The failures of society: How to understand them?

A. Zaostrovtsev
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A. Zaostrovtsev: HSE University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Journal of the New Economic Association, 2022, vol. 57, issue 5, 161-167

Abstract: The article deals with the concept of the failures of society. First of all, attention is drawn to the value nature of this concept. What, from the point of view of an external observer, can be interpreted as a failure, for an insider will be a normal state. Moreover, the latter, perhaps, will not want to change life in the traditional environment familiar to him, which constitutes his social identity, for something else, which seems preferable for an external observer. The failures of society are described as far from reality lexicographical preferences. The most typical example is religious fundamentalism. With its dominance, the failures of society are inevitable. However, modern social dogmas, which have become widespread and strongly influencial in the West in the framework of the so-called new ethics, may well be interpreted as failures of society. As a result, the world has lost its orientation and authoritarian (neo-totalitarian) practices do not experience strong opposition. Assessing global processes, it is quite possible to state the failure of the Earth's civilization as a whole due to the loss of an ideal image of the future. Constructivist solutions are not able to correct the state of affairs. The world will either heal itself through spontaneous institutional change or prolong its state of decline.

Keywords: failure of society; lexicographical preferences; values; religion; fragile states; decline of democracy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: P00 P40 P47 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nea:journl:y:2022:i:57:p:161-167

DOI: 10.31737/2221-2264-2022-57-5-12

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