Types of society: traditional. What are the characteristic features of a traditional society

It is extremely difficult for us, practical people from the future, to understand people of the traditional way of life. This is due to the fact that we grew up in a different culture. However, to understand people traditional society extremely useful, because such understanding makes dialogue between cultures possible. For example, if you come to vacation in such a traditional country, you must understand local customs and traditions and respect them. Otherwise, there will be no rest, but only continuous conflicts.

Signs of a traditional society

Ttraditional society is a society in which all life is subordinated. In addition, it has the following characteristics.

Patriarchy- primate masculinity over the feminine. A woman, in the traditional sense, is not a completely complete being; moreover, she is a fiend of chaos. And, other things being equal, who will get more food, a man or a woman? Most likely a man, of course, if we omit the “feminized” male representatives.

A family in such a society will be completely patriarchal. An example of such a family could be the one that Archpriest Sylvester was guided by when he wrote his “Domostroy” in the 16th century.

Collectivism- will be another sign of such a society. The individual here means nothing in the face of the clan, family, teip. And this is justified. After all, traditional society was developed where it was extremely difficult to get food. This means that only together can we provide for ourselves. Because of this, the decision of the collective is much more important than any individual.

Agricultural production and subsistence farming will be signs of such a society. Tradition says what to sow, what to produce, not expediency. The entire economic sphere will be subject to custom. What prevented people from realizing some other realities and introducing innovations into production? As a rule, these were serious climatic conditions, thanks to which tradition dominated: since our fathers and grandfathers ran their households this way, why on earth should we change anything. “We didn’t invent it, it’s not up to us to change it,” that’s what a person living in such a society thinks.

There are other signs of a traditional society, which we consider in more detail in preparation courses for the Unified State Exam/State Examination:

Countries

So, traditional society, in contrast to industrial society, is distinguished by the primacy of tradition and the collective. What countries can be called such? Oddly enough, many modern information societies can be classified as traditional at the same time. How is this possible?

Here, to let's take an example Japan. The country is extremely developed, and at the same time, traditions are highly developed in it. When a Japanese comes to his home, he is in the field of his culture: tatami, shoji, sushi - all this is an integral part of the interior of a Japanese home. Japanese, wears casual business suit, usually European; and puts on a kimono - traditional Japanese clothing, very spacious and comfortable.

China is also a very traditional country, and at the same time it belongs to. For example, over the past five years, 18,000 bridges have been built in China. But at the same time, there are villages where traditions are strongly respected. The Shaolin monasteries, Tibetan monasteries that strictly observe ancient Chinese traditions, have survived.

Coming to Japan or China, you will feel like a stranger - a gaijin or liawan, respectively.

The same traditional countries include India, Taiwan, the countries of Southeast Asia, and African countries.

I anticipate your question, dear reader: is tradition good or bad? Personally, I think tradition is good. Tradition allows us to remember who we are. It allows us to remember that we are not Pokemon or just people from nowhere. We are the descendants of people who lived before us. In conclusion, I would like to quote the words from a Japanese proverb: “You can judge their ancestors by the behavior of their descendants.” I think now you understand why the countries of the East are traditional countries.

As always, I look forward to your comments :)

Best regards, Andrey Puchkov

Traditional society is a type of public that has its own characteristics. What features are characteristic of a traditional society?

Definition

A traditional society is a community in which everything is regulated by values. Much more attention is paid to the preservation of numerous traditions in this class than to the development of the partnership itself. A characteristic feature of traditional society is the presence of a rigid hierarchy and the existence of a clear division into classes.

The traditional society is agrarian. This can be explained by the fact that work on the land is part of the long-standing values that are characteristic of this type of social system. The traditional caste has been preserved in its original form in some countries of Africa, Asia and the East.

Signs

The characteristic features of a traditional society are:

The basis of existence is agricultural activity. This way of life is characteristic of the Middle Ages. Today it is preserved in some countries of Africa, Asia and the East.
Estate-corporate social system. This means that the public is clearly divided into several classes, which do not overlap in any way in the course of their activities. This system originated many thousands of years ago.
Traditional society is characterized by value human personality, since man is a continuation of God. For this reason, spiritual life is placed higher than material goods. A person also feels a close relationship with the land on which he was born and his class.
Established traditions that clearly regulate human behavior from birth, family relationships and values. The ruler has undeniable power.
Low life expectancy, which is associated with high fertility and equally high mortality.
Two signs characteristic of a traditional society are reverence own culture and ancient customs.

Today, researchers agree that traditional society is deprived of choice in terms of spiritual and cultural development. This significantly slows down his progress.

Traits

What features are characteristic of the traditional type of society? Let's list them in order:

Patriarchal way of life in which the man plays main role, and the woman is a secondary member of society.
A sense of community and belonging to a specific community.
Since traditional society is built on agriculture and primitive crafts, it is characterized by complete dependence on the forces of nature.
A person’s desire to earn no more than is necessary to satisfy basic needs.
The goal of this type of state is not development, but the maintenance of the human population. That is why countries with such lifestyles have no desire to produce goods.

The traditional type is the earliest, as it arose along with the public. At first glance it may seem that there is no development taking place in it. However, it is not. It’s just that this type of community develops in a slightly different way than other varieties.

Development

Economically, a traditional society is characterized by development based on agriculture. At the same time, material benefits are distributed depending on a person’s social status.

A traditional type of society is characterized by the value of redistributive relations, when rights and responsibilities are distributed depending on a person’s social status. At the same time, a person has no chance to improve his social status, since it is inherited, as is the choice of activity. For example, the son of a blacksmith will also be a blacksmith. In addition, marriages between people from different backgrounds are strictly prohibited. social strata society.

Traditional society is characterized by division into communities. For example, it could be a merchant guild, a knightly order or thieves' corporations. A person outside the community is considered an outcast, so expulsion from it has always been one of the most terrible punishments. A person is born, lives and dies on the same earth.

Culture

A traditional society is characterized by a culture built entirely on the observance of legacies that have been laid down over many decades. Traditions are an intangible part of the culture of society, which is passed on from generation to generation. The task of a traditional community is to preserve and honor its own culture.

Religion plays a very important role in this type of society. A person is a servant of God or gods and is therefore obliged to perform certain religious rituals.

Traditional culture tends to develop over many centuries, such as Chinese or Indian.

Values of traditional society

In this type of state, labor is considered as a duty. Among the least prestigious and difficult ones are agriculture, trade and handicrafts. The most respected are the clergy and military affairs.

Which values are characteristic of a traditional society?

The distribution of material benefits does not depend on whether a person works for the benefit of the state or the city. It depends on the person's position. For example, a citizen from a higher class has an order of magnitude more privileges.
The desire to obtain material benefits that are not due to a given class causes misunderstanding among the public.
The mechanisms of traditional society are aimed at maintaining stability, not development.
Governance of the state belongs to rich people who do not need to worry about feeding their families, which means they have free time. Whereas people from the lower classes were constantly occupied with the question of how to satisfy basic needs.

The basis of traditional society is middle class- people who have private property, but do not seek excessive enrichment.

Division of society into classes

Class division is the basis of traditional society. An estate is a group of people that has certain rights and responsibilities. Belonging to a certain class is passed on from generation to generation. Among the classes of traditional medieval society, the following can be distinguished:

Noble people, clergy, warriors - the highest class of people. They do not need to work on the earth to meet their needs. They have property by birthright, as well as servants.
Independent entrepreneurs - merchants, millers, artisans, blacksmiths. They need to work to maintain their material wealth, but they are not in anyone’s service.
Serfs are completely subordinate to the master, who regulates their lives. The duties of the peasant have always included cultivating the land, maintaining order on the estates, and carrying out the orders of the master. The owner had the opportunity to punish the peasant for offenses and monitor all aspects of his life, including personal and family relationships.

Such foundations of traditional society have not changed for centuries.

Life in a traditional society

As already noted, each layer of traditional society had its own rights and responsibilities. Thus, the upper classes had access to any benefits of civilization that society provided. They were able to display their wealth through the presence of luxurious housing and clothing. In addition, the nobility often brought gifts to the clergy, the military, and donated funds to the needs of the city.

The middle class had Fixed salary, which was enough for a comfortable life. However, no one had the right or opportunity to boast of wealth. The lower strata of society were forced to be content with only small benefits, which were barely enough to satisfy basic needs. At the same time, their rights were often regulated by the upper classes. For example, there could be a ban on the use of certain household items for the poor or the consumption of a certain product. In this way, the social gap between layers of society was emphasized.

Traditional societies of the East

Some signs of the traditional type of society have been preserved in eastern countries to this day. Despite the industrialization and development of the countries' economies, they saved the following features:

religiosity - most states in the East are Muslim, which means that religion plays a very important role both in the life of society and in the life of an individual;
veneration of old traditions is strong in the powers not only of the East, but also in Asian ones (China, Japan);

the possession of material assets depends on class affiliation.

IN modern world There are practically no traditional societies left in the classical sense. States evolve and develop in economic, spiritual, political directions, thereby gradually displacing the values inherent in traditional society.

Man in a traditional community

A traditional type of society is characterized by the perception of a person as part of the public, in which everyone has a certain role, personal connections predominate, since family, neighborly, and clan relationships can be observed within society. This is especially noticeable in the example of noble strata of society, where everyone knew everyone personally.

Moreover, everyone has a social role that he adheres to throughout his life. For example, a landowner is a patron, a warrior is a protector, a peasant is a farmer.

In a traditional society it is impossible to obtain wealth through honest work. Here it is inherited along with position in society and private property. It is assumed that power brings wealth, not the other way around.

a brief description of

A traditional society is characterized by the following features:

Dependencies of private and social life from the religious ideas of society.
Cyclicity of development.
Lack of personality, predominantly collectivist nature of society.
Undeniable recognition of any power, patriarchy.
The predominance of traditions rather than innovations.

In traditional society, special attention is paid to the family, as it is aimed at procreation. It is for this reason that families in traditional societies have many children. In addition, society is characterized by conservatism, which significantly slows down its development.

Traditional society

Traditional society- a society that is regulated by tradition. Preservation of traditions is a higher value in it than development. The social structure in it is characterized by a rigid class hierarchy, the existence of stable social communities (especially in Eastern countries), and a special way of regulating the life of society, based on traditions and customs. This organization of society strives to preserve the socio-cultural foundations of life unchanged. Traditional society is an agrarian society.

general characteristics

A traditional society is usually characterized by:

the predominance of the agricultural way of life;
structural stability;
class organization;
low mobility;
high mortality rate;
low life expectancy.

A traditional person perceives the world and the established order of life as something inextricably integral, holistic, sacred and not subject to change. A person's place in society and his status are determined by tradition and social origin.

In a traditional society, collectivist attitudes predominate, individualism is not encouraged (since freedom of individual action can lead to a violation of the established order, time-tested). In general, traditional societies are characterized by the predominance of collective interests over private ones, including the primacy of the interests of existing hierarchical structures (states, etc.). What is valued is not so much individual capacity as the place in the hierarchy (official, class, clan, etc.) that a person occupies.

In a traditional society, as a rule, relations of redistribution, rather than market exchange, prevail, but elements market economy are strictly regulated. This is because free markets increase social mobility and change social structure societies (in particular, they destroy class); the redistribution system can be regulated by tradition, but market prices cannot; forced redistribution prevents “unauthorized” enrichment/impoverishment of both individuals and classes. The pursuit of economic gain in traditional society is often morally condemned and opposed to selfless help.

In a traditional society, most people live their entire lives in a local community (for example, a village), and connections with the “big society” are rather weak. At the same time, family ties, on the contrary, are very strong.

The worldview (ideology) of a traditional society is determined by tradition and authority.

Transformation of traditional society

Traditional society is extremely stable. As the famous demographer and sociologist Anatoly Vishnevsky writes, “everything in it is interconnected and it is very difficult to remove or change any one element.”

In ancient times, changes in traditional society occurred extremely slowly - over generations, almost imperceptibly for an individual. Periods of accelerated development also occurred in traditional societies ( shining example- changes in the territory of Eurasia in the 1st millennium BC. BC), but even during such periods, change was slow by modern standards, and upon its completion, society again returned to a relatively static state with a predominance of cyclical dynamics.

At the same time, since ancient times there have been societies that cannot be called completely traditional. The departure from traditional society was associated, as a rule, with the development of trade. This category includes Greek city-states, medieval self-governing trading cities, England and Holland of the 16th-17th centuries. Ancient Rome (before the 3rd century AD) with its civil society stands apart.

The rapid and irreversible transformation of traditional society began to occur only in the 18th century as a result of the industrial revolution. By now, this process has captured almost the entire world.

Rapid changes and departure from traditions can be experienced by a traditional person as a collapse of guidelines and values, loss of the meaning of life, etc. Since adaptation to new conditions and a change in the nature of activity are not included in the strategy of a traditional person, the transformation of society often leads to the marginalization of part of the population.

The most painful transformation of traditional society occurs in cases where the dismantled traditions have a religious justification. At the same time, resistance to change can take the form of religious fundamentalism.

During the period of transformation of a traditional society, authoritarianism may increase in it (either in order to preserve traditions, or in order to overcome resistance to change).

The transformation of traditional society ends with the demographic transition. The generation that grew up in small families has a psychology that differs from the psychology of a traditional person.

Opinions about the need (and extent) of transformation of traditional society differ significantly. For example, the philosopher A. Dugin considers it necessary to abandon the principles modern society and return to the "golden age" of traditionalism. Sociologist and demographer A. Vishnevsky argues that traditional society “has no chance,” although it “fiercely resists.” According to the calculations of Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Professor A. Nazaretyan, in order to completely abandon development and return society to a static state, the number of humanity must be reduced by several hundred times.

Literature

Textbook “Sociology of Culture” (chapter “Historical dynamics of culture: cultural features of traditional and modern societies. Modernization”)
Book by A. G. Vishnevsky “Sickle and Ruble. Conservative modernization in the USSR"
Nazaretyan A.P. Demographic utopia of “sustainable development” // Social sciences and modernity. 1996. No. 2. P. 145-152.

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Instructions

The life of a traditional society is based on subsistence (agriculture) farming using extensive technologies, as well as primitive crafts. This social structure is typical for the period of antiquity and the Middle Ages. It is believed that any that existed during the period from the primitive community until the beginning of the industrial revolution belongs to the traditional species.

During this period, hand tools were used. Their improvement and modernization occurred at an extremely slow, almost imperceptible pace of natural evolution. The economic system was based on the application natural resources, it was dominated by mining, trade, and construction. People led a mostly sedentary lifestyle.

The social system of traditional society is estate-corporate. It is characterized by stability, preserved for centuries. There are several different classes that do not change over time, maintaining an unchanged and static nature of life. To many societies traditional look commodity relations are either not characteristic at all, or are so poorly developed that they are focused only on meeting the needs of small representatives social elite.

A traditional society has the following characteristics. It is characterized by the total dominance of religion in the spiritual sphere. Human life is considered to be the fulfillment of God's providence. The most important quality of a member of such a society is the spirit of collectivism, a sense of belonging to one’s family and class, as well as close connection with the land where he was born. Individualism was not typical for people during this period. Spiritual life was more significant for them than material wealth.

The rules of coexistence with neighbors, life in, and attitude towards were determined by established traditions. A person has already acquired his status. Social structure was interpreted only from the point of view of religion, and therefore the role of government in society was explained to the people as a divine purpose. The head of state enjoyed unquestioned authority and played a vital role in the life of society.

Traditional society is demographically characterized by high, high mortality and a fairly low life expectancy. Examples of this type today are the ways of life in many countries of North-East and North Africa (Algeria, Ethiopia), South-East Asia(in particular Vietnam). In Russia, a society of this type existed before mid-19th century. Despite this, by the beginning of the new century it was one of the most influential and largest countries in the world and had the status of a great power.

The main spiritual values that are distinguished are the culture of our ancestors. Cultural life was predominantly focused on the past: respect for one’s ancestors, admiration for the works and monuments of previous eras. Culture is characterized by homogeneity (homogeneity), its own traditions and a fairly categorical rejection of the cultures of other peoples.

According to many researchers, traditional society is characterized by a lack of choice in spiritual and cultural terms. The worldview and stable traditions that dominate in such a society provide a person with a ready-made and clear system of spiritual guidelines and values. And therefore the world seems understandable to a person, not raising unnecessary questions.

Introduction.

The relevance of the problem of traditional society is dictated by global changes in the worldview of mankind. Civilization studies today are especially acute and problematic. The world oscillates between prosperity and poverty, the individual and the number, the infinite and the particular. Man is still looking for the authentic, the lost and the hidden. There is a “tired” generation of meanings, self-isolation and endless waiting: waiting for light from the West, good weather from the South, cheap goods from China and oil profits from the North.

Modern society requires proactive young people who are able to find “themselves” and their place in life, restore Russian spiritual culture, morally stable, socially adapted, capable of self-development and continuous self-improvement. The basic structures of personality are laid in the first years of life. This means that the family has a special responsibility for instilling such qualities in the younger generation. And this problem becomes especially relevant at this modern stage.

Emerging naturally, “evolutionary” human culture includes an important element - the system public relations based on solidarity and mutual assistance. Many studies, and even everyday experience, show that people became human precisely because they overcame selfishness and showed altruism that goes far beyond short-term rational calculations. And that the main motives for such behavior are irrational in nature and associated with ideals and movements of the soul - we see this at every step.

The culture of a traditional society is based on the concept of “people” - as a transpersonal community with historical memory and collective consciousness. An individual person, an element of such people and society, is a “conciliar personality”, the focus of many human connections. He is always included in solidarity groups (family, village and church communities, labor collective, even if it’s a gang of thieves - acting on the principle “One for all, all for one”). Accordingly, the prevailing relationships in traditional society are those of service, duty, love, care and coercion.

There are also acts of exchange, for the most part, which do not have the nature of free and equivalent purchase and sale (exchange of equal values) - the market regulates only a small part of traditional social relations. Therefore, in a general, all-encompassing metaphor public life in a traditional society is “family”, and not, for example, “market”. Modern scientists believe that 2/3 of the world's population, to a greater or lesser extent, has features of traditional societies in their lifestyle. What are traditional societies, when did they arise and what characterizes their culture?

The purpose of this work: to give general characteristics, study the development of traditional society.

Based on the goal, the following tasks were set:

Consider various ways typologies of societies;

Describe traditional society;

Give an idea of the development of traditional society;

Identify problems of transformation of traditional society.

Typology of societies in modern science.

In modern sociology, there are various ways of typifying societies, and all of them are legitimate from certain points of view.

There are, for example, two main types of society: firstly, pre-industrial society, or the so-called traditional one, which is based on the peasant community. This type of society still covers most of Africa, a significant part of Latin America, most of the East and dominated until the 19th century in Europe. Secondly, modern industrial-urban society. The so-called Euro-American society belongs to it; and the rest of the world is gradually catching up to it.

Another division of societies is possible. Societies can be divided according to political grounds− into totalitarian and democratic. In the first societies, society itself does not act as an independent subject of social life, but serves the interests of the state. The second societies are characterized by the fact that, on the contrary, the state serves the interests of civil society, the individual and public associations, (at least ideally).

It is possible to distinguish types of societies according to the dominant religion: Christian society, Islamic, Orthodox, etc. Finally, societies are distinguished by the dominant language: English-speaking, Russian-speaking, French-speaking, etc. You can also distinguish societies based on ethnicity: single-national, binational, multinational.

One of the main types of typology of societies is the formational approach.

According to the formational approach, the most important relations in society are property and class relations. The following types of socio-economic formations can be distinguished: primitive communal, slaveholding, feudal, capitalist and communist (includes two phases - socialism and communism). None of the named main theoretical points underlying the theory of formations is now indisputable.

The theory of socio-economic formations is not only based on the theoretical conclusions of the mid-19th century, but because of this it cannot explain many of the contradictions that have arisen:

· the existence, along with zones of progressive (ascending) development, of zones of backwardness, stagnation and dead ends;

· transformation of the state - in one form or another - into an important factor in social production relations; modification and modification of classes;

· the emergence of a new hierarchy of values with priority universal human values over class.

The most modern is another division of society, which was put forward by the American sociologist Daniel Bell. He distinguishes three stages in the development of society. The first stage is a pre-industrial, agricultural, conservative society, closed to outside influences, based on natural production. The second stage is an industrial society, which is based on industrial production, developed market relations, democracy and openness.

Finally, in the second half of the twentieth century, the third stage begins - post-industrial society, which is characterized by the use of the achievements of the scientific and technological revolution; sometimes it is called the information society, because the main thing is no longer the production of a specific material product, but the production and processing of information. An indicator of this stage is the spread of computer technology, the unification of the entire society into a single information system in which ideas and thoughts are freely distributed. The leading requirement in such a society is the requirement to respect so-called human rights.

From this point of view, different parts of modern humanity are at various stages development. Until now, maybe half of humanity is at the first stage. And the other part is going through the second stage of development. And only a minority - Europe, the USA, Japan - entered the third stage of development. Russia is now in a state of transition from the second stage to the third.

General characteristics of traditional society

Traditional society is a concept that focuses in its content a set of ideas about the pre-industrial stage of human development, characteristic of traditional sociology and cultural studies. There is no single theory of traditional society. Ideas about traditional society are based, rather, on its understanding as a sociocultural model that is asymmetrical to modern society, rather than on generalization real facts life of peoples not engaged in industrial production. The dominance of subsistence farming is considered characteristic of the economy of a traditional society. Commodity relations at the same time, they are either absent altogether or are focused on meeting the needs of a small layer of the social elite.

The basic principle of the organization of social relations is the rigid hierarchical stratification of society, as a rule, manifested in the division into endogamous castes. At the same time, the main form of organization of social relations for the vast majority of the population is a relatively closed, isolated community. The latter circumstance dictates the dominance of collectivist social ideas, focused on strict adherence to traditional norms of behavior and excluding individual freedom, as well as an understanding of its value. Together with caste division, this feature almost completely eliminates the possibility social mobility. Political power monopolizes within a separate group (caste, clan, family) and exists primarily in authoritarian forms.

A characteristic feature of a traditional society is considered to be either the complete absence of writing, or its existence in the form of a privilege of certain groups (officials, priests). At the same time, writing quite often develops in a language other than spoken language the overwhelming majority of the population (Latin in medieval Europe, Arabic in the Middle East, Chinese writing in Far East). Therefore, intergenerational transmission of culture is carried out in verbal, folklore form, and the main institution of socialization is the family and community. The consequence of this was extreme variability in the culture of the same ethnic group, manifested in local and dialect differences.

Traditional societies include ethnic communities, which are characterized by communal settlements, the preservation of blood and family ties, and predominantly craft and agricultural forms of labor. The emergence of such societies dates back to the earliest stages of human development, to primitive culture. Any society from the primitive community of hunters to the industrial revolution of the late 18th century can be called a traditional society.

A traditional society is a society that is governed by tradition. Preservation of traditions is a higher value in it than development. The social structure in it is characterized (especially in Eastern countries) by a rigid class hierarchy and the existence of stable social communities, a special way of regulating the life of society, based on traditions and customs. This organization of society strives to preserve the socio-cultural foundations of life unchanged. Traditional society is an agrarian society.

A traditional society is usually characterized by:

· traditional economy - an economic system in which the use of natural resources is determined primarily by traditions. Traditional industries predominate - agriculture, resource extraction, trade, construction; non-traditional industries receive virtually no development;

· predominance of the agricultural way of life;

· structural stability;

· class organization;

· low mobility;

· high mortality rate;

· high birth rate;

· low life expectancy.

A traditional person perceives the world and the established order of life as something inextricably integral, sacred and not subject to change. A person’s place in society and his status are determined by tradition (usually by birthright).

In a traditional society, collectivist attitudes predominate, individualism is not welcomed (since freedom of individual action can lead to a violation of the established order). In general, traditional societies are characterized by the primacy of collective interests over private ones, including the primacy of the interests of existing hierarchical structures (state, clan, etc.). What is valued is not so much individual capacity as the place in the hierarchy (official, class, clan, etc.) that a person occupies.

In a traditional society, as a rule, relations of redistribution rather than market exchange predominate, and elements of a market economy are strictly regulated. This is due to the fact that free market relations increase social mobility and change the social structure of society (in particular, they destroy class); the redistribution system may be regulated by tradition, but market prices are not; forced redistribution prevents “unauthorized” enrichment and impoverishment of both individuals and classes. The pursuit of economic gain in traditional society is often morally condemned and opposed to selfless help.

The worldview of a traditional society is determined by tradition and authority.

Development of traditional society

Economically, traditional society is based on agriculture. Moreover, such a society can be not only land-owning, like the society of ancient Egypt, China or medieval Rus', but also based on cattle breeding, like all the nomadic steppe powers of Eurasia (Turkic and Khazar Khaganates, the empire of Genghis Khan, etc.). And even on fishing in the exceptionally fish-rich coastal waters of Southern Peru (in pre-Columbian America).

Characteristic of a pre-industrial traditional society is the dominance of redistributive relations (i.e. distribution in accordance with the social position of each), which can be expressed in a variety of forms: the centralized state economy of ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia, medieval China; Russian peasant community, where redistribution is expressed in regular redistribution of land according to the number of eaters, etc. However, one should not think that redistribution is the only possible way economic life of traditional society. It dominates, but the market in one form or another always exists, and in exceptional cases it can even acquire a leading role (the most striking example is the economy of the ancient Mediterranean). But, as a rule, market relations are limited to a narrow range of goods, most often items of prestige: the medieval European aristocracy, receiving everything they needed on their estates, bought mainly jewelry, spices, expensive weapons, thoroughbred horses, etc.

Socially, traditional society is much more strikingly different from our modern one. The most characteristic feature of this society is the rigid attachment of each person to the system of redistributive relations, an attachment that is purely personal. This is manifested in the inclusion of everyone in any collective that carries out this redistribution, and in the dependence of each on the “elders” (by age, origin, social status), which stand “at the boiler”. Moreover, the transition from one team to another is extremely difficult; social mobility in this society is very low. At the same time, not only the position of the class in the social hierarchy is valuable, but also the very fact of belonging to it. Here we can give specific examples - caste and class systems of stratification.

Caste (as in traditional Indian society, for example) is a closed group of people occupying strictly specific place in society.

This place is delineated by many factors or signs, the main of which are:

· traditionally inherited profession, occupation;

· endogamy, i.e. the obligation to marry only within one’s caste;

· ritual purity (after contact with “lower” ones, it is necessary to undergo a whole purification procedure).

An estate is a social group with hereditary rights and responsibilities enshrined in customs and laws. The feudal society of medieval Europe, in particular, was divided into three main classes: the clergy (symbol - book), knighthood (symbol - sword) and peasantry (symbol - plough). In Russia before the revolution of 1917 there were six estates. These are nobles, clergy, merchants, townspeople, peasants, Cossacks.

The regulation of class life was extremely strict, down to small circumstances and minor details. Thus, according to the “Charter Granted to Cities” of 1785, Russian merchants of the first guild could travel around the city in a carriage drawn by a pair of horses, and merchants of the second guild - only in a carriage drawn by a pair. The class division of society, as well as the caste division, was sanctified and reinforced by religion: everyone has their own destiny, their own destiny, their own corner on this earth. Stay where God has placed you; exaltation is a manifestation of pride, one of the seven (according to medieval classification) deadly sins.

To others the most important criterion social division can be called a community in the broadest sense of the word. This means not only peasant neighborhood community, but also a craft workshop, a merchant guild in Europe or a merchant union in the East, a monastic or knightly order, a Russian cenobitic monastery, thieves or beggar corporations. The Hellenic polis can be considered not so much as a city-state, but as a civil community. A person outside the community is an outcast, rejected, suspicious, enemy. Therefore, expulsion from the community was one of the most terrible punishments in any agrarian society. A person was born, lived and died tied to his place of residence, occupation, environment, exactly repeating the lifestyle of his ancestors and being absolutely confident that his children and grandchildren would follow the same path.

Relationships and connections between people in traditional society were thoroughly permeated with personal devotion and dependence, which is quite understandable. At that level of technological development, only direct contacts, personal involvement, and individual involvement could ensure the movement of knowledge, skills, and abilities from teacher to student, from master to apprentice. This movement, we note, took the form of transferring secrets, secrets, and recipes. Thus, a certain social problem was solved. Thus, the oath, which in the Middle Ages symbolically ritually sealed the relationship between vassals and lords, in its own way equalized the parties involved, giving their relationship a shade of simple patronage of father to son.

The political structure of the vast majority of pre-industrial societies is determined in to a greater extent tradition and custom rather than written law. Power could be justified by its origin, the scale of controlled distribution (land, food, and finally water in the East) and supported by divine sanction (this is why the role of sacralization, and often direct deification of the figure of the ruler, is so high).

Most often, the political system of society was, of course, monarchical. And even in the republics of antiquity and the Middle Ages, real power, as a rule, belonged to representatives of a few noble families and was based on the above principles. As a rule, traditional societies are characterized by the merging of the phenomena of power and property with the determining role of power, that is, those with greater power also had real control over a significant part of the property at the aggregate disposal of society. For a typically pre-industrial society (with rare exceptions), power is property.

On cultural life In traditional societies, the decisive influence was exerted by the justification of power by tradition and the conditioning of all social relations by class, community and power structures. Traditional society is characterized by what could be called gerontocracy: the older, the smarter, the more ancient, the more perfect, the deeper, the true.

Traditional society is holistic. It is built or organized as a rigid whole. And not just as a whole, but as a clearly prevailing, dominant whole.

The collective represents a socio-ontological, rather than a value-normative, reality. It becomes the latter when it begins to be understood and accepted as a common good. Being also holistic in its essence, the common good hierarchically completes the value system of traditional society. Along with other values, it ensures a person’s unity with other people, gives meaning to his individual existence, and guarantees a certain psychological comfort.

In antiquity, the common good was identified with the needs and development trends of the polis. A polis is a city or society-state. The man and the citizen coincided in him. The polis horizon of ancient man was both political and ethical. Outside of it, nothing interesting was expected - just barbarism. The Greek, a citizen of the polis, perceived state goals as his own, saw his own good in the good of the state. He pinned his hopes for justice, freedom, peace and happiness on the polis and its existence.

In the Middle Ages, God appeared as the common and highest good. He is the source of everything good, valuable and worthy in this world. Man himself was created in his image and likeness. All power on earth comes from God. God is the ultimate goal of all human endeavors. The highest good that a sinful person is capable of on earth is love for God, service to Christ. Christian love is a special love: God-fearing, suffering, ascetic and humble. In her self-forgetfulness there is a lot of contempt for herself, for worldly joys and conveniences, achievements and successes. In itself, a person’s earthly life in its religious interpretation is devoid of any value and purpose.

In pre-revolutionary Russia, with its communal-collective way of life, the common good took on the form of a Russian idea. Its most popular formula included three values: Orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality. The historical existence of traditional society is characterized by slowness. The boundaries between the historical stages of “traditional” development are barely discernible, there are no sharp shifts or radical shocks.

The productive forces of traditional society developed slowly, in the rhythm of cumulative evolutionism. There was no what economists call deferred demand, i.e. the ability to produce not for immediate needs, but for the sake of the future. Traditional society took from nature exactly as much as it needed, and nothing more. Its economy could be called environmentally friendly.

Transformation of traditional society

In ancient times, changes in traditional society occurred extremely slowly - over generations, almost imperceptibly for an individual. Periods of accelerated development also occurred in traditional societies (a striking example is the changes in the territory of Eurasia in the 1st millennium BC), but even during such periods, changes were carried out slowly by modern standards, and upon their completion, society again returned to a relatively static state with a predominance of cyclic dynamics.

During the period of transformation of a traditional society, authoritarianism may increase in it (either in order to preserve traditions, or in order to overcome resistance to change).

Opinions about the need to transform traditional society differ significantly. For example, the philosopher A. Dugin considers it necessary to abandon the principles of modern society and return to the “golden age” of traditionalism. Sociologist and demographer A. Vishnevsky argues that traditional society “has no chance,” although it “fiercely resists.” According to the calculations of Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Professor A. Nazaretyan, in order to completely abandon development and return society to a static state, the number of humanity must be reduced by several hundred times.

CONCLUSION

Based on the work carried out, the following conclusions were made.

Traditional societies are characterized by the following features:

· Predominantly agricultural mode of production, understanding land ownership not as property, but as land use. The type of relationship between society and nature is built not on the principle of victory over it, but on the idea of merging with it;

· The basis of the economic system is community-state forms of ownership with weak development of the institution private property. Preservation of communal way of life and communal land use;

· Patronage system of distribution of the product of labor in the community (redistribution of land, mutual assistance in the form of gifts, marriage gifts, etc., regulation of consumption);

· The level of social mobility is low, the boundaries between social communities(castes, classes) are stable. Ethnic, clan, caste differentiation of societies in contrast to late industrial societies with class divisions;

· Preservation in everyday life of combinations of polytheistic and monotheistic ideas, the role of ancestors, orientation to the past;

· The main regulator of social life is tradition, custom, adherence to the norms of life of previous generations.

The huge role of ritual and etiquette. Of course, “traditional society” significantly limits scientific and technological progress, has a pronounced tendency to stagnation, and does not consider the autonomous development of a free personality as the most important value. But Western civilization, having achieved impressive successes, is now faced with a number of very difficult problems: ideas about the possibilities of unlimited industrial and scientific and technological growth have turned out to be untenable; the balance of nature and society is disrupted; The pace of technological progress is unsustainable and threatens a global environmental catastrophe. Many scientists pay attention to the merits of traditional thinking with its emphasis on adaptation to nature, the perception of the human person as part of the natural and social whole.

Only a traditional way of life can be opposed to aggressive influence modern culture and the civilizational model exported from the West. For Russia there is no other way out of the crisis in the spiritual and moral sphere other than the revival of its original Russian civilization on traditional values of national culture. And this is possible subject to the restoration of the spiritual, moral and intellectual potential of the bearer of Russian culture - the Russian people.

Types of society: traditional. What are the characteristic features of a traditional society

Signs of a traditional society

Countries

Definition

Signs

Traits

Development

Culture

Values of traditional society

Division of society into classes

Life in a traditional society

Traditional societies of the East

Man in a traditional community

a brief description of

Transformation of traditional society

Links

Literature

see also