalization of such trust and the detinization of various processes in society. In particular, this concerns economic freedoms, which should be even greater after the end of the war than before it began. Philosopher Volodymyr Yermolenko also notes the importance of institutionalization, because, according to him, the question for us is how to build institutions that will facilitate this institutionalization, rather than hinder it. The author also shows how the formula of the theory of the modern social contract – “security, justice, completeness” – should be embodied in the current project of the future Ukraine. Olesya Ostrovska-Lyuta, general director of the National Cultural, Art and Museum Complex “Art Arsenal”, considers the cultural aspect to be one of the leading elements of the social contract. She notes the significant growth of interest in the history of Ukrainian culture. The shift of our public’s interest from recognized international phenomena to Ukrainian culture indicates the society’s interest in itself: its current state and its projection into the future. The author’s observations about the concept of finding and fixing the social contract, which is implicitly present in the public consciousness, are also interesting. Pavlo Sheremeta, economist, Minister of Economic Development and Trade (2014) focuses on the future and what we, as a society, need to do after victory. Ukraine desperately needs an increase in economic productivity. Everything would be fine, but in order to achieve it, we still have to restore the infrastructure destroyed as a result of Russian terrorist attacks. And not just restore, but at higher quality and innovative levels. State investment in education will also be an important factor in Ukraine’s development. At the same time, citizens must also take responsibility for their own development, in particular, lifelong learning. The future of the social contract as a chance for development To restart the country, a new high-quality and substantial political project is needed; motivated reformers and intellectuals must form an alliance and together formulate such provisions of the social contract that will meet the demands of society. Dialogues about the social contract, about how our society will live after victory, must continue. There are its various concepts, provisions, ideas, but the main thing remains – the widest possible discussion of the whole society will promote the exchange of opinions and allow them to be reflected in the social contract. Aspen Institute Kyiv encourages all Ukrainians to reflect on the topic of the social contract. We invite you to familiarize yourself with the collection at the link. We sincerely hope that the ideas of the authors of the collection will help you form your own vision of the future of Ukraine. If these texts do not give comprehensive answers, they will certainly help to ask the right questions. And this is already the maximum guarantee of finding a vision of future Ukraine. Andriy Kulakov, specially for UP.Zhyttia. Publications in the “View” section are not editorial articles and reflect exclusively the author’s point of view.



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