Vitaliy Kurennoy: The Mid-Way Theory of Modernity: Liberal Conservatism from Hegel to Lubbe

02/25/2020
19:30–21:00 Pavilion

February 25, 19:30

The mid-way theory of Modernity: liberal conservatism from Hegel to Lübbe.

The lectures will be delivered in Russian as a part of Actuality of conservatism and the contemporary conservatism series. Free admission. Places are limited.


Center for Civil Society and Human Rights, European University in St. Petersburg and Open Department of Philosophy present lecture series Actuality of conservatism and the contemporary conservatism.

Conservatism is one of the three main ideologies of contemporary world. In the 1990s-2000s it was seriously marginalized and was commonly associated with the negative stigma of nationalism, fundamentalism, and authoritarianism. The additional irony lay in the fact that the de facto conservatives often did not recognize themselves as such (one telling example is the Communist party of Russian Federation, as well as some other postcommunist communist parties). In US and Britain, the role of ideological conservatism was played by the very moderate liberal thinkers who called for the respect of tradition in market societies (Leo Strauss, Michael Oakshott, etc.). The US “neoconservative” politicians believed in a liberal messianism. This is why, when in 2010s the true conservatism went on a counter-offensive, many intellectuals and politicians were taken, as it were, by surprise. Their helplessness in reflection led to the overemphasizing of accidental factors, such as the Russian conspiracy. But there are objective reasons for the perpetuity of the conservative argument, whatever its practical worth. Therefore, our task is to critically describe contemporary conservatism, to address its genealogy, its typology, its psychological roots and the interests it expresses, and its mass popularity. This is the task of our semester-long seminar where many Russian researchers of conservative thought will give lectures. The seminar will result in a large-scale publication.

Moderators: Artemy Magun, Ilya Kalinin, Ilya Mavrinsky