What is the inconsistency of social progress? Social progress and regression

1. The contradictory nature of social progress

Any person even slightly familiar with history will easily find in it facts indicating its progressive progressive development, its movement from lower to higher. Homo sapiens (Homo sapiens) as a biological species stands higher on the ladder of evolution than its predecessors - Pite Canthropus, Neanderthals. “The progress of technology is obvious: from stone tools to iron ones, from simple hand tools to machines that enormously increase the productivity of human labor, from the use of the muscular power of humans and animals to steam engines, electric generators, nuclear energy, from primitive means of transportation to cars, airplanes, spaceships" 1. The progress of technology has always been associated with the development of knowledge, and the last 400 years - with the progress of primarily scientific knowledge. Humanity has mastered, cultivated, adapted almost the entire earth to the needs of civilization, thousands of cities have grown - more dynamic types of settlements compared to the village. In the course of history, forms of exploitation have been improved and softened, and with the victory of socialism, the exploitation of man by man is completely eliminated.

It would seem that progress in history is obvious. But this is by no means generally accepted. In any case, there are theories that either deny progress or accompany its recognition with such reservations that the concept of progress loses all objective content and appears as relativistic, depending on the position of a particular subject, on the system of values with which he approaches history.

And it must be said that the denial or relativization of progress is not completely groundless. The progress of technology, which underlies the growth of labor productivity, leads in many cases to the destruction of nature and the undermining of the natural foundations of the existence of society. Science is used to create not only more advanced productive forces, but also destructive forces that are increasingly powerful. Computerization, widespread use of information technology in various types activities are expanding endlessly creative possibilities a person and at the same time pose a lot of dangers for him, starting with the emergence of various kinds of new diseases (for example, it is already known that long-term continuous work with computer displays negatively affects vision, especially in children, gives additional mental stress that can cause some people with mental disorders) and ending possible situations total control over personal life.

The development of civilization brought with it a clear softening of morals and the establishment (at least in the minds of people) of the ideals of humanism. But in the 20th century, two of the bloodiest wars in human history took place; Europe was flooded with a black wave of fascism, which publicly announced that the enslavement and even destruction of people treated as representatives of “inferior races” was completely legitimate.

Until now, in South Africa, the apartheid system, also based on the division of people into “superior” and “inferior” races, tenaciously clings to its privileges. In the 20th century, the world is periodically shaken by outbreaks of terrorism from right- and left-wing extremists, for whom human life is a bargaining chip in their political games. Widespread drug addiction, alcoholism, crime - organized and unorganized - is all this evidence of human progress? And do all the wonders of technology and the achievement of interaction, the law that expresses the essence of the historical process, determine its progressive orientation, its fundamental driving forces

In addition, in their actions and assessments, people are guided by interests, and what some people or social ruins consider progress, others often evaluate from opposite positions. The transition from capitalism to socialism for representatives of the Marxist worldview is unconditional progress, despite all the difficulties, possible zigzags and contradictions. But from the point of view of the bourgeoisie, its class interests, this transition does not look progressive at all. However, does this give grounds to say that the concept of progress depends entirely on the assessments of the subject, that there is nothing objective in it?

2. Objective criterion of progress

One can pose the question this way: is there an objective criterion of social progress or not? If it exists, then, guided by it, perhaps by identifying the direction of social changes, show that their assessment as progressive or regressive has objective grounds, independent of the position of the subject and the nature of his interests. If such a criterion does not exist, then a relativistic interpretation of progress is justified, that is, its recognition or denial is arbitrary and depends on subjective assessments.

From the standpoint of materialism, this problem can be solved quite unambiguously. The development of society is a natural process. “The general direction of the historical process is determined by the development of the productive forces of society, including man and the means of labor created by him” 1 . The development of productive forces indicates the degree to which man has mastered the forces of nature, the possibilities of their use as the material foundations of human life, and determines the change industrial relations.

The more material opportunities a person has in his activities, the higher the level of development of society. Therefore, it is in the development of productive forces that one should look for an objective criterion of social progress. In comparison with it, the progressiveness of a particular social system is determined.

The development of a social person in the main sphere of his activity - in production - is the basis for his development in all other spheres of activity. It is no coincidence that K. Marx and F. Engels emphasized: “What is the life activity of individuals, so are they themselves. What they are coincides, therefore, with their production - coincides both with what they produce and with how they produce” 1. Man is a subject, unlike other elements of the productive forces, and the origins of all his life activity lie in social production. Thus, the subjective qualities of the proletariat, which are formed in the process of its labor activity, cohesion, a sense of collectivism, class solidarity, etc., manifest themselves not only in production.

So, the highest and universal, objective criterion of social progress is the development of productive forces, including the development of man himself 2 .

What should and what exists, the formation of norms and ideals that meet the objective requirements imposed by information civilization on the individual and society. 2. Existing problems of progress in the sphere of morality The main problems of progress in the sphere of morality are: 1. Good and evil. In the historical development of value consciousness, in the history of moral philosophy and moralistics, despite the preservation...

...% instead of 31.3% in 2006. CONCLUSION The purpose of the first part of the comprehensive thesis was a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the results of the functioning of crop production of Progress-Agro LLC in the Peschanokopsky district Rostov region, identifying unresolved problems in the industry, justifying financial and related organizational and managerial measures to improve its economic efficiency

That other factors will remain unchanged. If the cost of 1 ton of rapeseed decreases by 1%, the level of profitability of its production will increase by 0.35%, under the same conditions. 2.3 Ways to increase the efficiency of rapeseed production in the Progress-Vertelishki agricultural production complex of the Grodno region As noted in paragraph 2.1, the level of profitability of rapeseed production fell over the period from 1995 to 2004. Having analyzed...

So the principles of working with them (analysis and description, constructing a story based on them) in general will not differ radically from working with planar images. All iconographic works that we consider as an object of analysis in a history lesson are combined and further replaced by the generalizing term “picture”. Alice in the famous work of Lewis Carroll rightly noted that "...

So, society develops progressively from lower forms of its organization to higher and more perfect ones. However, progress never appears in pure form. On the contrary, it is always associated with certain losses, retreats, and backward movement in the opposite direction. J.-J. Rousseau was the first to draw attention to the inconsistency of historical progress, which, in his opinion, has the most negative impact on the morals of people and on the life of society as a whole. The development of science and art, according to Rousseau, together with the luxury they generate, lead to the corruption of morals, to the loss of virtue, courage and, ultimately, to the death of peoples and states. He draws attention to the fact that during historical development progress in some areas is accompanied by regression in others. A glaring gap is revealed between the development of society, the successes of culture and civilization, on the one hand, says Rousseau, and the position of the people, who support the entire society with their labor, but receive the least, on the other. Rousseau's position is contradictory. In it the thinker and the moralist collide. As a thinker, he draws forward progress in a number of important areas of life: industry, agriculture, science, etc. As a moralist, he experiences the poverty of the people and their lack of rights, and roots for them with all his soul. The result is a condemnation of civilization, going so far as to deny progress in human history.

Society is a complex social organism with different spheres (economic, social, political, spiritual), each of which has specific laws of functioning and development. Inside each sphere there are various processes, a variety of human activities take place. All these processes and all types of activities are interconnected and at the same time may not coincide in their development. Moreover, under certain conditions, the development of certain processes and activities can become an obstacle to the development of other types of activities.

Thus, over the centuries, technology has progressed: from stone tools to iron ones, from hand tools to machines, complex mechanisms, cars, airplanes, space rockets, powerful computers and complex technologies. But the progress of technology and technology has led to the destruction of nature, creating a real threat to the existence of humans as a species. Development nuclear physics not only made it possible to use a new source of energy and create nuclear power plants, but also powerful nuclear weapons capable of destroying all life on earth. The use of computers, on the one hand, has expanded the possibilities of creative work, accelerated the solution of complex theoretical problems, and on the other, created a real threat to the health of people engaged in long-term work in front of displays.

And yet, we can say with confidence that society is ultimately moving along the path of progress. This is evidenced by the most general indicators of the social movement. First of all, it should be noted that from era to era there is an increase in labor productivity based on the improvement of the means of production, development latest technologies and improving labor organization. There is a constant improvement in the quality of the workforce due to the expansion of scientific knowledge and production skills acquired by a person in the process of socialization and vocational training. Simultaneously with the development of productive forces, there is an increase in the volume of scientific information.

Science is becoming a productive force and is increasingly involved in the creation material assets. Science is included in the production process in several directions: 1) through technique, technology and subject conditions production; 2) through the development of the creative abilities of production participants; 3) through the principles of organization and management of production and society as a whole.

Under the influence of the progressive development of social production, social needs and ways of satisfying them are being improved and expanded. As a result of the development of productive forces, production relations are improved, which create the necessary and sufficient conditions to satisfy the needs and interests of all layers modern society.

End of work -

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So, society develops progressively from lower forms of its organization to higher and more perfect ones. However, progress never appears in its pure form. On the contrary, it is always associated with certain losses, retreats, and backward movement in the opposite direction. J.-J. Rousseau was the first to draw attention to the inconsistency of historical progress, which, in his opinion, has the most negative impact on the morals of people and on the life of society as a whole. The development of science and art, according to Rousseau, together with the luxury they generate, lead to the corruption of morals, to the loss of virtue, courage and, ultimately, to the death of peoples and states. He draws attention to the fact that in the course of historical development, progress in some areas is accompanied by regression in others. A glaring gap is revealed between the development of society, the successes of culture and civilization, on the one hand, says Rousseau, and the position of the people, who support the entire society with their labor, but receive the least, on the other. Rousseau's position is contradictory. In it the thinker and the moralist collide. As a thinker, he draws forward progress in a number of important areas of life: industry, agriculture, science, etc. As a moralist, he experiences the poverty of the people and their lack of rights, and roots for them with all his soul. The result is a condemnation of civilization, going so far as to deny progress in human history.

Society is a complex social organism with different spheres (economic, social, political, spiritual), each of which has specific laws of functioning and development. Within each sphere, various processes occur and a variety of human activities take place. All these processes and all types of activities are interconnected and at the same time may not coincide in their development. Moreover, under certain conditions, the development of certain processes and activities can become an obstacle to the development of other types of activities.

Thus, over the centuries, technology has progressed: from stone tools to iron ones, from hand tools to machines, complex mechanisms, cars, airplanes, space rockets, powerful computers and complex technologies. But the progress of technology and technology has led to the destruction of nature, creating a real threat to the existence of humans as a species. The development of nuclear physics not only made it possible to use a new source of energy and create nuclear power plants, but also powerful nuclear weapons capable of destroying all life on earth. The use of computers, on the one hand, has expanded the possibilities of creative work, accelerated the solution of complex theoretical problems, and on the other, created a real threat to the health of people engaged in long-term work in front of displays.

And yet, we can say with confidence that society is ultimately moving along the path of progress. This is evidenced by the most general indicators of the social movement. First of all, it should be noted that from era to era there is an increase in labor productivity based on the improvement of means of production, the development of new technologies and the improvement of labor organization. There is a constant improvement in the quality of the workforce due to the expansion of scientific knowledge and production skills acquired by a person in the process of socialization and professional training. Simultaneously with the development of productive forces, there is an increase in the volume of scientific information.

Science is becoming a productive force and is increasingly involved in the creation of material values. Science is included in the production process in several directions: 1) through technique, technology and subject conditions of production; 2) through the development of the creative abilities of production participants; 3) through the principles of organization and management of production and society as a whole.

Under the influence of the progressive development of social production, social needs and ways of satisfying them are being improved and expanded. As a result of the development of productive forces, production relations are improved, which create the necessary and sufficient conditions to meet the needs and interests of all layers of modern society.

Social progress is internally contradictory. These contradictions can be divided into three main types:

1. Global contradictions, the solution of which is at the same time a solution to the issue of preserving human history and strengthening civilization.

2. Regional contradictions, the essence of which is that various regions Geopolitically, the lands oppose each other, trying to solve their problems at the expense of other peoples and states. Thus, the developed North is opposed to the less developed South. The so-called “golden billion” is opposed to the rest of humanity, whose standard of living is an order of magnitude lower than that of the former.

3. Intrastate (intranational) contradictions, expressed primarily in the contradictions between labor and capital. This contradiction is expressed in the growth of unemployment in a number of Western countries: France, Germany, the USA, etc. Today's Russia is no exception in this regard.

All these contradictions can be specified by highlighting among them:

A. "Population explosion". Today there are approximately 6.5 billion people on Earth. Population growth is mainly due to the peoples of Asia, Africa, Latin America. By the end of the 20th century, China's population reached 1.3 billion people. India's population is approaching one billion. Along with this, the number of peoples of the Caucasian race is declining. American sociologists are already sounding the alarm about this. P.J. Bjokenan believes that in the period from 2000 to 2050. The world population will increase to more than 9 billion people, but during the same period, people of the European type will disappear. If in 1960 they made up a quarter of the world's population, then in 2000 they made up only a sixth, and by 2050 they will make up a tenth of the planet's population.

The decline in the Caucasian population and the relatively prosperous life of the North served as an impetus for the mass immigration of other peoples, primarily Muslims, to European countries.

The increase in the Earth's population acutely poses problems of oxygen, food, fresh water, housing, etc. The question arises: how many people can the Earth support? According to experts, each person needs a space of 17.5 thousand square meters to carry out their life activities. m. This means that per 1 sq. km can be home to 57 people, and on the entire Earth - 5.7 billion. Consequently, our planet is already overpopulated.

B. “The problem of hunger.” While the “North” has more or less provided itself with food, the “South” suffers from malnutrition. This applies, first of all, to the peoples of Africa, Asia, Latin America, etc. Today, at least 800 million people in the world live below the poverty line. At the same time, the rich countries of the North simply destroy their surplus products in order to maintain profits. In Russia, according to the President, a quarter of the population is starving.

IN. " Energy problem" is becoming increasingly important. Energy resources are assessed by the number of years during which a given resource will be sufficient to produce energy for modern level. If we take the assessment of energy resources according to three indicators - explored, possible and probable, then coal will last for about 600 years, oil - for 90, natural gas- by 50, uranium, with current slow neutron reactors - by 27 years. According to information from the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) of Russia, reserves of fields that are effective for development will run out in the country in 10-15 years. No new deposits are being explored because the geological exploration service has been destroyed.

G. "Environmental problems". Burning large quantity energy resources leads to intense pollution of the atmosphere. The combustion of coal, oil and gas annually removes 20 million tons of oxygen from the atmosphere, in exchange for which hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide and other toxic substances are thrown into it. It is estimated that in 2000, at least 105 million tons of various waste from human activity were released into the atmosphere: carbon dioxide, particulate matter, petroleum products, small particles of rubber, asphalt, etc.

The world's population is growing, and the area of land suitable for agriculture is decreasing. According to various estimates, arable land ranges from 13 to 15 million square meters. km. But as a result of development, mining, soil salinization and desertification, 50-70 thousand square meters are lost annually. km of valuable land. In today's Russia, former arable lands, but now abandoned, are overgrown with shrubs and are no longer available for cultural use. All this taken together leads to a reduction in the amount of cultivated land per person. If at the beginning of the 20th century. there were 9 hectares per person, then by the middle of the century - only 6, by the end of the century - about 3, now - no more than 2 hectares.

D. “The problem of globalism.” Its essence is that, based on modern achievements in the fields of science, technology and high technology, developed information system, etc. there is a rapprochement, unity of peoples, nations, countries, regardless of the differences between them. Globalism is an objective historical phenomenon, opposition to which is practically impossible, and not necessary.

It is necessary to distinguish in their content the concepts of “globalism” and “globalization” . The latter means the process of implementing globalism, led by the United States, imposing its vision of the historical development of peoples on the whole world and forcibly introducing it throughout the globe. Moreover, some authors talk about the existence and actions world government, which supposedly includes the heads of the largest transnational corporations (TNCs), spreading their influence throughout the world.

Along with these two categories, the concept of “anti-globalism” is used, put forward by representatives of one of the socio-political movements calling themselves anti-globalists. They are not against globalism as a natural phenomenon, but against globalization, which is carried out by American-European financial and industrial circles and political circles expressing their aspirations.

The idea of progressive development entered science as a secularized (secular) version of the Christian belief in providence. The image of the future in the biblical stories was an irreversible, predetermined and sacred process of development of people guided by the divine will. However, the origins of this idea are discovered much earlier. Next, let's look at what progress is, what its purpose and meaning are.

First mentions

Before we talk about what progress is, we should give a brief historical description of the emergence and spread of this idea. In particular, in the ancient Greek philosophical tradition there are discussions about improving the existing socio-political structure, which developed from the primitive community and family to the ancient polis, i.e., the city-state (Aristotle “Politics”, Plato “Laws”). A little later, during the Middle Ages, Bacon tried to apply the concept and concept of progress in the ideological field. In his opinion, knowledge accumulated over time is increasingly enriched and improved. Thus, each next generation is able to see further and better than its predecessors.

What is progress?

This word has Latin roots and translated means “success”, “moving forward”. Progress is a direction of development of a progressive nature. This process is characterized by the transition to the higher from the lower, from the less to the more perfect. The progress of society is a global, world-historical phenomenon. This process involves the ascent of human associations from savagery, primitive states to the heights of civilization. This transition is based on political, legal, moral, ethical, scientific and technical achievements.

Main Components

The above describes what progress is and when they first started talking about this concept. Next, let's look at its components. During the improvement, the following aspects develop:

Material. In this case, we are talking about the most complete satisfaction of the benefits of all people and the elimination of any technical restrictions for this.
Social component. Here we are talking about the process of bringing society closer to justice and freedom.
Scientific. This component reflects the process of continuous, deepening and expanding knowledge of the surrounding world, its development in both the micro and macro spheres; liberation of knowledge from the boundaries of economic feasibility.

New time

During this period, they began to see progress in natural science. G. Spencer expressed his point of view on the process. In his opinion, progress - both in nature and in society - was subject to a general evolutionary process of increasing complexity of internal functioning and organization. Over time, forms of progress began to be visible in literature and general history. Art did not go unnoticed either. In different civilizations there was a diversity of social orders, which, in turn, determined different types progress. A so-called “staircase” was formed. At its apex were the most developed and civilized societies of the West. Next, at various stages, stood other cultures. The distribution depended on the level of development. There was a "Westernization" of the concept. As a result, such types of progress as “American-centrism” and “Eurocentrism” appeared.

Modern times

During this period, the decisive role was assigned to man. Weber emphasized the tendency to rationalize the universal in the management of diversity. Durkheim gave other examples of progress. He spoke of a trend toward social integration through "organic solidarity." It was based on the complementary and mutually beneficial contribution of all participants in society.

Classic concept

The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries is called the “triumph of the idea of development.” At that time, the general belief that scientific and technological progress could guarantee continuous improvement of life was accompanied by a spirit of romantic optimism. In general, there was a classical concept in society. It represented an optimistic idea of the gradual liberation of humanity from fear and ignorance towards ever more refined and high levels civilization. The classical concept was based on the concept of linear irreversible time. Here progress was a positively characterized difference between the present and the future or the past and the present.

Goals and objectives

It was assumed that the described movement would continue continuously not only in the present, but also in the future, despite occasional deviations. There was a fairly widespread belief among the masses that progress could be maintained at all stages, in every basic structure of society. As a result, everyone would achieve complete prosperity.

Main criteria

The most common among them were:

Religious improvement (J. Buset, Augustine).
Increase in scientific knowledge (O. Comte, J. A. Condorcet).
Equality and justice (K. Marx, T. More).
Expansion of individual freedom in combination with the development of morality (E. Durkheim, I. Kant).
Urbanization, industrialization, improvement of technology (K. A. Saint-Simon).
Mastery over natural forces (G. Spencer).

The inconsistency of progress

The first doubts about the correctness of the concept began to be expressed after the First World War. The inconsistency of progress consisted in the emergence of ideas about negative side effects with the development of society. F. Tennis was one of the very first to criticize. He believed that social development from traditional to modern, industrial, not only did not improve, but, on the contrary, worsened people’s living conditions. The primary, direct, personal social connections of traditional human interaction have been replaced by indirect, impersonal, secondary, exclusively instrumental contacts inherent in the modern world. This, according to Tennis, was the main problem of progress.

Increased criticism

After World War II, it became obvious to many that development in one area entails negative consequences to another. Industrialization, urbanization, scientific and technological progress were accompanied by pollution environment. Which, in turn, provoked a new theory to emerge. The belief that humanity needs continuous economic progress has given way to the alternative idea of “limits to growth.”

Forecast

The researchers calculated that as the consumption level approaches different countries By Western standards, the planet could explode from environmental overload. The concept of the “golden billion”, according to which only 1 billion people from wealthy states can be guaranteed a secure existence on Earth, has completely undermined the main postulate on which the classical idea of progress was based - focusing on a better future for all living without exception. Conviction in the superiority of the direction of development followed by Western civilization, which dominated for a long period of time, gave way to disappointment.

Utopian vision

This thinking reflected highly idealized ideas about the best society. This utopian thinking, presumably, was also dealt a powerful blow. The last attempt to implement this type of vision of the world was the world socialist system. At the same time, humanity at this stage does not have in stock projects “capable of mobilizing collective, universal action, capturing people’s imagination,” which could orient society towards a bright future (this role was very effectively played by the ideas of socialism). Instead, today there are either simple extrapolations of existing trends, or catastrophic prophecies.

Reflections on the future

The development of ideas about upcoming events is currently going in two directions. In the first case, a reigning pessimism is determined, in which gloomy images of decline, destruction and degeneration are visible. Due to disappointment in scientific and technical rationalism, mysticism and irrationalism began to spread. Reason and logic in one area or another are increasingly opposed to emotions, intuition, and subconscious perception. According to radical postmodern theories, modern culture The reliable criteria by which myth differed from reality, ugly from beautiful, virtue from vice, disappeared. All this indicates that the era of “highest freedom” from morality, traditions, progress, in the end, has begun. In the second direction, there is an active search for new concepts of development that can give people positive guidelines for the coming periods and rid humanity of unfounded illusions. Postmodernist ideas mainly rejected the theory of development in the traditional version with finalism, fatalism and determinism. Most of them preferred other examples of progress - other probabilistic approaches to the development of society and culture. Some theorists (Buckley, Archer, Etzioni, Wallerstein, Nisbet) in their concepts interpret the idea as a possible chance of improvement, which can occur with a certain degree of probability, or may go unnoticed.

The principle of constructivism

Of all the variety of approaches, it was this concept that served as the theoretical foundation for postmodernism. The task is to find the driving forces of progress in the everyday normal life of people. According to K. Lash, the solution to the riddle is ensured by the confidence that improvements can occur solely through human efforts. Otherwise, the problem is simply unsolvable.

Alternative Concepts

All of them, which arose within the framework of activity theory, are very abstract. Alternative concepts appeal to the “man as a whole” without showing much interest in cultural and civilizational differences. In this case, in fact, a new type of social utopia is visible. It represents a cybernetic simulation of social cultures perfect order, viewed through the prism of human activity. These concepts return positive guidelines, a certain belief in probable progressive development. Moreover, they name (albeit at a highly theoretical level) the sources and conditions of growth. Meanwhile, alternative concepts do not answer the main question: why humanity, “free from” and “free for,” in some cases chooses progress and strives for a “new, active society,” but often the guideline for it is decadence and destruction, which , in turn, leads to stagnation and regression. Based on this, it can hardly be argued that society needs progress. This is explained by the fact that it cannot be proven whether humanity will want to realize its creative ability in the future. There are no answers to these questions in cybernetics and systems theory. However, they were analyzed in detail by religion and culture. In this regard, sociocultural ethicocentrism can today act as an alternative to constructivist modernism in the theory of progress.

In conclusion

Modern Russian philosophers are increasingly returning to the “Silver Age”. Turning to this heritage, they are trying to hear again the originality of the rhythms of the national culture, to translate them into a strict scientific language. According to Panarin, the biomorphic structure of cognition shows a person the image of the cosmos as a living, organic integrity. Its space awakens in people motivation of a higher order, incompatible with irresponsible consumer egoism. Today it is clearly clear that modern social science requires a major re-examination of existing core principles, priorities and values. It can suggest new directions to a person if he, in turn, finds in himself enough strength to take advantage of them.