Strizhov A.Yu. The Balance of Values at the Time of Social Revolutions

Abstract: In the process of social development culture performs the function of 'crystallisation' of economic changes. At the time of social revolutions antagonism between different classes reaches the point when it can't be overcome and, as a result, culture and social values happen to be in different coordinate systems which leads to more misunderstanding between classes. Consequently, values that used to unite people of different social groups stop existing in the period of revolutions. The broken balance of values is expressed at the three levels, structural, cultural-historical and individual ones, which agrees to Marx' triad 'general-particular-singular'. The aforesaid disharmony is the subject of the present research. The research is based on the concept of socioeconomic formations that is used to study social development. Classical Marxism is enriched with the author admitting a more active role of the cultural 'superstructure' in the hsitorical process. The main method of the research is the historical comparative analysis. The author of the article describes the three groups of values. According to the author,  the balance between these groups of values 'crystallise' the interaction between the formal historical and specific historical logics of social development. Not only a specific culture changes the course of history but so does the historical memory of a nation, general symbols and myths that express the entire system of values of a community. The system of values legitimate (or reject) this or that form of social restructuring which makes it to be one of the drivers of social development. In some countries Peasants' War never turns into revolution (like in Germany of the XVIth century) and in other countries it does lead to a revolution or even an execution of a king (England of the XVIIth century). 

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