The philosophy of populism in the work of a sociologist: in memory of Irina Albertovna Khaliy (1950–2020)

Abstract

In memory of the Russian sociologist I. A. Khaliy, known for her research in the field of civil society, environmental sociology, local communities, social movements and non-profit organisations, the article analyses the philosophy of populism, which was actively used by the sociologist in her research. The analysis is built in two stages. The first one is based on highlighting the main views of the populists and their subsequent criticism, with access to a number of areas that were affected by populist thought, such as man and his nature, the question of solidarity and signs of social life, the doctrine of human needs, methods and methodology of social sciences, philosophy of action as a research position. The second stage is a comparative analysis, as a result of which it is considered how the views of the populists were reflected in the work of I. A. Khaliy, what refraction and sound they acquired a century later from the point of view of practical application. The work is all the more interesting because it gives an idea of the philosophy of populism not as an obsolete phenomenon of the past, but as a phenomenon of the present, which turns out to be especially relevant in a situation of systemic crises and their assessment, including by intellectuals and representatives of the intelligentsia.