Immanuel
Kant gives the easy answer, who named four kinds of government. The one that
describes Ukraine’s reality best is called barbarism, or force without freedom
and law. Interestedly the most preferable way of organization according to
common sense and Kantian definition would be anarchy, which is law and freedom
without force. Yet he believed that the law is only an “empty
recommendation” without force.

But still it differs much from the opinion that
gained  general acceptance according to which anarchy is a form of chaos. 

In reality anarchism is generally defined as the
political philosophy which holds the state to be immoral and propagates
stateless societies based on non-hierarchical organizations and voluntary
associations.

Ukraine has a long history of building stateless
societies: centuries of Zaporizhian Sich , a Cossack military pseudo-state, which
lead to the constitution of Pylyp Orlyk, a document that pre-dated the American
constitution and established the separation of powers in government between the
legislative, executive, and judiciary branches.

But to understand what is happening in Ukraine
today it is important to recall the recent Occupy Wall Street movement in the
U.S. and its slogan of “We are the 99 percent”. The movement picked up steam
rather quickly, made a lot of noise and garnered attention all over the world,
and then it was gone. It was gone from the front pages of newspapers as fast as
it had occupied them.

The main issues raised were social and economic
inequality, greed, corruption and the excessive influence of corporations on
the government. The main driving force was dissatisfaction with income
inequality and the distribution of wealth between the richest 1 percent and the
rest of the population. That was in 2011, but unfortunately all these problems
are still relevant as they were 100 and 1,000 years ago. 

Now, more than two years later, Euromaidan in
Kyiv picks up the baton. But with the social phenomenon come the multipliers of
national spirit, taste for human dignity and thirst for true freedom. 
  
More than 4,600 miles apart, the Maidan and
Zuccotti Park in New York City have much in common. In Zuccotti park, several
thousand participants set up an encampment and called it Liberty Plaza – Kyiv’s
Maidan is known as Independence Square.

The importance of the internet and social
networks is hard to overestimate for each of these movements. Production of posters,
music, organization, food, marches, work, sleep, and confrontations with police
is all had in Kyiv. Even journalist Tim Pool, who is known for his 21-hour
marathon coverage of Occupy Wall Street protests, is currently working at
Maidan.

But this is where history seems to take a
different turn. After New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided to
“clean up” the area, police drove protesters out of their camp and
they were forced to leave Zuccotti Park, dispersed into the city and pushed out
of news headlines. 
  
Former Mayor Oleksandr Popov also allegedly declared
that the area needs to be cleaned up for the holidays. The coincidences are not
accidental in any way, as people learn from each other to fight for their
rights, so do the governments learn to protect themselves. 
  
But on the night of Dec. 11, when police like
thugs in the middle of the night tried to end a Ukrainian peaceful protest by
force, something went wrong for the government.  
  
Thousands of people came to support the protest
and defend their freedom. And when the police were outnumbered, the assault
drowned in the ocean of the adamant die-hard protestors. On that night one of
the protest movement’s main slogans was spawned: “I am a drop in the ocean.”  

Even though the majority may still believe that the
failure of the Occupy movement was due to the lack of commitment, proper
organization or clear goals, it is becoming evident that it didn’t just run out
of gas, or became confused, it was cynically destroyed by a concerted effort of
the government machine. It is the same type of machine, but ours has just gone
rabid. 
  
The truth is, Ukraine is still at the
crossroads, but this choice it is not about Russia or Europe. It has nothing to
do with that. It is about dignity and freedom. 
  
Unfortunately Europe failed to realize what was
going on in Ukraine or was just too reluctant to go the extra mile. And the U.S.,
while it keeps losing its geopolitical weight, was either completely not ready
for the course of events or crossed out Ukraine from its geopolitical agenda a long
time ago.    
  
While America makes vague statements about
possible financial sanctions, people continue to get beaten and even killed,
their cars catch on fire, their relatives receive threat and their human rights
are getting stepped on every day. It is now obvious, that only a radical
restructuring of the government system will help reduce the tension.  
  
People are waiting for a new social contract
consisting of strong social solidarity, common sense fiscal policy, enough room
for individuality, freedom of speech and expression, and clear and flexible
mechanisms for government control between the elections. Only then can overdue
changes be implemented.  
  
Of course, one cannot defeat the government by playing
by its rules. But let’s not forget that the game is played on our territory
where only we have right to set the rules. And what’s more important – without
us there is no game at all. We will not lose until we refuse to submit and we
will not submit until we refuse to lose. We are all fighting with old forces
and evil, and now finally we can win.  
  
Will Ukrainian opposition leaders overcome their
lack of commitment and unity and formulate a plan of action? The question
remains open. But the truth is, maybe we don’t need them anymore. The time has
come not only to say that “We are the 99 percent,” but to realize it too. We
have been ignored, laughed at, fought against, according to Gandhi now we are
supposed to win.  
  
Will this protest be the turning point of the
new era for Ukraine and its people? Will Ukraine which for many centuries had
no own state be able to produce its unique answer to the question of
self-organization? Soon we will know the answer. If nothing else, this protest
will pave the way for many more to come inside as much as outside Ukraine. 

Vitalij
Dubenskyj is a Ukrainian journalist, analyst, ex-trader
and interpreter.