Professionalization of Politics and Tension Management: the Case of the Soviet Union

Abstract

The movement toward the rationalization of the world, as conceived by Max Weber, has culminated in the 20th century with the rationalization and the professionalization of politics. It is a process by which human beings attempt to transform decision-making into a public service, independent of class and other interests, and based upon a systematic body of knowledge about man.

The development of professionalized politics becomes possible when the practitioners themselves set out to manipulate charismatic symbols and create a social order compatible with professionalized decision-making, as exemplified by the Soviet Union and other socialist countries. The major social problems of such a new social order can be traced to the structural tensions which come about as a result of political professionalization.

The paper contains an outline of the major tensions existing in Soviet society, which require further study by sociologists: 1) intraprofessional tensions; 2) practitionerclient tensions; and 3) interprofessional tensions. Proposals are made as to the sources of these tensions and the ways in which they are resolved. It is suggested that the survival of professionalized politics is based on the Party's capacity to manage these tensions.