According to one of the most popular classifications, the following types of society are distinguished : traditional, industrial, and post-industrial. Traditional society is the first form of organization of human relations at the time of historical development. This social order is at the first stage of development and is characterized by a number of the following features.
First of all, a traditional society is a society whose life is based on agriculture (subsistence) farming using extensive technologies and primitive craft. It is characteristic of the period of the Ancient world and the Middle Ages. It is believed that almost any society that existed from the primitive community to the start of the industrial revolution is traditional.
The tools used during this period are manual. Their improvement and modernization took place at a very slow, almost imperceptible pace of natural forced evolution. The economic system was based on the use of natural resources, it was dominated by subsistence farming, mining, construction, and trade.
The social system of society of this type is class-corporate, it is stable and motionless for centuries. There are several classes that do not change for a long time, while maintaining the static and unchanging nature of life. In many traditional societies, commodity relations are generally not characteristic or are so poorly developed that they are focused only on meeting the needs of a small layer of the social elite.
Traditional society signs have the following. It is characterized by the complete domination of religion in the spiritual sphere. Human life is considered the implementation of divine providence. The most important quality of a person is collectivism, a sense of belonging to his class, a close relationship with the land where he was born. Individualism is not peculiar to people yet. At this time, spiritual life was more significant for a person than material.
The rules of life in a team, coexistence with neighbors, and attitude to power were determined by traditions. A person acquired status at birth. The social structure was interpreted exclusively from the point of view of religion, and therefore, the attitude to power was provided by an explanation of the divine purpose of the government to fulfill its role in society. The head of state enjoyed undeniable authority and played a paramount role in society. Such a society is not characterized by mobility.
A traditional society is characterized demographically with a high birth rate and an equally high mortality rate, as well as a rather low life expectancy.
Examples of traditional societies today are the lifestyles of most countries in North and North-East Africa (Ethiopia, Algeria), Southeast Asia (Vietnam).
In Russia, a society of this type lasted until the mid-19th century. Despite this, by the beginning of the century, it was one of the largest and most influential countries in the world, had the status of a great power.
The main spiritual values that a traditional society has are traditions, the culture of their ancestors. Cultural life was focused primarily on the past: respect for ancestors, worship of cultural monuments and works of previous eras. Culture is characterized by homogeneity, an orientation toward one’s own traditions and a rather categorical rejection of alternative cultures of other peoples.
Many researchers believe that traditional society is characterized by a culture of lack of choice. The worldview dominating in society and stable traditions provide a person with a ready-made clear system of values and spiritual guidelines. Therefore, the surrounding world is understandable to man and does not cause unnecessary questions.