Losev’s Integral Religious-Monarchical Conservatism. (Essays on the Conservative Thought in the USSR)

Abstract

The paper examines the biography and ideas of Aleksei Fedorovich Losev, the last classical philosopher of the Silver Age, who created the Orthodox Neoplatonism. In his historical doctrine, the terms “formation”, “feudalism”, “capitalism”, “socialism”, and “anarchy” are used in a specific sense, different from the Marxist one. Losev’s formations are based on the myth in the author’s own interpretation. Feudalism was marked by the domination of the theocratic myth and was the highest point of human development, according to Losev, an Orthodox conservative monarchist. Capitalism makes a fetish of the individual human personality, while socialism is centered on the labour and the labour collective. Anarchy brings “hell on earth”. However, socialism, being the antithesis of capitalism, distorts the feudal authoritarianism in its own way, which cannot but arouse some sympathy in the philosopher, notwithstanding a generally negative assessment thereof. Such were the views of the young Losev, who boldly criticized socialism from a religiously conservative position and, apparently, still hoped for the revival of feudalism. In the 1930s, Losev’s position began to change. He partly reconciled with the Soviet government, remaining aware of its negative traits, and emphasized the positive aspects of socialism. In our opinion, the reason for this was the understanding that a return was possible only to capitalism and liberalism, that is, to philistinism, which Losev always opposed.