Fishman Leonid
Abstract: The article is devoted to «Reflections on violence» by J. Sorel recently published in Russia. The significant intellectual and political strategies following from «Reflections», which have analogies in later periods, are allocated. The author shows that Sorel actually was the early critic of «ideological consensus» of the Latest times, or «liberal geo-culture» according to the Vallerstayn's terminology. For him, the liberal consensus was an embodiment of a decadent, moral, and cultural decline, which affected all those who actively participated in such consensus. The moral and ideological “bog” of consensus leaded to moral degradation of all classes – first of all the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The conclusion is made that Sorel's «Reflections» were followed by the «strong» strategy of destruction of liberal consensus by socialist revolution, and «weak» (but much more demanded several decades later) strategy of «cultural revolution». The author proves that in a sense we remain Sorel's contemporaries because we continue to follow the intellectual footpaths blazed by him. In many respects, Sorel's intuitions concerning moral and ideological perspective of modern societies anticipate our perception of the contemporary world.
Keywords: J. Sorel, liberal consensus, cultural revolution, morality.