The economic system of Russian society, concept, structure, principles. The concept and structure of the economic system of society. Types of industrial relations

In the most general sense, the term “system” (from the Greek “systema” - a whole made up of parts) means a set of elements that are in relationships and connections with each other, forming a certain integrity, unity.

Taking this into account, an economic system can be defined as an ordered set of economic ties and relationships that are established in the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material and intangible goods. With this approach, subjects and objects of economic relations and various forms of connections between them should be distinguished.

Today, in Russian and foreign literature there is no single definition of the concept of an economic system. As a rule, the authors point to the presence of a certain set of mechanisms and institutions that ensure the functioning of production, income distribution and consumption within certain territorial boundaries. Sometimes the definition includes a wider range of factors that determine the economic behavior of participants (laws and rules, traditions and beliefs, positions and assessments).

Thus, we can conclude that the economic system is a complex multidimensional formation that has the integrity and unity of all its components (elements).

In principle, the term "economic system" is applied at different levels of analysis. In this sense, the simplest entities (for example, individual households or business entities) can be considered an economic system, but most often this term is used within the framework of a macroeconomic approach, when the patterns of functioning of the national economy as a whole are considered.

Any economic system presupposes a certain level of development of social production, therefore it is usually characterized in two aspects:

Technical and technological – expresses the relationship “man – nature”, i.e. presupposes those relations that are designated by the category “productive forces”;
Socio-economic – expresses relations between people, includes those relations that are designated by the category “industrial relations”.

The economic system has a complex structure, but at the same time all its constituent elements are subordinate to the whole.

From a practical point of view, it is advisable to identify individual subsystems (for example, the financial system, industry, agricultural sector, etc.), which have a certain content of their own, but in unity they form a new quality of the economic system (the whole is not identical to the simple sum of the properties of individual elements). There is a system of connections between subsystems that determine the nature of their subordination (subordination).

In general, the economic system reflects the special structure of society that arises from economic practices in specific conditions. It presents economic skills, traditions, the spiritual state of the people, their dominant values and the uniqueness of their understanding of the world. At first glance, this does not imply the presence of identical systems (they are always specific, identical to the culture that they reflect), however, one can try to identify some common features, features and properties, and build a classification of economic systems.

The development of social production and the openness of economic systems for constant exchange with the external environment contribute to the enrichment of the original with new material, which creates a need for intra-system changes. The result may be an updated economic model. In economic science, the concept of “economic model” is used - a cast from reality, the result of knowledge, to one degree or another corresponding to the original.

In the course of the historical development of human society, several types (models) of economic systems have emerged, differing, first of all, in the ways and means of solving the main economic problems (what, how and for whom to produce) 1 . More specific distinctive features by which they can be compared are:

o predominant forms and types of ownership,

o economic power and ways of exercising it,

o forms of management,

o the place and role of the market and market relations,

o the nature of state regulation of economic life.

1. Pure capitalism (market economy) is an economic system, the distinctive features of which are private property, free competition and pricing in markets based on the laws of supply and demand, the priority of personal selfish interest (the desire to maximize one’s income), the minimum level of economic power of individual subjects (inability to radically influence the market situation), minimal degree of government intervention in the economy. This type of economic system is best described by A. Smith, who proclaimed the law of the “invisible hand”, i.e. self-regulation of the market mechanism, when the desire to extract one’s own benefit simultaneously leads to ensuring the interests of the entire society. In conclusion, it should be noted that the term “pure capitalism” is conditional and is used only in theory; in reality, free competition capitalism took place. Moreover, today “pure capitalism” is even more absurd than “pure socialism”.

2. Command economy (communism) is an economic system in which opposite principles are implemented: strict centralization of economic power by the state - the main subject of economic life, including the use of resources at all levels; the behavior of subjects is determined by national goals, public interest dominates over private interest. All resources are owned by the state, are not available for free use and are distributed in a directive manner according to plans. As a result, production often acquires an autonomous character, does not satisfy social needs, technical progress is hampered and stagnation occurs in the economy.

3. Mixed system - an economy in which there is a combination of some properties of the first and second systems. A mixed system has formed in many industrialized countries, where an effective market mechanism is complemented by flexible contour government regulation. The role of the state comes down, first of all, to creating favorable conditions for doing business, improving market infrastructure, providing certain social guarantees for the population, and solving national problems and tasks. In general, this type of economic system makes it possible to combine the advantages of the market mechanism with government regulation, eliminating market “failures” and minimizing its negative effects on society.

4. Traditional economy - this type of economic system should be considered separately, since it takes place in countries defined as undeveloped. Its most characteristic features are: economic activity is not perceived as a primary value; the individual belongs to his original community; economic power is connected to political power. Almost all questions - what to produce, how, based on what technologies, how to distribute the produced products - all this is determined by established customs and traditions. The same applies to needs, which do not perform a stimulating function here for the development of production. The traditional economy is immune to the achievements of technological progress and is difficult to reform.

Thus, at the moment, humanity has gone through a long historical path of development, during which several types of economic systems have emerged at different stages - market, command, mixed, and traditional. The criteria for their division are, first of all, the form of ownership and the type of coordination mechanism (plan or market). Modern analysis shows that the most attractive for society has become a mixed system, which makes it possible to complement the advantages of the market with a flexible system of government regulation.

In modern conditions in industrialized countries, a mixed economy is increasingly replacing pure capitalism. Its main advantage is that it does not have the extremes inherent in the two models mentioned above. The main producers of products and buyers of production conditions there are large corporations, so economic power is not dispersed here, but at the same time it is not totalitarian in nature and is not exercised by administrative and bureaucratic methods. Under such conditions, distribution relations do not suppress exchange relations, but complement them; ownership of material resources can be national, state, or private; the behavior of each subject is motivated by his personal interest, but at the same time, priority goals are defined in society. The state performs an active function in the economy; there is a system of forecasting, planning and coordination of the activities of the public and private sectors.

The means of evolutionary transition to a mixed system is reform, during which the economy finds itself in a transition state (transition economy). It should be noted that the transition from one system to another does not always mean the need to change the form of ownership. For example, by the beginning of the 20th century, the economic model based on market mechanisms and regulated by the free market had exhausted itself. The free market mechanism was replaced by a regulated one: the system of state regulation of the economy arose during the First World War, its dismantling after the war led to a severe economic crisis (1929-1933). J.M. Keynes and his followers realized this and substantiated the need to reform the economy and strengthen the role of the state. F. Roosevelt's course in the USA confirmed their conclusions in practice.

Thus, the form of ownership does not prevent more stringent changes in the economic course. The transition from one economic model to another is greatly facilitated by the presence of a common basis in all modern economic systems - commodity production, although the systems themselves differ in the level of its development, as well as the type of economic power and forms of its implementation and the place in the value system of a given society that economic power occupies. activity.

It is also important that each economic system has special properties that must be taken into account when reforming the economy. On the one hand, it looks like an open system that interacts with the external environment (it does not interfere with the exchange of world experience, the establishment of general patterns of production development, and allows for the updating of its elements and the change of models). On the other hand, being a reflection of the cultural layer of a particular civilization, the economic system is focused primarily on the reproduction of a given type of civilization, i.e. appears to be a rigid closed system, when the possibilities of using a model developed in one economic system in other systems are limited.

The concept of a system has a long history and, translated from Greek, “system” means a whole, consisting of parts interconnected and forming an integrity.

In each country, under the influence of certain circumstances, its own concept is formed, and it is impossible to find exactly two identical economic systems. If we nevertheless make some generalizations and draw up a classification of economic systems, then the main distinguishing feature will be the relationship between market and state regulation that has developed in the economy of a particular country at a certain time. The market and the state are the main two forces that influence the economy. In each country and in each historical period, the relationship between them developed differently.

One of the properties of an economic system is its openness or closedness. An economic system can be considered as an open system if the national economy is actively included in the system of international economic relations and there is an exchange of world experience, general patterns of production development, and a change in models occurs.

A closed system based on internal production resources is limited to internal consumption; if it is not available to new firms, then it is a closed system, since it is focused primarily on the reproduction of a given type of civilization; use a model developed in one economic system for another economic system system is very difficult.

The economic system has a certain structure, which is one of its most important properties.

The main elements of the economic system are socio-economic relations based on the forms of ownership of economic resources and results of economic activity that have developed in each economic system; organizational forms of economic activity; economic mechanism. Establishing connections between the elements that make up a system means determining its structure. The system is characterized by the presence of functions that cannot be performed by any of the elements separately, but only by the object as a whole.

The economy is a complex multi-level, developing system. The economic system of society consists of small economic systems - households and enterprises. A household is a small system, a subject of the economy, which consists of one person leading an independent household or a group of people living together and running a common household. Such groups are the family. The main function of a household is the consumption of final products and services produced by enterprises. An enterprise is a small system, an independent economic entity created to produce products, perform work and provide services in order to satisfy public needs and make a profit. Groups of interconnected enterprises unite into industries. An industry is a larger system that unites all enterprises that produce (extract) homogeneous or specific products using similar technologies. Industries are united into larger systems - inter-industry ones.

The functions performed by the economic system include the following:

- creation and development of the sphere of production of material goods that ensure the viability of society;
- possible coordination of interests of economic entities;
- improving people's living standards;
- ensuring more full employment of the population;
- ensuring growth of economic efficiency of activities;
- providing conditions for social progress.

The main function of an economic system is to produce material goods and provide services that people need. In the absence of such a system, i.e. a system that produces, processes and distributes food, produces fabric and makes clothing, builds houses, produces furniture, produces cars, equipment, provides educational and medical services, sports, life would be difficult. This is its function. The best economic system is the one that provides people with what they need most.

In modern economic literature, especially in popular textbooks by Western scientists, the classification comes down to three main types of economic systems:

- traditional economic system;
- market economy;
- command economy.

A traditional economic system is an economy based on the traditions and customs of people, passed on from generation to generation. For example, the economy of a subsistence economy that serves itself at the expense of its own resources and forces, which is closed in nature.

A market economy is an economic system in which economic problems are solved under the influence of a market regulation mechanism based on fluctuations in demand, supply and prices, as well as economic benefits.

A command (planned) economy is an economy in which commodity-money relations are formal in nature, and the movement of production resources is determined by the state, and not under the influence of market forces. Economists believe that a command economy leads to inefficiency in production.

Modern economists identify another type - a mixed economy. A mixed economy is an economic system in which both the public and private sectors coexist. Almost all real-life economies are mixed, although there are exceptions. It is characterized by the stable presence of elements of different types of economic systems.

A mixed economy can be considered a special type of economic system. This is due to its integrity, stability, ability to self-renew, and a certain compatibility of system components. And all these properties are inherent in every type of economic system. But in reality we have to distinguish between the mixed economy of developed countries and the mixed economy of developing countries. These are types of mixed economy.

Each type of economic system, implemented in specific conditions, acquires its own characteristics. This is how modern models of economic systems develop and differ.

The versatility of the economic system makes it possible to define it: an economic system is a set of mechanisms and institutions that relate to production and income; this is an orderly system of connections between producers and consumers of tangible and intangible goods and services; a set of economic phenomena and processes occurring in society on the basis of property relations and organizational and legal forms of management operating in it.

An economic system is an extremely complex category that has a branched structure and a system of laws of its functioning and development. This is not just a set of various elements, but a structure that has a hierarchical structure, where there are basic system-forming elements that determine the nature of economic systems, a combination of general economic and specific laws.

Thus, the economic system is an integral part of society, which, in addition to economic relations, includes political, ideological, socio-cultural, legal and other relations.

Introduction

Chapter 1 Concept and structure of economic systems

Concept and structure

Chapter 2 Basic types of economic systems

2.1 Market system

2.2 Traditional economic system

2.3 Mixed economic system

Chapter 3 National models of economic organization

3.1 Japanese model

3.2 Chinese model

3.3 Swedish model

3.4 American model

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

An economic system is a set of interconnected and in a certain way ordered elements of the economy that form the economic structure of society. Correct and scientifically based discovery of the patterns of functioning of the economic system has always been of crucial importance.

Objectively existing economic systems are reflected in theoretical economic systems. In Soviet economic literature, the most famous researchers of the economic system of society were N.V. Gerasimov, K. Marx., J. Kornai., V.K. Chernyakov. In modern economic science, emphasis is placed on a systematic view of the economy. The main problem of the modern period in the formation of scientific economic systems in domestic economic science can be considered the problem of combining universal ones developed by world economic thought with the need to reflect the complex picture of modern economic reality.

As is known, one of the most important scientific methods is a systematic approach, which can be fully applied in the study of economic processes and phenomena in their complex interrelation and interdependence. In the most general sense, the term “system” (from the Greek “systema” - a whole made up of parts) means a set of elements that are in relationships and connections with each other, forming a certain integrity, unity.

Thus, we can conclude that the economic system is a complex multidimensional formation that has the integrity and unity of all its components (elements).

Chapter 1 Concept and structure of the economic system of society.

1.1 Concept and structure

Each country, under the influence of many circumstances, develops its own coordination system, and it is impossible to find completely identical economic systems. If we try to make some generalizations and draw up a classification of economic systems, then the main distinguishing feature will be the relationship between market and state regulation that has developed in the economy of a particular country. The market and the state are the main two forces that carry out regulatory functions in the economy. In different countries and in different historical periods, the relationship between them developed differently.

The economic system has special properties. On the one hand, it can be considered as an open system, since it contains, for example, the exchange of world experience, general patterns of production development, and a change in models; and on the other hand, the economic system is a closed system, since it is focused primarily on the reproduction of a given type of civilization; it is very difficult to use a model developed in one economic system for another economic system 1 .

The economic system has a certain structure that has developed, which can also be attributed to its special property.

The economic system of a society includes small economic systems such as households and businesses.

In addition, the economic system of a society may contain elements of both socio-economic systems and technical and economic systems. All systems are in close relationship with each other, have a unified structure of social organization and management, and are in a process of constant interaction.

The functions performed by the economic system include the following:

– creation of material resources for society;

– implementation of interaction between society and nature;

– acts as a self-regulating subsystem of social life, creating the necessary prerequisites and conditions for various aspects of life.

The versatility of the economic system makes it possible to define it: an economic system is a set of mechanisms and institutions that relate to production and income; this is a specially ordered system of connections between producers and consumers of tangible and intangible goods and services; a set of economic phenomena and processes occurring in society on the basis of property relations and organizational and legal forms of management operating in it.

Thus, the economic system is an integral part of society, which, in addition to economic relations, includes political, ideological, socio-cultural, legal and other relations.

Chapter 2 Basic types of economic systems

Different economic systems of the world differ from each other in their ideologies, as well as in their approach to solving the problem of economics. The fundamental differences are: a) between private and public ownership of resources and b) between the use of a market system and central planning as a coordination mechanism. It is necessary to highlight the following economic systems: pure capitalism, command economy, authoritarian capitalism, market socialism, traditional economy. The goal of economists in any country is to achieve such a combination of capitalism and socialism that will ensure the viability and proper efficiency of the economy of that country within the framework of its historical and cultural traditions. In reality, economic systems fall somewhere between market and command economies. To better understand how the modern economy has developed, how humanity has learned to find answers to its main questions, it is useful to look back and analyze the thousand-year history of the development of economic systems of civilization. Depending on the method of solving primary economic problems and the type of ownership of economic resources, we can distinguish four main types of economic systems: 1) traditional; 2) market (capitalism); 3) mixed.

2.1 Traditional economic system

Traditional economic system. The traditional economic system is the oldest system. For example, if a tribe has been growing, say, barley for several generations, then it will tend to continue to do the same. Questions like: Is it profitable? What else is worth growing? Which way of organizing production is more rational? - in this place they simply do not occur to anyone. Of course, traditions also change over time, but very slowly and only due to significant changes in the external conditions of life of a tribe or nationality. If these conditions are stable, the traditions of economic life can be preserved for a very long time. In the Russian Federation, for example, to this day one can find elements of a traditional economic system in the organization of life of the peoples of the North. As for the ownership of economic resources, in the traditional system it was most often collective, that is, hunting grounds, arable lands and meadows belonged to the tribe or community. Over time, the basic elements of the traditional economic system ceased to suit humanity. Life has shown that factors of production are used more effectively if they are owned by individuals or families, rather than collectively owned. In none of the richest countries in the world is collective property the basis of social life. But in many of the world's poorest countries, remnants of such property remain. And this is no coincidence. For example, the rapid development of agriculture in the Russian Federation occurred only at the beginning of the 20th century, when the reorganizations of P. A. Stolypin destroyed collective (community) land ownership, which was replaced by land ownership by individual families. Then came to power in 1917. The communists actually restored communal land ownership, declaring the land “public property.” Having built its agriculture on collective property, the USSR was unable to do so for 70 years of the 20th century. achieve food abundance. Moreover, by the beginning of the 80s, the food situation became so bad that the CPSU was forced to adopt a special “Food Program”, which, in general, was also not implemented, although huge amounts of money were spent on the development of the agricultural sector. On the contrary, the agriculture of European countries, the United States of America and Canada, based on private ownership of land and capital, succeeded in solving the problem of creating food abundance. And so successfully that farmers in these countries were able to export a considerable share of their products to other regions of the world. Practice has shown that markets and firms are better at solving the problem of distributing limited resources and increasing production volumes and vital goods than councils of elders - the bodies that made fundamental economic decisions in the traditional system. This is why the traditional economic system has, over time, ceased to be the basis for organizing people's lives in most countries of the world. Its elements faded into the background and were preserved only in fragments in the form of various customs and traditions of secondary importance. In most countries of the world, other ways of organizing economic cooperation between people play a leading role.

2.2 Market economic system

MARKET ECONOMY - an economic system in which the market plays the role of the main regulator of economic relations. In this system, the distribution of resources and the formation of proportions that satisfy social needs are carried out using market mechanisms. They capture the movement of supply and demand through the system of prices and profits. The market movement of consumer goods and services and the corresponding flow of resources form the overall economic turnover of any market economy.

The integral prerequisites of a market economy are the social division of labor, market exchange of labor products, private property, economic freedom of economic entities, their economic and legal independence and responsibility, a legal system that legislates the “rules of the game” in the market.

Being a common economic system, a market economy develops according to laws that are common to all countries. Their universality determines the general nature of a market economy, manifested in the commonality of not only prerequisites, but also its functions and mechanisms at all stages of development. At the same time, depending on the specific historical conditions of each country, these general patterns are implemented in various country models of market economies.

The set of regulatory functions carried out by the market makes the market economy a self-regulating, self-adjusting system. This system has the ability to automatically link private and public interests. This gives it the necessary flexibility and dynamism.

The development of a market economy faces a number of contradictions. The main ones include the inability of market mechanisms to satisfy. Many potential social needs that arise during the development of society, the cyclical nature of economic development, increased socio-economic differentiation, the growth of monopolistic tendencies, etc. The market economic system is not able to fully take into account and satisfy public or collective needs for social benefits: health care services, education , culture, communications, environmental protection, etc. On an individual-private market basis, many elements of production and social infrastructure cannot be created and function: highways and railways, various public buildings, etc. Resolution or at least mitigation of such contradictions are served by state economic and social regulation. In industrialized countries, state social, innovation, antimonopoly and other forms of policy are aimed at this.

Economic system –

Types of economic systems:

1. Market economy

Free competition

Self-regulation of the economy

2. Traditional economy

· Primitive technology

Predominance of manual labor

Social stability

Not private property

Characteristics of traditional and administrative-command economic systems.

Traditional economics

· Private ownership of production facilities

· Primitive technology

· Community farming, in-kind exchange

Predominance of manual labor

Administrative command economy

· Absolutization of state. Natural resource ownership

· Restriction or ban on private enterprise

· Centralization of their distribution

Social stability

Not private property

Types and forms of ownership

General: represents a form of social production in which a collective or union, a group of people owns the means of production, jointly uses them in the production of material goods and services, jointly distributes income, but everyone receives in accordance with their labor contribution.

Private: This form of social production in which a certain collective or group of people owns the means of production, while others do not have them (means of production). The private type of property can be represented in the form of individual and corporate property.

With individual ownership, labor and means of production are combined. With corporate ownership, there is a separation of labor and the means of production.

Distribution, both with individual and corporate ownership, occurs by both labor and capital.

Mixed: Manifests itself in various types of associations, cooperatives, joint stock companies, partnerships, leases, state corporations and joint ventures.

Speaking about the variety of forms of ownership, it should be noted that it is classified on the basis of certain criteria.

Property classification:

1. According to the form of assignment:

Individual.

These are personal subsidiary plots, individual labor activities, personal property and production activities.

Ø Collective

Cooperatives, rental companies, partnerships, joint stock companies.

State

2. According to the form of ownership:

Ø Private

Property of individuals and legal entities.

Ø State

Municipal, regional and national.

Ø Joint

Joint ownership of enterprises and organizations.

By subject of ownership:

ü Individual citizens.

Teams, groups of people, families.

ü State.

By property:

ü Numerous products

ü Labor force

Natural resources

By objects

· material

· spiritual

· ethical

· aesthetic

3. by degree of satisfaction

· final

· intermediate

4. by origin

· primary

secondary

The law of increasing needs.

The law of increasing needs is one of the general economic laws expressing the cause-and-effect relationship between the development of social production and the process of quantitative growth and qualitative improvement of the needs of society.

9. Needs and consumption. Economic benefits and their classification .

Consumption is the use of a product in the process of satisfying needs. In economics, consumption is equated to the acquisition of goods or services. Consumption becomes possible as a result of receiving income or spending savings.

Consumption is divided into industrial consumption and non-productive consumption.

PRODUCTION CONSUMPTION, consumption of means of production and labor in the production process. The result of industrial consumption is finished products.

NON-PRODUCTION CONSUMPTION, the use of material goods and services by the population (personal consumption), institutions and organizations.

NEEDS, the need for something objectively necessary to maintain the vital functions and development of the organism, the human personality, a social group, society as a whole; internal stimulator of activity.

Needs are divided into biological, characteristic of animals and humans, and social, which are historical in nature and depend on the level of economy and culture.

Benefits are everything that can satisfy people's needs and bring benefits

1. Economic

Non-economic

Material

Intangible

2. Short-term

Long-term

Competition and monopoly.

The essence of monopoly

The essence of monopoly is conveyed by the word “monopoly” itself. In Greek “mono” means one, “poleo” means I sell. This means that a monopoly characterizes the situation of having one seller in the market. Here, for one reason or another, the seller has the exclusive right to sell any product on the market. Types of monopolistic organizations. On the scale of a certain industry - pure monopoly. In this case, there is one seller, access to the market is closed to possible competitors, the seller has complete control over the quantity of goods intended for sale and its price. On the scale of the national economy - absolute monopoly. It is in the hands of the state or its economic bodies.

Monopsony(pure and absolute) – one buyer of resources and goods. Types of monopolies:

Natural monopoly arises due to objective reasons. It reflects a situation where the demand for a given product is best satisfied by one or more firms. It is based on the features of production technologies and consumer service. Here competition is impossible or undesirable. Examples include energy supply, telephone services, and communications. In these industries there are a limited number, if not a single national enterprise, and therefore naturally have a monopoly position in the market. There are two types of natural monopolies: a) natural monopolies. The birth of such monopolies occurs due to barriers to competition erected by nature itself. b) technical and economic monopolies. So we can conditionally call monopolies, the emergence of which is dictated by either technical or economic reasons associated with the emergence of economies of scale. Administrative monopoly arises as a result of the actions of government bodies. On the one hand, this is the granting of individual firms the exclusive right to perform a certain type of activity. On the other hand, these are organizational structures for state-owned enterprises, when they are united and subordinate to different departments, ministries, and associations. Economic monopoly is the most common. Its appearance is due to economic reasons; it develops on the basis of the laws of economic development. We are talking about entrepreneurs who managed to gain a monopoly position in the market. There are two paths leading to it. The first is the successful development of the enterprise, constantly increasing its scale through the concentration of capital. The second (faster) is based on the processes of centralization of capital, that is, on the voluntary merger or absorption of bankrupt winners. In one way or another, or through both, the enterprise reaches such a scale that it begins to dominate the market.

Functions of money in economics

Money manifests itself through its functions. Usually the following functions of money are distinguished:

· Measure of value. Dissimilar goods are equated and exchanged with each other based on price (coefficient of exchange, the value of these goods expressed in the amount of money). The price of a product plays the same measuring role as the length of segments in geometry, and the weight of bodies in physics. For measurements, you do not need to thoroughly know what space or mass is; it is enough to be able to compare the desired quantity with a standard. The monetary unit is the standard for goods.

· Medium of exchange. Money is used as an intermediary in the circulation of goods. For this function, the ease and speed with which money can be exchanged for any other good (indicator liquidity). When using money, a commodity producer gets the opportunity, for example, to sell his goods today, and buy raw materials only in a day, week, month, etc. At the same time, he can sell his goods in one place and buy what he needs in a completely different place. Thus, money as a medium of exchange overcomes time and space restrictions in exchange.

· Instrument of payment. The money is used to register debts and pay them off. This function takes on independent significance for situations of unstable prices for goods. For example, a product was purchased on credit. The amount of debt is expressed in money, and not in the quantity of goods purchased. Subsequent changes in the price of the product no longer affect the amount of debt that must be paid in money. Money also performs this function in monetary relations with financial authorities. Money plays a similar role when it is used to express any economic indicators.

· Store of value. Money saved but not used allows purchasing power to be transferred from the present to the future. The function of a store of value is performed by money that is temporarily not involved in circulation. However, it must be taken into account that the purchasing power of money depends on inflation.

· World money. Foreign trade relations, international loans, and the provision of services to an external partner gave rise to the emergence of world money. They function as a universal means of payment, a universal means of purchase and a universal materialization of social wealth.

27. Types of money, their evolution. Modern paper money.

Type of money is called their classification according to natural-functional characteristics.

This is the most significant criterion for classifying money. Within each type of money, money can be distinguished (classified) by form. At the same time, highlight different forms of money.

By external expression (incarnation) A certain type of money distinguishes between such forms of money as cash and non-cash money.

By value money are divided into such forms as full-fledged and inferior money.

Full money is money whose purchasing (nominal) value corresponds to its real (commodity) value.

Defective money is money whose purchasing (nominal) value exceeds its real (commodity) value.

Capital is the value put into circulation to make a profit.

The views of the late mercantilists (second half of the 16th-19th centuries) were a reflection of the changes that took place in the socio-economic life of society at that time. They still treated money as capital. However, the central point of late mercantilism was the trade surplus system. The positive difference between exports and imports was ensured by the products of one's own country. At the same time, the export of finished products, rather than raw materials, was allowed, since finished products were more expensive; The import of luxury goods was also prohibited; It was allowed to export money abroad for the purpose of buying cheap products in one country and selling them in other countries at higher prices.

Consequently, the late mercantilists reflected what was new in the economic development of the countries of that time, which consisted in stimulating the surplus of goods produced in the country and exporting them to other countries to increase money capital.

Physiocrats(from the French physiocrates, from the Greek physis - nature and kratos strength, power) - representatives of the direction in economic thought following the mercantilists. Their teaching arose as a reaction to the mercantilists and the changes that occurred in the economies of European countries by the middle of the 18th century. The founder of this trend is considered to be F. Quesnay (1694-1774).

The physiocrats transferred the study of the origin of profit from the sphere of circulation to the sphere of production, thereby laying the foundations for the theory of capital. However, due to the underdevelopment of industrial production, the physiocrats considered only agricultural labor productive.

However, for the physiocrats, not only the land was of decisive importance, but also the labor put into it. “Revenue is the product of land and man”; “Without the application of human labor, the lands are of no value,” writes F. Quesne. It is difficult to disagree with this statement even today, although since then there have been colossal changes in the economic system of society.

Physiocrats analyzed the components of capital, which to a certain extent correspond to its modern division into fixed and circulating capital.

For physiocrats, money is not wealth; in itself it is “sterile” and performs only the function of circulation. The physiocrats considered the accumulation of money harmful, since it removes money from circulation and deprives it of its only useful function - to serve the exchange of goods. Unlike the mercantilists, they considered the source of trade profit not the sphere of circulation, but the sphere of material - agricultural production.

The views of the physiocrats on capital are a reflection of the level of development of the capitalist economy and production relations of their time - the era of early small-scale production and the determining role of agricultural labor. At the same time, their views on the nature of capital are an important step in understanding its economic content. Having not yet clearly grasped the main property of capital - to generate income, the physiocrats nevertheless involuntarily drew attention to this general property of it and the essence that defines capital. It was the ability of capital to create income, intuitively grasped at the initial stage of development of the capitalist economic system, that later became a system-forming element in various theories of capital and understanding of its movement in the reproduction process.

You have obviously already grasped the idea that theory can only follow practice, exploring it, generalizing and drawing conclusions. As we have repeatedly emphasized, the development of economic thought is determined solely by the level of socio-economic development of society - the degree of development of productive forces and production relations. Therefore, it is no coincidence that classical political economy arose in England in the 18th century. This period is characterized by a high level of agricultural development, the growth of industrial production, the complication of its structure, and the intensification of foreign trade.

A. Smith, the founder of classical political economy, summarizing the views of his predecessors and contemporaries, was the first to highlight the nature of the category “capital” and most clearly define it. According to Smith, capital is that part of stocks “from which income is expected to be received.” Capital is the means of production, embodied material wealth, the productive use of which allows one to make a profit. A. Smith considered as productive capital not only capital employed in agriculture, but primarily capital employed in material production in general.

A detailed analysis of this category helped to highlight its functions, and on this basis to divide into main and reverse. A. Smith's definition of fixed capital is of great interest. In his opinion, fixed capital consists, among other things, “of the acquired or useful abilities of all residents or members of society,” thereby believing that the means of production are embodied living labor, the totality of people’s knowledge and abilities realized in fixed capital.

Smith clearly distinguished profit from wages, showing that the formation of profit follows from the fact of private ownership of the means of production. Smith derived loan interest from profit and understood it as part of profit. Smith associated rent with private ownership of land and defined it as a deduction in favor of the landowner from the full value of the product.

A. Smith's followers also paid great attention to the category of “capital”. Among them are many outstanding scientists: Zh.B. Seay, T.R. Malthus, N.W. Senior, J.S. Mill and others. Being popularizers of the economic theory of A. Smith, these economists at the same time brought some clarity to the understanding of the nature of capital, adding new characteristics to the theory of capital. So, for J.S. Mill's capital is “a previously accumulated stock of products of previous labor.” However, it is not just the accumulated stock that is capital, but only the results of previous labor intended for production.

Analyzing the category “capital”, J.S. Mill drew attention to the process of capital movement, a characteristic that had gone unnoticed by others. Thus, he proves that the size of capital limits (determines) the size of industry; capital is the result of savings; capital, being the result of saving, is itself consumed in the process. It was the identification of the essence of capital, as a process of saving, that determined the content of capital as special labor - investment.

J.B. Say supplemented the theory of capital by including among the factors determining income the entrepreneurial and managerial abilities of the owner of the means of production. However, classical political economy, represented by A. Smith and his popularizers, was unable to define the category of “capital,” while creating real prerequisites for a more in-depth analysis.

The next stage in the development of science and the nature of the category “capital” was the creation by K. Marx of the theory of labor value. His research is, on the one hand, a deep analysis of the fundamental categories of the commodity-capitalist system, on the other hand, an ideological focus on the destruction of this system. Unfortunately, the actual scientific achievements of K. Marx are underestimated or deliberately distorted due to his conclusions about the insolubility of antagonistic contradictions generated by private capitalist ownership of the means of production.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that K. Marx examined the real situation in the development of capitalism in the mid-19th century, when all its socio-economic contradictions reached their limit and the possibility of preserving the capitalist system was in question. Thus, P. Drucker writes that “most of Marx’s contemporaries shared his views on capitalism,” “even opponents of Marxism accepted his analysis of the internal contradictions of capitalism.”

Not without the influence of the teachings of K. Marx and its wide dissemination in the world, capitalism was able to find methods and means of more or less successfully resolving these contradictions. However, the objective achievements of K. Marx in the field of economic science are distorted for ideological reasons.

A prominent American specialist in the field of modern economic thought, B. Seligman, believes that “Marx’s definition of capital has great merit,” but this is irretrievably lost in the theories of Fisher and Knight, which leaves the impression of their apologetic nature.

Marx critically analyzed and generalized all previous experience both in the development of capitalism and in the views of economists on private capitalist production. In Capital, published in 1867 in Hamburg, K. Marx defined all the main economic categories, paying great attention to the study of the nature of capital and the definition of this category.

As the study of the nature of capital deepens, K. Marx gives several definitions of this category. The shortest and most succinct: capital is a value that brings surplus value, i.e. capital represents self-expanding value.

K. Marx divided all capital into constant (preserving its value during the production process) and variable (changing its value, creating a greater value compared to its own value).

Deepening the study of the nature of capital, K. Marx defines this category as a social economic relationship between people in the process of producing material goods. “Capital,” wrote K. Marx, “is not a thing, but a certain social relationship that is represented in a thing and gives this thing a specific social character.” Consequently, capital is not money, not the means of production, but a relationship in a capitalist society, as a result of which the owner of the means of production has the opportunity to appropriate part of the unpaid labor of hired workers. The basis and guarantee of the existence of this social relationship is private ownership of the means of production.

Administrative measures

The set of administrative regulatory measures is provided by the legal infrastructure. The main function of administrative measures is to ensure a stable, law-based environment in society: maintaining property rights, protecting the competitive environment, providing opportunities for free choice and economic decision-making.

Administrative measures, in turn, are divided into measures of prohibition, permission, and coercion.

Economic measures

Economic measures include government actions that, with the help of economic levers, as opposed to coercive measures, influence market relations. These measures mean various methods of influencing aggregate demand, aggregate supply, the degree of centralization of capital, social and structural aspects of the economy.

Economic measures include:

financial policy, including budgetary and fiscal policy;
monetary policy;
economic programming and planning;
forecasting.

Institutional measures

Institutional measures involve the creation, maintenance and development of certain public institutions. In this case, “institution” is understood as a verbal symbol to better describe a group of social customs. The presence of institutions means the existence in a society of a prevailing and stable way of thinking or acting, which has become a habit for certain social groups or a custom for a people. Examples: “institute of law”, “institute of property”.

Various options for the distribution of institutional forms are:

the structure of executive government bodies, whose immediate task is the practical implementation of government goals;
formation and maintenance of objects of the public sector of the economy, that is, state property;
development of national economic programs and economic forecasts;
support for research centers in economics (having different forms of ownership), institutes of economic information, chambers of commerce and industry, various economic councils and unions, ensuring the functioning of institutes of advisers, consultants, expert councils on economic problems;
legal and information support for non-state structures: business and trade unions;
participation in various forms of economic integration, organization of regular international meetings on economic issues (G7, G8, G20, APEC and others).

The country's monetary system.

Monetary system- This is a form of state organization of monetary circulation.

Monetary systems are based on the circulation of inferior and irredeemable credit and paper money. In this case, gold is forced out of circulation and can no longer be considered as money. All modern monetary systems of all countries of the world belong to this type. They have common features.

As a result, the elements of the monetary system are determined:

national monetary unit adopted as a price scale;
types of banknotes (banknotes and coins), the procedure for their release into circulation (emission);
methods of organizing circulation;
order, restrictions and regulation of monetary circulation.

In circulation in all countries, substitutes for real money (banknotes) are devoid of their own value, but remain stable and perform the functions of a means of circulation, a means of payment, a measure of value, and a means of accumulation.

Currency unit- a monetary sign established by law that serves to measure and express the prices of all goods and services.

Currency unit- this is customary in this country name of money(dollar, mark, ruble, yen, yuan, baht, tugrik, etc.) or the name of money used in the international monetary system (euro, SDR, etc.). All monetary units are divided into smaller parts: a ruble is equal to 100 kopecks, a dollar or euro is equal to 100 cents.

The concept of the economic system of society and its structure. Types of economic systems.

Economic system –a set of principles, rules and legislative norms in the country that determine the form and content of economic relations in the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of economic goods.

The economic system of a society consists of elements that are interconnected and interacting. These elements make up the structure of the economic system.

Structure of the economic system:

ü productive forces – a set of material and personal factors of production and certain forms of their organization, ensuring interaction and efficiency of use;

ü production relations show whose property the means of production are, what the nature of labor is (wage, free), in whose interests and how products and income are distributed;

ü economic system – a set of bodies governing and regulating the economy of a particular country or group of countries. It includes property relations, coordination mechanisms and the level of government regulation.

Types of economic systems:

1. Market economy

· Private ownership of the means of production

· Variety of forms of ownership and management

Free competition

Market pricing mechanism

Self-regulation of the economy

· Minimum government intervention

2. Traditional economy

· Private ownership of production facilities

· Primitive technology

· Community farming, in-kind exchange

Predominance of manual labor

3. Administrative command economy

· Absolutization of state. Natural resource ownership

· Restriction or ban on private enterprise

· Centralization of their distribution

Social stability

Not private property

4. mixed economy - a market system with a social orientation of the economy and society as a whole.

Any system means a complex and interconnected set of elements interconnected in a certain way. The economy functions and develops according to economic laws different from those that ensure the development of other forms of social activity - politics, culture, law, etc. There are several approaches to the interpretation of the concept of an economic system:

technological - with this approach, the economic system is understood as the totality of all technologically related sectors of the economy, embodying the social division of labor. The main task of an economic system with a technological approach is to find a more optimal combination of production factors, and the main relationships between people are technical and organizational;
basic - an approach in which the economic system is understood as a set of social processes, methods and forms of appropriation of goods on the basis of certain property. This approach pays special attention to the dependence of the principles and methods of appropriation of created goods on the prevailing forms of ownership, on the relations between property subjects and their material interests;
an approach that identifies the economic system with the method of production; it is understood as a historically established method of creating material wealth based on the interaction of specific productive forces and the production relations corresponding to them. The determining factor in such a system is the way of connecting direct producers with the means of production, on the basis of which production is carried out and all production relations are formed - the appropriation, distribution, and exchange of goods;
an approach characteristic of modern Western economic thought, equating the concept of “economic system” with the concept of “economic order”. Economic order is usually understood as a set of norms, rules and institutions that determine the relationships between the main subjects of the economy: enterprises, households, the state;
comprehensive, according to this approach, the economic system of society is understood as a stable set of economic components, which, under the influence of its driving forces and coordination mechanism, ensures the material viability of society.

The system-wide function of the economic system, independent of its specific characteristics and features, is to create and improve economic conditions to ensure the material viability of society and its subjects.

This function is logically complemented by a number of other functions of economic systems.

The most important of them:

creation and development of the sphere of production of material goods that ensure the viability of society;
possible coordination of interests of economic entities;
improving people's living standards;
ensuring fuller employment of the population;
ensuring growth of economic efficiency of activities;
providing conditions for social progress.

There are two conditions that are common to any economic system. This is an unlimited development of needs and limited resources to actually satisfy certain needs.

The concept of “system” means a complex and interconnected set of certain elements, and since the elements of an economic system are themselves complex, they are called subsystems. To live, you need to produce, and to produce you need certain forces. Productive forces are the first, one of the main subsystems of the economic system. Productive forces are a set of personal and material factors used to produce the material conditions of society - goods and services.

The productive forces include:

workers, people with their inherent abilities and qualifications;
means of production, including objects of labor and means of labor;
science and all knowledge that is embodied in technology, technology and production organization.

Creating various goods in the sphere of production on the basis of certain productive forces, people cannot help but interact with each other. The set of relations between people regarding the use of available resources for the effective reproduction of the material conditions of life of society is economic relations - another subsystem of the economic system.

In the structure of economic relations, three main components stand out noticeably. Firstly, these are relations of production - relations between people regarding the direct production and appropriation of the goods they create. Secondly, organizational-economic relations, which are relationships that connect and organize the economy into a single whole through management. Thirdly, technical and economic relations, which are understood as relations between people regarding the more rational and efficient use of available technical and economic resources.

In addition to the “productive forces” and “economic relations” subsystems discussed above, the structure of the economic system also includes a “driving forces” subsystem. The driving forces of an economic system are understood as the totality of those forces and factors that, interacting, act as causative agents of formation and engines of development.

The main elements of this subsystem are needs, interests and rivalry (competition).

The subjects of an economic system are the participants who function in this system, whose needs, interests and goals are realized in it. But the main subject groups in modern theory are enterprises (firms), households, and the state.

In its difficult history, humanity has already experienced quite a few different economic systems. This gives grounds to raise the question of their classification.

One of the classifications connects the identification of types of economic systems with the dominant form of management. With this approach, the following are distinguished: an economic system with a natural form of management; economic system with a commodity form of management.

According to the criterion of the main form of ownership, economic systems differ: communal type; private type; cooperative-public type; mixed.

According to the criterion of the mechanism (method) of coordinating the actions of economic entities, the following types of economic systems can be distinguished: traditional; market; planned.

The prevailing method of income distribution as a criterion approach to economic systems allows us to distinguish the following types: communal-equalitarian; with the distribution of income by land; with the distribution of income by factors of production (by land, by capital, by labor); with distribution according to quantity, quality and efficiency of labor contribution.

The border and type of government intervention in the economy as a criterion distinguishes the following types of economic systems: free, liberal; administrative-command; economically regulated; mixed.

According to the criterion of the degree of inclusion in world economic ties and relations, economic systems are divided into: closed; open.

According to the criterion of the degree of maturity, economic systems can be divided into: emerging; mature, developed; degrading.

In modern economic literature of the West, especially in the popular textbooks of K.R. McConnell and S.L. Bru, the classification comes down to the distinction between three main types of economic systems:

traditional economic system;
market economy;
command economy.

A traditional economic system usually means an economy based on traditions and customs, fixed in the economic consciousness of people based on the experience of generations. This is, as a rule, a subsistence economy that serves itself at the expense of its own resources and forces, and has a closed nature.

The market type of economy is interpreted as an economic system in which, on the basis of private property, the movement of production resources and production itself is carried out under the influence of a market regulation mechanism based on fluctuations in demand, supply and prices, as well as on economic benefits.

A planned (command) economy is defined as a type of economy in which public ownership dominates, commodity-money relations are formal, and the movement of production resources and production itself is determined by the administrative center based on a system of plans and commands.

Modern economic thought identifies another type of economy - a mixed economy. It is characterized by the stable presence of elements of different types of economic systems. This type of economy represents a number of modern Western European countries. This type has objective prerequisites. Thus, only one market mechanism in modern life does not provide effective and sustainable self-regulation of the economic system, but leads to a certain deregulation of the economy (crises, unemployment, inflation). The solution is found in a certain integration of regulatory mechanisms - market and state.

Another type of market type of economy is now called the social market economy - this is a type of economic system in which market economic relations and a coordination mechanism are combined with the active solution of social partnership problems.

Each type of economic system, implemented in specific conditions, acquires its own characteristics. This is how modern models of economic systems develop and differ.

The emergence of models is most likely due to different “soil” - the historical and geographical environment in which the economic model grows and develops. In other words, models in economics are a manifestation of different options for the economic development of a given type of system.

Basic concepts of the topic

Driving forces of the economic system. Industrial and post-industrial society. Classic capitalism. Criteria for the typology of economic systems. Models of economic systems. Socio-economic formation. Subsystems of the economic system. Productive forces. Relations of production. Properties of economic systems. Socio-economic structure. Mixed economy. Economic system. Types of economic systems. Functions of economic systems. Economic interests. Economic relations. Economic needs. Economic problems of society. Economic contradictions.

Control questions

What are the main criteria used to divide economic systems into types?
What is an economic system?
What are economic models? What role do they play in economic research?
What is commonly understood as economic patterns, functional relationships and economic effects? Explain the differences.
How are priorities chosen when allocating resources in different economic systems?
What basic properties does an economic system have?
What is the essence of economic laws and how do they differ from legal and natural laws?
Does the concept of “productive forces” mean the simple number of workers and the availability of means of production?
What conditions and reasons contribute to changing people's views on socio-economic reality?