POLITICAL REALISM AS THE EMBODIMENT OF CHRISTIAN POLITICS: THE CONCEPT OF F.A. STEPUN

Abstract

This article analyzes the political and philosophical views of the Russian philosopher and sociologist F.A. Stepun. The study briefly outlines his views on the nature of politics, as well as the basic principles of building it in the era of ideocracies and the triumph of ''secular utopias''. Stepun's article "Christianity and Politics'' (1933), where he proclaims the basic principles of his political doctrine, forms the basis for this study. Stepun argues that Western modernity, due to its abandonment of Christian cultural foundations, is at risk of "sacralization" of the political, turning politics into a tool for radical correction of human life on secular grounds. Stepun believes this view is dangerous, as it leads to an increase in violence and the emergence of radical utopian ideologies. Instead, Stepun proposes a return to the principles of "political realism". The study presents the point of view that Stepun's idea is an organic continuation and development of the main line of Russian political philosophy. Its main objective used to be the "conservative legitimization" of the Western project of modernity, designed to find the necessary philosophical tools for the rehabilitation of the Christian foundations of culture in the world of "modernity".