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REVOLUTION AS A FACTOR FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND SOCIAL EQUALITY IN THE SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE OF PITIRIM SOROKIN

Marina Lomonosova, E. Bogomiagkova

Abstract

In contemporary society, issues of social justice are considered more broadly, in an existential sense, at both the level of local communities and at a global level of world politics and have become a subject of intense debate and controversy. The leaders of radical social and religious movements are calling upon their supporters to employ terrorist tactics in the name of achieving “justice.” Reform and revolution are the main instruments used to pursuit social justice. However, is reform or revolution really the only way? Is revolution good or bad? The sociologist Pitirim Sorokin tried to answer these important questions. The study of revolutions played a major role in Sorokin’s academic career and his scientific heritage. Key concepts elaborated by Sorokin such as social stratification, social mobility, and sociocultural dynamics are related to the concept of sociology of revolution. Sorokin proposed other methods for the improvement and reconstruction of the social organization: (1) peaceful reforms which do not suppress the base instincts of man; (2) scientific research as a precondition for practical experiment; (3) if need to be, experiments in social reform should be first conducted on a modest social scale; 4) reforms must be implemented by lawful and constitutional means. Drawing upon his own experience in the maelstrom of the Russian Revolution of 1917, Sorokin concluded that revolution does not solve the problem of social equality. Global challenges of the twenty-first century in the fields of science and geopolitics involve rapid transformation and turmoil. In this regard, Sorokin’s work has become relevant again. He studied a vast array of empirical data and historical facts and proved convincingly that humanity and its behaviour have not changed much since antiquity; only the outward form but not the essential content has changed.

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