TWO STRATEGIES FOR CRITICIZING SOCIALISM IN RUSSIAN CONSERVATIVE THOUGHT OF THE LATE 19TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURIES (B. N. CHICHERIN AND L. A. TIKHOMIROV)
The article analyzes two interpretations of socialism presented in the liberal conservatism by B. N. Chicherin and the social conservatism of L. A. Tikhomirov. Both philosophers defined the essence of socialism as the hypertrophy of the beginning of compulsory regulation. They saw in the spread of socialist ideas the danger of destroying the fundamental foundations of social life. However, Tikhomirov recognized the relative historical correctness of socialism, whereas Chicherin denied in socialist doctrines not only in theoretical substantiation, but also in logical consistency. The reason of discrepancies in the interpretations of socialism lies in the difference between the initial philosophical and methodological presumptions and basic metaphors. Tikhomirov’s philosophical and political thought developed within the paradigm of social organicism and holism, whereas Chicherin combines the principles of organicism and individualism in interpreting social life.