Spheres of public life, their interrelation and mutual influence. The main spheres of public life, their relationship

Spheres public life are closely interconnected. In the history of social sciences, there have been attempts to single out any sphere of life as determining in relation to others. Thus, in the Middle Ages, the prevailing idea was the special significance of religiosity as part of the spiritual sphere of society. In modern times and the Age of Enlightenment, the role of morality and scientific knowledge was emphasized. A number of concepts assign the leading role to the state and law. Marxism affirms the determining role of economic relations.

Within the framework of real social phenomena, elements from all spheres are combined.
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For example, the nature of economic relations can influence the structure social structure. A place in the social hierarchy shapes certain political views and provides appropriate access to education and other spiritual values. Economic relations themselves are determined by the legal system of the country, which is very often formed on the basis of the spiritual culture of the people, traditions in the sphere of religion and morality. Thus, at different stages of historical development, the influence of any sphere may increase.

49. Society and history. The main concepts of the historical process are cultural, civilizational and formational.

The life of human society is a historical process. This process covers the entire development of humanity, starting from the first steps of ape-like ancestors and ending with the complex zigzags of the 20th century. The question naturally arises: according to what laws does development occur? The materialist approach to history includes the recognition of the unity of the historical process in diversity. The unity of history lies in life itself, in the way it is materially supported through labor activity and the material means of labor used by it. Labor is an eternal condition of human life. The material basis of the historical process is the basis of unity. If different cultures and civilizations develop as independent and internally closed formations, then in such civilizations general historical laws do not work. The unity of the historical process is manifested in the establishment of ties between economic, cultural, scientific, and political countries. In this interconnected world, socially significant events immediately become the property of everyone, the interests and destinies of peoples are closely intertwined, and nationalities are being consolidated. The diversity of history lies in the fact that it develops in time and space. In time, these are different stages of historical development - formations and eras. In space - this is the presence of real diversity social life , the main source of which is the unevenness of historical development. In understanding the development of society, there are different approaches: formational, civilizational, cultural. The formation method was developed by Marxists; it forms the basis of the materialist understanding of society. Marxists introduced such a concept as formation. Formation is a certain type of society, an integral social system, developing and functioning on the basis of the dominant mode of production according to general or specific laws. General laws are laws that apply to all formations (the law on the determining role of social existence in relation to social consciousness, the law on the determining role of the mode of production in social development). Specific laws are laws that operate in one or more formations (the law of proportional development of the national economy). The main criterion that determines the development and change of formations is the successive dominant forms of ownership: 1) tribal, 2) ancient, 3) feudal, 4) bourgeois, 5) the future communist form of universal ownership. First of all, K. Marx identified such concepts as basis and superstructure. The basis is a set of production and economic relations. The superstructure is a set of ideas and ideological relations. Its main element is the state. Following the method of production, the social and class structure of society's development also changes. The development of society is carried out in an ascending line from lower formations to higher ones, from the primitive communal system to slaveholding, feudal, capitalist, communist society. The change of formation is carried out with the help of revolutions. The main categories of the formational approach are the mode of production, class, society. But these categories do not reflect the entire spectrum of development of society and the formational approach is complemented by two others: civilizational and cultural. Civilization approach. Proponents of the civilizational approach base development not on linear progress, but on the local emergence of various civilizations. A proponent of this approach is Arnold Toynbee, who believes that every civilization goes through the stages of emergence, growth, breakdown and decay in its development, after which it dies. To date, only five major civilizations have survived - Chinese, Indian, Islamic, Russian and Western. The civilizational approach also explains a lot about human history. Modern examples: the Bosnian conflict. There are fewer differences in language between Serbs and Croats than between Russian and Ukrainian. And Bosnian Muslims are Serbs by nationality. There are still debates about the place of Russia: whether we belong to the Orthodox culture or whether we are a special civilization. There is a gradation into two civilizations: West and East. According to Chaadaev, we are the first Asian civilization that collided with the West and began to transform. Slavophiles believe that we are a unique culture that combines the advantages of both the West and the East.

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

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

Spheres of society

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The relationship between the four spheres of society

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

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

Test your knowledge

What areas can society be divided into? Give brief description every sphere of society. What is their significance for society?
Explain how various areas societies influence each other. When answering, use the diagram on p. 20.
What do you think is the most important area of society? Explain your answer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The following criteria of social progress are distinguished:

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

2) weakening confrontation between people;

3) approval of democracy;

4) growth of morality and spirituality of society;

5) improvement of human relations;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related information.

Spheres of public life are closely interconnected (Fig. 4.1).

Rice. 4.1.

In the history of social sciences, there have been attempts to single out any sphere of life as determining in relation to others. Thus, in the Middle Ages, the prevailing idea was the special significance of religiosity as part of the spiritual sphere of society. In modern times and the Age of Enlightenment, the role of morality and scientific knowledge was emphasized. A number of concepts assign the leading role to the state and law. Marxism affirms the determining role of economic relations.

Within the framework of real social phenomena, elements from all spheres are combined. For example, the nature of economic relations can influence the structure of the social structure. A place in the social hierarchy shapes certain political views and provides appropriate access to education and other spiritual values. Economic relations themselves are determined by the legal system of the country, which is very often formed on the basis of the spiritual culture of the people, their traditions in the field of religion and morality. Thus, at different stages of historical development, the influence of any sphere may increase.

The complex nature of social systems is combined with their dynamism, that is, their mobile, changeable nature.

Society is a system of ordered integrity. This is the key to its constant functionality; all components of the system occupy a certain place within it and are connected with other components of society. And it is important to note that individually, not a single element possesses such a quality of integrity. Society is a unique result of the interaction and integration of absolutely all components of this complex system.

The state, the country's economy, and social strata of society cannot have the same quality as society itself. And multi-level connections between the economic, political, spiritual and social spheres of life form such a complex and dynamic phenomenon as society.

It is easy to trace the relationship, for example, between socio-economic relations and legal norms using the example of the laws of Kievan Rus. The code of laws indicated penalties for murder, and each measure was determined by the place a person occupies in society - by belonging to one or another social group.

All four spheres of social life are not only interconnected, but also mutually determine each other. Changes in one of them usually lead to changes in the others. For example, the relationship between the economic and political spheres is demonstrated by the resignation of the government due to the worsening economic crisis.

Consequently, each sphere of social life is a complex formation that is in organic unity with other spheres. Due to their interconnection and interdependence, society appears as an integral system and is progressively developing.

Main spheres of social life

In a social system, not only social subjects are identified as parts, but also other entities - spheres of social life. Society is a complex system of specially organized human life activity. Like any other complex system, society consists of subsystems, the most important of which are called spheres of public life.

Sphere of social life- a certain set of stable relations between social actors.

Spheres of public life are large, stable, relatively independent subsystems of human activity.

Each area includes:

§ certain types of human activity (for example, educational, political, religious);

§ social institutions(such as family, school, parties, church);

§ established relationships between people (i.e., connections that arose in the process of human activity, for example, relations of exchange and distribution in the economic sphere).

Traditionally, there are four main spheres of public life:

§ social (peoples, nations, classes, gender and age groups, etc.)

§ economic (productive forces, production relations)

§ political (state, parties, socio-political movements)

§ spiritual (religion, morality, science, art, education).

It is important to understand that people are simultaneously in different relationships with each other, connected with someone, isolated from someone when solving their life issues. Therefore, the spheres of social life are not geometric spaces where people live different people, but the relationships of the same people in connection with different aspects of their lives.

Graphically, the spheres of public life are presented in Fig. 1.2. The central place of man is symbolic - he is inscribed in all spheres of society.

Rice. 1 Spheres of public life

Social sphere

Social The sphere is the relationships that arise in the production of immediate human life and man as a social being.

The concept of “social sphere” has different meanings, although related to each other. In social philosophy and sociology, this is the sphere of social life, which includes various social communities and connections between them. In economics and political science, the social sphere is often understood as a set of industries, enterprises, and organizations whose task is to improve the standard of living of the population; at the same time, the social sphere includes healthcare, social security, public services etc. The social sphere in the second meaning is not an independent sphere of social life, but an area at the intersection of the economic and political spheres, associated with the redistribution of state income in favor of those in need.

The social sphere includes various social communities and relationships between them. A person, occupying a certain position in society, is included in various communities: he can be a man, a worker, a father of a family, a city resident, etc. The position of an individual in society can be clearly shown in the form of a questionnaire (Fig. 1.3).

Rice. 2. Questionnaire

Using the example of this conditional questionnaire, we can briefly describe the social structure of society. Gender, age, marital status determine the demographic structure (with such groups as men, women, youth, pensioners, single, married, etc.). Nationality determines the ethnic structure. Place of residence determines the settlement structure (here there is a division into urban and rural residents, residents of Siberia or Italy, etc.). Profession and education constitute the actual professional and educational structures (doctors and economists, people with higher and secondary education, students and schoolchildren). Social background(from workers, from employees, etc.) and social status(employee, peasant, nobleman, etc.) determine the class-class structure; This also includes castes, estates, classes, etc.

Economic sphere

Economic sphere- this is a set of relationships between people that arise during the creation and movement of material goods.

The economic sphere is the area of production, exchange, distribution, consumption of goods and services. In order to produce something, people, tools, machines, materials, etc. are needed. - productive forces. In the process of production, and then exchange, distribution, consumption, people enter into various relationships with each other and with goods - relations of production. Production relations and productive forces together constitute economic sphere life of society:

§ productive forces- people (labor), tools, objects of labor;

§ industrial relations - production, distribution, consumption, exchange.

Political sphere

The political sphere is one of the most important areas of public life.

Political sphere- these are relations between people, associated primarily with power, which ensure joint security.

The Greek word politike (from polis - state, city), appearing in the works of ancient thinkers, was originally used to denote the art of government. Having retained this meaning as one of the central ones, the modern term “politics” is now used to express social activities, which are centered on the problems of acquiring, using and maintaining power. The elements of the political sphere can be represented as follows:

§ political organizations and institutions- social groups, revolutionary movements, parliamentarism, parties, citizenship, presidency, etc.;

§ political norms - political, legal and moral norms, customs and traditions;

§ political communications - relationships, connections and forms of interaction between participants in the political process, as well as between the political system as a whole and society;

§ political culture and ideology- political ideas, ideology, political culture, political psychology.

Needs and interests shape the specific political goals of social groups. On this target basis, political parties arise, social movements, domineering state institutions carrying out specific political activity. The interaction of large social groups with each other and government institutions constitutes the communicative subsystem of the political sphere. This interaction is regulated by various norms, customs and traditions. Reflection and awareness of these relations form the cultural-ideological subsystem of the political sphere.

Spiritual realm

Spiritual realm- this is the area of ideal, intangible formations, including ideas, values of religion, art, morality, etc.

Structure of the spiritual sphere life of society at its most general outline is this:

§ religion is a form of worldview based on belief in supernatural forces;

§ morality - a system of moral norms, ideals, assessments, actions;

§ art - artistic exploration of the world;

§ science - a system of knowledge about the laws of existence and development of the world;

§ law - a set of norms supported by the state;

§ education is a purposeful process of education and training.

Spiritual sphere is the sphere of relations that arise in the production, transmission and development of spiritual values (knowledge, beliefs, norms of behavior, artistic images, etc.).

If a person’s material life is connected with the satisfaction of specific everyday needs (food, clothing, drink, etc.). then the spiritual sphere of a person’s life is aimed at satisfying the needs for the development of consciousness, worldview, and various spiritual qualities.

Spiritual Needs Unlike material ones, they are not given biologically, but are formed and developed in the process of socialization of the individual.

Of course, a person is able to live without satisfying these needs, but then his life will differ little from the life of animals. Spiritual needs are met in the process spiritual activity - cognitive, value, prognostic, etc. Such activities are aimed primarily at changing individual and social consciousness. It manifests itself in art, religion, scientific creativity, education, self-education, upbringing, etc. At the same time, spiritual activity can be both producing and consuming.

Spiritual production is the process of formation and development of consciousness, worldview, and spiritual qualities. The product of this production are ideas, theories, artistic images, values, spiritual world individual and spiritual relationships between individuals. The main mechanisms of spiritual production are science, art and religion.

Spiritual consumption is called the satisfaction of spiritual needs, the consumption of products of science, religion, art, for example, visiting a theater or museum, acquiring new knowledge. The spiritual sphere of society's life ensures the production, storage and dissemination of moral, aesthetic, scientific, legal and other values. It covers various shapes and levels of social consciousness - moral, scientific, aesthetic, religious, legal.

Interrelation of spheres of public life

Spheres of public life are closely interconnected. In the history of social sciences, there have been attempts to single out any sphere of life as determining in relation to others. Thus, in the Middle Ages, the prevailing idea was the special significance of religiosity as part of the spiritual sphere of society. In modern times and the Age of Enlightenment, the role of morality and scientific knowledge was emphasized. A number of concepts assign the leading role to the state and law. Marxism affirms the determining role of economic relations.

The complex nature of social systems is combined with their dynamism, that is, their mobile, changeable nature.

Spheres of society

The relationship between the four spheres of society

Further Reading

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