The theory of a just state in the philosophical concept of the institutional person

The antagonisms in the development of modern social relations make working out the idea of creating comfortable life conditions for a person in society topical again. This circumstance suggests reconsidering the theory of a just state within the context of the philosophical conception of the institutional person with a substantial comprehension of the institutional organization of society comparing it with the variability of the tasks of modern democracy. The philosophical concept of the institutional person concerning a just state as a rational concept-construct for a human life and the organization of society continues a series of scientific articles on the concept of the institutional person: the ontological and value foundations which reveal its new possibilities for the analysis of social being. When considering the problem of the formation of a social state as a rational concept-construct for a human life and the organization of society through the prism of the philosophical concept of the institutional person, the principles and mechanisms of its solution are revealed. The paper draws attention to the natural processes of the formation of the middle class and the development of value consciousness which, while maintaining functional differentiation in society, form its social and class homogeneity defining the common tasks of modern democracy aimed at aligning the private interests of the domestic bourgeoisie with the national and regional interests of the country’s development and the personal interests of a human being, and to the painless transformation of domestic oligarchs into aristocrats, into allies of the middle class.

Key dimensions of crises in the EU: contemporary aspects

Purpose. The aim of the article is to describe the main factors of crisis phenomena in the development of the European integration process. Methodology. The methodology involves a comprehensive study of theoretical and practical material on this subject, as well as formulation of relevant conclusions and recommendations. The following methods of scientific cognition were used in the research process: dialectical, terminological, formal and logical, comparative and legal, system and functional methods. Results. Transformation processes in the EU serve as a manifestation of global economic and information development. The crisis in the euro area was largely due to the peculiarities of its economic and institutional organization, in particular, the conditions for the free movement of capital and the lack of policy coordination in other sectors of the economy. Until now, measures in the field of economic governance in the EU have been largely ineffective due to their recommendatory nature and the lack of a legal obligation for EU Member States to comply with them. The crisis in the euro area and the EU in general has created favorable political conditions for deep institutional changes in the field of European integration. In particular, the dependence of EU countries on financial assistance from the ESM leads them to comply with the terms of the Fiscal Compact. At present, most EU political leaders consider deepening integration to be the key to securing the EU’s future economic growth and preventing future crises. In this context, the launch of a common fiscal policy is a significant step towards economic integration in the EU. Scientific novelty. The study found that most EU leaders are fully aware of the need for structural convergence, namely overcoming structural and cyclical differences among the economies of euro-area countries, as well as the main and secondary risks of divergence as a destructive phenomenon that can disrupt the established social, political, legal and economic order within the EU. Practical significance. Research materials can be used for comparative law studies.

“Dangerous modernity!”, or the shadow play of modernity and its characters: instrumental rationality - money - technology (part 1)

The article is an essay on the critical analysis of one of the fundamental issues of social theory of the 19th - 20th centuries - alienation and its manifestations in modern societies. Alienation is interpreted not in one of its special meanings (such as alienation of labor, etc.), but in the broadest way - as the transformation of products of individual and collective activities into an independent force that subjugates a person and transfers him from the position of the subject to the position of the object of social relations. Such a definition makes alienation a universal feature of social life. However, in different societies and in different historical periods, alienation can have variable specific forms. The historically specific manifestations of alienation in modern societies can be explained by referring to the classical theme of their genesis. The originality of their institutional organization is largely associated with the originality of their culture and spiritual life (in particular, with the radical demarcation between human and nature, subject and object in the modern era). The multifaceted phenomenon of scientific and technical rationality, the product of the post-Renaissance Western-European culture, becomes a source of social realities and practices fraught with alienation. The article illustrates it by a number of examples, including the logic and mechanisms of the capitalist money economy. The author refers to the heritage of world philosophy and social thought, which problematized and conceptualized the considered issues in various ways: the Frankfurt School, existentialist philosophers, pillars of theoretical sociology - Karl Marx and Georg Simmel.

Pandemic Effects: Ableism, Exclusion, and Procedural Bias

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed social organizations and altered children’s worlds. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study of the institutional organization of disabled children’s lives, since March 2020 we have conducted interviews with families in rural and urban communities across Canada (65 families at the time of writing). The narrow focus of governments on the economy, childcare, and schooling does not reflect the scope of experiences of families and disabled children. We describe emerging findings about what the effects of the pandemic closures demonstrate about the social valuing of childhood, disability, and diverse family lives in early childhood education and care. Our research makes the case that ableism, exclusion, and procedural bias are the products of cumulative experiences across institutional sites and that it is critical we understand disabled childhoods more broadly if we are to return to more inclusive early childhood education and care.

Structural and Contentual Complexity in Water Governance

Social-ecological systems and governance are complex systems and crises that affect those systems are likely to be complex as well. Environmental topics are multi-faceted with respect to both structure and content. Structural complexity is about societal and institutional organization and management, whereas contentual complexity deals with environmental (or societal) analyses, knowledge, and problem-solving. Interactions between both are manifold, and it is essential they are included in decision-making. Describing these interactions results in a series of nineteen units, arranged in a matrix according to their prevailing mutual dependencies. These units show dominant processes and concepts, representative of environmental analysis. This approach, called ACCU (aggregation of concepts and complex adapted systems units), is provided with evidence through practices of, in particular, water governance.

Completion of the Law on State Audit in Vietnam

The Law on State Audit plays a particularly important role in the organization and operation of the State Audit Office. The author analyzes the role of this law in determining the legal status of the institution as an independent constitutional agency. The Law on State Audit defines the functions, tasks, powers and legal validity of the audit reports, the audited entities, the operation principles, the prohibited activities and the organizational system of this agency. On the basis of analyzing the provisions of Vietnam’s and foreign laws on the organization and operation of the State Audit Office, the author suggests some recommendations to complete the Law on State Audit so as to enhance the function and operation of this institutional organization.

As the Caterpillar Chooses

William Blake’s (1757-1827) work did not see the resounding success in his time as it does today. A vocal critic of the Church, he expressed his ideas in engravings, poems, and prose, creating his own complex Christian-esque history that he felt encapsulated the good of the religion while excluding the unsavory parts of the institutional organization. Over time, his writings have gained more widespread support, with fears of dissent from those in charge dissipating. Through his works “The Tyger,” “The Garden of Love,” and “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell,” as well as the writings of Blakeian scholars, Blake’s critiques of the Church are demonstrated to be rooted in his belief that the Church is incapable of trusting its followers, instead prescribing a narrow lens in which worship cannot stray far from.

OASIS evaluation of the French surveillance network for antimicrobial resistance in diseased animals (RESAPATH): success factors at the basis of a well-performing volunteer system

SummaryAntimicrobial resistance is a One Health issue requiring the development of surveillance systems in the human, environmental and animal sectors. In Europe, the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance on zoonotic pathogens and indicator bacteria in healthy food-producing animals has been implemented on a legal basis, while countries are also expected to extend their surveillance to diseased animals in the frame of national action plans. In this context, evaluating existing antimicrobial resistance surveillance systems in veterinary medicine is important to improve systems in place, but also to help other countries learn from these experiences, understand success factors and anticipate challenges. With this aim, the French surveillance network for antimicrobial resistance in bacteria from diseased animals (RESAPATH) was evaluated using the OASIS assessment tool. Key performance factors included (i) a strong and inclusive central institutional organization defining clear and well-accepted surveillance objectives, scope and procedures, (ii) strong skills in epidemiology and microbiology and (iii) a win-win approach enabling the volunteer participation of 71 field laboratories and where a free annual proficiency testing plays a pivotal role. The main area of improvement of RESAPATH was its time-consuming data management system.

Monetary policy in liberalized financial markets: the Mexican case

The paper examines the behavior of monetary policy and the institutional organization of economic policy in Mexico during the years of financial liberalization and the outgrowth of the financial industry. It argues that these policies have favored monetary and financial stability at the cost of reducing investment and negatively affecting the strength of the productive structure and the international competitiveness of the economy. The paper argues that such negative results, with the passage of time, increase the odds that current monetary policy will become unable to pursue monetary and financial stability. Unlike other outstanding critical literature, the emphasis of our evaluation regarding current policy's negative consequences is on the reduction of public investment that the institutional organization of economic policy has produced, instead of the overvaluation of the real exchange rate. As a final point, the paper discusses how institutional organization can be reformed to avoid further weakening of the productive structure and international competitiveness of the Mexican economy.