The problem analyzed is that of interdependence between availability of democ-ratic institutions, and society’s innovation activity. The analysis leads the author to the conclusion that society’s ability to generate and apply innovations is bound up closely with development of democratic practices of negotiations between social groups. At the same time he points out that the said ability is inherent first of all in those socie-ties where the spreading of democratic practices goes on in the direction from up downward, i.e. from intra-elite consensus toward consensus in society as a whole. Neither the conflict variant of democracy development, nor populist democracy come up as favourable for application of social innovations.