Liberalism as a killer of the «blossoming complexity»: the lived world of a modern man in the light of Konstantin Leontiev’s ideas

Abstract

In the research literature of recent decades, much has already been said about the fulfilled prophecies of an outstanding Russian thinker Konstantin Leontiev. However, there is one more area, in relation to which we can observe another prophecy coming true right before our eyes. We are talking about liberalism and Leontiev’s conviction that it entails equalization, confusion, simplification and, ultimately, the destruction and death of both culture and the lived world of a person. In this article, the author attempts to assess what the victory of the liberal worldview has brought to the lived world of a modern man: his way of life, urban environment, culture, art, etc.