Where is Trauma Society Heading? A book review: Toshchenko Zh.T. Obshchestvo Travmy: Mezhdu Evolyutsiei i Revolyutsiei (Opyt Teoreticheskogo i Empiricheskogo Analiza). [Society of Trauma: Between Evolution and Revolution (Experience of Theoretical and Ap

Abstract

This review evaluates the monograph which follows up the cycle of seminal works on the controversial issues of social changes written by the prominent Russian sociologist — Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences RAS Zh.T. Toshchenko. His focus is on understudied aspects of the concept of a “trauma society”. This concept characterizes the situation of a specific modality, an intermediate option between the evolutionary and revolutionary paths of development. The concept of “sociology of life”, which has been repeatedly used by the author, is advantageous in terms of the theoretical understanding of this situation. Using solid statistical data, the monograph shows the apparent insufficiency of such concepts as “democratic and authoritarian path of development” when it comes to describing the evolution of any country. It is difficult to disagree with the author’s opinion, which states that these are ineffective as criteria for social progress or regression. Of undoubted interest for specialists is the typology of modern societies of trauma that is given in the work. This typology is based on the factors that have generated a socially traumatic situation. The monograph pays special attention to the manifestations of trauma in Russian society. The author’s extensive use of the results of representative empirical studies is an important advantage of the work. The monograph reveals the precise contours of an innovative academic project, which serves as a fundamental basis for further researching the complicated and poorly studied phenomenon of “society of trauma”.

Keywords

• society of trauma
• evolution
• revolution
• social change
• sociology of life