New economic culture in Russia: difficulties and stages of formation

Abstract

In this article the author tries to give an answer to a global question: why Russia turned out to be not prepared for the market relations. Therefore the conception of deficit of market economic culture in contemporary Russia is introduced. There has been formed a tragic situation in the economic culture of the country. On the one hand the command system has not already worked. On the other hand the new market culture has not yet formed. Using the data of the sociological investigations 1986-1991 the author characterizes specific features of economic culture under the Soviet totalitarian system: leveling psychology, intolerance towards rich men and riches, etc. In the course of struggle against a market economy, which began in 1917, such ideas of economic life as entrepreneurship, aspiration to success and riches, diligence, respect to another person's property were uprooted from the conscience of population. Instead of this a new social type of a worker — a "tiny screw" of a great machine — has been formed. Therefore today's process of formation of a new market culture is taking place under conditions of struggle against the heritage of totalitarian system. It is connected with a law of social memory: the stereotypes of economic behavior do not disappear without trace, but they are inherited, passed on from former systems to future ones.The inherited social diseases of the Soviet economy turn to be strong restrictions of the process of economic transformation in Russia. These diseases influence negatively two main elements of reforms, namely, the model of reforms to be gone through and social qualities of workers. The defects in the model and therefore in policy are reflected on reforms' participants, on social qualities of the old and new classes; they deform the economic behavior of these classes. All this deteriorates people's attitude to new economic structures, weakens the interest to entrepreneurial activity, decreases rates and results of the development of market relations.Just from this point of view the author considers four stages of the formation of economic culture in Russia after the beginning of "perestroika":1.      Crisis of totalitarian economic culture, which combined with lack of information about market relations and unreadiness of workers to work under market conditions (1985-1989);2.      Deideologization and growth of mass economic conscience (1990-1991);3.      Increase of interest and positive attitudes towards market forms of properly and consequences of market transformations (from the end of 1991 up to the spring of 1992);4.      Growth of negative attitudes towards market reforms and their consequences. At the same time the ever-increasing real participation in the market activities can be noticed (since the spring of 1992).From the author's standpoint the future of market culture in Russia will depend on four conditions:1)  political stability;2)    reorientation of the old administrative structures to the support of market economy and creation of the new management structures;3)     creation of the new effective legislation for encouragement and support of new property forms and investments;normalization of the moral climate in society.