Are there any patterns of existence and development of society? Describe the sources and driving factors of the development of society. Reveal the main positions on this issue. How does the historical development of society differ from evolution in nature? Express yours

2. Laws, etc.development theoriessociety

Law of acceleration of historical time

The elements of social structure are social statuses and roles. Their number; the order of arrangement and the nature of dependence on each other determine the content of the specific structure of a particular society. It is clear that there are great differences between the social structure of ancient and modern society.

By comparing the evolution of societies, the various stages that human civilization goes through in its development, scientists have identified a number of patterns. One of them; can be called a trend, or the law of accelerating history. It says that each subsequent stage takes less time than the previous one.

Thus, capitalism is shorter than feudalism, which, in turn, is shorter than slavery. Pre-industrial society is more extensive than industrial society. Each subsequent social formation is 3-4 times shorter than the previous one. The longest was the primitive system, which lasted several hundred thousand years. Archaeologists studying the history of society through excavations of monuments of material culture have derived the same pattern. They call each phase in the evolution of mankind an historical era. It turned out that the Stone Age, consisting of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic, is longer than the Metal Age, consisting of the Bronze and Iron Ages. The closer we get to modern times, the more the spiral of historical time contracts, and society develops faster and more dynamically.

Thus, the law of acceleration of history indicates the compaction of historical time.

Technical and cultural; progress constantly accelerated as we approached modern society. About 2 million years ago, the first tools appeared, from which technical progress began. About 15 thousand years ago, our ancestors began to practice religious rituals and paint on cave walls. About 8-10 thousand years ago they switched from gathering and hunting to farming and cattle breeding. Approximately 6 thousand years ago, people began to live in cities, specialize in certain types of work, and divided into social classes. 250 years ago, the industrial revolution took place, ushering in the era of industrial factories and computers, thermonuclear energy and aircraft carriers.

Law of Unevenness

The law of acceleration of historical time allows us to look at familiar things in a new light, in particular at changes in the social structure of society, or its status portrait.

The dynamics of the status portrait of society are connected with the dynamics of social structure and the dynamics of social progress. The mechanism for the development of the social structure of society and at the same time the mechanism for its social progress is the division of social labor. With the advent of new sectors of the national economy, the number of statuses increases.

Thanks to knowledge of the social structure (a set of empty statuses not filled by people), it is possible to determine the real time in which a given country is located, the level of its social development. In other words, did she find herself in her era?

Such a theoretical model allows the sociologist to do much more than determine the level of historical lag.

The second law, or trend of history, states that peoples and nations develop at unequal rates. That is why in America or Russia there are industrially developed regions and areas where the population has retained a pre-industrial (traditional) way of life.

When, without going through all the previous stages, they are drawn into the modern stream of life, not only positive, but also negative consequences can consistently appear in their development. Scientists have found that social time at different points in space can flow at different speeds. For some peoples, time passes faster, for others slower.

The discovery of America by Columbus and the subsequent colonization of the mainland by highly developed European countries led to the death of the equally developed Mayan civilization, the spread of diseases and the degradation of the indigenous population. In the process of modernization in the second half of the twentieth century, Islamic countries followed America and Western Europe. Soon, many of them reached technical and economic heights, but the local intelligentsia sounded the alarm: Westernization leads to the loss of traditional values. The movement of fundamentalism is called upon to restore the original folk customs and morals that existed before the expansion of capitalism.

Existing theories of development can be divided into three groups: sociocultural, individual-technological and socio-economic. Each of the theories identifies its own specific factor of social development.

Sociocultural theories They consider the main changes occurring in the sociocultural sphere of society - worldview, religion, value system and mentality of a social group, society and entire eras. Sociocultural theories include the teachings of Comte, Weber, and Sorokin.

Comte divides the entire history of mankind into three stages of development, corresponding to the states of the human mind. The first state is theological (fictitious), when the main, factual part of science was contained in a theological shell, and all phenomena were explained by the will of animate objects or supernatural beings (spirits, gnomes, gods). The second is a metaphysical (critical) state, when more numerous facts are explained through various abstract, abstract, a priori concepts (such as cause, essence, matter, social contract, human rights, etc.). Comte sees the merit of this stage only in the destruction of theological ideas and the preparation of the transition to the next, third and final, positive, or scientific, stage. The task of positive philosophy is to classify and unify sciences, and sciences should clarify the laws of connection between phenomena, and not deal with metaphysical problems. Thus, according to Comte, it is impossible to know the essence of things and causality; therefore the sciences have only to test numerous facts “by the facts themselves, which are often simple enough to become principles.”

M. Weber created a general theory of rationalization of society. The hallmark of rationality is the presence of bureaucracy, but this conclusion reflects only one, albeit very important, aspect (along with capitalism) of the large-scale process of rationalization of society. He explored two types of rationalism (formal and substantive), but two others should also be mentioned: practical (everyday rationalism, with the help of which people perceive the realities of the world around them and strive to cope with them in the best possible way) and theoretical (the desire for cognitive control of reality using abstract concepts).

Sorokin did not so much accept the prevailing evolutionary or developmental models as believe that society is best understood as subject to cyclical, although not regular, patterns of change. In the most general and schematic form, this evolution can be characterized by the typically Russian formula “from Marxism to idealism.” He argued that the social disintegration and cultural crisis could only be overcome by new altruism.

Individual-technological theories consider social changes as derived from changes in the sphere of production. The most famous theories of this type were created by William Rostow and Daniel Bell.

Rostow created the theory of stages of economic growth, according to which the development of society is determined by changes in production technology (manual labor, manufacturing, machine production). According to Rostow, society goes through 5 stages - traditional, transitional, shift, maturity, high mass consumption.

Bell created the theory of industrial society, according to which society goes through three stages - pre-industrial (the main sphere of production is agriculture, since technology is not developed), industrial (the main sphere is industry), post-industrial (the main sphere is service).

Socio-economic theories consider the changes that occur in the system of economic relations to be decisive. The origins of the most famous socio-economic theories were Karl Marx, Karl Bücher and Bruno Hildebrand.

K. Marx: The basis for the development of society is material production. The starting points of this concept are that the basis for the existence and development of society is material production and those changes that are caused by shifts in the sphere of production and the progress of productive forces. With the development of production, new social relations are created. The totality of production relations and the material basis of society determine the forms of consciousness, the legal and political superstructure. Law, politics, religion are governed by the base; The relationship between the two sides of the social organism is unusually complex and contradictory. The sociological laws operating in society express the principle of correspondence between productive forces and production relations, as well as between the ideological and political superstructure and base. The principle of correspondence between the level of development of production and the form of organization of society explains why changes occur in social relations: relations of production become a brake on the development of productive forces and must be transformed in a revolutionary way. “With a change in the economic basis,” wrote K. Marx, “a revolution occurs more or less quickly in the entire enormous superstructure.” The main economic work of K. Marx “Capital” consists of 13 four volumes. The analysis of the system of economic relations begins not with wealth (too general a category), but with goods. It is in the commodity, according to Marx, that all the contradictions of the system under study are embedded in embryonic form.

From the fact that man is both a prerequisite and a result of the historical process, we can conclude that his activity is both predetermined and free. Let us try to describe this situation in more detail through the relationship between the objective laws of social development and the subjective activities of people.

The laws of social development, like the laws of nature, are objective, i.e. they exist independently of the will and consciousness of people. Despite the fact that slave owners and then feudal lords tried to extend the socio-economic conditions of their existence, this did not significantly affect the course of historical development. Any reformers must take into account the objectivity of the laws of social development and balance the goals and objectives of the planned transformations with them. Thus, neglect of such an important pattern as the continuity of social development can lead (as the example of our country shows) to negative consequences that are difficult to correct. Universal moral values, market relations, and traditional norms of a democratic system cannot be automatically transferred from one country to another. Universal human achievements must be organically integrated into a specific culture, taking into account the historical path traveled.

At the same time, the laws of society are implemented differently from the laws of nature. Blind, spontaneous forces operate in nature; social patterns arise, develop and disappear only through the activities of people, and are of a natural-historical nature: like the laws of nature, they are objective, but at the same time they are of a historical nature, i.e. manifest themselves in the activities of people pursuing their goals. People act both as actors and as co-authors of the world drama called history. You can give another analogy and imagine human social behavior as a game. The rules of the game determine the behavior of the players, but at the same time they retain the right to freely choose game situations. The use of game models in explaining behavior is not uncommon in psychology, sociology and other sciences. Such an approach in social philosophy makes it possible to highlight more clearly the role and significance of the subjective factor in the historical process. The subjective factor is the conscious, purposeful activity of various social groups and communities, individuals, aimed at changing or maintaining objective conditions and trends in social development.

The interaction of objective and subjective factors of social development, therefore, means that in history people do not act according to their own will - they are limited by the framework of certain historical objective conditions. The more fully these conditions are taken into account when determining the goals and objectives of activity, the more successfully people’s intentions are realized. Hence the definition of freedom formulated by Spinoza. Freedom is a known necessity: the more deeply and comprehensively the laws of nature and society are known, the freer a person is in his actions and actions. Only having learned the laws of gravity were people able to overcome them and rise into the air. Freedom is understood not as absolute arbitrariness (“everything is allowed”), but as an understanding of the need to act in accordance with objective conditions.

In the history of philosophy, the absolutization of human free will, or, on the contrary, objective conditions, led, respectively, to voluntarism and fatalism. The first became widespread not only in antiquity and the Middle Ages, but also in our time. Under the influence of positivism, a number of schools and trends arose that denied objective patterns in history. These include the theories of V. Windelband, G. Rickert, M. Weber (Germany); B. Russell, A. Toynbee (England); D. Dewey, E. Bogardus (USA). The general orientation of these theories is consistent with the requirements of neo-Kantianism and means that social philosophy in historical research uses various mental constructs in the form of “hypotheses”, “ideal types”, “general ideas” as a means of understanding historical development, which in principle does not contain any laws and patterns.

Followers of fatalism absolutize the objectivity of social laws, lose sight of their historicity; fatalism in its various forms (mythological, theological, rationalistic) is widespread and is associated with ideological aspects. Rationalistic fatalism in its pure form is characteristic of the Democrat, Hobbes, and representatives of mechanistic determinism (Laplace).

The influence of theological fatalism can be traced in the philosophical views of L.N. Tolstoy, who saw the implementation of the providential course of historical events in the spontaneous “swarm” actions of millions of people.

The addition of the natural development of history is chance. The latter is a necessary component of any development, but it plays a special role in history. Chance in social development is personified or takes the form of a single, unique fact, gives the social movement an irreversible (temporary) character, makes it “historical”, and gives a certain meaning.

Society as a system

Analysis of social development reveals the holistic nature of society, its systematic nature. The question arises as to what constitutes the elements of this system. The last, indecomposable “atoms”, “cells” of society in the history of philosophy were considered: the individual, the family, the tribal community, etc. It is easy to see that the listed social formations themselves have a complex system structure and therefore searches in this direction led to a dead end.

The consideration of society as a system of interactions between people that develops in the process of their life has proven fruitful. By producing things, values, ideas, people simultaneously create the social connection itself. As society develops, connections develop into a system of social relations. Historical development can be represented as a process of increasing complexity of connections between people that unite individuals in society.

These ideas were most consistently developed in the teachings that were quite different in time and conceptual positions - K. Marx and P. Sorokin (an outstanding Russian sociologist deported from Russia in 1922). These authors considered social relations as the primary element of the social system.

In the course of his activities, a person necessarily enters into a wide variety of relationships with the subject of the historical process (other people, various social communities, state and social institutions, etc.). These numerous and varied relationships (essential and non-essential, material and spiritual, personal and mediated, long and short) are generated by activity and are its form. If the substantive side of activity, manifested as the coincidence of its results and goals, is comprehended by a person and is the basis for correcting his aspirations, then changes in social relations from the point of view of their form are objective, i.e. independent of the purposeful activities of people.

Social relations are an objective reality, independent of the will and consciousness of the people who produce and reproduce them in the process of their activities.

The variety of different social connections and interactions for a long time made it difficult to adequately describe social functioning and development. The materialistic understanding of history (as discussed at the beginning of the topic) made it possible to create a coherent system of social relations.

The main spheres of society are: economic, social, political, spiritual. Each of them is respectively studied by such sciences as economics (general and social), sociology, political science, and philosophical disciplines. Let us try to briefly consider the main content of these areas.

The economic sphere covers the processes of economic life of society, the interaction of various sectors of the economy, as well as international economic cooperation. The basic space of economic space is reproduction - a repeating sequence of processes of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods that ensure the existence of the human community. In this area, economic needs and interests of people from the economic consciousness as a whole are realized, and economic processes are managed by society. In terms of its significance for the life of society, this area is fundamental.

The social sphere involves the interaction of various social groups and classes, as well as national communities, regarding the social conditions of their lives and activities. Social conditions mean the creation of normal conditions of production and life, the solution of problems of health care, public education and social security, the observance of social justice in the implementation by each person of his constitutional rights to work, the distribution and consumption of material and spiritual goods created in society. The state's social policy is focused on the level of people's well-being and the effectiveness of the social sphere.

The political sphere is characterized by the political activity of classes, parties, movements, social groups, national communities, and states. The main goal of political subjects is to seize power, expand and realize their political rights and freedoms. Each participant in political relations strives to multiply their activities to strengthen or eliminate one or another power structure. As a result, a field of political struggle is formed, where numerous interests, goals, approaches, agreements and compromises come together. Of great importance is interstate relations - an integral part of political activity, which are determined by the ruling elite in the interests of certain political goals.

Political processes are closely related to the development of political consciousness, the growth of people’s activity, and the strengthening of the role of the political sphere in public life.

The spiritual sphere is associated with people’s relationships regarding the creation, dissemination and assimilation of spiritual values. This is the highest level of social and human life. Here, what distinguishes man from other beings is created and brought to life - spirituality, a value-semantic attitude to the world. The spiritual life of society completed the long process of separating man from nature and gave society its final, complete form.

In the spiritual sphere, people's spiritual needs for moral improvement, satisfaction of the sense of beauty, and comprehension of truth are satisfied. For these purposes, a unique branch of spiritual production arises, the most important function of which is the improvement and development of all other spheres of public life (economic, social, political). The dissemination of spiritual values ​​is carried out by the education system, cultural and educational institutions, and the media.

Spiritual production has a decisive influence on the formation of public opinion, which often acts as a motivating factor in the practical activities of people who give preference to a certain political party, philosophical system, or worldview.

The total product of spiritual production is social consciousness. The structure and content of this social phenomenon were discussed earlier.

The listed public spheres constitute a social system - a self-governing integrity of various social relations, the subject of which is the individual, various social communities (groups, classes, nations, states and others). S.E. Krapivensky identifies the following features of the social system / Social philosophy. Volgograd: Press Committee, 1996. P.66-68/: complex hierarchical nature, which is determined by the multi-level interactions and relationships, their significance in the life process of the entire system as a whole; integrative nature, i.e. quality that unites many social manifestations into integrity; the universal component of the social system is man, because in his activity all the diversity of the social world is manifested; the social system, being classified as highly organized, has the quality of self-government, i.e. has a mechanism for regulating its life activity. The process of self-regulation is objective in any highly organized system (organic and inorganic nature, society, artificially created technical systems, etc.), but in human society, where people endowed with will and consciousness act, more or less complete coincidence of social aspirations of people with the needs and requirements of the system as a whole. “Miscoordination” of these aspects of social reality can lead to serious, unpredictable consequences. Thus, the vital interests of the entire human community include the preservation of nature as the natural bosom of its life activity. Therefore, an ecological approach to the development of all aspects of one’s life should replace the traditional economic one. But the real implementation of this objective requirement is still far away.

The desire to see economic science capable of promptly and reliably determining the directions, paths and timing of development for any state of society leads to sad thoughts about the actual state of affairs. Fundamentally new approaches are needed. First of all, not just a reasonable person, but a real person - with all his shortcomings - should be the center of research. Everything must be considered in interconnection and in continuous development. The breadth of views should be maximum, for clarity of general patterns. Focusing on these principles leads to interesting and encouraging results.

About consciousness. The instinct for self-preservation of an individual and a population in relation to a person and society gives a rich range of feelings and desires. Their clear specialization in areas of life is noticeable. Pain and fear take care of the preservation of the body. Feelings of hunger and thirst, needs large and small - about metabolism to obtain energy. Taste sensations deal with an assortment of necessary substances and elements. Love cares about reproduction, jealousy cares about the genetic purity of the population at the micro level. At the macro level, nationalism is concerned with this. Patriotism and love for the homeland work to preserve the population.

All these and many other feelings and desires, to varying degrees of spontaneity, are motivation to work. The main role in this matter is played by laziness, greed, envy and selfishness, because they are responsible for material and social well-being. Fatigue and laziness take care of preserving the body's bioresources. Laziness is greed on a biological level. It determines how much of his labor a person agrees to provide in exchange for some thing or service. This is where use value, value and price originate.

On the mutual development of being and consciousness. The achieved level of consciousness guides a person in the process of transforming existence in the direction of liberation from further problems. Any change in existence changes the priorities of feelings and desires, i.e. influences the direction and speed of development of consciousness. And a change in consciousness is reflected in the speed and direction of development of being. The relationship between being and consciousness is clearly visible.

Economic development is maximum when the achieved levels of being and consciousness correspond, because distortions lead to stagnation and revolutionary leaps, often in the wrong direction. The dynamics of the economy are determined by the level of correspondence in the mutual development of being and consciousness. It seems that this is the most laconic formulation of one of the basic laws of economics - the law of mutual development of being and consciousness.

On the cyclicality and predictability of social development. Any economic formation usually contains elements of previous and subsequent formations. Their number is inversely proportional to the remoteness of the formations. The social economy is constantly expanding its presence in the capital formation, becoming dominant in the social formation for a time. The expansion of the presence of elements of the communal economy leads to another change in the formation. Thus, subsequent formations displace the previous ones. This process seems continuous, natural and inevitable. However, it’s time to decide what the main differences between the formations are.

Community economy is the absence of private property and, as a consequence, economic laws. The nature of production, consumption and life itself is not legal (not in a criminal, but in an organizational sense). Life is regulated by one’s desires, concepts and leaders’ authorities. Everything belongs to everyone and no one. Freedom cannot be measured. There are elements of complete freedom and absolute dependence at the same time. Rather, the very concept of freedom in the usual sense is absent. There is no owner of the position. The community economy also has no goal.

The slave economy is the emergence of private property and, as a consequence, economic laws in their infancy. Life according to concepts begins to be slightly limited by these laws. The nature of production and consumption is not commodity. The concepts of personal and economic freedom appear. Distribution occurs according to external needs, which are completely determined by the owner of the situation - the slave owner. The goal of a slave economy is power.

The feudal economy is non-commodity production with commodity consumption. Distribution according to external use value, i.e. determined by the feudal lord, taking into account equivalence and compensation in consumption, with their complete absence in production. There is already more freedom than a slave, but I want even more. Economic entrepreneurial freedom is limited by feudal relations, I want to remove obstacles. The master of the situation is the feudal lord. The goal of the feudal economy gradually changes from power to wealth.

The capital economy is the maximum freedom of the entrepreneur in terms of owning and managing production and consumption with the maximum removal of representatives of hired labor from these affairs. It is distinguished by the commercial nature of production and consumption, the leading role of cost and inevitable competition. The owner of the situation is the employer. The goal of a capital economy is to obtain maximum profit.

Social economy is the maximum division of property into ownership and management. Here production is non-commodity, and consumption is commodity. The size and rate of profit of capital production give way to the efficiency of non-commodity production. Commodity is replaced by product, value by use value, competition by competition. The master of the situation is a man of labor. The goal of the social economy is the maximum satisfaction of effective demand at minimal costs.

The communal economy is complete freedom from property. Here both production and consumption are non-commodity. The product is replaced by the result of human development, use value by need, competition moves into the sphere of consumption. The owner of the situation is the consumer. The goal of the communal economy is human development through rational organization of consumption.

The forms taken by the basic economic category are curious. Desire - external need - external use value - value - use value - need - and again desire in the new communal economy. This simple pattern, as well as the patterns of changes in other categories, is very important to know when identifying formations. The cyclical nature of the change in categories is noticeable during the sequential passage of all six formations. Perhaps the very presence of cyclicality is the content of the periodic law of economics: between similar formations, categories go through a full development cycle. The nature of the changes is predictable. Therefore, any formation can be described in detail and the deviation of its actual state from the theoretical one can be assessed. How in chemistry, based on a similar law, one can predict and describe the missing element before its discovery. And if we do not want problems of a stagnant or revolutionary nature, then we need to quickly and skillfully (without overruns or excesses) correct the distortions.

After the 2008 crisis, many started talking about the inevitability of changes in the economy and the emergence of new problems in the development of many countries due to a number of reasons studied in Modern Philosophy, one of the most important of which is the traditional (outdated) understanding of economics. It is already hopelessly behind the times and does not correspond to modern economic and social realities in general. In relation to this problem, a number of points should be indicated from which one could begin to understand the economy in a new way and in accordance with existing realities, and not with the illusions of economists, and solve pressing problems. For example, modernization (in modern political economy, economics has long been conceptualized not on the basis of outdated economic theories, but in a new way: on the basis of fundamental knowledge and new research tools, see below). economy is identified with production, but taking into account a complex of related factors and aspects, incl. managerial and social. For example, for a “complete understanding of the essence” of economics, the authors of the famous textbook (2010) edited by A.G. Gryaznova, N.N. Dumnoy and A.Yu. Yudanov, in addition to production, considers the needs of people, limited resources, problems of choice, etc.

As well as basic issues of production, research methods, etc., including a) fundamental problems, in particular, problems of production (“what to produce?”, “how to produce?” and “for whom to produce?”) and b) social and other aspects of production (“organizational and legal forms of production”, “distribution”, “social stability”, etc.). At the same time, the textbook even identifies such questions as “a fully loaded economy, with an increase in the output of one product, would be forced to reduce the production of another,” or “solving the question “how to produce?” is associated with the choice of a specific technology and the necessary resources,” in a word, many specific production settings are considered, including target and planning points. Thus, the fact of reducing the economy to production, but, at the same time, the gradual enrichment of its concept with target, social and other aspects is one of the modern trends in understanding the economy (but, by the way, there is no specific definition of the economy itself in the textbook...). So, the above approach, burdened with the additionality factor - the addition of the original definition - involves adding new aspects to the concept of “economy”.

Therefore, economics should be understood as a more multifaceted complex than just production, even if many of its facets and aspects are indicated.

Indeed, to generalize, we can say that, as is known from numerous literature, the economy (or the economy of society) is usually understood as social production as a whole, in the unity of all its aspects, or social economy in a specific form as a set of various aspects and moments of human activity, including means, technologies and production facilities. Their forms of organization and level, in other words, everything that is used and organized by people to create benefits and conditions for their existence and to satisfy their material needs through labor activity.

So, the economy cannot be identified only with social production, and it is necessary to take into account many factors and aspects. These aspects, in turn, confirm the Marxist understanding of economics, which is closely connected with property, the type of which regulates distribution, and even with certain social processes, because, according to Marx, “... the revolutionary movement finds both an empirical and theoretical basis in the movement of private property, in economics."

For example, Yu.M. Osipov substantiated that “the economy begins with exchange, and it exists with exchange”; in other words, production is not its only feature, “and the whole economy, in essence, is a very complex, somehow self-realizing, social exchange-evaluation process...”, and “the moral, as a rule, gets in the way.” So, economy is not only and not so much production and distribution, but something that primarily exists in exchange. Moreover, exchange, according to modern political economy, among other things, forces the creation of production. However, this is violence, and it is a consequence of the contradiction that exists in the economy, makes it live and move; According to Hegel, contradiction is the root of all movement and vitality. On the other hand, it is production, inversely, that creates surplus, which in monetary form constitutes profit and gives rise to the desire for it, and profit is the main incentive for production based on capitalist private property. Thus, as it turns out, there is also a subjective factor (development) of the economy; This is a generally understandable and obvious statement, but it was its manifestation that made it possible to make a theoretical breakthrough in modern political economy. So, it is the internal contradiction of the economy that determines both its development and its social character, which already provides the basis for substantiating social issues from the economy, but no longer through production relations, as was the case in Marxism; this conclusion is extremely important for the consideration of social issues and, most importantly, for theorizing in the field of social design, in particular, modernization (and for it, as it turns out, it is necessary to take into account the contradiction, which is not done by either scientists or officials). Thus, economics, according to modern political economy, necessarily includes a contradiction, which is a dialectical-philosophical attribute of the economy, or better, perhaps, to say - its vital attribute. At the same time, the contradiction in the economy is revealed in a very multifaceted way, and not only in the indicated senses, but this is a separate conversation, more related to business processes, the development of the economy as a whole and social issues (including modernization). It remains to add that consumption also plays a significant role for the economy: without it, the economy as production is meaningless. Consumption is a specific feature of people’s social life, and the influence of consumption on demand, which initiates production, was clearly shown by J. M. Keynes in his general theory. Separately, it should be noted that a dialectical understanding of economics, as well as other issues, is impossible without the appropriate tools of cognition. So, the understanding and study of economics and, accordingly, the economic, breaks out beyond the boundaries of modern economic science.

Understanding the economy in a new way or a new understanding of the economy allows us to take a theoretically justified approach to its analysis and to anticipating certain moments in its near future, which, everyone understands, is extremely important for solving a number of problems, for example, both for specific economic activity and for production socio-economic development programs. It is also becoming fundamentally important to update specific applied theoretical research and developments, for example, in the field of modern political economy, such as the new economic maxim and surplus benefit (fundamentally new political economic categories). Understanding the contradiction of economics, the new economic maxim and surplus good, as well as surplus value, is also essential for other types of cognition and activity, for example, for the New Economy.

So, new theoretical developments receive actual developments in the form of new economic solutions and tools, which, in turn, already at a new stage of knowledge turns out to be important for the above-mentioned analysis of the economy, anticipating certain moments in its near future and solving a number of problems, incl. socio-economic development. A new round of economic theorizing and a current approach to solving pressing socio-economic, innovation and business problems. This is little of what provides a new, dialectical understanding of economics; in particular, on its basis, the theoretical (science) can objectively come closer to practice (innovation), which is extremely important for understanding and implementing modernization transformations and, most importantly, gives them both a theoretical justification and a real basis.

For example, the concept of current innovations is interesting.

Without a new understanding of economics, building a theory of modern modernization is impossible.

In the methodology of economic theory, four main approaches can be distinguished:

• 1) subjectivist (from the standpoint of subjective idealism);
• 2) neopositivist-empirical (from the standpoint of neopositivist empiricism and skepticism);
• 3) rationalistic;
• 4) dialectical-materialistic.

With a subjectivist approach, the starting point for the analysis of economic phenomena is taken as an economic entity influencing the surrounding world, and the sovereign “I” is relatively independent, hence everyone is equal. The object of economic analysis is the behavior of the subject of the economy (“homoeconomics”), and therefore economic theory is considered as the science of human activity, determined by the boundaries of needs. The main category in this approach is need, usefulness. Economics becomes the theory of choice made by an economic entity from various options.

The neopositivist-empirical approach is based on a more thorough study of phenomena and their evaluation. The technical apparatus of research is put at the forefront, which turns from a tool into an object of knowledge (mathematical apparatus, econometrics, cybernetics, etc.), and the result of the research is various kinds of empirical models, which are the main categories here. This approach involves dividing into microeconomics - economic problems at the firm and industry level, and macroeconomics - economic problems on a societal scale.

The rationalistic approach aims to discover the “natural” or rational laws of civilization. This requires a study of the economic system as a whole, the economic laws governing this system, and a study of the economic “anatomy” of society. The economic tables of F. Quesnay are the pinnacle of this approach. The purpose of human economic activity is the desire to obtain benefit, and the purpose of economic theory is not the study of human behavior, but the study of the laws governing the production and distribution of the social product (D. Ricardo). This approach recognizes the division of society into classes, in contrast to the subjectivist approach, which represents society as a set of equal subjects. The main attention in this approach is paid to cost, price, and economic laws.

The dialectical-materialist approach is considered the only correct one in solving scientific problems on the basis not of empirical positivism (experience), but of objective analysis characterizing the internal connections of phenomena that exist in reality. Economic processes and phenomena constantly arise, develop and are destroyed, i.e. are in constant motion, and this is their dialectic.

Methodology cannot be confused with methods - tools, a set of research techniques in science and their reproduction in the system of economic categories and laws.

Economic theory uses a wide range of methods of scientific knowledge.

1. Formal logic is the study of thought from the perspective of its structure and form. Aristotle is considered the founder of formal logic, who discovered a unique form of inference (syllogism) and formulated the basic laws of logic.

Formal logic has developed an extensive set of methods and techniques of cognition:

• 1. Analysis and synthesis. Analysis is the mental division of the phenomenon being studied into its component parts and the study of each of these parts. Through synthesis, economic theory recreates a single holistic picture.
• 2. Method of induction and deduction. The induction method is a method of inference based on a generalization of facts. Through induction (guidance), a transition is ensured from the study of individual facts to general provisions and conclusions.

The method of deduction is a method of reasoning by which a hypothesis is tested by real facts. Deduction (inference) makes it possible to move from the most general conclusions to relatively specific ones. Analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction are used in unity in economic theory.

• 3. Comparison is a method that determines the similarity or difference between phenomena and processes.
• 4. Analogy is a method of cognition based on the transfer of one or a number of properties from a known phenomenon to an unknown one.
• 5. A hypothesis is a method of cognition that consists in putting forward a scientifically based assumption about the possible causes or connections of phenomena and processes.
• 6. Proof - substantiating the truth of one thought with the help of others.
• 7. Laws of formal logic (law of identity, law of contradiction, law of excluded middle, law of sufficient reason).
• 2. Dialectical method. Dialectics is the science of the most general laws of development of nature, society and human thinking. For the first time, the dialectical method was successfully applied within the framework of political economy by K. Marx.

Subject: social studies

Class, profile: 8th grade, social studies

FULL NAME. teacher, No. OU: Grigorkina G.S., Municipal Educational Institution Gymnasium No. 19 named after Popovicheva N.Z.

Software and methodological support:

Program (basic level)

Textbooks used: A.I. Kravchenko

Lesson topic: “Social progress and development of society”

Target:

To acquaint students with the trends in the development of society, including the law of acceleration of history, the uneven development of different peoples and nations, to explain the essence of social progress and its types.

After studying the topic, students should:

explain the essence of the law of acceleration of history, justify your answer with specific examples;

know that peoples and nations develop at unequal speeds, be able to explain this trend using the example of the development of countries;

explain the essence of social progress, which includes economic, technical and cultural progress;

be able to determine in which cases society develops in a reformist way, and in which – in a revolutionary way;

know the definitions of the following concepts: the law of acceleration of history, progress, regression, reform, revolution, historical era.

Lesson plan:

Basic patterns of development of human society: why is history accelerating?

The law of uneven development of peoples and nations of the world.

Does society always develop progressively? What is social progress?

Reforms and revolutions.

When starting to consider the first question, the teacher needs to emphasize that, by studying the evolution of societies, scientists have come to the conclusion that there are patterns in their development.

Having examined the chronological framework of each historical era, students come to the conclusion about the compaction of historical time.

The figure for the paragraph shows the essence of the law of acceleration of historical time. Looking at the drawing (p. 33 of the textbook), students should explain:

a) How do the level of development of society and historical time relate to each other?

b) Why is this relationship called the law of acceleration of history?

The teacher draws the children’s attention to the additional text of the paragraph “Accelerating History” (p. 34 of the textbook). Have students explain statistics presented in the text.

Having completed such work, students come to the conclusion that each subsequent stage covers a much shorter period of time than the previous one. However, the level of development of society, on the contrary, is becoming higher.

Very impressive is the data of sociologists that each subsequent social formation is 34 times shorter than the previous one. However, tools and technologies are improving much faster.

A certain period of human development is called historical era. Having drawn the students' attention to this concept and explained its meaning, the teacher instructs groups of students to select facts known to them that indicate that technical inventions and scientific discoveries have been improved from era to era. For this purpose, students can be offered books as an assistant - textbooks on the history of the ancient world, the Middle Ages, modern and contemporary times. The level of development of each era can be compared using the following parameters:

a) development of tools, technology and science;

b) development of human intelligence;

c) social organization of society.

(It is advisable to perform such work in a prepared class).

In the previous lesson, students, while completing an assignment using cards, learned that the Russian scientist N.N. Miklouho-Maclay studied in the 19th century. relict societies of Papuans living at the level of primitive society. Why does history “slow down” the evolution of individual nations and people? Let the guys express their guesses.

Why does social time not flow the same way everywhere?

Students are asked to think about whether the expansion of capitalistically developed countries into the territory of underdeveloped regions can be considered a progressive phenomenon? (On the one hand, there is an artificial attempt to speed up the process of development of peoples (import of equipment, etc.), on the other, the destruction of identity).

It is advisable that during the discussion the guys argue their point of view. To track heteropolar judgments, one student should be invited to the board (to a piece of Whatman paper attached to the wall), who should record these positions of the speakers. (Yes, this is progressive, because...; No, this is violence and is dangerous, because...)

Consideration of the third question should center around the concept "social progress". It is explained by our science as the global progress of the development of human society from less perfect to more perfect, from a state of savagery to the heights of civilization.

Explaining the essence of social progress, the teacher involves children in dialogue, who, with the help of specific facts, prove what characterized social progress and its components in certain historical eras.

Studying the issue completes the problem task:

Think about whether society can develop backwards, regressively?

When explaining this problem, the teacher must reinforce in the understanding of students that progress is global in nature, and regression is local and covers individual societies and periods of time.

Students are asked to complete the following task.

“The history of mankind is known for numerous wars. It remained in their state for a much longer period of time than in the state of peace. Think about how wars influenced the development of society? What function did they perform: progressive or regressive?”

You can invite students to divide into two groups with bipolar opinions and try to answer the question posed with a pre-proposed attitude (students try to prove the proposed position by polemicizing with their opponents):

Yes, wars had a progressive influence on the development of society, because:

During the period of hostilities, rapid improvement of equipment, including military equipment, occurs, and the country's military-industrial complex develops.

Enterprises and firms producing weapons receive government orders, their profits are growing rapidly. There is an enrichment of many structures.

In wartime, people manifest special feelings of patriotism and unity, which contributes to the unity of the nation and the growth of its intellectual capabilities.

During the war, many unique and talented works of science and art (songs, music, paintings...) appear.

War exterminates part of the population, thereby regulating the solution of demographic problems.

War promotes new discoveries in the field of medicine.

No, wars have a negative impact on society, because:

war means numerous human sacrifices, grief and tears.

During the war, numerous cultural values ​​are destroyed, including buildings and structures

War leads to colossal material losses: destruction and devastation of cities and villages.

The stressful state of people leads to mental and health disorders

Society is destabilizing, losing able-bodied citizens and increasing the number of those who need social support.

The world is being redivided and new conflicts are being generated.

Social progress can occur gradually or in leaps and bounds. In the first case, reformative changes occur in society, and in the second, revolutionary changes occur. When considering this issue, you should pay attention to the difference in these concepts.

Students are asked to analyze the events below and group them into 2 columns of the table, explaining orally:

a) Why can this event be attributed to this type of social progress?

b) How did the changes take place, who became the initiator and “conductor” of changes in life?

Privatization of housing, legally permitted in Russia.

Introduction of tax benefits for domestic entrepreneurs.

Legal abolition of serfdom in 1861 in Russia.

changes in the judicial system in the 60s. XIX century, in accordance with which a jury trial, adversarial process, etc. were introduced.

The events of 1917 in Russia, which led to changes in the political system (monarchy - republic), the liquidation of the bourgeoisie, the destruction of private property.

The technological, industrial rise of Western European states in the 18th-19th centuries, as a result of which machine production replaced the old manufactory.

Thus, students independently, with the organizing role of the teacher, begin to understand that:

Reform- improvement in a certain area of ​​life, which is gradual in nature and does not affect the foundations of the existing system.

Revolution - a comprehensive change in most aspects of life, bringing society to a qualitatively new level of development.

At the end of the topic, the teacher can work with the concepts covered in the lesson. To do this, you should offer to build a terminological model of their relationship on the board and ask them to explain individual concepts orally.

D/w: paragraph 4, complete the tasks and answer the questions for the paragraph. Separate groups of children can be given individual tasks: select facts from literature and the media. Proving natural trends in the development of society.lesson...

Work program on general history grades 5-9 explanatory note

Working programm

... story like science, revealing patterns and trends development society ... development human society, and features development individual regions, as well as trace the dynamics of historical development and select it basic... cards. Why new ones beckoned...

Summary of a repeating and generalizing lesson Problem-discussion game

Abstract

Also ideas about patterns development human society from antiquity to... from main and additional... for children. Worldwide story. - M.: Avanta +, ... lesson. Statement of the problem question: Do you think Why ... . Speeded it up development Italy...

Lesson section I. Life of primitive people topic I. Primitive gatherers and hunters

Lesson

AND human society, the emergence of spiritual culture, social differentiation. Nowhere else on the course material stories... East, Greek scientists tried to find basic patterns development nature. The greatest achievement was the teaching...

Typology of societies.

Several types of society, united by similar characteristics or criteria, make up a typology.

First typology chooses writing as the main feature, and all societies are divided to preliterate(i.e. able to speak, but not write) and written(knowing the alphabet and recording sounds in material media: cuneiform tablets, birch bark letters, books, newspapers, computers).

According to second typology, societies are also divided into two classes - simple and complex. The criterion is the number of levels of management and the degree of social stratification. In simple societies there are no leaders and subordinates, rich and poor. These are the primitive tribes. In complex societies there are several levels of management, several social strata of the population, located from top to bottom as income decreases.

Simple societies coincide with preliterate ones. They do not have pistism, complex management and social stratification. Complex societies coincide with written ones. Here writing, extensive administration and social inequality appear.

At the base third typology lies the way of obtaining means of subsistence (hunting and gathering, cattle breeding and gardening, agriculture, industrial and post-industrial society).

In the middle of the 19th century K. Marx proposed his typology of societies. The basis is two criteria: the method of production and the form of ownership. A society at a certain stage of historical development is called a socio-economic formation. According to K. Marx, humanity successively went through four formations: primitive, slaveholding, feudal and capitalist. The fifth was called communist, which was supposed to come in the future.

Modern sociology uses all typologies, combining them into some synthetic model. Its creator is considered a prominent American sociologist Daniela Bella. He divided all history into three stages: pre-industrial (characterized by power), industrial (characterized by money) and post-industrial (characterized by knowledge).

Law of acceleration of historical time. Its essence is as follows. By comparing the evolution of societies, the various stages that human civilization goes through in its development, scientists have identified a number of patterns. One of them can be called a trend, or the law of accelerating history. It says that each subsequent stage takes less time than the previous one. The closer we get to modern times, the more the spiral of historical time contracts, and society develops faster and more dynamically. Thus, the law of acceleration of history indicates the compaction of historical time.

Law of regularity. The second law, or trend of history, states that peoples and nations develop at unequal rates. That is why in America or Russia there are industrially developed regions and areas where the population has preserved the pre-industrial (traditional) way of life.

When, without going through all the previous stages, they are drawn into the modern stream of life, not only positive, but also negative consequences can consistently appear in their development. Scientists have found that social time at different points in space can flow at different speeds. For some peoples, time passes faster, for others - slower.

Some general laws of systems development can also be applied to society. When we talk about systems, we mean a whole that is made up of parts and is a unity. This unity, which is very important, is not limited to its constituent elements.

Society is also a system; it is an organized collection of people. We are all part of it, so many of us wonder how it develops. The laws of its development can be discovered by considering the sources of progress. In society, three spheres of reality, “worlds” that are not reducible to each other, interact with each other. This is, firstly, the world of things and nature, which exists independently of the consciousness and will of man, that is, it is objective and subject to various physical laws. Secondly, this is a world in which objects and things have a social existence, since they are products of human activity and labor. The third world represents human subjectivity, spiritual ideas and entities relatively independent from the objective world. They have the greatest degree of freedom.

Nature as a source of social development

The first source of social development is found in the natural world. The laws of social development in the past were often formulated based on it. It is the basis for the existence of society, which, interacting with it, improves. We should not forget that it was the laws of the development of nature that led to the emergence of man. The largest civilizations, characteristically, arose in the beds of large rivers, and the most successful development of the capitalist formation in the world took place in states with a temperate climate.

It should be noted that the current stage of interaction between society and nature is marked by the concept. Its main reason was the attitude of people to conquer nature, as well as ignoring the limits of its resistance to anthropogenic influences. People turn a blind eye to the basic laws of development, forget about everything in pursuit of short-term gain and do not take into account the consequences. The behavior and consciousness of billions of inhabitants of the Earth must be changed so that nature can continue to provide us with the necessary resources.

The role of technology in the development of society

The next source is technological determinants, that is, the role of technology, as well as the process of division of labor in the social structure. They also provide social development. Laws today are often formulated using the role of technology as a basis. This is not surprising - it is now actively being improved. However, according to T. Adorno, the question of the priority of technology and economics is the question of what came first: the egg or the chicken. The same can be attributed to the type and nature of human labor, which largely determine the system of social relations. All this has become especially obvious today, when the contours have emerged. The main contradiction in this case arises between the humane goals of his existence pursued by man and the potentially threatening world of information technology. Its active development causes many problems.

The laws of social development are therefore beginning to be revised, the emphasis is on which we will now talk about.

The spiritual sphere as a source of social progress

Marx believed, leaving aside the “primary” (initial) stage, as well as the “secondary forms” of the community that grew on its form, that in relation to the era of class society and civilization, ancient, feudal, Asian and bourgeois (modern) modes of production can be called progressive eras of social economic formation. In the social science of the USSR, a simplified formula for the process of historical development was used, implying the transition of a primitive society first to a slave society, then to a feudal one, then to a capitalist one and, finally, to a socialist one.

The concept of "local civilizations"

The concept of “local civilizations”, which was created through the efforts of A. D. Toynbee, O. Spengler and N. A. Danilevsky, enjoys the greatest recognition in the philosophical thought of the 19-20 centuries. According to it, all peoples are divided into civilized and primitive, and the former are also divided into cultural and historical types. The phenomenon formulated as "Challenge-and-Response" is of particular interest here. It consists in the fact that calm development is suddenly replaced by a critical situation, which, in turn, encourages the growth of a particular culture. The authors of this concept made an attempt to overcome Eurocentrism in the understanding of civilization.

Systems approach

In the last quarter of the 20th century, an approach was developed according to which the world is a system in which the laws of human and social development operate. This is due to the fact that at this time the process in the world conglomerate was gaining strength: a “periphery” and a “core”, forming as a whole a “world-system” that exists according to the laws of superformation. The main product of today's type of production has become information and everything connected with it. And this, in turn, changes the idea that the historical process is of a linear type.

Laws of economic development

These are constantly recurring, significant, stable connections between economic phenomena and processes. For example, the law of demand expresses the inverse relationship that exists between changes in the price of a certain product and the demand that arises for it. Like other laws of social life, economic ones operate regardless of the desires and will of people. Among them we can distinguish universal (general) and specific.

General ones are those that operate throughout human history. They functioned back in the primitive cave and continue to be relevant in the modern company, and will also operate in the future. Among them are the following laws of economic development:

Increased needs;

Progressive economic development;

Increased opportunity costs;

Growing division of labor.

The development of society inevitably leads to a gradual increase in needs. This means that over time, people have a growing understanding of the set of goods that they regard as “normal.” On the other hand, the standard of each type of good that is consumed increases. Primitive people, for example, wanted, first of all, to have a lot of food. Today, people, as a rule, no longer care about not dying from its lack. He strives to ensure that his food is varied and tasty.

On the other hand, as purely material needs are satisfied, the role of social and spiritual ones increases. For example, in modern developed countries, when choosing a job, young people are increasingly concerned not so much with earning more (which allows them to dress and eat elegantly), but with the fact that the work is creative in nature and provides the opportunity for self-realization.

People, trying to satisfy new needs, improve production. They increase the range, quality and quantity of goods produced in the economy, and also increase the efficiency of use of various natural resources. These processes can be called economic progress. If the existence of progress in art or morality is disputed, then in economic life it is undeniable. This can be achieved through the division of labor. If people specialize in the production of some specific goods, then overall productivity will noticeably increase. However, in order for each person to have a full set of goods that he needs, it is necessary to organize a constant exchange between members of society.

Redistribution and decentralized exchange

K. Polanyi, an American economist, identified 2 methods of coordinating actions between production participants. The first is redistribution, that is, exchange, centralized redistribution. The second is the market, that is, decentralized exchange. In pre-capitalist societies, redistributive product exchange prevailed, that is, natural exchange, carried out without the use of money.

At the same time, the state forcibly confiscated part of the products produced by its subjects from them for further redistribution. This method was typical not only for societies of the Middle Ages and antiquity, but also for the economies of socialist countries.

Even during the primitive system, market commodity exchange arose. In pre-capitalist societies, however, it was mainly a secondary element. Only in a capitalist society does the market become the main method of coordination. At the same time, the state actively encourages its development by creating various laws, for example, the “Law on Entrepreneurship Development.” Money relations are actively used. In this case, commodity exchange is carried out horizontally, between producers who have equal rights. Each of them has complete freedom of choice in finding transaction partners. The Small Business Development Law provides support for small firms that find it difficult to function in the context of growing competition.

Materialists argue that the study of the causes of social development should begin with a study of the process of production of immediate life, with an explanation practices from ideas, not ideological formations from practice.

Then it turns out that the source of social development is the contradiction (struggle) between people's needs and opportunities to meet them. The possibilities of satisfying needs depend on the development and struggle of two factors: productive forces and production relations, which constitute the method of production of material life, which determines the social, political and spiritual processes of life in general. Historical types of production relations are determined by the formational stages of development of productive forces.

At a certain stage of their development, the productive forces of society come into conflict with existing production relations. From forms of development of productive forces, these relations turn into their fetters. Then comes the era of social revolution. With a change in the economic basis, a revolution occurs more or less quickly in the superstructure. When considering such revolutions, it is always necessary to distinguish the revolution in the economic conditions of production from the legal, political, religious, artistic and philosophical forms in which people are aware of this conflict and struggle with it.

The essence idealistic understanding of history lies in the fact that the study of society begins not with an analysis of the results of practical activity, but with a consideration of its ideological motives. The main factor of development is seen in the political, religious, theoretical struggle, and material production is seen as a secondary factor. And then, consequently, the history of mankind appears not as the history of social relations, but as the history of morality, law, philosophy, etc.

Ways to develop society:

Evolution (from Latin evolutio - deployment, changes). In a broad sense, this is any development. In a narrow sense, it is a process of gradual accumulation of quantitative changes in society that prepare for qualitative changes.

Revolution (from Latin revolution - revolution) - qualitative changes, a radical revolution in social life, ensuring progressive progressive development. A revolution can occur throughout society (social revolution) and in its individual spheres (political, scientific, etc.).

Evolution and revolution do not exist without each other. Being two opposites, they are, at the same time, in unity: evolutionary changes sooner or later lead to revolutionary, qualitative transformations, and these, in turn, give scope to the stage of evolution.

Direction of social development:

First group thinkers argues that the historical process is characterized by cyclical orientation (Plato, Aristotle, O. Spengler, N. Danilevsky, P. Sorokin).

Second group insists that the dominant direction of social development is regressive (Hesiod, Seneca, Boisgilbert).

Third group States that progressive the direction of the story prevails. Humanity develops from less perfect to more perfect. (A. Augustine, G. Hegel, K. Marx).

At all progress- this is a movement forward, from lower to higher, from simple to complex, a transition to a higher level of development, change for the better; development of new, advanced; This is a process of upward development of humanity, implying a qualitative renewal of life.

Stages of historical development

Theoretical constructions of the progressive stage development of society were proposed by both idealists and materialists.

An example of an idealistic interpretation of progress can be the concept three-stage development of society, owned by I. Iselen (1728–1802), according to which humanity in its development passes through successive stages: 1) the dominance of feelings and primitive simplicity; 2) the predominance of fantasies over feelings and the softening of morals under the influence of reason and education; 3) the dominance of reason over feelings and imagination.

During the Age of Enlightenment, in the works of such outstanding scientists and thinkers as A. Turgot, A. Smith, A. Barnave, S. Desnitsky and others, a materialistic four-stage concept of progress (hunting-gathering, pastoral, agricultural, and commercial) based on an analysis of technological modes of production, geographic environment, human needs, and other factors.

K. Marx and F. Engels, having systematized and, as it were, summing up all the teachings on social progress, developed theory of social formations.

Theory of social formations by K. Marx

According to K. Marx, humanity in its development goes through two global periods: the “kingdom of necessity,” that is, subordination to some external forces, and the “kingdom of freedom.” The first period, in turn, has its own stages of ascension - social formations.

Social formation, according to K. Marx, this is a stage of development of society, distinguished on the basis of the presence or absence of antagonistic classes, exploitation and private property. Marx considers three social formations: “primary”, archaic (pre-economic), “secondary” (economic) and “tertiary”, communist (post-economic), the transition between which occurs in the form of long qualitative leaps - social revolutions.

Social existence and social consciousness

Social existence - this is the practical life of society. Practice(Greek praktikos - active) - this is a feeling-objective, purposeful joint activity of people to develop natural and social objects in accordance with their needs and demands. Only a person is able to relate practically and transformatively to the natural and social world around him, creating the necessary conditions for his life, changing the world around him, social relations, and society as a whole.

The measure of mastery of objects in the surrounding world is expressed in forms of practice that are historical in nature, that is, they change with the development of society.

Forms of practice(according to the means of life of society): material production, social activity, scientific experimentation, technical activity.

Improvement material production, his

productive forces and production relations is the condition, basis and driving force of all social development. Just as society cannot stop consuming, it cannot stop producing. True

Social activities represents the improvement of social forms and relations (class struggle, war, revolutionary changes, various processes of management, service, etc.).

Scientific experimentation is a test for the truth of scientific knowledge before its widespread use.

Technical activities Today they constitute the core of the productive forces of the society in which a person lives, and have a significant impact on all social life and on the person himself.

Social consciousness(according to its content) - This

a set of ideas, theories, views, traditions, feelings, norms and opinions that reflect the social existence of a particular society at a certain stage of its development.

Social consciousness(according to the method of formation and mechanism of functioning) is not a simple sum of individual consciousnesses, but is that which is common in the consciousness of members of society, as well as the result of unification, the synthesis of common ideas.

Social consciousness(by its essence) - this is a reflection of social existence through ideal images in the consciousness of social subjects and in an active reverse impact on social existence.

Laws of interaction between social consciousness and social existence:

1. The law of relative compliance of social consciousness with the structure, logic of functioning and changes in social existence. Its content is revealed in the following main features:

In epistemological terms, social being and social consciousness are two absolute opposites: the first determines the second;

In functional terms, social consciousness can sometimes develop without social being, and social being can in some cases develop without the influence of social consciousness.

2. The law of the active influence of social consciousness on social existence. This law manifests itself through the interaction of social consciousnesses of various social groups, with the decisive spiritual influence of the dominant social group.

These laws were substantiated by K. Marx.

Levels of public consciousness:

Ordinary level constitute public views that arise and exist on the basis of people’s direct reflection of social existence, based on their immediate needs and interests. The empirical level is characterized by: spontaneity, not strict systematization, instability, emotional coloring.

Theoretical level social consciousness differs from empirical consciousness in greater completeness, stability, logical harmony, depth and systematic reflection of the world. Knowledge at this level is obtained primarily on the basis of theoretical research. They exist in the form of ideology and natural science theories.

Forms of consciousness (on the subject of reflection): political, moral, religious, scientific, legal, aesthetic, philosophical.

Morality is a type of spiritual and practical activity aimed at regulating social relations and people’s behavior with the help of public opinion. Moral expresses an individual slice of morality, that is, its refraction in the consciousness of an individual subject.

Morality includes moral consciousness, moral behavior and moral attitudes.

Moral (moral) consciousness- this is a set of ideas and views about the nature and forms of behavior of people in society, their relationship to each other, therefore, it plays the role of a regulator of people’s behavior. In moral consciousness, the needs and interests of social subjects are expressed in the form of generally accepted ideas and concepts, prescriptions and assessments supported by the power of mass example, habits, public opinion, and traditions.

Moral consciousness includes: values ​​and value orientations, ethical feelings, moral judgments, moral principles, categories of morality and, of course, moral norms.

Features of moral consciousness:

Firstly, moral standards of behavior are supported only by public opinion and therefore moral sanction (approval or condemnation) is of an ideal nature: a person must be aware of how his behavior is assessed public opinion, accept this and adjust your behavior for the future.

Secondly, moral consciousness has specific categories: good, evil, justice, duty, conscience.

Thirdly, moral norms apply to relationships between people that are not regulated by government agencies (friendship, partnership, love).

Fourthly, there are two levels of moral consciousness: ordinary and theoretical. The first reflects the real mores of society, the second forms the ideal predicted by society, the sphere of abstract obligation.

Justice occupies a special place in moral consciousness. The consciousness of justice and attitude towards it have at all times been a stimulus for the moral and social activity of people. Nothing significant in the history of mankind has been accomplished without the awareness and demand for justice. Therefore, the objective measure of justice is historically determined and relative: there is no single justice for all times and for all peoples. The concept and requirements of justice change as society develops. The only absolute criterion of justice remains - the degree of compliance of human actions and relationships with the social and moral requirements achieved at a given level of development of society. The concept of justice is always the implementation of the moral essence of human relations, the specification of what should be, the implementation of relative and subjective ideas about good And evil.

The oldest principle - “Do not do to others what you do not wish for yourself” - is considered the golden rule of morality.

Conscience- this is a person’s ability to moral self-determination, to self-assessment of personal attitude towards the environment, towards the moral norms operating in society.

Political consciousness- is a set of feelings, persistent sentiments, traditions, ideas and theoretical systems that reflect the fundamental interests of large social groups regarding the conquest, retention and use of state power. Political consciousness differs from other forms of social consciousness not only in the specific object of reflection, but also in other features:

More specifically expressed by the subjects of cognition.

The predominance of those ideas, theories and feelings that circulate for a short time and in a more compressed social space.

Legal consciousness

Right- this is a type of spiritual and practical activity aimed at regulating social relations and people's behavior with the help of law. Legal awareness is an element of law (along with legal relations and legal activities).

Legal consciousness there is a form of social consciousness in which knowledge and assessment of the legal laws adopted in a given society, the legality or illegality of actions, the rights and responsibilities of members of society are expressed.

Aesthetic consciousness - there is an awareness of social existence in the form of concrete, sensual, artistic images.

The reflection of reality in aesthetic consciousness is carried out through the concept of the beautiful and the ugly, the sublime and the base, the tragic and the comic in the form of an artistic image. At the same time, aesthetic consciousness cannot be identified with art, since it permeates all spheres of human activity, and not just the world of artistic values. Aesthetic consciousness performs a number of functions: cognitive, educational, hedonistic.

Art is a type of spiritual production in the field of aesthetic exploration of the world.

Aestheticism- this is a person’s ability to see beauty in art and in all manifestations of life.

Laws of development of society:

General patterns- this is the conditioning of the real social process by the dialectical laws of development of the objective world, that is, the laws to which all objects, processes, and phenomena are subordinated without exception.

Under general laws understand the laws that govern the emergence, formation, functioning and development of all social objects (systems), regardless of their level of complexity, their subordination to each other, or their hierarchy. Such laws include:

1. The law of the conscious nature of the life activity of social organisms.

2. The law of the primacy of social relations, the secondary nature of social formations (communities of people) and the tertiary nature of social institutions (sustainable forms of organizing people’s life activities) and their dialectical relationship.

3. The law of the unity of anthropo-, socio- and cultural genesis, which argues that the origin of man, society and his culture, both from “phylogenetic” and “ontogenetic” points of view, should be considered as a single, integral process, both in space and in time.

4. The law of the decisive role of human labor activity in the formation and development of social systems. History confirms that the forms of people’s activity, and, above all, labor, determine the essence, content, form and functioning of social relations, organizations and institutions.

5. Laws of the relationship between social existence (people's practices) and social consciousness.

6. Regularities of dialectical-materialistic development of the historical process: dialectics of productive forces and production relations, base and superstructure, revolution and evolution.

7. The law of progressive stage development of society and its refraction in the characteristics of local civilizations, which expresses the dialectical unity of shifts and continuity, discontinuity and continuity.

8. The law of uneven development of different societies.

Special laws. They are subject to the functioning and development of specific social systems: economic, political, spiritual, etc., or individual stages (stages, formations) of social development. Such laws include the law of value, the law of the revolutionary situation, etc.

Private public laws record some stable connections that appear at the level of the simplest social subsystems. As a rule, special and particular social laws are more probabilistic than general ones.

A fatalistic and voluntaristic understanding of the laws of social life should be avoided.

Fatalism - the idea of ​​laws as inevitable forces acting fatally on people, against which they are powerless. Fatalism disarms people, makes them passive and careless.

Voluntarism - this is a worldview that absolutizes the set of human goal-setting and action; a view of the law as the result of arbitrariness, as a consequence of a will that is not limited by anyone. Voluntarism can lead to adventurism and inappropriate behavior according to the principle “I can do what I want.”

Forms of social development:

formation and civilization.

Social formation - This is a specific historical type of society, distinguished by the method of material production, that is, characterized by a certain stage of development of its productive forces and the corresponding type of production relations.

Civilization in the broad sense of the word - this is a developing socio-cultural system that emerged as a result of the decomposition of primitive society (savagery and barbarism), which has the following features: private property and market relations; estate or estate-class structure of society; statehood; urbanization; informatization; producing farm.

Civilization has three type:

Industrial type(Western, bourgeois civilization) involves transformation, disruption, transformation of the surrounding nature and social environment, intensive revolutionary development, change of social structures.

Agricultural type(eastern, traditional, cyclical civilization) presupposes the desire to get used to the natural and social environment, to influence it as if from the inside, while remaining part of it, extensive development, the dominance of tradition and continuity.

Post-industrial type- a society of high mass individualized consumption, development of the service sector, information sector, new motivation and creativity.

Modernization- This is the transition of an agrarian civilization to an industrial one.

Upgrade options:

1. Transfer of all progressive elements in full, taking into account local characteristics (Japan, India, etc.).

2. Transfer of only organizational and technological elements while maintaining old social relations (China).

3. Transfer of only technology while denying the market and bourgeois democracy (North Korea).

Civilization in a narrow sense - it is a stable socio-cultural community of people and countries that have retained their originality and uniqueness over large periods of history.

Signs of local civilization are: one economic and cultural type and level of development; the main peoples of civilization belong to the same or similar racial-anthropological types; duration of existence; the presence of common values, psychological traits, mental attitudes; similarity or sameness of language.

Approaches in the interpretation of the concept of “civilization” in its narrow sense:

1. Cultural approach(M. Weber, A. Toynbee) considers civilization as a special socio-cultural phenomenon, limited by space and time, the basis of which is religion.

2. Sociological approach(D. Wilkins) rejects the understanding of civilization as a society held together by a homogeneous culture. Cultural homogeneity may be absent, but the main factors for the formation of civilization are: a common space-time area, urban centers and socio-political connections.

3. Ethnopsychological approach(L. Gumilyov) connects the concept of civilization with the characteristics of ethnic history and psychology.

4. Geographical determinism(L. Mechnikov) believed that the geographical environment has a decisive influence on the nature of civilization.

Formational and civilizational concepts of social development:

Formational approach was developed by K. Marx and F. Engels in the second half of the 19th century. He pays his main attention to the consideration of what is common in the history of all peoples, namely, their passage through the same stages in its development; all this is combined with one degree or another of consideration of the characteristics of various peoples and civilizations. The identification of social stages (formations) is based on the ultimately determining role of economic factors (development and interrelation of productive forces and production relations). In formation theory, the class struggle is declared to be the most important driving force of history.

The specific interpretation of formations within this paradigm was constantly changing: Marx’s concept of three social formations in the Soviet period was replaced by the so-called “five-member” (primitive, slave, feudal, bourgeois and communist socio-economic formations), and now the four-formation concept is making its way.

Civilizational approach was developed in the 19th–20th centuries in the works of N. Danilevsky (the theory of local “cultural-historical types”), L. Mechnikov, O. Spengler (the theory of local cultures passing and dying in civilization), A. Toynbee, L. Semennikova. He examines history through the prism of the emergence, development, prospects and characteristics of various local civilizations and their comparison. Staging is taken into account, but remains in second place.

The objective basis of these approaches is the existence in the historical process of three interpenetrating layers, the knowledge of each of which requires the use of a special methodology.

First layer- superficial, eventful; requires only correct fixation. Second layer covers the diversity of the historical process, its features in ethnic, religious, economic, psychological and other respects. Its research is carried out using the methods of a civilizational approach and, first of all, a comparative historical one. Finally, third, the deeply essential layer embodies the unity of the historical process, its basis and the most general patterns of social development. It can be known only by means of the abstract-logical formational methodology developed by K. Marx. The formational approach allows not only to theoretically reproduce the internal logic of the social process. But also to build his mental model facing the future. The correct combination and correct use of the indicated approaches is an important condition for military historical research.

The problem of the laws of social development is solved differently in different theoretical concepts. Not everyone recognizes the existence of objective patterns in society. In fact, on the surface of social phenomena it is extremely difficult to discover some stable, regular, necessary connections that are independent of human consciousness. The fact that certain changes are taking place in society and these changes lead to significantly different states of society is quite obvious. Everyone admits this. But it is not at all obvious that these changes are natural. And yet, deep theoretical analysis, penetrating beyond the surface of phenomena, makes it possible to establish these patterns. What appears on the surface as random events, phenomena, actions caused by the will, desire of individual people, in its depth appears as objective, i.e. relationships independent of the will and desires of people. Whether people want it or not, in order to satisfy their needs, they are forced to enter into relationships that develop as a result of previous activity, i.e. predetermined by the activities of previous generations. And each new generation finds these established relationships as objective data (given by past activities), i.e. independent of their choice, desires, whims, etc. This is an objective factor in social development, allowing us to talk about the presence of objective and necessary connections (laws) in society.

The idea of ​​regularity in society is most fully developed in the Marxist concept of society. According to this concept, material relations between people, primarily in the sphere of material production, in order to take shape do not require passing through the consciousness of people, i.e. are not recognized as such. This does not mean that people, entering into these relations (production, exchange, distribution), act as beings devoid of consciousness. This is basically impossible. It’s just that material relations of production do not require their awareness as some kind of integral system of relations that have a structure, direction, functioning, are subject to certain laws, etc. Ignorance of the laws of commodity production, ignorance of the physiological mechanisms of childbirth did not prevent people for thousands of years from producing and exchanging goods, as well as giving birth to children. Material relations, according to the Marxist model, being initial, primary, determine other relations, so-called ideological relations (political, legal, moral, etc.).

The specificity of the laws of social development is that, unlike the laws of nature, where blind, spontaneous forces operate, in society, natural connections and relationships are realized, paving the way only through the activities of people, and not outside of it and, along with it, precisely in activity people, in addition to random, situational moments caused by various human desires or even whims, there are, as already noted, objective, necessary ones, i.e. natural moments. And this pattern, historical necessity, does not exclude the conscious activity of people, being present in it as an objective, necessary factor. Historical necessity makes its way through a mass of accidents, i.e. has the character not of a strictly unambiguous predetermination, but of a certain tendency, a field of possibilities. In other words, within the framework of necessity, polyvariance of development is realized, which constitutes the space of human freedom. Making a conscious choice within the framework of various options (provided that the person has cognized these options, otherwise the choice will not be conscious), a person directs his efforts, his activities towards the implementation of the chosen option, within the framework represented by this multivariate necessity. Choice is associated with responsibility, an integral companion of human freedom.

v Law of History Acceleration : Each subsequent stage of development takes less time than the previous one.

Each subsequent social stage is shorter than the previous one. The closer to modernity, the faster society develops, the more dense historical time becomes (more events occur, technical inventions, scientific discoveries, etc.).

v Peoples and nations develop at different rates .

In the modern world, regions and peoples coexist at different stages of development: pre-industrial, industrial or post-industrial. This is due to geographical, historical, political, religious and other reasons.

Social change

v Evolution – these are gradual, continuous changes, transforming one into another without jumps or breaks.

v Revolution - a complete change in all or most aspects of social life, a revolution in the social structure of society, a change in the social system.

Evolutionary The path of development of society is the path of reform.

Reforms – reorganization of any aspect of social life while maintaining the existing social system.

Reforms are usually carried out “from above”, by the ruling forces.

Types of reforms:

v economic reforms (eg new tax system);

v political reforms (eg new electoral system);

v social reforms (for example, the introduction of universal secondary education).

Reforms can be progressive or regressive

In addition to socio-political revolutions, there are also technological revolutions:

v Neolithic Revolution (transition from appropriating forms of management - hunting and gathering - to producing ones - agriculture and cattle breeding; 10 thousand years ago);

v Industrial Revolution (transition from manual labor to machine labor, from manufactory to factory; XVIII – XIX centuries);

v Scientific and technological revolution is a leap in the development of the productive forces of society, based on the widespread use of scientific achievements in production.

v Globalization – the historical process of bringing peoples and states closer together, their mutual influence and interdependence, the transformation of humanity into a single political and socio-economic system.

Consequences of globalization.

Positive consequences:

v Stimulates the economy, its growth and development (goods can now be created anywhere in the world depending on where production is cheaper® production costs are reduced, additional funds appear for its development).

v Brings states together, forces them to take into account each other’s interests, warns against extreme actions in politics and economics (otherwise the international community may use various sanctions: limit trade, stop aid, freeze credit, etc.).

v Standardizes production, technology (for example, requirements for safety, quality, compatibility of goods).

Negative consequences:

v Ruins small and medium-sized producers (large firms have the opportunity to spend large amounts of money on advertising; the consumer strives to buy a globally recognized product, a well-known brand).

v Often hinders the development of domestic production (some enterprises do not have the means to comply with quality requirements, environmental safety, and cannot withstand competition with foreign manufacturers who are either technologically advanced or subsidized by national authorities).

v Local problems in the economies of individual countries cause a global economic crisis.

v Depersonalizes national cultures, standardizes the way of life of people in different countries (Americanization, imposing Western values ​​and lifestyles on the whole world).

v Caused the emergence of global problems for humanity (more on them in the next lesson).

Anti-globalism is a political movement directed against certain aspects of the globalization process, in particular against the dominance of global transnational corporations and trade and government organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO). Anti-globalists regularly hold social forums and various protests in different countries of the world

World system.

At the global level, humanity is turning into a world system, which is also called the world community. It includes all countries on the planet.

It is customary to divide the world system into three parts:

v Core – the countries of Western Europe, North America, Japan are the most powerful states with an improved production system and a developed economy.

They have the most capital, high-quality goods, the most advanced technologies and means of production, and an efficient market infrastructure. They export sophisticated equipment and the latest technologies.

v Periphery These are the poorest and most backward countries in Africa and Latin America.

They are considered a raw material appendage of the core (they mainly export raw materials for industry, natural energy resources, and fruits). Most of the profits are appropriated by foreign capital. The local elite exports capital abroad and serves the interests of foreign companies. Huge gap between rich and poor, very narrow middle class. Political regimes are unstable, coups and social conflicts often occur.

v Semi-periphery – fairly developed industrial countries, but they lack the political influence and economic power of the core countries (China, Brazil, Russia, India, etc.).

They produce and export industrial and agricultural goods. Production is mechanized and automated, but most technological advances are borrowed from the core countries. These are intensively developing countries (leaders in economic growth rates). Market infrastructure is not yet sufficiently developed. Political regimes are stable.

The countries of the semi-periphery are striving to strengthen their role in world politics and economics, to match their economic potential to political influence, and to transform a unipolar world into a multipolar one.

Global problems.

Peculiarities global problems:

v have a planetary nature, affecting the interests of all people;

v threaten degradation and death of all humanity;

v need urgent solutions;

v require collective efforts of all states.

Global problems:

● environmental crisis;

● demographic problem;

● threat of a new world war;

● “North-South” problem;

● international terrorism;

● energy, raw materials problems;

● food problem;

● health protection, etc.

Causes global problems:

● globalization of society (in conditions of increasing interconnection and interdependence of countries and regions, individual events, contradictions, conflicts outgrow local boundaries and acquire a global character);

● active transformative activity of people, the inability of humanity to put it under reasonable control.

Ecological problems

v Air pollution.

Every year, industrial enterprises and transport emit more than 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide and other substances harmful to humans into the atmosphere. This destroys the ozone layer, which protects the Earth from the influence of harmful ultraviolet radiation, and leads to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, creating the threat of global warming. The latter threatens a “global flood”, because will lead to melting glaciers and rising sea levels. Cities located on the coast or in lowlands will be flooded

v Pollution of water bodies and the oceans (up to 10 million tons of crude oil and petroleum products fall into it annually, which leads to the extinction of entire species of animals and plants).

v Depletion of natural resources (in the 50 years after the World War, more mineral raw materials were used than in the entire previous history; all known reserves of oil, gas, and coal in the world will last for less than 50 years).

v Deforestation (more than 20% of the Amazon jungle has already been destroyed; in Russia, more than 180 million cubic meters of forest are cut down annually; in the world, deforestation is 18 times higher than its growth).

v Destruction of soil, desertification of territories (for this reason, 2 thousand species of plants and animals are on the verge of extinction, about 50 million people will leave their homes in the next decade to escape the desert).

v Pollution of the planet with waste and household garbage (most of it cannot be disposed of or recycled; many countries do not have waste recycling technologies).

Ways out from the crisis:

v environmentally friendly production (development of technologies that reduce the negative impact on the environment of industry: waste-free production, closed cycles, development of resource-saving technologies, alternative energy sources, nature restoration industries, etc.);

v environmental assessment (organization of effective public control over enterprises);

v environmental education (changes in people's consciousness and lifestyle; transition from aggressive consumerism to moderation, to harmony of nature and society);

Modern science considers nature and society as a single system - The noosphere (this, according to Vernadsky, is a biosphere controlled by scientific reason).

v Developing countries are experiencing rapid population growth. This leads to increased poverty in these countries, food shortages, and sharply aggravates problems with housing, education, and healthcare.

v Declining and rapidly aging populations in developed countries. Already, the number of pensioners in some countries exceeds the working-age population. Labor migration to the EU zone of immigrants from Asia and Africa has so far saved the collapse of the social security system in European countries. But, on the other hand, this gives rise to a whole tangle of new social, ethno-confessional and other problems.

v Overpopulation of several countries of the world.

Regions of the highest population concentration: East Asia (eastern China, Japan, Korea), South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan), Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand), West. Europe.

The share of developed countries in the world population is just over 10%. At the same time, almost 90% of the world's population lives in conditions of poverty, high unemployment, disease, social and political instability. A clear program of development assistance from the rich North to the poor South is needed.

The North-South problem.

The trend is increasing with each passing decade. growing economic gap between developing countries and developed countries.

The ratio of developed and developing countries in terms of GNP per capita: in 1960 – 25:1, now – 40:1. But in addition to the income gap, the technology gap is widening. As a result, most developing countries have not resolved the problems of internal sources of financing their own development. Developing countries owe the West more than $1 trillion.

Every year approx. 50 million people the world is dying of hunger. More than 75% of the population of developing countries lives in unsanitary conditions. 1.5 billion people deprived of basic honey. help. Child mortality is 4 times higher.

All global problems are closely related to developing countries

The problem of maintaining peace.

v Statistics:

Ÿ out of 4 thousand years of history known to us, only approx. 300 were peaceful;

Ÿ Today, for every person on the planet, there are 10 tons of explosives in the form of nuclear weapons alone; this amount of weapons can destroy the Earth several dozen times;

Ÿ Arms spending in the world today is approx. 1 trillion $ per year.

v The problem of nuclear war. If it starts, then all of humanity will perish: both those against whom it starts, and those who start it. “Nuclear winter” will come. That's why this problem is global.

v Modern war is a war against civilians.

Ratio between civilian and military deaths:

Ÿ World War 1 – 20 times less;

Ÿ World War 2 - the same;

Ÿ Korean War (1950-53) - 5 times more;

Ÿ Vietnam War (1964-68) - 20 times more;

Ÿ Modern military conflicts (beginning of the 21st century) are 100 times larger.

v The problem of local armed conflicts. The danger is that modern local conflicts can develop into regional and even world wars.

v Solution: rejection of war as a means of resolving conflicts, search for consensus, negotiations; recognition of the right of peoples to self-determination; improving the global collective security system, etc.

. International terrorism.

The breeding ground for the development of terrorism is extremism is a commitment to extreme, predominantly violent means of achieving goals.

Terrorism – violence for the purpose of intimidation and achieving certain political goals.

Causes of terrorism:

Socio-economic (low standard of living of people, unemployment; increase in the number of lumpen and marginalized people in society; terrorism today is a very profitable business, trade in weapons, drugs, hostages allows you to make huge profits

v Political (political instability; lack of measures to ensure the safety of the population; the eternal conflict between the West and the East).

v Religious (there are religious movements that promote violence. The most common of them is Wahhabism (a radical movement of Islam).