The most important, if not decisive role in the development of human civilization has always been played by ideologies and beliefs that dominated at different times on the territory of powers and states. The history of political and legal doctrines has dozens of ideological doctrines that were created by great figures in order to transform society and improve it. It is noteworthy that almost always the great minds of mankind sought to find the path of development of society that would be distinguished by justice, freedom and human rights. It was for them that people fought from time immemorial, which in the relatively recent past led to revolutionary transformations of the late XIX-early XX centuries.
Today, the history of political and legal doctrines is one of the historical disciplines that are studied in higher education institutions at law and law faculties. The school curriculum also touches on the most important aspects of the formation of a particular political system, as a result of which each person already from school can draw parallels between one or another doctrine and the speed of development of science and technology.
If we touch on the earliest theories of antiquity, then we should start from the ancient East, since it was there, according to official history, that the origin of our civilization took place. A characteristic feature of the entire worldview of that era was the religious dogma, according to which all inexplicable things and concepts were correlated with the divine vision of the world. Life at that time was quite complicated, since tyranny and despotism, which was based on fear and complete submission to the rest of society, were a form of government in all states.
However, the history of political and legal doctrines has proved to us that this way of government was eventually replaced by more loyal regimes of governments that switched from a slave system to a feudal one. You need to understand that this happened not just like that, but as a result of the gradual development of the consciousness of society, as people became more developed and informed. However, the feudal system was also based on injustice in relation to the main part of the population, which in fact continued to remain completely dependent on the will of the rulers. Only with the Renaissance begins a bright period in the development of society, which begins to gradually move away from medieval religious fanaticism, and turns to scientific discoveries in various fields of activity. At the turn of the 16th-17th centuries, the first universities began to appear, which gradually formed a new enlightened society. From that moment on, the history of legal and political doctrines begins to closely study the many currents and trends that are intensively appearing throughout Western Europe. There is an active study of natural phenomena, new continents and countries are opening up, cultures of different nations gradually begin to penetrate each other, gradually forming a system of interaction between all people based on respect for the rights and freedoms of every person. As a result of this process, a common legal framework is being formed and many come to the correct conclusion that the principle of respect for the rights and freedoms of another person should be the basis of all relations, both between states and between individuals.
The history of political and legal doctrines includes the works of such great figures as Nicolo Machiavelli, Thomas Mann, Grotius, John Locke, Thomas Morr, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and many others. In the XX century, a particularly important role was played by the struggle of the famous politician Martin Luther King for the equality of the black population in the United States. The great Indian preacher and public figure Mahatma Gandhi in the last century also stood in the way of humanism, having a significant impact on world history.
The Second World War showed that, despite all the efforts of society at the beginning of the twentieth century, almost the entire civilized world was drawn into the most bloody war in the history of mankind, which killed hundreds of millions of people.
Political and legal doctrines of the second half of the twentieth century are distinguished mainly by the strengthening of humanistic tendencies, as well as the intensification of the struggle for the rights and freedoms of people in different countries. However, despite all the efforts of the world community, we see that modern civilization is in constant tension and various military conflicts prove once again that there are still a large number of unresolved questions that modern society should find the right answers to.