The roots of Alexander Herzen’s populist socialism
di Daniele Stasi
The author describes the roots of Herzen’s political thought and its development after the disappointments of 1848 and, in general, in the mid-nineteenth century. The paper is divided into three parts. The first, describes the controversy between Slavophiles and Westernists regarding relationships with European civilization and the idea of Russian identity that will have a clear influence on Herzen’s thought. In the second part, Herzen’s «philosophy of action» is described as the overcoming of a certain interpretation of Hegelianism, which could represent a philosophical system that in contrast to the affirmation of subjective freedom. In the last part author describes the ideal of populist socialism as a synthesis of western individualism and the harmonious collectivism of Russian rural communities.
Keywords: Westernism/Slavophilism – philosophy of action – socialism – populism.
