Development of Russian culture and its features. History of Russian culture and the main stages of its development
Topic No. 1.6. “Economic freedom. The meaning of specialization and volume."
The Meaning of Specialization
Commodity farming is the production of products (services) for the market, for sale.
A) Common basis the emergence and development of commodity production is the social division of labor, the specialization of producers, then the isolation of producers and the emergence private property. The first major division of labor is the division of cattle breeding and agriculture; the second is the separation of crafts from agriculture, followed by the emergence of industries.
B) Separation of producers, the emergence of private property.
There are simple and capitalist commodity production. Simple is based on private property and personal labor of the producer. Capitalist - on private property and the use of hired labor.
Natural - commodity - capitalist. Commercial farming has many advantages over natural farming. driving forces its development:
1. division and specialization of labor;
2. cooperation of labor and production;
3. interest in increasing labor productivity;
4. competitiveness, competition;
5. use of scientific and technological progress achievements.
Commodity farming: conditions of origin and main features
A commodity economy is one in which the goods necessary for society are produced by individual isolated producers, each of whom specializes in creating a certain type of good, as a result of which there is a regular exchange of labor products as goods on the market.
From this definition It can be seen that production becomes commercial if two conditions exist: specialization of producers and their economic isolation.
Specialization presupposes that each producer creates a certain type of good: bread, milk, shoes, clothing, etc. Since each good is capable of satisfying only one need, while its producer’s needs are very diverse, the goods are produced in a volume exceeding the producer’s need for it, and their surplus is exchanged for other goods necessary for the producer. Thus, specialization necessitates the exchange of the results of producers’ work.
In general, commercial farming is characterized by the following features:
1. The presence of a social division of labor, implying the specialization of producers at various levels.
2. Economic independence of producers as owners of the factors of production they have, allowing them to freely dispose of the products produced. The production of the product in this case appears as private and separate from the production of other products.
3. The manufactured product is in the form of a commodity. This means that the immediate purpose of production is sale, not consumption of what is produced.
4. The presence of a market as a link between production and consumption and as a factor influencing the behavior of producers and consumers, determining their relations with each other in the form of purchase and sale and having a regulatory impact on the entire economy.
Among the main characteristics of commercial farming special attention deserve those that are associated with the specialization and economic independence of producers, since they, having determined the emergence of a commodity economy, contributed to its further development.
The importance of specialization in the development of commercial farming
Specialization is understood as a form of division of labor between countries, spheres, industries and enterprises public economy, as well as the division of labor within individual enterprises.
Since the main subjects of the commodity economy are enterprises as commodity producers, then special meaning has production specialization - specialization at the level of individual enterprises. There are three types of such specialization:
Subject - specialization of manufacturers (enterprises) in manufacturing individual species final consumption goods (bread, shoes, clothing, etc.);
Detailed - specialization in production individual parts and end product parts, such as car parts;
Technological - specialization in the implementation of individual operations that form part of the overall technological process, for example, first assembling individual components of a car, and then assembling the entire car. This type of specialization is also called staged.
Specialization appears as a factor in production growth due to the following reasons.
Since specialization is the basis of inter-farm and intra-farm labor cooperation, through it it becomes one of the effective factors in the growth of labor productivity.
In fact, since specialization involves people choosing a sphere of production activity, taking into account their natural inclinations, acquired abilities and interests, then their work is more productive than that of those who are not very suitable for such work.
In addition, specialization involves frequent repetition of the same operations in the production process, so people involved in these operations achieve perfection in their execution and produce high output.
Specialization is also characterized by the use of the same tools: machines, machines, equipment, tools throughout the working day. Therefore, capital as a factor of production is not idle, it is almost always at work, gives greater returns, pays off faster, which means it can be replaced more quickly with new, more productive capital capable of producing even greater returns.
Since specialization involves the use of the same tools throughout the working day, this makes it possible to thoroughly identify their features, advantages and disadvantages and, if necessary, improve them and make them more productive.
Specialization, being associated with the cooperation of not only labor, but also material factors of production, at a certain stage of development of the commodity economy led to the emergence of machines and machine production, which meant a qualitatively new level of development of the productive forces of society.
The role of economic freedom in the development of commodity economy
Economic isolation means the economic independence of commodity producers. A. Smith interpreted such independence as economic freedom, which implies the opportunity for economic entities to use their factors of production where they consider it beneficial for themselves.
First of all, economic freedom presupposes the opportunity for people, as carriers of labor power, to dispose of it at their own discretion and to engage in the sphere of production where they can more fully demonstrate their abilities and talents.
The manifestation of this kind of freedom first of all presupposes the presence of personal freedom of a person as a citizen. This means that a person has the right to choose the sphere labor activity at your own discretion. If the area in which he is engaged does not suit him, then he can freely move to another, third, etc. until you find the one that suits you best. This assumes the possibility for a person to change his place of residence if in this place he cannot profitably use labor. The desire to get the most out of their workforce encourages people to improve it by upgrading their skills or even acquiring another more lucrative profession.
Economic freedom also means the possibility of using capital as a factor of production at the discretion of its owner. By pursuing their personal interests, owners of capital can direct them to where they give the greatest return. At the same time, there is a desire to improve the material factors of production, which makes an additional contribution to the development of production.
Economic freedom also includes the possibility of using land as a factor of production in the most beneficial way for its owner. For example, land plot can be used for growing wheat or as pasture, the extraction of a discovered mineral or the construction of some kind of facility can begin on it.
Since factors of production are used to create a marketable product, economic freedom also presupposes the possibility of free disposal by producers of their products. He can sell it when and in the place when and where he considers it most profitable for himself. However, buyers also have the right to choose the goods offered, guided by their own benefit.
The presence of economic freedom inevitably causes competition between the owners of factors of production and manufactured products. In fact, if some industry turns out to be profitable for the application of these factors of production in it, then it will attract many owners of the corresponding factors, and a struggle will arise between them for the possibility of their use, and then for the possibility of profitable sale of the produced products .
Competition in the commodity economy appears as a powerful lever for increasing the level of productive forces and improving production, since the owners of the most efficient factors and more attractive products can win in it. This means that competition forces owners to improve their factors of production: workers must improve their skills, and owners of material factors must update them, replacing old means of production with new ones. Those who fail to do this may be defeated in the competition and not only not receive the desired benefits, but also lose the factors of production they have.
The concept of volume
Exchange- this is the process of movement of consumer goods and production resources from one participant economic activity to another. It connects producers and consumers, connects members of society. Through exchange, a system of economic relations is formed.
The methods of exchange are very diverse. It can be produced through barter or indirectly through money, be free or strictly regulated. One thing is certain: exchange is beneficial for its participants and effective for society.
The development of exchange occurred through a change following forms cost.
1. The simple, or random, form of value corresponded to the early stage of exchange between communities, when it was of a random nature: one commodity expressed its value in another, opposing commodity. Marx wrote that this form is not as simple as it seems at first glance, since here there are already two poles of the expression of the value of a commodity. On the first - a commodity expressing its value, a commodity playing an active role (relative form of value); at the second pole - a product that serves as a material for expressing the value of the first product. He plays a passive role and is in equivalent form. Thus, the relative and equivalent forms are the two poles of the expression of the value of a product.
The equivalent form of value has a number of features:
♦ the use value of an equivalent product serves as a form of manifestation of its opposite - the value of the product;
♦ concrete labor contained in an equivalent product serves as a form of manifestation of its opposite - abstract labor;
♦ private labor spent on the production of an equivalent product serves as a form of manifestation of its opposite - directly social labor.
2. The full, or expanded, form of value is associated with the development of exchange caused by the first major social division of social labor - the separation of pastoral and agricultural tribes. In this regard, numerous objects of social labor are included in the exchange, and each product, which is in the relative form of value, is opposed to a multitude of equivalent goods. A significant drawback of this form of value is that, due to the multitude of equivalent goods, the value of each product does not receive a complete expression.
3. General form of value. The further development of commodity production and exchange led to the separation of individual goods from the commodity world, which played the role of the main objects of exchange in local markets (salt, furs, livestock, etc.). The peculiarity of this form of value is that the role of universal equivalent has not yet been assigned to any commodity, and different time it was performed alternately by various goods.
4. Monetary form value is characterized by the allocation, as a result of further exchange, of one commodity to the role of a universal equivalent. With the development of exchange and the creation of a world market, such a role was assigned to noble metals - gold and silver - due to their natural properties (qualitative homogeneity, quantitative divisibility, storability and portability). From that time on, the entire commodity world was divided into two parts; to the “commodity mob” and a special commodity that plays the role of a universal equivalent - money.
Thus, the essence of money is that it is a specific marketable condition, with the natural form of which the social function of the universal equivalent merges.
Plan
Monetary systems. Modern cash
TO essential components monetary system include:
1) national monetary unit (ruble, dollar, yen, etc.), in which prices of goods and services are expressed;
2) system of credit and paper money, change coins, which are legal tender in cash;
3) the system of issuing money, i.e., the legally established procedure for issuing money into circulation;
4) government bodies in charge of regulating money circulation.
Taking into account the dependence on the type of money in circulation, two basic types of monetary circulation systems can be distinguished.
First type. Systems of circulation of metal money, when there are full-fledged gold and (or) silver coins in circulation, which perform all the functions of money, and credit money can be exchanged for monetary metal (in bars or coins).
Historically, the following varieties of this system have been formed:
– bimetallism, based on the use of two metals as money - gold and silver;
– monometallism, when one metal began to be used as a monetary material - gold, and credit and paper money could be freely exchanged for this metal.
Second type. Systems of circulation of credit and paper money, which cannot be exchanged for gold, and gold itself is forced out of circulation. Paper money has no intrinsic value and is a substitute for gold. state power, which gives them a forced course.
Modern cash is the debt obligations of central state banks, and non-cash money is the debt obligations of commercial banks.
In addition to these types, there is also money, sometimes called “almost money” or “quasi-money”. These are liquid assets that have a fixed nominal value and can be converted into cash. These include checkless savings accounts, time deposits, and government short-term bonds.
The widespread use of credit money today occurs through the use of credit cards with a magnetic stripe. The first credit card appeared in the USA in 1915. in the form of a debt card.
In Russia, the first credit cards were issued in 1993.
The next stage in the process of evolution of money was a system of computer settlements, called “electronic money”.
Lecture 3: The concept of economic freedom.
1. The concept of economic freedom. Specialization and its importance for market formation.
2. The concept of exchange.
Economic freedom is commonly understood as the freedom to choose forms and types of economic, entrepreneurial activity, distribution and use own funds, acquisition and sale of property, market behavior, participation in trade unions and strikes.
As a result further development international specialization, countries were divided into three groups: 1) countries producing manufacturing products for the world market; 2) countries that provide extractive industry products; 3) countries specializing in the production and sale of agricultural products. At the same time, there is a fourth group of countries that simultaneously produces products from the manufacturing, mining and Agriculture. This is a number of Western industrial developed countries(USA, Canada, England, Germany, France).
The development and deepening of international specialization based on the division of labor frees many countries from the economically unforeseen task of developing all branches of production and allows them to concentrate efforts and specialize in the production of certain types of products. It excludes the possibility of the formation of a monocultural economic structure, since it presupposes the creation in each country of a rational economic complex interconnected and complementary sectors of the national economy.
By creating high-tech production and producing high-quality competitive products supplied to various national markets, transnational companies are essentially the main carriers of international specialization within the framework of the global economy and the global market for goods and services. Suffice it to note that the main suppliers of passenger cars and trucks transnational corporations of industrialized countries enter the world market (in the USA - General Motors, Ford, Chrysler; in Germany - Daimler-Benz, Volkswagen, Opel, Audi; in France - " Renault", "Peugeot-Citroen"; in England - "British Motor", "Rolls-Royce"; in Japan - "Mitsubishi", "Nissan", "Toyota"; in Italy - "Fiat"; in South Korea- “Daivo”).
Economic freedom- the breadth of economic behavior of business entities when choosing forms of ownership and the sphere of application of their abilities, knowledge, capabilities, profession, methods of income distribution, consumption of material goods; implemented on the basis of legislative state norms; inseparable from the economic responsibility of citizens.
This concept presupposes that a person has the right to decide independently what activity to choose, whether to work for hire or engage in entrepreneurship. In addition, we can freely choose products and give preference to one manufacturer or another. Economic freedom in market economy means that an entrepreneur can choose in which area to realize himself, where, in what form and volume to conduct activities aimed at producing or selling goods or services and making a profit. Economic freedom in modern understanding historically it took a long time and was very difficult. We can say that in world history this concept was formed between two extremes: complete personal freedom and great economic risk, on the one hand, and human dependence on external factors and the priority of economic security, on the other. IN currently economic freedom is balancing on a fine line between strict government control of the market and “anarchy” in the sphere of entrepreneurship.
Economic freedom is possible only in a society where there is developed social responsibility, which includes not only respecting the economic interests of other people, but also caring for nature, which is a source of raw materials and the basis for the development of the economy of any country.
The division of production between various workers, enterprises and their divisions, industries, regions of the country, as well as between countries is called division labor. Accordingly, a distinction is made between professional, inter-firm and intra-factory, inter-industry, inter-regional and international division of labor. There is also a division of labor between parts and units, i.e. manufacturing not a fully finished product, but its elements.
During the division of labor, workers, enterprises and their divisions, industries, regions, countries focus on the production of a limited range of products. Based on the division of labor, the orientation of producers towards the production of individual products and their elements is called specialization.
Specialization gives the manufacturer many advantages. Firstly, by specializing in the production of a particular product, the manufacturer has the opportunity to most effectively use the resources available to him or her. economic resources. Thus, Russia’s specialization in world trade in the export of raw materials, fuel and energy, materials and semi-finished products is largely explained by the fact that it allows us to use the huge mineral resources. Secondly, specialization in the production of a limited set of products allows the manufacturer to effectively use his ability to produce them.
If each participant economic life specializes in the production of a limited range of products, then all other benefits that he needs as a producer and consumer must be obtained from outside. To do this, he exchanges the goods at his disposal (productive resources and consumer goods) for the goods that he needs. In economic life, the exchange of goods usually takes the form of trade between people, firms, regions, and countries.
Economic freedom is an opportunity for business entities to choose forms of ownership and the sphere of application of their abilities, knowledge, capabilities, profession, methods of income distribution, consumption of material goods, implemented on the basis of legislative state norms and inseparable from the economic responsibility of citizens.
Economic freedom in in the narrow sense, the right of economic entities to independently choose the profile, structure and volume of production, sales conditions, product prices; achieved through compromise agreements with other market participants.
This is freedom economic activity, trade, land use, voluntary cooperation.
Economic freedom in practice means the right to start or stop a business, acquire any resources, use any technology, produce any product and offer it for sale at any price; invest your funds at your own discretion, but these rights and freedoms do not provide guaranteed success.
You can produce any product and set any price for it. Every consumer has the right to freely purchase any product or service, offer their services to perform any work; refuse any work; use your own resources, provided that this does not violate the rights of other people.
Practice business relations(business), using economic freedom as a condition for development, has developed a system of relationships that is mandatory for participation in business.
This is respect for the socio-economic sovereignty of business relations and compromise of interests.
Possible in economics free choice in conditions of limited resources based on division of labor, specialization.
Hired workers cannot offer their labor if their qualification level is below the acceptable level.
Absolute economic freedom is unattainable. The use of their rights and freedoms by some is limited by the fact that others also use their rights and freedoms. Economic freedom is limited by competition and the state, through legislative acts, regulating the conditions for the functioning of the economy.
The division of production of a commodity (a product produced for exchange) into transactions between workers, enterprises and their divisions, industries, regions of the country, as well as between countries is called the division of labor.
Accordingly, a distinction is made between professional, inter-firm, intra-factory, inter-industry, inter-regional, and international division of labor.
With the division of labor, orientation in the production of products involves the production of a limited range of products.
If the manufacturer, in the course of the division of labor between various participants in production, has decided what and from which group of goods will be produced, then the manufacturer has chosen the specialization of its production.
It provides a number of advantages: efficient use of manufacturer resources; effective use of the manufacturer's knowledge, skills and abilities in comparison with competitors.
Specialization is the process of concentrating the output of certain types of products in certain industries, at individual enterprises and their divisions, i.e. This is the process of producing homogeneous products or performing individual technological operations.
Specialization of production is one of the forms of division of social labor and organization of production. In industry, the private division of labor means the division of industry into sectors and their further differentiation, on the one hand, and the specialization of enterprises, on the other.
Specialization within an enterprise is a unit division of labor
Specialization of enterprises and workshops occurs as a result of the separation of homogeneous production finished products, as well as the production of individual components products and individual operations of the technological process for their production.
Forms of specialization in industry:
Subject specialization
Enterprises specialize in the production of finished products (tractors, cars, airplanes, etc.);
Detailed specialization
The company specializes in the production individual parts, components and assemblies. An example of such specialization is bearing, carburetor and other similar plants;
Stage, or technological, specialization
Enterprises specialize in performing only individual stages of the technological process, for example, spinning factories that produce yarn for weaving enterprises, foundries, forging and assembly plants in mechanical engineering;
Specialization of auxiliary production. This form of specialization includes enterprises that produce containers and packaging, tools and equipment, as well as those performing repair work.
By scale of specialization there are:
Intra-industry
Intersectoral
Interstate specialization
The highest level is interstate specialization, i.e. specialization within the near and far abroad
To characterize the level and analyze specialization, a number of indicators are used in practice:
Production coverage ratio. It characterizes the share of products of a specialized industry in the total output of products of this type
Specialization coefficient, which characterizes the share of the main (core) products in the total output of the industry, enterprise, workshop
The coefficient of detailed specialization, which characterizes the share of products of detailed (technologically) specialized enterprises and workshops in the total output of the industry, enterprise, workshop;
Width of nomenclature and range of products. The wider the range and range of products manufactured at the enterprise and in the workshop, the lower the level of specialization.
Exchange in economics is the movement of goods from one owner to another.
In this case, the producer of any good exchanges it for the goods of many other producers. He, as it were, “pays” for the purchase of these goods with some portions of his product.
Exchange be violent and non-violent. Trade is a form of non-violent exchange. And she develops, acquiring various shapes: international trade, wholesale, retail, etc.
Exchange presupposes the existence of a measure of equivalence of goods, which requires the comparison of things that are different in type, quality, form and purpose. This requires a single basis, which is the cost of goods. Exchange can occur both with and without money (barter).
Conclusion The most important condition for the emergence of a market is the social division of labor. Through the division of labor, an exchange of activities is achieved, as a result of which a worker of a certain type of specific labor gets the opportunity to use the products of any other specific type of labor.
1. What is the essence of economic freedom?
2. What is specialization? What types of specialization do you know?
3. To characterize the level and analyze specialization, a number of indicators are used in practice. Name and describe them.
4. What is an exchange? What types of exchange do you know?
The law of diminishing returns determines the relationship between production costs and output. This law applies only when one factor of production changes while other factors remain unchanged.
To increase the volume of output, division of labor is used: a group of people is engaged in separate types of economic activity. Accordingly, a distinction is made between professional, inter-firm and intra-factory, inter-industry, inter-regional and international division of labor. There is also a division of labor between parts and units, i.e. manufacturing not a fully finished product, but its elements.
This means specialization in the production of certain goods and services.
Specialization is determined by the principle of comparative advantage, i.e. the ability to produce a product at a relatively lower opportunity cost.
Specialization gives the manufacturer many advantages. Firstly, by specializing in the production of a particular product, the manufacturer has the opportunity to most effectively use the economic resources available to him or her. Thus, Russia’s specialization in world trade in the export of raw materials, fuel and energy, materials and semi-finished products is largely explained by the fact that it allows us to use the enormous mineral resources available to our country. Secondly, specialization in the production of a limited set of products allows the manufacturer to effectively use his ability to produce them (as in the example with pins).
If each participant in economic life specializes in the production of a limited range of products, then all other benefits that he needs as a producer and consumer must be received from outside. To do this, he exchanges the goods at his disposal (productive resources and consumer goods) for the goods that he needs. In economic life, the exchange of goods usually takes the form of trade between people, firms, regions, and countries. Degree of development, significance and social form exchanges are different at different historical stages of the social division of labor, but exchange occurs in every society and is an eternal category.
In the process of human evolution, forms of exchange were repeatedly modified, and development came from simple shapes to more complex ones. If the initial economy was characterized mainly by direct product exchange, then in the presence of commodity-money relations, the modification of the form of exchange can be represented in the form of the following chain: commodity exchange (T1 - T2) - commodity circulation (T1 - D - T2) - trade (D - T - D).
Commodity circulation is a commodity exchange in the form of purchase and sale, i.e. with the participation of money. In the presence of a developed social division of labor, in addition to producers and consumers of products, a third counterparty, an intermediary, is included in the exchange process, and commodity circulation is transformed into trade. The term “trade” is the most developed form of exchange and a process that is carried out by special enterprises with personnel employed by them, and an organizationally formalized independent branch of the economy.
Each historical stage of human life is characterized by the most typical form of exchange, which, as a rule, “adjacent to other, less characteristic forms.
Thus, in highly organized economic systems, the dominant form of exchange is trade. However, cases are well known when, in extreme situations, it was supplanted for some time by direct commodity exchange.
