World outlook basis of Ukrainian national idea

Abstract

The article deals with the world outlook basis of the national idea and reveals the main factors of formation of Ukrainian national idea. It is shown that despite the large number of national scientific and political books devoted to this subject in our time Ukrainian do not have this idea that would consolidate society fractured by political speculations. Against this background, it is emphasized that the establishment of the national idea is closely correlated with the concept of «nation» dominating in a social and cultural space. The theoretical differences between traditionalist and modernist approach and understanding of the nation are highlighted and their theoretical and practical potential in the process of construction of national idea is shown. Particular attention is paid in the article to the specifics in the formation of Ukrainian national idea, the birth of which had taken place in the nineteenth century in the creative legacy of Taras Shevchenko. However, due to political and cultural circumstances of that time Ukrainian (political and cultural) elite was not able to form a consolidating idea for the entire population. This task, once again, was undertaken by the Ukrainian people, including Ukrainian students, who formed the Ukrainian national idea as Ukraine's European choice.