S. S. Alekseyev: The value of law is in securing and ensuring the rights and freedoms of the individual (introductory article to the reprinting of S. S. Alekseyev 's book "The Social Value of Law in Soviet Society")

The article is devoted to the analysis of S. S. Alekseyev's book "Social Value of Law in Soviet Society," which was first published in 1971 and reprinted in 2019. A general overview of the scientist's legal thought is given, two main periods in its development are distinguished – early and late, or respectively, Soviet and post-Soviet, special-legal and philosophical-legal, theoretical and practical legal, reformist. These two periods correspond to two epochs in the life of Russian society. The book mentioned is written in the first period of the thinker's activity and is a striking exception to his works of the early period and at the same time shows that the fundamental foundations of his teachings remained the same for both periods, such ideas as : high piety before the Law – the most important social value – and before the dignity of the individual, his or her rights and freedoms enshrined in the Law, which was and is now their "repository", and continued attention to legal education as an essential means of enhancing the legal culture of society and ensuring the rule of law in its life. The book highlights the direct value of the Law – to consolidate and ensure the organization and regularity of social relations, including the consolidation of the position of the individual in society, his or her rights and freedoms, where the highest social freedom is freedom from exploitation and non-direct value, when the law expresses and perpetuates other values, including universal, social values, morals, progressive elements of democratic culture. Law is therefore also an economic, political and spiritual value. The definition of the law is analysed, which in this book has a non-positivistic nature, as it is connected by the thinker with the requirements for the internal content of the rules of law in the form of their compliance with the principles of justice, the presence of subjective rights and the known autonomy of the subjects. The main idea of the book is that socialist (socialism is understood here as an idea, not as a practice) law affirms the value of the individual, his or her high position in society, exemption from exploitation, personal integrity and security, subjective rights and freedoms of workers, ensures high level of organization and order in a society to combat arbitrariness.