Comments on: Has an ‘open society’ doomed Russia to fail? http://www.futurity.org/society-culture/has-an-open-society-doomed-russia-to-fail/ Research news from leading universities Sat, 25 May 2013 17:29:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: nerf herder http://www.futurity.org/society-culture/has-an-open-society-doomed-russia-to-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-128102 nerf herder Thu, 13 Sep 2012 18:22:33 +0000 http://www.futurity.org/?p=140012#comment-128102 Russia has never had a true democracy in its past, with strong rights for civilians and the ability to make local decisions. They went from feudal system to the Czars, to communism. Then the dramatic and overnight switch to a democracy with open elections and changes to private ownership left many people reeling. The institutions, particularly the legal system, needs time to catch up. The American system grew from the Magna Carta, then appointed governors and elected representatives during colonial times, then mix in some ideas from the French, a failed attempt at self-governing (Articles of Confederation, 1776-1789), and then we hit upon a method that worked pretty well, with continuous tweaks, like the Trust-busting laws of the 1890's and social security safety net of the 1930's. Russia hasn't had time to develop all that and find what works for it. It's too soon to write it off, but it definitely faces problems in the near future. One of which not mentioned above, is the brain drain as the most talented people tend to disproportionately leave. (The article implies that was from political retribution, but I don't think that is still the main factor or even a big factor). Russia has never had a true democracy in its past, with strong rights for civilians and the ability to make local decisions. They went from feudal system to the Czars, to communism. Then the dramatic and overnight switch to a democracy with open elections and changes to private ownership left many people reeling. The institutions, particularly the legal system, needs time to catch up. The American system grew from the Magna Carta, then appointed governors and elected representatives during colonial times, then mix in some ideas from the French, a failed attempt at self-governing (Articles of Confederation, 1776-1789), and then we hit upon a method that worked pretty well, with continuous tweaks, like the Trust-busting laws of the 1890′s and social security safety net of the 1930′s.

Russia hasn’t had time to develop all that and find what works for it. It’s too soon to write it off, but it definitely faces problems in the near future. One of which not mentioned above, is the brain drain as the most talented people tend to disproportionately leave. (The article implies that was from political retribution, but I don’t think that is still the main factor or even a big factor).

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