author
Yakov Aleksandrovich Novikov
1849–1912
A Russian sociologist, economist, and pacifist who wrote mainly in French, he explored how cooperation, intelligence, and social organization shape human progress. His work pushed back against harsher readings of social Darwinism and asked what makes civilizations stronger without glorifying war.
1 Audiobook
Le péril jaune
by Yakov Aleksandrovich Novikov
About the author
Born in Constantinople in 1849 and later associated with Odessa, Yakov Aleksandrovich Novikov was a Russian sociologist, economist, entrepreneur, and public thinker. He is also widely known under the French form of his name, Jacques Novicow, which reflects the language in which he published much of his work.
Novikov wrote on society, economics, international conflict, and the evolution of civilizations. He became known for arguing that cooperation, intellect, and social development matter more than brute force, which made him an important critic of more aggressive forms of social Darwinism. His interests also led him toward pacifism and questions of international order.
Among his better-known works is Le péril jaune. Across his writing, he returned to large historical and political questions in a way that mixed sociology with moral concern, making him a distinctive voice in late 19th- and early 20th-century European thought. He died in Odessa in 1912.