The Political Mass: Metaphors and Metamorphoses

Abstract

This article attempts the author's deconstruction of the political mass on the example of modern Russia. The object of the study is the political mass acting as one political whole. The subject of the study is metaphors and metamorphoses of the political mass. The political mass is a whole composed of many small parts. This is a set of political actors represented by contradictory and balancing oppositions. The author examines in detail the complex structure of the mass, which leads to various definitions of the mass in political discourse. The author believes that despite the hidden subjective principle, the mass assumes its own subordination to an influential actor. The mass is often opposed to the power that controls and manages the mass. At the same time, political practice is full of situations when the excessive growth of the mass can make its behavior unpredictable and risky for the authorities. In this article, the author confirms this thesis by the example of various stories from Russian politics. The main conclusion in the framework of the conducted research may be a view of the political mass as a complex and structured entity. At first glance, the political mass, which looks amorphous and devoid of political will, needs pushes, efforts from outside and the will of its master, has a rather serious destructive potential. The mass does not always express the will of the authorities. Periodically, the growth of the subjectivity of the political mass should be noted, when it can directly participate in the decisive moments of history. During periods of revolution, there is every reason to celebrate it. The author believes that the political mass can directly participate in political construction and change the existing dispositions of political actors. The political mass can construct its own elite and legitimize it. The scientific novelty is the view of the political mass as a political actor, depending on the current political situation, choosing the optimal model of behavior, and taking the most functional form of its own positioning.