Abstract

The article aims to determine socio-economic causes of the emergence of an oligarchy and its functions in the Ukrainian economy in the context of postmodernism. The essence of postmodernism is worldview-philosophical, economic and political systems collapse. This is a kind of opposition to modernism. As for the economy during postmodernism, namely its formation, the changes relate to the view of social relations and human activity. So, oligarchic Ukraine is trying to solve its problems personally. However, a holistic view on the concept of oligarchy is falling apart, since the dominance of financial and industrial groups in the economy of Ukraine monopolizes entire economic sectors, and authorities of different levels in different ways protect not so much the interest of the Ukrainian people, but the interest of its richest layer. Most Ukrainian oligarchs were able to earn their capital in the 1990s, using any opportunity. It was quite cheap redistribution of state property, friendship with the authorities, seizure of someone else’s property. At the same time, oligarchs successfully used imperfect legislation. They simply rewritten it “for themselves”, repeatedly using “substitute” politicians. It is concluded that at the present stage of Ukraine’s development, the oligarchy has not only ceased to fulfill its stabilizing function, but also turned into the main obstacle to modernization processes. Therefore, the current civilization choice of Ukraine, in particular, is important paradigm of comprehension and strategy of action.