"Ochlocracy" is a term for mob power. For the first time this concept appeared and gradually matured in the philosophy of ancient Greece. The term "mob power" was akin to the meaning of the word "democracy".
Ochlocracy is “wrong democracy”
To clarify the situation a little, let's turn to the ideas of Plato. According to him, there are three forms of government:
- monarchy;
- aristocracy;
- democracy.
Today, every student knows that a democratic form of government is more just for society, but the best minds of antiquity had a slightly different point of view.
Forms of power in antiquity
In the modern theory of state and law, the monarchy is divided into constitutional, absolute, etc. But in antiquity it was divided into legal (headed by the king) and violent, headed by a tyrant. This is where the term "tyranny" comes from. Which, in fact, is identical in our understanding with absolutism.
Aristocracy is the power of the few. True aristocracy is the dominion of the best people. And, according to the smartest educators of antiquity, it is precisely this form of government that leads society to success. Another form is the oligarchy, or the power of the worst.
And, finally, democracy was divided into lawful and lawless. The latter was called "ochlocracy", or violent, demagogic power. Today it is ochlocracy - the power of the mob. In antiquity, this was one of the forms of government. Although then, as today, the term had a negative assessment.
Aristotle on ochlocracy
According to Aristotle, ochlocracy is not just the power of the mob, but a perverted manifestation of true democracy.
The thinker gives a specific example from history when the power of the mob, or, as he called it, "ordinary mob", negatively affects the economic and political situation of the policy. The lesson is the reign of Pericles in Athens. Modern history books loudly call this period the heyday of democracy. But the smartest people of that time had a different point of view. Having removed the “best” people (the modern interpretation of “professionals”), the “ordinary mob” began to rule the country. Who exactly was responsible for what was chosen by lot.
The consequences are natural: a complete collapse of economic and political development, the flowering of arbitrariness and despotism. There is only one result - the power of the mob, or ochlocracy, as the highest manifestation of democracy, is detrimental to the whole society as a whole.
Examples of "disastrous democracy"
You can understand ancient scientists. Just imagine for a second that all positions in society are distributed by lot. For example, a person who has been doing repairs all his lifecars, suddenly becomes the general director of an agricultural holding by chance. It is easy to guess that the probability of ruin of an economically developed enterprise is very high. Now it is clear why ancient scientists believed that democracy at its worst becomes ochlocracy - we recall that this is the term for the power of the crowd, or, in modern terms, the management of non-professionals.
That is why the aristocracy, in their opinion, is the best form of government, as smart, knowledgeable professionals are at the head. In fairness, many can cite a number of cases where successful parents left multimillion-dollar enterprises to their children after death. Only a few continued their work well. The rest, as a rule, ruined or sold these enterprises due to lack of professionalism, inability to manage.
Examples of ochlocracy in Russia
Unfortunately, the lessons of history are often forgotten. Let us recall the revolutionary events in Russia, when the power of the mob took over in 1917. The army turned out to be incapable of combat, the economy began to collapse, a famine appeared, which had nothing to do with the First World War economically. The collapse comes when people who do not know the basics of governance, the possession of state power, are at the head of the country.
What does mob power mean today? This is ochlocracy, which carries a deeper meaning. In modern political life, this form manifests itself in periods of crisis. During the years of revolutions, civil wars, duringtransitional governments. Accordingly, today ochlocracy, as in antiquity, is negative.
Signs of modern ochlocracy
- Variability of political course, unpredictability, impulsiveness of political decisions, populism, utopian ideas.
- Sharp economic downturn. The period of instability scares off capital and investors. Old industrial plants tend to close, and businessmen simply wait for better times and look for calmer countries.
- Surge in crime rate. Even large-scale hostilities or civil war are possible. Anarchy always breeds violence, poverty.
- Short lifetime. People get tired of all this, so the times of anarchy and arbitrariness, as a rule, end very quickly by the standards of human history. Of course, one can recall the protracted conflict during the Hundred Years War, when the bloodshed lasted for more than a hundred years. But this is a slightly different example, which illustrates the mores of the time rather than the political crisis in Europe.
- In addition to the revolution of 1917, similar events have repeatedly occurred in our country. For example, this manifested itself during the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century. The social explosion and the power of the mob led the country to plunge into the chaos of wars and revolutions for almost 15 years.
Causes of ochlocracy
Mob power is not just a spontaneous phenomenon that appears suddenly, like a thunderstorm from a clear sky. Manifestationochlocracy is associated with many factors. Very often it occurs during the political crisis of the current government. People simply do not believe her and take control into their own hands. Some out of desperation, others are trying to extract momentary benefits. But the result is always the same - the deterioration of the political, economic and social life of the state.
Ochlocracy after the collapse of the Union
This could be observed in Russia after the collapse of the USSR. Formally, an ochlocracy should have appeared immediately, in the first years after the collapse, since the entire political system in the country collapsed completely, and another did not take its place. But we must pay tribute to the strong political leader of that time - B. N. Yeltsin. Indeed, people speak negatively about him today. Many mistakes were made afterwards. But the fact that the country did not get bogged down in a civil, interethnic war throughout Russia is only his merit.
Seeing a strong leader in the early 90s of the last century, many abandoned the idea of open confrontation with Moscow. But subsequent actions of the authorities, inflation, unfair privatization, and the absence of powerful law enforcement agencies led to anarchy. As mentioned above, the power of the crowd is called ochlocracy. It was this concept that was very clearly manifested at that time.
Distinctive features of ochlocracy in Russia
The following can be distinguished:
- Growth in crime, crime. In the absence of political will and anarchy, the state replaced crime, imposing taxes and extortions on the entirethe economy of the country. People were not afraid to leave the tax services, but they were really afraid not to pay the so-called roof, to crime. Civil responsibility, social justice were of little concern to entrepreneurs of that time. But they can be understood. When corruption is not even hidden, when people do not believe that the money goes to the treasury, then, naturally, few people will believe such a government.
- Lack of pensions, salaries in the public sector, social benefits. It is not difficult to guess what this leads to. People survived the best they could.
- Departure into the illegal field of business. In the absence of leverage of fiscal and law enforcement agencies and open propaganda of corruption, this was not surprising.
- Lynching and "disassembly". Of course, few people believed in honest courts. Everyone judged according to their sense of justice. Often this led to a chain reaction and protracted local wars between citizens on the principle of military democracy “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
The crowd as a petty manifestation of ochlocracy
The problem is that an out-of-control mob has no definite purpose. She is always spontaneous. She has no clear plans. What will be the next step is decided momentarily. Political technologists know very well that the power of the crowd is called anarchy. The manifestation of ochlocracy on a reduced scale can be observed during the spontaneous performances of football fans, for example, as well as during peaceful pickets and demonstrations. There is even a special term "provocateurs in the crowd." These are people who feel the “warm-up” of the crowd and can effectivelysend her in an aggressive direction.
Similar phenomena were observed at political rallies on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow. But the Ministry of Internal Affairs knew in advance about such provocateurs and blocked them in time. We can recall the massacre of fans in 2002 in Moscow, when after the defeat of the Russian football team, thousands of people went to destroy and smash everything in their path. Today it is known that among them there were also special provocateurs who organized such a procession.
Thus, to summarize: the power of the crowd is called ochlocracy, but in fact it is a very broad and multifaceted concept.
