Social structure of traditional society. Traditional society and its characteristics

] The social structure in it is characterized by a rigid class hierarchy, the existence of stable social communities(especially in Eastern countries), in a special way regulation of social life based on traditions and customs. This organization society actually strives to preserve unchanged the socio-cultural 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, prevail, but elements 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 ( shining example- changes in the territory of Eurasia in the 1st millennium BC. BC), but even during such periods, change was slow by modern standards, and upon its completion, society again returned to a relatively static state with a predominance of cyclical dynamics.

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

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

Rapid changes and a 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 is not part of the strategy traditional person, then 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.

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Notes

Literature

• (chapter " Historical dynamics 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.

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 people’s behavior, social structures, institutions, 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.

The concept of traditional society covers the great agrarian civilizations of the Ancient East (Ancient India and Ancient China, Ancient Egypt And medieval states Muslim East), European states of the Middle Ages. In a number of countries in Asia and Africa, traditional society is preserved today, but the clash with modern Western civilization significantly changed its civilizational characteristics.

The basis of human life is work, in the process of which a person transforms the matter and energy of nature into items for his own consumption. In a traditional society, the basis of life activity is agricultural labor, the fruits of which provide a person with all the necessary means of life. However, manual agricultural labor using simple tools provided a person with only the most necessary things, and only under favorable weather conditions. The Three "Black Horsemen" terrified the European Middle Ages - famine, war and plague. Hunger is the most severe: there is no shelter from it. He left deep scars on the cultural brow European peoples. Its echoes can be heard in folklore and epic, in the mournful drawl of folk chants. Majority folk signs- about the weather and crop prospects. Dependence of a person in a traditional society on nature reflected in the metaphors “nurse-earth”, “mother-earth” (“mother of the cheese earth”), expressing loving careful attitude to nature as a source of life, from which one was not supposed to draw too much.

The farmer perceived nature as Living being, requiring a moral attitude towards oneself. Therefore, a person in a traditional society is not a master, not a conqueror, and not a king of nature. He is a small fraction (microcosm) of the great cosmic whole, the universe. His work activity obeyed the eternal rhythms of nature(seasonal changes in weather, length of daylight hours) - this is the requirement of life itself on the borderline of the natural and social. An ancient Chinese parable ridicules a farmer who dared to challenge traditional agriculture based on the rhythms of nature: in an effort to accelerate the growth of cereals, he pulled them by the top until he pulled them out by the roots.

A person’s attitude towards the subject of labor always presupposes his attitude towards another person. By appropriating this item in the process of labor or consumption, a person is included in the system of social relations of ownership and distribution. In feudal society European Middle Ages private ownership of land prevailed- the main wealth of agricultural civilizations. Matched her a type of social subordination called personal dependence. The concept of personal dependence characterizes the type social connection people belonging to various social classes of feudal society - the steps of the “feudal ladder”. The European feudal lord and the Asian despot were full masters of the bodies and souls of their subjects, and even owned them as property. This was the case in Russia before the abolition of serfdom. Personal addiction breeds non-economic forced labor based on personal power based on direct violence.

Traditional society has developed forms of everyday resistance to the exploitation of labor on the basis of non-economic coercion: refusal to work for a master (corvée), evasion of payment in kind (quitrent) or monetary tax, escape from one’s master, which undermined the social basis of traditional society - the relationship of personal dependence.

People of one social class or class(peasants of the territorial neighboring community, the German mark, members of the noble assembly, etc.) were bound by relationships of solidarity, trust and collective responsibility. The peasant community and city craft corporations jointly bore feudal duties. Communal peasants survived together in lean years: supporting a neighbor with a “piece” was considered the norm of life. Narodniks, describing “going to the people,” note the following features folk character, such as compassion, collectivism and readiness for self-sacrifice. Traditional society has formed high moral qualities: collectivism, mutual assistance and social responsibility, included in the treasury of civilizational achievements of mankind.

A person in a traditional society did not feel like an individual opposing or competing with others. On the contrary, he perceived himself an integral part of their village, community, policy. The German sociologist M. Weber noted that the Chinese peasant who settled in the city did not break ties with the rural church community, and in Ancient Greece expulsion from the polis was even equated with death penalty(this is where the word “outcast” comes from). The man of the Ancient East completely subordinated himself to the clan and caste standards of social group life and “dissolved” in them. Respect for traditions has long been considered the main value of ancient Chinese humanism.

Social status a person in a traditional society was determined not by personal merit, but by social origin. The rigidity of the class and class barriers of traditional society kept it unchanged throughout his life. People to this day say: “It was written in the family.” The idea that one cannot escape fate, inherent in the traditionalist consciousness, has shaped a type of contemplative personality whose creative efforts are directed not at remaking life, but at spiritual well-being. I.A. Goncharov, with brilliant artistic insight, captured such psychological type in the image of I.I. Oblomov. "Fate", i.e. social predestination, is key metaphor ancient Greek tragedies. Sophocles' tragedy "Oedipus the King" tells the story of the titanic efforts of the hero to avoid the terrible fate predicted for him, however, despite all his exploits, evil fate triumphs.

The daily life of traditional society was remarkable sustainability. It was regulated not so much by laws as tradition - a set of unwritten rules, patterns of activity, behavior and communication that embody the experience of ancestors. In the traditionalist consciousness, it was believed that the “golden age” was already behind, and the gods and heroes left examples of actions and exploits that should be imitated. People's social habits have remained virtually unchanged for many generations. Organization of everyday life, methods of housekeeping and norms of communication, holiday rituals, ideas about illness and death - in a word, everything we call everyday life, was brought up in the family and passed down from generation to generation. Many generations of people have experienced the same social structures, ways of doing things, and social habits. Submission to tradition explains the high stability of traditional societies with their stagnant patriarchal cycle of life and extremely slow pace of social development.

The sustainability of traditional societies, many of which (especially in Ancient East) remained virtually unchanged over the centuries, contributed to public authority of the supreme power. Often she was directly identified with the personality of the king (“The State is me”). The public authority of the earthly ruler was fueled by religious ideas about the divine origin of his power (“The Sovereign is God’s vicegerent on earth”), although history knows few cases when the head of state personally became the head of the church (the Anglican Church). The personification of political and spiritual power in one person (theocracy) ensured the dual subordination of man to both the state and the church, which gave traditional society even greater stability.

English society, traditional; German Gesellschaft, traditionelle. Pre-industrial societies, ways of life agricultural type, characterized by the predominance of subsistence farming, class hierarchy, stability of structure and the method of socio-cult. regulation of all life based on tradition. See AGRICULTURAL COMPANY.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

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. Commodity relations at the same time, they 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. Characteristic feature THAT. either the complete absence of writing or its existence as a privilege is considered separate groups(officials, priests). At the same time, writing quite often develops in a language other than spoken language the vast majority of the population (Latin in medieval Europe, Arabic- in the Middle East, Chinese writing - in Far East). Therefore, intergenerational transmission of culture is carried out verbally, 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 perspective, 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 at the stage of development of the “appropriating” economy (hunting and gathering) and those who went 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.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Modern societies differ in many ways, but they also have the same parameters according to which they can be typologized.

One of the main directions in the typology is choice of political relations, forms of government as grounds for distinguishing different types of society. For example, U and I societies differ in type government system : monarchy, tyranny, aristocracy, oligarchy, democracy. IN modern versions this approach highlights totalitarian(the state determines all the main directions of social life); democratic(the population can influence government structures) and authoritarian(combining elements of totalitarianism and democracy) societies.

The basis typology of society it's supposed to Marxism difference between societies type of industrial relations in various socio-economic formations: primitive communal society (primitively appropriating mode of production); societies with the Asian mode of production (presence special type collective ownership of land); slave societies(ownership of people and use of slave labor); feudal (exploitation of peasants attached to the land); communist or socialist societies (equal treatment of all towards ownership of the means of production through the elimination of private property relations).

Traditional, industrial and post-industrial societies

Most stable in modern sociology is considered a typology based on the selection traditional, industrial and post-industrial society

Traditional society(it is also called simple and agrarian) is a society with an agricultural structure, sedentary structures and a method of sociocultural regulation based on traditions (traditional society). The behavior of individuals in it is strictly controlled and regulated by customs and norms traditional behavior, established social institutions, among which the most important will be the family, . Attempts at any social transformations and innovations are rejected. For him characterized by low rates of development, production. Important for this type of society is an established social solidarity, which Durkheim established while studying the society of the Australian aborigines.

Traditional society characterized by the natural division and specialization of labor (mainly by gender and age), personalization of interpersonal communication (directly of individuals, and not officials or persons of status), informal regulation of interactions (norms of unwritten laws of religion and morality), connection of members by kinship relations (family type of community organization) , a primitive system of community management (hereditary power, rule of elders).

Modern societies differ in the following features: the role-based nature of interaction (people’s expectations and behavior are determined by social status and social functions individuals); developing deep division of labor (on a professional qualification basis related to education and work experience); a formal system for regulating relations (based on written law: laws, regulations, contracts, etc.); a complex system of social management (separation of the institute of management, special government bodies: political, economic, territorial and self-government); secularization of religion (its separation from the system of government); highlighting a variety of social institutions (self-reproducing systems special relationship allowing to ensure social control, inequality, protection of its members, distribution of goods, production, communication).

These include industrial and post-industrial societies.

Industrial society- this is a type of organization of social life that combines the freedom and interests of the individual with general principles governing them joint activities. It is characterized by flexibility of social structures, social mobility, and a developed system of communications.

In the 1960s concepts appear post-industrial (informational) society (D. Bell, A. Touraine, J. Habermas), caused by drastic changes in the economy and culture of the most developed countries. The leading role in society is recognized as the role of knowledge and information, computer and automatic devices. An individual who has received the necessary education and has access to latest information, gets an advantageous chance of moving up the social hierarchy. The main goal of a person in society becomes creative work.

The negative side of post-industrial society is the danger of strengthening on the part of the state and the ruling elite through access to information and electronic means mass media and communication over people and society as a whole.

Lifeworld human society getting stronger is subject to the logic of efficiency and instrumentalism. Culture, including traditional values, is being destroyed under the influence administrative control gravitating towards standardization and unification of social relations and social behavior. Society is increasingly subject to the logic of economic life and bureaucratic thinking.

• transition from the production of goods to a service economy;
• the rise and dominance of highly educated technical vocational specialists;
• the main role of theoretical knowledge as a source of discoveries and political decisions in society;
• control over technology and the ability to assess the consequences of scientific and technical innovations;
• decision-making based on the creation of intellectual technology, as well as using the so-called information technology.

The latter is brought to life by the needs of the beginning to form information society. The emergence of such a phenomenon is by no means accidental. The basis of social dynamics in the information society is not traditional material resources, which are also largely exhausted, but information (intellectual) ones: knowledge, scientific, organizational factors, intellectual abilities of people, their initiative, creativity.

The concept of post-industrialism today has been developed in detail, has a lot of supporters and an ever-increasing number of opponents. The world has formed two main directions assessments of the future development of human society: eco-pessimism and techno-optimism. Ecopessimism predicts total global catastrophe due to increasing pollution environment; destruction of the Earth's biosphere. Techno-optimism draws a rosier picture, assuming that scientific and technical progress will cope with all the difficulties on the path of social development.

Basic typologies of society

In the history of social thought, several typologies of society have been proposed.

Typologies of society during the formation of sociological science

Founder of sociology, French scientist O. Comte proposed a three-member stage typology, which included:

• stage of military dominance;
• stage of feudal rule;
• stage of industrial civilization.

The basis of the typology G. Spencer the principle evolutionary development societies from simple to complex, i.e. from an elementary society to an increasingly differentiated one. Spencer envisioned the development of societies as component one for all nature evolutionary process. The lowest pole of the evolution of society is formed by the so-called military societies, characterized by high homogeneity, the subordinate position of the individual and the dominance of coercion as a factor of integration. From this phase, through a series of intermediate ones, society develops to the highest pole - industrial society, in which democracy, the voluntary nature of integration, spiritual pluralism and diversity dominate.

Typologies of society in the classical period of development of sociology

These typologies differ from those described above. Sociologists of this period saw their task as explaining it based not on the general order of nature and the laws of its development, but on nature itself and its internal laws. So, E. Durkheim sought to find the “original cell” of the social as such and for this purpose looked for the “simplest”, most elementary society, the most simple form organization of “collective consciousness”. Therefore, his typology of societies is built from simple to complex, and is based on the principle of complicating the form of social solidarity, i.e. consciousness by individuals of their unity. IN simple societies mechanical solidarity operates because the individuals composing them are very similar in consciousness and life situation- as particles of a mechanical whole. In complex societies, there is a complex system of division of labor, differentiated functions of individuals, therefore the individuals themselves differ from each other in lifestyle and consciousness. They are united by functional connections, and their solidarity is “organic”, functional. Both types of solidarity are represented in any society, but in archaic societies mechanical solidarity predominates, and in modern societies organic solidarity predominates.

German classic of sociology M. Weber viewed the social as a system of domination and subordination. His approach was based on the idea of ​​society as the result of a struggle for power and to maintain dominance. Societies are classified according to the type of dominance that prevails in them. The charismatic type of dominance arises on the basis of the personal special power - charisma - of the ruler. Priests or leaders usually possess charisma, and such dominance is non-rational and does not require a special system of management. Modern society, according to Weber, is characterized by a legal type of domination based on law, characterized by the presence of a bureaucratic management system and the operation of the principle of rationality.

Typology of the French sociologist Zh. Gurvich features a complex multi-level system. He identifies four types of archaic societies that had a primary global structure:

• tribal (Australia, American Indians);
• tribal, which included heterogeneous and weakly hierarchized groups united around the endowed magical power leader (Polynesia, Melanesia);
• tribal with a military organization, consisting of family groups and clans (North America);
• tribal tribes united into monarchical states (“black” Africa).

• charismatic societies (Egypt, Ancient China, Persia, Japan);
• patriarchal societies (Homeric Greeks, Jews of the Old Testament era, Romans, Slavs, Franks);
• city-states (Greek poleis, Roman cities, Italian cities Renaissance);
• feudal hierarchical societies (European Middle Ages);
• societies that gave rise to enlightened absolutism and capitalism (Europe only).

IN modern world Gurvich identifies: technical-bureaucratic society; a liberal democratic society built on the principles of collectivist statism; society of pluralistic collectivism, etc.

Typologies of society in modern sociology

The postclassical stage of development of sociology is characterized by typologies based on the principle of technical and technological development of societies. Nowadays, the most popular typology is one that distinguishes between traditional, industrial and post-industrial societies.

Traditional societies characterized by high development of agricultural labor. The main sector of production is the procurement of raw materials, which is carried out within the framework of peasant families; members of society strive to satisfy mainly domestic needs. The basis of the economy is the family farm, which is able to satisfy, if not all of its needs, then a significant part of them. Technical development is extremely weak. The main method in decision making is the “trial and error” method. Social relations are extremely poorly developed, as are social differentiation. Such societies are tradition-oriented, therefore, oriented towards the past.

Industrial society - a society characterized by high development of industry and at a fast pace economic growth. Economic development is carried out mainly due to an extensive, consumer attitude towards nature: in order to satisfy its current needs, such a society strives for the most complete development of the natural resources at its disposal. The main sector of production is the processing and processing of materials, carried out by teams of workers in factories and factories. Such a society and its members strive for maximum adaptation to the present moment and satisfaction of social needs. The main method of decision-making is empirical research.

Another very important feature of industrial society is the so-called “modernization optimism”, i.e. absolute confidence that any problem, including social, can be solved based on scientific knowledge and technology.

Post-industrial society is a society that originates in currently and has a number of significant differences from industrial society. If an industrial society is characterized by a desire for maximum industrial development, then in a post-industrial society a much more noticeable (and ideally primary) role is played by knowledge, technology and information. In addition, the service sector is developing rapidly, overtaking industry.

In post industrial society there is no faith in the omnipotence of science. This is partly due to the fact that humanity is faced with the negative consequences of its own activities. For this reason, “environmental values” come to the fore, and this means not only a careful attitude towards nature, but also an attentive attitude to the balance and harmony necessary for the adequate development of society.

The basis of post-industrial society is information, which in turn gave rise to another type of society - informational. According to supporters of the theory of the information society, a completely new society is emerging, characterized by processes that are opposite to those that took place in the previous phases of the development of societies even in the 20th century. For example, instead of centralization there is regionalization, instead of hierarchization and bureaucratization - democratization, instead of concentration - disaggregation, instead of standardization - individualization. All these processes are driven by information technology.

People offering services either provide information or use it. For example, teachers transfer knowledge to students, repairmen use their knowledge to maintain equipment, lawyers, doctors, bankers, pilots, designers sell clients their specialized knowledge of laws, anatomy, finance, aerodynamics and color ranges. They do not produce anything, unlike factory workers in an industrial society. Instead, they transfer or use knowledge to provide services for which others are willing to pay.

Researchers are already using the term " virtual society" to describe the modern type of society, formed and developing under the influence information technologies, especially Internet technologies. The virtual, or possible, world has become new reality due to the computer boom that has swept society. Virtualization (replacement of reality with a se simulation/image) of society, researchers note, is total, since all the elements that make up society are virtualized, significantly changing their appearance, their status and role.

Post-industrial society is also defined as a society " post-economic", "post-labor", i.e. a society in which the economic subsystem loses its decisive significance, and labor ceases to be the basis of all social relations. In a post-industrial society, a person loses his economic essence and is no longer considered as “economic man”; he focuses on new, “postmaterialist” values. The emphasis is shifting to social and humanitarian problems, and the priority issues are the quality and safety of life, the self-realization of the individual in various social spheres, in connection with which new criteria for welfare and social well-being are being formed.

According to the concept of post-economic society, developed by the Russian scientist V.L. Inozemtsev, in a post-economic society, in contrast to an economic society focused on material enrichment, the main goal for most people is the development of their own personality.

The theory of post-economic society is associated with a new periodization of human history, in which three large-scale eras can be distinguished - pre-economic, economic and post-economic. This periodization is based on two criteria: type human activity and the nature of the relationship between the interests of the individual and society. The post-economic type of society is defined as a type of social structure where human economic activity becomes more intense and complex, but is no longer determined by its material interests, and is not set by traditionally understood economic feasibility. The economic basis of such a society is formed by the destruction of private property and a return to personal property, to the state of non-alienation of the worker from the tools of production. Post-economic society is characterized by new type social confrontation - the confrontation between the information-intellectual elite and all people who are not included in it, engaged in the sphere of mass production and, due to this, pushed to the periphery of society. However, each member of such a society has the opportunity to enter the elite himself, since membership in the elite is determined by abilities and knowledge.