Traditional society. Types of society

Society is a complex natural-historical structure, the elements of which are people. Their connections and relationships are determined by certain social status, the functions and roles they perform, the norms and values ​​generally accepted in a given system, as well as their individual qualities. Society is usually divided into three types: traditional, industrial and post-industrial. Each of them has its own distinctive features and functions.

This article will look at traditional society (definition, characteristics, basics, examples, etc.).

What it is?

A modern industrialist, new to history and social science, may not understand what a “traditional society” is. We will consider the definition of this concept further.

Operates on the basis of traditional values. It is often perceived as tribal, primitive and backward feudal. It is a society with an agrarian structure, with sedentary structures and with methods of social and cultural regulation based on traditions. It is believed that for most of its history, humanity was at this stage.

Traditional society, the definition of which is discussed in this article, is a collection of groups of people at different stages of development and without a mature industrial complex. The determining factor in the development of such social units is agriculture.

Characteristics of a traditional society

A traditional society is characterized by the following features:

1. Low production rates, satisfying people's needs at a minimum level.
2. High energy intensity.
3. Failure to accept innovations.
4. Strict regulation and control of the behavior of people, social structures, institutions, and customs.
5. As a rule, in a traditional society any manifestation of personal freedom is prohibited.
6. Social formations, sanctified by traditions, are considered unshakable - even the thought of their possible changes is perceived as criminal.

Traditional society is considered agrarian, as it is based on agriculture. Its functioning depends on the cultivation of crops using a plow and draft animals. Thus, the same piece of land could be cultivated several times, resulting in permanent settlements.

Traditional society is also characterized by the predominant use of manual labor and the extensive absence of market forms of trade (the predominance of exchange and redistribution). This led to enrichment individuals or classes.

The forms of ownership in such structures are, as a rule, collective. Any manifestations of individualism are not accepted and rejected by society, and are also considered dangerous, as they violate the established order and traditional balance. There is no impetus for the development of science and culture, so extensive technologies are used in all areas.

Political structure

The political sphere in such a society is characterized by authoritarian power, which is inherited. This is explained by the fact that only in this way can traditions be maintained for a long time. The management system in such a society was quite primitive (hereditary power was in the hands of the elders). The people actually had no influence on politics.

Often there is an idea about the divine origin of the person in whose hands the power was. In this regard, politics is actually completely subordinated to religion and is carried out only according to sacred instructions. The combination of secular and spiritual power made possible the increasing subordination of people to the state. This, in turn, strengthened the stability of a traditional type of society.

Social relations

In the sphere of social relations, the following features of traditional society can be distinguished:

1. Patriarchal structure.
2. The main purpose of the functioning of such a society is to maintain human life and avoid its extinction as a species.
3. Low level
4. Traditional society is characterized by division into classes. Each of them played a different social role.

5. Personality assessment in terms of the place that people occupy in the hierarchical structure.
6. A person does not feel like an individual; he considers only his belonging to a certain group or community.

Spiritual realm

In the spiritual sphere, traditional society is characterized by deep religiosity and moral principles instilled from childhood. Certain rituals and dogmas were an integral part of human life. Writing as such did not exist in traditional society. That is why all legends and traditions were transmitted orally.

Relationships with nature and the environment

The influence of traditional society on nature was primitive and insignificant. This was explained by low-waste production represented by cattle breeding and agriculture. Also, in some societies there were certain religious rules condemning the pollution of nature.

It was closed in relation to the outside world. Traditional society did its best to protect itself from outside invasions and any external influence. As a result, man perceived life as static and unchanging. Qualitative changes in such societies occurred very slowly, and revolutionary changes were perceived extremely painfully.

Traditional and industrial society: differences

Industrial society arose in the 18th century, primarily in England and France.

Some of its distinctive features should be highlighted.
1. Creation of large machine production.
2. Standardization of parts and assemblies of various mechanisms. This made mass production possible.
3. Another important one distinguishing feature- urbanization (the growth of cities and the resettlement of a significant part of the population on their territory).
4. Division of labor and its specialization.

Traditional and industrial societies have significant differences. The first is characterized by a natural division of labor. Traditional values ​​and patriarchal structure prevail here, and there is no mass production.

Post-industrial society should also be highlighted. Traditional, in contrast, aims to extract natural resources, rather than collect information and store it.

Examples of Traditional Society: China

Vivid examples of a traditional type of society can be found in the East in the Middle Ages and modern times. Among them, India, China, Japan, and the Ottoman Empire should be highlighted.

Since ancient times, China has been distinguished by its strong state power. By the nature of evolution, this society is cyclical. China is characterized by a constant alternation of several eras (development, crisis, social explosion). It should also be noted the unity of spiritual and religious authorities in this country. According to tradition, the emperor received the so-called “Mandate of Heaven” - divine permission to rule.

Japan

The development of Japan in the Middle Ages also suggests that there was a traditional society here, the definition of which is discussed in this article. The entire population of the Land of the Rising Sun was divided into 4 estates. The first is the samurai, daimyo and shogun (personified the highest secular power). They occupied a privileged position and had the right to bear arms. The second estate were peasants who owned land as a hereditary holding. The third is artisans and the fourth is merchants. It should be noted that trade in Japan was considered an unworthy activity. It is also worth highlighting the strict regulation of each class.

Unlike other traditional eastern countries, in Japan there was no unity of supreme secular and spiritual authority. The first was personified by the shogun. In his hands was most of the lands and enormous power. There was also an emperor (tenno) in Japan. He was the personification of spiritual power.

India

Vivid examples of a traditional type of society can be found in India throughout the country's history. The Mughal Empire, located on the Hindustan Peninsula, was based on military caste system. The supreme ruler - the padishah - was the main owner of all the land in the state. Indian society was strictly divided into castes, whose lives were strictly regulated by laws and sacred regulations.

Introduction.

The relevance of the problem of traditional society is dictated by global changes in the worldview of mankind. Civilization studies today are especially acute and problematic. The world oscillates between prosperity and poverty, the individual and the number, the infinite and the particular. Man is still looking for the authentic, the lost and the hidden. There is a “tired” generation of meanings, self-isolation and endless waiting: waiting for light from the West, good weather from the South, cheap goods from China and oil profits from the North.

Modern society requires proactive young people who are able to find “themselves” and their place in life, restore Russian spiritual culture, morally stable, socially adapted, capable of self-development and continuous self-improvement. The basic structures of personality are formed in the first years of life. This means that the family has a special responsibility for instilling such qualities in the younger generation. And this problem is becoming especially relevant at this modern stage.

Emerging naturally, “evolutionary” human culture includes an important element - the system public relations based on solidarity and mutual assistance. Many studies, and even everyday experience, show that people became human precisely because they overcame selfishness and showed altruism that goes far beyond short-term rational calculations. And that the main motives for such behavior are irrational in nature and associated with ideals and movements of the soul - we see this at every step.

The culture of a traditional society is based on the concept of “people” - as a transpersonal community with historical memory and collective consciousness. An individual person, an element of such people and society, is a “conciliar personality”, the focus of many human connections. He is always included in solidarity groups (family, village and church community, a work collective, even a gang of thieves - acting on the principle “One for all, all for one”). Accordingly, the prevailing relationships in traditional society are those of service, duty, love, care and coercion.

There are also acts of exchange, for the most part, not having the nature of free and equivalent purchase and sale (exchange of equal values) - the market regulates only a small part of traditional social relations. Therefore, in a general, all-encompassing metaphor public life in a traditional society is “family”, and not, for example, “market”. Modern scientists believe that 2/3 of the population globe to a greater or lesser extent has in its way of life the features of traditional societies. What are traditional societies, when did they arise and what characterizes their culture?

The purpose of this work: to give general characteristics, study the development of traditional society.

Based on the goal, the following tasks were set:

Consider various ways typologies of societies;

Describe traditional society;

Give an idea of ​​the development of traditional society;

Identify problems of transformation of traditional society.

Typology of societies in modern science.

In modern sociology, there are various ways of typifying societies, and all of them are legitimate from certain points of view.

There are, for example, two main types of society: firstly, pre-industrial society, or the so-called traditional one, which is based on the peasant community. This type of society still covers most of Africa, a significant part Latin America, most of the East and dominated until the 19th century in Europe. Secondly, modern industrial-urban society. The so-called Euro-American society belongs to it; and the rest of the world is gradually catching up to it.

Another division of societies is possible. Societies can be divided along political lines - into totalitarian and democratic. In the first societies, society itself does not act as an independent subject of social life, but serves the interests of the state. The second societies are characterized by the fact that, on the contrary, the state serves the interests of civil society, the individual and public associations, (at least ideally).

It is possible to distinguish types of societies according to the dominant religion: Christian society, Islamic, Orthodox, etc. Finally, societies are distinguished by the dominant language: English-speaking, Russian-speaking, French-speaking, etc. You can also distinguish societies based on ethnicity: single-national, binational, multinational.

One of the main types of typology of societies is the formational approach.

According to the formational approach, the most important relations in society are property and class relations. The following types of socio-economic formations can be distinguished: primitive communal, slaveholding, feudal, capitalist and communist (includes two phases - socialism and communism). None of the named main theoretical points underlying the theory of formations is now indisputable.

The theory of socio-economic formations is not only based on theoretical conclusions mid-19th c., but because of this cannot explain many of the contradictions that have arisen:

· the existence, along with zones of progressive (ascending) development, of zones of backwardness, stagnation and dead ends;

· transformation of the state - in one form or another - into an important factor in social production relations; modification and modification of classes;

· the emergence of a new hierarchy of values ​​with priority universal human values over class.

The most modern is another division of society, which was put forward by the American sociologist Daniel Bell. He distinguishes three stages in the development of society. The first stage is pre-industrial, agricultural, conservative society, closed to outside influences, based on natural production. The second stage is industrial society, which is based on industrial production, developed market relations, democracy and openness.

Finally, in the second half of the twentieth century, the third stage begins - post-industrial society, which is characterized by the use of the achievements of the scientific and technological revolution; sometimes it is called the information society, because the main thing is no longer the production of a specific material product, but the production and processing of information. An indicator of this stage is the spread of computer technology, the unification of the entire society into a single information system, in which ideas and thoughts flow freely. The leading requirement in such a society is the requirement to respect so-called human rights.

From this point of view, different parts modern humanity are at different stages of development. Until now, maybe half of humanity is at the first stage. And the other part is going through the second stage of development. And only a minority - Europe, the USA, Japan - entered the third stage of development. Russia is now in a state of transition from the second stage to the third.

General characteristics of traditional society

Traditional society is a concept that focuses in its content a set of ideas about the pre-industrial stage of human development, characteristic of traditional sociology and cultural studies. There is no single theory of traditional society. Ideas about traditional society are based, rather, on its understanding as a socio-cultural model that is asymmetrical to modern society, rather than on a generalization of the real facts of life of peoples not engaged in industrial production. The dominance of subsistence farming is considered characteristic of the economy of a traditional society. In this case, commodity relations are either absent altogether or are focused on meeting the needs of a small layer of the social elite.

The basic principle of the organization of social relations is the rigid hierarchical stratification of society, as a rule, manifested in the division into endogamous castes. At the same time, the main form of organization of social relations for the vast majority of the population is a relatively closed, isolated community. The latter circumstance dictates the dominance of collectivist social ideas, focused on strict adherence to traditional norms of behavior and excluding individual freedom, as well as an understanding of its value. Together with caste division, this feature almost completely eliminates the possibility social mobility. Political power is monopolized within a separate group (caste, clan, family) and exists primarily in authoritarian forms.

A characteristic feature of a traditional society is either the complete absence of writing, or its existence as a privilege separate groups(officials, priests). At the same time, writing quite often develops in a language other than spoken language the overwhelming majority of the population (Latin in medieval Europe, Arabic in the Middle East, Chinese writing in the Far East). Therefore, intergenerational transmission of culture is carried out in verbal, folklore form, and the main institution of socialization is the family and community. The consequence of this was extreme variability in the culture of the same ethnic group, manifested in local and dialect differences.

Traditional societies include ethnic communities, which are characterized by communal settlements, the preservation of blood and family ties, and predominantly craft and agricultural forms of labor. The emergence of such societies dates back to the earliest stages of human development, to primitive culture. Any society from the primitive community of hunters to the industrial revolution of the late 18th century can be called a traditional society.

A traditional society is a society that is governed by tradition. Preservation of traditions is a higher value in it than development. The social structure in it is characterized (especially in Eastern countries) by a rigid class hierarchy and the existence of stable social communities, a special way of regulating the life of society, based on traditions and customs. This organization of society strives to preserve the socio-cultural foundations of life unchanged. Traditional society is an agrarian society.

A traditional society is usually characterized by:

· traditional economy - an economic system in which the use of natural resources is determined primarily by traditions. Traditional industries predominate - agriculture, resource extraction, trade, construction; non-traditional industries receive virtually no development;

· predominance of the agricultural way of life;

· structural stability;

· class organization;

· low mobility;

· high mortality rate;

· high birth rate;

· low life expectancy.

A traditional person perceives the world and the established order of life as something inextricably integral, sacred and not subject to change. A person’s place in society and his status are determined by tradition (usually by birthright).

In a traditional society, collectivist attitudes predominate, individualism is not welcomed (since freedom of individual action can lead to a violation of the established order). In general, traditional societies are characterized by the primacy of collective interests over private ones, including the primacy of the interests of existing hierarchical structures (state, clan, etc.). What is valued is not so much individual capacity as the place in the hierarchy (official, class, clan, etc.) that a person occupies.

In a traditional society, as a rule, relations of redistribution rather than market exchange predominate, and elements of a market economy are strictly regulated. This is due to the fact that free market relations increase social mobility and change the social structure of society (in particular, they destroy class); the redistribution system may be regulated by tradition, but market prices are not; forced redistribution prevents “unauthorized” enrichment and impoverishment of both individuals and classes. The pursuit of economic gain in traditional society is often morally condemned and opposed to selfless help.

In a traditional society, most people live their entire lives in a local community (for example, a village), and connections with the “big society” are rather weak. At the same time, family ties, on the contrary, are very strong.

The worldview of a traditional society is determined by tradition and authority.

Development of traditional society

IN economically traditional society is based on agriculture. Moreover, such a society can be not only land-owning, like the society of ancient Egypt, China or medieval Rus', but also based on cattle breeding, like all the nomadic steppe powers of Eurasia (Turkic and Khazar Khaganates, the empire of Genghis Khan, etc.). And even when fishing in the exceptionally fish-rich coastal waters of Southern Peru (in pre-Columbian America).

Characteristic of a pre-industrial traditional society is the dominance of redistributive relations (i.e. distribution in accordance with the social position of each), which can be expressed in the most different forms ah: the centralized state economy of ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia, medieval China; Russian peasant community, where redistribution is expressed in regular redistribution of land according to the number of eaters, etc. However, one should not think that redistribution is the only possible way economic life of traditional society. It dominates, but the market in one form or another always exists, and in exceptional cases it can even acquire a leading role (the most striking example is the economy of the ancient Mediterranean). But, as a rule, market relations are limited to a narrow range of goods, most often items of prestige: the medieval European aristocracy, receiving everything they needed on their estates, bought mainly jewelry, spices, expensive weapons, thoroughbred horses, etc.

Socially, traditional society is much more strikingly different from our modern one. The most characteristic feature of this society is the rigid attachment of each person to the system of redistributive relations, an attachment that is purely personal. This is manifested in the inclusion of everyone in any collective that carries out this redistribution, and in the dependence of each on the “elders” (by age, origin, social status), which stand “at the boiler”. Moreover, the transition from one team to another is extremely difficult; social mobility in this society is very low. At the same time, not only the position of the class in the social hierarchy is valuable, but also the very fact of belonging to it. Here you can cite specific examples- caste and class systems of stratification.

Caste (as in traditional Indian society, for example) is a closed group of people occupying a strictly defined place in society.

This place is delineated by many factors or signs, the main of which are:

· traditionally inherited profession, occupation;

· endogamy, i.e. the obligation to marry only within one’s caste;

· ritual purity (after contact with “lower” ones, it is necessary to undergo a whole purification procedure).

An estate is a social group with hereditary rights and responsibilities enshrined in customs and laws. The feudal society of medieval Europe, in particular, was divided into three main classes: the clergy (symbol - book), knighthood (symbol - sword) and peasantry (symbol - plough). In Russia before the revolution of 1917 there were six estates. These are nobles, clergy, merchants, townspeople, peasants, Cossacks.

The regulation of class life was extremely strict, down to small circumstances and insignificant details. Thus, according to the “Charter Granted to Cities” of 1785, Russian merchants of the first guild could travel around the city in a carriage drawn by a pair of horses, and merchants of the second guild - only in a carriage drawn by a pair. The class division of society, as well as the caste division, was sanctified and reinforced by religion: everyone has their own destiny, their own destiny, their own corner on this earth. Stay where God has placed you; exaltation is a manifestation of pride, one of the seven (according to medieval classification) deadly sins.

Another important criterion of social division can be called the community itself. in a broad sense this word. This refers not only to the neighboring peasant community, but also to a craft guild, a merchant guild in Europe or a merchant union in the East, a monastic or knightly order, a Russian cenobitic monastery, thieves' or beggar's corporations. The Hellenic polis can be considered not so much as a city-state, but as civil community. A person outside the community is an outcast, rejected, suspicious, enemy. Therefore, expulsion from the community was one of the most terrible punishments in any agrarian society. A person was born, lived and died tied to his place of residence, occupation, environment, exactly repeating the lifestyle of his ancestors and being absolutely confident that his children and grandchildren would follow the same path.

Relationships and connections between people in traditional society were thoroughly permeated with personal devotion and dependence, which is quite understandable. At that level of technological development, only direct contacts, personal involvement, and individual involvement could ensure the movement of knowledge, skills, and abilities from teacher to student, from master to apprentice. This movement, we note, took the form of transferring secrets, secrets, and recipes. Thus, a certain social problem was solved. Thus, the oath, which in the Middle Ages symbolically ritually sealed the relationship between vassals and lords, in its own way equalized the parties involved, giving their relationship a shade of simple patronage of father to son.

The political structure of the vast majority of pre-industrial societies is determined more by tradition and custom than by written law. Power could be justified by its origin, the scale of controlled distribution (land, food, and finally water in the East) and supported by divine sanction (this is why the role of sacralization, and often direct deification of the figure of the ruler, is so high).

Most often, the political system of society was, of course, monarchical. And even in the republics of antiquity and the Middle Ages, real power, as a rule, belonged to representatives of a few noble families and was based on the above principles. As a rule, traditional societies are characterized by the merging of the phenomena of power and property with the determining role of power, that is, those with greater power also had real control over a significant part of the property at the aggregate disposal of society. For a typically pre-industrial society (with rare exceptions), power is property.

The cultural life of traditional societies was decisively influenced by the justification of power by tradition and the conditioning of all social relations by class, community and power structures. Traditional society is characterized by what could be called gerontocracy: the older, the smarter, the more ancient, the more perfect, the deeper, the true.

Traditional society is holistic. It is built or organized as a rigid whole. And not just as a whole, but as a clearly prevailing, dominant whole.

The collective represents a socio-ontological, rather than a value-normative, reality. It becomes the latter when it begins to be understood and accepted as a common good. Being also holistic in its essence, the common good hierarchically completes the value system of traditional society. Along with other values, it ensures a person’s unity with other people, gives meaning to his individual existence, and guarantees a certain psychological comfort.

In antiquity, the common good was identified with the needs and development trends of the polis. A polis is a city or society-state. The man and the citizen coincided in him. The polis horizon of ancient man was both political and ethical. Outside of it, nothing interesting was expected - just barbarism. The Greek, a citizen of the polis, perceived state goals as his own, saw his own good in the good of the state. He pinned his hopes for justice, freedom, peace and happiness on the polis and its existence.

In the Middle Ages, God appeared as the common and highest good. He is the source of everything good, valuable and worthy in this world. Man himself was created in his image and likeness. All power on earth comes from God. God is the ultimate goal of all human endeavors. The highest good that a sinful person is capable of on earth is love for God, service to Christ. Christian love is a special love: God-fearing, suffering, ascetic and humble. In her self-forgetfulness there is a lot of contempt for herself, for worldly joys and conveniences, achievements and successes. In itself, a person’s earthly life in its religious interpretation is devoid of any value and purpose.

In pre-revolutionary Russia, with its communal-collective way of life, the common good took on the form of a Russian idea. Its most popular formula included three values: Orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality. The historical existence of traditional society is characterized by its slowness. The boundaries between the historical stages of “traditional” development are barely distinguishable, there are no sharp shifts or radical shocks.

The productive forces of traditional society developed slowly, in the rhythm of cumulative evolutionism. There was no what economists call deferred demand, i.e. the ability to produce not for immediate needs, but for the sake of the future. Traditional society took from nature exactly as much as it needed, and nothing more. Its economy could be called environmentally friendly.

Transformation of traditional society

Traditional society is extremely stable. As the famous demographer and sociologist Anatoly Vishnevsky writes, “everything in it is interconnected and it is very difficult to remove or change any one element.”

In ancient times, changes in traditional society occurred extremely slowly - over generations, almost imperceptibly for an individual. Periods of accelerated development also occurred in traditional societies ( shining example- changes in the territory of Eurasia in the 1st millennium BC), but even in such periods changes were carried out slowly by modern standards, and upon their completion, society again returned to a relatively static state with a predominance of cyclical dynamics.

At the same time, since ancient times there have been societies that cannot be called completely traditional. The departure from traditional society was associated, as a rule, with the development of trade. This category includes Greek city-states, medieval self-governing trading cities, England and Holland of the 16th-17th centuries. Ancient Rome (before the 3rd century AD) with its civil society stands apart.

The rapid and irreversible transformation of traditional society began to occur only in the 18th century as a result of the industrial revolution. By now, this process has captured almost the entire world.

Rapid changes and departure from traditions can be experienced by a traditional person as a collapse of guidelines and values, loss of the meaning of life, etc. Since adaptation to new conditions and a change in the nature of activity are not included in the strategy of a traditional person, the transformation of society often leads to the marginalization of part of the population.

The most painful transformation of traditional society occurs in cases where the dismantled traditions have a religious justification. At the same time, resistance to change can take the form of religious fundamentalism.

During the period of transformation of a traditional society, authoritarianism may increase in it (either in order to preserve traditions, or in order to overcome resistance to change).

The transformation of traditional society ends with the demographic transition. The generation that grew up in small families has a psychology that differs from the psychology of a traditional person.

Opinions about the need to transform traditional society differ significantly. For example, the philosopher A. Dugin considers it necessary to abandon the principles modern society and return to the "golden age" of traditionalism. Sociologist and demographer A. Vishnevsky argues that traditional society “has no chance,” although it “fiercely resists.” According to the calculations of Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Professor A. Nazaretyan, in order to completely abandon development and return society to a static state, the number of humanity must be reduced by several hundred times.

CONCLUSION

Based on the work carried out, the following conclusions were made.

Traditional societies are characterized by the following features:

· Predominantly agricultural mode of production, understanding land ownership not as property, but as land use. The type of relationship between society and nature is built not on the principle of victory over it, but on the idea of ​​merging with it;

· The basis of the economic system is communal-state forms of ownership with weak development of the institution of private property. Preservation of communal way of life and communal land use;

· Patronage system of distribution of the product of labor in the community (redistribution of land, mutual assistance in the form of gifts, marriage gifts, etc., regulation of consumption);

· The level of social mobility is low, the boundaries between social communities (castes, classes) are stable. Ethnic, clan, caste differentiation of societies in contrast to late industrial societies with class divisions;

·Save to Everyday life combinations of polytheistic and monotheistic ideas, the role of ancestors, orientation to the past;

· The main regulator of social life is tradition, custom, adherence to the norms of life of previous generations.

The huge role of ritual and etiquette. Of course, “traditional society” significantly limits scientific and technological progress, has a pronounced tendency to stagnation, and does not consider the autonomous development of a free personality as the most important value. But Western civilization, having achieved impressive successes, is now faced with a number of very difficult problems: ideas about the possibilities of unlimited industrial and scientific and technological growth have turned out to be untenable; the balance of nature and society is disrupted; The pace of technological progress is unsustainable and threatens a global environmental catastrophe. Many scientists pay attention to the merits of traditional thinking with its emphasis on adaptation to nature, the perception of the human person as part of the natural and social whole.

Only a traditional way of life can be opposed to aggressive influence modern culture and the civilizational model exported from the West. For Russia there is no other way out of the crisis in the spiritual and moral sphere other than the revival of the original Russian civilization based on the traditional values ​​of national culture. And this is possible subject to the restoration of spiritual, moral and intellectual potential bearer of Russian culture - the Russian people.

Instructions

The life activity of a traditional society is based on subsistence (agriculture) farming with the use of extensive technologies, as well as primitive crafts. This social structure is typical for the period of antiquity and the Middle Ages. It is believed that any that existed during the period from the primitive community until the beginning of the industrial revolution belongs to the traditional species.

During this period, hand tools were used. Their improvement and modernization occurred at an extremely slow, almost imperceptible pace of natural evolution. The economic system was based on the use of natural resources, it was dominated by mining, trade, and construction. People led a mostly sedentary lifestyle.

Social system traditional society - estate-corporate. It is characterized by stability, preserved for centuries. There are several different classes that do not change over time, maintaining an unchanged and static nature of life. In many traditional societies, commodity relations are either not characteristic at all, or are so poorly developed that they are focused only on meeting the needs of small representatives of the social elite.

A traditional society has the following characteristics. It is characterized by the total dominance of religion in the spiritual sphere. Human life is considered to be the fulfillment of God's providence. The most important quality of a member of such a society is the spirit of collectivism, a sense of belonging to his family and class, as well as a close connection with the land where he was born. Individualism was not typical for people during this period. Spiritual life was more significant for them than material wealth.

The rules of coexistence with neighbors, life in, and attitude towards were determined by established traditions. A person has already acquired his status. The social structure was interpreted only from the point of view of religion, and therefore the role of the government in society was explained to the people as a divine purpose. The head of state enjoyed unquestioned authority and played a vital role in the life of society.

Traditional society is demographically characterized by high, high mortality and a fairly low life expectancy. Examples of this type today are the way of life of many countries in the North-Eastern and North Africa(Algeria, Ethiopia), southeast Asia (in particular Vietnam). In Russia, a society of this type existed until the middle of the 19th century. Despite this, by the beginning of the new century it was one of the most influential and largest countries in the world and had the status of a great power.

The main spiritual values ​​that are distinguished are the culture of our ancestors. Cultural life was predominantly focused on the past: respect for one’s ancestors, admiration for the works and monuments of previous eras. Culture is characterized by homogeneity (homogeneity), its own traditions and a fairly categorical rejection of the cultures of other peoples.

According to many researchers, traditional society is characterized by a lack of choice in spiritual and cultural terms. The worldview and stable traditions that dominate in such a society provide a person with a ready-made and clear system of spiritual guidelines and values. And therefore the world seems understandable to a person, not raising unnecessary questions.

Society in a broad sense is a part of the material world, separated from nature, including people, as well as various relationships and connections between them. In a narrow sense, it is a group of people united by common tasks, interests, goals, and views. Any society developed one way or another, otherwise it would not have survived. Social development implied the passage of certain stages, which are most often called formations and are periodically compiled in a table.

The key was the attitude towards the production of material goods. There are only 4 or 5 such formations, depending on the approach:

Characteristic features are the presence of common property, less inequality in property compared to others. The period of accumulation of primary wealth in society.

2. Slaveholding

Not mandatory for any society. There is a violent seizure and redistribution of property.

3. Feudalism

Traditional or subsistence agriculture, fragmentation, constant fighting, epidemics, low level of culture and medicine.

4. Capitalism

The progress of science and technology begins, manual labor is replaced by machine labor, the level of production increases several times, and the amount of goods produced per capita increases. Wars in history are becoming more widespread. Inequality between different classes is increasing.

5. Communism

Not everyone recognizes it as the most progressive. A fair distribution of property is declared.

This is what was taught within Soviet history and the Soviet view on the formation of society. Received the name of the formational approach. Developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

However, as you might guess, there are other approaches in the West. Firstly, the division bases are much further apart. For example, historical types of society are considered depending on the presence of writing, that is, those that had writing in one form or another and those that did not have it are distinguished. Secondly, diversity is recognized social development, which implies, among other things, regression, and not just progress.

According to their structure, types of society are divided into simple and complex. In the first, everything is quite homogeneous, the relationships are simple. Secondly, there are classes, which, in turn, can also have a complex organization.

In general, types of society and their characteristics are not an easy topic. For example, there are open and closed. In the first, a person can go up using special social elevators. The second deprives such an opportunity; one can only be born belonging to the privileged part of society. An extreme example is caste in India.

Civilizational approach

Since the formational approach has been repeatedly criticized, including for the fact that it placed the utopian and dubious idea of ​​communism at the top, an alternative could not help but arise. And she really appeared. The civilizational approach was developed by Danilevsky, Spengler and Toynbee. According to them, civilization is closed world culture, both spiritual and material, which exists for a certain time and then collapses. They distinguished Romano-Germanic, ancient Egyptian, ancient Roman, Russian (meaning Russian empire) and so on.

Today these views have undergone some changes. In particular, it is believed that civilization is a stage of development that either leads to changes and revaluation of an ethnic group itself, or to disintegration into different nationalities, which happened to the Roman Empire, or to assimilation, which happened to Egypt.

The famous American professor Bell considers the following main types of society:

1. Pre-industrial civilization

The second name is traditional society. It existed until the 19th century. Some states are still at this stage of development, but their number in the world is gradually decreasing. Dominance by one dynasty or small group (aristocratic republics). The economic basis is agriculture and cattle breeding, manual labor is highly developed. The distribution of benefits depends directly on the position in society. Most societies are closed; upward mobility is absent or extremely difficult, only possible in exceptional cases. The culture is poorly developed, most of the population does not receive normal medical care, education, is not protected from arbitrariness, and has limited legal rights.

2. Industrial civilization

An industrial society is also known as a developing society. Appeared about 200 years ago. Education is closely related to the industrial revolution and scientific and technological progress. Many states, including the CIS, are at this stage. Thanks to science, man has ceased to be so dependent on nature. Market relations began to dominate the economy, and the number of different forms of ownership increased. Production became machine-based and capacity was increased. IN political sphere democracy reigns. Having power is not taken for granted; the leader must prove that he has the right to it. The question of the legitimacy of power is raised.

Different groups of society receive civil rights. The position of an individual is directly related to what he can give to society and produce. Many structures are noticeably simplified. The value becomes the protection of rights, equality and progress, universal literacy. In connection with this, the modernization of education is taking place, making it accessible to everyone. The validity of many traditions is being reconsidered.

3. Post-industrial civilization

Often known as the information society. It is believed that the USA, Japan and a number of EU countries are now at this stage of development. The role of intellectual work and the generation of new ideas is increasing. Information acquires independent economic value. Politically, achieving consensus becomes important. Modernization of education reaches new level, the issue of its quality, and not just availability, is being actively discussed. Terminology is being revised, including in science, as well as in art, including the basic one. The very concept of modernization, however, like many others, can be reassessed and rethought. Database control is becoming a way to manage significant resources.

It should be noted that within the framework of the civilizational approach, the formation of all possible types is not completed. Firstly, scientists are still studying the information variety. Secondly, it is unclear what the future holds. This

The issue is dealt with by a special science – futurology. Interesting assumptions on this topic can be found if you look for data on the questions “multivariate social development, types of societies.” Just keep in mind that these are all hypotheses.

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Typology of societies

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Typology of societies: Traditional, industrial and post-industrial societies

In the modern world there are Various types societies that differ from each other in many parameters, both obvious (language of communication, culture, geographical location, size, etc.) and hidden (degree of social integration, level of stability, etc.). Scientific classification involves identifying the most significant, typical features that distinguish some features from others and unite societies of the same group.
Typology(from the Greek tupoc - imprint, form, sample and logoc - word, teaching) - a method of scientific knowledge, which is based on the division of systems of objects and their grouping using a generalized, idealized model or type.
In the mid-19th century, K. Marx proposed a typology of societies, which was based on the method of production of material goods and production relations - primarily property relations. He divided all societies into 5 main types (according to the type of socio-economic formations): primitive communal, slaveholding, feudal, capitalist and communist (the initial phase is socialist society).
Another typology divides all societies into simple and complex. The criterion is the number of levels of management and the degree of social differentiation (stratification).
A simple society is a society in which the constituent parts are homogeneous, there are no rich and poor, no leaders and subordinates, the structure and functions here are poorly differentiated and can be easily interchanged. These are the primitive tribes that still survive in some places.
A complex society is a society with highly differentiated structures and functions that are interconnected and interdependent on each other, which necessitates their coordination.
K. Popper distinguishes two types of societies: closed and open. The differences between them are based on a number of factors, and, above all, the attitude social control and individual freedom.
A closed society is characterized by a static social structure, limited mobility, immunity to innovation, traditionalism, dogmatic authoritarian ideology, and collectivism. K. Popper included Sparta, Prussia, Tsarist Russia, and Nazi Germany, Soviet Union Stalin era.
An open society is characterized by a dynamic social structure, high mobility, the ability to innovate, criticism, individualism and a democratic pluralistic ideology. Samples open societies K. Popper considered ancient Athens and modern Western democracies.
Modern sociology uses all typologies, combining them into some synthetic model. Its creator is considered to be the prominent American sociologist Daniel Bell (b. 1919). He subdivided world history three stages: pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial. When one stage replaces another, technology, method of production, form of ownership, social institutions, political regime, culture, lifestyle, population, social structure of society.
Traditional (pre-industrial) society- a society with an agrarian structure, with a predominance of subsistence farming, class hierarchy, sedentary structures and a method of sociocultural regulation based on tradition. It is characterized by manual labor and extremely low rates of development of production, which can satisfy people's needs only at a minimum level. It is extremely inertial, therefore it is not very susceptible to innovation. The behavior of individuals in such a society is regulated by customs, norms, and social institutions. Customs, norms, institutions, sanctified by traditions, are considered unshakable, not allowing even the thought of changing them. Carrying out their integrative function, culture and social institutions suppress any manifestation of personal freedom, which is a necessary condition gradual renewal of society.
Industrial society- The term industrial society was introduced by A. Saint-Simon, emphasizing its new technical basis.
IN modern sound this is a complex society, with an industry-based way of managing, with flexible, dynamic and modifying structures, a way of socio-cultural regulation based on a combination of individual freedom and the interests of society. These societies are characterized by a developed division of labor, the development of mass communications, urbanization, etc.
Post-industrial society- (sometimes called information) - a society developed on an information basis: the extraction (in traditional societies) and processing (in industrial societies) of natural products are replaced by the acquisition and processing of information, as well as the primary development (instead of Agriculture in traditional societies and industry in industrial) service sectors. As a result, the employment structure and the ratio of various professional and qualification groups are also changing. According to forecasts, already at the beginning of the 21st century in advanced countries half work force will be employed in the field of information, a quarter - in the field material production and a quarter - in the production of services, including information.
Changing the technological basis also affects the organization of the entire system social connections and relationships. If in an industrial society the mass class was made up of workers, then in a post-industrial society it was employees and managers. At the same time, the importance of class differentiation weakens; instead of a status (“granular”) social structure, a functional (“ready-made”) one is formed. Instead of leadership, coordination becomes the principle of management, and representative democracy is replaced by direct democracy and self-government. As a result, instead of a hierarchy of structures, a new type of network organization is created, focused on rapid change depending on the situation.