The Right to Insanity: A New Ideology of “Woke” Western Elites and Its Consequences

Professor A.V. Lukin, head of the International Laboratory on World Order Studies and the New Regionalism and head of the Department of International Relations, published an article in Russia in Global Affairs.

A.Lukin talks about the emergence of an ideological system different from the one that prevailed in the West just recently. According to the author, "it assumes the form of both new ethical concepts and rules, and pseudoscientific theories, and can be found in all spheres of life from scientific research to mass culture". 

The author defines ideology and, on this basis, analyzes some concepts of the new Western ideology such as feminism, LGBTism, postcolonial studies, critical racial theory. Professor Lukin also explains what gives one the right to combine these separate theories and approaches into a single ideology.

A.V.Lukin argues in his article that "[t]he supremacy of abstract justice and the subordination of legislation to it are contrary to the traditional liberal idea proclaiming the rule of law and the equality of all before it, regardless of affiliation with a particular social group". He also notes that "we will soon see a closer merger between the new ideology and the state and an assertive policy to impose it on other societies and countries". 

The author suggests that "Russia and other post-Soviet and post-communist states could initiate a discussion on the dangers of the new ideology simply because in the 1920s they already experienced a similar period, albeit in a slightly different form, and the destructive nature of the new ideology, and understand its unacceptability much better". Professor A.Lukin  believes that "[w]e must strive for what the West renounces ― greater freedom based on the rule of law and the supremacy of formal institutions over principles and ideals".

Link to the article in English: https://eng.globalaffairs.ru/articles/the-right-to-insanity/