№ 3 - 2000
Grigorov S.G..
Giving Up Preconceptuon (Reflections on Conservatism)

The article raises the question of possibility, in principle, of conservatism as one of the most universal conceptions of man, society and state, under modern conditions. The author, in doing so, lays stress on that the distinctive feature of Modernity in Russia consists in the absence of «pretotalitarian» traditions, so that modern Russian conservatism is possible only as «post-totalitarian». In the author’s opinion, the post-totalitarian background is exactly the common ground that may bring together representatives of conservative and liberal views in modern Russia. The problem of both those former and those latter is how to return to the ideals of the classical past, not just to remain there, but to move forward. This is possible only through giving up ideological preconception, which achievement is, in its turn, possible only in a situation of free political creative activity searching for new, non-traditional answers to questions brought forward by Modernity.