Law and Ethics in the Post–totalitarian Consciousness: the Tendency of Development in Social and Cultural Context in Ukraine at Present

Abstract

The article deals with the problem of development of legal and moral consciousness in Ukraine now. The deforming influence of heritage of the totalitarism on the process of democratization of society and the construction of bases of legal state is investigated. The author shows the deeper (powerful) cultural and historical grounds of those reasons, which hamper the movement of Ukrainian society to the present–day forms of organization determined as a legal state first of all. He makes an attempt of systematization of basic characteristic features of social and cultural portrait or status of present–day Ukraine, which have a negative influence on the status and real functioning of ethics and law in society. These features are the following: 1) transparency (it is opened through the conceptions of reductionism, uncritical formalization and costumers’ attitude to the surrounding world); 2) mythology (opened through the conceptions of hierarchy, binary thinking and a lack of personal freedom); 3) criminality (opened through the conceptions of careless treatment to the honest labour, a low value of human life and the crime against the State). This general context deforms all ideas and conceptions, which are concerned with the democratic society and legal state. The conception of freedom, e.g., not resting on the conception of responsibility, allows to display not only constructive tendency of development but also destructive one. However, it is naturally enough for society where values and standards of archaic (primitive) cultures dominate in the moral and legal consciousness. These norms were reanimated during a period of totalitarism to the great extent. These features are characteristic not only for Ukraine, but also for a number of other post–soviet states. Therefore, the nearest perspectives of development as the democratic legal states may be appraised as a highly pessimistic both for Ukraine and for these republics.