How all spheres of society are interconnected. Social structure of society

• What are spheres of public life?
• What are the spheres of public life?
• How are different spheres of social life interconnected?

The structure of society has always interested people. Have you thought about this? For many centuries, scientists have tried to create a model, an image, with the help of which human society could be reproduced for study. It was represented in the form of a pyramid, a clock mechanism, and was likened to a branchy tree.

Spheres of society

Society is intelligently structured. Each of its spheres (parts) performs its functions and satisfies certain needs of people. Remember what the needs are.

Spheres of public life are areas of social life in which the most important needs of people are satisfied.

Scientists identify four main spheres of public life: economic, political, social and spiritual. This division is arbitrary, but it helps to better navigate the diversity of social phenomena.

The economic sphere includes firms, enterprises, factories, banks, markets, mines, etc. That is, everything that allows society to produce a quantity of goods and services that will satisfy the vital material needs of people - food, housing, clothing, leisure, etc. .d.

The main task of the economic sphere is to organize the activities of large groups of people in the production, consumption (purchase and use of what was purchased for their own purposes) and distribution of goods and services.

The entire population participates in economic life. Children, pensioners, and disabled people for the most part are not producers of material goods. But they participate in exchange - when they buy goods in a store, distribution - when they receive pensions and benefits, and, of course, in the consumption of material goods. You are not yet creating material wealth, but you are actively consuming them.

The political sphere includes the state and government bodies. In Russia, these are the President, government, parliament (Federal Assembly), local authorities, army, police, tax and customs services, as well as political parties. The main task of the political sphere is to ensure order in society and its security, resolve social conflicts, adopt new laws and monitor their implementation, protect external borders, collect taxes, etc.

The social sphere includes everyday relationships between citizens, as well as relationships between large social groups of society: peoples, classes, etc.

The social sphere also includes various institutions that support people’s livelihoods. These are shops, passenger transport, public and consumer services (housing management companies and dry cleaners), public catering (canteens and restaurants), healthcare (clinics and hospitals), communications (telephone, post office, telegraph), as well as leisure and entertainment facilities (parks culture, stadiums).

Social protection and social security bodies occupy an important place in the social sphere. They are called upon to provide social assistance to those in need: pensioners, the unemployed, large families, the disabled, and low-income people. You learned about how social assistance is provided to families in 5th grade.

The spiritual sphere includes science, education, religion and art. It includes universities and academies, research institutes, schools, museums, theaters, art galleries, cultural monuments, national artistic treasures, religious associations, etc. It is in this area that the accumulation and transfer of the spiritual wealth of society to subsequent generations is carried out, and people and entire societies find the answer to the question of the meaning of life and their existence.

What areas of public life are depicted in the photographs? Give reasons for your answer.

The relationship between the four spheres of society

So, we have identified four main areas of modern society. But this does not mean that they exist separately from each other. On the contrary, they are closely related and influence each other. For example, if the country’s economy does not fulfill its tasks, does not provide the population with a sufficient number of goods and services, and does not expand the number of jobs, then the standard of living declines sharply, there is not enough money to pay salaries and pensions, unemployment appears, and crime increases. Thus, success in one, economic, area affects well-being in another, social.

Economics can also greatly influence politics; there are many examples of this in history.

Further Reading

The Byzantine Empire and Iran waged long-term wars with each other over which of them would collect duties from merchants driving caravans along the Great Silk Road. As a result, they exhausted their strength in these wars, and the Arabs took advantage of this, who seized most of their possessions from the Byzantine emperors, and conquered Iran entirely.

Explain how this example shows the relationship between the economic and political spheres.

The social sphere is directly related to political life. Changes in the political sphere, for example a change of power, the arrival of other politicians to govern the state, can worsen people's living conditions. But feedback is also possible. The reason for the change of power was often the indignation of the popular masses over the deterioration of their situation. For example, the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist also because the taxes set by the emperor were unbearably high for his subjects and they preferred the power of the barbarian kings to the imperial one.

Let's sum it up

There are four spheres of public life: economic, political, social and spiritual. Spheres of public life satisfy the basic needs of people and are closely interconnected with each other.

Basic terms and concepts

Spheres of society: economic, political, social, spiritual.

Test your knowledge

1. What areas can society be divided into? Give a brief description of each area of ​​society. What is their significance for society?
2. Explain how different areas of society influence each other. When answering, use the diagram on p. 20.
3. What do you think is the most important area of ​​society? Explain your answer.

Workshop

Quiet my homeland!
Willows, river, nightingales...
My mother is buried here
During my childhood...

Where I swam for fish
Hay is rowed into the hayloft:
Between river bends
People dug a canal.

Tina is now a swamp
Where I loved to swim...
My quiet homeland
I haven't forgotten anything.

New fence in front of the school
The same green space.
Like a cheerful crow
I'll sit on the fence again!

My school is wooden!..
The time will come to leave -
The river behind me is foggy
He will run and run...

Society is a dynamic system of human interaction. This is one of the definitions. The key word in it is system, that is, a complex mechanism that consists of spheres of social life. There are four such areas in science:

• Political.
• Economic.
• Social.
• Spiritual.

All of them are not isolated from each other, but, on the contrary, are interconnected. We will look at examples of interaction in more detail in this article.

Political sphere

Spheres are areas in which the basic needs of society are satisfied.

Political includes bodies of state power and administration, as well as various political institutions. It is directly related to the apparatuses of coercion and suppression, which legitimately use force with the approval of the entire society. satisfies the needs for safety, security, and maintaining law and order.

These include:

• The president.
• Government.
• Local government authorities.
• Strong structure.
• Political parties and associations.
• Local government bodies.

Economic sphere

The economic sphere is designed to satisfy the material needs of society. If only adult citizens take part in political life, then absolutely everyone, including the elderly and children, takes part in political life. All people are consumers from an economic point of view, which means they are direct participants in market relations.

Key concepts in the economic sphere:

• Production.
• Exchange.
• Consumption.

Firms, plants, factories, mines, banks, etc. participate in production.

Interaction between the political and economic spheres

Let us give examples of interaction between spheres of society. The State Duma of the Russian Federation adopts laws that all citizens are required to comply with. Some adopted regulations may affect changes in economic sectors. For example, licensing of certain types of activities leads to an increase in the price of certain products due to additional costs associated with innovation.

Specific examples of interaction between spheres of society can be illustrated in the light of recent events. International economic sanctions were introduced against the Russian Federation. In response, the authorities of our country introduced counter-sanctions. As a result, some European food products and medicines do not reach the Russian market. This led to the following consequences:

• Rising prices of products.
• The absence on the shelves of many products, analogues of which are not produced in Russia.
• Development of some sectors of the economy: livestock farming, horticulture, etc.

But it is a mistake to believe that only power influences business; sometimes the opposite happens. Opposite examples of interaction between spheres of society, when economists dictate conditions to politicians, can be cited in the practice of lobbying for laws. A recent example is the so-called Rotenberg law in Russia, according to which millionaires subject to Western sanctions will be paid compensation from the state budget.

Social sphere

The social sphere satisfies the needs of society in education, medicine, services, leisure and entertainment. It includes everyday communication between citizens and large groups of people.

Political and social spheres

Politics can affect the social life of a country. The following examples of interaction between spheres of society can be given. Local city authorities have banned the opening of any entertainment establishments: clubs, night bars and cafes in one of the criminal areas on the outskirts of the city. As a result, the crime rate has fallen, but residents have to travel longer to get to places of recreation and entertainment.

The following example: in a crisis, a district municipality is experiencing a crisis. In order to reduce costs, it decides to close one of the schools. As a result, there is a reduction in teaching staff, children are transported to another locality every day, and money is saved on the maintenance of facilities, since by law all costs for their maintenance fall on local authorities.

Social and economic spheres

The economic development of a country greatly influences social life. Here are just some examples of interaction between spheres of society. The financial crisis reduced real incomes of the population. Citizens began to spend less on entertainment and leisure, limiting trips to paid parks, sports clubs, stadiums, and cafes. The loss of customers led to the ruin of many companies.

There is also a relationship between politics, economics and social development of a country. Let us give examples of interaction between spheres of society. Instability in the Middle East and the weakening of the ruble exchange rate by half, coupled with active development, have led to many canceling traditional trips to Egypt and Turkey and starting to vacation in Russia.

This example can be broken down into its components:

• Political - instability in the Middle East, government measures to increase domestic tourism.
• Economic - the devaluation of the ruble led to a significant increase in prices for trips to Turkey and Egypt while maintaining domestic prices.
• Social - tourism refers specifically to this area.

Spiritual realm

Many people mistakenly assume that the spiritual realm refers to religion. This misconception comes from a history course, where church reforms of certain periods are discussed under the relevant topics. In fact, although religion belongs to the spiritual sphere, it is not its only component.

In addition to this, this includes:

• The science.
• Education.
• Culture.

As for education, the most attentive readers will ask a fair question that we previously classified it as a social area when we examined examples of interaction between spheres of society. But spiritual education refers to education as a process, and not as an interaction between people. For example, going to school, communicating with peers, teachers - all this relates to the social area. Gaining knowledge, socialization (education), self-realization and self-improvement is a process of spiritual life that is designed to satisfy the needs for knowledge and improvement.

Spiritual and political spheres

Sometimes politics is influenced by religion. Let us give examples of interaction between the spheres. Today Iran is a religious state: all internal policies and laws are adopted exclusively in the interests of Shiite Muslims.

Let us give a historical example of interaction between spheres of society. After the October Revolution of 1917, many churches were blown up, and religion was recognized as “the opium of the people,” that is, a harmful drug that must be gotten rid of. Many priests were killed, churches were destroyed, and in their place warehouses, shops, mills, etc. were formed. This also affected social life: there was a spiritual decline in the population, people stopped honoring traditions, did not register marriages in churches, as a result of which unions began to disintegrate . In fact, this led to the destruction of the institution of family and marriage. The wedding witness was not God, but man, which, we agree, is a huge difference for a believer. This continued until the Great Patriotic War, until Stalin officially restored the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church on legal grounds.

Spiritual and economic spheres

Economic development also affects the spiritual life of the country. What examples of interaction between spheres of society prove this? Psychologists note that during periods of economic crises, a depressed state of the population is observed. Many people lose their jobs, their savings, their companies go bankrupt - all this leads to psychological problems. But in Russia the practice of private psychologists is not developed, as, for example, in the USA. Therefore, religious sects arise that draw “lost souls” into their networks, from which it is sometimes very difficult to escape.

Another example is South Korea. The lack of minerals and other resources influenced the fact that this country began to develop science and tourism. This has yielded results - today this country is a leader in the field of electronics and is one of the ten most developed countries in the world. Politics, economics and social development collided here at once.

Spiritual and social spheres

The line between spiritual and social life is very thin, but we will try to clarify it through examples of interaction between spheres of social life. Students attending school, entering college - all these are relationships between two spheres, as people communicate (social) and perform various rituals (spiritual).

Examples of interaction between spheres of society from history

Let's remember a little history. It also contains examples of interaction between different spheres of society. Take Stolypin's reforms at the beginning of the 20th century. In Russia, the community was abolished, Peasant Banks were created, which issued loans to settlers, they provided preferential travel at the expense of the state, and created a small infrastructure in Siberia. As a result, thousands of peasants from the land-poor South and the Volga region flocked to the East, where the treasured hectares of free land awaited them. All these measures allowed:

• to alleviate peasant landlessness in the central provinces;
• to develop the empty lands of Siberia;
• feed people with bread and replenish the state budget with taxes in the future.

This serves as a striking example of the interaction between politics, economics and social life of the country.

Another situation is the dispossession of peasants, as a result of which many hardworking rational owners were left without a livelihood, and their place was taken by parasites from the poor committees. As a result, many died of starvation and rural farming was destroyed. This example shows the impact of ill-considered political decisions on the economy and social life.

Interaction between spheres of society: examples from the media

“Channel One” announced that the Russian authorities had made a decision to bomb terrorists, which is prohibited in Russia. Islamic State". Federal Channel also reported that the authorities intend to resume negotiations on the Turkish gas pipeline to Europe.

All information is from a source that relates to It illustrates examples of interaction between different spheres of society. In the first case, political and social, since the decision of the leadership of our country will lead to consequences in the Middle East. History c shows the relationship between politics and economics. The agreement between the countries will develop the gas industry and replenish the budgets of both countries.

Conclusion

Examples of interaction between spheres of society prove that we live in a complex system. A change in one subsystem necessarily affects others. All spheres are interconnected, but none of the four is the main, dominant one on which all the others depend.

Law acts as a superstructure. It is not included in any of the four, but it does not stand out in the fifth. The right is the fastening instrument above them.

Society - a special system of objective reality, a specific, social form of the movement of matter. The uniqueness of this subsystem of existence lies primarily in the fact that the history of society is made by people.

It is logical to begin a structural analysis of society as a complex system by identifying the largest complex parts, called subsystems. Such subsystems in society are the so-called spheres of public life, which are parts of society, the limits of which are determined by the influence of certain social relations.

Traditionally, social scientists identify the following main spheres of society:

Economic sphere- a system of economic relations that arises and is reproduced in the process of material production. The basis of economic relations and the most important factor determining their specificity is the method of production and distribution of material goods in society.

Social sphere- a system of social relations, i.e. relations between groups of people occupying different positions in the social structure of society. The study of the social sphere involves considering the horizontal and vertical differentiation of society, identifying large and small social groups, studying their structures, forms of implementation of social control in these groups, analyzing the system of social connections, as well as social processes occurring at the intra- and intergroup level.

Political sphere(political-legal) - a system of political and legal relations that arise in society and reflect the attitude of the state towards its citizens and their groups, citizens towards the existing government, as well as relations between political groups (parties) and political mass movements. Thus, the political sphere of society reflects the relations between people and social groups, the emergence of which is determined by the state.

Spiritual realm(spiritual and moral) - a system of relations between people, reflecting the spiritual and moral life of society, represented by such subsystems as culture, science, religion, morality, ideology, art. The significance of the spiritual sphere is determined by its priority function as a system of values ​​of society, which, in turn, reflects the level of development of social consciousness and its intellectual and moral potential. It should be noted that an unambiguous division of the spheres of society is possible only within the framework of its theoretical analysis, but in real life they are characterized by their close relationship, interdependence and mutual intersection (which is reflected in the names, for example, socio-economic relations). That is why the most important task of social science is to achieve the integrity of scientific understanding and explanation of the patterns of functioning and development of the social system as a whole.

45. Social structure of society.

Modern philosophy views society as a collection of various parts and elements that are closely related to each other and constantly interact, therefore society exists as a separate integral organism, as a single system. The structure of society includes such elements associal groups and communities and social institutions and organizations.

The most important elements of the social structure of society are social groups and social communities. Acting as forms of social interaction, they represent a unity of people that are aimed at satisfying their need for joint, solidary, coordinated actions. People realize the benefits and advantages of such associations, therefore they more or less closely unite into groups and communities, usually achieving significantly greater results than with individual actions. There are many such associations in every society.

In a broad sense social structure of society- this is a system of basic social spheres at all(economic, political, spiritual, etc.), in a narrow sense - the structure of a certain specific society, that is, specific social groups and their relationships.

Basic components of social structure: individual, community(group, class, stratum, etc. with common characteristics - gender, return, property, education, profession, etc.), social institution(a system of bodies, mechanisms and norms regulating social relations).

Traditional types of social structures(differ in component composition):

- ethnic(clan, tribe, nationality and nation): as societies develop, consanguineous unity is replaced by socio-territorial unity, supported by a common territory, economic life, culture, psychological make-up, language, national identity;

- demographic(population of a region, country, region, continent, planet): the most important demographic indicators - numbers, density, growth rates, gender and age structure, migration mobility of the population;

- settlement(types of settlements: rural and urban): these types differ in their way of life, living conditions, nature of work, leisure, and opportunities to satisfy spiritual needs. Nowadays the urban part is growing at the expense of the rural part;

- social class(classes differ in MORS: M eating in the production system, ABOUT attitude towards the means of production, R Olya in labor organization, WITH method and amount of income received);

- stratification(multidimensional system of differentiation of the population by class, layer and group): there are two types of mobility: horizontal (within the same stratum) and vertical (with a change in stratum, status);

- vocational and educational: groups are divided by level of education and profession.

Society is a rather complex concept, and several definitions can be given to it. In the first case, it is a group of people who are united by similar interests and joint activities. Society can also be called a part of the material world, which is closely connected with nature, but is not a subspecies of it. Society consists of individuals with their ways of organizing activities.

Society is a dynamic system, constantly evolving. It is complex, that is, it consists of a large number of elements and components. To study a society as a whole, it is necessary to study each of its components.

There are four systems of society: economic, political, social and spiritual. These spheres are closely interconnected; without one of them, the others could not exist.

Social sphere

Covers social communities and the connections between them. This area also includes ensuring a high-quality standard of living for the population: payment of pensions and benefits, free education and medical services.

The main subject of study in this area is man as a social being. No individual can exist without society, just as it cannot exist without him. Throughout his life, a person performs several social roles and has a certain status. The social status of a person is determined by the position a person occupies in society in accordance with his gender, age, profession, and lifestyle. Status presupposes that a person fulfills certain duties.

The status assigned to a person from birth is called innate: These are gender, age, race. People born into a family with good material income find it much easier to build their careers than those who are poorer. But a greater place is occupied by acquired statuses - those that a person receives throughout his life: education, hard work.

Status determines what its bearer can and should do in a particular situation and what not. The framework for its activities is established.

No less important is the concept of prestige - a certain popularity that a particular field of activity enjoys in society. The more expensive a person’s profession is paid, the more prestigious it is.

A social role is a prescription for behavior corresponding to the status. Each person has his own role set - a set of roles he performs. Boy or girl, son or daughter, student or worker - all these are social roles. They can change throughout life (pupil - student - worker) or remain unchanged (son - daughter).

An important element of the social sphere is the division of society into groups - social stratification. Its main types are slavery (one person is the property of another), castes (a closed group of people who are related by origin; typical for a number of Asian countries), classes (a closed group of people, the position in society in which is determined by the presence of certain rights and responsibilities that pass through inheritance) and class (a closed group, the position in society in which is directly related to the attitude towards private property). When there is social stratification, there is also inequality - conditions under which people have unequal access to material goods.

In the modern world, strata are conventionally identified that determine a person’s position. These include education, income, power and prestige. Transition between strata is possible, the level of social mobility (horizontal and vertical) is very high. Social elevators have a particular impact on mobility; they allow you to move from one stratum to another in the shortest possible period of time. Social elevators are the army, church, marriage, family, school and much more.

People who came from one social class, but for some reason did not join another, are called marginals, that is, non-class individuals. They are free from stereotypes and depend only on themselves, and do not bother with work.

A social institution is a stable form of organization of joint human activity. There are several main institutions and their functions: family (reproductive function - reproduction of the family), state (ensuring law and order and security), education (educational function, obtaining new knowledge, primary socialization), religion (solving spiritual problems, searching for the meaning of life). The task of social institutions is to satisfy human needs. Its primary, that is, the most necessary for successful life, is considered to be the need for food, drink, clothing, housing, and communication.

Social values ​​are abstract: pity, mutual assistance, kindness - they cannot be measured or touched.

Social norms regulate behavior in society. These include legal norms, that is, norms established legally (laws, regulations), morality (the concept of good and evil), religious (the Bible says: “thou shalt not kill”, “thou shalt not steal”) and technical (when they explain to a small child , that it is dangerous to stick your fingers into a socket).

All people interact with each other in one way or another. At the same time, they are obliged to respect the opinions and interests of others and be tolerant. In the absence of this quality, conflicts begin, the most severe and dangerous form of which are interethnic conflicts. Each ethnic group, in addition to a specific territory, language, politics and economy, has its own national culture. The culture of each ethnic group is unique, and we must try to preserve it for posterity. Each culture can be expressed by mentality - national character.

It regulates the relationship between government and society. This system is dynamic: it does not stand still and is constantly evolving.

Politics covers not only the power of the ruler, but also his opposition and their relationship with the people. These are political views and ideas; legal culture and political relations, legal and political values ​​and norms. In addition, the political sphere has communication – it connects all layers of society.

The functions of politics are so extensive that they cover all aspects of human life.

— Legislation – issuing laws and regulating their implementation

— Formation of the political consciousness of people and manipulation of the masses - with the help of Mass Media: newspapers, magazines, television and radio broadcasting

— Determination of tasks and development paths and their implementation to the masses

— Coordination of the interests of society with the interests of the state

The traditional form of government is a monarchy, in which power is inherited. Monarchy can be absolute, when the power of the ruler is unlimited, and limited (constitutional and parliamentary). In a republican form of government, the ruler is elected for a certain term, this can be the president or parliament.

The political regime indicates the ways of organizing power in the state. The most “free” regime is a democratic regime. Power is concentrated in the hands of the people, they are its source. Democracy is a mandatory separation of powers (legislative, judicial and executive), equality of all citizens before the law and universal suffrage. Decisions are made by the majority, taking into account the opinions of the minority, as well as political pluralism - freedom of opinions and views, a large number of parties, the existence of an opposition.

Totalitarian and unitary regimes are considered undemocratic. The state intervenes in public life (under authoritarianism only in economics and politics, under totalitarianism - including personal life), the participation of the people is minimal, there is a single ideology, sometimes even a cult of personality.

The Mass Media has a great influence on politics: thanks to their activities, the attitude of citizens towards the government of the state and their choice when voting change. The media have a great influence on a person and regulate his consciousness. Many even call the media the “fourth estate” - their influence is so great.

The media carry out assessment of information and comments on it, political socialization (attracting people to the political sphere, increasing political activity), representing the interests of various groups and public associations.

The media rarely reports on boring meetings or unimportant legislation. Most often they bring people sensational statements, emergencies and reports of previously unknown phenomena. Such news attracts the average reader and increases their political culture and introduces them to the values ​​of politics.

All thoughts and feelings of a person associated with his political participation are called political consciousness. The political consciousness formed in each person and reflecting what he remembers in everyday life is called ordinary. Political feelings, experiences, and the role of the individual in politics fall under the consideration of political psychology. Political psychology is formed on the basis of interaction between citizens and the state.

A holistic set of ideas and perceptions that serve as the basis for political action is called ideology. The twentieth century was dominated by communist ideology, with Marx's ideas of revolutionary violence coming to the fore. Joseph Stalin continued the development of this ideology and the idea of ​​world revolution was born. The leadership of the proletariat, the establishment of a dictatorial regime, the reconstruction of society on the principles of equality and justice - these are the main ideas of communism.

It regulates relationships between people that arise in the sphere of goods and services. They include production, consumption, exchange and distribution of material goods.

Economics is understood as a science that studies how people use the goods they have. All resources that people use in the process of their activities are called factors of production. The main factors of production are labor (the activity of people to produce material goods), land (all types of natural resources), capital (buildings and structures, money), entrepreneurship (the ability to correctly evaluate and build one’s production).

Unfortunately, in the modern world there is a problem of limited resources. This problem is due to the fact that people are not able to rationally use what they have been given. Man's desires are limitless; they have long exceeded his primary needs. And to satisfy most of them, a much larger supply of resources is needed than is currently available.

The economic system is represented by three main types of economy: traditional, command and market.

The traditional economic system, although inherent in pre-industrial (traditional) society, is also manifested in the modern world - many people have vegetable gardens, dachas - subsistence farming.

The command system completely denies the existence of private property; all property is state property. Each enterprise operates according to a specific plan (how many and what products need to be produced in a certain period of time), established by the authorities.

The market economy plays the most important role in the economic sphere. It is based on the right of private property, the development of competition, and economic freedom. The state does not interfere in the market economy; it only regulates and protects it through laws.

Spiritual culture is the process of mastering culture, science, and religion. It determines the value and moral qualities of society, reflects its level and quality of development.

The very first stage of spiritual development of society is morality. It can be compared to a legal custom, not enshrined in laws, but constituting its basis. Moral norms reflect the basic values ​​of society, the measure of its aesthetic and religious development.

Culture can be divided into material (sculptures, architectural buildings) and spiritual (achievements of science and art). Innovation in culture is impossible without continuity: authors, creating their creations, rely on the achievements of the past.

The inner spiritual life of each individual is considered his spiritual world. A person who does not have a spiritual world is called unspiritual. There is a huge difference between people who regularly visit theaters and various exhibitions and who deny art as such.

Culture is one of the highest human values. It is focused on the concepts of goodness and evil, truth and beauty. Patriotism is also important - love for the Motherland.

A person’s views on the world around him constitute his worldview - a holistic idea of ​​nature, man, society, and personal ideals. A worldview can be based on faith in God, focused on man or science, nature.

Art is the comprehension of beauty. It's a moving wheel whose vantage point is constantly changing. Art was created in order to overcome the possibilities of communication between individual nations.

Was last modified: January 12th, 2016 by Elena Pogodaeva

The structure of society has interested people at all times. For many centuries, scientists have tried to find a model, an image with the help of which human society could be reproduced. It was represented in the form of a pyramid, a clock mechanism, a branchy tree.

Modern scientists argue that society is an integral, naturally functioning and developing system. The word “system” is of Greek origin and means a whole made up of parts, a totality. So, A system is a collection of interconnected elements, each of which performs a specific task.

Society as a social system is a holistic entity, the main element of which is people, their connections, interactions and relationships, which are sustainable and pass from generation to generation.

In this case, society can be compared to a giant organism, and just as a living organism has a heart, arms, legs, brain, nervous system, so in society there are certain mechanisms for influencing the environment - its own control center for various processes and means of communication. And just as various life support systems function in a living organism, so in society each of its “organs” performs only its own function. Finally, just as in an organism several interconnected levels of its vital activity can be distinguished, depending on the significance of each of them for the whole organism (nervous system, circulatory and digestive systems, metabolism, etc.), so in society it is possible to isolate specific levels ( in scientific literature, more often - “spheres”) of his life activity - economic, social, political and spiritual.

Economic sphere- this is the area of ​​economic activity of society, the area of ​​​​creating material wealth. Being one of the main subsystems of society, it can also be considered as an independent system. The elements of the economic sphere are material needs, economic goods (goods) that satisfy these needs, economic resources (sources of production of goods), economic entities (individuals or organizations). The economic sphere is firms, enterprises, factories, banks, markets, flows of money and investment, capital turnover, etc. In other words, what allows society to put into production the resources at its disposal (land, labor, capital and management ) and create such a quantity of goods and services that will satisfy the vital needs of people for food, housing, leisure, etc.

50–60% of the population, who are called the economically active population, directly participates in the economic life of society: workers, employees, entrepreneurs, bankers, etc. Indirectly, 100% of people living in a given territory participate in it, since everyone is consumers of goods and services created directly participants in the economic process. Pensioners have already left production, but children have not yet entered it. They do not create material values, but they consume them.

Political sphere- this is the area of ​​implementation of relations of power and subordination between people, the area of ​​​​society management. The main elements of the political system of society are political organizations and institutions (state, political parties, public organizations, the media), norms of political behavior and political culture, and political ideologies. The main elements of the political system of modern Russian society are the president and the presidential apparatus, the government and parliament (Federal Assembly), their apparatus, local authorities (provincial, regional), the army, the police, the tax and customs service. All together they make up the state.

The political sphere also includes political parties that are not part of the state. The main task of the state is to ensure social order in society, resolve conflicts between partners, for example between workers, trade unions and employers, establish new laws and ensure their strict implementation by all structures, prevent political coups, protect the external borders and sovereignty of the country, collect taxes and provide money from institutions of the social and cultural spheres, etc. The main function of the political sphere is to legitimize the methods of struggle for power and protect it. The task of parties is to express the diversity of political interests of various, often opposing, groups of the population through channels established by law.

Social sphere- this is the area of ​​​​the emergence and functioning of relationships between people. The social sphere is understood in two senses - broad and narrow - and, depending on this, covers different volumes of social space.

The social sphere of society in a broad sense is a set of organizations and institutions responsible for the well-being of the population. In this case, this includes shops, passenger transport, public and consumer services (housing offices and dry cleaners), public catering (canteens and restaurants), healthcare, communications (telephone, post office, telegraph), as well as leisure and entertainment institutions (cultural parks, stadiums) ). In this meaning, the social sphere covers almost all strata and classes - from the rich and middle to the poor.

The social sphere in a narrow sense means only socially vulnerable segments of the population and institutions serving them: pensioners, the unemployed, low-income people, large families, disabled people, as well as social protection and social security agencies (including social insurance) of both local and federal subordination.

The social system consists of social groups, social connections, social institutions, social norms, and values ​​of social culture.

TO spiritual sphere include morality, religion, science, education, culture. Its components are schools, museums, theaters, art galleries, media, cultural monuments and national artistic treasures, and the church.

Society consists of a huge number of elements and subsystems that are in constant interaction. The connections between subsystems and elements of society can be illustrated with various examples. Thus, the study of the distant past of mankind allowed scientists to conclude that the moral relations of people in primitive conditions were built on collectivist principles, that is, in modern language, priority was always given to the collective rather than to the individual.

It is also known that the moral norms that existed among many tribes in those archaic times allowed the killing of weak members of the clan - sick children, old people, and even cannibalism. Have these ideas and views of people about the limits of what is morally permissible been influenced by the real material conditions of their existence? The answer is clear. The need to collectively obtain material wealth, the doom of a person who has become separated from his family to quick death - in this we should look for the origins of collectivist morality. Also, from the standpoint of the struggle for existence and survival, people did not consider it immoral to free themselves from those who could become a burden to the collective.

The connection between legal norms and socio-economic relations is clearly visible. Let us turn to known historical facts. One of the first sets of laws of Kievan Rus, called “Russian Truth,” provides for various punishments for murder. In this case, the measure of punishment was determined primarily by a person’s place in the system of hierarchical relations, his belonging to one or another social stratum or group. Thus, the fine for killing a tiun (steward) was enormous: it was equal to the value of a herd of 80 oxen or 400 rams. The life of a stinker or serf was valued 16 times less.

Society is in continuous movement and development. Since ancient times, thinkers have thought about the question: in what direction is society developing? Can its movement be likened to cyclical changes in nature?

Development direction, which is characterized by a transition from lower to higher, from less perfect to more perfect, is called progress. Accordingly, social progress is a transition to a higher level of the material state of society and the spiritual development of the individual. An important sign of social progress is the tendency towards human liberation.

The following criteria of social progress are distinguished:

1) growth in the well-being and social security of people;

2) weakening confrontation between people;

3) approval of democracy;

4) growth of morality and spirituality of society;

5) improvement of human relations;

6) the measure of freedom that society is able to provide to an individual, the degree of individual freedom guaranteed by society.

If we made an attempt to graphically depict the development of society, we would get not an ascending straight line, but a broken line, reflecting ups and downs, accelerated movement forward and giant leaps back. We are talking about the second direction of development - regression.

Regression - development along a descending line, the transition from higher to lower. For example, the period of fascism was a period of regression in world history: millions of people died, various peoples were enslaved, and many monuments of world culture were destroyed.

But it’s not just about such turns of history. Society is a complex organism in which various spheres function, many processes occur simultaneously, and a variety of human activities unfold. All these parts of one social mechanism and all these processes and activities are interconnected and at the same time may not coincide in their development. Moreover, individual processes and changes occurring in different areas of society can be multidirectional, i.e. progress in one area may be accompanied by regression in another.

Thus, throughout history, technical progress is clearly visible - from stone tools to the most complex computer-controlled machines, from pack animals to cars, trains and airplanes. At the same time, technological progress leads to the destruction of nature, to the undermining of the natural conditions of human existence, which, of course, is a regression.

In addition to the directions, there are also forms of development of society.

The most common form of social development is evolution - gradual and smooth changes in social life that occur naturally. The nature of evolution is gradual, continuous, ascending. Evolution is divided into successive stages or phases, none of which can be skipped. For example, the evolution of science and technology.

Under certain conditions, public changes occur in the form of revolution - these are rapid, qualitative changes, a radical revolution in the life of society. Revolutionary changes are radical and fundamental. Revolutions can be long or short-term, in one or several states, in one area. If a revolution affects all levels and spheres of society - economics, politics, culture, social organization, everyday life of people, then it is called social. Such revolutions evoke strong emotions and mass activity among people. An example is the Russian revolution of 1917.

Social changes also occur in the form of reform - this is a set of measures aimed at transforming and changing certain aspects of social life. For example, economic reform, education reform.

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