We often believe that our lives are in our hands. What does this new trend say? Numbers and comments.
Together with the sociologists of the Levada Center, we are working on a portrait of modern Russian society. At the beginning of the new year, it is customary to wish each other happiness and prosperity. We decided to find out what, in the opinion of the Russians, their well-being depends on.
The Levada Center has been asking this simple question to its respondents for more than 20 years. Today, 60% of respondents are sure that well-being depends on the person himself. 35% believe that the key role is played by the fairness of the social structure, and 5% found it difficult to answer*. To appreciate these figures, one has to go back to 1991**. At that time, 51%, probably due to the Soviet habit, thought that their well-being depended on the just structure of society. The answer “from the person himself” was chosen by only 37%. And 12% could not answer, which speaks of the turmoil inherent in the early 1990s. Since then, the situation has changed radically. Today, almost two-thirds of Russians are ready to take responsibility for their lives. “We are coming to realize what the first existential philosophers and psychologists were talking about,” says psychologist Dmitry Leontiev. “You can only look for a foothold in yourself.” However, the willingness to answer for oneself does not always lead to happiness. “A person who paves his way and makes his choice is not necessarily happier than someone who relies on gifts from outside,” explains Dmitry Leontiev. But his happiness depends on himself. And the one who delegates responsibility to external forces, thereby admits that in this world there is no one to ask for his happiness.
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However, sociologist Lev Gudkov advises not to rush to optimistic conclusions. “The population of Russia is characterized by the strongest state paternalism,” he points out. – We constantly record discrepancies between ideas about how “society should be organized” (the state is obliged to provide a certain standard of living, provide guarantees in the field of medicine, work, housing), and how it, from the point of view of citizens, is arranged in reality . 65-70% are convinced that the state should ensure all of the above, but at the same time they soberly assess the situation, they know that the authorities will surely deceive them and will not fulfill their promises. This duality of the post-Soviet consciousness is fundamental.” The data of the November survey, according to Lev Gudkov, also indicate an increase in anxiety and a departure from ideological dogmas: “A sober understanding of the approaching crisis, of course, mobilizes people and makes them more adequately assess the available resources, change their motivation and strategy of life behavior, rely more on yourself and your environment. But this is a situational change, not a shift in basic values.”
* The survey was conducted on November 14–17, 2014.
** For more details, see levada.ru