Max Scheler about Russia, its Historical Mission and the Russian Idea
Malinkin A.N.
Cand. Sci. (Philos.), Leading Researcher, Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS, Moscow, Russia lo_zio@bk.ru
Malinkin A.N. Max Scheler about Russia, its Historical Mission and the Russian Idea. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2022. No 8. P. 3-7
The article accompanies the first publication in Russian of M. Scheler’s article “On the National Ideas of Great Nations” (1916). Scheler argues with É. Boutroux about what a nation is in the eyes of the French and Germans; formulates his understanding of how France, England, Russia imagine their historical missions; outlines the contours of the German national identity. According to Scheler, France is “the leader and teacher of mankind”, England is “the born and God-chosen master”, Russia is “the servant and voluntary sacrificial lamb of mankind”. Germany is only just developing its national idea. “We only believe that equals belong to equals, equals to equals (suum cuique), but not equal to all. This is the German concept of justice…”. The article introduces the reader to Max Scheler, comments on the content of his article, primarily in the part that concerns Russia, its alleged national idea and historical mission. It is shown that Scheler shared Western European prejudices about Russia. Nevertheless, he understood the “Russian soul” and the national idea of Russia better than many other Western intellectuals. The commentary is given in the context of Scheler’s political-philosophical and geopolitical views, which he outlined in the main work of the war period – in the book “The Genius of War and the German War” (1915).
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