Development: the laws of development of society. Laws of economic development

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

Society is also a system, it is an organized set of people. We are all part of it, so many of us are wondering how its development is going on. The laws of development can be found by examining the sources of progress. In society, there are three spheres of reality interacting with each other, "worlds", which are not reducible to each other. This, first, the world of things and nature, which exists independently of the consciousness and will of man, that is, it is objective and subject to various physical laws. Secondly, it is a world in which objects and things have a social being, because they are the products of man's activity, his labor. The third world is a human subjectivity, relatively independent of the objective world spiritual ideas and essences. They have the greatest degree of freedom.

Nature as a source of social development

In the world of nature is the first source that provides social development. The laws of the development of society in the past were often formulated with reliance on it. It is the basis for the existence of a society, which, by interacting with it, is being improved. Do not forget that it was the laws of the development of nature that led to the appearance of man. The largest civilizations, which are characteristic, originated in the channels of large rivers, and the most successful development of the capitalist formation in the world was carried out in countries with a temperate climate.

It should be noted that the current stage of interaction between society and nature is marked by the concept of an ecological crisis. Its main reason was the installation of people to conquer nature, as well as ignoring the limits of its resistance to anthropogenic influences. People turn a blind eye to the basic laws of development, forget about everything in pursuit of immediate benefits and do not take into account the consequences. It is necessary to change the behavior and consciousness of billions of inhabitants of the Earth in order that further nature could provide us with the necessary resources.

The role of technology in the development of society

The next source is technological determinants, that is, the role of technology, as well as the process of division of labor in the social order. They also provide social development. The laws of the development of society today are often formulated, taking as a basis the role of technology. This is not surprising - it is now actively improving. However, according to T. Adorno, the question of the priority of technology and economics is the question of what appeared before: an egg or a chicken. This same can be attributed to the type and nature of human labor, which in many ways determines the system of social relations. This became especially evident today, when the contours of the postindustrial society were outlined . The main contradiction in this case arises between the humane goals pursued by man and the potentially endangering world of information technology. Many problems cause its active development.

The laws of the development of the society are therefore beginning to be revised, the emphasis is on the spiritual sphere. About it, we now talk.

The spiritual sphere as a source of social progress

The third source of social development is concluded in the spiritual sphere, in the realization of a secular or religious ideal. Very popular in history was the idea of theocracy, that is, the governance of the state and society by some higher religious authorities. In this case, the history of society is seen as the implementation of the will of God, and man is obliged to translate this craft into life, focusing not on earthly problems, but, first of all, preparation for the eternal, future life.

In the works of P. Sorokin, A. Toynbee, who proposed their laws of social development, the main significance belongs to the spiritual, moral and religious improvement of it, the correlation of awards and sanctions as the main reason for the solidarity of people. Those who adhere to the communist ideal believe that communism is one of the main "engines" of progress, which calls many people to fight for the building of a just society and the liberation of mankind.

Cycles in the history of F. Brodel

F. Braudel, a French historian, believed that the events of the past are dust, and the main thing is trends and cycles lasting more than a hundred years. The philosophical meaning of historical cycles is associated with an understanding of the laws of development in general. It can flow linearly (that is, from God's creation of the world to the Last Judgment) or cyclically, when it seems to return to the past, but at a different level (the spiral of history).

3 types of cultures identified by Pitirim Sorokin

Pitirim Sorokin believed that in the history of mankind, three types of fundamental cultures can be distinguished: materialistic, intermediate and religious. In the culture of the latter type, the rhythm and movement of history are determined by the interaction of the three wills: human, demonic and God. In materialistic development occurs on the basis of reality, perceived sensually. Its changes are the main factor of history. The transition from a religious to a materialistic culture takes place through an intermediate type. It can be divided into the following consecutive stages: first - a crisis, then - a wreck, after which - cleansing, then - revaluation of values and, finally, rebirth.

Philosophical and historical thought of our time

F. Fukuyama in the late 20 th century put forward his idea that there was an "end to history." This is a consequence of the fact that powerful ideologies and states based on them leave the historical scene. Other researchers who study the laws of social development believe that world history is at the point of bifurcation, in which the ratio of chaos and order is changing and a situation of unpredictability arises. The philosophical and historical thought of the present only gropes for the main laws of the rhythm of historical development, which are associated with severe global problems.

A materialistic view of history

In the framework of the materialist conception of history, developed by F. Engels and K. Marx in the 1940s and 1950s, a formal approach and laws of social development are applied. This approach has developed historically as the antithesis of the idealistic concept, although the idea of linearity inherited from the theories of progress developed by the Enlightenment. He took from Hegel the idea of the dialectical character of historical development. The idea of the main role of material production in the life of society and man is the foundation of this theory. In the process, people enter, according to Marx (his portrait is presented below), in certain relationships that do not depend on their will. It is about industrial relations. They correspond to the stage of development of the productive forces.

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

The concept of "local civilizations"

The greatest recognition in the philosophical thought of the 19-20 centuries is the concept of "local civilizations", which was created by the efforts of AD Toynbee, O. Spengler and NA Danilevsky. According to it, all peoples are divided into civilized and primitive, and the first - also to cultural and historical types. The phenomenon formulated as a "call-and-answer" is of particular interest here. It consists in the fact that quiet development is suddenly replaced by a critical situation, which, in turn, leads to the growth of a particular culture. The authors of this concept attempted to overcome Europocentrism in the understanding of the civilization.

Systems approach

In the last quarter of the 20th century, the approach was developed, according to which the world is a system in which the laws of development of man and society operate. This is due to the fact that at this time, the process of globalization of the economy was gaining in strength . In the world conglomerate it is possible to single out the "periphery" and the "core", which in general form a "world-system" that exists according to the laws of superformation. The main commodity of today's type of production was information and everything related to it. And this, in turn, changes the notion that the historical process is of the linear type.

Laws of economic development

These are constantly recurring, significant, stable links between economic phenomena and processes. For example, the law of demand expresses the inverse relationship that exists between the change in the price of a certain commodity and the demand that arises on it. Like other laws of the life of society, economic acts regardless of the will and will of people. One can distinguish among them universal (general) and specific.

General - those that operate throughout the history of mankind. They functioned in a primitive cave and continue to be relevant in a modern firm, and will also operate in the future. Among them, the following laws of economic development can be singled out:

- increasing needs;

- progressive development of the economy;

- increase of alternative costs;

- the growing division of labor.

The gradual increase in the requirements inevitably leads to the development of society. This means that over time people have an increasing perception of the set of benefits, which they regard as "normal." On the other hand, the standard of each type of goods that are consumed increases. Primitive people, for example, wanted to have, first of all, a lot of food. Today a person, as a rule, no longer cares about not dying from her lack. He wants his food to be varied and tasty.

On the other hand, as the needs are purely material, the role of social and spiritual increases. For example, in modern developed states, young people are more and more worried about choosing work, not so much in order to earn more (which allows them to dress and eat exquisitely), but how to ensure that work is creative and enables self-actualization.

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

Redistribution and decentralized exchange

K. Polanyi, an American economist, singled out 2 methods of coordinating actions between participants in production. The first is redistribution, that is, exchange, centralized redistribution. The second is the market, that is decentralized exchange. Pre-capitalist societies were dominated by redistributive commodity exchange, that is, natural, carried out without the use of money.

At the same time, the state seized a part of the products produced by its subjects forcibly, for their further redistribution. Not only for the societies of the Middle Ages and antiquity was this method characteristic, but also for the economies of the countries of socialism.

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