Alexander V. Sorokin The «Socialist Experiment» as a Natural Stage in the Development of Local Civilization

DOI: 10.38050/2078-3809-2025-17-4-79-98

Abstract

The widespread interpretation of socialism in the USSR as a "failed experiment" requires scientific analysis. The integration of formational, civilizational and institutional approaches makes it possible to identify the key factors of the reproduction of civilizations: culture, habitat, demography. The Anglo-Saxon civilization is an exemplary example.

Regardless of ideological attitudes, the Soviet government acted within the framework of objective laws of historical development: The communal mode of production was overcome, then the quasi-feudal collective farm mode of production was created and overcome, industrialization was carried out, and a system of centralized socialist reproduction was created. In the 80s, Russia was a developed local civilization that was ready for the introduction of a capitalist mode of production. In China, this implementation took place within the framework of a «two-rail system» of a mixed economy. Russia has embarked on a path of total privatization and the destruction of centralized management institutions. As a result, the foundations of civilization – culture, defense capability, and demography - were struck. The restoration of Russian civilization began only in the 2000s.

Keywords: formational approach, civilizational approach, local civilization, clash of civilizations, community, collective farm.

JEL: P20, P30, P31, P32.

For citation: Sorokin, A.V. (2025) The «Socialist Experiment» as a Natural Stage in the Development of Local Civilization. Scientific Research of Faculty of Economics. Electronic Journal, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 79-98. DOI: 10.38050/2078-3809-2025-17-4-79-98.

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