Examining ideology and conformity, while living in the Soviet satellite state, Václav Havel, in one of his most influential texts, “The Power of the Powerless” also analyzed the significance of “independent initiatives” in which “dissidents” cooperate. Havel proposed ideas, such as an expression against the enforced position (“living in the truth”) and the development of “parallel structures” as ways to resist the post-totalitarianism resonating throughout Eastern Europe during the 1980s and 1990s. Are Havel’s proposals applicable as a successful model of standing against collective conformity and overthrowing the repressive regimes today? Although Havel refers to the significant aspects of every free human act or expression, the ontological nature of Havel’s argument remains problematic. The confrontation to collective conformity and creation of a qualitatively different system, either in post-totalitarian or post-democratic societies, must examine individual consciousness in the context of systemic processes: capitalist imperialism, the commodification, class antagonisms, and domination of modern technologies, as the concept of “great refusal” introduced by Herbert Marcuse implies. Imagining “what ought to be” as opposed to “what is” also makes Marcuse’s concept more insightful than Havel’s in the context of the question this analysis addresses.

Dragana Mrvos holds a Ph.D. from the University of South Florida, where she also teaches comparative politics and international relations. Dragana earned her MA and BA degree at the Faculty of Political Science in Belgrade. Her areas of research include social movements, human rights and technology, and quality of democracy.