Introduction. A. N. Radishchev in his writings lays the foundations of a humanistic study of Russian society and an anthropological understanding of economic orders. Most of the works were not published during his lifetime; the scientific publication of works and the study of views, mainly of a social nature, was undertaken in the 1940s–1950s. The comments emphasized the radical worldview of the thinker, manifested in the literary field. In reality, the enlightener’s work is more multifaceted and covers philosophy, law, history, and economics.