Концепция общественного договора А. Н. Радищева в контексте сопоставления английской и французской традиций политической философии

Философические письма. Русско-европейский диалог. 2026. Т. 9. № 1. С. 69–87.

Kharitonov T. I.

The article reconstructs A. N. Radishchev’s theory of the social contract on the basis of a wide range of his writings — from literary works to legal projects and notes. It demonstrates that Radishchev’s model combines Locke’s defense of natural rights, with a particular emphasis on property, and Rousseauian ideas of inequality critique and the collective will of the people, while retaining a monarchical form of government without a separation of powers. Special attention is given to Radishchev’s mechanistic logic of description of the state and to his specific use of the term “sobornost’” in political contexts. Reconstruction of Radishchev’s theory of the state also makes it possible to link his fundamental views with his ideas of civic virtue and dual-level enlightenment. Radishchev understood public education in two complementary ways: as private education, grounded in the moral autonomy of the individual, and as collective upbringing through governmental measures, seeing the softening of morals as a way to bring society back to the conditions of the original contract. The article refines Radishchev’s place in the history of political philosophy, showing his attempt to adapt European social contract theories to the Russian context of the late eighteenth century and gives a new interpretation of his political radicalism in favor of the more conservative range of views.

Keywords: естественное право, общественный договор, русский либерализм, John Locke, Ш. Монтескье, Th. Hobbes, natural right, Т. Гоббс, А.Н. Радищев, social contract, Ж.-Ж. Руссо, Russian Liberalism, A. N. Radishchev, J.-J. Rousseau, Montesquieu, Дж.Локк

Publication based on the results of: National philosophy and culture: spiritual and moral values (2025)