Ideas and Ideals

The author presents the attitude of Russian poets of the XVIII – XIX centuries to different aspects of economic life based on their works. The poetry of the XVIII century was rigidly differentiated by genre, and it was not supposed to reflect the specifics of economic relations in general. The only exceptions were satirical works whose authors criticized, primarily from the moral side, certain aspects of everyday life, and in particular, the practice of tax collectors. Nevertheless,  poets did not do without comments about the socio-economic division of society into separate groups, the significance of certain power decisions for the development of the country’s economy, and, of course, the role of money and trade in the development of society as a whole and in human lives. Some poems contain curious references to international trade, the development of which, especially in the reign of Catherine II, led some poets to hail progress and even characterize this time as a ‘Golden Age’. It is shown how the assessment of the epoch changes during the first half of the XIX century, and how the ‘Golden Age’ is transformed in common opinion into the ‘Iron Age’. The role of economic and socialist theories in the life of society is increasing. A poet of the XIX century descends from the position of an external observer watching the sinful earth and he is horrified to find himself at the mercy of money and related interests, which produce a highly negative effect on morality, subordinating all human aspirations to monetary relations and, therefore, coarsening the soul. We consider the disputes about the progress between the lyric poets and our quite straightforward Westerners. Alexander Blok sums up a certain result of the social orientation towards purely economic relations and the technological progress associated with it in the poem “Retribution”.

The annual outbursts of controversy surrounding the presentation of the main film awards of the planet in the last few years (primarily around the Oscars) are important for cultural philosophy because they are indicators of tectonic shifts in the paradigm of modern cultural knowledge. The concept of ‘high’ culture is increasingly losing its ontological significance. Criticism fell upon this concept almost a hundred years ago, but so far this has been a fact of ‘high’ theory. Today, the denial of a ‘high’ culture has become the reality of mass communication. The pressure, which used to be a problem only for academic classrooms, has become an order of magnitude greater. This is the line on which we need a clear accounting of the results, the balance of pro et contra. The answer of the ‘critical’ philosophy is understandable in principle: the contradictions between the ‘high’ and ‘low’ cultures are not an insoluble conflict. The axiom of the death of a ‘high’ culture is incorrect. The modern theory of ‘high’ culture is possible. But its construction is cumbersome and not fast. You need to start by protecting the ‘high’ culture from reproach for violence. The assemblage point of radical criticism of the ‘high’ culture is W. Benjamin’s treatise “A Work of Art in the Era of Its Technical Reproducibility”. Therefore, the defense of ‘high’ culture cannot but begin with an answer to W. Benjamin. At the same time, thinking specifically about this small treatise, we need a careful analysis of the whole structure, the words of Benjamin as a whole. And this word is peculiar. It is thoroughly public and political. Benjamin’s treatise is not a theoretical reflection. This is a manifesto, more precisely, two manifestos. The first is the manifesto of the new Marxism. The second is the manifesto of the artistic avant-garde. Benjamin saw the possibility of synthesizing these two ideologies and gave his model. It turned out, firstly, unfounded, and secondly, it was dangerous. It is dangerous because culture is the main barrier that holds back the advent of utopia. Having destroyed this barrier, we find ourselves defenseless against utopia.

In the middle of the XIX century the musical component of Russia’s cultural ties with Europe significantly increased. This was due to the emergence of romanticism – a revolutionary phenomenon in all forms of art. The touring activity of its creators was a characteristic feature of musical romanticism. Outstanding composers, masterly playing their instruments, introduced a lot of new things to the technique of playing them and to the imaginative sphere of music. They sought to promote their skills in major cities around the world, including St. Petersburg and Moscow.

The announcement of their performances and laudatory reviews in the press seemed to fully reflect the state of Russia’s relations with European musical reality. However, the organizational side of the tour, which required a lot of effort on the part of the host and on the part of the tour operators, was not disclosed in the official press. This hidden work was carried out thanks to acquaintances abroad of representatives of the domestic elite with the best musicians in Europe and through their private correspondence. It was done through personal contacts of the Russian enlightened amateurs, which more accurately reflected the depth and nature of our country’s ties with the culture of other countries.

The author studied the archival sources in search of information about the appearance in Russia of some guest performers, the structure of their performances and life. The memoirs of contemporaries contain interesting details and direct impressions of the musicians’ playing. This article attempts to show the true value of harpists’ concert touring in our country, their resounding success, noted by the official press. The author highlights the educational role of Russian highly educated music lovers in establishing ties with the best professional musicians in Europe in the middle of the XIX century.

Pierre Loti was a novelist and a marine officer who visited lots of countries. He gained popularity writing about his travels and travel impressions. This article analyses his travel to Nagasaki back in 1885 where he lived for half a year and had a ‘temporary wife’. His novel written during that travel is called “Madame Chrysanthème”. It’s one of his most extravagant and interesting pieces which made the author world-famous. It reflected common interest in the oriental life typical for that time and it predetermined the image of Japan in the European consciousness of the second half of the 19th century. Pierre Loti wrote about his ambition to make the novel as impressionist as possible determining impressionism not as an intellectual but as a decorative phenomenon related mostly to arts and translation of sensory perception. His interpretation of impressionism was expressed in “Madame Chrysanthème”, which is an attempt to describe the world around us, represented not only by the material world but by the author’s sensory perceptions and feelings. To be exact, this is impressionism in fiction. The world is a product of our sensory experience, and the author’s goal is to fix this experience, which is the sum of his observation and impressions. Pierre Loti creates his work where color plays the main role together with sounds and words. They are a sum total of the elements determining the reality in equal amounts. Stylistically “Madame Chrysanthème” is created according to impressionist canons, with lots of epithets, comparisons, metaphors, the author’s neologisms. The novel is written as a diary where separate episodes in chapters are separated from one another by large white empty gaps. The article discusses similarity of impressionism and the Japanese culture. However, a closer look demonstrates considerable differences between the European and the Oriental minds.

The author considers the factors, which determine interest to the German language in different regions of the world. The object of research is the role of the German language in international sociocultural contacts and the humanitarian sphere development, in the world educational space formation. The subject matter is practical experience of mastering the German language, linguistic achievements and problems of specific nations in this area. The author   considers practical application of the German language in the language policy of several countries, studies intercultural interaction difficulties, analyses international research projects in ethno-social dynamics. The goal of the research determined the tasks: to present a socio-anthropological approach to the consideration of the language situation in the countries, to comment on the institutional aspects of the German language dissemination, to substantiate the multilingualism significance as a tool of intercultural education. The chronological framework of the study covers the first decades of the XXI century.  At the same time, if we consider the problem in a historical aspect, we will inevitably turn to the earlier periods.  A systematic approach allows us to establish a logical relationship and interdependence of these periods, traces changes in the status of the official language in Germany. This issue is not only linguistic, but also historical and cultural. The author analyzes the problems of the ethnolinguistic situation associated with the study of the German language in a number of countries: among them, the United Kingdom, in which other languages (but English) have a lesser degree of social prestige and are being squeezed out of the language space.  The French Republic, along with the Federal Republic of Germany, as the leader of Europe, has always been on the axis of European construction.  The country continues the policy of promoting internationalization of the French language.  At the same time, Francophonie is a movement for cultural diversity. The Kingdom of Belgium and the Swiss Confederation are related to Germany in institutional architecture. It is necessary to study the situation in these ethnically heterogeneous and multilingual federal states, where German is one of the official languages. The author appeals to the history of Spain and the Republic of Korea because the citizens of these countries participated in the reconstruction of Germany after the Second World War. Issues related to the individual linguistic rights implementation determine national and political processes, educational and cultural policies. Learning several languages forms the idea that a multilingual society is the standard model of communication.

Interpretation of cultural values and cultural heritage is one of the most common types of their development and creative understanding. However, the concept of ‘interpretation’ remains blurred among related processes, usually without getting much mention. In the field of cultural heritage preservation, interpretation is the main method of human development of cultural heritage objects. The process and results of interpretation, as shown by the long history of preservation of cultural heritage, also affect the preservation of cultural heritage. The proposed material is devoted to the consideration of a museum as an example of one of the most consistent built spaces and tools for the interpretation of cultural heritage.

The subject of the research is the methods of museum work considered in the context of mechanisms of interpretation of material cultural heritage. Museum as an instrument of interpretation has been known since ancient times. Human interest in ancient artifacts that act as visible symbols of historical and cultural memory of the past, eventually led to the development of collecting, and then, with the publication of collections, to the emergence of museums.

Museum and its activities occupy a special place in the methodology of interpretation. The museum space can set its own special rhythm of historical time and create conditions for comfortable perception of the presented artifacts. No other cultural institution has such a task, and if it is necessary to present an artifact, interested persons in one way or another turn to the method tested on museum sites.

As a result of the research, the author identified five stages of museum activities, which are generally typical for the mechanism of interpretation of cultural heritage. Therefore, the main goal of museum activities should be recognized as an interpretation of cultural heritage. In accordance with this goal, the museum's tasks are also implemented, including the preservation, publication and promotion of the collection's artifacts. Thus, the role and place of the museum as a specific space created for the purpose of interpreting cultural heritage is proved. These provisions allow us to look at the theory and practice of museum activities in a different way, in the context of interpreting cultural identity.

A significant part of the definitions of the subject matter of economics goes back to the already classical definition of L. Robbins. According to the authors, the definition of the subject matter of economics according to Robbins is not entirely satisfactory. The norm is the allocation of the subject of science in the subject area. The selection of a subject of science by modus operandi violates the logic of constructing a disciplinary matrix of scientific knowledge.

We agree that the definition of economic science in terms of material goods is narrow and not entirely satisfactory. However, replacing it with a definition through modus operandi is not an extension of the ‘material’ approach to understanding values, but a transition to a completely different logical level.

We propose the following definitions: value –a rare utility (absolutely not necessarily material). An economic system is a system that can create and distribute values. Economics is a science that studies economic systems.

The choice of an individual between different types of activities, and / or the use of alternative types of resources, although it is an economic choice, but the study of such an ‘atomic’ system is not enough to understand the properties of economic systems. The subject of economics appears with the advent of society. The social structure that ensures this coordination of production and exchange is the structure of the economic system. At the same time, it is the subject of economic science.

The question of which aspect in the economic system is the main one — exchange or production — is the form of the question of what is the ontology of the economic universe: is it linear or non-linear? A complex non-linear system of the economy is made by two aspects: the use of durable assets in the production, as a result of which economic activity is ‘stretched' in time, and the great depth of the division of labor. Thus, the question of understanding the subject of economics is associated with a number of aspects that are significant for theory (and practice), ultimately –with the perception of the world –and the economic world as part of it.

The development and widespread adoption of digital economy in the last two decades inevitably had strong impact on the theory and practice of marketing. Under the influence of e-Commerce the form and content of marketing has changed. Today we can talk about the formation of a new field of study – Internet marketing. However, even in the European literature, the description of Internet marketing is fragmentary, Russian authors often do not consider Internet marketing as an independent direction in marketing. This article describes the role of e-Commerce in the economy. The author considers the role of e-Commerce in the world economy and in the economy of individual countries. About 10% of world trade is already carried out via the Internet, in some countries (China, Japan, the UK) the share of e-Commerce in GDP is more than 20%. The growth rate of e-Commerce is also impressive – 30% per year. The Russian e-Commerce market and the Chinese e-Commerce market are analyzed separately. The author highlights the fact that e-Commerce has made a great contribution to the development of China’s economy. Internet marketing in the article is considered as an integral part of e-Commerce, fully responsible for all the interaction of the company and the external environment through the Internet. Basing on the research of some writers, the author concludes that Internet marketing is advisable to study as an independent scientific discipline. The article identifies and investigates the main changes that have occurred in marketing under the influence of e-Commerce: 1) change of marketing orientation from goods to customers; 2) multi-channel approach to promotion; 3) mobility; 4) adaptability and interactivity of marketing; 5) significant increase in audience coverage.

The article considers the evolution of the traditional religion of South Siberian Turks  influenced by modernisation. The author solves the problem of identification the prerequisites of gender asymmetry displacement in favour of feminisation of the religious beliefs of Khakass and Altai peoples. Methodological basis of the research is a conception of socio-cultural neo-traditionalism. Sacralisation of notable sites and related monuments of historical and cultural heritage is considered as one of the ways to overcome the collective memory trauma caused by modernisation. In order to substantiate her position, the author refers to the cases illustrating the desire to spot the source of sacred power of an ethnic community in archaeological artefacts. In collective memory of Khakass and Altai peoples, this power is embodied in the symbols associated with female reproductive and protective capacity.

The author shows the specifics of narratives and practices of neo-traditionalism among the Turks of South Siberia on the example of nation-wide cults that have developed around their worship of Khurtuyakh-Tas and Ak-Kydyn. Particular attention is paid to the connection between the sacred and the secular in the formation of ethno-confessional narrative around the idea of female deity as a patron and guardian of life force of the people.

The empirical basis of the research is the results of sociological expeditions carried out by the author from 2003 to 2018 in the Republic of Altai and Republic of Khakassia. The author analyses the cases of conflicting and conflict-free imposition of two hypostases of the same monument: a museum archaeological artefact and a sacred object of religious worship. The article substantiates the thesis that with the introduction of scientific rationality into public consciousness the religious discourse takes a new breath, becomes an element of social and political life of the national republics of South Siberia. The article concludes that patriarchal basis of traditional culture is eroded and its vanished elements are replaced by symbols associated with feminine strength.

The paper is devoted to the issues of social progress and conditions for its implementation, the main of which is education. The authors substantiate the topicality of the social progress study by saying that today the uncertainties and risks of sustainable development in the world are amplified. People become aware of their responsibility for the future of the whole society and they understand that meaningful actions of a large number of people have to be taken in the direction of becoming initiative and independent people who are aware of themselves as the creators of their own lives. The authors highlight the role of knowledge acquired from various cognitive systems (science, culture, art, literature, etc.) expanding the cognitive capabilities of a man and the possibilities of his/her creativity. In education, all knowledge acquired from different cognitive systems should be ‘sublimated’; it should become a civilizational institution which mission is to transform the world in the direction of social progress. The authors consider the risks of forming such an institution, including educational inequality in the quality and accessibility of education. The paper concludes that modern Russian education does not serve for social progress and not even for the market, but for financial capital.

 This paper considers modern approaches to the study of social dynamics of modern societies, which have found conceptual expression in the theories of ‘quality of life’ and ‘social quality’. The gradual merging of these two theories is a trend that reflects both modern ideas about the specifics of the development processes in post-industrial societies and the idea of a ‘progressive’ type of social interaction between individuals and social groups, which is formed on the basis of new theoretical and methodological models. The authors show how these theories attempt to link ‘traditional’ economic statistics data and indicators that reflect integrative relationships within communities (such as social cohesion and social inclusion). The paper identifies the main research areas in the framework of the theory of social quality: economic security, social cohesion, social inclusion, powers and opportunities. Despite the fact that each of these areas includes its own group of indicators, they are interdependent, interrelated and should be examined in complex. Thus, within the framework of modern methodologies, society appears as the result of integration and interaction of fundamentally different-level systems, social (the level of individuals and interpersonal relationships) and systemic (the level of institutions). It is concluded that the combination of fundamentally different groups of indicators allows us to conceptualize and identify the relationship between social and economic processes at the collective and individual levels. The authors describe the scope of application of the socio-qualitative approach and its set of social development indicators in European and Russian politics. An attempt to assess the effectiveness of these theoretical and methodological approaches is carried out in the context of the analysis of such a social problem in the Russian society as the increased level of emigration outflow from the country in recent years.

This article discusses the collective fears peculiar to people of the third generation and associated with consumer practices. The author analyses various methodological approaches to the study of fears of Russian and Soviet society. The author draws attention to the fact, that behavior of people of the third age is influenced by various groups of factors. A sociological study was conducted in the period from November 2017 to February 2019. The research method was an interview. The materials of the interview allowed to group consumer fears into three groups. The first group of fears is related to credit practices and banking products. The second group of fears is related to modern technologies. The third group of fears is related to food. The potential danger of food is a constant concern for the third age people. They are convinced that a modern man consumes substandard and harmful products, which provoke the development of many serious diseases and reduce life expectancy. Fears have a multi-layered nature. Pensioners are afraid not only of the toxicity of products, but also of unreliability of the information provided about these products. Consumer fears express deep-rooted attitudes and stereotypes in relation to all new and alien things: fear of new social conditions and norms, fear of market mechanisms of production and distribution of goods, alien forms and symbols of social and cultural life. Fear of all the new finds its continuation in consumer fears.