≪Socialism≫ as the Ideal of Priest Sergiy Bulgakov in the First Decade of the 20th Century?

Abstract

The author aims to analyze the correctness of the widespread definition of the socioeconomic worldview of Sergey Nikolaevich Bulgakov (1871–1944) as «socialistic». With this purpose, the author outlines Bulgakov’s socio-economic theory of the fi rst decade of the twentieth century — the period of his most evident «socialistic» statements. The author analyzes both his economic and political views in connection with socialist teachings as well as his sociological understanding of the roles of state and society. The study shows that during this period, Bulgakov, mainly working from the idea of civil society as an active counterweight to the state, establishes his notion of «Christian community» or «Church community», functioning as a religiously and personally motivated open space for the formation of public opinion, as the sociological concept of civil society. Special attention is given to an analysis of Bulgakov’s hierarchical theory of values which, from the philosophical and theoretical points of view, ensures openness and non-dogmatism in the «Church community» as the place of nurture of social ideals, in the author’s opinion. As a result, it is concluded that Bulgakov’s socio-economic theory of the period went beyond the paradigm of socialism especially in its sociopolitical aspects and retains its relevance to the present day.

Keywords

• S. N. Bulgakov
• Christianity
• Christian socialism
• Christian community
• Church
• social ideals
• socialism
• self-governance
• bureaucracy
• philosophy of economy
• regulative principles