SOCIO-ECONOMIC FORMATION and population development., society and its main component - population, which are at a certain point. stages of history development, historically determined. type of society and the corresponding type of nation. At the basis of every F. o.-e. lies a certain way of societies. production, and its essence is formed by production. relationship. This econ. the basis determines the development of the population included in the structure of a given economic system. The works of K. Marx, F. Engels, and V. I. Lenin, revealing the doctrine of political economics, provide the key to understanding the unity and diversity of historical history. development of the population, are one of the most important methodological. foundations of population theory.
In accordance with the Marxist-Leninist teaching, which distinguishes five economic economic systems: primitive communal, slaveholding, feudal, capitalist, communist, development of the people. also passes through these stages of history. progress, determining changes not only in its quantities, but also in qualities. characteristics.
Primitive communal f. o.-e., characteristic of all peoples without exception, marked the emergence of humanity, the formation of a nation. The Earth and its regions, the beginning of its development (see Anthropogenesis). The first social organism was the clan (tribal formation). Material production was the most primitive, people were engaged in gathering, hunting, fishing, there were natural things. division of labor. Collective property ensured that each member of society received a share of the produced product necessary for its existence.
Gradually, a group marriage developed, in which men belonging to a given clan could enter into sexual relations with any of the women of another, neighboring clan. However, the man and woman did not have any rights or responsibilities. Social norms regulating the reproductive behavior of the group and the seasonality of births were varied. sexual taboos, the strongest of which was the exogamous ban (see Exogamy).
According to paleodemographic data, cf. Life expectancy during the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods was 20 years. Women typically died before reaching the end of their reproductive years. The high birth rate on average only slightly exceeded the death rate. People died. arr. from hunger, cold, disease, natural disasters, etc. Growth rate of numbers. peoples. Lands equaled 10-20% per millennium (see Demographic history).
Improvement produces. power flowed extremely slowly. During the Neolithic era, agriculture and cattle breeding appeared (8-7 thousand BC). The economy gradually began to transform from an appropriating economy into a producing one, and a definition appeared. surplus over the necessary product is a surplus product, which had a strong impact on the economy. development of society had great social and demographic. consequences. Under these conditions, a paired family begins to take shape. It replaced group marriage and was therefore characterized by such vestiges of it as the existence of “additional” wives and husbands along with the “main” ones.
During the Neolithic era, the nature of age-related mortality changed: child mortality remained high, but in adults the peak of mortality moved to older ages. The modal age at death crossed the 30-year mark, while the overall mortality rate remained high. The length of time women remain in their reproductive years has increased; Wed the number of children born to one woman has increased, but has not yet reached physiol. limit.
The longest primitive communal formation in the history of mankind ultimately ensured growth. forces of society, development of societies. division of labor ended with the emergence of individual farming, private property, which led to the disintegration of the clan, the separation of the wealthy elite, who turned first prisoners of war into slaves, then impoverished fellow tribesmen.
Private property is associated with the emergence of class society and the state; As a result of the decomposition of the primitive communal system, the first class antagonistic system in history took shape. slaveholding formation. The oldest slave owners. states were formed at the turn of the 4th-3rd millennium BC. e. (Mesopotamia, Egypt). Classic forms of slave ownership the system reached in Dr. Greece (5-4 centuries BC) and others. Rome (2nd century BC - 2nd century AD).
Transition to slave ownership. formations in many countries caused fundamental changes in the development of the people. Although it does mean. part of us. were free small lands. owners, artisans, representatives of other social groups, slave owners. relations were dominant and affected all socio-economics. relations, determined all the processes of development of the people.
Slaves were considered only as tools of labor and had completely no rights. Most often they could not have a family. Their reproduction occurred, as a rule, at the expense of the slave market.
The development of family and marital relations, which took place, therefore, almost entirely only among the free population, was characterized by its end. transition from a couple family to a monogamous one. At different peoples, this transition, which began during the period of decomposition of the primitive communal system, proceeded unequally. Monogamy was established only in a mature class society, when a family was formed in which the man reigned supreme, and the woman found herself in a subordinate and powerless position.
Definition changes also occurred in the processes of fertility and mortality. Among the causes of mortality, illness and losses in wars took first place. A certain increase in the life expectancy of the population has affected birth rates. Wed. the number of children born to one woman is estimated at 5 people.
In the states with the most developed, ancient form of slavery, the phenomenon of small children arises for the first time in history. Thus, in the Roman Empire in the last period of its existence it was noted that a drop in the birth rate among wealthy citizens, which prompted the authorities to resort to measures to regulate our reproduction. (see ´Law of Julius and Papias Poppaea´).
In some states, certain definitions arose. contradictions between the growth of numbers. us. and produces weak development. strength They were resolved by force. emigration, as a result of which Greek, Phoenician and Roman colonies arose in the Mediterranean.
With the emergence of slave ownership. state in fiscal and military. purposes, the first censuses of us began to be carried out: regular qualifications were carried out from the 5th century. BC e. 2 c. n. e. in Dr. Rome and its provinces.
In the 4th-3rd centuries. BC e. within the framework of general philosophies. theories, the first views on the population were formed, which concerned primarily. problems of the relationship between the amount of resources and numbers. us. (see Plato, Aristotle).
The slave owner who replaced him. society feudalism as a special formation in its classic. form developed in Western countries. Europe and dates here to the period of approximately 5-17 centuries. In other countries of Europe and Asia, feudalism was characterized by a number of features. While in Europe, under the influence of the growth of production and certain other reasons, slavery disappeared, giving way to feudal serfdom. dependencies, in plural in Asian countries it continued to exist, but did not play an important role. Feudalism in Africa. relations began to take shape relatively late (and only in the Mediterranean countries); in America before the arrival of Europeans there was a feudal stage. Not a single Indian people achieved development.
Feudalism as class antagonistic. formation meant the division of society into two main ones. class - feudal landowners and peasants dependent on them, who made up the overwhelming majority of us. Being the owners of the land and having the right to it means. part of the labor of their serfs, as well as their sale to another owner, the feudal lords were interested in the numerical growth of the peasants. The patriarchal family that dominated under feudalism consisted of a number of consanguineous relatives. lines of individual families and represented as households. cell and main link in physical renewing us. feud. society. In reproductive terms, this type of family turned out to be the most productive of all forms of family organization that have ever existed.
However, the high birth rate characteristic of the patriarchal family was “extinguished” by high mortality, especially among the enslaved. and labor strata of the feud. cities. This mortality rate was due to low development of production. strength, difficult living conditions, epidemics and wars. As it develops it produces. forces and especially agricultural production, the mortality rate slowly decreased, which, while maintaining a high birth rate, led to an increase in natural resources. growth of us.
In the West Europe has a relatively steady increase in us. began around the turn of the 1st and 2nd millennia, but it was greatly slowed down by frequent epidemics (see “Black Death”) and almost continuous feuds. civil strife and wars. With the development of feudalism and especially in the conditions of its crisis, dep. issues of national development. increasingly attracted the attention of thinkers of that era (see Thomas Aquinas, T. More, T. Campanella).
As a result of the decomposition of feudalism in the West. Europe (16-17 centuries) began the formation of the last class antagonistic. F. o.-e. is capitalist, based on private ownership of the means of production and exploitation of wage labor by capital.
Class antagonistic. the structure of capitalism permeates all societies occurring within it. processes, including the development of the people. Capital, improving production, also improves Ch. produces. strength - working us. However, the diversity of abilities and specific types of labor of workers serves only as a necessary condition, as well as a means of increasing value, is subordinate to capital and is limited by it within the limits that meet its social goals. The capitalists were able to obtain a large mass of surplus value at the stage of simple cooperation by increasing their number at the same time. employed workers both through the reproduction of the working population and the involvement of bankrupt small producers in production. At the stage of manufacture, with the deepening of the division of labor, in order to increase the mass of surplus value, along with an increase in the number of workers, qualities become increasingly important. characteristics of workers, their ability to increase labor productivity in the conditions of its deepening division. At the factory, especially at the automation stage. production, to the fore along with practicality. skills is the presence of a certain theoretical knowledge, and acquiring it requires appropriate increase in the level of education of workers. In modern conditions capitalism, which widely practices the introduction of scientific and technological achievements. progress to extract the greatest profit, increasing the level of knowledge of a large number of workers becomes the most important factor in the functioning and ensuring the competitiveness of the capital that exploits them.
A necessary result and condition of capitalism. production is relative overpopulation. The contradiction in the development of the people, as a contradiction between the objective and subjective elements of the labor process, under capitalism appears as the attitude of the worker. (the carrier of the commodity, labor) to the means of employment in the form of constant capital. The law relates. transferred is the main economic the law of the people. under capitalism.
Production the relations of capitalism determine societies. conditions in which demographics occur. processes. In “Capital” K. Marx reveals the law of the inverse relationship between birth rate, death rate and abs. the size of workers' families and their income. This law was derived by analyzing the position of decl. groups of workers, which form relates. transferred in a stagnant form. These groups are characterized by the lowest incomes and the largest share in natural resources. population growth, because for them, in conditions of the use of child labor, children are more economically profitable than for other layers of workers.
Specific production the relations of capitalism also determine the process of mortality of the worker. Capital, by its very nature, is indifferent to the health and life expectancy of workers, it “...is a waste of people, living labor, a waste of not only body and blood, but also the nerves of the brain” (Marx K., Capital, vol. 3, Marx K. and Engels F., Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 25, part 1, p. 101). The progress of medicine has made it possible to reduce the mortality rate of workers, but its impact has a limit, beyond which the Crimea mainly A factor in reducing mortality is changes in our working and living conditions. Capital makes conflicting demands on the succession of generations of workers. On the one hand, he needs young, healthy people, and on the other, workers who have completed a general education. and prof. preparation, i.e., of older ages; Skilled and qualified workers are required, i.e., as a rule, older workers and at the same time representatives of new professions, i.e., younger people. To meet the needs of production, capital requires a rapid change of generations of employees. All R. 19th century this requirement acted as an economic law.
During the period of imperialism and the spread of state-monopoly. capitalism, the opposition to this rapid change on the part of the proletarian movement is significantly increasing, fighting against the growth of exploitation, intensification of labor, unemployment, for improving working conditions, increasing wages, shortening the working day, for organizing a professional system. preparation, improvement of medical maintenance, etc. At the same time, scientific and technical. progress and growth in the importance of prof. knowledge and production. experience force capital to show certainty. interest in creatures. increasing the duration of hiring the same workers. However, under all conditions, the limits of this duration are determined by the ability of the worker to bring in as much surplus value as possible.
Based on migrants. mobility of us. Under capitalism, the movement of labor follows the movement of capital. Attraction and pushing of workers into the department. phases of the cycle, industries, as well as departments. terr. determined by the needs of the production of surplus value. At the stage of imperialism, this movement becomes international. character.
Society production under capitalism is realized historically. the development trend of the working class. Technical progress presupposes a change in labor, improvement of the abilities, skills, and knowledge of workers, so that they are always ready to perform existing and newly emerging functions. Such demands on labor force objectively go beyond the limits allowed by capital, and can be fully realized only when workers treat the means of production as their own, and not when they are subordinated to them. The development of the working class under capitalism encounters external influences. the limits set by the process of self-increasing value. The class struggle of the proletariat is aimed at eliminating the obstacles to the free all-round development of the working people that are insurmountable under capitalism, at revolution. replacement of capitalism with socialism.
The method of production, which determines the class structure of society, is historical. type of worker render beings. impact on the family. Already under the conditions of free competition capitalism, the family turns from being productive to being preeminent. into the consumer unit of society, which undermined the economy. the need for large patriarchal families. Only the cross. families retained production. functions, to the fore in capitalism. There are two types of families in society: bourgeois and proletarian. The basis for identifying these types is the specificity of the participation of their members in societies. production - in economics. form of wage labor or capital, as a result of which intrafamily relations also differ.
The first stage of the development of capitalism is associated with our rapid growth. Definition improvement of socio-economic conditions led to a reduction in mortality and a change in the structure of its causes. The decline in fertility, which began in the families of the bourgeoisie, is gradually spreading to the families of the proletariat, which were initially characterized by a high level. During the period of imperialism, the growth rate of us. in economically developed capitalist countries. countries are declining and remain low (see World population).
The development of capitalism has led to a sharp increase in societies. interest in the people. (see History of demographic science). However, the whole historical capitalist experience F.o.-e. convincingly showed that the solution to the problems of the population and its true development are impossible along the path of capitalism.
Such a solution is provided only by the communist F. o.-e., which marks the beginning of the true history of mankind, when the free harmonious development of all people is achieved, the ideal of societies is practically realized. devices.
Scientific communist theory F.o.-e. created by Marx and Engels, it is enriched and developed in relation to the changing historical. conditions of Lenin, the CPSU and other communists. and workers' parties, is fully confirmed by the practice of the USSR and other socialist countries. Commonwealth.
Communist F.o.-e. has two phases of development: the first is socialism, the second is full communism. In this regard, the term “communism” is often used to designate only the second phase. The unity of both phases is ensured by societies. ownership of the means of production, subordination of the entire society. production of achieving complete well-being and comprehensive development of people, the absence of any forms of social inequality. Both phases are also characterized by a single social type of development of the people.
In the system inherent in communist. F.o.-e. objective laws apply economics. the law of full employment (sometimes called the fundamental economic law of the population, communist mode of production), ensures its planned rationality in accordance with society. needs, abilities and inclinations of people. So, in Art. 40 of the USSR Constitution states: ´Citizens of the USSR have the right to work, that is, to receive guaranteed work with payment in accordance with its quantity and quality and not lower than the minimum amount established by the state, including the right to choose a profession, occupation and work in accordance with with vocation, abilities, professional training, education and taking into account social needs´.
Real full and rational employment in economic conditions. and general social equality has a decisive influence on the development processes of the people. Members of society have equal access to education and health care. assistance provided at the expense of societies. consumption funds, which is the most important factor in sustainable quality. improvement of the people. The free creation and development of a family is ensured with active, comprehensive assistance from society. society sources of well-being serve the ever more complete disclosure of creators. abilities of each person. In economics and general social programs, paramount importance is attached to the constant improvement of the education of the younger generation, with special attention to their labor education. A systematic course is being implemented towards the most rational settlement of people and the creation of a complex of favorable and basically equal living conditions in all populations and localities.
The unity of both phases of communism. F.o.-e. is of decisive importance, since they are distinguished within the same formation with the same objective patterns of development for it. At the same time, there are differences between the two phases of communism, including significant ones, which allow us to distinguish the first phase from the second. Lenin wrote about the first of them that “since the means of production become common property, the word “communism” is applicable here, if we do not forget that this is not complete communism” (Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 33 , p. 98). Such “incompleteness” is associated with the degree of development of production. forces and production. relations in the conditions of the first phase. Yes, society. ownership of the means of production exists under socialism in two forms (national and collective farm-cooperative); the society of working people, united in its character and goals, consists of two friendly classes - the working class and the peasantry, as well as the intelligentsia. The equal right of all members of society to the product created by their united labor is realized through distribution according to labor depending on its quantity and quality. The principle of socialism is “from each according to his ability, to each according to his work.” Therefore, the definition is preserved. (gradually and consistently decreasing) inequality in consumption with inequality in labor. Labor for each individual under socialism has not yet become the first need of life, but is a necessary means for obtaining the benefits of life.
Features of socialism as the first phase of communism. F.o.-e. are also found in the development of the people. Us. under socialism (as under full communism) these are the working people; in this, main sense, it is socially homogeneous (see Social homogeneity). Exploitation of man by man and unemployment have been abolished forever; everyone has and exercises an equal right to work, free education and medical care. service, recreation, provision in old age, etc. Everyone is equal in the possibilities of forming a family and obtaining society in this. support in using the services of child care institutions, choosing a place of residence at will. The society financially and morally helps people moving to live in those communities. points for the implementation of economic plans. and social development require an influx of labor resources from outside. At the same time, since under socialism it produces. the forces of society have not yet reached the level required for the establishment of complete communism, the financial situation is desc. families and individuals are not yet the same. Family carries it means. part of the costs of reproducing the labor force, hence the possibility of inequality in both these costs and their results. The participation of the family in the material support of the reproduction of the labor force, taking into account the steadily increasing requirements for the quality of workers, affects the number of children chosen by the family.
In the documents of the CPSU, a fundamentally important conclusion was made that the Sov. society is now at the beginning of a historically long period. period - the stage of developed socialism. This stage, without going beyond the first phase of the communist, F. o.-e., is characterized by the fact that “... socialism develops on its own basis, the creative forces of the new system, the advantages of the socialist way of life, the working people of all enjoy more widely the fruits of the great revolutionary achievements´ [Constitution (Basic Law) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Preamble]. With the construction of developed socialism, a transition to preeminence takes place. intensive type of society. reproduction, which comprehensively affects the reproduction of us, especially its social characteristics. Already in the course of building socialism, the antithesis between city and countryside, between intellectuals, is gradually being eliminated. and physical through labor, universal literacy is achieved. In conditions of developed socialism, creatures are gradually overcome. differences between city and countryside, between mentalities. and physical labor ensures our high level of education. In the USSR - mandatory cf. education of youth, reform of general education is being carried out. and prof. schools, designed to raise education to a qualitatively new level, radically improve labor education and professional education. orientation of schoolchildren based on combining learning with production. labor, training of qualified workers in professional-technical schools, to supplement universal education with universal prof. education. If, according to the census of us. 1959, per 1000 people us. countries accounted for 361 people. from Wed. and higher (complete and incomplete) education, including with higher education - 23 people, then in 1981, respectively. 661 and 74, and among the employed - 833 and 106. More than 1/3 of all doctors and 1/4 of all scientists work in the USSR. workers of the world. A new stage in the development of the economy and social life was embodied, in particular, in the meaning. expanding family assistance measures, increasing government assistance to families with children and newlyweds. The benefits and benefits for these families are expanding, their living conditions are improving, and the state system is being improved. child benefits. The measures being taken (providing partially paid leave to working mothers until the child reaches the age of 1 year, benefits to mothers at the birth of their first, second and third child, etc.) improve the financial situation of 4.5 million families with children. Mature socialism ensures the acceleration of qualities. improvement of the people. At the same time, a certain stabilization of quantities. natural indicators reproducing us.
In developed socialist society is also gradually ensuring a more harmonious settlement of people. In the USSR, household management is carried out at a high pace. development of previously sparsely populated areas. territories, especially in the east. districts of the country. At the same time, along with industry, construction, transport, communications, all sectors serving us are developing proportionally: a network of institutions of education, health care, trade, consumer services, culture, etc. The scope of work to provide villages is significantly expanding. settlements of modern times household amenities.
During the transition from the first phase of communist. F.o.-e. By the second, major changes occur. At the highest phase of communist society, Marx wrote, “...labor will cease to be only a means for life, but will itself become the first need of life;...along with the all-round development of individuals, productive forces will grow and all sources of social wealth will flow in full flow” (Marx K. and Engels F., Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 19, p. 20). Full communism is a classless society. build with a single common people. ownership of means of production, highly organized organizations. society of the free and conscious. workers, in whom the principle “from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs” is implemented.
In the course of improving mature socialism, the features of the second, highest phase of communistism gradually begin to form. F.o.-e. Its logistics are being created. base. Progress produces. the forces of society are aimed at achieving a level that ensures an abundance of benefits; this creates the necessary basis for the formation of societies. relations inherent in complete communism. Along with the development of the method of production, the traits of a new man—a communist man—develop. society. Due to the unity of both phases of communist. F.o.-e. becoming defined the features of its highest phase turn out to be possible even before its achievement. The documents of the 26th Congress of the CPSU indicate: “...it is possible...to assume that the formation of a classless structure of society will mainly and fundamentally occur within the historical framework of mature socialism” (Materials of the 26th Congress of the CPSU, p. 53).
At the highest phase of communist F.o.-e. New conditions for the development of the people will also emerge. They will not depend on the material capabilities of the department. families, dept. person. The full opportunity for all members of society to directly rely on its enormous material resources will allow us to achieve a radical change in quality. development of the population, comprehensive disclosure of creativity. the potential of each individual, the most effective combination of his interests with the interests of society. Fundamentally changing societies. conditions must be provided by creatures. impact on our reproduction as well. All conditions will open for us to achieve our optimum. in all parameters of its development. It is communist. society is able to effectively control numbers. his us. taking into account all societies. resources and needs. Engels foresaw this when he wrote that communist. society, along with the production of things, if it turns out to be necessary, will regulate the production of people (see [Letter] to Karl Kautsky, February 1, 1881, Marx K. and Engels F., Works, 2nd ed., vol. 35, p. 124). At the highest phase of communist F.o.-e. conditions will be created to fully ensure optimal settlement of people across the territory.
Development of a set of specific problems for the people. in the conditions of the highest phase of communism. F.o.-e. is one of the important tasks of the science of peoples. The relevance of this task intensifies as mature socialism strengthens and the changes in the development of the people caused by it are revealed. The solution to this problem is based on the fundamental provisions on the development of the people, put forward and substantiated in the works of the classics of Marxism-Leninism, in the documents of the CPSU and fraternal parties, and on the successes of the entire Marxist-Leninist society. Sciences.
Marx K. and Engels F., Manifesto of the Communist Party, Works, 2nd ed., vol. 4; Marx K., Capital, vol. 1, ch. 5, 8, 11-13, 21-24; vol. 3, ch. 13 - 15, ibid., vol. 23, 25, part 1; his, Economic manuscripts of 1857-59, ibid., vol. 46, part 2; his, Critique of the Gotha Program, ibid., vol. 19; Engels F., Anti-Dühring, dept. III; Socialism, ibid., vol. 20; his, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, ibid., vol. 21; Lenin V.I., State and Revolution, ch. 5, Full collection cit., 5th ed., vol. 33; him, Immediate tasks of Soviet power, ibid., vol. 36; his, The Great Initiative, in the same place, vol. 39; him, From the destruction of the age-old way of life to the creation of a new one, in the same place, vol. 40; Materials of the XXVI Congress of the CPSU, M. 1981; Marxist-Leninist theory of population, 2nd ed., M. 1974; System of knowledge about population, M. 1976; Management of population development in the USSR, M. 1977; Fundamentals of population development management, M. 1982; Theory of socio-economic formation, M. 1983.
Yu. A. Bzhilyansky, I. V. Dzarasova, N. V. Zvereva.
Great definition
Incomplete definition ↓
In the history of sociology, there are several attempts to determine the structure of society, i.e., social formation. Many proceeded from the analogy of society with a biological organism. In society, attempts were made to identify organ systems with corresponding functions, as well as to determine the main relationships between society and the environment (natural and social). Structural evolutionists consider the development of society to be conditioned by (a) differentiation and integration of its organ systems and (b) interaction-competition with the external environment. Let's look at some of these attempts.
The first of them was undertaken by G. Spencer, the founder of the theory of classical social evolution. His society consisted of three organ systems: economic, transport and management (I already talked about this above). The reason for the development of societies, according to Spencer, is both the differentiation and integration of human activity and the confrontation with the natural environment and other societies. Spencer identified two historical types of society - military and industrial.
The next attempt was made by K. Marx, who proposed the concept. She represents specific society at a certain stage of historical development, including (1) an economic basis (productive forces and production relations) and (2) a superstructure dependent on it (forms of social consciousness; state, law, church, etc.; superstructural relations). The initial reason for the development of socio-economic formations is the development of tools and forms of ownership of them. Consistently progressive formations Marx and his followers call primitive communal, ancient (slaveholding), feudal, capitalist, communist (its first phase is “proletarian socialism”). Marxist theory - revolutionary, she sees the main reason for the forward movement of societies in the class struggle of the poor and the rich, and Marx called social revolutions the locomotives of human history.
The concept of socio-economic formation has a number of shortcomings. First of all, in the structure of the socio-economic formation there is no demosocial sphere - the consumption and life of people, for the sake of which the socio-economic formation arises. In addition, in this model of society, the political, legal, and spiritual spheres are deprived of an independent role and serve as a simple superstructure over the economic basis of society.
Julian Steward, as mentioned above, moved away from Spencer's classical evolutionism based on differentiation of labor. He based the evolution of human societies on a comparative analysis of various societies as unique crops
Talcott Parsons defines society as a type, which is one of the four subsystems of the system, acting along with the cultural, personal, and human organism. The core of society, according to Parsons, forms societal subsystem (societal community) that characterizes society as a whole. It is a collection of people, families, businesses, churches, etc., united by norms of behavior (cultural patterns). These samples perform integrative role in relation to its structural elements, organizing them into a societal community. As a result of the action of such patterns, the societal community acts as a complex network (horizontal and hierarchical) of interpenetrating typical groups and collective loyalties.
If you compare it with, defines society as an ideal concept, rather than a specific society; introduces a societal community into the structure of society; refuses the basic-superstructural relationship between economics, on the one hand, politics, religion and culture, on the other hand; approaches society as a system of social action. The behavior of social systems (and society), like biological organisms, is caused by the requirements (challenges) of the external environment, the fulfillment of which is a condition for survival; elements-organs of society functionally contribute to its survival in the external environment. The main problem of society is the organization of the relationship between people, order, and balance with the external environment.
Parsons' theory also attracts criticism. First, the concepts of action system and society are highly abstract. This was expressed, in particular, in the interpretation of the core of society - the societal subsystem. Secondly, Parsons' model of social system was created to establish social order and balance with the external environment. But society seeks to upset the balance with the external environment in order to satisfy its growing needs. Thirdly, the societal, fiduciary (model reproduction) and political subsystems are essentially elements of the economic (adaptive, practical) subsystem. This limits the independence of other subsystems, especially the political one (which is typical for European societies). Fourthly, there is no demosocial subsystem, which is the starting point for society and encourages it to disturb its balance with the environment.
Marx and Parsons are structural functionalists who view society as a system of social (public) relations. If for Marx the factor that organizes (integrates) social relations is the economy, then for Parsons it is the societal community. If for Marx society strives for a revolutionary imbalance with the external environment as a result of economic inequality and class struggle, then for Parsons it strives for social order, equilibrium with the external environment in the process of evolution based on increasing differentiation and integration of its subsystems. Unlike Marx, who focused not on the structure of society, but on the causes and process of its revolutionary development, Parsons focused on the problem of “social order,” the integration of people into society. But Parsons, like Marx, considered economic activity to be the basic activity of society, and all other types of action to be auxiliary.
Social formation as a metasystem of society
The proposed concept of social formation is based on a synthesis of the ideas of Spencer, Marx, and Parsons on this problem. The social formation is characterized by the following features. Firstly, it should be considered an ideal concept (and not a specific society, like Marx), capturing the most essential properties of real societies. At the same time, this concept is not as abstract as Parsons’ “social system”. Secondly, the demosocial, economic, political and spiritual subsystems of society play initial, basic And auxiliary role, turning society into a social organism. Thirdly, a social formation represents a metaphorical “public house” of the people living in it: the initial system is the “foundation”, the base is the “walls”, and the auxiliary system is the “roof”.
Original the social formation system includes geographical and demosocial subsystems. It forms the “metabolic structure” of a society consisting of human cells interacting with the geographical sphere, and represents both the beginning and the completion of other subsystems: economic (economic benefits), political (rights and responsibilities), spiritual (spiritual values). The demosocial subsystem includes social groups, institutions, and their actions aimed at the reproduction of people as biosocial beings.
Basic the system performs the following functions: 1) acts as the main means of meeting the needs of the demosocial subsystem; 2) is the leading adaptive system of a given society, satisfying some leading need of people, for the sake of which the social system is organized; 3) the social community, institutions, organizations of this subsystem occupy leading positions in society, manage other spheres of society using means characteristic of it, integrating them into the social system. In identifying the basic system, I assume that certain fundamental needs (and interests) of people, under certain circumstances, become leading in the structure of the social organism. The basic system includes a social class (societal community), as well as its inherent needs, values, and norms of integration. It is distinguished by the type of sociality according to Weber (goal-rational, value-rational, etc.), which affects the entire social system.
Auxiliary the system of social formation is formed primarily by the spiritual system (artistic, moral, educational, etc.). This cultural orientation system, giving meaning, purposefulness, spirituality the existence and development of the original and basic systems. The role of the auxiliary system is: 1) in the development and preservation of interests, motives, cultural principles (beliefs, beliefs), patterns of behavior; 2) their transmission among people through socialization and integration; 3) their renewal as a result of changes in society and its relations with the external environment. Through socialization, worldview, mentality, and characters of people, the auxiliary system has an important influence on the basic and initial systems. It should be noted that the political (and legal) system can also play the same role in societies with some of its parts and functions. T. Parsons calls the spiritual system cultural and is located outside society as a social system, defining it through the reproduction of patterns of social action: creation, preservation, transmission and renewal of needs, interests, motives, cultural principles, patterns of behavior. For Marx, this system is in the superstructure socio-economic formation and does not play an independent role in society - an economic formation.
Each social system is characterized by social stratification in accordance with the initial, basic and auxiliary systems. Strata are separated by their roles, statuses (consumer, professional, economic, etc.) and united by needs, values, norms, traditions. The leading ones are stimulated by the basic system. For example, in economic societies this includes freedom, private property, profit and other economic values.
Between demosocial layers there is always a formation confidence, without which social order and social mobility (upward and downward) are impossible. It forms social capital social structure. “In addition to the means of production, qualifications and knowledge of people,” writes Fukuyama, “the ability to communicate, to collective action, in turn, depends on the extent to which certain communities adhere to similar norms and values and can subordinate the individual interests of individuals interests of large groups. Based on such common values, a confidence, which<...>has a great and very specific economic (and political - S.S.) value.”
Social capital - it is a set of informal values and norms shared by members of the social communities that make up society: fulfilling obligations (duty), truthfulness in relationships, cooperation with others, etc. Speaking about social capital, we are still abstracting from its social content, which is significantly different in Asian and European types of societies. The most important function of society is the reproduction of its “body”, the demosocial system.
The external environment (natural and social) has a great influence on the social system. It is included in the structure of the social system (type of society) partially and functionally as objects of consumption and production, remaining an external environment for it. The external environment is included in the structure of society in the broad sense of the word - as natural-social body. This emphasizes the relative independence of the social system as a characteristic society in relation to the natural conditions of its existence and development.
Why does a social formation arise? According to Marx, it arises primarily to satisfy material the needs of people, so economics occupies a basic place for him. For Parsons, the basis of society is the societal community of people, therefore the societal formation arises for the sake of integration people, families, firms and other groups into a single whole. For me, a social formation arises to satisfy the various needs of people, among which the basic one is the main one. This leads to a wide variety of types of social formations in human history.
The main ways of integrating people into the social body and means of satisfying corresponding needs are economics, politics, and spirituality. Economic strength society is based on material interest, people's desire for money and material well-being. Political power society is based on physical violence, on the desire of people for order and security. Spiritual strength society is based on a certain meaning of life that goes beyond the limits of well-being and power, and life from this point of view is of a transcendental nature: as service to the nation, God and the idea in general.
The main subsystems of the social system are closely interconnected. First of all, the boundary between any pair of systems of society represents a certain “zone” of structural components that can be considered as belonging to both systems. Further, the basic system is itself a superstructure over the original system, which it expresses And organizes. At the same time, it acts as a source system in relation to the auxiliary system. And the last one is not only back controls the basis, but also provides additional influence on the original subsystem. And, finally, different types of demosocial, economic, political, spiritual subsystems of society in their interaction form many intricate combinations of the social system.
On the one hand, the initial system of social formation is living people who, throughout their lives, consume material, social, and spiritual goods for their reproduction and development. The remaining systems of the social system objectively serve, to one degree or another, the reproduction and development of the demosocial system. On the other hand, the social system has a socializing influence on the demosocial sphere and shapes it with its institutions. It represents for the life of people, their youth, maturity, old age, as it were, an external form in which they have to be happy and unhappy. Thus, people who lived in the Soviet formation evaluate it through the prism of their life of different ages.
A social formation is a type of society that represents the interconnection of the initial, basic and auxiliary systems, the result of the functioning of which is the reproduction, protection, and development of the population in the process of transforming the external environment and adapting to it by creating an artificial nature. This system provides the means (artificial nature) to satisfy people’s needs and reproduce their bodies, integrates many people, ensures the realization of people’s abilities in various areas, and is improved as a result of the contradiction between the developing needs and abilities of people, between different subsystems of society.
Types of social formations
Society exists in the form of country, region, city, village, etc., representing its different levels. In this sense, a family, school, enterprise, etc. are not societies, but social institutions included in societies. Society (for example, Russia, the USA, etc.) includes (1) the leading (modern) social system; (2) remnants of previous social formations; (3) geographical system. Social formation is the most important metasystem of society, but is not identical to it, so it can be used to designate the type of countries that are the primary subject of our analysis.
Public life is the unity of social formation and private life. Social formation characterizes institutional relations between people. Private life - This is that part of social life that is not covered by the social system and represents a manifestation of the individual freedom of people in consumption, economics, politics, and spirituality. Social formation and private life as two parts of society are closely interconnected and interpenetrate each other. The contradiction between them is the source of the development of society. The quality of life of certain peoples largely, but not entirely, depends on the type of their “public house”. Private life largely depends on personal initiative and many accidents. For example, the Soviet system was very inconvenient for people’s private lives, it was like a fortress-prison. Nevertheless, within its framework, people went to kindergartens, studied at school, loved and were happy.
A social formation takes shape unconsciously, without a general will, as a result of the confluence of many circumstances, wills, and plans. But in this process there is a certain logic that can be highlighted. The types of social system change from historical era to era, from country to country, and are in competitive relationships with each other. Basicity of a particular social system not originally laid down. It arises as a result a unique set of circumstances, including subjective ones (for example, the presence of an outstanding leader). Basic system determines the interests and goals of the source and auxiliary systems.
Primitive communal the formation is syncretic. The beginnings of the economic, political and spiritual spheres are closely intertwined in it. It can be argued that original the sphere of this system is the geographical system. Basic is a demosocial system, the process of human reproduction in a natural way, based on a monogamous family. The production of people at this time is the main sphere of society that determines all others. Auxiliary there are economic, managerial and mythological systems that support the basic and original systems. The economic system is based on individual means of production and simple cooperation. The administrative system is represented by tribal self-government and armed men. The spiritual system is represented by taboos, rituals, mythology, pagan religion, priests, and also the rudiments of art.
As a result of the social division of labor, primitive clans were divided into agricultural (sedentary) and pastoral (nomadic) ones. An exchange of products and wars arose between them. Agricultural communities, engaged in agriculture and exchange, were less mobile and warlike than pastoral communities. With the increase in the number of people, villages, clans, the development of the exchange of products and wars, primitive communal society gradually transformed over thousands of years into a political, economic, theocratic one. The emergence of these types of societies occurs among different peoples at different historical times due to the confluence of many objective and subjective circumstances.
From a primitive communal society, he is socially isolated before others -political(Asian) formation. Its basis becomes an authoritarian political system, the core of which is autocratic state power in the slave-owning and serf-owning form. In such formations the leader becomes public the need for power, order, social equality, it is expressed by the political classes. It becomes basic in them value-rational and traditional activities. This is typical, for example, of Babylon, Assyria and the Russian Empire.
Then arises socially -economic(European) formation, the basis of which is the market economy in its ancient commodity and then capitalist form. In such formations the basic becomes individual(private) need for material goods, a secure life, power, economic classes correspond to it. The basis for them is goal-oriented activity. Economic societies arose in relatively favorable natural and social conditions - ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Western European countries.
IN spiritual(theo- and ideocratic) formation, the basis becomes some kind of ideological system in its religious or ideological version. Spiritual needs (salvation, building a corporate state, communism, etc.) and value-rational activities become basic.
IN mixed(convergent) formations form the basis of several social systems. Individual and social needs in their organic unity become basic. This was the European feudal society in the pre-industrial era, and the social democratic society in the industrial era. In them, both goal-rational and value-rational types of social actions in their organic unity are basic. Such societies are better adapted to the historical challenges of an increasingly complex natural and social environment.
The formation of a social formation begins with the emergence of a ruling class and a social system adequate to it. They take the leading position in society, subordinating other classes and related spheres, systems and roles. The ruling class makes its life activity (all needs, values, actions, results), as well as ideology, the main one.
For example, after the February (1917) revolution in Russia, the Bolsheviks seized state power, made their dictatorship the basis, and the communist ideology - dominant, interrupted the transformation of the agrarian-serf system into a bourgeois-democratic one and created the Soviet formation in the process of the “proletarian-socialist” (industrial-serf) revolution.
Social formations go through stages of (1) formation; (2) flourishing; (3) decline and (4) transformation into another type or death. The development of societies is of a wave nature, in which periods of decline and rise of different types of social formations change as a result of the struggle between them, convergence, and social hybridization. Each type of social formation represents the process of progressive development of humanity, from simple to complex.
The development of societies is characterized by the decline of previous ones and the emergence of new social formations, along with the previous ones. Advanced social formations occupy a dominant position, and backward ones occupy a subordinate position. Over time, a hierarchy of social formations emerges. Such a formational hierarchy gives strength and continuity to societies, allowing them to draw strength (physical, moral, religious) for further development in historically early types of formations. In this regard, the liquidation of the peasant formation in Russia during collectivization weakened the country.
Thus, the development of humanity is subject to the law of negation of negation. In accordance with it, the stage of negation of the negation of the initial stage (primitive communal society), on the one hand, represents a return to the original type of society, and on the other hand, is a synthesis of previous types of societies (Asian and European) in a social democratic one.
There are 5 formations in total. These are: primitive communal society, slaveholding formation, feudal society, capitalist system and communism.
a) Primitive communal society.
Engels characterizes this stage of development of society as follows: “here there is no place for domination and enslavement... there is still no distinction between rights and duties... the population is extremely rare... the division of labor is of purely natural origin; it exists only between the sexes.” All “pressing” issues are resolved by age-old customs; There is universal equality and freedom, the poor and needy do not. As Marx says, the condition for the existence of these social-production relations is “a low level of development of the productive forces of labor and the corresponding limitation of people within the framework of the material process of life production.”
As soon as tribal alliances begin to take shape, or barter trade with neighbors begins, this social system is replaced by the next.
b) Slave-owning formation.
Slaves are the same tools of labor, simply endowed with the ability to speak. Property inequality appears, private ownership of land and means of production (both in the hands of masters), the first two classes - masters and slaves. The dominance of one class over another is especially clearly manifested through constant humiliation and abuse of slaves.
As soon as slavery ceases to pay for itself, as soon as the slave trade market disappears, this system is literally destroyed, as we saw in the example of Rome, which fell under the pressure of barbarians from the east.
c) Feudal society.
The basis of the system is land ownership, together with the labor of serfs chained to it and the own labor of artisans. Hierarchical land ownership is characteristic, although the division of labor was insignificant (princes, nobles, clergy, serfs - in the village and masters, journeymen, apprentices - in the city). It differs from the slave-owning formation in that serfs, unlike slaves, were the owners of the tools of labor.
“Personal dependence here characterizes both the social relations of material production and the spheres of life based on it,” and “the state here is the supreme owner of the land. Sovereignty here is land ownership concentrated on a national scale.”
Necessary conditions for feudal production:
1. subsistence farming;
2. the producer must be the owner of the means of production and be attached to the land;
3. personal dependence;
4. poor and routine state of technology.
As soon as agriculture and handicraft production reach such a level that they begin to no longer fit within the existing framework (the fief of the feudal lord, the guild of artisans), the first manufactories appear and this marks the emergence of a new socio-economic formation.
d) Capitalist system.
“Capitalism is the process of production of the material conditions of existence of human life and... the process of production and reproduction of the production relations themselves, and thereby the bearers of this process, the material conditions of their existence and their mutual relations.”
Four main features of capitalism:
1) Concentration of the means of production in a few hands;
2) Cooperation, division of labor, hired labor;
3) Expropriation;
4) Alienation of production conditions from the direct producer.
“The development of the productive forces of social labor is a historical task and the justification of capital.”
The basis of capitalism is free competition. But the goal of capital is to make as much profit as possible. Accordingly, monopolies are formed. Nobody talks about competition anymore - the system is changing.
e) Communism and socialism.
The main slogan: “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” Lenin later added new symbolic features of socialism. According to him, under socialism “the exploitation of man by man is impossible... whoever does not work does not eat... with an equal amount of labor, an equal amount of product.”
The difference between socialism and communism is that the organization of production is based on common ownership of all means of production.
Well, communism is the highest stage of development of socialism. “We call communism such an order when people get used to performing public duties without special coercive apparatus, when free work for the common benefit becomes a universal phenomenon.”
The founder of the formational perception of the historical process was the German scientist Karl Marx. In a number of his works of philosophical, political and economic directions, he highlighted the concept of socio-economic formation.
Spheres of life of human society
Marx's approach was based on a revolutionary (literally and figuratively) approach to three main spheres of life of human society:
1. Economic, where specific
concepts of labor power and surplus value to the price of goods. Based on these sources, Marx proposed an approach where the defining form of economic relations was the exploitation of workers by the owners of the means of production - plants, factories, and so on.
2. Philosophical. An approach called historical materialism viewed material production as the driving force of history. And the material capabilities of society are its basis, on which cultural, economic and political components arise - the superstructure.
3. Social. This area of Marxist teaching logically followed from the previous two. Material capabilities determine the character of a society where exploitation occurs in one way or another.
Socio-economic formation
As a result of the division of historical types of societies, the concept of formation was born. A socio-economic formation is the unique nature of social relations, determined by the method of material production, production relations between different layers of society and their role in the system. From this point of view, the driving force of social development becomes a constant conflict between productive forces - in fact, people - and production relations between these people. That is, despite the fact that material forces are growing, the ruling classes are still trying to preserve the existing situation in society, which leads to shocks and, ultimately, a change in the socio-economic formation. Five such formations were identified.
Primitive socio-economic formation
It is characterized by the so-called appropriating principle of production: gathering and hunting, the absence of agriculture and cattle breeding. As a result, material forces remain extremely low and do not allow the creation of surplus product. There are still not enough material benefits to ensure some kind of social stratification. Such societies did not have states, private property, and the hierarchy was based on gender and age principles. Only the Neolithic revolution (the discovery of cattle breeding and agriculture) allowed the emergence of a surplus product, and with it the emergence of property stratification, private property and the need for its protection - the state apparatus.
Slave-owning socio-economic formation
This was the nature of the ancient states of the 1st millennium BC and the first half of the 1st millennium AD (before the fall of the Western Roman Empire). Slave-owning society was called because slavery was not just a phenomenon, but its solid foundation. The main productive force of these states were powerless and completely personally dependent slaves. Such societies already had a pronounced class structure, a developed state, and significant achievements in many areas of human thought.
Feudal socio-economic formation
The fall of ancient states and the emergence of barbarian kingdoms in Europe gave rise to so-called feudalism. As in antiquity, subsistence farming and crafts dominated here. Trade relations were still poorly developed. Society was a class-hierarchical structure, the place in which was determined by land grants from the king (in fact, the highest feudal lord who owned the largest amount of land), which in turn was inextricably linked with domination over the peasants, who were the main production class of society. At the same time, the peasants, unlike the slaves, themselves owned the means of production - small plots of land, livestock, and tools from which they fed, although they were forced to pay tribute to their feudal lord.
Asian production method
At one time, Karl Marx did not sufficiently study the issue of Asian societies, which gave rise to the so-called problem of the Asian mode of production. In these states, firstly, there was never a concept of private property, unlike Europe, and secondly, there was no class-hierarchical system. All subjects of the state in the face of the sovereign were powerless slaves, by his will at the moment they were deprived of all privileges. No European king had such power. This implied a completely unusual for Europe concentration of production forces in the hands of the state with corresponding motivation.
Capitalist socio-economic formation
The development of productive forces and the industrial revolution led to the emergence in Europe, and later throughout the world, of a new version of social design. This formation is characterized by the high development of commodity-money relations, the emergence of a free market as the main regulator of economic relations, the emergence of private ownership of the means of production and
the use there of workers who do not have these funds and are forced to work for wages. The forceful coercion of the times of feudalism is replaced by economic coercion. Society is experiencing strong social stratification: new classes of workers, bourgeoisie, and so on are emerging. An important phenomenon of this formation is growing social stratification.
Communist socio-economic formation
The growing contradictions between the workers, who create all material goods, and the ruling capitalist class, which increasingly appropriates the results of their labor, according to Karl Marx and his followers, should have led to a peak of social tension. And to the world revolution, as a result of which a socially homogeneous and fair in the distribution of material goods will be established - a communist society. The ideas of Marxism had a significant influence on the socio-political thought of the 19th and 20th centuries and on the appearance of the modern world.
Socio-economic formation- according to the Marxist concept of the historical process, society is at a certain stage of historical development, characterized by the level of development of the productive forces and the historical type of economic relations of production. Each socio-economic formation is based on a certain method of production (basis), and production relations form its essence. The system of production relations that forms the economic basis of the formation corresponds to a political, legal and ideological superstructure. The structure of the formation includes not only economic, but also social relations, as well as forms of life, family, and lifestyle. The reason for the transition from one stage of social development to another is the discrepancy between the increased productive forces and the remaining type of production relations. According to Marxist teaching, humanity in the course of its development must go through the following stages: primitive communal system, slave system, feudalism, capitalism, communism.
The primitive communal system in Marxism is considered as the first non-antagonistic socio-economic formation through which all peoples without exception passed. As a result of the decomposition of the primitive communal system, a transition to class, antagonistic socio-economic formations took place. Early class formations include the slave system and feudalism, while many peoples moved from the primitive communal system directly to feudalism, bypassing the stage of slavery. Pointing to this phenomenon, Marxists substantiated for some countries the possibility of a transition from feudalism to socialism, bypassing the stage of capitalism. Karl Marx himself, among the early class formations, singled out a special Asian mode of production and a corresponding formation. The question of the Asian mode of production remained controversial in philosophical and historical literature, without receiving a clear solution. Capitalism was considered by Marx as the last antagonistic form of the social process of production; it was to be replaced by a non-antagonistic communist formation.
The change in socio-economic formations is explained by the contradictions between new productive forces and outdated production relations, which are transformed from forms of development into fetters of productive forces. The transition from one formation to another takes place in the form of a social revolution, which resolves the contradictions between productive forces and production relations, as well as between the base and the superstructure. Marxism pointed to the presence of transitional forms from one formation to another. Transitional states of society are usually characterized by the presence of different socio-economic structures that do not cover the economy and everyday life as a whole. These structures can represent both the remnants of the old and the embryos of a new socio-economic formation. The diversity of historical development is associated with the uneven pace of historical development: some peoples rapidly progressed in their development, others lagged behind. The interaction between them was of a different nature: it accelerated or, conversely, slowed down the course of historical development of individual peoples.
The collapse of the world system of socialism at the end of the 20th century and disappointment in communist ideas led to a critical attitude of researchers towards the Marxist formational scheme. Nevertheless, the idea of identifying stages in the world historical process is recognized as sound. In historical science and in teaching history, the concepts of primitive communal system, slave system, feudalism and capitalism are actively used. Along with this, the theory of stages of economic growth developed by W. Rostow and O. Toffler has found wide application: agrarian society (traditional society) - industrial society (consumer society) - post-industrial society (information society).
