Government Social Responsibility: Its Essense And Forms

Abstract

The paper presents a socio-philosophical analysis of government social responsibility of the authorities. It contains the explication of this phenomenon from the position of the system approach: the structure of the responsibility of power as a system is disclosed, its elements are described. The social responsibility of power is presented as a construct that presents certain powerful messages, influences the evaluation of political reality by the object of power. A level model of social responsibility is presented in terms of the degree of activity of the subject of power. The criteria for the social responsibility of the authorities within the framework of the power process are presented. The subject of this study is the social responsibility of the authorities as an open system. The work contains an analysis of the mechanisms for realization the construct of social responsibility of the authorities from the standpoint of achieving national interests. The purpose of this work is to explicate the social responsibility of the authorities, to investigate the mechanisms for implementing the construct of responsibility. There is an attempt to determine the content of government social responsibility in different political environments.

Keywords: Social responsibility of the Statepower relationspolitical environment

Introduction

The main streaming of social responsibility of subjects of power causes to study this issue in various fields of humanitarian and social sciences. This paper is devoted to the study of government social responsibility, primarily from the view point of socio-philosophical analysis, because it’s heuristic potential helps to identify the depth of this social phenomenon, to reveal its new boundaries. The object of study is the government social responsibility in various political environments. The goal of the study is to explicate the government social responsibility and to study the content of this phenomenon in various political environments. There are search hypothesis swell illustrated by the statement that government social responsibility has different content in political environments.

Problem Statement

The government social responsibility as an open social system is characterized by information and energy exchange with the environment known as “social metabolism”. Moreover, it develops only when it responds to an environmental impact and interacts with it (Vasilkova, 1999). The functioning of the system is connected with its ability to assimilate information from the environment, to adapt it for its elements and tasks and to influence on real world. The system properties allow us to assume that the content of government social responsibility within various political environments can have different content and reflect “social climate” of a certain political environment.

The understanding of government social responsibility within political environments is formed under the influence of prevailing political regime. Political regime is the orientation of the political system on social environment, implementation of activities that are capable to support the stability of the social environment as a whole. Political regime influences on the social environment to achieve certain goals of the subject of power (Dibirov, 2002). The key goal of political regime is to preserve the existing government, the will implementation of the subject of power and the stability of the political environment. Political regime is a condition for power existence and political system functioning. The stability of power position that the subject of power has and the accumulation of symbolic capital are connected with its possibility to influence on forming needed social expectations that the object of power has and to form criteria for assessing its activity by the object of the power. There is a lacuna in the study of government social responsibility: the definition of social responsibility in the context of power relations, the content of government social responsibility in different political environments. There is no explicate the government social responsibility and to study the content of this phenomenon in various political environments.

Research Questions

The government social responsibility is an open social system that includes the following elements:

• subject of social responsibility;

• object of social responsibility – goals of the object of power;

• authority – initiative groups generalize the goal of various groups, set a common goal and present it to the subject of responsibility.

The government social responsibility as a subsystem that includes political, moral, legal and economic responsibilities. Social responsibility is the basis of power. It occupies an important place in the accumulation of symbolic capital that causes the object of power to recognize the subject of power; it also gives the possibility to take a high position in social hierarchy ant to gain power. Praxeological grounds of social responsibility in the legitimacy process can be explained by the fact that the subject of power should assert the legitimate place, persuade the object of power that the subject of power deserves its high position.

The role of social responsibility in the processes of gaining legitimacy by the government is connected with the inability to give legitimacy in a legal way when there is only the legality of the government. The strengthening of legitimacy is directly related to authority’s behavior that responds to society needs, affects the emotional state, and makes the object of power agree with the subject of power through subordination to laws, electoral activity during elections and positive emotional response to the subject of power. The accumulation of symbolic capital, the acquisition of legitimacy as a ground for social responsibility can be supplemented by such categories as the initiative of the subject of power that understood as the anticipation of emerging needs, needs of the object of power, key activity aspects of the subject of power. In the context of responsibility an initiative means a voluntary acceptance and realization of necessary or announced needs and goals of the object of power (Abulkhanova, 1999). The initiative is considered a social activity of the subject of power. A social activity is a socially significant activity performed by the subject of power. Thus, there are three levels of government social responsibility.

The high level of government social responsibility is expressed by the active activity of the subject of power to satisfy the existing needs of the object of power, to provide a background for satisfying the needs of the next level and to correspond to the rules established in the social field. The initiator of this activity is the subject of power.

The average level of government social responsibility is expressed by the activity of the subject of power to satisfy the existing needs of the object of power, to provide a background for satisfying the needs of the next level and to correspond to the established rules fully in the social field. The initiator of this activity is the subject or object of power. The activity covers only identified needs announced by the government and it should not be ahead of new needs. However, its executer is the subject of power that is supported by social institutions (civil organizations).

The low level of social responsibility assumes that the subject of power acts to satisfy the basic needs of the object of power not providing a background for satisfying needs of higher level. The initiator of the activity is the object of power and authorities of social responsibility. However, all authority participant scan be executors. The activity of the subject of power can fail fully or partially to meet conditions of the existing social field.

Thus, the government social responsibility is a well-timed activity of the subject to achieve goals of the object of power that meet the rules, traditions, needs and values of the social field. The government social responsibility in the context power relations is a means that allows authorities to be self-sustaining in the social field.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this article is to explicate the social responsibility of the authorities, to investigate the mechanisms for implementing the construct of responsibility, the analysis of content of government social responsibility in different political environments. It is necessary to solve the research hypothesis: well-illustrated by the statement that government social responsibility has different content in political environments.

Research Methods

The research contains a social-philosophical and system analysis of government social responsibility.The government social responsibility as an open social system is characterized by information and energy exchange with the environment known as “social metabolism”. Moreover, it develops only when it responds to an environmental impact and interacts with it (Vasilkova, 1999). The functioning of the system is connected with its ability to assimilate information from the environment, to adapt it for its elements and tasks and to influence on real world. The system properties allow us to assume that the content of government social responsibility within various political environments can have different content and reflect “social climate” of a certain political environment.

The understanding of government social responsibility within political environments is formed under the influence of prevailing political regime. Political regime is the orientation of the political system on social environment, implementation of activities that are capable to support the stability of the social environment as a whole. Political regime influences on the social environment to achieve certain goals of the subject of power (Dibirov, 2002). The key goal of political regime is to preserve the existing government, the will implementation of the subject of power and the stability of the political environment. Political regime is a condition for power existence and political system functioning. The stability of power position that the subject of power has and the accumulation of symbolic capital are connected with its possibility to influence on forming needed social expectations that the object of power has and to form criteria for assessing its activity by the object of the power.

Findings

In democratic political regime the praxeological grounds of government social responsibility are stable protection of social and civil human rights. The axiological grounds of government social responsibility are the need for guaranteeing and securing civil rights and freedoms. In this environment the object of power can use active and passive rights to vote, to receive social benefits. The information received by the object of power leads to the expectations where the government social responsibility is the activity of the subject of power aimed at achieving, strengthening fundamental rights and freedoms in society. Civic education encourages citizens to use civil rights and freedoms including the use of active and passive rights to vote. Political time in most European countries is connected with the transition to democracy; it means that it is filled with the events aimed at transforming the existing world – transition from authoritarian regime to democracy (Melville, 2007). The political reality of a democratic state is culture that combines political and symbolic experience persevered from authoritarian regime, the openness of the object of power to political changes and the desire for political participation. The responsibility of the government within a democratic regime is expressed by the possibility of political participation, complicity in corporate governance and the presence of opposition. The possibility of pluralism, the provision of social and civil rights allow the subject and the object of power to determine what social responsibility is.

Authoritarian regime is defined as an intermediate link between totalitarianism and democracy. Authoritarian regime is understood as a form of government where power is assigned to a concrete person, group or institution where political pluralism is possible but society participation but society participation in governing is minimal. The political environment creates the conditions when a person assimilates offered ideas, ideas about what is needed as his/her own beliefs. The object of power is unable to formulate and present the wishes to the subject of power and as a result, the object of power uses the proposed scenario. Political time in authoritarian regime is event-driven and short-lived as this regime is a transitional stage in policy development. Political socialization is a process where main attention is devoted to the role of ideological propaganda institutions that can provide an individual short-lived political adaptation to absorb new values and rules

In the authoritarian regime the feedback system is distorted because the requirements of the object of power are not a condition for political processes. The subject of power can conduct a reflection of political reality as it is distanced from the object of power. If the government blocks public promises and social demands to provide mechanisms for political participation, it will suggest the viewpoint where government responsibility is an activity that provides comfortable political conditions to the object of power to satisfy its basic needs. The government in authoritarian environment creates mechanisms for unreal participation of society in the processes of governing and understands government responsibility through political pluralism and economic and social development pace. When the impossibility of the object of power to participate in political processes of an authoritarian environment coincides with the crisis in political processes, power is identified with total irresponsibility and disorder in society. It can be partly explained by the fact that authoritarian regime is connected with the charismatic political leader. Moreover, the success and failure of the political process are identified with the political leader.

In totalitarian regime social rights and guarantees are provided less, but they are at higher level and they also express social responsibility; however, political and civil rights and freedoms can be absent. In the political environment an active propaganda is aimed at destroying the previous regime, it debunks the positive image of the previous regime and creates a new reality (Shcherbinin, 2000).

Arendt (1951) notes that the basis of totalitarian regime is the mass society created by the crisis and disintegration of the old state structure that cannot attain an economic growth in a situation of uncertainty. To some extent, propaganda creates a false political reality that hides a real basis of the political process (Heveshi, 2001). The grounds for government social responsibility for the object of power are government opportunities to maintain new political order, the stability of the environment, and effective social policy. Political time in totalitarian societies is eventful and satisfies the needs of the political space to change social principles, to create a stable basis for a new political reality. The political picture of the human world is formed under the influence of the political reality of the environment, spiritual abuse and indoctrination. Political and ideological ideas present the government social responsibility as an activity aimed at the common good, achieving equality, the readiness for self-sacrifice in the interests of the government. For the object of power the government social responsibility is an activity of the subject of power that is aimed at guaranteeing personal and political human rights, establishing equality between the government and personal interests, the priority of the interest of the subject of power. For the subject of power the grounds of social responsibility are priority realization of society interests, the stability of political environment and clear scenario for State development, reduction of conflicts, lack of anarchy risks and the enforcement of discipline; however, these grounds are risks for democratic regime (Vasilkova, 1999).

Conclusion

The government social responsibility as an open system achieves its development interacting with the environment. Due to power relations it is a mechanism that allows the government to gain its legitimacy. The content of government social responsibility is closely connected with some conditions of the political environment: political time, political space and features of political reality.

References

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• Dibirov, A.Z. (2002). Legitimacy of power and political regime.PhDdiss., Moscow.
• Heveshi. (2001). Crowd, masses, politics. Moscow: Directmedia
• Melville, A.Y. (2007). Democratic transitions. Moscow: Russian Political Encyclopedia.
• Vasilkova, V.V. (1999). Order and Chaos in the development of social systems. St/ Petersburg: Lan.
• Shcherbinin, A.I. (2000). Political education as a factor of the political process.PhDdiss., Moscow.