Boronoev, A. O., Skvortsov, N. G. (2026). A Study of the Ideas and Practices of the Social Contract in Russian Society (Reflections on Zh. T. Toshchenko's Book "The Fates of the Social Contract in Russia: Evolution of Ideas and Lessons From Implementation

Abstract

The author, renowned Russian sociologist, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Zh. T. Toshchenko, revisits the concept of the social contract from the Enlightenment and examines the stages and challenges of its implementation in Russian society. The social contract is presented as a social contract between the people and the state, as a form of establishing a balance of interests between them in the organization and structure of social (public) and personal (private) life. It is shown that the concept of the social contract addresses objective and subjective (meaning-of-life) issues in the functioning of society and the state and is a highly relevant tool for researching the dynamics of sociocultural and political processes in a given society. The author's judgments and conclusions are based on numerous historical sources and sociological research materials, including his own, and can contribute to understanding and addressing the challenges of democratization in our society, as this process is directly linked to the effectiveness of dialogue between government and society.