What changes are taking place in society. Social Progress

When completing tasks, you have to perform certain work, which is best organized as follows:

read the task carefully;
if you are answering a theoretical question or solving a situational problem, consider and formulate a specific answer (the answer should be short, and its content should be entered in the space provided; write clearly and legibly).

For each correct answer, you can get a number of points determined by the jury members, not higher than the specified maximum score.

The sum of the points scored for all the questions answered is the result of your work.

The maximum number of points is 100.

Tasks are considered completed if you handed them over to the jury members on time.

We wish you success !

Methods for assessing the performance of Olympiad tasks

Exercise 1

Choose the correct answer and enter its number in the table.

1.1. An increase in the gold content or the exchange rate of the state's currency is

devaluation
revaluation
denomination
deflation

1.2. According to the code of the public organization “A healthy mind in a healthy body”, its members must refrain from using tobacco and alcohol, observe the rules of courtesy in communicating with each other, help the elderly members of the organization, take part in sports and recreational activities held by the organization. What social norms are reflected in these provisions of the code?

corporate and moral
moral and legal
legal and corporate
moral and political

1.3. A totalitarian political regime differs from an authoritarian one

restriction of the rights and freedoms of citizens
lack of accountability of government to society
the use of repression against opponents of the regime
state control over all spheres of public life

Answer:

1.1	1.2	1.3
2	1	4

By1 point for each correct answer.

Maximum per task3 points.

Task 2

Choose multiple correct answers. Record your answers in the table.

2.1. Select examples of upward vertical social mobility from the list below.

Deputy of the State Duma of the sixth convocation M. was re-elected to the State Duma of the seventh convocation.
Accountant V. retired.
The major was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
The seller has been appointed store manager.
A student of Tomsk University K. transferred from the Faculty of History to the Faculty of Philology.
Plumber V. won 42 million rubles in the lottery.

2.2. Who in the Russian Federation has the right of legislative initiative in the adoption of federal laws?

The State Duma
Council of the Federation
Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation
President of the Russian Federation
Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation
legislative bodies of the subjects of the Russian Federation
local authorities

2.3. Philosophical areas include

idealism
cubism
positivism
Marxism
abstractionism
classicism

2.4. The marriage is dissolved by court order in the event of

objections of one of the spouses to the dissolution of the marriage
spouses have common minor children
declaring one of the spouses incompetent
minority of one of the spouses
conviction of one of the spouses to imprisonment for a term of more than 3 years

Answer:

2.1	2.2	2.3	2.4
346	246	134	12

By2 points for a completely correct answer, 1 point for answer with one error(one of the correct answers is missing, or along with all the indicated correct answers, one incorrect one is given).

Maximum per task8 points.

Task 3

What unites the following concepts? Give the most accurate answer.

3.1. Promissory note, share, bond, check.

Answer: Securities.

3.2. Custom, tradition, taboo, morality.

Answer: Types of social norms.

By2 points for each correct answer.

Maximum per task4 points.

Task 4

Give a brief rationale for the series (what unites the listed elements). Indicate which of the elements is superfluous on this basis.

4.1. Region, territory, federal city, federal district, autonomous district

Answer: type of subjects of the Russian Federation, an extra element - the federal district.

4.2. Labor, land, taxes, entrepreneurial ability, capital

Answer: factors of production, an extra element - taxes.

By3 points for correct answer(2 points for correct reasoning, 1 point for indicating the excess).

Maximum per task6 points.

Task 5

"Yes or no"? If you agree with the statement, write "yes", if you do not agree - "no". Record your answers in the table.

5.1. All world religions originated in the ancient world.

5.2. The role of the state in economic processes is the subject of study of macroeconomics.

5.3. Most of the states of the world are unitary.

5.4. "On December 19, 2016, the Electoral Colleges of the 50 US states and the District of Columbia formally elected Donald Trump President of the United States by majority vote." This message reflects the stepwise nature of the election for the post of President of the United States.

Oh! feel: nothing can us
Calm down among worldly sorrows;
Nothing, nothing ... except conscience is one.
So, sane, she will triumph
Over malice, over dark slander. -
But if there is a single spot in it,
One, accidentally wound up,
Then - trouble! like a pestilence
The soul will burn, the heart will fill with poison,
Like a hammer knocking in the ears of a reproach,
And everything is nauseous, and the head is spinning.

(A.S. Pushkin)

This fragment reflects external social control.

Answer:

5.1	5.2	5.3	5.4	5.5
Not	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not

By1 point for each correct answer.

Maximum per task5 points.

Task 6

A student was preparing a presentation on social studies, but in its final version there was a failure, as a result of which the illustrations were mixed up. Help restore the presentation from the available illustrations. Fill in the diagram, indicating the category common to all images (generalizing concept), as well as its constituent elements. Enter in the appropriate cells the letter designations of the illustrations that relate to the elements you named.

Answer:

1 point for generalizing concept. By1 point for each correct element of the second level answer.

Maximum per task10 points.

Task 7

Read an excerpt from John Locke's Two Treatises on Government.

But although men, when they enter the state, renounce the equality, liberty, and executive power which they possessed in the state of nature, and place them in the hands of the state, so that the legislature may henceforth dispose of this, insofar as it will be demand the good of society, yet this is done by each only with the intention of preserving himself, his freedom and property as best as possible. The power of a society, or of a human legislature, can never extend further than is necessary for the common good; this power is bound to protect the property of everyone... And whoever has the legislative or supreme power in any state, he is bound to rule according to established permanent laws, proclaimed by the people and known to the people, and not by impromptu decrees; rule by impartial and just judges, who shall decide disputes by means of these laws, and use the force of the state in the country only in the execution of such laws, and abroad to prevent injury or to obtain reparation for it and to protect the state from invasions and seizures. And all this should be carried out for no other purpose, but only in the interests of peace, security and the public good of the people.

7.1. For the protection of what natural rights do people, according to the author, establish state power? List three rights.

7.2. What theory of the origin of the state is reflected in this text? Justify your answer with a quote from the text.

7.3. The author says that the ruler should "rule according to established permanent laws, and not by impromptu decrees." What are the consequences if this rule is not followed? Give three possible consequences.

Answer:

7.1. The right to life, the right to liberty and security of person, the right to property.

By1 point for each named right. Total3 points.

7.2. The theory of the social contract. “But although men, when they enter the state, renounce the equality, liberty, and executive power which they possessed in the state of nature, and place them in the hands of the state, so that the legislature may henceforth dispose of it in so far as this will demand the good of society."

3 points for a correctly named theory. 3 points for justification. Total6 points.

7.3. The arbitrariness of the ruler, the establishment of tyranny, the violation of the rights and freedoms of citizens (other consequences may be given).

Answers may be given in other, words that are close in meaning.

2 points for each named consequence. Total6 points.

Maximum per task15 points.

Task 8

Solve the problem

15-year-old Anton came to the mobile phone shop and told the salesperson that he would like to exchange his old cell phone for a new one with an additional payment as part of the promotion that the shop is running. The amount of the additional payment was to be 3500 rubles. When asked by the seller about the source of funds, Anton replied that he had earned these funds during the holidays, working as a courier. The seller made the exchange and gave Anton a cash receipt for the amount of the surcharge. The next day, Anton's mother demanded to return the phone and money paid by Anton to the store. Is the store obligated to comply with the requirements of Anton's mother? Justify the answer. What legal act governs this situation?

Answer:

The seller is obliged to terminate the concluded contract and return the money. Although Anton had the right to independently manage the money he earned, he could not dispose of the phone that belonged to him without the consent of his legal representatives. This situation is regulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

1 score for the first question. 3 points for the given justification.

2 points for the correct indication of the normative— legal act.

Maximum per task6 points.

Task 9

Insert instead of gaps the serial numbers of the corresponding words from the proposed list. Words are given in the list in the singular, adjectives in the masculine form. Pay attention: in the list of words there are those that should not occur in the text! Enter your answer in the table.

If changes in society occur gradually, the new accumulates in the system quite slowly and sometimes imperceptibly to the observer. The old, the previous is the basis on which the new is grown, organically combining the traces of the previous. We call such gradual progressive changes ______(A) . This path presupposes a non-catastrophic development of society and costs much less for people. Its external manifestation, the main way of implementation is ______ (B), an imperious action aimed at changing certain areas, aspects of public life, in order to make society more stable and ______ (C).

Not all societies and not always could solve problems through organic gradual transformations. In the conditions of an acute systemic ______ (D) society, when the accumulated ______ (D) literally blow up the established orders, ______ (E) occurs. It involves ______ (F) the transformation of social structures, the demolition of the old order, rapid rapid innovation. The significance of these forms of development is assessed differently by thinkers. So, for example, K. Marx, the founder of the scientific ______ (Z), defined them as locomotives ______ (I). At the same time, many emphasized their ______(C), the destructive impact on society.

List of terms

BUT	B	AT	G	D	E	F	W	And	To
2	11	5	9	1	6	8	10	18	14

By1 point for each correct insert.

Maximum per task10 points.

Task 10

Title the diagram. Combine the following concepts into a classification scheme. (Concepts are given in the masculine gender, singular.)

Territorial, federation, decentralized, national, centralized, unitary, national-territorial, confederation.

Answer:

By1 point for each correct element.

Maximum per task9 points.

Task 11

Read an excerpt from The Age of Mercy by the Viner brothers and answer the questions.

Having dragged quite a few “tongues” across the front line during the four years of the war, I knew exactly how much a person taken by surprise could tell. I had absolutely no doubt that he, this bandit captured by me, would be able to “talk” in the MUR. And so the whole idea, where the main role was assigned to this yellow-mouthed sucker Vekshin, seemed unreliable to me. Yes, and inappropriate. I swayed in my chair again (he squealed piercingly - a stupid chair, on the curved back of which hung a round tin tag that looked like a medal) and said, clearing my throat slightly:

– Or maybe it makes sense to capture this bandit and have a serious talk with him here?

Everyone looked at me, for a moment there was a bewildered silence in the office, which was then broken by deafening laughter ...

Zheglov put his hand on my shoulder and said:

- We have here, my friend, not the front! We don't need "languages"...

And I was surprised how Zheglov accurately guessed my thought. Of course, it would be best to remain silent and let them forget about my proposal, which, judging by the reaction, seemed to them all to be blatant stupidity, or absurdity, or illiteracy. But I’m already turned on, and when I start, I don’t fall into a feverish excitement, but become stubborn like a tank. That's why he asked, calmly and quietly:

- And why do you need "languages" unnecessarily?

Zheglov turned the cigarette over in his hands, blew into it with a whistle, shrugged his shoulders:

- Because at the front, the law is simple: the “language” that you brought in is the enemy, and the issue with him is clear to the end. And the bandit you tie up can only be called an enemy when you prove that he committed a crime. Here we will take him, and he will send us away.

- How does it "send"? That's what the "language" is for, to tell what is being asked. And then you can prove it, - I said with conviction.

Zheglov lit a cigarette, blew out a jet of smoke, asked without pressure:

- At the front, if the "language" is silent, what do they do with it?

- Like what? I was surprised. - They treat him, as they say, according to the laws of war.

“Exactly,” Zheglov agreed. - And why? Because he is a soldier or an officer of the enemy army, he fights with you with a weapon in his hands and his guilt does not require proof ...

- A bandit without a weapon, or what? I balked.

“He may well come to the meeting unarmed.

- And then. His passport does not say that he is a bandit. On the contrary, it is even written that he is a citizen. Registration for some kind of Krivokolenny, five. Take it for a ruble twenty!

Questions

11.1. What branch of Russian law governs the situation that has become the subject of a dispute between the main characters of the novel? What is the name of the section of international law governing the treatment of prisoners of war, including "tongues"?

11.2. According to what legal principle does Zheglov reject the narrator's proposal to take the language?

11.3. Expand the three provisions of this principle, enshrined in the current Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Response elements	Points
11.1. To be named: criminal procedure law, international humanitarian law	2 points for each correct item. Maximum 4 points
11.2. Presumption of innocence	3 points for correctly named principle
11.3. The following provisions may be mentioned. · Everyone accused of committing a crime is presumed innocent until his guilt is proven in the manner prescribed by federal law and established by a court verdict that has entered into legal force. The accused is not required to prove his innocence. · Irremovable doubts about the guilt of the person are interpreted in favor of the accused.	3 points for each correct statement. Maximum 9 points
Maximum per task	16 points

Task 12

Read the sayings of famous people. In each case, several statements are devoted to one social science concept (in quotes, the concept itself is replaced by asterisks). In different statements, the form of the word denoting this concept, or part of speech, may change. Define the concepts, write the answer directly in the table.

sayings	Concepts
BUT) Napoleon Bonaparte) H. Machiavelli)
B) R. Dal) At. churchill)
AT) Time is **. ( B. Franklin) ** are good servants, but bad masters. ( F. bacon)
G) *** is theft. ( F. Proudhon) The great and chief object of the union of men into states, and of their putting themselves under the power of the government, is to preserve their **. ( D. Locke*)

Answer

sayings	Concepts
BUT) The people who do not want to feed their *** will feed someone else's. ( Napoleon Bonaparte) Who has a good *** will find good allies. ( H. Machiavelli)	army
B) Silent citizens are ideal subjects for an authoritarian ruler and a misfortune for ***. ( R. Dal) *** is the worst form of government apart from all the others. (

(Document)

Social science. Brief summary (Document)

Mikheev M.A., Mikheeva I.M. Heat Transfer Briefing (Document)

Belomytsev A.S. A short course in theoretical mechanics. Statics and kinematics (Document)

Gorshkov A.V. Sociology of Labor: A Short Course (Document)

Pearson B., Thomas N. MBA. Short Course (Document)

Litnevskaya E.I. Russian language. Short theoretical course (Document)

Chernoutsan A.I. Short Course in Physics (Document)

Presentation - Geometry Grade 7 short course (Summary)

Sklyarov Yu.S. Econometrics (short course) (Document)

Natanson I.P. Short Course in Higher Mathematics (Document)

n1.doc

1.5 . Socialinstitutions

One of the elements that make up society as a system are various social institutions.

The word institution here should not be taken as a specific institution. This is a broad concept, which includes what is created by people to realize their needs, desires, aspirations. In order to better organize its life and activities, society forms certain structures, norms that allow satisfying certain needs.

Social institutions- these are relatively stable types and forms of social practice, through which social life is organized, the stability of ties and relations within society is ensured.

Scientists identify several groups of institutions in every society: economic institutions that serve for the production and distribution of goods and services; 2) political institutions that regulate public life, related to the exercise of power and access to them; 3) institutions of stratification that determine the distribution of social positions and public resources; 4) kinship institutions that ensure reproduction and inheritance through marriage, family, upbringing; 5) cultural institutions that develop the continuity of religious, scientific and artistic activities in society.

For example, the society's need for reproduction, development, preservation and multiplication is fulfilled by such institutions as the family and the school. The army acts as a social institution that performs the functions of security and protection.

The institutions of society are also morality, law, religion. The starting point for the formation of a social institution is society's awareness of its needs.

The emergence of a social institution is due to:

the need of society;
availability of means to meet this need;
availability of necessary material, financial, labor, organizational resources;
the possibility of its integration into the socio-economic, ideological, value structures of society, which makes it possible to legitimize the professional and legal basis of its activities.

The famous American scientist R. Merton defined the main functions of social institutions. Explicit functions are written down in charters, formally fixed, officially accepted by people. They are formalized and largely controlled by society. For example, we can ask government agencies: “Where do our taxes go?”

Hidden functions, those that are actually and formally carried out, may not be fixed. If hidden and explicit functions diverge, a certain double standard is formed, when one is declared in words, and the other is actually done, scientists talk about the instability of the development of society.

The process of social development is accompanied institutionalization - that is, the formation of new attitudes and needs, leading to the creation of new institutions. The American sociologist of the 20th century G. Lansky identified a number of needs that lead to the formation of new institutions: These are the needs:

in communication (language, education, communication, transport);
in the production of products and services;
in the distribution of goods;
in the safety of citizens, the protection of their lives and well-being;
in maintaining the system of inequality (placement of social groups according to positions, statuses depending on various criteria);
in social control over the behavior of members of society (religion, morality, law).

Modern society is characterized by the growth and complexity of the system of institutions. The same social need can give rise to the existence of several institutions, on the other hand, certain institutions, for example, the family, can simultaneously realize several needs: in reproduction, in communication, in security, in the production of services, in socialization, etc.
1.6 . Multivariancepublicdevelopment.

The life of every person and society as a whole is in constant change. Not a single day and hour we live is like the previous ones. When do we say that there has been a change? When it is clear to us that one state is not equal to another, that something new has appeared that was not there before. How are these changes taking place and where are they directed?

At each individual moment of time, a person and his associations are influenced by many factors, sometimes mismatched and multidirectional among themselves. Therefore, it is difficult to speak of any clear, well-defined arrow-shaped line of development characteristic of society. The processes of change are complex, uneven, and sometimes it is difficult to grasp their logic. The paths of social change are varied and tortuous.

Often we have to meet with such a concept as "social development". Let's think about how change will generally differ from development? Which of these concepts is broader and which is more specific, and it can be entered into another, considered as a special case of the other. Obviously, not all change is development. And only that which involves complication, improvement, is associated with the manifestation of social progress.

What drives the development of society? What can be hidden behind each new stage? We should look for the answer to these questions, first of all, in the very system of complex social relations, internal contradictions, conflicts of different interests.

Development impulses can come both from the society itself, its internal contradictions, and from outside.

External impulses can, in particular, be generated by the natural environment, space. For example, the climate change of our planet, the so-called "global" warming, poses serious problems for modern society. And the answer to this "challenge" was the adoption by a number of countries of the world of the Kyoto Protocol, which requires countries to reduce emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. In 2004, Russia also ratified this protocol, taking on obligations to protect the environment.

If changes in society occur gradually, the new accumulates in the system quite slowly and sometimes imperceptibly to the observer. The old, the previous is the basis on which the new is grown, organically combining the traces of the previous. We do not feel conflict and negation by the new of the old. And only after some long time has passed, we exclaim with surprise: “How everything has changed around!”. Such gradual progressive changes we call evolution. The evolutionary path of development does not imply a breakdown, destruction of previous social relations.

The external manifestation of evolution, the main way of its implementation is reform. By reform, we mean an imperious action aimed at changing certain areas, aspects of public life, in order to give society greater stability and stability.

The evolutionary path of development is not the only one. Not all societies and not always could solve problems through organic gradual transformations. In conditions of an acute crisis affecting all spheres of society, when the accumulated contradictions literally blow up the established order, revolution. Any revolution taking place in a society presupposes a qualitative transformation of social structures, the destruction of the old order, and rapid rapid innovations. The revolution releases significant social energy, which is not always possible to control the forces that initiated the revolutionary change. The ideologists and practitioners of the revolution seem to release the "genie from the bottle" in the form of the people's element. Subsequently, they try to put this genie back, but this usually fails. The revolutionary element begins to develop according to its own laws, confounding its creators.

It is precisely because of this that, in the course of a social revolution, spontaneous, chaotic principles often prevail. Sometimes revolutions bury those people who stood at their origins. Or, the results, the consequences of the revolutionary explosion differ so significantly from the tasks originally set that the creators of the revolution cannot but admit their defeat. Revolutions give rise to a new quality, and it is important to be able to transfer further development processes in an evolutionary direction in time. Russia experienced two revolutions in the 20th century. Particularly severe shocks befell our country in 1917-1920.

Many revolutions, as history shows, can also be replaced by a reaction, a rollback to the past. We can talk about different types of revolutions in the development of society: social, technical, scientific, cultural.

The significance of revolutions is assessed differently by thinkers. So, for example, the German philosopher K. Marx, the founder of scientific communism, defined revolutions as the locomotives of history. At the same time, many emphasized the destructive, destructive impact of revolutions on society. In particular, the Russian philosopher N.A. Berdyaev (1874 - 1948) wrote about the revolution: “All revolutions ended in reactions. This is inevitable. This is the law. And the more violent and furious the revolutions were, the stronger were the reactions. There is a kind of magic circle in the alternation of revolutions and reactions.

Comparing the ways of transforming society, the famous modern Russian historian P.V. Volobuev wrote: “the evolutionary form, firstly, made it possible to ensure the continuity of social development and, thanks to this, to preserve all the accumulated wealth. Secondly, evolution, contrary to our primitive ideas, was also accompanied by major qualitative changes in society, not only in productive forces and technology, but also in spiritual culture, in the way of life of people. Thirdly, in order to solve new social problems that arose in the course of evolution, it adopted such a method of social transformation as reforms, which turned out to be simply incomparable in their “costs” with the gigantic price of many revolutions. Ultimately, as historical experience has shown, evolution is able to ensure and maintain social progress, giving it, moreover, a civilized form.

1. Social change as a sociological definition.
2. Social process and its types.
3. Social progress of society and its modernization.

Social change as a sociological definition.

Society is never static. There are no immutable objects and subjects in the social sphere. Cultural complexes, composition of groups, relationships between people are changing. This, in turn, affects changes in society, its policies, and the way people live. Even the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus (end of the 6th century - beginning of the 5th century BC) expressed the idea of continuous change: “Weight flows, everything changes”, “You cannot enter the same river twice”. Changes happen every hour, every minute. A person grows or ages, is born or dies. New organizations and global social systems are emerging and old ones are falling apart.

Studying the changes taking place in society, they are usually divided into social - changes in the social structure and social relationships in society and cultural - changes in the culture of society.

Social change may include population growth, rising educational levels, a decrease in awareness, a change in the environment of an individual when moving from a village to a city, a change in the relationship between workers and management when a company is reorganized, etc.

Cultural change may include technical inventions, changes in social norms, the formation of new social values, cultural patterns, standards of behavior, etc. Often, cultural change is social at the same time. For example, a change in moral norms can lead to a change in the relationship between social communities, and vice versa. Almost all important changes have both cultural and social aspects, and therefore the term “sociocultural” or, for short, “social change” is applied to them.

AT In sociology, social change refers to the transformations that occur over time in the organization, structure of society, patterns of thought, culture, and social behavior. Changes are the transition of a social object from one state to another, a significant transformation of social organization, social institutions, the growth of a variety of social forms. Or: changes are the differences between what the system represented in the past and what became of it after a certain period of time. The types of social change are very diverse. They can cover the entire social system, and M017T give “priority” to some aspect (element), they can be short-term or long-term, they can lead the system to development or decline. Social changes must be considered as a multifactorial process, which is influenced by the "challenges" of the external environment, changes in the economy, ideology, etc.

"Social change" as a definition is not identical to such a concept as "development". The latter denote directed changes in material and spiritual objects from simple to complex, from lower to higher, etc. Social changes can be regressive in nature or take place within the framework of maintaining a certain social system and its basic structures - the so-called "balance changes".

What is the mechanism of social change, how do they proceed? The basis of social change is always the result of authorial or anonymous, accidental or spontaneous inventions and discoveries offered to society - the so-called innovation. In our case, social innovation. Material innovations can also have a social component.

Innovation, penetrating into society, causes social change (s). However, not all proposed innovations are accepted by society. Others may be taken immediately or after a long time. One of the factors influencing resistance to innovation can be considered the presence in society of subjective attitudes that can hinder the adoption of change and even block it. For example, using their power, leaders may simply not comply with the requirements of the innovation law under many pretexts and thus block it. Social change must always overcome the resistance of subjective attitudes, for the reason that there is never such a favorable situation when everyone unanimously supports social change.

A factor influencing the speed of adoption of innovations is the demonstration of their capabilities to a wide audience. Experience shows that an innovation is more quickly adopted if its usefulness can be easily demonstrated, and vice versa. The specificity of social innovations is that it is difficult to demonstrate to society their positive effect immediately. Therefore, practically all social changes (for example, new laws) are introduced into life by overcoming distrust, resistance, and often through severe coercion. However, having taken root in everyday life, innovations seem already familiar and necessary.

Cultural compatibility plays an important role in the acceptance of innovations. Often they come into conflict with existing cultural patterns. When this happens, the innovation is simply rejected by society or accepted along with its conflicting traits, but these traits are occasionally protested, making its acceptance unsustainable. Innovations then successfully converge, i.e. merge with the established elements of culture when they have a positive social effect for society. Modern society, which is an extremely dynamic entity, must respond to innovations, accept and master them in social, cultural and other areas of human activity. Non-acceptance of innovations immediately generates the stagnation of social life and social effects with signs of regression. A non-dynamic society lags behind other societies striving for innovation and cannot claim well-being in social life.

Social studies USE, lesson 7

Lesson 7. Social progress. Multivariance of social development. Global problems

Society is an evolving system

social change- any changes that occur over time in social communities, institutions, organizations.

social development- social changes, directed either towards improvement or towards degradation.

Social Progress- development from the lowest to the highest, from simple to complex, from less perfect to more perfect (from lat. - forward movement).

Progress is relative: there are areas of public life to which this concept is difficult to attribute.
Progress is controversial: achievements in one area can turn into problems in another.
Progress criteria:
- development of productive forces;
  development of science and technology;
  development of the human mind;
  improvement of people's morality;
  an increase in the degree of freedom that society can provide to a person.

public regression- development from higher to lower, degradation, loss of the ability to perform certain functions (from lat. - reverse movement).

Stagnation- stagnation, a temporary stop in development.

Some thinkers speak of cyclicity in the development of society - the theory of historical circulation. Spengler.

Ways of development of society

Evolution(from Latin - “deployment”) - partial, gradual changes that contribute to the emergence of new qualities and properties in various spheres of society.

They can occur spontaneously and in an organized manner.

Reform- any degree of improvement in a certain area of social life, not affecting the fundamental foundations of the social order.
- Reforms can be progressive or regressive.

The revolution- a radical, qualitative change in all or most aspects of social life, which lead to a change in the foundation of the existing social order.

Modernization- updating something; the process of transition from a traditional society to a modern, industrial one.

Multivariate development of society

Classification of types of society (according to different criteria)

According to the method of information transfer: preliterate and written societies. Now the screen culture society is developing.

According to the degree of differentiation of society (the degree of social heterogeneity): simple and complex.

According to the degree of openness (level of social mobility): closed and open.

By level of development: developed, developing, backward.

Formational approach: primitive, slaveholding, feudal, capitalist, communist - Marxism.

According to the level of technical and technological development of society: traditional, industrial, post-industrial.

Traditional (agrarian) society:

the main factor of production is land;

the main branch of production (in terms of employment) is agriculture;

nature of production - manual labor, individual production;

social structure - class, corporate structure of society prevails, low social mobility;

impact on nature - local, uncontrolled;

international connections are insignificant;

political life - mainly monarchical power, there are no political freedoms, power is above the law;

spiritual life - traditional religious values, homogeneous nature of culture, poorly educated people.

industrial society

the main factor of production is capital;

the main branch of production (in terms of employment) is industry;

the nature of production - mechanization, mass standardized production;

social structure - class division (based on attitude to property), simplification of the social structure, its mobility and openness, the idea of individual freedom;

the impact on nature is global, uncontrollable;

international relations - close relationship;

political life - the proclamation of political freedoms, the rule of law, democratic reforms;

spiritual life - a scientific picture of the world, the values of progress and personal success, mass culture, general education, training of specialists.

Post-industrial (information) society

the main factor of production is knowledge, information;

the main branch of production (in terms of employment) is the service sector;

the nature of production - automation, computerization of production, a sharp increase in creativity in labor;

social structure - the growth of the middle class, the basis of social differentiation - the level of knowledge, profession, skill level;

impact on nature - global, controlled;

international relations - openness of society, globalization;

political life - political pluralism, development of civil society, "consensus democracy";

spiritual life - a special role of science and education (lifelong education), information revolution, development of individualized consciousness.

Approaches to the study of the development of society

Linear : the development of society is considered as a process of transition from one stage of development to another, from lower levels to higher ones. Allocate common patterns in the development of various societies.

Technological, stadial, formational

Nonlinear (local-civilizational) - each civilization is unique, develops in its own way, only inherent in it. All civilizations go through stages of origin, development, flourishing and extinction.

Stage approach to the explanation of the course of historical development (Rostow): the basis of the unity of the historical development of the world is the level of scientific and technological development and the welfare of society.

traditional society- slow development, the predominance of the agricultural sector, low labor productivity

« transitional society"- transition to a capitalist society

"shift period"- industrial revolutions, the beginning of industrialization

"period of maturity"- industrialization ends, highly developed countries appear

"an era of high levels of mass consumption"- the most advanced modern countries

Formative approach

Suggested by Karl Marx.

Formation - the historical type of socio-economic development of society on the basis of a certain method of production of material goods.

Method of production, economic sphere - basis society; political, social, spiritual sphere - superstructure .
The basis determines the superstructure, but the superstructure can influence the basis.

He singled out 5 formations: primitive communal (primary), slave-owning, feudal, capitalist (unified these three formations into economic), communist.

Primitive communal: based on public (communal) ownership of the means of production, characterized by social equality, egalitarian distribution.
Slave-owning: private property or private-state property, the main producers - slaves - an object of property, non-economic coercion to work.
Feudal: private or private-state property, producers - in personal dependence on landowners, non-economic coercion to work.
Capitalist: private property, market relations, hired labor.
Communist: public ownership of the means of production, a high level of development of the productive forces, the principle of distribution "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

The change in socio-economic formations occurs as a result of the discrepancy between production relations and the level of development of the productive forces.

Local-civilizational approach

A. Toynbee, O. Spengler, N. Danilevsky, P. Sorokin, L. Gumilyov and others.

Civilization - a stable cultural and historical community of people united by spiritual traditions, a similar way of life, geographical and historical boundaries.

The difference between civilizations is based on the originality of spiritual culture, primarily religion.

Globalization

Globalization- the process of integration (cooperation, interaction) of all countries and peoples in different fields of activity; increasing mutual influence and interdependence of countries and peoples.

Causes:

transition from an industrial society to an information society, the development of high technologies;

economic decentralization;

development of the world economy;

emergence of new communication technologies.

Manifestations

activities of TNCs;

financial markets;

economic integration within individual regions;

activities of international economic and financial organizations;

openness of the world in the sphere of culture, information, personal contacts.

Effects

positive:

free movement of goods and capital (the ability to sell and produce where it is most profitable);
reducing production costs, increasing profits;
the opportunity to use the fruits of scientific and technological revolution in countries where it is not possible to conduct their own scientific research;
convergence of interests of different states, striving for mutual consideration of interests in international relations;
development of socio-cultural unity - contributes to the understanding and rejection of xenophobia.

negative:

the growing gap in the level of development and well-being of the population of developed and developing countries (the problem of the North and the South);
the desire of highly developed countries for leadership leads to an explosion of nationalism in developing countries;
obstacles to the development of domestic production;
loss of the specifics of national cultures;
imposition of a single standard of consumption.

Global problems of our time

Specificity:

universal: common to all mankind;

the fate of mankind depends on their decision;

can only be solved by joint efforts;

Causes:

in the context of globalization, local problems acquire a global character;

the active transforming activity of people is not accompanied by an adequate growth of the ecological consciousness of society and man, the responsibility of political structures.

Problem Groups

Between communities of people (intersocial):

the problem of preventing war;
the North-South problem;
social contradictions within individual countries.

Between society and nature:

environmental pollution;
energy, raw materials, food;
exploration of the World Ocean, space.

Between the individual and society:

demographic;
educational;
the problem of overcoming the negative consequences of scientific and technological revolution;
human health problem.

Directions for problem solving:

the formation of a new planetary consciousness;

study of the causes of occurrence and exacerbation;

joint action to solve problems.

Perspective resolution:

environmental pessimism (the concept of zero growth);

technological optimism ("affluent society").

Social processes in modern Russia

social processes - social phenomena that change the relationship between people or between the constituent elements of the community; socially significant changes in society; change in the state of society or its systems.

change in the nature of social stratification

quite a large entrepreneurial stratum has developed

emergence of new prestigious activities

social polarization

rapid growth of socio-territorial differences

marginalization of society

formation of the middle class

Problem solving

Establish a correspondence between characteristics and branches of culture: for each position given in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.

Find the characteristic features of art in the list below. Write down the numbers under which they are indicated.

1) setting the boundaries of individual freedom

2) building a system of evidence

3) a form of knowledge of the world

4) figurative reflection of reality

5) emotional impact

6) logical harmony

Select the signs that reflect the specifics of the moral regulation of behavior.

1) have a specific character

2) based on the performance due

3) regulate the most significant areas of public life

4) have a generalized character

5) there are special bodies that control their implementation

Below is a list of terms. All of them, with the exception of two, can be used to characterize the concept of "social regression".

1) movement; 2) change; 3) the transition from less perfect to more perfect; 4) development success; 5) decline; 6) degradation.

Find two terms that "fall out" of the general series, and write down the numbers under which they are indicated.

Country Z is dominated by subsistence farming. What other signs of the above indicate that country Z is developing as a traditional society? Write down the numbers under which they are indicated.

1) Oral information prevails over written information.

2) There is a rapid growth of the urban population.

3) Extensive technologies and hand tools prevail.

4) The main social units are the community and the family.

5) Scientific knowledge is widely disseminated.

6) The infrastructure is developing intensively.

In country Z, there is a widespread introduction of computer technology in various areas of life. What other signs of the above indicate that country Z is developing as a post-industrial society? Write down the numbers under which they are indicated.

1) A significant part of employees are switching to remote work.

2) In order to regulate social relations, legal acts are issued.

3) Extensive farming methods prevail.

4) Natural factors influence the development of society.

5) Information technology is the most important factor of production.

6) Science-intensive, resource-saving branches of production receive the greatest development.

Establish a correspondence between the distinctive features and types of societies: for each position given in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.

Write in the table the selected numbers under the corresponding letters.

Practice solving problems in part 2

Tasks 21–24

Read the text and do the tasks.

The scientific theory of social progress does not need subjective criteria that reflect the inability of thinkers to understand the complex nature of social development, but an objective criterion that does not depend on the arbitrariness of researchers.

The difficulty of identifying the criterion of social progress is due, in particular, to the fact that society is a complex system that includes a huge number of elements and processes. These various components are also evolving, so the concept of progress must also be applied to them. If we consider society as a system, then its various components are subsystems, each of which is capable of progressive development and has its own development criterion ... but none of them can give an idea of the progress of society as a whole.

The development of society as a system does not mean at all that all its subsystems develop in the same way. The development of various aspects of social life is very often uneven. Moreover, progress in some areas is occurring against the backdrop of regression in others. For example, such a form of social consciousness as art does not necessarily flourish during the period of rapid development of the productive forces...

With all the complexity and internal inconsistency of social progress, the question of its criteria is not only not removed, but, on the contrary, acquires special importance. At the same time, any criterion taken from the field of public consciousness (morality, law, etc.) cannot be the only general historical criterion, since people's views themselves change under the influence of the conditions of social life ... Also, criteria related to economic categories alone cannot allow us to correctly understand the nature and essence of social progress.

To overcome the one-sidedness of these criteria, it is necessary to indicate such a fundamental philosophical category that characterizes the deep essence of human life and activity. Such a category, in our opinion, is the category of freedom.

(G.I. Erzin)

21. As the main general criterion of social progress, the author proposes the category of freedom. Do you agree with this? Express your opinion and, using the content of the text and social science knowledge, give two arguments in support of it.

22. The author writes that any criterion taken from the field of public consciousness cannot be the only general historical criterion. What explains this? Based on social science knowledge, give two of your own examples illustrating this conclusion.

Task 27

In country Z, the majority of the able-bodied population is employed in science-intensive production and services, the proportion of the middle class is growing, and digital means of communication are developing. Name the type of society that has been established in country Z. In what direction is the nature of man's relationship to nature changing in this type of society? What is the main factor of production in this type of society? How do the requirements for a worker change in a society of this type?

Task 29

Expand the meaning of the statement in the form of a mini-essay, indicating, if necessary, different aspects of the problem posed by the author (the topic covered). When presenting your thoughts on the problem raised (marked topic), when arguing your point of view, use the knowledge gained in the study of the social science course, the relevant concepts, as well as the facts of social life and your own life experience. (Give at least two examples from various sources as evidence.)

“The joint harmonious development of Nature and Society is the central problem of modern life. And the development of a joint strategy of mankind, aimed at ensuring this harmony, will have to take the most important place in the collective efforts of all countries of the globe.

Social change as a sociological definition. – Innovation. – Social process and its main types. - Social movements. - Social progress. – Concepts of social modernization.

Society is never static. There are no immutable objects and subjects in the social sphere. Cultural complexes, composition of groups, relationships between people are changing. This, in turn, affects changes in society, its policies, and the way people live. Even the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus (end of the 6th century - beginning of the 5th century BC) expressed the idea of continuous change: “Everything flows, everything changes”, “You cannot enter the same river twice”. Changes happen every hour, every minute. A person grows or ages, is born or dies. New organizations and global social systems are emerging and old ones are falling apart.

When studying the changes taking place in society, they are usually divided into social - changes in the social structure and social relationships in society and cultural - changes in the culture of society.

In sociology, social change refers to the transformations that occur over time in the organization, structure of society, patterns of thought, culture and social behavior. Changes are the transition of a social object from one state to another, a significant transformation of social organization, social institutions, the growth of a variety of social forms. Or: change is the difference between what the system represented in the past and what became of it after a certain period of time. The types of social change are very diverse. They can cover the entire social system, or they can give “priority” to some aspect (element), they can be short-term or long-term, they can lead the system to development or decline. Social changes must be considered as a multifactorial process, which is influenced by the "challenges" of the external environment, changes in the economy, ideology, etc.

What is the mechanism of social change, how do they proceed? The basis of social change is always the result of authorial or anonymous, random or spontaneous inventions and discoveries offered to society - the so-called innovation. In our case, social innovation. Material innovations can also have a social component.

Social changes that occur through the mechanism of introducing innovations into a particular social system require a mandatory process, possibly short or extended in time.

The social process is the unidirectional actions of people, leading to a change in the state of the elements in the social system. Without processes leading to certain changes, a social system cannot exist.

From the whole variety of social processes, sociology has identified the main ones: cooperation, competition (rivalry), adaptation, conflict, assimilation, amalgamation. Cooperation as a set of joint actions and interactions is known to all societies and in all historical periods. Cooperation from the Latin language means "to work together." Cooperation is based on the conscious desire of people to achieve the greatest effect from joint activities. A person who cannot easily and freely cooperate, i.e. enter into joint actions with other people, ultimately will not be successful in life.

Cooperation as a social process is not only joint productive work. Cooperation appears in the form of many people working in large-scale organizations. The desire of people to cooperate to achieve common goals is expressed through government agencies, private firms, etc. Such cooperation not only includes many people in a given society, but also leads to the creation of a network of organizations that cooperate activities at the level of state, regional, national and international relationships.

Cooperation implies the simultaneous presence next to it of such a manifestation of the social process as competition. Competition is understood as the desire to achieve rewards by eliminating or outperforming rivals striving for identical goals. It can be money, power, status, love, etc. Competition is based on the fact that people can never satisfy all their desires. Therefore, competitive relations flourish both in conditions of abundance and in conditions of scarcity of goods, services, positions, freedoms, etc. Competition can be personal or impersonal. For example, an entrepreneur fights for sales markets without personally knowing his competitors. In this case, competitors may not identify their partners as rivals.

Although competition and rivalry are inherent in all societies, the severity and forms of their manifestation are very different. In societies where there are mostly prescribed statuses, competition tends to be less visible. At the same time, in societies with mainly attainable statuses, competition permeates all spheres of social life. For a person living in such a society, competitive relations begin in childhood and continue virtually throughout life.

The significance of competition in the life of society, in the implementation of social processes in it, lies in the fact that it stimulates the elements of society, individuals to achieve victory through creation. At the same time, competition is not a panacea for all ills and is not the only (let alone universal) type of social process that leads to social change. People, as participants in the competitive struggle and its initiators, under certain circumstances, may strive to weaken competition. If the conditions of the struggle are associated with excessive anxiety, risk and loss of a sense of certainty, security, people begin to protect themselves from competition. Businessmen go to secret deals and collusion to avoid competition, some sectors of the economy require the protection of their interests by the state, and these preferences are not always justified. Almost every social group seeks to protect itself from harsh competitive conditions. Thus, people may move away from competition simply because they are afraid of losing everything they have.

In addition, competition under certain circumstances can turn into a conflict (the conflict will be discussed in more detail in the next topic). Consent to a peaceful struggle for certain values, rewards through rivalry is often violated. A competitor who is inferior in skill, intellect, or ability may be tempted to seize value through violence, intrigue, or by violating the existing laws of competition. His actions can generate a backlash: competition turns into conflict with unpredictable results.

Adaptation (adaptation) is the adoption by an individual or a social group of cultural norms, values, samples, standards of a new environment. Adaptation begins when the norms and values learned in the previous environment do not lead to the satisfaction of needs, do not create acceptable behavior. For example, emigrants in a foreign country are trying to adapt to a new culture, schoolchildren go to college and must adapt to new requirements, to a new environment. In other words, adaptation is the formation of a type of behavior suitable for life in changing environmental conditions. To one degree or another, adaptation processes proceed continuously, since environmental conditions are constantly changing. Depending on the individual's assessment of changes in the external environment and the significance of these changes, adaptation processes can be short-term or long-term, take the form of submission, compromise, tolerance.

Assimilation - it is a social process of mutual cultural penetration, through which individuals and groups come to a common culture shared by all participants in the process. It is always a two-way process in which each group has the opportunity to infiltrate its culture into other groups in proportion to its size, prestige and other factors. Assimilation can significantly weaken and extinguish group conflicts, mixing individual groups into one large group with a homogeneous culture. This is because social conflict involves the separation of groups, but when the cultures of the groups are assimilated, the very cause of the conflict is eliminated.

Amalgamation - biological mixing of two or more ethnic groups or peoples, after which they become one group or people. Racial and national prejudice, caste isolation or deep conflict between groups can form a barrier to amalgamation. If it is incomplete, then status systems may appear in society, in which status will be measured by “purity of blood”. But once the process of amalgamation is complete, the boundaries between groups are blurred and the social structure no longer depends on "purity of blood".

Assimilation and amalgamation are objectively determined processes that ultimately have undeniable positive social changes. These processes have taken place and will continue to take place, as society constantly produces social boundaries, barriers between newly emerging communities.

The main types of social processes noted above are the result of the efforts of individuals or groups of individuals organized into one or another community, organization: under certain circumstances, these efforts become massive, uniting collective actions, shared values, ideas of individuals belonging to different strata. This form of social process is usually defined as a social movement.

A social movement is a set of collective actions aimed at supporting social change or supporting resistance to social change in society, in a social group. This definition unites a wide range of social movements: religious, economic, youth, feminist, political, revolutionary, etc. Social movements are less stable and more dynamic, changeable in their patterns of behavior, usually relatively poorly organized and formalized compared to parties and other social political institutions and organizations. But in the course of their development, social movements can reach such a level of organization, formalization, that they turn into one or more socio-political organizations.

Social movements are an important object of study by political science. However, sociological analysis differs significantly from political science. The study of the nature of social movements made it possible to better understand their inner content, their essence. Based on this, sociology distinguishes the so-called expressive movements. The nature of their occurrence is as follows. When a certain group of people feel uncomfortable within a certain social system, recognizes its imperfection for itself, but does not seek to change it, but finds a way out for itself through various expressive, emotionally vivid actions, which is where the participation of individuals in this type of social movement is manifested. Such actions can be ritual dances (ancient world), mysteries (Middle Ages), youth subcultures (modern times).

Expressive social movements allow those who feel antagonistic to the reality around them and are included in these movements to receive some relief through emotional release, make their life tolerable.

Often expressive movements refer to the glorious past and the exploits of the ancestors. These movements revive bygone rituals, symbolism and find emotional satisfaction in wearing old military uniforms or returning to old customs and behaviors. Such movements are most often associated with passive behavior, escape from reality through memories or dreams. At the same time, such expressive movements can pave the way for reforms or lead to revolutions, since they revive traditions and can function as a force to arouse a passive population. This is also facilitated by the desire of most people to idealize the past, to oppose the "heroic" times to the present. This property of expressive movements can make them an intermediate link between non-political and active political movements.

One form of social movement is the so-called utopian. Utopian (i.e. invented, fantasized) ideas, theories that develop some perfect models of building a society have existed in all ages of human history and served as the basis for both local (experimental) and mass social movements of a utopian type.

These perfect utopian societies have tried to describe many prominent writers and thinkers. Especially many attempts to theoretically substantiate a perfect human society were made in the 18th and 19th centuries, when utopian ideas were especially popular. Initially, the authors or (and) implementers of utopian ideas, who almost always possessed significant internal energy and activity, embodied their model of utopia within the boundaries of small communities, circles: for example, the communities of the first Christians, the religious sects of the East, the communes of R. Owen, the phalanxes of C. Fourier and etc. However, all of them disintegrated or were reborn in a relatively short time as soon as they collided with the outside world or when the number of members of the commune, etc. of ideal communities exceeded the limits of their charismatic leader's physical control over them.

Of course, utopian ideals are viable and enduring. Therefore, they can be forgotten after the collapse of the movement and after some time be reborn in other movements. This is due to the fact that people will never stop imagining (without sufficient reason) the most perfect models of society.

Utopian social movements are valuable for social change with their ideas that awaken scientific thought and activate the actions of the authorities aimed at harmonizing social relations. Attempts to concretely implement utopian ideas meet with resistance from law-abiding members of society, who are afraid of new cultural patterns of behavior, role reversal, and so on.

Sociology considers reform movements as social movements as an attempt to change certain aspects of social life and the structure of society without its complete transformation (or this is not set as a goal, but is a consequence of reforms). The reforms are called social if they relate to transformations in those areas of society or those aspects of public life that are directly related to people, are reflected in their level or lifestyle, health, participation in public life, access to social benefits. Changes in the rules for using international telephones, rail transport or the metro affect the interests of citizens. But it is unlikely that such reforms are called social. On the contrary, the introduction of universal secondary education, health insurance, unemployment benefits or a new form of social protection for the population does not just affect our interests. Such reforms concern social position numerous segments of the population, restrict or expand millions of people's access to social benefits - education, health care, employment, guarantees.

In order for individuals to unite to fight for reforms, two conditions are necessary: the participants in such movements must have a positive attitude towards the order in a given society, focusing only on certain negative aspects of the social order, and also have the opportunity to express their opinion and actively act in support of any reforms. In this regard, it can be said that reform movements in their final form arise only in democratic societies, when people have considerable freedom and can criticize existing social institutions and change them at the request of the majority. Numerous types of reform movements, such as abolitionist (movements to repeal any law), feminist (movements for equal rights for women), prohibition (pornography, construction of nuclear power plants, etc.), cannot develop under totalitarian regimes. in which an attempt at any social change is regarded as a threat to the existing system of power.

One form of social movement is revolution. Revolution - a complete or complex change in all or most aspects of public life, affecting the foundations of the existing social order. The revolution is of a spasmodic nature and represents the transition of society from one qualitative state to another.

Revolutions should be distinguished from state or palace coups, which are carried out by people who are at the helm of government and leave the institutions and system of power in society unchanged. The term "revolution" is sometimes applied to gradual, peaceful, large-scale changes, such as the technological revolution. But in this case we are dealing with a completely different meaning of the term. For example, the longest process in the history of mankind was the so-called neolithic revolution, which represented a qualitative change in the sphere of production - a transition, a leap from gathering to farming. The Neolithic revolution began 10 thousand years ago and lasted 3 thousand years in some regions of the world, and 8 thousand years in others. During this time, developed agricultural civilizations arose in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, Greece, etc.

Industrial Revolution XVIII - XIX centuries. led European states, the United States and a number of other states to the dominance of industry in the sphere of productive forces and radically changed the social structure of society, but this did not happen abruptly, but through reforms. Not a technological, but a social revolution is changing the foundations of the social system, destroying the existing social order and establishing a new one, significantly different from the previous one, in the shortest possible time.

But is social revolution an indispensable or necessary part of social change? Most sociologists think not. The very existence of other variants of social movements alternative to the revolution testifies to this. A number of researchers have identified the main thing that leads to revolutionary movements with their inevitable negative social consequences for people. In particular, it is the accumulation of deep social unrest and dissatisfaction over a number of years; the inability of intellectuals to successfully criticize the status quo in a way that the general population understands them; the emergence of an impulse to action, the uprising of a social myth or belief system that justifies this impulse; a revolutionary explosion caused by the vacillation and weakness of the ruling elite; the period of moderate rule, which soon amounts to attempts to control various groups of revolutionaries or to concessions in order to extinguish the explosion of passions among the people; access to the active positions of extremists and radicals who seize power and destroy any opposition, etc.

Historical experience shows that democracy, contrary to popular belief, does not serve as a breeding ground for revolutionary movements. This is explained by the fact that democracy is the basis of social reforms, and reforms inevitably push back the revolution. Revolutionary movements flourish where reforms are blocked to such an extent that the only way to remedy the shortcomings of the social system is through a revolutionary movement. It is no coincidence that they have not gained popularity in such traditionally democratic countries as Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium or Denmark, and are highly developed in those countries where the government is only considered democratic and its activities are ineffective in carrying out social reforms. Under these conditions, even some reformers become revolutionaries.

There are many scientific theories that contain different, including opposite, assessments of the social movements noted above and which underlie social processes that, in turn, lead to social changes. We believe it would be right to recognize as justified the most significant theories that explain the nature, content, stages of development of the main social movements. All of them are possible and even necessary if society does not find other ways for its renewal through socio-cultural changes. At the subjective level, one can give preference to one or another social movement - for example, a revolution. However, in real life, a special process will follow the path that will determine the dominant social movement in a particular society.

The result of any social change is ultimately the social progress of society. Sociology understands social progress as the direction of social development, in which there is a progressive movement of society from simple and lower forms of social life to more complex and higher ones, from one standard of quality of life to another, perceived as more perfect. Sociologists see social progress differently. Both in the sense of the content of this concept, and in the sense - and this is the main thing - of the ways of its development. So, O. Comte saw it primarily in the growth of the level of knowledge, and G. Spencer - in the growth of social heterogeneity. Marxism considers social progress as a natural transition from one socio-economic formation to another, higher, more and more freeing the individual from dependence on the action of the elemental forces of nature and society.

In modern sociology and political science, social progress is most often associated with the movement from an agrarian, pre-industrial society to an industrial one and from it to a post-industrial one. The question of its criteria and the relationship between the objective and the subjective in them is difficult, which is solved in different ways by many researchers. Some scientists generally denied social progress (N.Ya. Danilevsky, O. Spengler, A. Toynbee, etc.), considering historical development not as unilinear and unidirectional (progressive), but as multilinear, independent of each other, parallel movement of special "cultural-historical types" of societies. Some have portrayed history as a cyclic movement in a circle, as a chaotic or fluctuating, pendulum movement.

Obviously, social progress reflects the general line of development of society, which does not exclude the possibility of temporary and partial historical turns, kinks and zigzags, stagnation, deadlocks and even backward movements, the death of individual civilizations, etc. Only traditional, flat evolutionism could represent the course of history smooth, even, continuously ascending line of development.

Social progress is a generalized concept that includes economic, technical and cultural progress as its components. The foundation of social progress is technical. In relation to politics and religion, the term "progress" is inapplicable, therefore one does not speak of political or religious progress.

In cases where the acceleration of history leads to negative consequences, it is more correct to speak of regression. It is called the process opposite to progress. It marks the backward movement of society, the retreat from the conquered positions, the return to the previous level. Between progress and regress, the difference is not only in the vector of movement, but also in scale. If progress is a global process that characterizes the movement of human society throughout historical time, then regression is a local process covering individual societies and short periods of time. Humanity as a whole has never regressed, although its forward movement could be delayed, stopped.

The real threat to social progress today is the danger of a world thermonuclear war, the unresolved and aggravated other global problems of our time. Their solution is possible only within the framework of an actively emerging world system. It is a product of the development of individual territories and states, which, while maintaining their sovereignty, become increasingly dependent on each other on the basis of technological progress and the globalization of their economies. At the same time, the continuing huge difference between states and societies in terms of their level of economic and social development confronts those who are on the periphery of the world system, as well as those who are behind the leaders, but want to reach their level, the problem of accelerating their upward movement. lines. Concept of social progress made it possible to determine the mechanism of this movement through modernization. It refers to the transition from pre-industrial to industrial and post-industrial societies, carried out through complex reforms stretched over time. Modernization implies a fundamental change in social institutions, economic business, people's living standards, etc.

The concept of social progress based on comprehensive modernization is based on the proposition that all societies are ultimately involved in a single, universal process of human society's ascent to the endless heights of civilization, to a single system of universal human values. Social progress through modernization shows how societies that are in the status of outsiders can change it in a much shorter time.

Many societies, responding to the challenges of more developed countries, have taken the path of the so-called inorganic modernization, that is, passing not as a natural process of reform, but as organized, planned and led by certain social movements. Inorganic modernization does not begin with culture, but with economics and politics. In other words, organic modernization goes "from below", and inorganic - "from above".

Usually, the principles of modernization do not have time to cover the vast majority of the population, and therefore do not receive strong social support. They take possession only of the minds of the most prepared part of society. And this creates certain difficulties for the modernization of processes. Russia has repeatedly tried to overcome its historical lag, to catch up with the advanced countries. It was precisely this goal that was pursued by the Peter the Great reforms of the 18th century, the Stalinist industrialization of the 1930s. XX century, perestroika 1985 and economic reforms 1991-1993.

Inorganic modernization is carried out by purchasing foreign equipment and patents, borrowing foreign technology, inviting specialists, studying abroad, and attracting investments. Corresponding changes are taking place in the social and political spheres: the management system is changing, new power structures are being introduced, the country's constitution is being rebuilt to suit foreign counterparts. In many ways, this is exactly what happened in Russia in the 18th and 20th centuries, and in Japan in the 19th and 20th centuries. It took the latter 20 post-war years to catch up and in many ways overtake the United States. In a short period, inorganic modernization in Japan was replaced by organic. Japan develops on its own basis and, in turn, serves as a role model.

Modern Russia, which has a huge natural, human, intellectual, cultural potential, must take its appropriate place in the world economic and political system by modernizing all aspects of society in a short time and at the lowest cost for the citizens of its country.

Questions for self-control of knowledge