Editorial Democracy and a free market economy are deceptively strong

The war in Ukraine shows the weaknesses of the centralized system of power and the state-run economy.

Democratic the strength of market economies is what, in the eyes of authoritarian leaders, seems weak: fragmentation. Democracy and the market economy are like Hydra, familiar from Greek mythology. When the head of the object is cut off, a new one immediately grows in its place. Totalitarian regimes like Russia cannot do this.

The war in Ukraine has raised other myths. There are a lot of them in Russia – about what Russianness and leadership are, among other things. When President Vladimir Putin spoke of uniting Ukraine under Russian rule and made his decision alone, he exploited two important myths. In Russia, leadership has always been perceived as a one-man task. He gets a mission from God, as Kirill, a religious leader brought to Putin’s inner circle, emphasizes. The people are a flock waiting for orders. The Soviet era was only seemingly more decentralized. The councils did not lead the country but received orders from the leader of the system.

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Russia’s age-old mythical task is to lead the Slavic peoples. According to Putin’s interpretation, Ukraine has strayed from Russia’s pearls and needs to be herded back.

In the west in the systems, decision-makers elected by the people control their time and new ones are elected to replace them at regular intervals. The head breaks and a new one grows. Leadership tales are short-lived, and leadership is secular as well as fragmented. Representative democracy – the people – decides. The model has its problems, but like the mythical leadership of totalitarianism, it is not sensitive to cracking.

The war in Ukraine shows the dangers of a centralized model. The rings of the Russian system dared to take Putin only with the kind of information and interpretation that pleased him. It seems that Putin did believe that the Ukrainian people were waiting for liberation from Russia and that the whole country could be captured by changing a couple of leaders – as a totalitarian regime might be. In the light of information coming through a distorted prism in 1939, Soviet decision-makers believed that Finns were waiting for a liberator from the East. Both interpretations led to enormous military losses.

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The totalitarian system extends from the divine ruler to even lower levels. One reason for Russia’s military weakness in Ukraine is the lack of military autonomy. Their ability to change operations as the situation changes is limited. Officers have been sent to the front line to shout orders. After the Ukrainian army has killed them, it has taken advantage of the weakness of the autonomous system. The small Ukrainian army has been strong because of the agility brought about by decentralization.

The strength of a market economy and decentralization is also evidenced by the economy. The Russian economy is a state-led resource economy. It is completely dependent on a few products – oil and gas – and there are few players in the industry. They also work under the protection and for the benefit of the chief decision-maker. The economy in Russia is like a big river branching into smaller streams to transport the good rising from the country to a few people. The well-being of the West comes from millions of small businesses. In Russia, the state-run system suppresses them for fear of competition and the rest of the oxygen is eaten by corruption. Productivity is sought from creative people who visit the West to enjoy freedom of thought. Now they are fleeing Russia. The market economy is like a million small streams that merge into a floodplain to fertilize the land.

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The war in Ukraine has also shown that energy production and supply should be as decentralized as possible.

Demigod Hercules defeated Hydra with the help of his nephew Iolaus. Hercules muttered his heads with a sword, and Iolaus burned the stumps. There is no such thing as Putin. No swords are made in Russia, the West no longer sells them and it is harder to find siblings day by day.

The editorials are HS’s statements on a topical issue. The writings are prepared by HS’s editorial staff and reflect the magazine principle.

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