Economic development of Ukraine
Economic development of Ukraine is the most important issue in each country of Ukraine. The idea that economic development requires a massive transformation process has, until recently, been dismissed by economists as nonsense. However, not all economists agree with this statement and consider it the basic truth of economic development. As such, the following paper considers these two sides of economic development. Both theories will be evaluated individually in respect of their implications for Ukrainian economy.
The first concept is liberal democratic theory, which means that every single citizen has equal rights to participate actively in the political life of his/her state regardless of some other characteristics (such as religion, skin color, gender). A person’s right to have equal rights are, according to liberal democratic theories, derived from the notion of rule of law, which also means that everyone else must obey laws established by the state authorities. Liberal-democratic governments are based on certain assumptions about democracy. First, liberalism assumes that all citizens have a right to exercise an unrestricted right to vote in politics (meaning that they do not need to be in the majority of people voting). Second, liberalism says that human beings have the same capacity for collective punishment, which, according to liberalism, is justified when all people can be punished together for crimes committed against one another. In addition, liberalism suggests that the rules of law should not be repealed, that is, there needs to be a general law, like the European convention on human rights and other social contract principles. Finally, liberalism says that freedom of conscience is necessary for both individual and collective self-determination, which mean that each individual should be able to decide what is best for himself. This can only happen if people can exercise unrestricted freedom of speech, as well as religious freedom. All these requirements are necessary for democracy; therefore, the liberal democracy is defined by the principle of equality of rights.
The second concept is conservative democracy, which means that there is no requirement for the government to amend or change the constitution, but the main aim is to limit the power of the government. According to conservatives, freedom from the constitutional amendments is essential for democracy. Therefore, conservatives believe that the Constitution is a cornerstone of democracy, and any amendment (even those made by the government) to the Constitution is unconstitutional. Conservative theorists believe that the system of checks and balances, which is present in the modern Western economies, should continue to be implemented even after amendment of the Constitution. Conservatives also argue that a bill cannot be amended (or rejected) before it becomes law, meaning the Constitution is the supreme law. Thus, conservatives suggest that the legislative process consists of two main stages: ratification and subsequent approval of bills through the Congress. Since both houses of Congress have veto powers over a bill, an amendment is invalid. Furthermore, the Supreme Court may reject Congress’ veto when it does not intend to accept the bill. So far, however, this doctrine has never been tested in the United States.
In conclusion, liberal and conservative theories in respect of economic development are very different. Liberalism presupposes that every citizen has the same rights and has to be treated equally by the state. On the other hand, conservative theorists emphasize the limited number of the states and the importance of freedom from the amendments. But both theories are valid in theory. Nevertheless, many differences have to be overcome between liberals and conservatives and liberal and conservatives in practice. For example, liberals recognize the role of education for economic development while conservatives, and on the contrary, liberals recognize that the “free market” model might lead to high unemployment and low wages.
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