http://ecsoc.hse.ru en-us Copyright 2025 Sat, 29 Mar 2025 10:58:56 +0300 https://ecsoc.hse.ru/en/2025-26-2/1029707623.html https://ecsoc.hse.ru/en/2025-26-2/1029712622.html https://ecsoc.hse.ru/en/2025-26-2/1029722919.html This paper substantiates a theoretical concept and tests hypotheses concerning the relationship between ethical consumption as a new sphere of civil society (CS) and its traditional sphere (formal and informal structures beyond the consumption sphere). For the first time, the paper presents the data on Russians’ participation in a wide range of ethical consumption practices in different markets and stages of dealing with benefits (acquisition, utilization and disposal) based on the results of two representative studies (2020, 2022, December, N = 2,000 for each of the studies). It has been established that although different practices are favored differently, Russian citizens, for the most part, have already been using them. Without due regard to this multifaceted phenomenon, the notion of modern CS, its functions and resources is deficient. Based on identification of the extent of overlapping participants in different practices, considerable fragmentation (disconnect) of this phenomenon was revealed, both within specific types and among them. This reduces the contribution of ethical consumption to the advancement of sustainable development while its contribution to the development of CS is positive, in any case. It has been shown that the emergence of ethical consumption signals the development of Russian CS both in depth (owing to acquisition of a new sphere for demonstrating civic consciousness by those who have already been involved in traditional civic structures -formal and informal) and in breadth (owing to the inflow of new participants who were socially passive before). Using regression analysis, the relationship between specific factors and the probability of Russians’ involvement in different types of ethical consumption was established and weaknesses in the development of the latter were revealed. It was concluded that an expanded reproduction of ethical consumption requires a variety of effects to be exerted by key stakeholders (NGOs, authorities, businesses) to make an impact on different categories of ethical consumers, different stages and kinds of ethical consumption, which would increase the contribution of this phenomenon to the development of CS in Russia. https://ecsoc.hse.ru/en/2025-26-2/1029725175.html The article discusses consumer standards existing today in Russia. Based on materials from focus group discussions conducted in 2023, various types of standards are identified and a detailed description of the capabilities of each is provided in the context of individual consumption spheres (from purchasing food products to paying for medical and educational services). Four standards: “Comfort,” “Norm,” “Hard, but livable,” and “Very bad”  illustrate the differentiation of society and provide insight not only into consumption benchmarks but also into markers of deteriorating financial status for different population groups. Notions of consumer standards are constructed in the population’s consciousness based on income possibilities, and the final model is a hierarchical composition in which the transition from one standard to another occurs with changes in income. The progression from the ‘Comfort’ standard to the ‘Very bad’ standard involves increased choice constraints: the lower the level, the more people are forced to seek low prices and save, resulting in reduced access to a variety of products. Nevertheless, one can note the retention of standards of ‘pre-pandemic normalcy’ in the population’s consciousness and a gradual acceptance of the reality of recent years. This indicates the rigidity of notions about consumer standards: they evolve over time (including due to the introduction of new products and services, technological advancements, etc.), but this evolution is not instantaneous. https://ecsoc.hse.ru/en/2025-26-2/1029725822.html Many types of work can be performed from anywhere in the world today. Digital technologies and ubiquitous Internet access allow almost everyone to connect with anyone to communicate and share files, data, video and audio. In other words, work can be deterritorialized on a global scale. This book explores the consequences of such a situation for work and employees, when labor becomes a commodity and goes beyond local markets. Going beyond the usual discworld-style arguments about globalization, the authors analyze both the transformation of work itself and the broader systems, networks, and processes that make digital work possible in the planetary market, offering both empirical and theoretical analysis. The authors, leading scientists and experts from various fields, address various issues, including content moderation, autonomous vehicles, and voice assistants. First, they explore new work experiences and discover that, despite the planetary connections, work remains geographically anchored and embedded in certain contexts. They then analyze ways to map and problematize planetary labor networks, discuss the productivity of using diverse and interdisciplinary approaches in the study of digital labor and its networks, and finally propose options for regulating planetary labor. The journal of Economic Sociology publishes an introduction to the book, where M. Graham and F. Ferrari problematize the increasing commodification and globalization of labor as a result of the expansion of digital technologies. https://ecsoc.hse.ru/en/2025-26-2/1029728518.html This article is dedicated to the life and scientific work of Alexei Matveevich Rumyantsev (1905−1993), an outstanding Soviet scholar in social sciences. The author describes Rumyantsev’s path from a young Leninist to a high-ranking party official and academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Special attention is given to his contribution to the development of Soviet sociology and political economy. Rumyantsev became the first head of the Institute of Concrete Sociological Research (ICSIR) and laid the foundations for objective Marxist-Leninist applied sociology. Under his leadership, key directions for the development of sociological research were formed, including social forecasting and analysis of urbanization processes. The author emphasizes the dual nature of Rumyantsev’s personality - he was both a passionate follower of Marxism-Leninism and a liberal intellectual who promoted free thinking among young scientists. His work at the intersection of dogmatic Marxism and a liberal approach played an important role in shaping a unique model of Soviet sociology. The article presents numerous valuable testimonies from contemporaries about Rumyantsev’s professional and personal qualities. He is characterized as a talented organizer of the scientific process who created a unique atmosphere at ICSIR, where strict party requirements coexisted with scientific inquiry. The article also examines criticism of Maoism, studies of primitive society, and other significant scientific interests of Rumyantsev. Particular emphasis is placed on his role in international cooperation among Soviet sociologists. https://ecsoc.hse.ru/en/2025-26-2/1029729507.html The concept of “human enhancement” describes the process by which innate human abilities are temporarily or permanently enhanced using various technologies and their combinations. Such technologies include information and communication technologies (ICT), biomedical, neurocognitive, nanotechnology, as well as social and humanitarian technologies. This review focuses on the social consequences of the development of human enhancement technologies. Its main questions are: what does the available research say about how the emergence of human enhancement technologies affects social inequality? Does it expand opportunities for lower social groups or, on the contrary, strengthen the positions of the upper ones? The article opens with a discussion on conceptual issues of the relationship between human enhancement technologies, inequality, and social exclusion. Then, using case studies of three groups of technologies, namely cognitive enhancement, assisted reproductive technologies, and life extension technologies (biogenetic and biogerontological), the authors consider, on the one hand, the opportunities for increasing well-being and reducing social exclusion, and, on the other, the risks that arise in connection with the development of human enhancement technologies. This leads to a discussion on the challenges for social policy that arise from the relationship between the development of human enhancement technologies, social exclusion, and inequality, and on possible responses to these challenges. A review of the literature devoted to the effects of human enhancement technologies showed that a significant portion of empirical publications are presented in medical journals. Their number is still small, but even fewer studies are devoted to the socio-economic aspects of the use of enhancement technologies. Scientific discourse on the social consequences of the use of human enhancement technologies is still largely theoretical and speculative, and the available scattered empirical evidence more often points to the reproduction and strengthening of existing socio-economic inequality and its translation into socio-biological inequality, although the conclusions are still far from unambiguous and sustainable. https://ecsoc.hse.ru/en/2025-26-2/1029730168.html The reviewed monograph addresses the burgeoning phenomenon of news avoidance, a consequence of information overload, media fragmentation, declining trust in news sources, and the pervasive negativity characterizing contemporary news coverage. Drawing on extensive empirical data, the authors offer a comprehensive examination of the motivations and factors underpinning this trend. Their analysis reveals a higher propensity for news avoidance among women, younger individuals, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Furthermore, the study highlights the influence of beliefs about news, political affiliations, news socialization experiences, and social norms on news consumption patterns. Individuals who avoid news frequently cite contentrelated deficiencies—excessive negativity, perceived inaccuracy, complexity, and perceived irrelevance to their daily lives—alongside personal characteristics as contributing factors. The review critically assesses the authors’ recommendations for ournalists aiming to counteract news avoidance, questioning their practicality and potential efficacy. The monograph’s call for increased audience engagement in news consumption lacks sufficient justification, while certain proposed strategies are argued to potentially yield counterproductive outcomes. Despite these reservations, the monograph makes a significant contribution to the ongoing scholarly discourse surrounding news avoidance in the contemporary information landscape.