The activity of the individual (the subject of the relationship) is the transmission of a signal to the subject of the relationship (the object of influence) in the interdependence of establishing (perceiving) a norm.
Approaches to defining the concept of personal activity[ | ]
The term activity is widely used in various fields of science, both independently and as an additional term in various combinations. Moreover, in some cases it has become so familiar that independent concepts have formed. For example, such as: active person, active life position, active learning, activist, active element of the system. The concept of activity has acquired such a broad meaning that, with a more careful approach, its use requires clarification.
The Russian language dictionary gives a commonly used definition of “active” as active, energetic, developing. In literature and everyday speech, the concept of “activity” is often used as a synonym for the concept of “activity”. In a physiological sense, the concept of “activity” is traditionally considered as a universal characteristic of living beings, their own dynamics. As a source of transformation or maintenance of vital connections with the outside world. How is the property of living organisms to respond to external stimuli. In this case, activity is correlated with activity, revealing itself as its dynamic condition, as a property of its own movement. In living beings, activity changes in accordance with evolutionary development processes. Human activity acquires special significance as the most important quality of personality, as the ability to change the surrounding reality in accordance with one’s own needs, views, and goals. (A.V. Petrovsky, M.G. Yaroshevsky, 1990).
Great importance is attached to the “principle of activity”. N.A. Bernstein (), introducing this principle into psychology, represented its essence in postulating the determining role of the internal program in the acts of vital activity of the organism. In human actions, there are unconditioned reflexes, when movement is directly caused by an external stimulus, but this is, as it were, a degenerate case of activity. In all other cases, the external stimulus only triggers the decision-making program, and the movement itself is to one degree or another connected with the person’s internal program. In the case of complete dependence on it, we are dealing with so-called “voluntary” acts, when the initiative to begin and the content of the movement are set from within the body.
Based on the analysis of specialists’ positions, a number of common essential signs of personality activity are identified. These include ideas about activity as:
- form of activity, indicating the essential unity of the concepts of activity and activity;
- activities to which a person has his own internal attitude, which reflects the person’s individual experience;
- personally significant activity: a form of self-expression, self-affirmation of a person on the one hand and about a person as a product of active and proactive interaction with the surrounding social environment - on the other;
- activities aimed at transforming the world around us;
- quality of personality, personal education, manifested in internal readiness for purposeful interaction with the environment, for self-activity, based on the needs and interests of the individual, characterized by the desire and desire to act, purposefulness and perseverance, energy and initiative.
The idea of activity as a form of activity allows us to assert that the main components of activity should be inherent in activity (V.N. Kruglikov, 1998). In psychology, these include: goal or purposefulness, motivation, methods and techniques by which activities are carried out, as well as awareness and emotions. Speaking about a goal, it is meant that any activity is carried out for something, that is, that it is aimed at achieving a certain goal, which is interpreted as a conscious image of the desired result and is determined by the motivation of the subject of the activity. A person, being under the influence of a complex of external and internal motives, chooses the main one, which turns into the goal of activity aimed at achieving it. Therefore, the goal can also be considered as the main conscious motive. From this it becomes clear that productive activity is motivated and conscious. However, not all motives, unlike goals, are realized by a person. This does not mean, however, that unconscious motives are not represented in human consciousness. They appear, but in a special form, in the form of emotions, as an element of the emotional component of activity. Emotions arise about events or the results of actions that are associated with motives. In activity theory, emotions are defined as a reflection of the relationship between the result of an activity and its motive. In addition, they act as one of the evaluative criteria for choosing a course of action. Methods and techniques act as an element of activity, but not simply as a means for carrying out an action to which movements are adapted, but as an element of the action scheme, as a tool that enriches the latter with an orientation towards the individual properties of the object-tool. When defining activity as a special form of activity, it is necessary to be aware of its differences and its features. As distinctive features, it is proposed to consider the intensification of the main characteristics of activity, as well as the presence of two additional properties: initiative and situationality.
Intensification reflects the fact that in all characteristics of activity elements of qualitative and quantitative assessments are clearly visible. There is an increase in the severity and intensity of its components, namely, increased awareness, subjectivity, personal significance of goals, a higher level of motivation and mastery of the subject in methods and techniques of activity, and increased emotional coloring.
Initiative is understood as initiative, internal motivation for activity, enterprise and their manifestation in human activity. It is obvious that initiative is closely related and acts as a manifestation of motivation, the degree of personal significance of an activity for a person, is a manifestation of the principle of activity, indicating the internal involvement of the subject in the process of activity, the leading role of the internal plan in it. It testifies to the strong-willed, creative and psychophysical abilities of the individual. Thus, it acts as an integrative indicator of the correlation between personal characteristics and activity requirements.
The situational nature of activity can be considered as a characteristic indicating the transition of activity to a different quality - the quality of activity in the case when efforts aimed at achieving a goal exceed the normalized level of activity and are necessary to achieve it. In this case, the level of activity can be considered from two positions - external in relation to the subject and internal. In the first case, activity can correspond to a normatively defined goal or exceed it. To characterize such activity, the concepts of “supra-situational” and “super-normative activity” are used, which is understood as the ability of the subject to rise above the level of the requirements of the situation or, accordingly, the normative requirements officially presented by society. In the second case, activity is considered from the point of view of the subject and is correlated with an internally determined goal that corresponds not to external, socially determined, but to his personal internal goals. For an individual, activity is always “normative”, since it corresponds to the set goal, if it is achieved, the activity loses its energy basis - motivation and obviously cannot develop to the level of supra-situationalism. An activity that did not allow the subject to achieve the set goal is traditionally considered insufficiently active or “passive”, that is, in principle, cannot be called activity.
The level of activity, its duration, stability and other indicators depend on the consistency and optimal combinations of different components: emotional, motivational, etc. In this connection, depending on the method of connection between mental and personal levels of activity, it can acquire an optimal or suboptimal character. For example, you can maintain a certain level of activity in two ways: by overexerting all your strength, which leads to fatigue and a drop in activity, and through emotional and motivational reinforcement. It is these two approaches, for example, that distinguish traditional teaching in higher education, based on lectures and innovative forms of teaching based on active learning methods (active learning).
Notes [ | ]
The most important area and special level of human activity is social activity. Different authors interpret the concept of social activity in different ways, sometimes contrasting and sometimes confusing it with the concept of social activity (L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, S.L. Rubinstein, D.N. Uznadze, as well as G. M. Andreeva, L. I. Antsyferova, D. M. Arkhangelsky, V. T. Afanasyev, M. S. Kagan, K. K. Platonov, A. V. Petrovsky, E. Yudinidr): Despite the differences in the definition of these concepts, until now a unified approach to the concepts of “social” and “public” activity has not been established. Some people identify these concepts. So, V.G. Mordkovich uses the concept “social activity” synonymously with the concept of “social activity”. ON THE. Stepanova, for example, considers the concept of “social activity” as generic in relation to the concept of “social activity”. At the same time, A.S. Capto, on the contrary, uses the concept of “social” activity as generic in relation to the concept of “social” activity.
A.V. Brushlinsky quite rightly points out the need to “distinguish between the usually identified two concepts (and terms):
1) social;
2) public.
Always connected with the natural, the social is the universal, original and most abstract characteristic of the subject and his psyche in their universal human qualities. Social is not a synonym for social, but a more specific - typological - characteristic of infinitely different particular manifestations of universal sociality: national, cultural, etc.”
But, despite the lack of unity in the definition of the concept “ social activity", it is the subject of increased attention of researchers.
The social activity of an individual is considered as “the degree of manifestation of his strengths, capabilities and abilities as a member of a team, a member of society” (A.S. Kapto). A number of authors (I.Ch. Hristova, E.G. Komarov, T.V. Tishchenko) define social activity as “an objectively determined subjective attitude and socio-psychological readiness of the individual for activity, which is manifested in corresponding acts of behavior and represents purposeful creative social activity that transforms objective reality and the personality itself.” However, this definition is to a certain extent tautological: social activity is understood as readiness for activity that represents purposeful creative social activity.” At the same time, highlighting the readiness and attitude of an individual to perform socially significant activities is certainly important for characterizing social activity, although it does not fully define it.
How L.N.’s social activity is understood as a psychological quality of personality. Zhilina and N.T. Frolova. “Indifference to everything that happens around, interest in events not only nearby, in the production team, but also in the town, city, village, and country, all over the world, indifference that affects the entire behavior of the individual in his work, experience, and social work and in relationships with friends, this is social activity.” When they talk about the activity of an individual, they mean Mead’s “measure of participation in social and labor life,” says A.G. Kovalev.
The definition of social activity by V.Z. seems to be the most comprehensive and realizes the main meaning of social activity. Kogan - Social activity- this is the conscious and purposeful activity of the individual and its holistic socio-psychological quality, which, being dialectically interdependent, determine and characterize the degree or measure of the subject’s personal influence on the subject, processes and phenomena of the surrounding reality. Activity acts as a way of existence of a social subject and is a real manifestation of his social activity.
Social activity- (from Latin activus active) a person’s ability to make socially significant transformations in the world based on the appropriation of the wealth of material and spiritual culture, manifested in creativity, acts of will, communication, and behavior. Social…
social activity- socialinis aktyvumas statusas T sritis Kūno kultūra ir sportas apibrėžtis Dvasinis žmogaus poreikis savo jėgas, gebėjimus, norus ir siekimus išreikšti veikla, naudinga sau, kitiems, visai visuomenei. atitikmenys: engl. social activity vok.… …Sporto terminų žodynas
Social activity- see Social activity. Social information see Social information... Scientific communism: Dictionary
SOCIAL ACTIVITY- active, motivated participation of individuals in the transformation of objective social conditions, in changing them in such a way that contributes to a more complete achievement of interests and satisfaction of needs... Professional education. Dictionary
SOCIAL ACTIVITY- a concept traditionally inherent in those sociological schools and directions that are focused on active, voluntaristic overcoming of existing disproportions and social tensions within the boundaries of a particular society (Marxism, Conflict, ... ... Sociology: Encyclopedia
SOCIAL GROUP- a collection of individuals united according to some characteristic. Division of society into S.g. or the identification of any group in society is arbitrary, and is carried out at the discretion of a sociologist or any other expert, depending on the goals that ... ... Legal encyclopedia
Social activity- the conscious activity of a person who changes the social conditions surrounding him and cultivates the desired personality traits. Social activity is a necessary condition for the formation of an individual as an active, energetic... ... Man and Society: Culturology. Dictionary-reference book
This article should be Wikified. Please format it according to the article formatting rules. Personal activity is a special type of activity or special activity characterized by the intensification of its main characteristics (purposeful ... Wikipedia
Personal activity- (from Latin activus active, effective, practical) a person’s active attitude to the world, the ability to make socially significant transformations of the material and spiritual environment based on the development of social historical experience... ... Pedagogical terminological dictionary
English activity, social; German Aktivitat, soziale. A set of forms of human activity, consciously focused on solving problems facing society, class, social. group in this history. period. As subject A s. Maybe… … Encyclopedia of Sociology
Books
- Solar activity and social life. Space historiometry. From the first Russian cosmists to the present day, Vladimirsky B.M.. This book presents a detailed interdisciplinary review of publications on the influence of solar activity - space weather on social indicators, such as the rhythm of historical...
- Solar activity and social life. Space historiometry from the first Russian cosmists to the present day, B. M. Vladimirsky. This book presents a detailed interdisciplinary review of publications on the influence of solar activity - space weather on social indicators, such as the rhythm of historical...
From birth, a person interacts with the environment and society. When analyzing the process of interaction between the individual and society, the individual and the social group, the concept of “socialization” is used.
Socialization(from Latin socialis - social) is the process of transformation of a born human biological organism, programmed to assimilate human culture, its development into a full-fledged human personality.
Socialization is a process of dialectical interaction between an individual and the social environment.
In the course of socialization, the natural psychobiological inclinations inherent in a person are realized. Society, through education and upbringing, introduces a person to culture and creates conditions for self-development. There are no unsocialized people. Antisocial behavior is the result of omissions during socialization.
Socialization is the process of a person mastering social values and norms, experience and knowledge. Thanks to socialization, a person becomes a full member of society.
The socialization process consists of certain stages.
In the domestic literature, the prevailing point of view was that the main criterion of a mature personality is its work activity.
In accordance with this, they distinguish three main periods of socialization: pre-labor; labor; post-work related to retirement.
The criterion of “work activity” has been criticized. It does not take well into account the features of the first phase of socialization. The concept of “resocialization” does not fit into these stages.
It is simpler and more convenient to select two stages of socialization.
The first one is “primary socialization”- from the birth of a person until the formation of a mature personality.
The second stage, period “ secondary socialization" or resocialization. This stage is understood as a kind of restructuring of the personality during the period of its social maturity.
Towards social institutions of socialization It is customary to include various social groups and organizations that carry out this process.
Among them, family comes first, then preschool institutions, school, and other educational institutions. This also includes the media, formal and informal organizations in which the young person participates.
Each of the listed social institutions performs its own functions in the socialization of the individual.
The need for secondary socialization is dictated by the conditions of modern production, the dynamism of the social environment, the need to master new social roles, and achieve a certain status in society.
What is a social role?
Social role of the individual- this is a set of social functions performed by it, determined by the position of a person and implemented in the process of his life.
Personal activity occurs in various spheres of life: material (economic), social, political, spiritual. In each of these spheres, the individual occupies a certain position and place. That is, in each area it plays a specific role. In real life, one person most often performs several social roles.
The role theory of personality was actively developed by American sociologists Parsons, Mead, and others.
Attempts to characterize personality within the framework of role theory are also popular in the works of domestic authors. Thus, I.S. Kon characterizes a person mainly through the main roles he performs. Other authors define personality as “a unit in the system of social relations” (V.E. Davidovich) or as a measure of the assimilation of social relations (P.E. Kryazhev).
Social role is directly related to social status.
Social status of the individual- the general position of an individual in society, associated with a certain set of rights and obligations. Social status is an integral indicator of the social status of an individual, a social group, covering profession, qualifications, position, nature of the work performed, financial situation, political affiliation, business connections, age, marital status, etc.
The American sociologist R. Marton called all this a “status set.”
Social status is divided into prescribed(attributed), i.e. received regardless of the subject, most often from birth (race, gender, age, nationality, etc.) and achieved (achieved), i.e. acquired by the individual's own efforts. An individual may have mixed social status, combining the features of the two indicated. Typically, a person has several social statuses, but one of them is the main one (for example, position at the main place of work).
Social activity of the individual
In scientific literature, it is understood as the social quality of people, their ability to interact with the environment, energetic initiative aimed at satisfying needs and interests by transforming various areas of reality and oneself. Social activity of an individual is a way of self-expression.
The social activity of an individual is a necessary condition for him to fulfill his function as a subject (creator) of social relations. It can be viewed in two main aspects.
Firstly, as a property of a person, determined primarily by his natural data and enhanced by qualities that are formed in the process of upbringing, education, communication and practical activity.
Secondly, activity is considered as some specific measure of activity. In this case, activity can be expressed in certain quantitative indicators.
Sociologists suggest a matrix approach to measuring activity, i.e. analyzing it in vertical and horizontal sections. With vertical division, the levels of activity and its intensity are taken into account, and with horizontal division, its various types.
The main types of activity coincide with the main spheres of public life - labor, social, political, spiritual, family and everyday life, etc. Activity can be individual, group, organized or spontaneous. Even criminal activity can be identified. However, if we consider the motives, content, goals and direction of activity, then it can be assessed as social and asocial. The latter is often characterized as antisocial behavior. The criterion for social activity is the results of activity, i.e. those changes in the existing situation that are achieved through the expenditure of energy correlated with public interests.
The antipode of social activity in this sense is social passivity, inactivity, and indifference to the surrounding reality.
The highest manifestation of social activity is creation. It always has a personal dimension.
What are the sources of social activity? There are internal and external sources of social activity. TO internal include material and spiritual needs, interests, consciousness, level of culture. External- the conditions in which people live and act. Particularly important for the development of social activity is a healthy moral and psychological climate in the team, good, clear organization of work, care for people, their work and rest, fair assessment of work and its payment, etc.
Social activity is manifested through activities that take place in all spheres of public life. This leads to a variety of forms and types of social activity; They distinguish political, economic, sociocultural, organizational, etc. Naturally, in real life they are all interconnected.
3. Personal alienation: causes, forms of manifestation and ways to overcome
The problem of personal alienation in our social science has been poorly theoretically developed. The main reason for this situation was rooted in the prevailing Soviet ideological doctrine. According to her, the problem of alienation is inherent only in capitalism. It is characteristic that even today this term is most often absent from reference books and dictionaries on sociology and political science (see, for example: Dictionary-reference book on sociology and political science. M., 1996).
What is alienation, what are the forms of its manifestation?
A general definition of alienation was given by K. Marx and F. Engels in “German Ideology”.
Alienation, in their opinion, is “the consolidation of our own product into some kind of material force that dominates us, that is out of our control, that runs counter to our expectations and nullifies our calculations...” (Marx K., Engels F. Soch.T.3.p.32).
In sociology, alienation is interpreted as follows: “... the relationship between social subjects and some of its social functions, which develops as a result of the rupture of their original unity, leading to the impoverishment of the nature of the subject and a change (perversion, degeneration) of the nature of the alienated function, as well as the very process of rupture of this unity” (Western sociology: Dictionary. M., 1990. P. 252).
In other words, alienation is a state of relations between an individual and society in which the product of labor is alienated from it and turns into a force opposing it. Not only the product of activity, but also the process of activity itself.
There are various sources and causes of alienation. These include property relations. The cause of alienation may be subjective factors. For example, economic and social policies may be conducted in the interests of a narrow group of people, which leads to the opposition of the interests of some groups to others.
Alienation in our country in the recent past was associated with the nature of the authoritarian-totalitarian regime.
Under the dominance of administrative-command methods, management led to the alienation of people from property. Diktat in the sphere of politics gave rise to alienation in the sphere of power relations, to formalism. Similarly, alienation manifested itself in the social and spiritual spheres.
Radical transformations in all spheres of life of Russian society should mark the beginning of overcoming personal alienation.
Today, ways to solve this complex problem are more clearly visible.
The problem should be solved in the following areas:
Economic alienation is overcome through economic reforms (privatization, diversity of forms of ownership). As a result, a sense of ownership is born, a “middle class” is formed, and initiative develops;
Reform of the political system, democratization of all aspects of life help to overcome the political alienation of the individual;
Problems of overcoming social exclusion must be solved by radically improving social conditions of life and work;
Alienation in the spiritual sphere is overcome on the basis of the moral revival of the people and raising the level of culture.
Here it is necessary to keep in mind that it is one thing to highlight priority areas and declare them, and another thing to implement them in real life. The latter is resolved inconsistently, half-heartedly and not comprehensively.
Because of this, the severity of the problem of alienation in modern Russia not only has not decreased, but has even worsened. This is manifested in a decrease in motivation to work, an increase in crime, the bureaucratization of public life, the continued impoverishment of a significant part of the population, an increase in people’s social dissatisfaction with their situation, etc.
Modern theoretical research and best practice show that it is impossible to fully overcome the alienation of the individual from society, the individual from social groups and institutions.
A serious obstacle to overcoming personal alienation is its orientation towards consumption.
A.N. Leontiev writes: “... Personality cannot develop within the framework of consumption, its development necessarily involves a shift of needs to creation, which alone knows no boundaries” (Leontiev A.N. Activity, consciousness, personality. M.: Politizdat , 1975. P.25).
A significant barrier to reducing the degree of alienation is the increasing individualism.
A comparison of the results of a study of the problems of Russian youth, conducted by the author of the manual in 1993, with the data of a similar study by American scientists, led to the conclusion that collectivity in American society, strange as it may seem, is manifested more widely than in Russian. From collectivism, our society has sharply turned towards individualism. But even American society is beginning to choke from exaggerated individualism. It is no coincidence that programs for introducing community consciousness among city residents have been developed at both the state and municipal levels in the United States.
In Russian society, it is important to harmonize the relationship of the individual with the collective, to democratize collective relations. This measure, taking into account sociocultural factors, will provide more favorable conditions for overcoming the high level of alienation of citizens from work, power, etc. A good example is China, where they managed to find the optimal combination between ideology and modern methods of organizing and managing the economy and ensuring the economic well-being of the vast masses population.
A characteristic feature of Russian society is intolerance towards ideology, which is not shared either by those in power or by the opposition. Both have not yet risen to the level of dialogue.
The current state of developed countries confirms the importance of this problem of alienation in social progress.
At the end of this lecture, we can draw the following general conclusions:
1) the development of a person as an individual presupposes the development and enrichment of the relationship between man and society.
An individual can exist and really develop his abilities, satisfy his needs and diverse interests only in the company of other people;
2) not every person is a person. People are born as human beings and become individuals through the process of socialization. Personality is the bearer of the social in man. This is a measure of the development of the social in a person, the holistic embodiment and implementation in him of a system of socially significant features and qualities of a given society;
3) for a sociologist, a person appears primarily as an object and product of social relations, as a bearer of a certain social program.
Sociology also takes into account the active relationships of the person himself in the system of social relations.
With an extremely general approach to the structure of personality, it is characterized by two aspects: on the one hand, as an object, on the other, as a subject of social relations.
23/09/2016
Social activity is both a worldview and a special state of mind. Being at the center of a person’s public life is motivated by concern, a heightened sense of justice, the inability to put up with abuses, the desire to help others, to work for the benefit of the village, city, country... We will pay attention not to major public figures, but to those activists who are very close to us. we already wrote
Activist with a plus sign
The qualities that an ideal public figure should have were discussed at one of the trainings held at the Kiev-Svyatoshinsky Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation of the Population (Boyarka). We offer readers a summary based on statements made by members of public organizations in the city.
The activist must be:
- patriot, social optimist, a little romantic;
- caring, responsive, friendly;
- calm, balanced, self-sufficient;
- honest, incorruptible, true to his principles and ideals;
- persistent, brave, a little bit of an adventurer;
- informed, competent, creative;
- organized, purposeful, ready for action;
- self-confident, sociable, diplomatic;
- open to change.
An activist must be able to:
- conduct systematic, creative and effective activities;
- interact with local authorities, representatives of business and public organizations;
- unite with like-minded people, work in a team, find a common language with representatives of different walks of life;
- formalize your activities into programs and projects, seek funding for them;
communicate with media representatives, give interviews, cover your activities; - choose a field of activity taking into account your abilities and knowledge;
- balance your strengths, set priorities, dose your loads;
- predict the results of your actions, resist attempts to manipulate yourself;
- calmly accept criticism addressed to you, objectively assess the extent to which it is fair, and learn from your own mistakes.
Read also:
The activist must be prepared:
- constantly learn, respect the laws, act in the legal field;
- conduct its activities in line with modern trends of social and technical progress;
- adjust your position depending on changing circumstances;
- switch to new directions if they are significant for the city or country;
- to be a public figure, the object of unfair attacks and even slander;
- take a hit and defend yourself;
- Monitor your physical and mental health, seek help from a doctor or psychologist if necessary.
An activist must have:
- systems thinking, strategic vision, practical skills in social activities;
- positive attitude, constructive approach, open-mindedness;
- adequate self-esteem, healthy self-irony and a sense of humor.
And these, of course, are not all the qualities inherent in an ideal activist, for there is no limit to perfection.
Activist with minus sign
Unfortunately, real life is far from ideal. So among activists there are completely different people (as well as among representatives of any other spheres of activity). Morbid social activity is characteristic of those who are often called “city madmen”: demonstrative, hysterical people who love to be the center of attention, constantly provoking public squabbles and quarrels. Scandalous protest activities are also carried out by “eternal revolutionaries” who understand only the language of struggle, paid provocateurs from among the mercenaries of political forces or business structures, employees of special services (including foreign ones), all kinds of businessmen who solve their problems, hiding behind beautiful slogans. There are also notorious losers who strive to assert themselves at the expense of others. Fortunately, there are many more normal, adequate and simply good people in public life. At the same time, paradoxically, they are often the targets of attacks and unfounded accusations.
Why do we sometimes get annoyed by socially active people?
The way the world works is that the engine of social progress has always been thinking, caring people who are ahead of their time: activists, social activists, fighters for justice, human rights activists, dissidents. These “troublemakers” are not always convenient and disrupt the usual flow of life, the so-called stability. They are most often treated as eccentrics - with bewilderment, irritation, and misunderstanding. And instead of providing activists with all possible assistance in serving society, many, on the contrary, are hostile against them, accusing them of all mortal sins.
The explanation lies in the field of human psychology. Unfortunately, those who irritate us the most are those who are better than us, more active, more successful. We are enraged by those who violate our comfort zone, reveal facts of injustice, make us doubt the correctness of our lives, and feel ashamed of our own inaction. As a result, human rights activists are perceived as slanderers, fiery fighters as hysterics, and consistent ones as fixated.
What you need to know about activists?
We offer several theses that will help to adequately perceive socially active people.
- An activist is an ordinary person who spends part of his personal time free of charge for the needs of the community. He acts at the behest of his soul, heart, his own principles, beliefs and ideas of justice.
- No one has the right to tell a socially active person what to do and to what extent. This is his responsibility and his personal choice - which field of activity to give preference to, how much time and money to take from his family, what part of his leisure time to sacrifice.
- By donating his time and energy, the activist is not obliged to incur material losses. Honor and praise to him if he is able to at least partially compensate for the costs of his activities (programs, projects, international grants, donations).
- Keep a close eye on who is most turning the community against specific activists. Ask yourself what these people or forces need: to come/return to power or to maintain it; uncontrollably manage resources (local budget, land, etc.); hide facts of abuse, inefficiency and incompetence; resolve your commercial issues.
- Before criticizing an activist, ask yourself: 1) by what right do you do this; 2) do you have complete information regarding his personality, activities and the essence of the issue; 3) are you ready to do what you advise him; 4) how exactly you can help.
And even if you are not yet involved in public life, but if you closely monitor the activities of others and know the problems of your locality, you can already be counted among the novice activists. And even if it seems to you that for the most part they are not doing what they should, this indicates that you are already setting priorities and are ready to move from words to action.