Some general laws for 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. This unity, which is very important, is not limited only to its constituent elements.
Society is also a system, is an organized collection of people. We are all part of it, so many of us are wondering how its development is going. The laws of its development can be discovered by considering the sources of progress. In society, three spheres of reality, “worlds,” which are not reducible to each other, interact with each other. This is, firstly, the world of things and nature, which exists independently of the consciousness and will of man, that is, it is objective and subject to various physical laws. Secondly, it is a world in which objects and things have a social being, since they are products of a person’s activity, his labor. The third world is human subjectivity, spiritual ideas and essences, relatively independent of the objective world. They have the greatest degree of freedom.
Nature as a source of social development
In the natural world is the first source that provides social development. Laws of the development of society in the past were often formulated based on it. It is the basis for the existence of a society, which, interacting with it, is being improved. Do not forget that it is 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 environmental crisis. Its main reason was the installation of people to conquer nature, as well as ignoring the boundaries of its resistance to anthropogenic influences. People turn a blind eye to the basic laws of development, forget about everything in the pursuit of momentary profit and do not take into account the consequences. The behavior and consciousness of billions of people on Earth should be changed so that nature can continue to provide us with the necessary resources.
The role of technology in the development of society
The next source is technological determinants, that is, the role of technology, as well as the process of division of labor in the social structure. They also provide social development. The laws of the development of society today are often formulated, taking as a basis the role of technology. This is not surprising - she is now actively improving. However, according to T. Adorno, the question of the priority of technology and economics is the question of what came before: an egg or a chicken. The same can be attributed to the type and nature of human labor, which largely determines the system of social relations. All this became especially obvious today, when the outlines of a post-industrial society were outlined . The main contradiction in this case arises between the human goals of human existence pursued by a person and the world of information technology that carries a potential threat. Many problems are caused by its active development.
The laws of development of society therefore begin to be revised, the emphasis is on the spiritual sphere. We’ll talk about her now.
The spiritual sphere as a source of social progress
The third source of social development lies in the spiritual sphere, in the realization of a certain secular or religious ideal. Very popular in history was the idea of theocracy, that is, the management of the state and society by certain higher religious authorities. In this case, the history of society is seen as the fulfillment of the will of God, and a person is obliged to bring this business to life, focusing not on earthly problems, but, above all, on preparing for an eternal, future life.
In the writings of P. Sorokin, A. Toynbee, who proposed their laws for the development of society, the main significance belongs to its spiritual, moral and religious improvement, the ratio 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 construction of a just society and the liberation of mankind.
Cycles in history according to F. Braudel
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 as a whole. It can flow linearly (that is, from God’s creation to the Last Judgment) or cyclically, when it seems to return to the past, but on a different level (the spiral of history).
3 types of crops highlighted by Pitirim Sorokin
Pitirim Sorokin believed that in the history of mankind there are 3 types of fundamental cultures: materialistic, intermediate and religious. In the culture of the latter type, the rhythm and movement of history are determined by the interaction of three wills: human, demonic and God's. In a materialistic development occurs on the basis of reality, perceived sensually. Her changes act as the main factor in history. The transition from religious to materialistic culture is carried out through an intermediate type. The following successive stages can be distinguished in it: first, crisis, then crash, then purification, then revaluation of values and, finally, rebirth.
Philosophical and historical thought of the present
F. Fukuyama at the end of the 20th century put forward his idea that there is a "end of history." This is a consequence of the fact that powerful ideologies and states based on them leave the historical scene. Other researchers studying the laws of development of society believe that world history is today at the bifurcation point, in which the correlation of chaos and order changes and a situation of unpredictability arises. The philosophical and historical thought of modernity only finds the main laws of the rhythm of historical development, which are associated with difficult global problems.
Materialistic view of history
In the framework of the materialistic concept of history developed by F. Engels and K. Marx in the 40-50s of the 19th century, the formation approach and the laws of social development are used. This approach has developed historically as the antithesis of the idealistic concept, although it inherited the idea of linearity from the theories of progress that the enlighteners developed. From Hegel, he took the idea of the dialectical nature 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, his people enter, according to Marx (his portrait is presented below), into certain relationships that do not depend on their will. It's about production relationships. They correspond to the stage of development of productive forces.
Marx believed, leaving aside the "primary" (initial) step, as well as the "secondary forms" of the community, which grew on its form, which in relation to the era of class society and civilization, the ancient, feudal, Asian and bourgeois (modern) methods of production can be called progressive eras of social economic formation. In the social science of the USSR, a simplified formula of the process of historical development was used, which implies the transition of primitive society first to slave-owning, then to feudal, then to capitalist and, finally, to socialist.
The concept of "local civilizations"
The concept of "local civilizations", which was created by the efforts of A. D. Toynbee, O. Spengler and N. A. Danilevsky, is most recognized in philosophical thought of the 19-20 centuries. According to her, all nations are divided into civilized and primitive, and the former also into cultural-historical types. The phenomenon formulated as “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 encourages the growth of a particular culture. The authors of this concept made an attempt to overcome Eurocentrism in the understanding of civilization.
Systems approach
In the last quarter of the 20th century, an approach was developed according to which the world is a system in which the laws of development of man and society operate. This is due to the fact that at this time the process of economic globalization is gaining its strength . In the world conglomerate, one can distinguish the “periphery” and “core”, which form the whole “world-system”, which exists according to the laws of superformation. The main product of today's type of production has become information and everything related to it. And this, in turn, changes the idea that the historical process is of a linear type.
Laws of economic development
These are constantly repeating, substantial, 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 product and the demand that arises for it. Like other laws of society, economic ones act regardless of the will and will of people. We 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 company, and will also operate in the future. Among them are the following laws of economic development:
- increasing needs;
- progressive development of the economy;
- increase in opportunity costs;
- the growing division of labor.
The development of society inevitably leads to a gradual increase in needs. This means that over time, people have an idea of a set of benefits, which they regard as "normal." On the other hand, the standard of each type of goods that are consumed is increasing. Primitive people, for example, wanted to have, above all, a lot of food. Today, a person, as a rule, no longer cares not to die from its lack. He strives to ensure that his food is varied and tasty.
On the other hand, as purely material needs are satisfied, the role of the social and spiritual becomes stronger. For example, in modern developed countries, when choosing a job, young people are more and more concerned not so much with earning more (which allows them to dress and eat exquisitely), but so that the work has a creative character, makes it possible for self-realization.
People, striving to satisfy new needs, improve production. They increase the assortment, quality and quantity of goods produced in the economy, as well as increase the efficiency of using various natural resources. These processes can be called economic progress. If the existence of progress in art or morality is disputed, then in economic life it is undeniable. It can be achieved through the division of labor. If people specialize in the production of specific goods, then overall productivity will increase markedly. However, in order for each person to have a complete set of benefits necessary for him, it is necessary to organize a constant exchange between members of society.
Redistribution and Decentralized Exchange
C. Polanyi, an American economist, identified 2 methods for coordinating actions between participants in production. The first is redistribution, that is, exchange, centralized redistribution. The second is the market, that is, decentralized exchange. In pre-capitalist societies, redistributive product exchange prevailed, that is, natural, carried out without the use of money.
At the same time, the state forcibly seized part of the products produced by its subjects from them for further redistribution. This method was characteristic not only of medieval and ancient societies, but also of the economies of the socialist countries.
Even with the primitive system, market commodity exchange was born. In pre-capitalist societies, however, it was mainly a secondary element. Only in a capitalist society does the market become the main method of coordination. At the same time, the state actively encourages its development by creating various laws, for example, the Law on the Development of Entrepreneurship. Actively used monetary relations. In this case, the exchange of goods is carried out horizontally between producers who are equal. Each of them has complete freedom of choice in finding partners for transactions. The Small Business Development Act provides support to small firms that find it difficult to operate in the face of growing competition.