DOCTRINE OF COMMUNITARIANISM OF LATE N. A. BERDYAEV

In his "Slavery and Freedom", written and published in emigration, we come across Berdyaev`s notion of "communitarianism": ".human person must live in a free communication, free communion, in communitarianism, built on Freedom and Love". The concept of communitarianism as akin to the concept of communalism, which is according to Berdyaev came into being as a "creative discovery" of A. S. Khomyakov. In Khomyakov`s understanding communalism is first and foremost organic unity in freedom premised in commutual love. Although one should not take the idea of communitarianism as a leading in Berdyaev`s philosophy (as distinct from communalism of Khomyakov), he granted it a special attention in his teachings. "Comunitarianism" and "communalism" are related concepts, however one should hardly take them as identical. He associates "communitarianism" with notions "collective" and "communalism". Communitarianism is a community and communality of personalities, it is personalistic, whereas in "collective reality" the person ceases to be an ultimate value. The motif of freedom in Berdyaev`s works is far more pronounced than that of Khomyakov. That is why priorities of Khomyakov and Berdyaev in their interpretations of correlation "freedom - communalism", "freedom - communitarianism" do not align. Berdyaev links his personalism with the idea of communitarianism: personality is communitarian and reveals its image by letting in Divine personality and other human personality. He sees Freedom as the main condition of personal becoming and even the very existence of a person as a personality; this is exactly the freedom that allows man to come to terms with his unique being. Although his assertion of communitarianism as the third freedom alongside with irrational freedom, selective (the first one) and rational freedom, enlightened (second), which he distinguishes, isn't absolutely undebatable, it may still be acceptable.