History training: a time of lost opportunities

Abstract

The article analyzes the problem of Ukraine's independence. Independence is viewed in two ways: as a formal legal act and as the real sovereignty of the people. The acquisition of real sovereignty is seen as a process of achieving social maturity (education) of the people in the course of its history. Shows the genealogy of the idea of an independent state and its connection with the era of modernity. The idea of state independence is not inherent in either the political consciousness or the practice of most of the era of civilization until the beginning of modernity. The thesis is substantiated that independence is an important social task of modern Ukrainian society, and not a fact of its life. The political and legal basis of independence is the sovereignty of the people. It is declared by the constitution, but did not take place de facto. The limited sovereignty of the people is associated with the usurpation of power and property in Ukraine by a closed ruling corporation. The article analyzes three main social forces that determined the development of the country during the period of independence. They are: the selfish interest of the new ruling class, the state aspiration of the protest movement (it is usually called national democratic) and the inertia of Soviet life of the bulk of the population. There is a meaningful connection between the way of governing in the Soviet system and the regime of the dominant corporation in contemporary Ukrainian history. The key feature of the ruling corporation is the implicit, hidden nature of its dominance. This destroys productive social dynamics, creates the preconditions for social collapse. Recently, after the second Maidan, there has been a lawsuit between the people – civil society – and the corporation of rulers and its social satellites for the organization of public life. It is concluded that only the elimination of the privileged position of the ruling corporation opens up the prospect of real democracy and the productive development of Ukraine in a globalized world.