For the first time the concept of socio-economic formation was defined by K. Marx. It is based on a materialistic understanding of history. The development of human society is considered as an invariable and regular process of change of formations. At the same time, five of them stand out. The basis of each of them is a certain method of production. Social relations arising in the production process and during the distribution of material goods, their exchange and consumption form an economic basis, which in turn determines the legal and political superstructure, the structure of society, forms of social consciousness, life, family and so on.
The emergence and development of formations is carried out according to special economic laws that apply until the transition to the next stage of development. One of them is the law of the correspondence of production relations to the level and nature of development of productive forces. Any formation in its development goes through certain stages. On the latter, there is a conflict of productive forces and production relations and there is a need to change the old mode of production to the new one and, as a result, one formation, more progressive, replaces another.
So what is a socio-economic formation?
This is a historically established type of society whose development is based on a certain mode of production. Any formation is a specific specific stage of human society.
What socio-economic formations stand out as proponents of this theory of development of the state and society?
Historically, the first formation is primitive communal. The type of production was determined by the existing relations in the tribal community, the distribution of labor between its members.
As a result of the development of economic relations between nations, a slave-owning socio-economic formation arises. The scale of communication is expanding. Concepts such as civilization and barbarism are emerging. For this period, many wars are characteristic, in which military booty and tribute were withdrawn as a surplus product, free labor appeared in the form of slaves.
The third stage of development is the emergence of the feudal formation. At this time, there were mass migrations of peasants to new lands, constant wars over subjects and land between the feudal lords. The integrity of economic units was to be ensured by military force, and the role of the feudal lord was to preserve their integrity. War became one of the conditions of production.
As the fourth stage in the development of the state and society, supporters of the formation approach distinguish the capitalist formation. This is the last stage, which is based on the exploitation of people. The development of the means of production takes place, and factories and plants appear. The role of the international market is increasing.
The last socio-economic formation is communist, which in its development undergoes socialism and communism. At the same time, two types of socialism are distinguished - built mainly and developed.
The theory of socio-economic formations arose in connection with the need to scientifically substantiate the steady movement of all countries of the world towards communism, the inevitability of the transition to this formation from capitalism.
Formational theory has several drawbacks. So, it takes into account only the economic factor of the development of states, which is of great importance, but is not fully determinative. In addition, opponents of the theory point out that in no country does a socio-economic formation exist in its purest form.