The authors of the article enter into a conceptual dialogue with the author of the book “The Defeat of the West”, Emmanuel Todd. By examining the causes of social decline in the West identified by Todd, the authors demonstrate that in a globally Westernized world, the factors of systemic degradation are universal, as they are rooted in the inherent contradictions of progress. By revealing the dialectical relationship between capital accumulation and the nationstate, the authors argue that in the context of a global crisis of social structure, the nationstate may be the only factor capable of stabilizing society. At the same time, the state opposes the chaos of desocialization and nihilism insofar as it strengthens its social foundations and ensures social well-being. The authors formulate a programmatic statement according to which the current agenda of social science – and adequate goal-setting for the sustainable development of nations – should include a substantive understanding of social well-being and verification of the results of state efforts to ensure it.
human development; social well-being; information exchanges; information society; crisis of social structurality; national-state; institution of the family.