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<article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/" article-type="book-review" dtd-version="1.2" xml:lang="en"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">RUDN Journal of Political Science</journal-id><journal-title-group><journal-title xml:lang="en">RUDN Journal of Political Science</journal-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="ru"><trans-title>Вестник Российского университета дружбы народов. Серия: Политология</trans-title></trans-title-group></journal-title-group><issn publication-format="print">2313-1438</issn><issn publication-format="electronic">2313-1446</issn><publisher><publisher-name xml:lang="en">Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba (RUDN University)</publisher-name></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">42669</article-id><article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.22363/2313-1438-2024-26-4-871-883</article-id><article-id pub-id-type="edn">FVGKDA</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="toc-heading" xml:lang="en"><subject>BOOK REVIEW</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="toc-heading" xml:lang="ru"><subject>РЕЦЕНЗИИ</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="article-type"><subject></subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title xml:lang="en">Liberal Way of Life as a Political Philosophical Problem: Review of the Book: Lefebvre, A. (2024). Liberalism as a Way of Life. Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press, 285 p.</article-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="ru"><trans-title>Либеральный образ жизни как политико-философская проблема: размышления над книгой: Lefebvre A. Liberalism as a Way of Life. Princeton ; Oxford : Princeton University Press, 2024. 285 p.</trans-title></trans-title-group></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8063-2558</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name xml:lang="en"><surname>Gutorov</surname><given-names>Vladimir A.</given-names></name><name xml:lang="ru"><surname>Гуторов</surname><given-names>Владимир Александрович</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en"><p>Dr.Sc. (Philosophy) Professor, Head of the Department of Theory and Philosophy of Politics, Faculty of Political Science, St Petersburg University; Leading Researcher of the Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences</p></bio><bio xml:lang="ru"><p>доктор философских наук, профессор, заведующий кафедрой теории и философии политики факультета политологии СПбГУ; ведущий научный сотрудник, ФНИСЦ РАН</p></bio><email>gut-50@mail.ru</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"/><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2"/></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6949-2256</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name xml:lang="en"><surname>Shirinyants</surname><given-names>Aleksandr A.</given-names></name><name xml:lang="ru"><surname>Ширинянц</surname><given-names>Александр Андреевич</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en"><p>Dr.Sc. (Political Science) Professor, Head of the Department of History of Socio-Political Doctrines, Faculty of Political Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University; Leading Researcher of the Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences</p></bio><bio xml:lang="ru"><p>доктор политических наук, профессор, заведующий кафедрой истории социально-политических учений факультета политологии, МГУ имени М.В. Ломоносова; ведущий научный сотрудник, ФНИСЦ РАН</p></bio><email>jants@jandex.ru</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2"/><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3"/></contrib></contrib-group><aff-alternatives id="aff1"><aff><institution xml:lang="en">St Petersburg University</institution></aff><aff><institution xml:lang="ru">Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет</institution></aff></aff-alternatives><aff-alternatives id="aff2"><aff><institution xml:lang="en">Institute of Sociology, Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences</institution></aff><aff><institution xml:lang="ru">Институт социологии ФНИСЦ РАН</institution></aff></aff-alternatives><aff-alternatives id="aff3"><aff><institution xml:lang="en">Lomonosov Moscow State University</institution></aff><aff><institution xml:lang="ru">Московский государственный университет имени М.В. Ломоносова</institution></aff></aff-alternatives><pub-date date-type="pub" iso-8601-date="2024-12-15" publication-format="electronic"><day>15</day><month>12</month><year>2024</year></pub-date><volume>26</volume><issue>4</issue><issue-title xml:lang="en">Political Meanings, Identity Theory and the History of Ideas</issue-title><issue-title xml:lang="ru">Политические смыслы, теория идентичности и история идей</issue-title><fpage>871</fpage><lpage>883</lpage><history><date date-type="received" iso-8601-date="2025-01-29"><day>29</day><month>01</month><year>2025</year></date></history><permissions><copyright-statement xml:lang="en">Copyright ©; 2024, Gutorov V.A., Shirinyants A.A.</copyright-statement><copyright-statement xml:lang="ru">Copyright ©; 2024, Гуторов В.А., Ширинянц А.А.</copyright-statement><copyright-year>2024</copyright-year><copyright-holder xml:lang="en">Gutorov V.A., Shirinyants A.A.</copyright-holder><copyright-holder xml:lang="ru">Гуторов В.А., Ширинянц А.А.</copyright-holder><ali:free_to_read xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/"/><license><ali:license_ref xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0</ali:license_ref></license></permissions><self-uri xlink:href="https://journals.rudn.ru/political-science/article/view/42669">https://journals.rudn.ru/political-science/article/view/42669</self-uri><abstract xml:lang="en"><p>It is no coincidence that the book by Alexandr Lefebvre, professor of political science and philosophy at the University of Sydney, has caused a rather complex range of impressions in the Western academic world and political journalism immediately after its publication by Princeton University Press. Scientists were undoubtedly attracted and at the same time somewhat puzzled by the author’s rather unconventional interpretation of the phenomenon of liberalism. Judging by the context of A. Lefebvre’s earlier works, his turn to the problems of liberalism seems quite unexpected. The reason for the scientist’s sudden turn to the topic of liberalism is caused by a number of theoretical considerations of a political and philosophical nature. The central role in A. Lefebvre’s “strategy” is played by the concept and image of the “Christian kingdom” (Christendom), borrowed from biblical political rhetoric. The “liberal kingdom” (Liberaldom) is, according to A. Lefebvre, a mixture of liberalism and other ideologies and systems, including capitalism (with its individualism, materialism and instrumentalism), democracy (with its latent populism), nationalism and internationalism (with their patriotism and often chauvinism), meritocracy (with its calculations of value and reward), as well as overtly illiberal forces. This character of Lefebvre’s argumentation can hardly be perceived positively by many real and potential allies of liberalism. In general, A. Lefebvre’s book differs from many apologetic works, first of all, in that the apology for the liberal way of life presented in it spontaneously acquires an overtly conservative shade.</p></abstract><trans-abstract xml:lang="ru"><p>Книга Александра Лефевра, профессора политологии и философии Сиднейского университета, далеко не случайно вызвала в западном академическом мире и политической публицистике довольно сложную гамму впечатлений сразу же после ее опубликования университетским издательством Принстонского университета. Ученых, несомненно, привлекала и одновременно несколько озадачивала представленная автором нетрадиционная интерпретация феномена либерализма. Если судить по контексту более ранних работ А. Лефевра, то его обращение к проблемам либерализма выглядит довольно неожиданно. Причина внезапного поворота ученого к теме либерализма вызвана рядом теоретических соображений политико-философского характера. Центральную роль в «стратегии» А. Лефевра играют заимствованные из библейской политической риторики понятие и образ «христианского царства» (Christendom). «Либеральное царство» (Liberaldom) представляет собой, по мнению А. Лефевра, смесь либерализма и других идеологий и систем, включая капитализм (с его индивидуализмом, материализмом и инструментализмом), демократию (с ее скрытым популизмом), национализм и интернационализм (с их патриотизмом и часто шовинизмом), меритократию (с ее расчетами ценности и вознаграждения), а также откровенно нелиберальные силы. Такой характер аргументации Лефевра вряд ли может быть воспринят позитивно многими реальными и потенциальными союзниками либерализма. В целом книга А. Лефевра отличается от многих апологетических сочинений, прежде всего, тем, что представленная в ней апология либерального образа жизни спонтанно приобретает откровенно консервативный оттенок.</p></trans-abstract><kwd-group xml:lang="en"><kwd>liberalism</kwd><kwd>liberal way of life</kwd><kwd>conservatism</kwd><kwd>Christianity</kwd><kwd>values</kwd><kwd>ideological discourses</kwd><kwd>political theory</kwd></kwd-group><kwd-group xml:lang="ru"><kwd>либерализм</kwd><kwd>либеральный образ жизни</kwd><kwd>консерватизм</kwd><kwd>христианство</kwd><kwd>ценности</kwd><kwd>идеологические дискурсы</kwd><kwd>политическая теория</kwd></kwd-group><funding-group><award-group><funding-source><institution-wrap><institution xml:lang="ru">Работа выполнена в рамках Госзадания ФНИСЦ РАН за 2024 г. по теме «Либерализм и консерватизм в политико-­теоретическом измерении: историческая традиция и современные тенденции эволюции» (рег. номер ЕГИСУ НИОКТР 124082300044–4) при поддержке Министерства науки и высшего образования Российской Федерации и Экспертного института социальных исследований.</institution></institution-wrap><institution-wrap><institution xml:lang="en">The work was carried out within the framework of the State Assignment of the Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences for 2024 on the topic “Liberalism and Conservatism in the Political-­Theoretical Dimension: Historical Tradition and Modern Evolutionary Trends” (Reg. number EGISU R&amp;D 124082300044–4) with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and the Expert Institute for Social Research.</institution></institution-wrap></funding-source></award-group></funding-group></article-meta></front><body></body><back><ref-list><ref id="B1"><label>1.</label><citation-alternatives><mixed-citation xml:lang="en">Boldin V.A., Karipov B.N., &amp; Shirinyants, A.A. (2022). “The Significant Other”: reflections on the book “Culture of the Spirit” vs “Culture of reason”: intellectuals and power in Britain and Russia in the XVII–XVIII centuries: a collective monograph. 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