Social development and social progress are fundamental topics in the study of social science. Deep changes covered almost the entire modern world. In social reality, the intensity of change is constantly increasing: during the life of one generation, some forms of organization of life collapse, others are born. This applies not only to individual societies, but also to the world order as a whole.
The following basic concepts are used to describe the dynamics of society in sociology: social change, social development, and social progress. Society is never motionless. In it, all the time, something happens, changes. People, realizing their own needs, master new types of communication and activities, acquire new statuses, change their environment, join new roles in society, change themselves both as a result of generational change and throughout their lives.
The inconsistency and unevenness of social change
Contradictory and uneven social changes. The concept of social progress is controversial. This is revealed mainly in the fact that the development of many social phenomena and processes leads both to moving forward in some directions, and to going back, retreating in others. Many changes in society are so controversial. Some changes are hardly noticeable, others significantly affect the life of society. For example, it has changed a lot since the invention of the plow, steam engine, writing, computer. On the one hand, over the course of a generation's life, huge changes are taking place in the life of society in industrialized countries. It is changing beyond recognition. On the other hand, societies in which changes are extremely slow (Australian or African primitive systems) continue to persist in the world.
What determines the inconsistency of social change?
The mismatch in society of the social interests of different groups, as well as the fact that their representatives perceive the changes in a different way, is due to the inconsistency of social changes. For example, the need to secure a decent existence forms the employee’s interest in selling his labor as expensive as possible. Realizing the same need, the entrepreneur seeks cheaper to acquire labor. Therefore, some social groups can positively perceive changes in the organization of labor, while for others it will not cause satisfaction.
Social development
Among the many changes can be identified qualitative, irreversible and directional. They are called today social development. We define this concept more strictly. Social development is a change in society, leading to the emergence of new relationships, values and norms, social institutions. It is associated with the increment, accumulation, complication of the functions and structures of the social system. As a result of these processes, the system is becoming more efficient. Her ability to satisfy various needs of people is increasing. The development of personal qualities of individuals is an important indicator and result of social development.
Defining this concept, it should be noted that it expresses a logical, directed and irreversible change in social processes or phenomena. As a result, they move into a new qualitative state, that is, their structure or composition changes. Social development of a society as a concept is narrower than social change. One cannot call development periods of crises, chaos, wars, totalitarianism, which negatively affect society.
Social Revolution and Social Evolution
Two approaches to the consideration of social development are clearly traced in sociology. This is a social revolution and social evolution. The latter usually means a phased, smooth, gradual development of society. On the contrary, the social revolution is a radical transition to the new, a qualitative leap changing all aspects of life.
Progress and regression
Changes in society do not always occur randomly. They have a certain orientation, denoted by concepts such as regression or progress. The concept of social progress serves to designate such a direction in the development of society in which its progressive movement from lower and simple forms of social life to ever higher and more complex, more advanced ones takes place. In particular, these are such changes that lead to an increase in social justice and freedom, more complete equality, and better living conditions.
The course of history was not always smooth and even. There were kinks (zigzags), turns. Crises, world wars, local conflicts, the establishment of fascist regimes were accompanied by negative changes affecting the life of society. Social phenomena, initially assessed as positive, in addition, could lead to negative consequences. For example, urbanization and industrialization have long been considered synonymous with progress. However, relatively recently, talk began about the negative effects of destruction and environmental pollution, traffic jams on highways, and crowded cities. They talk about progress when the sum of the positive consequences of various social changes exceeds the sum of the negative ones. If there is an inverse relationship, we are talking about public regression.
The latter is the opposite of the first and represents a movement from complex to simple, from higher to lower, from whole to parts and so on. However, on the whole, the line of historical development has a progressive, positive orientation. Social development and social progress are global processes. Progress characterizes the movement of society forward throughout the course of historical development. Whereas regression is only local. He marked individual societies and time periods.
Reform and Revolution
Distinguish between types of social progress, such as spasmodic and gradual. Gradual is called reformist, and spasmodic - revolutionary. Accordingly, two forms of social progress are reform and revolution. The first is a partial improvement in some area of life. These are gradual transformations that do not affect the foundations of the existing social system. On the contrary, revolution is a complex change in most of the forces of all aspects of society, which affects the foundations of the current system. It has a spasmodic character. It is necessary to distinguish between two forms of social progress - reform and revolution.
Criteria for Social Progress
By themselves, value judgments such as "progressively - reactionary", "better - worse" are subjective. Social development and social progress are not unambiguous in this sense. However, if such judgments reflect social interactions and connections that are objectively developing in society, then they are not only subjective in this sense, but also objective. Social development and social progress can be strictly evaluated. For this, various criteria are used.
Different scientists have different criteria for social progress. The following are generally recognized in a generalized form:
- the level of knowledge, the development of the human mind;
- improvement of morality;
- development of productive forces, including man himself;
- the nature and level of consumption and production;
- development of technology and science;
- the degree of integration and differentiation of society;
- socio-political freedoms and individual rights;
- the degree of its freedom from society and the elemental forces of nature;
- average life expectancy.
The higher these indicators, the higher the social progress and development of society.
Man is the goal and main criterion of social progress
The main indicator of the regressiveness or progressiveness of social changes is precisely the person, his physical, material, moral condition, the comprehensive and free development of the individual. That is, in the modern system of social and humanitarian knowledge there is a humanistic concept that determines social progress and the development of society. Man is his goal and main criterion.
HDI
In 1990, UN specialists developed the HDI (Human Development Index). With its help, you can take into account both social and economic components of the quality of life. This integral indicator is calculated annually to compare between countries and measure the level of education, literacy, life and longevity of the study area. When comparing the living standards of different regions and countries, this is a standard tool. The HDI is defined as the arithmetic mean of the three following indicators:
- literacy rate (average number of years spent on training), as well as the expected duration of training;
- life expectancy;
- standard of living.
Depending on the value of this index, countries are classified according to the level of development as follows: 42 countries - a very high level of development, 43 - high, 42 - medium, 42 - low. The top five countries with the highest HDI include (in ascending order) Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Australia and Norway.
Declaration of Social Progress and Development
This document was adopted in 1969 by a UN resolution. The main objectives of the policy of social development and progress that all governments and states are obliged to pursue are to ensure fair remuneration for work without any discrimination, the establishment by states of a minimum level of remuneration that would be high enough to ensure an acceptable standard of living, and the elimination of poverty and hunger . The declaration focuses countries on ensuring an increase in the standard of living of people, as well as on an even and equitable distribution of income. The social development of Russia is also carried out in accordance with this declaration.
Social progress leads to the fact that rare, even sophisticated, initial needs are gradually turning into socially normal. This process is obvious even without scientific research, it is enough to compare the set and level of modern needs with what it was several decades ago.
Obstacles to Social Progress
There are only two obstacles to social progress - the state and religion. The monster state is supported by a fiction of God. The origin of religion is due to the fact that people endowed fictional gods with their own hypertrophied abilities, forces and qualities.