Max Scheler about Russia, its Historical Mission and the Russian Idea

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).

Keywords

Nation, national idea, historical mission, World War I, Russia, Russian idea, Russian world (Russentum), Great Britain, Anglo-Saxons

Received

11.06.2022

Publication date

26.09.2022

Number of characters

9993

Cite

GOST	Malinkin A. Max Scheler about Russia, its Historical Mission and the Russian Idea // Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya – 2022. – Issue 8 C. 3-7 [Electronic resource]. URL: http://ras.jes.su/socis/s013216250020646-3-1-en (circulation date: 12.12.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S013216250020646-3
MLA	Malinkin, Alexander N. "Max Scheler about Russia, its Historical Mission and the Russian Idea." Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya 8 (2022):3-7. DOI: 10.31857/S013216250020646-3
APA	Malinkin A. (2022). Max Scheler about Russia, its Historical Mission and the Russian Idea. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya (8), pp.3-7 DOI: 10.31857/S013216250020646-3

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