Liberty, Equality, and the Market

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This volume presents the writings of Russian liberal thinker Boris Nikolaevich Chicherin (1828–1904) to English-language readers for the first time. It features key essays addressing the political and social challenges Russia faced from 1855 to the early twentieth century. Chicherin’s ideological alternatives to the Bolshevik revolutionary agenda offer valuable historical insights and remain relevant to contemporary discussions of liberalism in Russia and the West. G. M. Hamburg provides a comprehensive introduction that contextualizes Chicherin’s thought, portraying him as a powerful and often misunderstood advocate for civil and political rights. Influenced by German idealism and Hegel, Chicherin diverged from many contemporaries by supporting a market economy and emphasizing the need for reforms tailored to local conditions and traditions. In this collection, Chicherin addresses contemporary issues such as the abolition of serfdom, Russian education, and the necessity of a constitution. He also engages with broader philosophical questions regarding liberty and equality, styles of political discourse, and critiques notable philosophers including Plato, Aristotle, More, Machiavelli, Montesquieu, Hegel, and Marx.