ДРЖАВА И СОЦИЈАЛИСТИЧКА ДЕМОКРАТИЈА - Одумирање или превладавање државе
THE STATE AND SOCIAL DEMOCRACY

Summary/Abstract: The article puts emphasis on the need of confronting some marxist concepts of the state with the challenge created and set out by some contemporary trends of social progress. Of these concepts the following subjects are of particular interest: first, the statement that a strong state forms a weak society and vice versa, as well as that a weak society presumes or needs a strong state; the second idea express an instrumental concept of the state, i.e. that the state is only an instrument in the hands of the ruling class; the third concept is of the withering away of the state in the postrevolutionary period of socialist society. In the opinion of the author, today not one of these concepts can be accepted without reserve. Historical experience shows that, apart from all wishes, societies that are economically and culturally stronger have a strong state — reality still does not confirm the expectations that the state weakens with the strengthening of society. The instrumental concept of the state today cannot totally explain the autonomy of state power in particular socialist countries, as it is obvious that the worker’s class in the sociological-structural sense is not the hegemon of society, even in cases where the ruling and governing strata acts in the direction of realising its short and long-term interests. The concept of the withening of the state in the cases where it is implemented in a way it does not take into account the construction of mechanisms of power limitation, while power as such exists, can create multiple negative consequences. The tuning of the political system according to some future aims and goals and not taking into account real needs of power limitation, can make harder the process of real democratization in practical political life. The author stresses the equal importance of the concept of transparency and limitation, as well as the idea of the withering away of the state today.

• Details
• Contents