ABSTRACT

The ideology of professionalism obstructs the path to innovation in three closely related areas: The modernization of the educational system, the resolution of the crisis in the humanities, and the development of Russia's intellectual life. Subordinating science and education completely to the laws of the market naturally would be just as deplorable as making these disciplines depend completely on the state. A liberal education presupposes a goal other than a professional one. A liberal education also helps students become citizens of a society committed to dialogue. The bewilderment that ensued at the end of the 1980s, when the shackles of censorship fell away and when, instead of a gallery of masterpieces or a burst of creative energy, the eyes of Russian society saw a void. As an ingredient of that "social glue" whose secrets sociologists probe, its integrating force is exactly what Russian society needs.