Rabotyazhev Nikolai

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  • ¹ 4, 2019

    • Western European Social Democracy in the 21st Century: from Modernization to Crisis

      The response of European social democracy to the crisis of the Keynesian socio-economic model that they created in the 1970s and 1980s was the market-oriented modernization of the social democratic parties. At the end of 20th — early 21st century, social democrats revised a number of principles of democratic socialism, borrowed some neoliberal concepts and almost completely abandoned the utopian elements in their ideology. The most active renewal processes were developed in the Labour Party of the United Kingdom under T.Blair, and in the Social Democratic Party of Germany under G.Schröder. However, the global financial and economic crisis of 2008 showed that social democrats lack a convincing alternative to neoliberalism. As a result, after 2008 social democracy faced new problems and challenges.

      From the point of view of the author, at present, European social democracy is in a state of crisis. There are several reasons for that. First of all, social democracy, which is in general a pro-globalist force, underestimates the negative consequences of globalization for its voters. It advocates a liberal migration policy and turns a blind eye towards the difficulties associated with the integration of immigrants into the European societies. Market-oriented modernization in the social democratic parties provokes resistance of the left-wing traditionalists, which can lead to internal party crises and splits or the success of the “hard left”, such as J.Corbyn. The shift of social democracy towards social liberalism strengthens the left-populist parties (Syriza, Podemos, Unbowed France, etc.), which are becoming serious competitors to social democrats. It also contributes to the erosion of social democratic identity. Last but not least — social democracy is in intellectual stagnation and is not able to offer voters any fresh, original ideas. According to the author, European social democracy can achieve a real renewal only if it chooses the path of a creative synthesis of socialist, liberal and conservative ideas.

      DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2019-95-4-132-153

      Pages: 132-153

  • ¹ 3, 2018

    • Realism and Utopia in the Ideology of European Social Democracy

      The article is devoted to the analysis of the combination of utopian and realistic components in the ideology of the European social democracy. The author demonstrates that during the 20th century social democracy abandoned many utopian ideas and illusions. In the end of the 19th — first half of the 20th century the European social democratic parties (except for the British Labour Party) utilized Marxism as their dominant ideology, in that dogmatized form that it received from F.Engels, K.Kautsky and G.Plekhanov, although even at that time a number of provisions of Marxist doctrine were called into question by the representatives of the revisionist forces led by E.Bernstein. During the subsequent de-radicalization, social democrats in fact switched to the positions of social reformism. In the 1950s, they abandoned many of the Marxist postulates and proclaimed their commitment to ethical socialism within mixed economy. In the late 1970s, the fact that the Keynesian socio-economic model that they created sailed into the crisis aggravated the trend towards de-radicalization of social democratic parties, which manifested itself in the strengthening of the pro-market wing. The most active process- es of ideological modernization unfolded in the British Labour Party and the Social Democratic Party of Germany, resulting in the emergence of a “new” social democracy (T.Blair’s “New Labour”, G.Schröder’s “Neue Mitte”). However, the 2008 global financial-economic crisis interrupted the movement of the European social democracy towards social liberalism, and in the 2010s social democratic parties again largely returned to their traditional agenda. According to the author’s assessment, the recent “left turn” of the social democracy indicates that it is not able to fully switch to market pragmatism and still needs “Utopia-Hope”.

      DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2018-90-3-158-180

      Pages: 158-180

  • ¹ 4, 2016

    • British Labour Party: Forward, to the Past?

      The article is devoted to the ideological and political evolution of the Labour Party in the UK in the post-Blair era. Having analyzed in detail the ideological changes that took place in the Labour Party in the recent years, and the concepts that were put forward as an alternative to the “New Labourism”, N.Rabotyazhev reveals the reasons for why J.Corbyn, a “hard left”, has been elected as a party’s leader, and thoroughly examines his views. The author also pays considerable attention to the intra-party crisis of the summer of 2016. According to his conclusion, the Labour Party led by Corbyn is doomed to fail in the next parliamentary elections and will hardly be able to avoid new internal conflicts. At the same time, in his opinion, the party cannot completely abandon the “utopian” elements in its ideology and return to pragmatism of T.Blair’s epoch.

      DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2016-83-4-108-127

  • ¹ 1, 2015

    • Conservatism and Modernization: Unity or Struggle of Opposites?

      While discussing the question of the extent to which the Russian conservatism is compatible with modernization, N.Rabotyazhev analyzes the views of Slavophiles, liberal conservatives of the beginning of the 20th century and representatives of different currents within the post-Soviet conservatism. Having carefully considered modernization projects offered by the left and right conservatives as well as Izborsk club’s theorists, he comes to the conclusion that the Russian conservatives are not fundamentally against modernization, but are in favor of another modernization that is not identical to Westernization. According to the author, although this approach can be justified, it is only liberal conservatism that is able to ensure successful modernization.

      DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2015-76-1-7-153-174

  • ¹ 2, 2014

    • BRITISH LABOUR PARTY ON THE WAY TO ADAPTATION TO MODERN WORLD

      The article explores the evolution of the British Labour Party’s ideology. After briefly touching upon the ideological origins of labourism and its development during the 20th century, the author analyzes in detail theoretical searching that unfolded within the party at the end of the last century and led to the emergence of the so-called “New Labourism” that marked a rejection of etatist-redistributive social model and recognition of advantages of private initiative and market economy. Having notified a visible tendency among labourists to return to a more traditional agenda after 2007, N.Rabotyazhev suggests that the results of the Labour Party in the parliamentary elections in 2015 will largely depend on whether it will manage to develop by that time a convincing project combining center-left values with the imperatives of globalization and “new economy”.

      DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2014-73-2-118-140

  • ¹ 3, 2013

    • Russian National Identity in Mirror of Modern Domestic Conservatism

      On the basis of the detailed analysis of the major currents in the domestic conservatism, N.Rabotyazhev comes to the conclusion that, despite the popularity of the conservative attitudes in the Russian society, none of these currents are capable of offering an image of the Russian identity that is convincing and acceptable to the majority. Having clearly demonstrated that all versions of the conservative ideology (left, national-patriotic, and “bureaucratic” conservatism) that obtained relatively broad spread in the country, suffer from noticeable one-sidedness, the author suggests that “Vekhi” – “Novograd” direction of the conservative thought that views human personality as an absolute value could serve as a foundation of the modern Russian conservatism that is really able to provide an impulse for the formation of a new national identity.

      DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2013-70-3-62-84

  • ¹ 1, 2013

    • From “Returning to World Civilization” to “Sovereign Democracy”: Evolution of Foreign Policy Conceptions of Russian “Parties of Power”

      On the basis of the analysis of the foreign policy conceptions of “parties of power” that have been present on the Russian political arena during the last 20 years, N.Rabotyazhev and E.Solovyev demonstrate that the vector of party construction within this segment of the Russian political specter was directed from liberalism to conservatism, and each of the newly created pro-government parties increasingly referred to the conservative values and principles. Radical liberalism of “Choice of Russia” was followed by “centrism” of “Our Home – Russia” that in its turn was followed by the conservative “safeguarding” of “United Russia”, the postulate about the necessity of returning into the “womb of the world civilization” succumbed to the perception of Russia as an independent, unique civilization, and the Westernized idealism was replaced by geopolitical realism. According to the authors’ conclusion, this conservative drift will continue that will unavoidably impact international political attitudes of “United Russia”.

      DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2013-68-1-36-54

  • ¹ 3, 2012

    • EUROPEAN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY IN SEARCH FOR ADAPTATION TO CHANGING WORLD

      The article considers the European social democracy ideas evolution from the moment of its emergence until today. On the basis of the analysis of the fundamental attitudes within the leading European social democratic parties N.Rabotyazhev demonstrates that until very recently the development of the social democratic movement in essence had only one vector – social democracy has been gradually losing its radicalism transforming from the anti-capitalist class force into the part of the political establishment of the Western countries, and only the world financial-economic crisis interrupted its “driftage to the right”. At the same time the author describes history of the social democratic movement as a story of escaping illusions and dogmas. According to the author’s opinion, the distinguishing features of this movement are permanent “revisionism”, timely abandonment of obsolete or erroneous views, constant aspiration towards bringing ideas into accordance with reality. It is these qualities that allow social democrats to overcome the difficulties that they faced in the epoch of globalization.

      DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2012-66-3-146-167

  • ¹ 2, 2007

    • HISTORIOSOPHY AND GEOPOLITICS OF RUSSIAN CONSERVATISM: ANALYSIS EXPERIENCE

      The article covers the research of the geopolitical component of Russian Conservatism. Russian Conservatives' geopolitical concepts are reviewed in interrelation with their historisophic constructs and other aspects of conservative Weltanschauung. Having thoroughly analyzed the ideas of I.Kireevsky, A.Khomyakov, N.Danilevsky, K.Leontiev, N.Ustryalov, Y.Iliin, the Eurasians, the representatives of the Communist Party patriotic faction and modern “white” Conservatives (V.Aksyuchits, N.Narochnitskaya, K.Myalo etc.) N.Rabotyazhev comes to the conclusion that although the development of Russian Conservatism was far from being linear it is possible to speak about a certain continuity of the Conservative thought in this country. In his opinion Russian Conservatives are as a rule characterized by organic understanding of the society and the rejection of liberal individualism; and their geopolitical views are based on the idea of Russia's original historical way and its opposing to Europe (often transferring into more or less expressed anti-Western moods) and on the belief into the messianic predestination of the Russian people and (quite often) pan-Slavism.

      DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2007-45-2-103-118