DOI: 10.17072/2078-7898/2016-4-38-43

POLITICAL ALIENATION: REVISITING DEMOCRACY CRISIS
ONTHOLOGICAL BASIS

Osmolovskaya Alexandra Andreevna
Ph.D. Student, Assistant Lecturer of the Department of Philosophy

Perm State University,
15, Bukirev str., Perm, 614990, Russia;
e-mail: osmolovskaya.a@gmail.com

The idea of liberal democracy crisis for the first time proposed in the second half of the XXth century is still topical today. In our opinion, consideration of such phenomena requires philosophical methodology. Intrinsic analysis of liberal democracy crisis supposes elimination of its onthological basis. Such basis can be political alienation with such institutions as political power and state. The article deals with one of the first attempts of political alienation apprehension by French enlightener J.-J. Rousseau, who concludes political power dependence of general will, i.e. nation's will, which can be the basis of its legitimacy.

Political alienation today is expressed in limiting character of contradiction between universal suffrage as means of nation's realization of its political will and present institutions which only formally promote its realization. As such, English politologist C. Crouch introduces post-deocracy notion, which states with long history of liberal democracy can achieve. Post-democracy supposes limiting separation between the majority of people and political elite, which preserves its rule by manipulative techniques. Within the framework of this research we cling to the notion that one cannot speak of exhaustiveness of the idea of democracy, whereas new understanding of this political regime is required. Humanisation of social life, that is transfering a man into the highest value, should become the main principle of democratic political regime.

Keywords: democracy, political alienation, sovereignty, the rule of the people, post-democracy.

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The date of the manuscript receipt 31.10.2016

Please cite this article in English as:

Osmolovskaya A.A. Political alienation: revisiting democracy crisis onthological basis // Perm University Herald. Series «Philosophy. Psychology. Sociology». 2016. Iss. 4(28). P.38–43. doi: 10.17072/2078-7898/2016-4-38-43