Contemporary American anthropologist Julian Steward in his book The Theory of Cultural Change departed from Spencer's classical social evolutionism based on the differentiation of labor. Each society, according to Steward, consists of several cultural fields:
Each cultural field has its own laws of evolution, and the whole society as a whole is in unique natural and social conditions. As a result, the development of each society is unique and is not subject to any economic-formational linearity. But most often the leading cause of the development of local societies is the technical and economic sphere.
Marsh (1967), in particular, pointed out signs in which a social community can be considered society:
As you can see, the economy is not among the listed features.
The most famous, complex and used in modern sociology is the understanding of society proposed by . He considers society as a kind of social system, which in turn is a structural element of the action system. The result is a chain:
The action system includes the following structural subsystems:
The external environment of the action system is, on the one hand, the “higher reality”, the problem of the meaning of life and action, contained in the cultural subsystem, and on the other hand, the physical environment, nature. Social systems are open systems that are in constant exchange with the external environment, "formed by the states and processes of social interaction between acting subjects".
Society is "type of social system in the totality of social systems, which has reached the highest degree of self-sufficiency in relation to its environment. It consists of four subsystems - bodies that perform certain functions in the structure of society:
The core of society is the societal community - a kind of people, and the remaining subsystems act as tools for the preservation (stabilization) of this community. It is a complex network of interpenetrating communities (families, businesses, churches, government agencies, etc.), within which people share common values and norms and are distributed between statuses and roles and. “Society,” writes Parsons, “is that type of social system in the totality of social systems that has reached the highest degree of self-sufficiency in relations with its environment.” Self-sufficiency includes the ability of a society to control both the interaction of its subsystems and external processes of interaction.
The main social problem, according to Parsons, is the problem of order, stability and adaptation of society to changing internal and external conditions. He pays special attention to the concept of "norm" as the most important element of social connection, institution, organization. In reality, no social system (including society) is in a state of complete integration and correlation with other systems, because destructive factors are constantly operating, as a result of which constant social control and other corrective mechanisms are needed.
Parsons' concept of social action, social system, society has been criticized from various sociological points of view. Firstly, his society turned out to be squeezed between the cultural and anthropological (personality and behavioral organism) subsystems, while the cultural subsystem remained outside of society. Secondly, the societal community is not part of the political, economic, cultural subsystems, therefore, societal statuses, values, norms turn out to be functionally undifferentiated in relation to social systems. Thirdly, the main element of society is the societal community, which is formed by values and norms, and not the process of activity leading to a certain result.
In my opinion, the structure of society proposed by Parsons can be significantly changed. It makes sense to add to the subsystems of society demosocial, associated with the reproduction and socialization of people. It is not covered by the personal and behavioral subsystems, playing a fundamental role in society. Need to share cultural subsystem on spiritual And mental, since their mixing in the cultural subsystem interferes with Parsons himself in the analysis of individual cultural subsystems - for example, the church and the religious worldview. Should be included in all social systems of society societal parts (functional societal communities).
From my point of view, society consists of the following main systems-spheres:
Each of these systems includes subsystems that can be considered as relatively independent parts of society. These representations can be schematically shown as follows (Scheme 1).
Scheme 1. The main systems of society
The systems of society, firstly, are arranged in such a "ladder" primarily depending on the ratio of the material (objective) and mental (subjective) in them. If in the geographical sphere the subjective component (worldview, mentality, motivation) is absent, then in the conscious one it is fully present. When moving from the geographical (unconscious) to the mental (conscious) system, the role of meanings constructing society, i.e., the conscious component of people's life, increases. At the same time, amplification disagreements everyday (empirical) and scientific (theoretical) knowledge and beliefs. Secondly, demosocial, economic, political, spiritual systems are focused on meeting functional needs (demosocial, economic, etc.). Therefore, the concept of social connection (sociality) is the methodological basis for the analysis of these systems of society. Thirdly, these systems are complementary, complement each other and build one on top of the other. Various causal, essential-phenomenal and functional-structural connections arise between them, so that the “end” of one social sphere is simultaneously the “beginning” of another. They form a hierarchy, where the result of the functioning of one system is the beginning of another. For example, the demosocial system is the starting point for the economic system, and the last one for the political one, etc.
One and the same person acts as the subject of different social systems, and hence societal communities, implements different motivational mechanisms in them (needs, values, norms, beliefs, experience, knowledge), performs different roles (husband, worker, citizen, believer and etc.), forms various social ties, institutions, organizations. This, on the one hand, enriches the status-role set of people, and on the other hand, preserves the unity of social systems and societies. The individual, his activities, motivation are ultimately one of the main integrators of the population in the society-people. In understanding sociology, the sociology of Parsons and
phenomenological sociology, individual social action is the main element of the social.
Public, social, societal being - it is a set of demo-social, economic, political, spiritual systems and connections between them. The above terms mean essentially the same thing. Systems of social connection, social life, social systems are processes of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of some social goods (goods, order, truths, etc.).
Society - it is the totality of social systems with the exception of the geographic one. In textbooks on sociology, as a rule, there is a section society culture, which in the narrow sense of the word is understood as a system of values, norms, thoughts, actions characteristic of a given society. In the broad sense of the word society and culture society - identical concepts, therefore, in this tutorial, I excluded the section “culture”: it is considered in different topics due to the great vagueness of the very concept of “culture”. culture human has been reviewed before.
Society - it is the totality of all social systems and the connections between them, its main metasystems are people, formation and civilization. In social systems (social being), three main parts can be distinguished in order to simplify their understanding and role in society. First, this initial, subjective, societal part of social systems includes functional communities (demosocial, economic, etc.) that have functional subjectivity(needs, values, knowledge), abilities to act, and roles.
Secondly, this basic, active part - the process of production of some public goods - which is the coordinated actions of individuals with different roles, their mutual communication, the use of objects and tools (situation of activity). An example would be managers, engineers and workers along with the means of production in the activities of an industrial enterprise. This part is basic, because the given social system depends on it.
Thirdly, this efficient, supportive the part that includes produced social goods: for example, cars, their distribution, exchange and consumption (use) by other social systems. The productive part of the social system should also include reinforcement initial and basic parts, confirmation of their adequacy to their purpose. Such realistic, the point of view softens the extremes of subjectivist, understanding, positivist and Marxist sociology.
Unlike Parsons, the functional societal community in this interpretation is the initial element of each social system, and does not act as a separate system. It also includes the status and role structure that characterizes the given social system. It, and not a cultural subsystem, acts as a specific functional cultural part of the social system.
Further, not only the economic and political, but also the demo-social and spiritual systems are social, i.e., they have their own functional societal communities, with their own needs, mentality, abilities, as well as actions, norms, institutions and results.
And, finally, in all social systems, the cultural, societal, personal, behavioral subsystems are in unity, and individual(elementary) action is included in the basic part of every social system, including: a) situation (objects, tools, conditions); b) orientation (needs, goals, norms); c) operations, results, benefits.
Thus, society can be defined as a natural-social organism, consisting of mental, social, geographical systems, as well as connections and relationships between them. Society has different levels: villages, cities, regions, countries, systems of countries. Humanity includes both the development of individual countries and the slow formation of a universal superorganism.
In this study guide, society is depicted as a hierarchical structure, which includes: 1) the basic elements of society; 2) systems (subsystems), spheres, bodies; 3) metasystems ( peoples characterizing the "metabolic" structure of society; formations characterizing the "social body" of society; civilization characterizing his "soul").
Saint-Simon, Comte, Hegel and others believed that driving force changes in societies is in the sphere of consciousness, in those ideas, methods of thinking and projects with the help of which Man tries to explain and predict his practical activity, manage it, and through it the world. Marxists saw the driving force of historical change in the sphere of the struggle between the poor and rich classes, the productive forces and economic relations, that is, in the economic system. In my opinion, the driving force behind the development of societies is also the contradictions of the mental, societal, objective within social systems, between social systems within society, between different societies.
Society is a complex social system, structurally organized integrity, which is formed by different elements, components. In turn, they also have a certain level of organization and order in their own structure. This gives grounds to assert that the social structure of society is a complex, multidimensional formation.
The social structure of society is the basis for the study of all processes and phenomena in social life, since changes in the social structure are the main indicator of changes in the social system of society.
The concept of "social structure" has several interpretations. Most often, this term is used to divide society into different social groups, systems of stable ties between them, and also to determine the internal structure of certain social communities.
There are two main levels of structural organization: 1) microstructure, 2) macrostructure. microstructure means stable ties in small groups (work collective, student group, etc.). The elements of structural analysis are individuals, social roles, statuses, group norms and values. The microstructure significantly affects the processes of social life, such as socialization, the formation of social thought.
macrostructure- this is the composition of classes, strata, ethnic groups and social categories characteristic of a given society, the totality of stable relations between them and the peculiarity of their structural organization. The main aspects of the macrostructure of society are the social-class, socio-professional, socio-demographic, socio-territorial and socio-ethnic substructures.
social structure- an ordered set of individuals, social groups, communities, organizations, institutions, united by ties and relationships that differ from each other in the position in the economic, political, spiritual spheres of their life.
In other words, this is the internal structure of society, which consists of ordered elements that are interconnected: individuals, social groups, social strata, classes, estates, social communities (socio-ethnic, socio-professional, socio-demographic, socio-territorial).
A person is almost never included in the structure of society directly. He always belongs to a certain group whose interests and norms of behavior influence him. And already these groups form a society.
The social structure has certain features:
1) the stability of the connection between any elements of society, i.e. stable interdependencies, correlations;
2) regularity, stability and repeatability of these interactions;
3) the presence of levels or "floors" according to the significance of the elements that are part of the structure;
4) regulatory, initiated and dynamic control over the behavior of elements, including various norms and sanctions adopted in a given society.
The social structure has a "horizontal projection" and a "vertical projection" - a hierarchically organized set of statuses, groups, classes, strata, etc.
The concept of "social structure" covers the system-organizational and stratification aspects. According to the system-organizational aspect, the main content of the social structure is formed by social institutions, primarily such as: the economy, politics (the state), science, education, family, saving and maintaining the relations and ties existing in society. These institutions normatively regulate, control and direct the behavior of people in vital areas, and also determine stable, regularly reproduced role positions (statuses) in various types of social organizations.
Social status is the primary element of the social structure of society, which determines the place of a person in the social structure of society. It is determined by the profession, age, education, financial situation. Social positions (statuses) and connections between them determine the nature of social relations.
social status- this is the social position (position) of the individual in the social structure of society, associated with belonging to any social group or community, the totality of its social roles.
Social status- a generalized characteristic covering the profession, economic situation, political opportunities and demographic characteristics of a person. For example, "builder" is a profession; “employee” is an economic trait; "member of the party" - a political characteristic; “a man of 30 years old” is a demographic feature. All these characteristics describe the social status of one person, but from different angles.
It is necessary to distinguish personal and social types of status. social status has two meanings - wide and narrow. Status in a broad sense is the social position of a person in society, which gives him a generalized description. In a narrow sense, this is the position of a person, which he automatically occupies as a representative of a large social group (professional, class, national).
personal status- this is the position that a person occupies in a small social group (family, among acquaintances, in a team, sports team, student group, etc.), depending on how he is assessed by his individual qualities. In them, everyone can occupy a high, medium or low status, i.e. be a leader, an independent or an outsider.
Status can be prescribed(surname, family tree), reached or mixed.
Prescribed cannot be identified with born. Only three biologically inherited statuses are considered innate: gender, nationality, race, which a person inherits regardless of his will and consciousness.
Achieved status a person receives through his own efforts, desire, free choice. The more statuses achieved in a society, the more dynamic and democratic it is.
mixed status simultaneously has the features of both prescribed and achieved. For example, the title of professor is at first a status that is achieved, but over time becomes prescribed, because. is eternal, though not inherited.
Social role - typical behavior of a person associated with his social status, which does not cause negative reactions from others. An individual can fulfill several social roles. For example: friend, athlete, public figure, citizen, student. Each person has several social roles and statuses.
Any society can be represented as a set of status-role positions, and the more of them, the more complex the society. However, status-role positions are not a simple heap, devoid of inner harmony. They are organized, interconnected by countless threads. Organization and orderliness are ensured thanks to more complex structural formations - social institutions, communities, organizations - which link status-role positions to each other, ensure their reproduction, and create guarantees for their stability.
On the basis of similar social statuses, which establish the potential possibility of an individual's participation in the corresponding types of activity, more complex structural elements of society are formed - social groups.
social group- a relatively stable, historically established set of people united on the basis of common characteristics, interests, values, group consciousness.
The concept of "social group" is generic in relation to the concepts of "class", "social stratum", "collective", "nation", "community", as it fixes social differences between individual sets of people in the process of distribution of labor and their results. These differences are based on relations with the means of production, power, specifics of labor, specialty, education, income level, gender, age, nationality, place of residence, etc.
Class- any social stratum in modern society that differs from others in income, education, prestige, attitude to power.
Social layer- a group of individuals engaged in equivalent types of labor and receiving approximately equal remuneration.
Social community - a set of people united by relatively stable social ties, relationships, having common features that give it a unique identity.
In every society there is a certain number of social groups, the creation of which is due to:
General activities (for example, professional groups, collectives);
Common space-time existence (environment, territory, communication);
Group settings and orientations.
It is necessary to distinguish social groups from random unstable associations such as: bus passengers, readers in the library, viewers in the cinema.
Social groups arose on the basis of objective conditions of existence, a certain level of development of society. Thus, at the dawn of mankind, a clan and a tribe arose. With the division of labor, professional groups appeared (artisans, farmers, hunters, gatherers, etc.). With the advent of private property - classes.
The formation of a social group is a long and complex process of its social maturation, which is associated with the awareness of one's position, commonality and interests, values, the formation of group consciousness and norms of behavior. A social group becomes socially mature when it realizes its interests, values, forms norms, goals and objectives of activities that are aimed at maintaining or changing its position in society. R. Dahrendorf in this regard distinguishes hidden and open group interests. It is the awareness of interests that turns a group of people into an independent subject of social action.
Social groups of different sizes interact in the social structure. Traditionally, they are divided into small and large.
Small social group- a small group of people whose members are united by common activities and enter into direct communication, which is the basis for the emergence of emotional relationships and special group values and norms of behavior.
A generic feature of a small social group is the presence of directly long-term personal contacts (communication, interaction), which are typical, for example, of a family, a team of workers, a group of friends, a sports team, etc.
Large social group- a large group of people united for a common activity, but the relationship between them is predominantly formal.
These include professional, demographic, national communities, social classes.
The social structure of modern Ukrainian society depends on the direction of the essence of social transformations, the essence of which is to change the functional ties in society. Its basis is:
1. Changing the social form of all major social institutions - economic, political, cultural, educational; a deep social upheaval and the reform of those social regulators that form the social structure of society (it has become less rigid, more mobile).
2. Transformation of the social nature of the main components of the social structure - classes, groups and communities; their renewal as subjects of property and power; the emergence of economic classes, strata and strata with a corresponding system of social conflicts and contradictions.
3. Weakening of stratification restrictions existing in society. The emergence of new channels for raising statuses, strengthening the horizontal and vertical mobility of Ukrainians.
4. Activation of marginalization processes.
Marginalization- (lat. margo - edge, border) - the process of losing an individual's objective belonging to a certain social group, without subsequent subjective entry into another community, stratum.
This is the process of changing the subject of one socio-economic status to another. In Ukrainian society at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries, it is characterized by a transition mainly to the lower strata of the population (the phenomenon of the "new poor", social groups of military personnel, intelligentsia).
5. Changing the comparative role of the components of social status. If the stratification of Soviet society was dominated by the administrative-official criterion associated with the place in the system of power and management, then in modern society the criterion of property and income is decisive. Previously, the political status determined the financial situation, now the amount of capital determines the political weight.
6. Increasing the social prestige of education and qualifications, strengthening the role of the cultural factor in the formation of high-status groups. This is due to the formation of the labor market. However, this applies to specialties that are in demand in the market, primarily economic, legal and managerial.
7. Changes in the qualitative and quantitative parameters of the social structure. It is known that the more progressive the sex and age structure, the more development opportunities it is endowed with, the more stable the social (labor, intellectual, cultural) potential of the population. Due to negative demographic trends, the population of Ukraine is decreasing by 400 thousand people every year, against the background of a general depopulation of the population (every fifth Ukrainian family has no children), the birth rate is decreasing, the average life expectancy is decreasing (if in the early 90s of the twentieth century health Ukraine occupied the 40th place in the world, ten years later it moved into the second hundred).
8. Deepening the social polarization of society. The property indicator is the core of transformations. The economic status and way of life of the elites, the upper stratum, have risen sharply, while those of the majority of the population have sharply declined. The boundaries of poverty and poverty have expanded, the social "bottom" has stood out - homeless, declassed elements.
The structure of Ukrainian society, which has received significant changes compared to Soviet society, continues to retain its features. For its significant transformation, a systemic transformation of the institutions of property and power is necessary, which requires a long time. The stratification of society will continue to lose stability and unambiguity. The boundaries between groups and strata will become more transparent, and many marginalized groups will emerge with uncertain or conflicting status.
The social structure of Ukrainian society, based on the sociological research of N. Rimashevskaya, can be represented in general terms as follows.
one." All-Ukrainian elite groups", which unite in their hands the property in the amount equivalent to the largest Western countries, and also own the means of power influence at the national level.
2. " Regional and corporate elites”, which have a significant Ukrainian position and influence at the level of regions and entire industries or sectors of the economy.
3. The Ukrainian "upper middle class", which owns property and incomes that provide Western standards of consumption as well. Representatives of this stratum strive to improve their social status, focus on the established practice and ethical standards of economic relations.
4. The Ukrainian "dynamic middle class", which owns incomes that ensure the satisfaction of average Ukrainian and higher standards of consumption, and is also characterized by a relatively high potential adaptability, significant social aspirations and motivations, and an orientation towards legal ways of its manifestation.
5. "Outsiders", which are characterized by low adaptation and social activity, low incomes and orientation towards legal ways of obtaining it.
6. "Marginals", which are characterized by low adaptation, as well as asocial and antisocial attitudes in their socio-economic activities.
7. "Criminal society", which is characterized by high social activity and adaptability, but at the same time fully consciously and rationally opposes the legal norms of economic activity.
In sociology the structure of society is considered from different angles.
The structure of society can be understood as:
1) a set of diverse social communities and groups that reflect the social inequality of people in society, due to their unequal statuses and social roles (this is the so-called "social structure of society");
2) the system of the main spheres of the life of society (each of which corresponds to certain social relations and institutions):
Ø material and economic,
Ø social,
Ø political,
Ø spiritual and cultural).
1. The totality of various social communities and the connections between them constitute the social structure of society.
The main elements of the social structure of society are:
Ø classes;
Ø strata;
Ø estates (based not only on economic division, but also on traditions);
Ø people of the city and village;
Ø representatives of physical and mental labor;
Ø socio-demographic groups (men, women, old people, youth);
Ø national communities.
There are two main approaches to social structure:
- class (common in Marxist philosophy: for K. Marx, the main criterion for social structuring was the attitude to the means of production, to property; this is the basis for the class division of society - into slaves and slave owners, peasants and feudal lords, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie);
- stratification, according to which society consists of a variety of various small social groups - professional, demographic, etc., complementary to each other and interacting with each other; Western philosophy approach.
Of particular importance is social mobility- the possibility of moving from one social group to another (for example, a peasant - into the number of workers, a worker - into the number of intelligentsia, an intellectual - into the number of entrepreneurs, etc.).
Social mobility is the basis for the normal existence of society, the self-realization of each person, his happiness. As a rule, low social mobility is characteristic of totalitarian states and states that are in a state of deep economic, political and spiritual stagnation.
The highest level of association of social groups is civil society- a society whose members consider themselves citizens of a single whole, are aware of common tasks, respect laws, moral traditions.
The trends in the development of modern society are:
- making it more and more homogeneous, smoothing out contradictions, differences between strata;
- the complication of the structure, the fragmentation of strata to the micro level - the so-called "small groups".
2. In the structure of society, there are main areas of public life (material-economic, social, political and spiritual-cultural).
I. Economic sphere (material production) is the initial structure of society. This is the basic, defining in the life of society. Material production is the activity of people aimed at the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods. Thus, the components of material production are:
- direct production;
- distribution;
- Consumption of material goods.
The economic sphere is determined by the mode of production(the production of material goods always takes place in a certain social form, this unity of the production content and its social form is denoted by the concept of "mode of production").
The method of production of material goods has two components:
- productive forces;
- industrial relations.
productive forces- this:
- people with their knowledge, skills, work skills;
- and the means of production.
Means of production add up:
from the means of labor; this is all that is done with the help of production:
Ø tools (tools, mechanisms, machines);
Ø raw materials and supplies;
Ø buildings, structures;
Ø transport, etc.
from the objects of labor(these are the things to which the labor activity of a person is directed).
Relations of production- relations between people in the process of production. Structure of industrial relations:
Ø ownership of the means of production (a kind of center of all economic relations);
Ø relations of production itself;
Ø relations of exchange of activities based on the division of labor;
Ø relations regarding the distribution of production material goods;
Ø Consumption ratio.
The interaction of productive forces and production relations is subject to the general dialectical law of the interaction of content and form. According to him, the content (productive forces) plays a decisive role in relation to the form (production relations). This is the basis of the main sociological law - "the law of the correspondence of production relations to the nature and level of development of the productive forces." This law was formulated by the classics of Marxism.
Importance of material production(the economic sphere of society) in that it:
Ø creates the material basis for the existence of society;
Ø contributes to the solution of problems facing society;
Ø directly affects the social structure (classes, social groups);
Ø influences political processes;
Ø affects the spiritual sphere - both directly (on the content) and on the infrastructure, the carrier of the spiritual sphere (schools, libraries, theaters, books).
II. Social sphere understood in two ways:
- as an analogue of the "social structure of society" - the sphere of relations between social groups and communities, the system of the internal structure of society;
- as a sphere of human production and reproduction; this is health care and education, this is the communication of a person with culture, this is the continuation of the human race, from the appearance of children to the death of the older generation; here man reproduces himself as a biological, social and spiritual being.
III. The political sphere of society - a set of institutions and organizations that express the interests of social groups, carry out the management of society.
Elements of the political system societies are:
- the state and state bodies The main element of the political system of society;
- political parties;
- public organizations;
- trade unions;
- other institutions.
The main question of political life is the question of power.
The main function of the political sphere- the function of organizing, streamlining, normalizing social relations.
IV. Spiritual and cultural sphere is the sphere of spiritual production, the sphere of formation and functioning of cultural values, social goals and ideals, art, morality, religion, philosophy, science, etc.
Depending on the spheres of life, there are such social institutions:
Economic (division of labor, property, wages, etc.);
Political, or institutions of power (state, army, institution of law, party, trade union, etc.);
Institutions in the field of culture (traditions and habits, morality, institutions of education, families, churches).
Approaching the study of the social structure and its elements, one should be aware of a certain limitation of this knowledge. So, according to B. Russell, the study of the structure of an object is insufficient for its complete knowledge. Even with a complete analysis of the structure, we are dealing only with the nature of the individual parts of a single whole and the nature of the relationship between them. At the same time, we inevitably lose sight of the nature of the relationship of this object with other objects that are not constituent elements of its structure. Social structure, elements of social structure - these categories are not finite, self-closing functional units. On the contrary, their full functioning is determined by connections with other structures of human existence.
The concept of structure in the broad sense of the word means a set of functionally dependent elements and connections between them that form the internal structure of an object.
In turn, the social structure is formed by an ordered set of interacting, interconnected social groups, institutions and relations between them, the internal structure of society (social group). Thus, society is the main semantic center that defines the concept of "social structure".
The structure of the object is characterized by the composition of the elements, the order of their location, the nature of the dependence on each other. Relationships between them can be positive, negative, and also neutral. In the first case, we are talking about an increase in the level of organization of the structure due to these connections, in the second, there is a decrease in organization, in the third, connections do not affect the level of organization in the structure.
The main elements of the social structure of society can be divided into three large groups:
A person, considered as a single natural being, a representative of the species Homo sapiens, is defined as an individual.
B.G. Ananiev identifies two groups of properties that characterize an individual - primary and secondary.
Primary properties imply the presence of:
Together, the primary properties of an individual determine its secondary properties:
Thus, in this case we are talking about the biological essence of the individual.
In other cases, the concept of an individual is used to represent him as a social being - a representative of human society. At the same time, its biological essence is also not excluded.
However, when it is necessary to emphasize the social concept of the individual, it is often replaced by the concept of "personality". Personality characterizes the subject of social relations and conscious activity. In other interpretations, this concept is used to denote the system property of an individual, which is formed in joint activities and communication.
There are many definitions that interpret the concept of personality from one side or another, but in all of them the key point is the social element of the social structure of society. Whether in this case the biological essence of the individual is less significant than the social one is an ambiguous question that requires consideration taking into account the specifics of a particular situation.
This concept is a relatively stable set of people who are characterized by relatively similar conditions and lifestyle, as well as interests.
There are two main types of social communities:
In the first case, we are talking about nominal groups used as in the second - about really functioning in society. In turn, real social communities can be of 3 types:
Thus, registration information, demographic data provided by residents of a particular city, is an example of a statistical social community. On the other hand, if we are talking about the conditions for the existence of a particular category of citizens in reality, we can talk about a real social community.
It is customary to refer to mass social communities as people who are not formally related to each other, but united in a certain population based on certain behavioral characteristics.
It is customary to refer to social groups as a set of people interacting with each other, who feel their relationship and are perceived by others as a certain community.
Group social communities include large and small groups. Examples of the first are:
The division of society along class lines is based on the criterion of the attitude of the group to ownership of the means of production, as well as the nature of the appropriation of goods. Classes differ in common socio-economic and psychological characteristics, value orientations, their own "code" of behavior.
Classification according to is carried out on the basis of the characteristics of the lifestyle and work of members of society. Strata are intermediate (transitional) social groups that do not differ in a pronounced specific relationship to the means of production (as opposed to a class).
It is customary to classify primary social groups as small populations of people entering into direct interaction with each other, in accordance with the individual characteristics of the participants in this communication. This element of the social structure is primarily a family. Interest clubs, sports teams, etc. can also be included here. Relations within such teams are usually informal, intimate to a certain extent. Primary groups act as a link between the individual and society, the relationship between which is determined by the social structure.
Elements of the social structure, secondary social groups are larger than the primary ones, and more formal, impersonal interaction between participants. The priority in these groups is the ability of group members to perform certain social functions and achieve appropriate goals. As for the individual characteristics of the participants, they are relegated to the background. Such groups include, for example, the work team.
Another significant element of the social structure of society is a social institution. This community includes stable, historically established forms of organization of joint activities of individuals. These may include, in fact, the institution of the state, education, family, etc. The task of any social institution is the realization of a certain social need of society. In the case when this need becomes irrelevant, the institution ceases to function or remains as a tradition. For example, during the Soviet period of government in Russia, the religious institution underwent significant changes and practically ceased to function as a full-fledged social institution. At the present time, it has restored its status to the full extent and functions freely, along with other social institutions.
There are the following types of social institutions:
All social institutions as elements of the social structure of society have their own ideology, a system of norms and rules, as well as control over the implementation of these rules.
Despite a certain similarity, a social institution and a social group as the main elements of the social structure are not identical concepts, although they can describe the same social community of people. A social institution is aimed at the formation of a certain type of relationship between people at the expense of institutional norms. With the help of these norms, individuals, in turn, form social groups. At the same time, the activity of each social institution is aimed at many different social groups that determine the appropriate institutional behavior in society.
Thus, the social structure, the elements of the social structure, are determined by a complex system of connections, starting from the level of individual individuals and ending with large social groups. At the same time, not only impersonal social ties play an important role, but also informal ones, characteristic of reference groups.
Society is a group of people created through purposeful and reasonably organized joint activities, and the members of such a group are not united by such a deep principle as in the case of a true community. Society is based on a convention, an agreement, the same orientation of interests. The individuality of an individual person changes much less under the influence of his inclusion in society than depending on his inclusion in the community. Society is often understood as the sphere that lies between the individual and the state.
1) The concept of society
Society is a group of people created through purposeful and reasonably organized joint activities, and the members of such a group are not united by such a deep principle as in the case of a true community. Society is based on a convention, an agreement, the same orientation of interests. The individuality of an individual person changes much less under the influence of his inclusion in society than depending on his inclusion in the community. Society is often understood as the sphere that lies between the individual and the state.
After attempts to explain the essence of the concept of "society" in antiquity (Aristotle) and in the Middle Ages (Augustine and Thomas Aquinas), this question became, especially in the 118th century, a political and philosophical problem, the exhaustive solution of which Comte tried to give in his sociology; therefore, society became the subject of consideration and the central point of the new science - sociology.
In the broadest sense, the society studied by social philosophy acts as a sociality in general, as a society, or a special kind of being in the world.
There are various interpretations of society: subjective, which considers society as a special amateur collective of people; active, which believes that society should be considered not so much the collective itself, but the process of the collective existence of people; organizational, which considers society as an institutional system of stable ties between interacting people and social groups.
Society as an extremely broad concept for designating that part of the material world that has become isolated from nature and interacts with it in a certain way. This isolation consists in the following: in contrast to the elemental natural forces, a person with consciousness and will is at the center of social development. Nature, on the other hand, exists and develops according to its own laws, independent of man and society. In this sense, society is the totality of all forms of association and ways of interaction between people, both among themselves and with the natural world around them.
This last definition is considered in this paper as the main one.
2) Structure and historical types of societies.
The concept of structure is also used in a different, broader sense as
a set of elements and their relationships. In this case, the concept of structure,
is essentially identified with the concept of the whole, since, for example,
"elementary" particles and atoms, molecules and other objects and phenomena,
being integral formations, are referred to as material structures.
Structure is the orderliness, organization of the system. Naturally
therefore, that the essential characteristic of the structure is the measure
orderliness, which in the most general form, in the cybernetic sense,
acts as a degree of deviation from the state of its thermodynamic
balance. Social systems tend to increase the degree of order,
own functioning and development.
When applied to society as a system, the structure acts as an internal
organization of society or its individual links. The structure of society is
set of social relations. Society as a whole has structure and
any particular subsystem within it. Moreover, any particular system
within the framework of the "global" whole - society - has its own specific
structure, organization, which is a specification of a more general
structure, the structure that dominates society.
Since the main component of any social system are
people, then the main element of its structure, so to speak, its
the central link is the relationship of people, primarily production
relations. People, however, act in various spheres of social life -
economic, socio-political, spiritual, family and household. From here
the presence of specific structures for specific areas of an integral society -
economic structure, socio-political structure, structure
spiritual life, the structure of everyday life and seed life. Each of them has
their features, which bear the stamp of the qualitative nature of society and
determined primarily by the dominant forms of ownership in it.
The structure of the social system appears but only as relations
people to each other. Relationships of various spheres of public life -
economic and socio-political, economic and spiritual, relations
other public spheres are also elements of the structure.
Relations of things can also be elements of the structure. At the same time, it is impossible
forget, of course, that things have a social nature. structure, for example,
such a system as an enterprise includes a certain connection,
the arrangement of machines, mechanisms, the relationship of technological
processes, etc.
The structure is also manifested in the relationship of people to things, in particular to
means of production, then the awn in the forms of ownership that
constitute an essential element of the structure of society. She can
act as the relationship of people to ideas. It is a process of development, perception,
dissemination of ideas by certain groups of people, classes, etc.
the place and relations of ideas to ideas, the connection of ideas of various kinds, etc.
For example, social consciousness as a system of ideas has certain
forms, they, these forms - science, political ideas, art, etc. -
are in a certain relationship.
Structure is also the attitude of people to processes - economic,
political, etc., the ratio of various processes in society, say
revolutions and reforms, economic and socio-political processes, etc.
Basic elements of the structure of society
The first necessary element of social activity are living
human individuals-subjects of activity with which its triggers are associated
and regulatory mechanisms.
The second element is the object of social activity. Objects
social activities can be divided into two classes:
1. Things, "tools" with which people influence
the real world around them. With these things people
carry out adaptive activities, adapting to the environment
through its material-energy transformation,
targeted transformation.
2. Symbols, signs (books, paintings, icons, etc.). These items
serve not to directly change reality, but to change
our ideas about the world. They affect our consciousness
aspirations, goals, and through them, indirectly, affect
reality other than consciousness. The function of symbols is to embody
in itself in a special way encoded information, to serve
means of its storage, accumulation, transfer, allowing people
agree on the goals of their collective activity.
The need for symbols is due to the fact that any ideas, images,
feelings designed to influence people's behavior can make
this, and only in that case will they acquire some "bodily shell"
becoming material conductors, "carriers
If things serve as a direct tool for adaptation, then symbols provide
purposefulness of human activity.
3) The social structure of society.
Social structure and social institutions. In sociology, the concept of social structure (separate parts of society ordered into a single whole) is interpreted in a broad and narrow sense.
In a narrow sense, social structure is social stratification, i.e. distribution in a hierarchical order of groups and strata, identified according to some feature (economic, political, professional, etc.).
In a broad sense, the social structure is a set of social institutions, status relations, groups, strata, classes of a given society.
