At what stage of its historical development does Moldova find itself on the eve of its 24th anniversary from economic, political and social points of view? Is the development process normal, fast, slow? What are the lessons we have learned and those we are yet to learn? What are the short-term and long-term prospects of Moldovan society? These are the questions IPN is trying to answer through a series of articles titled “Moldova at 24 years of age: Who are we? Where are we going?”, by speaking to experts from different fields.
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Sociologist Vitalie Spranceana says Moldova is at a very uncertain point in its development. “I still refuse to use the notion of transition. This puts Moldova on a certain path: we begin here and go there, but I don't think that today we can talk about a destination where we are bound arrive at. Socially, we are building a system that leaves out a large part of the people and offers privileges to the other citizens. I'm speaking about unequal distribution, unequal access to resources, wealth, knowledge, culture. We are about to establish a very unfair socioeconomic system, an illegal system”, warns Spranceana.
The political system, according to him, also doesn't allow the majority of people to be heard and influence events. “It's because of the state that is captured by powerful economic interests and the very constitution of the current political system. Civil society has only a consultative vote and no real importance. The 'small people' lack institutional mechanisms with which to influence political life”, opined the sociologist.
The country's development process is somewhat natural when taking into consideration the actual situation and if we don't measure ourselves by 'false standards' such as EU countries or the US, says the analyst. It is natural because of the configuration of political and economic forces. In a country where powerful political-economical groups, which we call oligarchs, have managed to subordinate the state, development isn't a priority. “If we have a weak and underdeveloped civil society, dependent on foreign assistance for survival, a captured state, a weak society as a whole, I don't see how we could have ended up differently”, explained Spranceana.
The first lesson Moldovan society should learn is that any change for the better comes from the inside. Hopes that someone would come from the outside and do our tasks are false. “We have partially learned this lesson, but we are afraid to say it. Foreign entities have their own interests, but we, those on the inside, are the only ones actually interested in the development of our country”, said the sociologist.
The second lesson is that all parts of society must be co-opted into this process and that it's wrong to leave out those who want reunification with Romania or those who are pro-Russian. Projects for change that leave out large categories of people never bring any good. As soon as we leave out a part of society, we fuel mistrust and opposition. “It's like a football team. If not all the players are involved, the team plays worse than when all players participate”, suggested the sociologist.
As regards the country's long-term and short-term prospects, Spranceana is worried about the lack of a national project that would change the society as a whole and not merely be fixed on a pro-West or pro-East idea. National projects so far have been disarmingly simple-minded: reunification with Romania, EU integration, joining the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union. We lack a complex project for reforms. “I think that if we talk openly about this national project, we may slowly involve larger groups in the process of change and perhaps in 20 years we'll finally have some dramatic changes. With the current political class, I don't think we can generate a feasible national project. They are able to change things only when they get money out of it. We have already seen how creative they are when it comes to theft and evasion schemes. Our politicians are not unskilled, but their skills are evil”, explained the sociologist.
Vitalie Spranceana says he never believed that Moldova's European prospects were realistic and near fruition. European integration is presented to Moldovan society in a very simplistic way – the only salvation. If that's how we approach European integration, it may severely disappoint us when it happens, warns the sociologist. The problem is not in integration itself, but in what we want – do we want to build a fair society or do we want to integrate for the sake of integration, as a poor periphery, to receive assistance money and waste it?
Mariana Galben, IPN
