The Finale of the “Enlightenment Project” for the West and the East Part I. Keynotes and the Creators

Abstract

The paper describes in detail economic and cultural premises for the emergence of the “Enlightenment project” in European countries, the stages, and options for the development of the project, its impact on international relations during the colonial period. The article also provides examples of Eastern societies that have generated quite successful development models, which, nevertheless, could not resist the military, economic and ideological expansion of the Western countries, in which the “Enlightenment project” played one of the leading roles. Based on an interdisciplinary, historical, and sociological-political approach, the author conducts a series of historical comparisons, discovering, behind common definitions full of ideological traps, the general meaning of historical events, a similar logic of the development of society and the consonant goals of social elites. The Enlightenment project is considered as the first socio-economic and socio-political project in history, consistently implemented in Europe in accordance with the initial ideas and goals.