THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND MODERN POLITICAL THEORY.

Using main theories of developmental psychology and the philosophy of Ken Wilber, this article explains how the development of individual consciousness parallels the stages of development of social consciousness. The term first-tier consciousness is used to describe stages prior to ego transcendence; second-tier consciousness refers to an integral consciousness that naturally cares for others and the whole society. These stages are consistent with the seven phases of social development in the work of Akmal Gafurov, and are embodied in the evolution of modern political theory of the state from Machiavelli to the present. The article argues that an evolutionary, rather than reactionary or revolutionary, approach to social change is the required path from dictatorship to democracy to a socialist society. A genuine socialist society requires second-tier social consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]