Ideas and Ideals

The work is devoted to the analysis of the reasons for the ideological defeat of Marxism at the end of the 20th century. Without denying that during the Cold War the apologists of liberalism widely used manipulation of consciousness, the author believes that the main factor in the ideological defeat of Marxism was its objective systemic defects. The defi nition of ideology is given as part of the model of the world: a set of ideas about society and man (as an element of society), and the concept of ideologeme is introduced (“value judgments, ‘pretending’ to be a statement of facts”, or the declaration of philosophical hypotheses as scientifi c theories). The ideologemes underlying the theory of surplus value are revealed: a) value is created only by labor (the initial principle of the labor theory of value); b) the cost of labor power is equal to the subsistence minimum of workers. The falsity of Locke’s example, on the basis of which Marx accepted thesis (a), and the limited scope of application of thesis (b) are shown. It is substantiated that the theory of surplus value is, in essence, a special case of the theory of imperfect competition. It is concluded that Marxism is not a scientifi c doctrine, but a social ideology in the understanding of M. Blaug (with a claim to be fully scientifi c, while a signifi cant part of Marxism is nothing more than a set of socio-philosophical hypotheses).

In the context of turbulent political events on the world stage, economic ties are being restructured and the infl uence of global economic institutions is being reassessed. Changes in the economies of various countries affect the standard of living of their populations. The United States is an active driver and provocateur of turbulence and instability of the world order. Such events include hybrid wars against countries undesirable to the West, including Russia. In this regard, it becomes interesting to fi nd out what is happening inside the United States itself. The purpose of the study is to identify the presence of income inequality in the United States, as well as its causes and trends in recent years. In this regard, an analysis of the income of American citizens in divergence by race and gender for 2000-2023 was conducted. In addition, the dynamics of the coeffi cients characterizing the degree of income inequality of the population for the same period is considered. According to the results of the study, income inequality by race and gender in the United States remains, although it has been slowly decreasing over the years. At the same time, income inequality between the rich and the poor is growing. This inequality is particularly exacerbated during periods of crisis.

The study of the impact of the price level on the economic results of the system was carried out taking into account the degree of economic integration of participants in the system. Moreover, if the prices of intermediate products supplied to the market are relatively high, then the decrease in the volume of production of the main product of the focus company may reach a critical level at which the expediency of creating a structure for the production of a high-tech product in such quantities will be questionable. This case determines the need to regulate the level of transfer prices.

To study the tasks as a formal tool for describing the functioning of the system, matrix modeling based on the methodology of intersectoral balance (MOB) was used, economic and mathematical models were proposed that include supply and demand conditions in determining domestic prices. The results of the study contribute to an understanding of the optimal internal pricing policy of a company with horizontal and vertical links.

The study of the impact of the price level on the economic results of the system was carried out taking into account the degree of economic integration of participants in the system. Moreover, if the prices of intermediate products supplied to the market are relatively high, then the decrease in the volume of production of the main product of the focus company may reach a critical level at which the expediency of creating a structure for the production of a high-tech product in such quantities will be questionable. This case determines the need to regulate the level of transfer prices.

The object of consideration in the article is a production and technological chain consisting of fi rms with vertical and horizontal interaction. The purpose of the parent company in such a structure is to manufacture complex products, the components of which are component products supplied by the companies entering the system along technological chains. An important element of the functioning of such systems is the level of internal (transfer) prices for products supplied along the chain. The choice of an approach to the formation of the level of internal prices signifi cantly affects the performance of each participant in the chain and the system as a whole.

The scientifi c novelty of the study is the deepening of the methodological base for describing the interaction of participants in the production and technological chain in the process of forming internal prices. The article presents the results of a comparative analysis of the application of two approaches to determining transfer prices – at the cost level and using the “cost plus” method. It has been established that the formation of internal prices between interdependent entities based on market mechanisms gives worse results for the parent company in the chain than at prices equal to costs.

The object of consideration in the article is a production and technological chain consisting of fi rms with vertical and horizontal interaction. The purpose of the parent company in such a structure is to manufacture complex products, the components of which are component products supplied by the companies entering the system along technological chains. An important element of the functioning of such systems is the level of internal (transfer) prices for products supplied along the chain. The choice of an approach to the formation of the level of internal prices signifi cantly affects the performance of each participant in the chain and the system as a whole.

The scientifi c novelty of the study is the deepening of the methodological base for describing the interaction of participants in the production and technological chain in the process of forming internal prices. The article presents the results of a comparative analysis of the application of two approaches to determining transfer prices – at the cost level and using the “cost plus” method. It has been established that the formation of internal prices between interdependent entities based on market mechanisms gives worse results for the parent company in the chain than at prices equal to costs.To study the tasks as a formal tool for describing the functioning of the system, matrix modeling based on the methodology of intersectoral balance (MOB) was used, economic and mathematical models were proposed that include supply and demand conditions in determining domestic prices. The results of the study contribute to an understanding of the optimal internal pricing policy of a company with horizontal and vertical links.

The sanctions policy on the part of unfriendly countries has forced the domestic tourism market of Russia to develop rapidly. For a better understanding of what is happening in the tourism industry, it is necessary to conduct a review of the market as a whole. One of the promising areas of tourism is sanatorium treatment. The purpose of this study is to analyze the Russian market of tourist services as a whole, as well as to conduct a review of sanatorium and resort services and identify trends. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to achieve this goal. Tabular and graphical methods were used for visualization. During the analysis, it was found that the share of gross value added of tourism in Russia in connection with the pandemic decreased in 2020 and only reached the pre-pandemic level in 2022. Based on the analysis of the market of sanatorium and resort services, the tourist fl ow was revealed mainly by citizens of the CIS. The development of domestic tourism contributed to an increase in hotel occupancy and prevented a greater decline in the industry. The calculated seasonality indices made it possible to determine the most and least busy months of the year. The article also examines the impact of the pandemic and sanctions against Russia on the tourism industry.

The presented article was conceived as a comparative overview of the cultural practices of two signifi cant civilizations for the ancient world: ancient Chinese and ancient Greek. Many researchers contrasted them in various studies as Western and Eastern, alphabetic and hieroglyphic, analytical and holistic. For the comparison I chose the ideas of the two traditions about the cosmos and man from the point of view of several aspects: the refl ection of the archetype of opposites in mythology and natural philosophy, the doctrine of the primary elements, the relationship of the elements with the planets, as well as the manifestation of all these ideas in the healing and musical practices of both cultures. The purpose of the work was to search for similarities and differences in the ideas of the two traditions according to the specifi ed parameters. The article uses sources in Russian and Chinese, as well as works of famous researchers. The paper shows that in both cultures, ancient scientists, when studying the world, relied on the archetype of opposites, but did it in different ways: the Greeks described the world as a struggle of opposites, while the Chinese sought for balance. Identifying the primary elements of the universe has also become a common desire, however the application of this knowledge in two cultures was not manifested in the same way. In China, the wu xing system became a universal principle for classifying all things, while in the Greek tradition the connection between the elements and the phenomena of the surrounding world is not so clear, and in some types of practices (music) it can only be traced indirectly. The paper also shows the similarity of the two traditions in the matter of the desire to identify the correspondence between the elements and planets, elements/planets and phenomena of the human body, as well as musical notes. However, there are not only similarities, but also differences in the musical and medical practices of the two cultures, stemming from the difference in the original ideas about the planets and primary elements.The presented article was conceived as a comparative overview of the cultural practices of two signifi cant civilizations for the ancient world: ancient Chinese and ancient Greek. Many researchers contrasted them in various studies as Western and Eastern, alphabetic and hieroglyphic, analytical and holistic. For the comparison I chose the ideas of the two traditions about the cosmos and man from the point of view of several aspects: the refl ection of the archetype of opposites in mythology and natural philosophy, the doctrine of the primary elements, the relationship of the elements with the planets, as well as the manifestation of all these ideas in the healing and musical practices of both cultures. The purpose of the work was to search for similarities and differences in the ideas of the two traditions according to the specifi ed parameters. The article uses sources in Russian and Chinese, as well as works of famous researchers. The paper shows that in both cultures, ancient scientists, when studying the world, relied on the archetype of opposites, but did it in different ways: the Greeks described the world as a struggle of opposites, while the Chinese sought for balance. Identifying the primary elements of the universe has also become a common desire, however the application of this knowledge in two cultures was not manifested in the same way. In China, the wu xing system became a universal principle for classifying all things, while in the Greek tradition the connection between the elements and the phenomena of the surrounding world is not so clear, and in some types of practices (music) it can only be traced indirectly. The paper also shows the similarity of the two traditions in the matter of the desire to identify the correspondence between the elements and planets, elements/planets and phenomena of the human body, as well as musical notes. However, there are not only similarities, but also differences in the musical and medical practices of the two cultures, stemming from the difference in the original ideas about the planets and primary elements.

The study examines the cultural and socio-political features of the ancient Indian civilization that led to the emergence of chaturanga (the original version of chess) in India during the Gupta Empire. The methodological basis of the research is the explication of the studied issues through comparative historical analysis. Since chess, being a cultural phenomenon, refl ects socio-cultural and socio-political realities at all stages of its development, therefore, their appearance should be due to similar reasons. What distinguishes chaturanga from other ancient games (latrunkuli, petteyi, senet) is that it was attended by not two, but four competitors, which refl ects the political fragmentation of India, which, throughout almost the entire history, has been a number of independent states. In addition, in ancient board games, the chips were the same, and only in chaturanga was there a variety of shapes. The presence in the original version of chess of various pieces with different possibilities, as well as the absence of a rule for turning a pawn into any piece, is a demonstration of the Indian caste system, which is characterized by the absence of social elevators. Chaturanga also refl ected the religious realities of that era. In particular, a number of Buddhist concepts have been embodied on the chessboard. The principle of the infi nity of worlds is refl ected in the infi nite number of possible chess games, the concept of samsara is conveyed by the return of captured (killed) pieces to the board. The chessboard itself was called ashtapada in India and meant a numerical magical symbol used in Buddhism, and the clockwise turn is a reference to the wheel of dharma. The most striking projection of Buddhism on the chess space is the use of dice in chaturanga to determine the turn of the move, embodying the principle of karma on the chessboard. The obvious shortcomings of chaturanga, in particular, the element of randomness in casting lots, could not be corrected by Indian thinkers and chess players, since after the collapse of the Gupta Empire, scientifi c and philosophical thought in India was stagnating.

The object of the study is the food culture of France and Japan. The subject of the study is gastronomic literature. The empirical materials of the article are culinary books, religious and philosophical works, writings of chefs and literary critics. In the focus of the study philosophical treatises of the Japanese Zen Buddhist monk Dōgen, Neo-Confucian philosopher Hayashi Razan, the literary works of Pierre David, François Pierre de la Varenne, Grimod de La Reynière, J.A. Brillat-Savarin, dedicated to cooking, food rituals and cultural features of the national kitchens of France and Japan. Particular attention is paid to the description and analysis of the fi rst culinary books and treatises. The basis of the research methodology is interdisciplinary sociocultural analysis, an axiological approach related to the study of culture as a set of values, methods of cultural interpretation and linguistic commentary. The relevance of the topic is due to the growing interest of researchers of various spheres of humanitarian knowledge regarding the problems of food, the cultural characteristics of national kitchens. The novelty of the study is due to the fact that the gastronomic literature of France and Japan in the cultural aspect is not examined enough. The authors conclude that gastronomic literature is a refl ection of the formation and development of food culture, explicates certain value-norming attitudes, stereotypes and images, which refl ect the features of the national mentality and worldview.

The article is devoted to determining the sociocultural position assigned to normative ethics by modern philosophy. For this purpose, the arguments put forward by postmodern philosophy against the classical idea of normativity in culture are analyzed, and the models proposed by its representatives as alternative concepts of ethical development are described. A comparative analysis of new ethical concepts is carried out: antinormativism, normative relativism, moral neo-universalism, normativity of the “Other”. It is argued that along with the concepts that deny the idea of normativity (antinormativism, normative relativism), within the framework of postmodern philosophy there are ideas that create a foundation for reinterpreting the ideas of classical normativity in their correlation with contemporary socio-cultural experience (moral neo-universalism, normativity of the “Other”).

It is concluded that the communicative organization of modern social reality and the ontological changes that have occurred in it allow us to talk about the emergence of a communicative ontology of ethical codifi cation as one of the important tools of sociocultural self-organization. The social system changes its former rigid hierarchical nature to a network nature, devoid of a semantic center and prone to further modifi cations. In addition, transformations lead to the gradual transformation of society from a subordinate object into a subject of normative-value self-organization.

The article deals with a preliminary analysis of the philosophical system of Russian cosmism and an assessment of the potential applicability of its ideas to modern bioethical problems. The relevance of the study is due to the need to search for axiological guidelines in the context of constantly growing capabilities of science and medicine. The article uses the term “Russian cosmism” to describe a movement in Russian philosophy that combines elements of religious and scientifi c worldviews with the aim of improving the human being. The most important representative of this movement was Nikolai Fyodorov, although in addition to him, a number of other Russian thinkers are also considered part. The study compares the philosophical system of Russian cosmism with the philosophical system of transhumanism. The article demonstrates that Russian cosmism and transhumanism are similar in that both of these systems are based on the idea of  “active evolution”, according to which the evolution of humanity as a biological species should be subordinated to the human mind. At the same time, Russian cosmism differs signifi cantly from transhumanism, the differences are such that they do not allow us to consider these schools of thought to be of the same nature. Nevertheless, the article shows that the similarities between them are suffi cient to conclude that both of these philosophical systems can be productively applied in modern bioethical discourse. At the same time, the article shows, using the example of Nikolai Fyodorov’s project of universal resurrection and immortality, that Russian cosmism, even in isolation from its utopian projects, compared to transhumanism, has a greater potential to bring a strong ethical value system to bioethics, based on the highest value of human life and personhood. Moreover, the article shows that this value system is deeply hostile to any inhumane eugenic ideas, which makes it especially relevant in modern conditions. In the end, the article concludes that the ideas of Russian cosmism, especially their ethical component, can be of great benefi t in the search for new approaches to bioethical problems and overcoming the tendency to desacralize life in modern biomedicine.

The paper brings the analysis of the emergence and development of the utopian genre from classical antiquity to the Roman times. A modern pattern of utopianism that culminated in the literature of XVI-XVII cc. had emerged as early as the fi rst attempts of political philosophizing were made, i.e. in IV c. BC. In fact, utopian discourse had framed early experience of writing dialogues, treatises in the fi eld of political philosophy. Yet the problem of genesis of the utopian thought remains an underestimated issue. The aim of my research is to make sense of the mutual linkages between utopia and fi ction (e.g. drama), utopia and political planning, utopia and political science & philosophy in ancient Greece and Rome. During this period – from the age of Pericles and Plato to the times of Iambulus and Lucian – utopian literature had passed through the stages of growth and decline. These upheavals had been caused by inner dynamics of the history of ideas as well as by political circumstances. The rise of utopianism had been connected to the attempts of non-mythological, rational understanding of societal ideal and to reformation experiences in citystates. An emerging utopia had been a politically realistic theory, a critical judgment about the present state of affairs rather than a dream about the world of plenty and justice. This realistic and at the same time critical bias made a signifi cant impact upon Aristotelian political science. Greek traditions of utopian writing survived in fi ction, not in scientifi c thought. Still utopian discourse merged with scientifi c one and became an important part of the Roman theory of mixed government.

The article attempts to clarify the trends in the development of the Faustian myth in European culture in the XVII–XVIII centuries in the context of the ideologies of Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment. The origins and further development of the myth are highlighted. Several stages in the history of the Faustian myth are analyzed, each of which was infl uenced by certain cultural presumptions, ideals and attitudes, which led to its reinterpretation and evolution. It is shown how the image of Faust which arose in the German Protestant environment of the XVI century went from a powerful magician to a hedonist in the XVII–XVIII centuries. During this period, Faust usually serves as a popular hero of puppet theaters and entertainment literature, devoid of any titanic features. Then, under the infl uence of the Enlightenment ideas and the rise of interest in the national past, the myth of Faust is again actively included in the scholarly culture of Germany in the second half of the XVIII century. It is proved that by the end of the century it is undergoing a new transformation. The image of Faust the scientist begins to gradually replace the images of Faust the magician and Faust the hedonist. The most signifi cant works of the era in which the Faustian myth has found its consistent embodiment are analyzed: the novel by Johann Pfi tzer, the unfi nished play by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, as well as the novel “Faust, His Life, Deeds and Descent into Hell” by Friedrich Maximilian Klinger. It is clarifi ed that Lessing emphasizes the importance of striving for knowledge in full accordance with the pathos of Enlightenment. But later authors raise moral questions about the intrinsic value of this knowledge and talk about the danger of its emancipation from ethical constraints. The works of the Sturm und Drang writers, such as Klinger’s novel, reveal the complex interaction between scientifi c progress and existential issues. The author argues the infl uence of Counter-Enlightenment on the evolution of the myth of Faust in line with the Sturm und Drang movement and the ambivalence of the development of this myth in the XVIII century, refl ecting the contradictory nature of the spiritual situation of that time.

Recently, the attention of scientists has been focused on culture as a factor in the social development and economic success of a nation. Very often they talk about a cultural code and the construction of a mobilization culture with the aim of consolidating society in the face of the challenges of a civilizational confl ict. At the same time, the culture itself is changing dynamically under the infl uence of generational changes, the emergence of new standards and institutions, etc. In general, in science the topic remains open for discussion in which direction the culture of the population is changing and whether it creates an ideological basis for the integration of society.

Within the framework of the article, we raise the question of the current state of the population’s culture and its distinctive features. The purpose of the study is to identify indicators that refl ect the cultural characteristics of the Russian population. We put forward a working hypothesis about the heterogeneity of the culture of the Russian population, which is determined by the aspirations for a high power distance, feminine mentality, avoidance of uncertainty, maximum use of life resources to work in extreme situations, on the one hand, and low power distance, masculine mentality, desire for change, minimal use of life resources in extreme situations, on the other. As part of the study, we defi ned an approach to culture as a set of values and behavioral attitudes that determine the thoughts, feelings and standards of thinking. Based on the theory of cultural code A. A. Auzan developed a theoretical model for studying the object of study, considering the features of two polar types of culture. The author presents the results of testing the theoretical model on data from representative sociological studies conducted by the Vologda Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences among the population of the Vologda region in 2000–2022. The results of the study confi rmed the fact of the coexistence of two polar cultures in Russian society and their gradual rapprochement in the process of civilizational development. In conclusion, the authors’ refl ections on the features of development and prospects for the existence of culture in the future of the country are presented.

The article examines the evolution of a single fabula, differently embodied in the scripts of three iconic fi lms of European arthouse – A. Hitchcock’s “Rear Window”, M. Antonioni’s “Blow-up” and P. Greenaway’s “The Draughtsman’s Contract”. The fi rst two scripts are directly related to the story by J. Cortázar “Las babas del diablo”, but the concept of the fabula refl ected in all the above-mentioned works, undoubtedly, has a very ancient origin and goes back to both ancient myth (Oedipus) and real historical events (J. Caesar). Based on the scientifi c interpretation of fabula and plot by V. Shklovsky and B. Tomashevsky, the article explores the process of transformation of the logical structure and cause-and-effect relations of the fabula provided by reality by means of plot and event unfolding. It is the specifi city of the plot organization of the scripts that “triggers” the process of deconstructing the plot, but still retains its most important logical foundations, ensuring its recognizability. The process of fabula transformation is inevitable in the work of artists of any direction. However, supporters of the bricolage technique most often perceive the fabula as an impersonal object for further processing. Consistently examining the positions of many researchers and critics regarding the evolution of the original fabula in the three mentioned scenarios - from the ideas of G. Polti to modern postmodern interpretations - the author demonstrates the growth of the semantic diversity of the plot organization of the scenarios that grew out of a single constructive message.