Voluntarism – What is it in Simple Words? (Examples)

Good afternoon everyone, dear readers of the avisi.ru blog. Probably many have heard the word voluntarism, but not everyone fully understands the meaning of this concept.

Therefore, on this page we will give an answer to the question of what voluntarism is. Let us define this concept in different areas of human activity.

What is voluntarism? Definition of this concept

If we turn to science, the term “voluntarism” was introduced by F. Tönnies. It is found in various fields of knowledge. And depending on time, voluntarism can change its meaning. But the will is always understood as the fundamental principle of everything human.

Definition

In simple words, voluntarism is a daring line of behavior, the owner of which tries with all his might to make his most cherished dream come true. That is, voluntarism is a persistent desire to achieve what you want, even despite factors that contradict it. Often these are unrealistic plans. But even if such dreams are feasible, such a person will not think about the consequences. You might have seen something like this in the film “Prisoner of the Caucasus.” But there the meaning of voluntarism is shown only superficially.

Meaning and translation of the term “voluntarism”

Voluntarism (from the Latin voluntas - will, desire, desire)

- this is the behavior of a person in which he makes decisions, neglecting objective circumstances and the laws of human development. A manifestation of this behavior is the leadership with the following slogan “My life - my rules.” In this case, there is nothing sacred for a person when choosing goals and means of achieving them. This term was coined in 1883 by the German sociologist F. Tennis and initially meant “arbitrary decisions.” The antonym of voluntarism is determinism (behavior limited by certain social frameworks and norms).

What is voluntarism in politics

Voluntarism in politics can often be observed. When officials are guided by their own interests and goals, and do not serve the people, thanks to whom they came to power. But even in this case, political reality is simply ignored. That is, these are infantile boys and girls who love to play with their toys and not be responsible to people.

The situation is significantly aggravated when there is bureaucracy among officials, and there is no political culture at all.

EXAMPLES OF USING

IT'S CORRECT TO SPEAK

After Khrushchev’s dismissal, a note about him was placed in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia with the words: “There were elements of subjectivism and voluntarism in his activities.” Indeed, Khrushchev behaved unpredictably in both foreign and domestic policy.

“Urbanization was often spontaneous, characterized by a lack of planning and voluntarism in development.”

“The rules could prevent voluntaristic decisions by officials, protect the living environment from thoughtless attacks and attract active residents and public organizations to a civilized, rather than a rally, solution to urban planning problems.”

IT'S WRONG TO SAY SO

Ecological voluntarism is the absence of ecological thinking, when phenomena are not considered taking into account the impact of humanity on nature and the reverse influence of nature on people and their economy. A synonym for environmental voluntarism is the ecological approach, which identifies changes in soil-biological processes and, on their basis, determines soil-ecological control. (Comment: if the ecological approach is used to objectively assess the condition of soils in order to determine criteria for their environmental control, then such an approach cannot in any way be called voluntaristic.)

In the work area

Voluntarism in the work sphere. Agree, you have seen bosses who blindly carry out management decisions when this is completely irrational. The main thing is to please, period. Losses are not taken into account. That is, in such an organization it is not efficiency that rules, but real tyranny.

It is also a passionate will to power. An ordinary person thinks that he is not some kind of insect, but a superman. This is a person who thinks that the strongest should win in a battle for power. Or at least the most cunning one.

Everything that gets in the way is discarded or ruthlessly destroyed. Such figures calmly spit on morality, Christian laws and ethics.

Philosophy of voluntarism

The concept of will in philosophy appeared long before Ferdinand Tönnies, but there is no single generally accepted definition; different eras and philosophers explained will in their own way. In the Middle Ages, for example, it was believed that the will of God predetermines the entire existence of man, and was perceived as an external force.

There are two main directions in understanding the will:

Reason determines will . This is most succinctly illustrated by the definition of will in Cicero, who called it “rational desire.” This perception, in various interpretations, is most common today.
Will stands above reason , being the fundamental property of all things. This understanding is fundamental in the voluntaristic directions of philosophy of the 19th-20th centuries (Schelling, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, etc.).

Voluntarism in philosophy is considered as a response to the current of rationalism widespread in the 18th-19th centuries, which prioritizes reason as the only source of true knowledge.

Two great idealist philosophers, Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, took the understanding of the will to a completely different level. The philosophy of both is called voluntaristic.

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) introduces the concept of world will - the force that controls all processes. In essence, this is life as a movement and an unstoppable flow. The will to live is an elemental force not determined by reason.

Schopenhauer became one of the founders of the voluntaristic direction “ philosophy of life ”, which is based on the idea of life as the absolute beginning of the world, in endless movement.

“Before me, philosophers were busy with the doctrine of free will; I teach about the omnipotence of the will.” Arthur Schopenhauer

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) brings to the fore the concepts of the superman and the will to power. And if in Schopenhauer the will stands above man and above all that exists, then in Nietzsche all that exists is the will to power, everyone is endowed with such a will and competes for power with many other wills.

In this struggle the strongest wins, therefore the will to power is the right of the strong. Everything that stands in the way of power must be destroyed and discarded. Morality, morality, Christian love for one's neighbor - all this is rubbish that interferes with the triumph of the will.

“Wherever I found living things, I found the will to power.” Friedrich Nietzsche

To summarize, we can say that voluntarism in philosophy is a direction that recognizes will as the fundamental principle of all things (life itself).

In world practice

Voluntarism in world practice is a huge force that controls all processes. This is a constant movement of life, a flow. You want to live and satisfy your desires, even if others consider you reckless. That is, fields in some cases can acquire an omnipotent character. Probably, almost every person would like to be in power and enjoy all the honors.

That is, a person who has not only enormous willpower, but also intelligence, is capable of significantly changing for the better not only himself, but also those around him, the whole world. This suggests that a lot can be done if you combine strength, labor and knowledge.

Economic voluntarism

The concept of economic voluntarism logically follows from the political.

This system of economic management, which neglects the requirements of the laws of economics, slows down economic growth and provokes crises.

In Russian and world history, economic voluntarism has more than once become the cause of large-scale crises.

The most remarkable facts include ignoring the growing problems of serfdom (how is that?) and the resulting failure of grain yields in the mid-19th century, Stolypin’s agrarian reforms and the loud removal of the corn lover N.S. Khrushchev with the official formulation of “voluntarism”.

Cinema with subtext

Surely you have watched the film directed by Leonid Gaidai “Prisoner of the Caucasus”. Nikulin’s character pops a grape into his mouth and laments, “voluntarism.” They immediately warn him: “I ask you not to express yourself in my house.”

Attentive viewers know that the film was shot during a change of power: Khrushchev (“the conqueror of virgin lands” and “the main sower of corn”) was replaced by Brezhnev. It has become fashionable to blame the irrationality of such global decisions of the departed government, in the economic justification of which few people believed at that time.

Negative examples

Manifestations of voluntarism are by no means always harmless for society and individuals. For example, King Herod, for his spontaneous desire to get rid of male infants in the most terrible way, went down in history as a child killer.

Photo by Artem Podrez: Pexels

Traditionally, voluntarism in its negative characterization also refers to the policies of Khrushchev, during whose reign the “cult of corn” began. The latter began to be grown everywhere in the fields of the Union, advertised in films and cartoons... Thus, the will of one person “switched” the entire agricultural sector of the country, also affecting the sphere of art.

Recommendations

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Special semantics of the word in the West

The concept of voluntarism, with the dominant role of the will over all the difficulties of life, has taken root in America with a positive connotation.

This is, first of all, justified historically. In the New World, it was will that determined success. They came here to start from scratch; the “American Dream” is still in use here, declaring freedom of opportunity and action.

It is assumed that any person with the will to move upward can reach the highest social levels, regardless of his starting background.