Social progress in various spheres of society. Social progress: concept, criteria

The subject matter is closely related to the problem of social change. social progress.

One of the first scientific concepts social development as successive advancement of societies on ascending levels of progress, which is determined knowledge gain, belongs to A. Saint-Simon.

His ideas were developed by the founder O. Comte. Comte's law of the intellectual evolution of mankind directly indicates the direction and criterion of social progress - the degree of advancement to the highest in his concept, the scientific (positive) stage of development. G. Spencer, sharing the idea of the non-linear nature of evolution, assumed measure social progress by the degree of societal sophistication achieved. Social evolution is similar to biological and gradually leads to the fact that the world is getting better. In the theory of K. Marx, the issue of social progress was solved almost unambiguously. The attainment of the highest stage of human development—the construction of a classless communist society, where the free labor of free people will rule—is inevitable, although remote in time.

If O. Comte, G. Spencer and E. Durkheim designed concept of progress as a two-way process of differentiation and integration regardless of its beneficial effects, then L. Ward, N. Mikhailovsky and others believed that progress is to increase human happiness or the reduction of human suffering. In one of his first works P. Sorokin pointed out that both of these currents are insufficient and they need to be synthesized. Otherwise, the theory of progress runs the risk of giving the formula of stagnation instead of the formula of progress.

Most supporters social evolutionism convinced of presence of intellectual and technical progress, however, about moral progress, opinions differ. Those who believe that moral progress exists belong to the current of evolutionary ethics. . They proceed from the fact that the very existence of morality as the basis for the interaction and mutual assistance of people is already the most important factor in the survival of society. Moral evolution does not cancel struggle for existence, but humanizes her, forcing her to find ever softer ways of fighting.

For a long time, evolutionists were dominated by the idea that evolution is unidirectional for all societies, when each of them goes through successively the same stages of development on the way to progress. In the twentieth century this view was recognized as untenable on the basis of anthropological research. It turned out that not only non-Western, but also many European countries developed not according to one, but according to different scenarios, which included a different number and sequence of stages.

On a new basis, the evolutionary approach has been revived in recent years: evolution is not unidirectional, but can go in many directions. According to the theory of evolutionary changes of the structural functionalist T. Parsons, societies tend to become more and more differentiated in their structures and functions, and new structures should be more functionally adapted than the former ones.

The position of supporters of cyclical development differs significantly. and periodic economic crises raised doubts about the general progressive development of mankind. Thus, the German scientist Oswald Spengler in his book The Decline of Europe (1918) justified the periodization of the development and decline of cultures by analogy with the stages of the human life cycle, including decline and death. In his opinion, each of the eight cultures he studied existed for about 1000 years. Therefore, if we consider that Western European culture was born about 900 years ago, then its end is already close.

The English historian Arnold Toynbee also believed that the development of civilizations takes place along one path, improving and moving towards decline along similar stages. Arising as a response to any challenge of natural or human factors, civilization flourishes as long as its elite is able to provide a counter to this challenge. Otherwise, there is a split and disintegration of civilization and, as a result of the growth of internal conflicts, a movement towards decline.

The cyclical theories should also include the sociocultural dynamics of P. Sorokin, which contains a very pessimistic assessment of the prospects for the development of modern Western society.

Another example of cyclical theories is the concept of "world-economy" by I. Wallerstein, according to which third world countries will not be able to repeat the path, passed by the states - leaders modern economy; capitalist world-economy, which originated more than 500 years ago, in 1967-1973. entered the inevitable final phase of the life cycle crisis phase.

Social progress and forecasting in philosophy

Modern is carried out within the framework of scientific and technological progress, which in turn acts as a party social progress.

Issues of social progress were paid attention to by D. Vico, I.G. Herder, A. Turgot, J. Condorsse, O. Comte, K. Marx, F. Engels and others.

Social Progress- this is an objective trend of the upward development of mankind, expressed in the improvement of the forms of human life, needs, the ability to satisfy them, in the development of science, technology, technology, the media, medicine, etc.

The question of the criteria for social progress is debatable. Some researchers in as a criterion of social progress call the level of development of the mode of production, others in this capacity single out the level of development of the productive forces of society, and others reduce it to labor productivity. It seems that it can be accepted as the most representative point of view, according to which, as a criterion of social progress, one can take the level of development of productive forces, expressed in labor productivity.

In the philosophical explanation of the social process For a long time, two points of view fought - evolutionary And revolutionary.

Some philosophers preferred evolutionary development of society while others saw great attraction in revolutionary changes in social life. It is obvious that one should be thoughtful about the ways and means of social progress. The course of the latter does not preclude a combination of revolutionary and evolutionary transformations in social life. When carrying out progressive transformations and reforms, one should be guided by the fact that their implementation does not turn into a decline in the economy, a decrease in the level of development of productive forces and a reduction, but, on the contrary, an increase in the economic wealth of society based on an increase in the level of development of productive forces and labor productivity.

Anticipation of the future in various forms has always played an important role in the life of society. The significance of foresight especially increased in the turning points of history, in periods of acute social conflicts. This is especially characteristic of the modern era, when it becomes obvious that both the distant and the near future of mankind will be radically different from its present and recent past.

foresight is knowledge about the future, i.e. about what is not yet in reality, but what is potentially contained in the present in the form of objective and subjective prerequisites for the expected course of development. Scientific foresight and social forecasting must contain answers not only to the question of what may happen in the future, but also answers to such questions as when it should be expected, what forms the future will take, and what is the measure of probability of this forecast.

There are three main methods of social forecasting:

extrapolation;
modeling;
expertise.

The most reliable method of social forecasting is expertise. Any social forecast combines scientific and ideological purposes. There are four types of forecasts: search; normative; analytical; prognosis-caution. Anticipating the future is an interdisciplinary study, and it is fruitful only in the process of integrating humanitarian, natural science and technical knowledge.

Progress and regression of society - (from Latin progressus - moving forward), the direction of development, which is characterized by a transition from lower to higher, from less perfect to more perfect. The concept of progress is the opposite of regression. Belief in progress is one of the core values of an industrial society. Progress is directly related to freedom and can be seen as its steady historical realization. Progress can be defined as progressive development, in which all changes, especially qualitative ones, follow an ascending line, revealed as a transition from lower to higher, from less perfect to more perfect. On the cultural and value horizon of mankind, the idea of progress appeared relatively late. Antiquity did not know it. Did not know her and the Middle Ages. Truly faith in progress began to assert itself in the struggle against religious faith for the spiritual emancipation of man. The triumph of the idea of progress, the corresponding moods and expectations came in the 18th century, the age of enlightenment, reason, faith in the great liberating mission of science, objectively true knowledge. Faith in progress becomes something self-evident, and in depth, inner conviction, readiness to serve, follow and obey - even akin to faith in God. An attribute is assigned to progress
historical immutability.

Progress and regress are dialectical opposites; development cannot be understood as only progress or only regression. In the evolution of living organisms and the development of society, progressive and regressive tendencies combine and interact in a complex way. Moreover, the interconnection of these tendencies in living matter and in society is not limited to the connections of alternation or cyclicity (when development processes are conceived by analogy with the growth, flourishing and subsequent wilting, aging of living organisms). Being dialectically opposite, the progress and regress of society are inextricably linked, included in each other. “... Every progress in organic development,” Engels noted, “is at the same time a regression, for it reinforces one-sided development and excludes the possibility of development in many other directions”102.

Progress in the 20th century has been mixed. The First World War dealt a tangible blow to guaranteed progress. She showed
the futility of hopes for a significant improvement in human nature. Subsequent events only strengthened this trend of disillusionment with progress. In the conditions of a post-industrial society, the realization has come that there is neither automatism nor guarantees in progress in itself, that it is necessary to fight for it. And that progress is ambiguous, that it brings with it negative social consequences. In relation to the individual, progress means faith in success, approval and encouragement of productive activity. Success, personal achievements determine the social status of a person, his own progress. A success-oriented lifestyle is unusually creative and dynamic. It allows a person to be an optimist, not to lose heart in case of failure, to strive for a new one and tirelessly create it, to easily part with the past.
and be open to the future.

Progress and regression in the development of society

All societies are in constant development, in the process of change and transition from one state to another. At the same time, sociologists distinguish two directions and three main forms of the movement of society. First, let's look at the essence progressive and regressive directions.

Progress(from lat. progressus - moving forward, success) means development with an upward trend, a movement from the lower to the higher, from the less perfect to the more perfect. It leads to positive changes in society and is manifested, for example, in the improvement of the means of production and labor force, in the development of the social division of labor and the growth of its productivity, in new achievements in science and culture, in improving the living conditions of people, their comprehensive development, etc.

Regression(from lat. regressus - reverse movement), on the contrary, involves development with a downward trend, moving backwards, moving from higher to lower, which leads to negative consequences. It can manifest itself, say, in a decrease in the efficiency of production and the level of people's well-being, in the spread of smoking, drunkenness, drug addiction in society, deterioration in the health of the population, an increase in mortality, a drop in the level of spirituality and morality of people, etc.

Which path is society following: the path of progress or regression? What the answer to this question will be depends on how people think about the future: does it bring a better life or does it bode well?

ancient greek poet Hesiod (8th-7th centuries BC) wrote about the five stages in the life of mankind.

The first stage was "golden age", when people lived easily and carelessly.

Second - "silver Age"- the beginning of the decline of morality and piety. Descending lower and lower, people found themselves in "iron age" when evil and violence reign everywhere, justice is trampled.

How did Hesiod see the path of mankind: progressive or regressive?

Unlike Hesiod, ancient philosophers

Plato and Aristotle viewed history as a cyclic cycle repeating the same stages.

The development of the idea of historical progress is connected with the achievements of science, crafts, arts, and the revival of social life in the Renaissance.

One of the first to put forward the theory of social progress was the French philosopher Anne Robber Turgot (1727-1781).

His contemporary French philosopher-enlightener Jacques Antoine Condorcet (1743-1794) sees historical progress as a path of social progress, in the center of which is the upward development of the human mind.

K. Marx He believed that humanity is moving towards an ever greater mastery of nature, the development of production and of man himself.

Recall the facts from the history of the XIX-XX centuries. Revolutions were often followed by counter-revolutions, reforms by counter-reforms, and fundamental changes in the political structure by the restoration of the old order.

Think about what examples from domestic or general history can illustrate this idea.

If we tried to depict the progress of mankind graphically, then we would get not a straight line, but a broken line, reflecting ups and downs. There have been periods in the history of different countries when reaction triumphed, when the progressive forces of society were persecuted. For example, what disasters did fascism bring to Europe: the death of millions, the enslavement of many peoples, the destruction of cultural centers, bonfires from the books of the greatest thinkers and artists, the cult of brute force.

Individual changes taking place in different areas of society can be multidirectional, i.e. progress in one area may be accompanied by regression in another.

Thus, throughout history, the progress of technology is clearly traced: from stone tools to iron ones, from hand tools to machines, etc. But the progress of technology, the development of industry led to the destruction of nature.

Thus, progress in one area was accompanied by regression in another. The progress of science and technology has had mixed consequences. The use of computer technology has not only expanded the possibilities of work, but has led to new diseases associated with prolonged work at the display: visual impairment, etc.

The growth of large cities, the complication of production and the rhythms of life in everyday life - increased the burden on the human body, gave rise to stress. Modern history, as well as the past, is perceived as the result of people's creativity, where both progress and regress take place.

Humanity as a whole is characterized by development in an ascending line. Evidence of world social progress, in particular, can be not only the growth of material well-being and social security of people, but also the weakening of confrontation (confrontation - from lat. con - against + irons - front - confrontation, confrontation) between classes and peoples of different countries, the desire for peace and cooperation of an increasing number of earthlings, the establishment of political democracy, the development of universal human morality and genuine humanistic culture, everything humane in man, finally.

An important sign of social progress, further, scientists consider the growing trend towards the liberation of man - liberation (a) from suppression by the state, (b) from the dictates of the collective, (c) from any exploitation, (d) from the isolation of living space, (e) from fear for one's safety and future. In other words, a tendency to expand and more and more effective protection of civil rights and freedoms of people everywhere in the world.

In terms of the degree to which the rights and freedoms of citizens are ensured, the modern world presents a very mixed picture. Thus, according to the estimates of the American organization in support of democracy in the world community "Freedom House" (eng. Freedom House - Freedom House, founded in 1941), which annually publishes a "map of freedom" of the world, from 191 countries of the planet in 1997.

– 79 were completely free;

- partly free (which includes Russia) - 59;

- not free - 53. Among the latter, 17 most not free states (the "worst of the worst" category) are highlighted - such as Afghanistan, Burma, Iraq, China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and others. The geography of the spread of freedom around the globe is curious: its main centers are concentrated in Western Europe and North America. At the same time, out of 53 countries in Africa, only 9 are recognized as free, and not a single one among the Arab countries.

Progress can also be seen in human relations themselves. More and more people understand that they must learn to live together and abide by the laws of society, must respect other people's living standards and be able to find compromises (compromise - from lat. compromissum - an agreement based on mutual concessions), must suppress their own aggressiveness, appreciate and protect nature and everything that previous generations have created. These are encouraging signs that humanity is steadily moving towards a relationship of solidarity, harmony and goodness.

Regression is more often local in nature, that is, it concerns either individual societies or life spheres, or individual periods. For example, while Norway, Finland and Japan (our neighbors) and other Western countries were steadily climbing the steps of progress and prosperity, the Soviet Union and its "comrades in socialist misfortune" [Bulgaria, East Germany (East Germany), Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and others] regressed, sliding irresistibly in the 1970s and 80s. into the abyss of collapse and crisis. Moreover, progress and regress are often intricately intertwined.

So, in Russia in the 1990s, both are clearly present. The decline in production, the rupture of former economic ties between factories, the decline in the standard of living of many people and the increase in crime are obvious "marks" of regression. But there is also the opposite - signs of progress: the liberation of society from Soviet totalitarianism and the dictatorship of the CPSU, the beginning of a movement towards a market and democracy, the expansion of the rights and freedoms of citizens, significant freedom of the media, the transition from the Cold War to peaceful cooperation with the West, etc.

Questions and tasks

1. Define progress and regress.

2. How was the path of mankind viewed in antiquity?

What changed about this during the Renaissance?

4. Is it possible to talk about social progress in general, given the ambiguity of changes?

5. Think about the questions posed in one of the philosophical books: Is it progress to replace the arrow with a firearm, the flintlock with a submachine gun? Is it possible to consider the replacement of red-hot tongs with electric current as a progress? Justify your answer.

6. Which of the following can be attributed to the contradictions of social progress:

A) the development of technology leads to the emergence of both means of creation and means of destruction;

B) the development of production leads to a change in the social status of the worker;

C) the development of scientific knowledge leads to a change in human ideas about the world;

D) human culture undergoes changes under the influence of production.

Previous12345678910111213141516Next

USE. Society. Topic 6. Progress. Regression

Any development is a movement forward or backward. So society can develop either progressively or regressively, and sometimes both of these processes are characteristic of society, only in different spheres of life. What is progress and regression?

Progress

Progress - from from lat. progressus - movement forward, This is a direction in the development of society, which is characterized by movement from the lowest to the highest, from the less perfect to the more perfect, this is a progressive movement forward, to the better.

Social progress is a world-historical process, which is characterized by the ascent of mankind from primitiveness (savagery) to civilization, which is based on scientific, technical, political, legal, moral and ethical achievements.

Types of progress in society

Social	The development of society along the path of justice, the creation of conditions for the comprehensive development of the individual, for his decent life, the fight against the causes that hinder this development.
Material	The process of meeting the material needs of mankind, which is based on the development of science, technology, and the improvement of people's living standards.
Scientific	Deepening the knowledge of the surrounding world, society and man, further development of micro- and macrocosmos.
Scientific and technical	The development of science is aimed at developing technology, improving the production process, and automating it.
Cultural (spiritual)	The development of morality, the formation of conscious altruism, the gradual transformation of a person - a consumer into a person - a creator, self-development and self-improvement of the individual.

Progress Criteria

The question of the criteria of progress (that is, signs, grounds for judging phenomena as progressive) has always caused ambiguous answers in different historical eras. I will give some points of view on the criteria for progress.

Modern criteria for progress are not so unambiguous. There are many of them, in a complex they testify to the progressive development of society.

Criteria of social progress of modern scientists:

The development of production, the economy as a whole, the increase in human freedom in relation to nature, the living standards of people, the growth of people's well-being, the quality of life.
The level of democratization of society.
The level of freedom enshrined in law, the opportunities provided for the comprehensive development and self-realization of the individual, the reasonable use of freedom.
Moral improvement of society.
The development of enlightenment, science, education, the increase in human needs for scientific, philosophical, aesthetic knowledge of the world.
The lifespan of people.
Increasing human happiness and goodness.

However, progress is not only a positive phenomenon. Unfortunately, humanity simultaneously creates and destroys. Skillful conscious use of the achievements of the human mind is also one of the criteria for the progress of society.

Controversy of social progress

Positive and negative consequences of progress	Examples
Progress in some areas may lead to stagnation in others.	A striking example is the period of Stalinism in the USSR. In the 1930s, a course was taken towards industrialization, and the pace of industrial development increased sharply. However, the social sphere developed poorly, light industry worked on a residual basis. The result is a significant deterioration in the quality of life of people.
The fruits of scientific progress can be used both for the good and for the harm of people.	The development of information systems, the Internet is the greatest achievement of mankind, opening up great opportunities for it. However, at the same time, computer addiction appears, a person leaves for the virtual world, a new disease has appeared - “computer gaming addiction”.
Making progress today can lead to negative consequences in the future.	An example is the development of virgin lands during the reign of N. Khrushchev .. At first, a rich harvest was really obtained, but after a while soil erosion appeared.
Progress in one country does not always lead to progress in another.	Recall the state of the Golden Horde. It was a huge empire at the beginning of the 13th century, with a large army, advanced military equipment. However, progressive phenomena in this state became a disaster for many countries, including Rus', which was under the yoke of the horde for more than two hundred years.

Summing up, I would like to note that humanity is characterized by the desire to move forward, opening up new and new opportunities. However, one must remember, and scientists in the first place, what will be the consequences of such a progressive movement, whether it will turn out to be a catastrophe for people. Therefore, it is necessary to minimize the negative consequences of progress.

Regression

The path of social development opposite to progress is regression (from Latin regressus, that is, movement in the opposite direction, return back) - movement from more perfect to less perfect, from higher forms of development to lower ones, movement back, changes for the worse.

Signs of regression in society

Deterioration of the quality of life of people
Decline in the economy, crisis phenomena
Rise in human mortality, decline in the average standard of living
Deterioration of the demographic situation, decline in the birth rate
Increasing incidence of people, epidemics., A large percentage of the population with

Chronic diseases.

The fall of morality, education, culture of society as a whole.
Solving issues by forceful, declarative methods and ways.
Reducing the level of freedom in society, its violent suppression.
The weakening of the country as a whole and its international position.

Solving the problems associated with the regressive processes of society is one of the tasks of the government, the country's leadership. In a democratic state, following the path of civil society, which is Russia, public organizations and the opinion of the people are of great importance. Problems must be solved, and solved together, by the authorities and the people.

Material prepared: Melnikova Vera Alexandrovna

The concept of social progress

Starting any new business for himself, a person believes that it will be successfully completed. We believe in the best and hope for the best. Our grandfathers and fathers, enduring all the hardships of life, hard times of war, working tirelessly, were convinced that we, their children, would get a happy life, easier than the one they lived. And so it has always been.

During the 16th - 17th centuries, when Europeans expanded the expanses of the Oikumene (Promised Land) by discovering the New World, when new branches of science began to emerge, the word " progress».

This concept is based on the Latin word "progressus" - "moving forward."

In the modern scientific dictionary under social progress began to understand the totality of all progressive changes in society, its development from simple to complex, the transition from a lower level to a higher one.

However, even hardened optimists, convinced that the future must inevitably be better than the present, realized that the process of renewal does not always go smoothly and progressively. Sometimes, moving forward is followed by a rollback - a backward movement, when society can slide down to more primitive stages of development. This process has been called " regression". Regression is opposed to progress.

Also, in the development of society, periods can be distinguished when there is no obvious improvement, progressive dynamics, but there is no movement back. This state is called " Withtagnation' or 'stagnation'. Stagnation is an extremely dangerous phenomenon. It means that “braking mechanisms” have turned on in society, that it is not able to perceive the new, the advanced. A society in a state of stagnation rejects this new, striving at all costs to preserve the old, obsolete structures, and opposes renewal. Even the ancient Romans emphasized: "If you do not move forward, you move back."

And progress, and regression and stagnation do not exist separately in human history. They intertwine in a bizarre way, replace each other, complement the picture of social development. Often when studying historical events, for example, reforms or revolutions, you met with such a concept as “counter-reforms”, “reactionary turn”. For example, when considering the “great reforms” of Alexander II, which affected all spheres of Russian society, led to the overthrow of serfdom, the creation of stateless local governments (zemstvos and city dumas, an independent judiciary), we cannot fail to note the reaction that followed them - the “counter-reforms” of Alexander III. This usually happens when innovations are too significant, too fast, and the social system does not have time to successfully adapt to them. Inevitably, there comes a correction of these changes, a kind of "shrinkage" and "failure". The well-known Russian publicist M.N. Katkov, a contemporary of the “great reforms”, wrote that Russia had advanced too far along the path of liberal transformations, that it was time to stop, look back, and comprehend how these changes correlate with Russian reality. And, of course, make adjustments. As you know from the lessons of history, it was in the 1880s and early 1890s that the powers of jury trials were limited, and tighter control was established over the activities of zemstvos by the state.

Significant upheavals were caused for our country by the reforms of Peter I, in the words of A.S. Pushkin, "raised Russia on its hind legs." And to a certain extent, as the modern Russian historian A. Yanov aptly defined, the “Depetrovization” of the country was required after the death of Tsar Peter.

In other words, the reaction should not be viewed only in a negative way. Although most often, in history lessons, we talk about its negative side. The reactionary period is always the curtailment of reforms, an attack on the rights of citizens. "Arakcheevshchina", "Nikolaev reaction", "gloomy seven years" - these are examples of such an approach.

But the reaction is different. It can be a response to both liberal and conservative reforms.

So, we noted that social progress is a complex and ambiguous concept. In its development, society does not always follow the path of improvement. Progress can be supplemented by regressive periods and stagnation. Let us consider another side of social progress, which convinces us of the contradictory nature of this phenomenon.

Progress in one area of social life, for example, in science and technology, does not necessarily have to be complemented by progress in other areas. Moreover, even what we consider progressive today may turn out to be a disaster tomorrow or in the foreseeable future. Let's take an example. Many great discoveries of scientists, for example, the discovery of X-rays or the phenomenon of fission of the uranium nucleus, brought to life new types of terrible weapons - weapons of mass destruction.

Further, progress in the life of one of the countries does not necessarily entail progressive changes in other countries and regions. History gives us many such examples. The Central Asian commander Tamerlane contributed to the significant prosperity of his country, the cultural and economic rise of its cities, but at what expense? Due to the robbery and ruin of other lands. The colonization of Asia and Africa by Europeans contributed to the growth of the wealth and standard of living of the peoples of Europe, but in a number of cases preserved the archaic forms of social life in the countries of the East. Let's touch upon another problem that touches upon the theme of the progress of society. Speaking of "better" or "worse", "high" or "low", "primitive" or "complex" - we always have in mind the subjective characteristics inherent in people. What is progressive for one person may not be so for another. It is difficult to talk about progress when we mean the phenomena of spiritual culture, the creative activity of people.

Social development will be influenced by both objective factors that do not depend on the will and desire of people (natural phenomena, cataclysms), and subjective ones, due to the activities of people, their interests, aspirations, and opportunities. It is the action of the subjective factor in history (man) that makes the concept of social progress so complex and contradictory.

Studying history, we see how different aspects of social life change over time, one type of society replaces another.

Social change

Various changes are constantly taking place in society. Some of them are being implemented before our eyes (a new president is being elected, social programs are being introduced to help families or the poor, legislation is being changed).

Social changes are characterized by their direction, they are both positive (positive changes for the better), they are called progress, and negative (negative changes for the worse) - regression.

We advise you to remember!
Social progress - consistent positive changes in society; the process of its ascent from one historical stage to another, the development of society from simple to complex, from less developed forms to more developed ones.
Social regression is the movement of society back to the lower stages of development.

Let's look at a historical example. The Roman Empire developed progressively over hundreds of years. New buildings were erected, architecture, poetry and theater developed, legislation was improved, new territories were conquered. But in the era of the Great Migration of Nations, barbarian nomadic tribes destroyed the Roman Empire. Cattle and poultry grazed on the ruins of ancient palaces, aqueducts no longer supplied fresh water to the cities. Illiteracy reigned where the arts and crafts once flourished. Progress has been replaced by regression.

Ways of social progress

Progress is made in many ways and ways. There are gradual and spasmodic types of social progress. The first is called reformist, the second - revolutionary.

We advise you to remember!
Reform - partial gradual improvement in any area; legislative change.
Revolution - a complete change in all or most aspects of public life, affecting the foundations of the existing social order.

The first revolution in the history of mankind was the so-called Neolithic revolution, which was a qualitative leap, the transition from an appropriating economy (hunting and gathering) to a productive one (agriculture and cattle breeding). The Neolithic revolution began 10 thousand years ago. It was a global revolution - it swept the whole world.

The second global process was the industrial revolution of the XVIII-XIX centuries. It also played an outstanding role in human history, led to the spread of machine production, the replacement of an agrarian society by an industrial one.

Global revolutions affect all spheres of society and many countries, and therefore lead to qualitative changes.

The revolutions taking place in individual countries also lead to reorganization in all spheres of people's lives. A similar thing happened to Russia after the October Revolution of 1917, when the Soviets of Workers' and Peasants' Deputies came to power. Authorities have changed, entire social groups have disappeared (for example, the nobility), but new ones have appeared - the Soviet intelligentsia, collective farmers, party workers, etc.

Reforms are partial changes that affect not the entire society, but its individual areas.

Reforms, as a rule, do not affect all countries, but each one individually, since this is an internal affair of the state. Reforms are carried out by the government, they are public, they are planned in advance, wide sections of the population are involved in their discussion, and the progress of the reform is covered by the press.

Interesting Facts
One of the greatest reformers in history was the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (527-565) - He established a commission to create a code of Roman law (in Latin - Corpus juris civilis) in order to replace obsolete laws. It was also necessary to eliminate contradictions in the legislation. When the Code of Justinian was created, all laws not included in it lost their force. Until now, Roman law underlies the civil law of most modern countries (including Russia).

Today, our country is undergoing an education reform that began back in the 1990s and led to the emergence of new textbooks, the USE examination system, and state educational standards.

smart thought
"Progress is a way of being human."
- - Victor Hugo, French writer - -

The impact of technological progress on society

The basis for the development of society is technical progress - the improvement of tools and technology, as it changes production, the quality and productivity of labor, has an impact on man, on the relationship of society with nature.

Technological progress has a long history of development. About 2 million years ago, the first tools of labor appeared (remember what they were), from which technical progress originates. Approximately 8-10 thousand years ago, our ancestors switched from gathering and hunting to farming and cattle breeding, and about 6 thousand years ago people began to live in cities, specialize in certain types of labor, divided into social classes. In the second half of the 17th century, with the beginning of the industrial revolution, the era of industrial factories opened, and in the 20th century - computers, the Internet, thermonuclear energy, and space exploration. The modern personal computer is superior in performance to the computing centers of the 80-90s of the last century.

What replaced the forge (1), plow (2), pen and inkwell (3)? Can we speak of social progress in these cases?

Perhaps no other society valued innovation as highly as it does today. In the 20th century, unique inventions were made: electricity, radio, television, cars, airplanes, nuclear energy, rocket science, computers, laser technology and robots. Each new invention, in turn, led to the creation of even more advanced generations of technology.

Technological progress also affected the social sphere. Technical devices make life much easier for a person, help people solve everyday problems (cook food, clean an apartment, do laundry, etc.), come to the aid of people with disabilities. The advent of the automobile radically changed the idea of the place of work and residence, made it possible for a person to live many kilometers from his workplace. People have become more mobile, including teenagers who, thanks to the Internet, have begun to communicate with their peers from geographically distant places.

Technological progress has changed the lives of millions of people, but at the same time has created many problems. Active human intervention in nature has led to many negative consequences: many species of plants and animals disappear or are on the verge of extinction, forests are cut down, industrial enterprises pollute water, air and soil. The conveniences of city life are accompanied by air pollution, traffic fatigue, and so on.

Summing up
Social progress is the movement of mankind from lower to higher levels. It has a global character covering the whole world. On the contrary, regression is a temporary retreat from the won positions. Revolutions and reforms are two types of social progress. Revolutions can be global or limited to one or a few countries. Reforms are carried out only in one society and are gradual.

Basic terms and concepts
Social progress, social regression, reforms, revolution, technical progress.

Test your knowledge

Give examples of social change. Do changes in social life always lead to positive consequences? Justify your answer.
Explain the meaning of the concepts: "social progress", "social regression", "reform", "revolution", "technical progress".
Choose keywords that characterize social progress, regression of society, revolutions, reforms.
Give examples from history that illustrate the various paths of social progress.
How do you think wars affect the development of society? Do they play a progressive or regressive role? Explain your answer.

Workshop

Progress(movement forward, success) is a type or direction of development characterized by a transition from lower to higher, from less perfect to more perfect. We can talk about progress in relation to the system as a whole, to its individual elements, to the structure and other parameters of a developing object.

The idea that changes in the world occur in a certain direction arose in ancient times. However, for most ancient authors, the development of history is a simple sequence of events, a cyclical cycle repeating the same stages (Plato, Aristotle), a process going in a certain direction, towards some unknown goal.

The philosophy of the bourgeoisie, reflecting the real acceleration of social development, is filled with confidence that it is progress, for example, that determines the breaking of feudal relations.

Progress is not some kind of independent essence or an unknown goal of historical development. The concept of progress makes sense only in relation to a certain historical process or phenomenon.

The criteria for social progress are:

The development of the productive forces of society, including man himself;

Progress of science and technology;

An increase in the degree of human freedom that society can provide to a person;

The level of education;

Health status;

Ecological situation, etc.

Opposite in meaning and content to the concept of "progress" is the concept "regression"(in Latin - regressus - return, movement back), i.e. the type of development, which is characterized by a transition from higher to lower, is characterized by degradation processes, a decrease in the level of management organization, a loss of the ability to perform certain functions (the conquest of the Roman Empire by the barbarian tribes).

Stagnation- 1) periods in the development of society when there is no obvious improvement, progressive dynamics, but there is also no reverse movement; 2) a delay in the development of society forward and even a temporary stop. Stagnation is a serious symptom of the “disease” of society, the emergence of new, advanced braking mechanisms. At this time, society rejects the new, resists renewal (USSR in the 70s - 90s)

Separately, neither progress, nor regression, nor stagnation exist. Alternately replacing each other, intertwining, they complete the picture of social development.

The concept of scientific and technological revolution is connected with the concept of progress - Scientific and technological revolution- a radical, qualitative transformation of the productive forces on the basis of the transformation of science into a leading factor in the development of social production, a direct productive force.

Results and social consequences of scientific and technological revolution:

The growth of consumer standards in society;

Improvement of working conditions;

Increasing requirements for the level of education, qualifications, culture, organization, responsibility of employees;

Improving the interaction of science with technology and production;

Widespread use of computers, etc.

6. The processes of globalization and the formation of a single humanity. Global problems of the present.

The globalization of society is a process of bringing people together and transforming society on a planetary scale. At the same time, the word "globalization" implies a transition to "universality", globality. That is, to a more interconnected world system in which interdependent channels of communication transcend traditional boundaries.

The concept of "globalization" also implies the awareness of humanity of its unity within one planet, the existence of common global problems and common basic norms of behavior for the whole world.

The globalization of society is a complex and diverse process of development of the world community, not only in economics and geopolitics, but also in psychology and culture, for example, such as national identity and spiritual values.

The most important characteristic of the process of globalization of society is international integration- the unification of mankind on a global scale into a single social organism (integration is the combination of various elements into a single whole). Therefore, the globalization of society implies not only a transition to a general market and an international division of labor, but also to common legal norms, to uniform standards in the field of justice and public administration.

Features of integration processes, covering various spheres of people's lives, most deeply and sharply manifest themselves in the so-called global problems of our time.

Global problems of our time- difficulties affecting the vital interests of all mankind and requiring urgent coordinated international action on the scale of the world community, on which the existence of mankind depends.

Features of global problems:

1) have a planetary, global character, affect the interests of all peoples of the world and states;

2) threaten degradation and destruction of all mankind;

3) need urgent and effective solutions;

4) require collective efforts of all states, joint actions of peoples.

Mankind, developing along the path of progress, gradually accumulated material and spiritual resources to meet its needs, but it never managed to completely get rid of hunger, poverty and illiteracy. The acuteness of these problems was felt by each nation in its own way, and the ways of solving them had never before gone beyond the borders of individual states.

Global problems were the result, on the one hand, of the huge scale of human activity, which radically changes nature, society, and the way of life of people; on the other hand, the inability of a person to rationally dispose of this powerful force.

Global problems:

1) Ecological problem.

Economic activity in a number of states today is developed so powerfully that it affects the ecological situation not only within a single country, but also far beyond its borders. Most scientists consider human activity to be the main cause of global climate change.

Constant development of industry, transport, agriculture, etc. requires a sharp increase in energy costs and entails an ever-increasing burden on nature. Nowadays, as a result of intense human activity, even climate change is taking place.

Compared with the beginning of the last century, the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 30%, and 10% of this increase has come from the last 30 years. An increase in its concentration leads to the so-called greenhouse effect, as a result of which the climate of the entire planet is warming.

As a result of human activity, warming has occurred within 0.5 degrees. However, if the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere doubles compared to its level in the pre-industrial era, i.e. increase by another 70%, then there will be very drastic changes in the life of the Earth. First of all, by 2-4 degrees, and at the poles by 6-8 degrees, the average temperature will increase, which, in turn, will cause irreversible processes:

Melting ice;

Raising the level of the world's oceans by one meter;

Flooding of many coastal areas;

Changes in moisture exchange on the Earth's surface;

Reduced rainfall;

Change in wind direction.

Global climate change is putting a number of species of living beings inhabiting the Earth on the brink of extinction. Scientists suggest that in the near future in Southern Europe it will become drier, and in the northern part of the continent it will become wetter and warmer. As a result, periods of abnormal heat, droughts, as well as heavy rainfall and floods will increase, the risk of infectious diseases will increase, including in Russia, which will lead to significant destruction and the need for large-scale resettlement of people. Scientists have calculated that if the air temperature on Earth rises by 2C, then water resources in South Africa and the Mediterranean will be reduced by 20-30%. Up to 10 million people living in coastal zones will be at risk of flooding every year.

15-40% of terrestrial animal species will die out. Irreversible melting of the Greenland ice sheet will begin, which could lead to a sea level rise of 7 m.

2) The problem of war and peace.

In the arsenals of different countries, nuclear charges are stored, the total power of which is several million times greater than the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. This weapon can destroy all life on Earth dozens of times. But today even "conventional" means of warfare are quite capable of causing global damage to both humanity and nature.

3) Overcoming backwardness.

We are talking about a complex backwardness: in the standard of living, the development of education, science and technology, and so on. There are many countries in which the terrible poverty of the lower strata of the population reigns.

Reasons for the backwardness of developing countries:

1. These are agricultural countries. They account for over 90% of the world's rural population, but they are not even able to feed themselves, as population growth in them exceeds the growth in food production.

2. Another reason - the need to master new technologies, develop industry, services, requires participation in world trade. However, it deforms the economies of these countries.

3. The use of traditional energy sources (the physical strength of animals, the burning of wood, and various kinds of organic matter), which, due to their low efficiency, do not allow a significant increase in labor productivity in industry, transport, services, and agriculture.

4. Complete dependence on the world market and its conjuncture. Despite the fact that some of these countries have huge oil reserves, they are not able to fully control the state of affairs in the world oil market and regulate the situation in their favor.

5. The debt of developing countries to developed countries is growing rapidly, which also serves as an obstacle to overcoming their backwardness.

6. Today, the development of the productive forces and the socio-cultural environment of society is impossible without raising the level of education of the entire people, without mastering the modern achievements of science and technology. However, the necessary attention to them requires large expenditures and, of course, requires the availability of pedagogical and scientific and technical personnel. Developing countries in conditions of poverty cannot properly address these problems.

Political instability, primarily due to the low level of economic development, constantly creates the risk of military conflicts in these regions.

Poverty and a low level of culture inevitably entail uncontrolled population growth.

4) demographic problem

Population growth in developed countries is negligible, while in developing countries it is extremely high. The vast majority of people in developing countries do not have normal living conditions.

The economies of developing countries lag far behind the level of production of developed countries, and so far it has not been possible to close the gap. The situation in agriculture is very difficult.

The housing problem is also acute: the majority of the population of developing countries live in virtually unsanitary conditions, 250 million people live in slums, and 1.5 billion people are deprived of basic medical care. About 2 billion people do not have access to safe water. More than 500 million people suffer from malnutrition, and 30-40 million die of hunger every year.

5) Fight against terrorism.

Explosions of embassies, hostage-taking, murders of politicians, ordinary people, including children - all this and much more hinders the stable development of world processes, puts the world on the brink of local wars that can develop into large-scale wars.

Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

SEI VPO "Volga-Vyatka Academy of Public Administration"

Branch of the Volga-Vyatka Academy of Public Administration

in Cheboksary, Chuvash Republic

Department of Natural Sciences and Humanities

ABSTRACT

Social progress and its criteria in the light of modern social experience

Speciality: Finance and credit

Specialization: State and

municipal finance

Fulfilled :

full-time student

group 09-F-11 Shestakov I.A.

Checked :

Ph.D. Semedova - Polupan N.G.

Cheboksary

1) Introduction………………………………………………………………..3-4

2) Social progress……………………………………………....5-7

3) Philosophical view on the development of society………………………....8-9

4) The inconsistency of social progress……………………..10-11

5) Criteria of Social Progress………………………………....12-17

6) Conclusion…………………………………………………………..18-19

7) List of used literature………………………………….20

Introduction

The idea of social progress is a product of modern times. This means that it was at this time that it took root in the minds of people and began to form their worldview, the idea of the progressive, upward development of society. There was no such representation in antiquity. The ancient worldview, as is known, was of a cosmocentric nature. And this means that the man of antiquity was coordinated in relation to nature, the cosmos. Hellenic philosophy, as it were, inscribed a person in the cosmos, and the cosmos, in the view of ancient thinkers, was something abiding, eternal and beautiful in its orderliness. And man had to find his place in this eternal cosmos, and not in history. The ancient worldview was also characterized by the idea of an eternal cycle - such a movement in which something, being created and destroyed, invariably returns to itself. The idea of eternal return is deeply rooted in ancient philosophy; we find it in Heraclitus, Empedocles, and the Stoics. In general, the movement in a circle was considered in antiquity as ideally correct, perfect. It seemed to perfect ancient thinkers because it has no beginning and end and occurs in one and the same place, showing, as it were, immobility and eternity.

The idea of social progress is established in the Age of Enlightenment. This epoch raises reason, knowledge, science, human freedom to the shield and evaluates history from this point of view, opposing itself to previous epochs, where, in the opinion of the enlighteners, ignorance and despotism prevailed. The Enlighteners in a certain way understood the era of their time (as the era of "enlightenment"), its role and significance for man, and through the prism of the modernity understood in this way, they considered the past of mankind. The opposition of modernity, interpreted as the onset of the era of reason, to the past of mankind, contained, of course, a gap between the present and the past, but as soon as an attempt was made to restore a historical connection between them on the basis of reason and knowledge, the idea of an upward movement in history, of progress, immediately arose. The development and dissemination of knowledge was seen as a gradual and cumulative process. An indisputable model for such a reconstruction of the historical process was the accumulation of scientific knowledge that took place in modern times. The mental formation and development of the individual, the individual, also served as a model for them: being transferred to humanity as a whole, it gave the historical progress of the human mind. Thus, Condorcet, in his Sketch of a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind, says that "this progress is subject to the same general laws that are observed in the development of our individual faculties ...".

The idea of social progress is the idea of history, more precisely, the world history of mankind. This idea is designed to tie the story together, give it direction and meaning. But many Enlightenment thinkers, substantiating the idea of progress, sought to consider it as a natural law, blurring to some extent the line between society and nature. The naturalistic interpretation of progress was their way of imparting an objective character to progress.

Social Progress

Progress (from lat. progressus - moving forward) is such a direction of development, which is characterized by a transition from lower to higher, from less perfect to more perfect. The credit for putting forward the idea and developing the theory of social progress belongs to the philosophers of the second half of the 18th century, and the formation of capitalism and the maturation of European bourgeois revolutions served as the socio-economic basis for the very emergence of the idea of social progress. By the way, both creators of the initial concepts of social progress - Turgot and Condorcet - were active public figures in pre-revolutionary and revolutionary France. And this is quite understandable: the idea of social progress, the recognition of the fact that humanity as a whole, in the main, is moving forward, is an expression of the historical optimism inherent in progressive social forces.
Three characteristic features distinguished the original progressive concepts.

Firstly, it is idealism, i.e., an attempt to find the reasons for the progressive development of history in the spiritual beginning - in the infinite ability to improve the human intellect (the same Turgot and Condorcet) or in the spontaneous self-development of the absolute spirit (Hegel). Accordingly, the criterion of progress was also seen in the phenomena of a spiritual order, in the level of development of one or another form of social consciousness: science, morality, law, religion. By the way, progress was noticed, first of all, in the field of scientific knowledge (F. Bacon, R. Descartes), and then the corresponding idea was extended to social relations in general.

Secondly, a significant shortcoming of many early conceptions of social progress was the non-dialectical consideration of social life. In such cases, social progress is understood as a smooth evolutionary development, without revolutionary leaps, without backward movements, as a continuous ascent in a straight line (O. Comte, G. Spencer).

Thirdly, the upward development in form was limited to the achievement of any one chosen social system. This rejection of the idea of unlimited progress was very clearly reflected in Hegel's assertions. He proclaimed the Christian-German world as the pinnacle and completion of world progress, affirming freedom and equality in their traditional interpretation.

These shortcomings were largely overcome in the Marxist understanding of the essence of social progress, which includes the recognition of its inconsistency and, in particular, the fact that the same phenomenon and even a stage of historical development as a whole can be simultaneously progressive in one respect and regressive, reactionary in another. This, as we have seen, is one of the possible options for the state to influence the development of the economy.

Consequently, speaking of the progressive development of mankind, we have in mind the main, main direction of the historical process as a whole, its resultant in relation to the main stages of development. Primitive communal system, slave-owning society, feudalism, capitalism, the era of socialized social relations in the formational section of history; primitive pre-civilization, agricultural, industrial and information-computer waves in its civilizational section are the main "blocks" of historical progress, although in some of its specific parameters the subsequent formation and stage of civilization may be inferior to the previous ones. So, in a number of areas of spiritual culture, feudal society was inferior to slave-owning, which served as the basis for the enlighteners of the 18th century. look at the Middle Ages as a simple "break" in the course of history, not paying attention to the great successes made during the Middle Ages: the expansion of the cultural area of Europe, the formation of great viable nations there in proximity to each other, finally, the huge technical successes of the XIV-XV centuries. and creation of prerequisites for the emergence of experimental natural science.

If we try to determine in general terms the causes of social progress, then they will be the needs of man, which are the product and expression of his nature as a living and, no less, as a social being. As already noted in Chapter Two, these needs are diverse in nature, nature, duration of action, but in any case they determine the motives of human activity. In everyday life for thousands of years, people did not at all set as their conscious goal to ensure social progress, and social progress itself is by no means some kind of idea (“program”) initially incorporated in the course of history, the implementation of which constitutes its innermost meaning. In the process of real life, people are driven by needs generated by their biological and social nature; and in the course of realizing their vital needs, people change the conditions of their existence and themselves, because each satisfied need gives rise to a new one, and its satisfaction, in turn, requires new actions, the consequence of which is the development of society.

As you know, society is in constant motion. Thinkers have long pondered the questions: in what direction is it moving? Can this movement be likened, for example, to cyclical changes in nature: summer is followed by autumn, then winter, spring and again summer? And so for thousands and thousands of years. Or, perhaps, the life of society is similar to the life of a living being: the organism that was born grows up, becomes mature, then grows old and dies? Does the direction of the development of society depend on the conscious activity of people?

Philosophical view on the development of society

ancient greek poet Hesiod(VIII-VII centuries BC) wrote about five stages in the life of mankind. The first stage was the "golden age", when people lived easily and carelessly, the second - the "silver age", when morality and piety began to decline. So, sinking lower and lower, people found themselves in the "iron age", when evil and violence reign everywhere, justice is trampled on. It is probably not difficult for you to determine how Hesiod saw the path of mankind: progressive or regressive?

Unlike Hesiod, the ancient philosophers Plato and Aristotle viewed history as a cyclic cycle repeating the same stages.

The development of the idea of historical progress is connected with the achievements of science, crafts, arts, and the revival of social life in the Renaissance. One of the first to put forward the theory of social progress was the French philosopher Anne Robert Turgot(1727-1781). His contemporary French philosopher-enlightener Jacques Antoine Condorcet(1743-1794) wrote that history presents a picture of continuous change, a picture of the progress of the human mind. Observation of this historical picture shows in the modifications of the human race, in its incessant renewal, in the infinity of ages the path along which he followed, the steps he took, striving for truth or happiness. Observations on what man was and what he has now become will help us, wrote Condorcet, to find the means to secure and hasten the new advances that his nature allows him to hope for.

So, Condorcet sees the historical process as a path of social progress, in the center of which is the upward development of the human mind. Hegel considered progress not only as a principle of reason, but also as a principle of world events. This belief in progress was also accepted by K. Marx, who believed that humanity is moving towards ever greater mastery of nature, the development of production and of man himself.

19th and 20th centuries were marked by turbulent events that gave new "information for reflection" about the progress and regression in the life of society. In the XX century. Sociological theories appeared that abandoned the optimistic view of the development of society, characteristic of the ideas of progress. Instead, they offer theories of cyclical circulation, pessimistic ideas of the "end of history", global environmental, energy and nuclear disasters. One of the points of view on the issue of progress was put forward by the philosopher and sociologist Karl Popper, who wrote: “If we think that history is progressing, or that we are forced to progress, then we are making the same mistake as those who believe that history has a meaning that can be discovered in it, and not given to it. After all, to progress means to move towards a certain goal that exists for us as human beings. For history, this is impossible. Only we human individuals can progress, and we can do so by defending and strengthening those democratic institutions on which freedom, and with it progress, depends. We will achieve great success in this if we are more aware of the fact that progress depends on us, on our vigilance, on our efforts, on the clarity of our concept regarding our goals and the realistic choice of such goals.

Controversy of social progress

Any person, even a little familiar with history, will easily find in it facts that testify to its progressive progressive development, to its movement from lower to higher. "Homo sapiens" (reasonable man) as a biological species is higher on the ladder of evolution than its predecessors - Pithecanthropes, Neanderthals. The progress of technology is obvious: from stone tools to iron tools, from simple hand tools to machines that colossally increase the productivity of human labor, from the use of the muscular strength of humans and animals to steam engines, electric generators, atomic energy, from primitive means of transportation to cars, airplanes, spaceships. The progress of technology has always been associated with the development of knowledge, and the last 400 years - with the progress primarily of scientific knowledge. It would seem that progress in history is obvious. But this is by no means generally accepted. In any case, there are theories that either deny progress or accompany its recognition with such reservations that the concept of progress loses all objective content, appears as relativistic, depending on the position of this or that subject, on what system of values he approaches history with.

And it must be said that the denial or relativization of progress is not completely groundless. The progress of technology, which underlies the growth of labor productivity, in many cases leads to the destruction of nature and the undermining of the natural foundations of the existence of society. Science is used to create not only more perfect productive forces, but also destructive forces that are ever growing in their power. Computerization, the widespread use of information technology in various types of activities, limitlessly expands the creative possibilities of a person and at the same time poses a lot of dangers for him, starting with the emergence of various kinds of new diseases (for example, it is already known that prolonged continuous work with computer displays has a negative effect on vision, especially in children) and ending with possible situations of total control over personal life.

The development of civilization brought with it a clear softening of morals, the assertion (at least in the minds of people) of the ideals of humanism. But the 20th century saw two of the bloodiest wars in human history; Europe was flooded with a black wave of fascism, which announced publicly that the enslavement and even destruction of people treated as representatives of the "lower races" is quite legitimate. In the 20th century, the world is shaken from time to time by outbreaks of terrorism by right-wing and left-wing extremists, for whom human life is a bargaining chip in their political games. The wide spread of drug addiction, alcoholism, crime - organized and unorganized - is all this evidence of the progress of mankind? And did all the wonders of technology and the achievement of relative material well-being in economically developed countries make their inhabitants happier in every way?

In addition, in their actions and assessments, people are guided by interests, and what some people or social groups consider progress, others often evaluate from opposite positions. However, does this give grounds to say that the concept of progress depends entirely on the assessments of the subject, that there is nothing objective in it? I think that this is a rhetorical question.

Criteria of social progress.

In the extensive literature on social progress, there is currently no single answer to the main question: what is the general sociological criterion of social progress?

A relatively small number of authors argue that the very formulation of the question of a single criterion of social progress is meaningless, since human society is a complex organism, the development of which is carried out along different lines, which makes it impossible to formulate a single criterion. The majority of authors consider it possible to formulate a single general sociological criterion of social progress. However, already in the very formulation of such a criterion, there are significant discrepancies.

Condorcet (like other French Enlighteners) considered the development of the mind to be the criterion of progress. . The utopian socialists put forward a moral criterion for progress. Saint-Simon believed, for example, that society should adopt a form of organization that would lead to the implementation of the moral principle that all people should treat each other as brothers. A contemporary of the utopian socialists, a German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling(1775-1854) wrote that the solution of the question of historical progress is complicated by the fact that supporters and opponents of faith in the perfection of mankind are completely confused in disputes about the criteria of progress. Some talk about the progress of mankind in the field of morality , others - about the progress of science and technology , which, as Schelling wrote, from a historical point of view is rather a regression, and offered his own solution to the problem: only a gradual approach to the legal order can serve as a criterion in establishing the historical progress of the human race. Another point of view on social progress belongs to G. Hegel. He saw the criterion of progress in the consciousness of freedom. . As the consciousness of freedom grows, the progressive development of society takes place.

As you can see, the question of the criterion of progress occupied the great minds of modern times, but did not find a solution. The disadvantage of all attempts to overcome this problem was that in all cases only one line (or one side, or one sphere) of social development was considered as a criterion. And reason, and morality, and science, and technology, and the legal order, and the consciousness of freedom - all these indicators are very important, but not universal, not covering the life of a person and society as a whole.

The dominant idea of infinite progress inevitably led to what seemed to be the only possible solution to the problem; the main, if not the only, criterion of social progress can only be the development of material production, which, in the final analysis, predetermines the change in all other aspects and spheres of social life. Among Marxists, V. I. Lenin insisted on this conclusion more than once, who as early as 1908 called for considering the interests of the development of productive forces as the highest criterion of progress. After October, Lenin returned to this definition and emphasized that the state of the productive forces is the main criterion for the entire social development, since each subsequent socio-economic formation finally defeated the previous one precisely because it opened up more scope for the development of the productive forces, achieved a higher productivity of social labor.

A serious argument in favor of this position is that the very history of mankind begins with the manufacture of tools and exists due to continuity in the development of productive forces.

It is noteworthy that the conclusion about the state and level of development of the productive forces as the general criterion of progress was shared by the opponents of Marxism, the technists, on the one hand, and the scientists, on the other. A legitimate question arises: how could the concepts of Marxism (i.e., materialism) and scientism (i.e., idealism) converge at one point? The logic of this convergence is as follows. The scientist discovers social progress, first of all, in the development of scientific knowledge, but after all, scientific knowledge acquires the highest meaning only when it is realized in practice, and, above all, in material production.

In the process of the ideological confrontation between the two systems, which is still just a thing of the past, the technologists used the thesis of the productive forces as the general criterion of social progress to prove the superiority of the West, which was and is going ahead in this indicator. The disadvantage of this criterion is that the assessment of the productive forces involves taking into account their quantity, nature, the level of development achieved and the labor productivity associated with it, the ability to grow, which is very important when comparing different countries and stages of historical development. For example, the number of production forces in modern India is greater than in South Korea, and their quality is lower. If we take the development of productive forces as the criterion of progress; evaluating them in dynamics, this presupposes a comparison no longer from the point of view of the greater or lesser development of the productive forces, but from the point of view of the course, the speed of their development. But in this case, the question arises, which period should be taken for comparison.

Some philosophers believe that all difficulties will be overcome if we take the mode of production of material goods as a general sociological criterion of social progress. A weighty argument in favor of such a position is that the foundation of social progress is the development of the mode of production as a whole, that by taking into account the state and growth of productive forces, as well as the nature of production relations, it is possible to show much more fully the progressive nature of one formation in relation to another.

Far from denying that the transition from one mode of production to another, more progressive, underlies progress in a number of other areas, opponents of the point of view under consideration almost always note that the main question remains unresolved: how to determine the very progressiveness of this new mode of production.

Rightly believing that human society is, first of all, a developing community of people, another group of philosophers puts forward the development of man himself as a general sociological criterion of social progress. It is indisputable that the course of human history really testifies to the development of people who make up human society, their social and individual strengths, abilities, and inclinations. The advantage of this approach is that it allows measuring social progress by the progressive development of the very subjects of historical creativity - people.

The most important criterion of progress is the level of humanism of the society, i.e. the position of the individual in it: the degree of its economic, political and social liberation; the level of satisfaction of its material and spiritual needs; the state of her psychophysical and social health. According to this point of view, the criterion of social progress is the measure of freedom that society is able to provide to the individual, the degree of individual freedom guaranteed by society. The free development of a person in a free society also means the disclosure of his truly human qualities - intellectual, creative, moral. The development of human qualities depends on the living conditions of people. The more fully the various needs of a person in food, clothing, housing, transport services, his requests in the spiritual field are satisfied, the more moral relations between people become, the more accessible for a person are the most diverse types of economic and political, spiritual and material activities. The more favorable the conditions for the development of the physical, intellectual, mental forces of a person, his moral principles, the wider the scope for the development of individual qualities inherent in each individual person. In short, the more humane the conditions of life, the more opportunities for the development of the human in a person: reason, morality, creative forces.

Let us note, by the way, that inside this indicator, which is complex in its structure, one can and should be singled out, which, in fact, combines all the others. That, in my opinion, is the average life expectancy. And if it in a given country is 10-12 years less than in the group of developed countries, and besides, it shows a tendency to further decrease, the question of the degree of progressiveness of this country should be decided accordingly. For, as one of the famous poets said, "all progress is reactionary if a person collapses."

The level of society's humanism as an integrative (ie, passing through and absorbing changes literally in all spheres of society's life) criterion incorporates the criteria discussed above. Each subsequent formational and civilizational stage is more progressive in terms of personality - it expands the range of rights and freedoms of the individual, entails the development of his needs and the improvement of his abilities. It suffices to compare in this respect the status of a slave and a serf, a serf and a wage worker under capitalism. At first, it may seem that the slave-owning formation, which marked the beginning of the era of exploitation of man by man, stands apart in this respect. But, as F. Engels explained, even for a slave, not to mention the free ones, slavery was a personal progress: if before the prisoner was killed or eaten, now he was left to live.

So, the content of social progress was, is and will be the "humanization of man", achieved through the contradictory development of his natural and social forces, that is, the productive forces and the whole range of social relations. From the foregoing, we can conclude that there is a universal criterion for social progress: progressive is that which contributes to the rise of humanism. . The thoughts of the world community about the "limits to growth" have significantly actualized the problem of the criteria for social progress. Indeed, if in the social world around us not everything is as simple as it seemed and seems to the progressives, then by what most essential signs can one judge the progressiveness of social development as a whole, the progressiveness, conservatism or reactionary nature of certain phenomena?

We note right away that the question “how to measure” social progress has never received an unambiguous answer in the philosophical and sociological literature. This situation is largely due to the complexity of society as a subject and object of progress, its diversity and multi-quality. Hence the search for its own, local criterion for each sphere of public life. But at the same time, society is an integral organism and, as such, it must meet the basic criterion of social progress. People, as G. V. Plekhanov noted, do not make several stories, but one story of their own relations. Our thinking is able and must reflect this unified historical practice in its entirety.

Conclusion

1) Society is a complex organism in which various “organs” function (enterprises, associations of people, state institutions, etc.), various processes (economic, political, spiritual, etc.) simultaneously occur, and various activities of people unfold. All these parts of one social organism, all these processes, various types of activity are interconnected and, at the same time, may not coincide in their development. Moreover, individual processes, changes taking place in different areas of society can be multidirectional, i.e., progress in one area may be accompanied by regression in another. Thus, it is impossible to find any general criterion by which it would be possible to judge the progress of this or that society. Like many processes in our life, social progress based on various criteria can be characterized in different ways. Therefore, in my opinion, there is simply no general criterion.

2) Despite the inconsistency and ambiguity of many provisions of the socio-political concept of Aristotle, the approaches he proposed to the analysis of the state, the method of political science and its lexicon (including the history of the issue, the formulation of the problem, the arguments “for” to “against”, etc.), the allocation of what is the subject of political reflection and reasoning, still have a fairly noticeable impact on political research today. The reference to Aristotle is still a fairly weighty scientific argument confirming the truth of the conclusions about political processes and phenomena. The concept of progress, as mentioned above, is based on some value or set of values. But the concept of progress has become so firmly established in the modern mass consciousness that we are faced with a situation where the very idea of progress - progress as such - acts as a value. Progress, therefore, by itself, regardless of any values, tries to fill life and history with meaning, and verdicts are passed on its behalf. Progress can be conceived either as striving for some goal, or as an endless movement and deployment. Obviously, progress without a foundation in some other value that would serve as its goal is possible only as an endless ascent. Its paradox lies in the fact that movement without a goal, movement to nowhere, generally speaking, is meaningless.

List of used literature

1. Philosophy: Textbook / Gubin V.D.; Sidorina T.Yu. - M. 2005

2. Philosophy: A textbook for students. universities / P.V. Alekseev; A.V. Panin. - 3rd ed.-M.: Prospekt, 2004 - 608s.

3. Philosophy: Reader / K.Kh.Delokarov; S. B. Rotsinsky. - M.: RAGS, 2006.-768s.

4. Philosophy: Textbook / V.P. Kokhanovsky. - Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 2006.- 576s.

5. Political sociology: Textbook / Yu.S. Bortsov; Yu.G.Volkov. - Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 2001.

6. Social Philosophy: Textbook. / Ed. I. A. Gobozova. Moscow: publisher Savin, 2003.

7. Introduction to philosophy: Textbook for universities / Ed. coll.: Frolov I.T. and others. 2nd ed., revised. and additional M: Republic, 2002.

How to learn to dance club dances at home Is it possible to learn to dance at home

Wedding malvinka: creating a romantic styling