The crisis of the theory of socioeconomic formations has recently become clearly apparent in our social philosophy. Earlier as well, the "formational" approach, with its presumption that the new order has "decisive advantages," caused perceptible epistemological difficulties associated with the effect of "inverted perspective." It followed from the theory that socialist Mongolia, Vietnam, and Cuba were a "whole epoch" ahead of the USA and other developed countries of the West that had preserved the outmoded capitalist order.

The 1990s are marked by a change of major landmarks in the cultural-historical self-awareness of the peoples of Russia, Europe, and perhaps the entire world. Not long ago at all, "post-Soviet" social science was celebrating its liberation from the "formation" dogma in favor of a civilizational approach. This meant, first, a way out of the socialist ghetto, which had been shut off from the rest of the world and had defended this isolation with the thesis of an "irreconcilable struggle between (...) two worlds," two lifestyles, and so forth. (shrink)

The 1990s are marked by a change of major landmarks in the cultural-historical self-awareness of the peoples of Russia, Europe, and perhaps the entire world. Not long ago at all, "post-Soviet" social science was celebrating its liberation from the "formation" dogma in favor of a civilizational approach. This meant, first, a way out of the socialist ghetto, which had been shut off from the rest of the world and had defended this isolation with the thesis of an "irreconcilable struggle between (...) two worlds," two lifestyles, and so forth. (shrink)