Community and Science: the Origins of the Views of Soltan Safarbievich Dzarasov

The article is devoted to the formation of the scientific worldview of Professor Soltan Safarbievich Dzarasov who belonged to the Tsagolov school of political economy. The article shows that the origins of the scientific thinking of Soltan Dzarasov can be found in the communal values of the peasant society from which he came. Permeated with collectivism and readiness for mutual assistance, rural society appeared receptive to the socialist social ideal, as well as accepted the revolution and the Soviet social system. In the 1930-1940s, the period of Dzarasov’s formation, very contradictory processes took place in the Soviet village. On the one hand, school education was developed based on the training of local teaching staff . Teachers carried out the mission of educating the peasant masses with great dedication, local authorities paid great attention to supporting the school, and the population associated education with expectations of a better future for their children. On the other hand, the Soviet government was characterized by adherence to the dogmas of the official ideology and tyranny in relation to the peasantry. This side of the Soviet system was also associated with the values of the peasantry, which was characterized by a lack of understanding of the rights and freedoms of the individual. The best qualities of rural society were demonstrated during the war when a large number of heroes of war and organizers of in the rear emerged from countryside. The contradictory experiences of Dzarasov’s childhood and youth determined his path in science. He joined the Tsagolov school of political economy at the Department of Economics of the Moscow State University. One of its central concepts was the category of planification. Soltan Dzarasov interpreted it as a contradictory unity of centralism and independence of enterprises. After the collapse of the Soviet system, the scientist advocated a social democratic model of development for the country which would have avoided the extremes of the omnipotence of state bureaucracy and the tyranny of private owners.