When elected by the nobility of Yaroslavl to represent their interests at the Legislative Assembly of 1767, Shcherbatov virulently slammed the existing institutions of the Russian Empire.

He thought that inequality was inherent to human nature and illustrated this tenet in the first Russian utopia, entitled Journey to the Land of Ophyr (1783).

Scherbatov's final and probably most lasting work was a scathing attack on the contemporary social customs in the treatise On the Corruption of Morals in Russia, published in 1797.

In one of his most famous works "On the corruption of morals in Russia" Mikhail Shcherbatov criticized the mass abuses committed by the authorities, such as bribery, embezzlement of public funds, servility, etc.

In regard to attached serfs who belonged to merchants and worked in their factories, Shcherbatov considered it necessary to have them registered in their places but not allowing any more to be bought.

As far as those serfs who were registered at the factories, he proposed to free them little by little, giving them freedom as a reward for good character and excellent knowledge of arts.

Shortly before his death, Shcherbatov created two works, which reflected his views on politics: "Various Opinions about Government" and "General Thoughts about Legislation".

Failure or unwillingness of people to suppress their excessive ambition, selfishness and lust for power "generates divisions, parties, hatred and evil, which in essence were a result of those destructive passions".

The democratic governments "gnaws at its own entrails dividing into various parties, which in various troubled times are tossed like a ship on a stormy sea, often escaping being sunk by the skill of the pilot, but even more often perishing, sometimes even right at the dock".

In this sense, he believed that people should honour and obey the laws; relationships inside society lie on humane principles and respect for each other and for the monarch, wherein a framework may be created for social balance and political peace within the boundaries of the country.

In that work, Shcherbatov developed his system for the prosperity and well-being of society, the basis of which lay in the idea that honor and respect for the monarch should not be rooted in any form of egoistic servility or hope of receiving a reward.

Although they were not free, the legislation of the utopian state would require that their masters treat them humanely, provide for their needs, respect their work and refrain from harsh punishment.