Traditional society: how to understand it. Traditional society: sociology and history Main population groups of traditional society

a non-industrial, predominantly rural society, which appears static and antithetical to modern, changing industrial society. The concept has been widely used in the social sciences, but in the last few decades has become considered highly controversial and shunned by many social scientists. See Agrarian civilization

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TRADITIONAL SOCIETY

pre-industrial society, primitive society) is a concept that focuses in its content a set of ideas about the pre-industrial stage of human development, characteristic of traditional sociology and cultural studies. Unified theory T.O. does not exist. Ideas about T.O. are based, rather, on its understanding as a sociocultural model that is asymmetrical to modern society, rather than on a generalization of the real facts of life of peoples not engaged in industrial production. Characteristic of the economy T.O. the dominance of subsistence farming is considered. In this case, commodity relations are either absent altogether or are focused on meeting the needs of a small layer of the social elite. The basic principle of the organization of social relations is the rigid hierarchical stratification of society, as a rule, manifested in the division into endogamous castes. At the same time, the main form of organization of social relations for the vast majority of the population is a relatively closed, isolated community. The latter circumstance dictates the dominance of collectivist social ideas, focused on strict adherence to traditional norms of behavior and excluding individual freedom, as well as an understanding of its value. Together with caste division, this feature almost completely excludes the possibility of social mobility. Political power is monopolized within a separate group (caste, clan, family) and exists primarily in authoritarian forms. A characteristic feature of T.O. it is considered either the complete absence of writing, or its existence in the form of a privilege of certain groups (officials, priests). At the same time, writing quite often develops in a language different from the spoken language of the vast majority of the population (Latin in medieval Europe, Arabic in the Middle East, Chinese writing in the Far East). Therefore, intergenerational transmission of culture is carried out in verbal, folklore form, and the main institution of socialization is the family and community. The consequence of this was extreme variability in the culture of the same ethnic group, manifested in local and dialect differences. Unlike traditional sociology, modern socio-cultural anthropology does not operate with the concept of T.O. From her position, this concept does not reflect the real history of the pre-industrial stage of human development, but characterizes only its last stage. Thus, sociocultural differences between peoples who are at the stage of development of an “appropriating” economy (hunting and gathering) and those who have gone through the stage of the “Neolithic revolution” can be no less or even more significant than between “pre-industrial” and “industrial” societies . It is characteristic that in the modern theory of the nation (E. Gelner, B. Anderson, K. Deutsch) to characterize the pre-industrial stage of development, terminology that is more adequate than the concept of “TO” is used - “agrarian”, “agrarian-literate society” " etc.

Traditional (agrarian) society

Traditional (agrarian) society represented the pre-industrial stage of civilizational development. All societies of antiquity and the Middle Ages were traditional. Their economy was characterized by the dominance of rural subsistence farming and primitive crafts. Extensive technology and hand tools prevailed, initially ensuring economic progress. In his production activities, man sought to adapt to the environment as much as possible and obey the rhythms of nature. Property relations were characterized by the dominance of communal, corporate, conditional, and state forms of ownership. Private property was neither sacred nor inviolable. The distribution of material goods and manufactured goods depended on a person’s position in the social hierarchy.

The social structure of traditional society is class-based, corporate, stable and immobile.

There was virtually no social mobility: a person was born and died, remaining in the same social group.

The main social units were the community and the family. Human behavior in society was regulated by corporate norms and principles, customs, beliefs, and unwritten laws.

In the public consciousness, social reality and human life were perceived as the implementation of divine providence.

The spiritual world of a person in a traditional society, his system of value orientations, way of thinking is special and noticeably different from the modern one. Individuality and independence are not encouraged in this society: the social group dictates norms of behavior to the individual. One can even talk about a “group person” who did not analyze his position in the world, and in general rarely analyzed the phenomena of the surrounding reality. He rather moralizes and evaluates life situations from the perspective of his social group.

The political sphere of a traditional society is dominated by the church and the army. The person is completely alienated from politics. Power seems to him to be of greater value than right and law. In general, this society is extremely conservative, stable, impervious to innovations and impulses from outside. Changes in it occur spontaneously, slowly, without the conscious intervention of people. The spiritual sphere of human existence has priority over the economic one.

Traditional societies have survived to this day mainly in the countries of the so-called “third world” (Asia, Africa) (therefore, the concept of “non-Western civilizations” is often synonymous with “traditional society”). From a Eurocentric point of view, traditional societies are backward, primitive, closed, unfree social organisms, to which Western sociology contrasts industrial and post-industrial civilizations.

), a special way of regulating the life of society, based on traditions and customs. This organization of society actually strives to preserve unchanged the sociocultural foundations of life that have developed in it.

general characteristics

A traditional society is characterized by:

• traditional economy, or the predominance of the agricultural way of life (agrarian society),
• structural stability,
• estate organization,
• low mobility,

A traditional person perceives the world and the established order of life as something inextricably integral, holistic, sacred and not subject to change. A person's place in society and his status are determined by tradition and social origin.

According to the formula formulated in 1910–1920. According to L. Lévy-Bruhl's concept, people of traditional societies are characterized by prelogical (“prelogique”) thinking, incapable of discerning the inconsistency of phenomena and processes and controlled by mystical experiences of participation (“participation”).

In a traditional society, collectivist attitudes predominate, individualism is not encouraged (since freedom of individual action can lead to a violation of the established order, time-tested). In general, traditional societies are characterized by the predominance of collective interests over private ones, including the primacy of the interests of existing hierarchical structures (states, etc.). What is valued is not so much individual capacity as the place in the hierarchy (official, class, clan, etc.) that a person occupies. As noted, Emile Durkheim in his work “On the Division of Social Labor” showed that in societies of mechanical solidarity (primitive, traditional), individual consciousness is entirely outside the “I”.

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

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

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

“For tens of thousands of years, the life of the overwhelming majority of adults was subordinated to the tasks of survival and therefore left even less room for creativity and non-utilitarian cognition than for play. Life was based on tradition, hostile to any innovations; any serious deviation from the given norms of behavior was a threat to everything to the team,” writes L. Ya. Zhmud.

Transformation of traditional society

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

see also

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Notes

Literature

• (chapter “Historical dynamics of culture: cultural features of traditional and modern societies. Modernization”)
• Nazaretyan A.P. // Social sciences and modernity. 1996. No. 2. P. 145-152.

An excerpt characterizing Traditional Society

Princess Marya and Natasha, as always, met in the bedroom. They talked about what Pierre had told. Princess Marya did not speak her opinion about Pierre. Natasha didn't talk about him either.
“Well, goodbye, Marie,” Natasha said. – You know, I’m often afraid that we don’t talk about him (Prince Andrei), as if we are afraid to humiliate our feelings and forget.
Princess Marya sighed heavily and with this sigh acknowledged the truth of Natasha’s words; but in words she did not agree with her.
- Is it possible to forget? - she said.
“It felt so good to tell everything today; and hard, and painful, and good. “Very good,” said Natasha, “I’m sure he really loved him.” That's why I told him... nothing, what did I tell him? – suddenly blushing, she asked.
- Pierre? Oh no! How wonderful he is,” said Princess Marya.
“You know, Marie,” Natasha suddenly said with a playful smile that Princess Marya had not seen on her face for a long time. - He became somehow clean, smooth, fresh; definitely from the bathhouse, do you understand? - morally from the bathhouse. Is it true?
“Yes,” said Princess Marya, “he won a lot.”
- And a short frock coat, and cropped hair; definitely, well, definitely from the bathhouse... dad, it used to be...
“I understand that he (Prince Andrei) did not love anyone as much as he did,” said Princess Marya.
– Yes, and it’s special from him. They say that men are friends only when they are very special. It must be true. Is it true that he doesn't resemble him at all?
- Yes, and wonderful.
“Well, goodbye,” Natasha answered. And the same playful smile, as if forgotten, remained on her face for a long time.

Pierre could not fall asleep for a long time that day; He walked back and forth around the room, now frowning, pondering something difficult, suddenly shrugging his shoulders and shuddering, now smiling happily.
He thought about Prince Andrei, about Natasha, about their love, and was either jealous of her past, then reproached her, then forgave himself for it. It was already six o'clock in the morning, and he was still walking around the room.
“Well, what can we do? If you can’t do without it! What to do! So, this is how it should be,” he said to himself and, hastily undressed, went to bed, happy and excited, but without doubts and indecisions.
“We must, strange as it may be, no matter how impossible this happiness is, we must do everything in order to be husband and wife with her,” he said to himself.
Pierre, a few days before, had set Friday as the day of his departure for St. Petersburg. When he woke up on Thursday, Savelich came to him for orders about packing his things for the road.
“How about St. Petersburg? What is St. Petersburg? Who's in St. Petersburg? – he asked involuntarily, although to himself. “Yes, something like that a long, long time ago, even before this happened, I was planning to go to St. Petersburg for some reason,” he remembered. - From what? I'll go, maybe. How kind and attentive he is, how he remembers everything! - he thought, looking at Savelich’s old face. “And what a pleasant smile!” - he thought.
- Well, don’t you want to go free, Savelich? asked Pierre.
- Why do I need freedom, Your Excellency? We lived under the late count, the kingdom of heaven, and we see no resentment under you.
- Well, what about the children?
“And the children will live, your Excellency: you can live with such gentlemen.”
- Well, what about my heirs? - said Pierre. “What if I get married... It could happen,” he added with an involuntary smile.
“And I dare to report: a good deed, your Excellency.”
“How easy he thinks it is,” thought Pierre. “He doesn’t know how scary it is, how dangerous it is.” Too early or too late... Scary!
- How would you like to order? Would you like to go tomorrow? – Savelich asked.

The development of society is a step-by-step process, representing an upward movement from the simplest economy to a more efficient, advanced one.

In the 20th century, famous political scientists and sociologists put forward a theory according to which society overcomes three stages of its development: agricultural, industrial and post-industrial. Let us dwell in more detail on the agrarian society.

Agrarian society by types, features, characteristics, characteristics

An agrarian, traditional or pre-industrial society is based on the traditional values ​​of humanity. This type of society sees the main goal of preserving the traditional way of life, does not accept any changes and does not strive for development.

An agrarian society is characterized by a traditional economy, which is characterized by redistribution, and the manifestation of market relations and exchange is strictly suppressed. In a traditional society, there is a priority of attention of the state and the ruling elite over the individual’s own interests. All politics is based on an authoritarian type of power.

A person's status in society is determined by his birth. The whole society is divided into classes, movement between which is impossible. The class hierarchy is again based on the traditional way of life.

An agrarian society is characterized by high mortality and birth rates. And at the same time low life expectancy. Very strong family ties.

The pre-industrial type of society persisted for a long time in many Eastern countries.

Economic features of agrarian civilization and culture

The basis of traditional society is agriculture, the main components of which are farming, cattle breeding or fishing in coastal areas.

The priority of a certain type of economy depends on climatic conditions and the geographical location of the place of settlement.

Agrarian society itself is completely dependent on nature and its conditions, while man does not make changes to these forces, without in any way trying to tame them.

For a long time, subsistence farming predominated in pre-industrial society.

Industry is either absent or insignificant. Craft labor is poorly developed. All work is aimed at satisfying basic human needs; society does not even try to strive for more. Extra hours of work are recognized by society as punishment.

A person inherits a profession and occupation from his parents. The lower classes are overly devoted to the higher ones, hence the system of government power such as the monarchy.

All values ​​and culture as a whole are dominated by traditions.

Traditional agrarian society

As already mentioned, an agrarian society is based on simple crafts and agriculture. The time frame for the existence of this society is the Ancient World and the Middle Ages.

At that time, the economy was based on the use of natural resources without any changes to the latter. Hence the low development of labor tools, which remain hand-held for a very long time.

The economic sphere of society is dominated by:

• construction;


• extractive industries;


• natural economy.

There is trade, but it is insignificantly developed, and the development of the market is not encouraged by the authorities.

Traditions give a person an already established system of values, the main role in which is played by religion and the undeniable authority of the head of state. Culture is based on traditional reverence for one's own history.

The process of transformation of traditional agrarian civilization

An agricultural society is quite resistant to any changes, since its basis is traditions and an established way of life.

The transformations are so slow that they are invisible to an individual person. Transformations are much easier for states that are not fully traditional.

As a rule, this is a society with developed market relations - Greek policies, trading cities of England and Holland, Ancient Rome.

The impetus for the irreversible transformation of agrarian civilization was the industrial revolution of the 18th century.

Any transformations in such a society are very painful for a person, especially if religion was the foundation for a traditional society. A person loses guidelines and values. At this time, the authoritarian regime is strengthening. All changes in society are completed by the demographic transition, during which the psychology of the younger generation changes.

Industrial and post-industrial agrarian society

Industrial society is characterized by a sharp leap in the development of industry. A sharp increase in economic growth rates. This society is characterized by the “optimism of modernizers” - an unshakable confidence in science, with the help of which it is possible to solve any problems that arise, including social ones.

In this society, there is a purely consumerist attitude towards nature - maximum development of available resources, pollution of nature. Industrial society lives one day at a time, striving to satisfy social and everyday needs to the full here and now.

Post-industrial society is just beginning its development path.

In a post-industrial society, the first place comes to:

• high tech;
• information;
• knowledge.

Industry is giving way to the service sector. Knowledge and information have become the main commodity in the market. Science is no longer recognized as omnipotent.

Humanity is finally beginning to realize all the negative consequences that have befallen nature after the development of industry. Social values ​​are changing. Environmental conservation and nature protection come to the fore.

The main factor and sphere of production of an agricultural society

The main factor of production for an agrarian society is land. That is why an agrarian society practically excludes mobility, since it is completely dependent on the place of residence.

The main sphere of production is agriculture. All production is based on the procurement of raw materials and food. All members of society, first of all, strive to satisfy everyday needs. The basis of the economy is family farming. Such a sphere may not always be able to satisfy all human needs, but certainly most of them.

Agrarian state and agrarian fund

The Agrarian Fund is a state apparatus that provides the country with adequate food. Its main task is to support the development of agricultural business in the country. The fund is responsible for the import and export of agricultural goods and distributes products within the country.

Human civilization needs high-quality food products, which can only be provided by developed agriculture. It is important to take into account that agriculture has never been a highly profitable industry. Entrepreneurs abandon this type of business as soon as they encounter difficulties and lose profits.

In this case, the state’s agricultural policy helps agricultural production by allocating the necessary funds to compensate for possible losses.

In developed countries, the rural way of life and family farming are becoming increasingly popular.

Agrarian modernization

Agrarian modernization is based on increasing the rate of development of agricultural production and sets itself the following tasks:

• creation of a new model of economic growth in agriculture;


• creation of favorable economic trends for agricultural business;


• improving rural infrastructure;


• attracting the younger generation to the village to live and work;


• assistance in solving problems with land;


• environmental protection.

The main assistant of the state in modernization is private business. Therefore, the state is obliged to meet the needs of agricultural business and help its development in every possible way.

Modernization will bring agricultural and agricultural production to the proper level in the country, improve the quality of food, create additional jobs in the countryside and increase the standard of living of the population of the entire country as a whole.

You can learn more about the modernization of the agricultural sector of the economy at the annual Agroprodmash exhibition.

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

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

What it is?

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

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

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

Characteristics of a traditional society

A traditional society is characterized by the following features:

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

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

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

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

Political structure

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

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

Social relations

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

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

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

Spiritual realm

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

Relationships with nature and the environment

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

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

Traditional and industrial society: differences

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

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

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

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

Examples of Traditional Society: China

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

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

Japan

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

India

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