Methodological antinomies of Pitirim Sorokin’s Sociology of Revolution: Toward the publication of selected German reviews of the book (1925–1929)

Abstract

Four reviews published in Russian for the first time are by H. Mauter (Cologne, 1889–1964), E. Jenny (Berlin, 1872–1939), N. N. Bubnoff (Heidelberg, 1880–1962), A. Meuisel (Aachen, 1896–1960) on the book “The Sociology of Revolution” (1925, German edition, 1928) by the Russian-American sociologist P. A. Sorokin (1889–1968) provide a theoretical context that allows us to trace some significant changes in the methodology of Sorokin’s sociology from moderate behaviorism towards the formation of an integral logico-meaningful method of analyzing the dynamics of social and cultural systems and creating the conceptual foundations of social systems theory. They differ from the American reactions to the book by discussing fundamental methodological problems of social theory: stability and dynamics of social systems, ensuring their stability and equilibrium. The reviews contrast the behaviorist content of the concepts of revolution and reaction in Sorokin’s work with the significance of these concepts in political theory and the sociology of politics. The question of the objectivity of Sorokin’s study of revolution, taking into account his moral assessments of the behavioral phenomena of revolutionary events in Russia, is discussed in the context of the methodological requirement of German sociologist Max Weber to reject political evaluations of social processes and phenomena. The paper substantiates the possibility of developing a general sociological theory of revolution and the significance of Sorokin’s study in relation to this issue, taking into account the difference between sociological and historical approaches to the subject. It is proved that German reviews published in leading professional journals of interwar Germany had some influence on the change in the methodology of Sorokin’s sociology.