The ancient world, the Middle Ages, the New Age, the Newest - these are all stages of the development of society, which are based on a socio-economic formation. It was on its basis that a formational approach to the study of history arose. What is it, what categories are derived on its basis, who became the founder? It is these issues that are proposed to be considered.
Classical education presents history in the form of certain stages of development, the main characteristic feature of which is the formation of people. Such a research approach to the past was developed and justified by Karl Marx. He argued that the use of such a method as a formation approach to history is the only true way to distinguish between the stages of human development. Is it so?
Based on his works, the formation approach is a study of the development of society from the primitive system to the present based on the modification of the economic model. Moreover, the transition should be carried out mainly due to the so-called "revolutions", i.e. cardinal changes in the life of society.
Thus, the primitive communal system is the first in a series of formations that are distinguished by the formation approach. He refers to the history of human development as a harbinger of civilizations. Archaeological evidence suggests that at that time the proto-economy was based on 3 activities: fishing, gathering and hunting. The main tools were so primitive that with their help it was impossible to develop other types of activities. However, permanent migration could not provide for the ever-growing needs of developing humanity. There was a need for new tools, which became the slaves. Their appearance was that fundamental change that ensured the transition to a new formation - the slave system.
In addition to the formation of a new type of society, at the same time, the rapid growth of states that have received the generic name “slaveholdings” begins.
The next turning point came at a time when the labor efficiency of slaves became so low that they had to look for a new method of functioning of the economy. They became land lease relations, gradually evolving in the countries of Europe, Asia and Russia. It should be noted that the latter has never been in the state of the first economic formation considered above. So a new stage in the development of society and the state was born - feudalism, which is distinguished by one of the main formational approach. This was made possible thanks to two factors: the concentration of large areas of land in the hands of one kind and the forced hiring of these territories by other members of society.
The fourth step was capitalist society. Formational approach to the study of history says that the emergence of this kind of association became possible only thanks to scientific and technological progress, which ensured the development of manufactories, and in the future, industry. At the same time, the author considered the so-called "sale of labor" by workers to the capitalist as a distinctive feature of capitalist society.
The peak of the development of history, according to the approach under consideration, was to be the so-called “communist society”, where everyone works, and the results of labor are shared among all members.
The presented brief description of the studied approach clearly shows that it focuses only on the advancement of the economy as the main factor in the development of society. But the formation approach to the study of history does not take into account other factors that also had a great impact on the community of people. And in contrast to it, a civilizational approach was developed that also takes into account religious, geographical, psychological and cultural aspects.
In this regard, it should be noted that, despite the solidity of the evidence put forward by the author, the formation approach to the study of history is one-sided, and when studying the past, all factors of the development of society should be taken into account.