38. The concept of a social institution. The state as the most important social institution. Its origin and essence
Social practice public life there is a consolidation of certain types of social relations as mandatory for each individual. Without such rules, society would not be able to produce effectively at all. material goods, reproduce the population, socialize the younger generation, protect the elderly, develop and ensure the accumulation of socio-cultural achievements, etc.
Thus, in society, to ensure its life, certain rules of the game are developed for all its members, and these rules consolidate and regulate all forms of social relations.
The functionality of a society, therefore, is the more effective in practice, the more clearly the rules of social relations are spelled out in it, the more clearly the system of roles and statuses is distributed in it, prescribing patterns of behavior of individuals, and the more clearly it defines sanctions against those who try to violate the rules of social relations and behavior patterns.
Thus, the effectiveness of a society is determined by the extent to which it is able to provide its SOCIAL FUNCTIONS, which is the most important purpose of society in general.
The social function of society is its task of providing for one or another vital social need. Considering that the social functions of society are complex, multistructural tasks, interconnected in all their elements, large-scale efforts of special organizations and targeted activities of many institutions and people are necessary to ensure them.
This task in society is solved by the so-called SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS, that is, systems of institutions, organizations and separate groups of people. These are: economic, military and political institutions, institutions of law, education, health, science, culture, morality, art, sports, ideology, family, etc.
The life of society is accompanied by the periodic emergence in it of one or another process of institutionalization, that is, the process of formation of one or another social institution.
INSTITUTIONALIZATION consists of several consecutive stages:
1. Exacerbation of some important public needs and awareness of it by society as Problems requiring joint efforts to be resolved.
2. Formation massively prevalent in a given society theoretical concept for solution the problem that has arisen.
3. Spontaneous formation during social practice practical norms and rules of decision problem by trial and error.
4. Appearance based on these rules and regulations specific problem solving procedures, and consolidation of those that have proven themselves most optimally in practice.
5. Formation based on fixed procedures of some general, systemic problem solving method, thanks to which it moves from the status of a problem to the status of a social function, which is reliably ensured by common efforts.
6. Institutionalization norms, rules, procedures and general system method ensuring this social function, that is, transferring and making all this the responsibility of a certain socially designated set of institutions, organizations and groups of people;
7. Establishment of a system of sanctions to maintain norms and rules that ensure this social function.
Social institutions are divided into basic and non-basic. Since each social institution solves the problem of providing one or another vital need, then
THE MAIN social institutions include:
1. Economic institutions, organizing economic activity. Satisfy the need for subsistence.
2. Political institutions , organizing and supporting the system of government. Provide the need to ensure internal security and social order.
3. Family institutions regulating sexual relations, the birth and socialization of children. Provide the need to ensure population reproduction.
4. Military institutions that protect society from physical threats and loss of independence. Satisfy the need for external security and preservation of sovereignty.
5. Religious institutions that organize the performance of religious rites and religious worship. Provide need to solve spiritual problems the meaning of life, communion with the Highest, finding spiritual harmony.
NOT BASIC institutions are the so-called social practices with the help of which the functionality of the main institutions is ensured.
So, for example, the main institution of the economy is provided by such non-basic institutions as currency conversion, marketing, market, stock exchange, training and retraining of personnel, banks, property protection, etc. The basic institution of family and marriage is supported by non-basic institutions: inheritance, registration acts, naming, parental responsibility, paternity, maternity, etc. The main institution of law is not supported by the main institutions of the legal profession, forensic examination, registration, registration, legal proceedings, execution of punishments, etc.
The STATE according to this classification can be called the most important social institution, which carries out the most important social function - creates a mechanism for monitoring the full provision of all social functions of society and manages the operation of this mechanism.
Thus, the state is responsible for the performance of all social functions of society, and, if we talk about the essence of the state, then in social terms the essence of the state is that the state is endowed with all social functions as the supreme social institution.
These functions for the state are divided into external and internal:
1. Internal functions in the global formulation are reduced to saving public order, political stability and economic security of society.
To achieve this, the state creates a law enforcement system, regulates economic, property and production relations, and engages in socio-economic planning; provides healthcare, pensions, social security, education, justice, etc.
2. The external functions of the state are reduced to the tasks of defending the country and defending its interests in relations with other states.
Despite the obviousness of the purpose of the state and, despite its functionality in social terms, in philosophy there is no single theory of either the origin of the state or its essence.
There are several points of view on the origin and essence of the state:
1. Natural State Theory(origins in ancient thought, then developed in the theory of the organic state of Krause, Arens, etc.):
According to this theory, the state is the natural form of the final stage in the formation of social relations. Man is a sociable being, striving for joint existence and joint activity. As a result of this, naturally, large unions of people are formed, united cohabitation, joint production activities, close fundamental interests, ethnic factor, general spirituality and way of life.
The state, thus, naturally arose from social practice in a series of various spontaneous human associations - clan, tribe, tribal unions and, directly, the state.
Hence,
the origin of the state stems from the natural sociability of man(“man is a political being by nature,” Aristotle), as well as from natural prerequisites social development, A
the essence of the state lies in the natural rationality of its formation, similar to the rationality of the formation of any natural organism in general.
2. The State as God's Establishment for earthly life (the idea was formed by religious thinkers of ancient times and became established as dominant in medieval philosophy):
the state is power, and power is an essential attribute of God. Consequently, if there is earthly power of man, then it has a divine source, since it does not arise from the earthly, but stems from the essential attribute of God.
Thus, if someone on earth receives power, then it is legitimate, as power from God, for only God has power, and only God can it be bestowed upon anyone, otherwise God would deprive anyone of his power. And this is God’s providence, and everyone must accept it and submit to earthly power as to divine power.
Thus,
origin of state power- this is God’s providence, this is God’s care for man, it is the heavenly ordained order of human life given by God's wisdom., without which man would remain wild and fragmented. A
the essence of the state is the granting of power by God certain people for the care and protection of their subjects.
3. The theory of patrimonial state(emerged in the late Middle Ages):
patrimony is the right to full ownership of land. According to this theory, the state emerged as a consequence of the consolidation of patrimonial landholdings. Large patrimonial owners, landowners, had full ownership rights not only to their land, but also to everything that was on it, and to everything that happened on it.
As a result of natural unifying or violent actions, large territories, in which the right of one person, one family, one clan, or tribe, etc., prevailed. In these territories, uniform orders were established, strict for everyone, which became the prototype of the state structure.
Then the obvious effectiveness of such government led to the further development of state forms of government, into which patrimonial models of government organically flowed. Thus,
the origin of the state lies in private ownership of land, and
the essence of the state is to grow from the right to land ownership all other power rights, and then responsibilities for maintaining and protecting this territory.
4. Contract theory of the state(founders Grotius, Hobbes, Locke):
since no person ever naturally recognizes the power of another person over himself, the emergence of power can be considered possible only as a result of an agreement that once took place between people.
The incentive for such an agreement was a clear understanding by man that the presence of his own natural rights without their reliable provision is equivalent to their complete absence.
Thus, man realized that it was better to voluntarily transfer his natural rights to another, more to a strong man, in exchange for their provision on his part. So, for example, property or land is transferred for use to a person who is able to manage it better, in exchange for a share of the results.
Thus, all people, here or here, once voluntarily transferred their natural rights (property, freedom, various kinds of personal choice, etc.) to one worthy and strong person so that he would ensure the operation of these rights and distribute them in a certain share for everyone else.
This is how representatives appeared supreme power and their subjects, whose relationships formed state system rigid, vertically organized power. Thus,
the origin of the state is artificial, it is in the rationality of human society, and
The essence of the state consists in the voluntary transfer of the natural rights of the majority to the minority.
5. Social contract theory(developer Russo):
is similar to the contract theory in almost everything, except that the voluntary agreement of people on state power was concluded by them in its meaning not as a transfer of power from the majority to individuals, but as a contractual act in which power was vested in the public, collective will of the majority, which accepted similar solution. That is
the state arose by contract, but not as power individual person, but how power is universal conscious choice majority and, thus, is a universally developed and collectively accepted system of law.
6. The state as an apparatus of violence (Marxism):
the state is an instrument of subjugation by the ruling classes of the exploited classes.
The origin of the state stems from the need to force the exploited classes to work, and
The essence of the state is to ensure established class relations.
With the disappearance of classes (under communism), the state will also disappear.
There are also many views that explain the origin and essence of the state from other positions: from purely philosophical positions, abstracted from historical practice; either from purely geographical positions, or from purely social positions, or from legal, moral, rational, cultural, etc. positions.
However, despite the difference between all these currents, it can be said that in its general sense
the essence of the state lies in the supremacy of its rights over the rights of all other elements of its structure or individuals, and
the origin of the state can in itself, as such, be called a social law of the organization of social life, because based on the ontological fact of the obligatory and ubiquitous emergence of the state in the historical practice of all peoples, the state is a manifestation of the action of the law, because only the law provides these two characteristics of any phenomenon - ubiquity and obligation.
Basic terms
POWER- the ability or ability to force someone to submit to one’s will.
STATE- a system of power that spreads its own way of organizing the life of the people in a certain territory.
NATURAL LAW- a set of principles, rules, rights and values arising from the natural nature of man, regardless of social conditions.
INSTITUTIONALIZATION- the process of formation of a particular social institution.
SOCIETY- a system of relationships and conditions that unites people into sustainable coexistence.
SOCIAL FUNCTION OF SOCIETY- the task of society to provide one or another vital social need.
SOCIAL INSTITUTE- a system of institutions, organizations and individual groups of people narrowly aimed at ensuring one or another social function of society.
PRIVATE PROPERTY- the legally protected right of an individual or legal entity to any specific property.
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The main bearer of political power in society is the state. Based on law and law, the state carries out forced regulation and control over social processes in order to ensure the normal and stable functioning of society.
Signs of the state as a social institution:
- the presence of power in the form of a system of government bodies, institutions and organizations.
- the activities of special mechanisms of this power in the course of implementing the social functions of the state.
- the established system of legal norms and regulations sanctioned by political power.
- the presence of a delimited territory, a certain spatial framework for the distribution of power.
Considering the state as a social institution, we must understand its complexity and structural dismemberment. Within the structure of the state there are a number of social institutions with which people constantly come into contact in their lives: institutions people's representation exercising public power in the country. In Russia, these are the institutions of the State Duma, presidency, municipal self-government, heads of administration, etc.
1. management institutions: government, local administration, institutions representing government and administration.
2. institutions of justice and justice related to law, the law, to which everyone must strictly obey.
3. institutions covering the armed forces, state security, public order authorities, punitive institutions.
Social functions of the state:
Ensuring stability, sustainability and social order in society (integrative).
Regulatory-distributive function. Having certain resources and values, the state distributes them in the interests of various social institutions operating in the spheres of economics, politics, education, science, culture, healthcare, and social security.
Social control function. It involves both regulation and regulation of the activities of various public structures, and especially social control over deviant behavior.
+ features:
1. The economic function of the state is expressed in the organization, coordination, regulation of economic processes through tax and credit policies, creating incentives for economic growth or implementing sanctions.
2. The social function consists of meeting people’s needs for work, housing, and maintaining health; in providing social guarantees to the elderly, disabled, unemployed, and youth; in life, property, health insurance.
3. The law enforcement function includes ensuring law and order, establishing legal norms that regulate social relations and the behavior of citizens, protecting the social system from the destructive actions of extremists.
4. National-cultural function: preservation of national identity, Russian identity, independence and sovereignty of the peoples inhabiting its territory, development of the education system, science, culture, enlightenment).
5. Political function state is to ensure political stability, exercise power, and develop a political course.
6. Ecological function. With the help of legislation, the state establishes a legal regime for the rational use of natural resources, undertakes obligations to its citizens to ensure a healthy, normal living environment, and develops programs for the protection environment, control over the activities of business entities.
External functions:
1. Development of diplomatic relations.
2. Conducting wars.
3. Defense.
7. Public administration as a way of exercising state power
Public administration (management of society by the state), understood in the broadest sense, is an integral sphere of activity of state power, all its branches, bodies, officials, i.e. implementation of state power in all its forms and methods. Different bodies carry out their management tasks state affairs, and each in its own way (parliament, government, courts, prosecutor's office, ministries, etc.).
Some government bodies have their own authorities, decisive powers (for example, parliament or president). Their main tasks are to establish general rules for management and control, and they engage in direct management activities less frequently, entrusting specific management tasks to subordinate bodies. Other bodies and officials are involved direct management activities (ministries, civil servants). Some bodies and officials only have advisory powers (for example, State Council under the President of the Russian Federation in Russia, consisting of heads of administrations of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation). Eat special bodies who are engaged checking compliance with laws, control (for example, the Commissioner for Human Rights), monitoring the execution of the budget (Accounts Chamber). Organs of this kind are more likely participate in public administration, but participation is also a way of management. Mixed ones are often created, state-public bodies (for example, the tripartite commission on issues labor relations, consisting in Russia of representatives of the state, entrepreneurs and trade unions). They can also, to some extent, perform management tasks, for example when making an agreed decision. Sometimes some functions of government bodies are transferred public bodies or organizations, local governments. In this case, they also perform tasks government controlled. For this purpose, they are also given the material resources (finance, etc.) necessary to perform such functions.
Finally, as mentioned, in our time, supranational organizations and bodies have been created that can make decisions obliging the state to take measures related to internal state issues, essentially within its competence, within the sphere of its sovereignty. Such bodies are, for example, some bodies of the European Union (commissions, the Council of Ministers, etc.). The legal acts they adopt on a number of issues may apply to individuals and legal entities of member states, or the corresponding norms must be included in the own law of such states. The European Court of Human Rights, after special procedures, can make decisions obliging member states of the Council of Europe to take certain actions in order to respect human rights. The right to make binding decisions is vested in some bodies of the unification of Belarus and Russia, which is provided for by the 1999 Treaty on the Creation of a Union State. Thus, some interstate organizations and their bodies can, although indirectly, participate in intrastate management activities.
8. The influence of social norms in public administration
IN important in regulating public administration are various social norms and rules. Public administration, which represents administrative, organizational, control and other activities, is influenced by moral standards, especially at points of direct contact with public policy. Trust and objective information, compliance moral principles on the part of managers and civil servants in relations with the population and within bodies, management is one of the components efficient work state apparatus.
Quite often used in public administration customs and traditions– the election of the chairman of the lower house of parliament is carried out from representatives of the largest faction in the chamber, and his deputies from other, more numerous associations. Such traditions are widespread in foreign countries- East, England, etc.
Very wide influence in management activities standards, technical norms and rules, which are established by the state, especially in the production sector.
Over time, the activities of government bodies develop organizational norms and practices, which also have a managerial impact on the activities of the apparatus and employees. An example would be a report people's deputy which takes place at a certain time and in the same place, or holding a meeting according to certain regulations.
Although the listed norms are not legal in nature and in most cases are not established by the state, they are not indifferent to it. In some cases, the state supports and promotes the development of some of them, in others, which do not meet the interests of society, it prohibits them in its own imperious way.
The main regulator of public administration is right. It gradually evolved from pre-legal social norms and customs. Law is formed in two directions: firstly, social norms of other types develop into norms of law, through their legislative consolidation, and, secondly, norms of law are created by the state itself when society needs them.
If we consider the characteristic features of law, we can pay attention to the following components:
= Legal norm- a generally binding rule of behavior expressed in law, serving as a model of possible or proper behavior, protected from its violation by measures of state coercion.
= Systematic law characterizes it as a coordinated unity of norms, institutions, and industries, covering various aspects of social life and people’s relationships with regulatory influence.
Legal norms in their content and scope are grouped by branches and institutions of law, forming an integral system: a system of law, an industry, a sub-industry, an institution of law.
= Strong-willed character . The state legally expresses the will and interests of various socio-political forces of society, using its power and legitimate character coercion against law violators.
= Universal values(postulates of goodness, justice, common good, democracy, etc.) are of great guiding importance in determining the nature of the legal system and in public administration. This fundamentally distinguishes a democratic state from a totalitarian, despotic one.
= State coercion compliance with the rules of law is ensured and protected by the state; it provides for various types of legal liability: criminal, civil, administrative, disciplinary.
WITH Among the legal norms of Russian branches of law, administrative legal norms are the most diverse. They occupy the largest legal space in the chain: law - by-laws - acts of execution - document. Most often, the effect of administrative and legal influence is created not by one norm, but by a combination of them, both homogeneous and non-homogeneous. Norms as primary rules of behavior are clothed in structural forms - sources of administrative law.
The norms of administrative law are characterized by:
Focus on satisfying primarily public interests;
Unilateral expression of the will of a party;
Wide scope of discretion;
The predominance of directive-binding norms;
Normative-orienting influence;
Direct application of administrative sanctions for violations.
In the domestic legal literature, several signs characterizing the rule of law are noted:
· primary cell right;
· state command;
· a rule of a general nature (for everyone) and designed for repeated use;
· formally defined rule.
Administrative legal norms differ from other norms by a greater degree of interconnectedness within one legal act and in acts different organs. The principles of their subordinate legislation and strict hierarchy are revealed, which makes it possible to consistently solve problems with the help of different, but related and agreed upon norms.
Administrative law rules define boundaries due, authorized And prohibited behavior of various subjects in the field of public administration. By defining the mutual rights and obligations of the parties to management relations, they thereby regulate these relations.
WITH the specifics of the subject of administrative and legal regulation highlight peculiarities that distinguish administrative legal norms from the norms of other branches of law:
· imperative character;
· serve to implement functions and purpose executive power ;
· provide normal functioning all executive power systems, establish procedures and forms of activity of the state administration;
· addressed, first of all, to subjects of executive power in order to streamlining public administration and ensuring the rule of law in their activities.
· determine administrative and legal status(rights, duties, responsibilities and legal forms of activity) subject of managerial legal relations in the sphere of executive power.
· are basis for regulating relations included in the subject other industries;
· provided with their own industry means of execution, protection and legal enforcement;
· are installed not only laws, but also in the process of administrative lawmaking, That's why have different legal force, are established by subjects of executive power in the process of exercising administrative powers within the limits of competence determined by law.
· are of a subordinate nature and there may be changed or canceled by the bodies or officials who adopted them, or by superiors or declared invalid by a court decision.
On modern stage development of Russian society, when the formation of a multi-subject civil society is still in progress, the historical responsibility for the well-being of citizens lies entirely with the state. The ancient Greek thinker Plato defined the state as a community of people sufficient for development and prosperity. Of the types of state actually existing at that time, he gave preference to monarchy And aristocracy, as the most suitable forms of exercising the power of the best. Aristotle defined the state as “a self-sufficient communication of citizens, not needing any other communication and not depending on anyone else.”
The term “state” itself was first used by N. Machiavelli, who tried to create a complete doctrine of the state. He defined the state as the common good that arises from the implementation of real state interests. G. Hegel’s understanding of the state as a political community and an area for the implementation of civil political rights close to the definition of civil society.
The state is a social institution for organizing people's lives, satisfying social needs, a sphere of general interest (as opposed to civil society, which is based on private interest), as well as the main body of political power, managing all spheres of public life and using various means, including including coercion. The state plays a central role in the political system. It also represents a specific historical form of the implementation of statehood in the life of a particular people. Statehood is a systemic unity (integrity) of factors, relationships and interactions, trends, forms and spheres of life of people and their communities. Statehood is a type of political organization of society that is achieved in the course of historical development. Statehood ensures a person’s inclusion in society, the socialization of his life activities (work, family, leisure, socio-political).
The state is a powerful institution of power. A. Smith defines the functions of the state as follows. On the one hand, it must do what is impossible or unprofitable for private individuals ( public education, public works, development and maintenance of transport systems, communications, public services, etc.), on the other hand, maintain a regime of natural freedom (anti-monopoly activities, regulation of interest rates); finally, protect the life, liberty and property of citizens (regulation of the minimum wages, national defense, police, administration of justice). According to A. Smith, the foundation of society is social justice. The foundation of moral standards and social justice is the system of positive law.
Central to the development of a theory of state is the interpretation of the concept of power. For sociologists developing problems of the social state, the concept of power is the most necessary, because power is present in all processes of social life. K. Marx and F. Engels use the term “power” not only to characterize social relations, but also in relation to man’s relationship to nature. K. Marx and V.I. Lenin repeatedly pointed out that the concept of power is one of the fundamental concepts of political power.
Defining the concept and nature of power in society is essential for understanding the nature of politics and the state. IN AND. Lenin, explaining that power existed long before the emergence of the state, made a distinction between power and the state. Peter Struve argued that the state would survive even after the abolition of classes.
From the point of view of obligation, the state is the guarantor of citizens’ confidence in the possession of their property. “The same constant and unceasing desire in all men to improve their condition—this is the source from which public and national as well as private wealth flows—is often powerful enough to ensure a natural development towards the improvement of the general condition in spite of excessive expenses government and the greatest mistakes of the administration."
The state is a stable type and form of social practice through which social life is organized and the stability of connections and relationships is ensured within the framework of the social organization of society. The state as a social institution is characterized by the presence of a goal for its activities, specific functions that ensure the achievement of such a goal, and a set of social statuses and roles typical for a given type of state.
The overall essential characteristics of the state include: the social purpose of the state; his organizational structure; specific opportunities, rights and powers in comparison with other public institutions; the nature of relations with society, class, nation. Along with the function of suppression, the state carries out foreign policy, regulation of the economic process, activities in the sphere of social relations and spiritual life.
Some researchers of the 80s of the last century (A.S. Jung, F.M. Burlatsky, A.A. Galkin, etc.) pointed to the following characteristics of the state: 1) the right of the state to use force; 2) it covers all spheres of life; 3) the right to compulsorily attract all citizens to its membership; 4) presence of its own territory; 5) independence and sovereignty.
“Unfortunately, from generation to generation Russians are faced with forms of state that are not favorable for the majority of the population. Hence the massive underestimation of the role that the state could, under certain circumstances, play in the development of humanistic and democratic social policy.”
F. Engels considered the main feature of the state to be the presence of public power, separated from the mass of the people. Modern scientists identify the following main features of a state, which are: a) the presence of a certain mechanism (a special system of bodies and institutions) that implements the functions of state power; b) consolidation of a certain system of norms sanctioned by the state (law); c) extension of state jurisdiction to a specific territory.
The state in any country carries out a set of necessary functions, regardless of what type of state it is. “These are the functions of protection political system; preventing and eliminating socially dangerous conflicts; regulation of economic and other social relations; implementation of common for the country domestic policy as a system of its specific manifestations - social, economic, financial, scientific, cultural, educational and other policies; foreign policy functions of protecting the interests of the country; functions of national defense and conducting armed struggle and much more.”
The most important characteristics of a state are the state structure and political regime. In political parlance, the concept of state is also used to designate one of the institutions political system, which has an apparatus of coercion and as the official expression of the entire society. “The Russian government has three levels of public authority: federal center, subjects of the Federation and local government. Each level has its own exclusive competence, which authorities at other levels of government have no right to interfere with. In addition, state power is divided into legislative, executive and judicial.” Thus, the state structure finds its expression in the territorial organization of state power, the nature of the relationship between the state as a whole and its parts, as well as between parts of the state, central and local authorities. One of its types is welfare state.
To summarize, we can highlight the following characteristics of a state: 1) the presence of a special group of people exclusively engaged in managing the entire society and protecting its economic and social structure; 2) the presence of a monopoly on coercive power over the entire population; 3) the right and opportunity to exercise internal and foreign policy– economic, social, military – on behalf of the entire society inside and outside the country; 4) the sovereign right to issue laws and regulations binding on the entire population; 5) organization of power according to a certain territorial division; 6) monopoly right to collect taxes and fees from the entire population, to form a public budget, etc. If the state directs all the noted rights and opportunities to create economic and other conditions for improving the well-being of its citizens, developing the human potential of members of society, providing decent life and free development of man, his social protection, then in full compliance with democratic and legal principles it becomes social.
The state in a narrower sense of the word is usually understood as an organization of political power that promotes the primary implementation of specific interests (class, religious, national, racial, etc.) within a certain territory. The state is a universal socio-political organization (integrity) that has public power and a specialized apparatus for managing social processes within a certain territory over which its sovereignty extends.
The most important attributes of a modern state include:
· the state is the only official representative of the entire society;
· performs general social functions;
· It has right– a system of norms sanctioned by the state;
· has, as a rule, a monopoly on lawmaking;
· is in stable legal ties with the population living on its territory (institution of citizenship);
· has sovereignty;
· has a special apparatus of power and control;
· uses the right of coercion and uses it;
· has armed and other specialized forces ensuring its integrity and security;
· has a justice system (constitutional, arbitration, criminal, civil courts);
· has the material means to carry out state policy (property, budget, foreign exchange reserves, etc.) and applies a system of taxes and loans;
· has an administrative-territorial division;
· has its own symbols (coat of arms, anthem, flag) and memorable dates.
In Russia, the state has always been a powerful institution for managing society. “It declared national values and quality and, in accordance with this, determined the measure and forms of real participation of the population in political life, which was always carried out under the strict control of the state apparatus. Characteristic feature The political socialization of the state was that it purposefully suppressed the political subjectivity of a person - normative political behavior presupposed the preparation of a person for official structures, and the structures were not created for a person, his free and independent expression of will. For modern Russia the task of building a social state is equivalent to the task of preserving and subsequently strengthening statehood itself.
At the turn of the 80-90s of the twentieth century, the state lost its monopoly on the promotion and justification of national values, but this did not significantly change the essence of the practice of socialization, which is still aimed at limiting the political subjectivity of a person, at maintaining the status quo of political structures and functions, their leading role in shaping the normative political behavior of Russians. ... And yet, new sociopolitical values are sprouting on the Russian political field: stereotypes are being debunked that the state can be a monopoly or the main agent of political socialization, that it alone is capable of proposing and developing normative patterns of behavior and thereby solving the problem of the current political disorganization."
IN modern world a democratic state best provides conditions for the development of social activity of citizens, social groups and communities. In such a state, in the variety of functions, its comprehensive social function comes to one of the first places. A socially oriented state creates a favorable space of social opportunities, protected from any arbitrariness, guarantees the possibility of unhindered interaction between social groups and other elements of the social structure, and helps improve the social status of citizens and social groups.
“The most important social functions of the state include:
1) ensuring the integrity of society and creating basic conditions for it safe development;
2) ensuring the implementation of human and civil rights and freedoms;
3) creating conditions for rapid economic growth;
4) ensuring freedom, independence and security of the people in the world community.”
With this consideration, a social institution is defined as the leading component of the social structure of society, integrating and coordinating not only a huge number of individual actions of people, but also regulating social relations people and the interaction of various components of society. The state, as the main social institution of society, directs its efforts to realize the fundamental needs of society in the field of culture, science, education, healthcare and other areas; to ensure material life, the development of a social market economy, the integration of social groups and collectives, the maintenance and preservation of spiritual values and much more.
Thus, the activity of the state, when viewed as a social institution, is determined by the development and application of a specific set of social and organizational-legal norms and regulations governing the behavior of various communities and people; integration of other social institutions into the socio-political, ideological and value structure of society; creation of material resources and conditions that ensure the normal functioning of all structures of society; creating the foundations for the implementation of sustainable connections and relationships within the framework of the social organization of society.
The social state, functioning as a macro-level social institution, forms its structure and organizes the life of all spheres of society, relying on constitutional foundations. In addition, since our country is proclaimed a social state, according to Art. 1 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, Russia is a democratic federal legal state with a republican form of government. Article 3 of the Constitution emphasizes that the bearer of sovereignty and the only source of power in Russia is its multinational people.
The constitutional responsibilities of the social state in the implementation of labor rights are enshrined in Art. 37, according to which every citizen of Russia has the right to freely manage their abilities, choose their type of activity and profession. Forced labor is prohibited. Everyone has the right to work in conditions that meet safety and hygiene requirements, to remuneration for work without any discrimination and not lower than the minimum wage established by federal law, as well as the right to protection from unemployment. This article recognizes the rights of workers to individual and collective, including in the form of a strike, labor disputes. The rights of workers to rest, regulated working hours, weekends and holidays, paid annual leave.
Rights in the field of protection of children, motherhood, childhood, family, as well as the responsibilities of able-bodied children over 18 years of age are established in Art. 38. Guarantees of social security by age, in case of illness, disability, loss of a breadwinner, payments of state pensions and benefits are disclosed by Art. 39. The rights to housing are defined in Art. 40, for health protection and medical care enshrined in Art. 41, environmental protection – in Art. 42, for education - in Art. 43. Rights in the field of culture are disclosed in Art. 44. These rights are citizens of Russia in accordance with Art. 19 have regardless of origin, social and property status, race and nationality, gender, education, language, attitude to religion, type and nature of occupation, place of residence and other circumstances.
Sovereignty Russian Federation applies to its entire territory (Article 4), accordingly, rights apply to all citizens, regardless of which of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation they live in... The Russian Federation consists of republics, territories, regions, cities of federal significance, autonomous regions and autonomous districts – equal subjects of the Federation. The republic (state) has its own constitution and legislation (Article 5).
Territory, region, federal city, autonomous region, autonomous region has its own charter and legislation. The federal structure of Russia is based on its state integrity, the unity of the system of state power, the delimitation of jurisdiction and powers between the state authorities of the Russian Federation and the state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, equality and self-determination of the peoples of the Russian Federation (p. 5). Citizenship is uniform and equal regardless of the basis for its acquisition. Power in the Russian Federation is exercised on the basis of division into legislative, executive and judicial (the latter's bodies are independent). The President of the Russian Federation, the Federal Assembly (Federation Council and The State Duma), the Government of the Russian Federation and the courts of the Russian Federation. Local self-government is in effect. According to Art. 7 of the Constitution, Russia is a social state whose policy is aimed at creating conditions that ensure a decent life and free development of people. The Russian Federation is a secular state. As Art. 14 of the Constitution, no religion can be established as state or compulsory.
The concept of “social institution”
One of the initial concepts that is used when considering the key processes and phenomena of our time is the concept of “social institution”. Many researchers not only point out its significance and uniqueness, but also call it the initial cell of sociological analysis.
Definition 1
Despite its popularity, the concept of “social institution” still does not have an unambiguous definition within the framework of sociological science. In this regard, the authors use a variety of definitions, which are presented in various dictionaries. For example, in " Brief dictionary in Sociology,” which was published in 1988, proposes the following definition of the concept of “social institution”: it is a stable and historically established form of organizing the joint activities of people in clearly defined conditions.
Social institutions are quite heterogeneous and structured, and their specific component is accordingly diverse. Fundamental social institutions include the following:
- Own;
- State;
- Family;
- Scientific field;
- Mass media;
- Education;
- Right.
Of course, this is a narrow variety, since our society is constantly developing and needs to create new forms of organizing joint activities. Moreover, modern social institutions are inextricably linked with each other, and their activities are often subject to the same rules, laws and norms, which makes them even more connected with each other, and human activities more organized and regulated.
Definition 2
Another definition of the concept of “social institution” is enshrined in a modern sociological reference book (1990). There, a social institution is defined as a form of consolidation and also a method of further implementation of human activity, which further ensures the stable existence and functioning of social relations. All actions, relationships and results are subordinated social norms and sanctions.
The state as a social institution
The state is the main and most important bearer of political power in society. in essence, it is the concentration of all the rules, decisions, laws and decrees that can change the life of an individual or a huge group of people.
Modern states are rightfully considered true social institutions, since they perform several key functions. Relying on the right, as well as on the law as supreme body, in which all the rights and freedoms of citizens are concentrated, the state can carry out both voluntary and forced regulation social processes, controls them.
The main goal is to ensure a stable functioning of society, consistent with global norms and values, its development and compliance with global ideals in all spheres: economic, political, social and spiritual.
If we talk about the functions of the state as a social institution, many authors note the following: ensuring sustainability and stability, security and social control, regulation and regulation of activities. Having all the capabilities, the state can prescribe the actions of social groups and control them, assigning either punishments or rewards, depending on the reaction to changes in society.
Signs of the state as a social institution
The state as a social institution has its own key features that are unique to it. These features emphasize the uniqueness of the state and its advantages over other social institutions.
Firstly, the state has all the powers that it and its representatives can legally use. These powers exist in the form of a system of government bodies, institutions and organizations that are responsible for maintaining law and order, as well as strengthening the role of the state in the life of every person.
Secondly, in the course of implementing the social functions of the state, some special mechanisms of the power described above operate. They are diverse, but must necessarily comply with all the laws of tolerance and humanity.
Third, political power the right to authorize, establish and consolidate a system of legal norms. The state can also change them or abolish them altogether.
Fourthly, the state as a social institution is limited in territory. This means that the spread of power occurs only within a certain space and cannot go beyond, otherwise it will be regarded as the seizure of foreign territory and a call for military action.
If we analyze the state as a social institution within Russia, then there is a rather complex structure, since within the framework of a single state institute There are also several institutions that perform their own unique functions. Among them, authors and researchers in the field of political science and sociology highlight the following:
- Institute of Public Administration, which includes the government, local governments, administrations, as well as institutions that represent the government and administration;
- Institutions of justice, as well as institutions of justice that are associated with the legal and legislative systems. Any person living on the territory of Russia is familiar with their rights and freedoms, which are prescribed in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Knowing this, the Russian strictly obeys them, since he knows that for failure to comply with the basic rules and regulations he may be subject to administrative or criminal punishment;
- Institutes that cover the armed forces. They are responsible for state security and integrity. This also includes public order authorities and punitive institutions (colony colonies, prisons, special treatment and medical institutions).
The state is one of the main not only political but also social institutions of society. It is thanks to the state that pre-society moves from a primitive, natural state to ordered ways and forms of existence. Formally, being historically later than the economy, family, religion, morality, upbringing, education, state, nevertheless, became the central link of all social life and had a decisive influence on the profound transformation of all social institutions without exception, the reasonable organization of people's lives. It acted as the main body of social solidarity, connected individuals, various ethnic, religious and other communities into one whole, became a social fact, a certain type of legally regulated social behavior of people. There is perhaps no doubt that the state is most brilliant invention of the human mind, which has become the most important instrument of social progress. “A people that does not have its own state does not have its own history,” G. Hegel once argued, and this is largely correct! Indeed, no society is possible without a state. If we carefully study the history of various societies, we will see that when a crisis of statehood occurs, then the society is in the deepest crisis, on the brink of collapse. This has happened more than once in Russian history and in the history of other countries. The collapse of society is not necessary, but in such a situation other social institutions cease to function normally - the court, the police, the army, education, economics, morality, etc. Accordingly, a hail of troubles falls on society - deception, crime, the defenselessness of the individual, the collapse of the economy, the crisis of education , external threats.
In the chapter “Society” we wrote that, in essence, statehood arises simultaneously with the formation of society. Maybe even a little earlier. A society of any complexity or scale cannot emerge without a state. What is called primitive, primitive society in the strict sense of the word is not a society. It is a pre-society, the result of the natural evolution of man. Society is the result of purposeful social activities a large mass of people, led by the state. One can even say that the state acts as the subject, and society as the object of its power. So, society and the state arise simultaneously, in parallel, as a result of an agreement between one and the other, the conquest of one by the other, gradual integration, and a confluence of various circumstances.
This is confirmed by the events of our time, when old societies and states collapsed (USSR, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia), then new societies and states immediately appeared in their place. States even earlier than societies took shape. This gives us the right to assert that the emergence of society and the state is not a one-time, but a repeated act that has, has, and will take place in the history of human civilization. There are many reasons for these processes: the integration of small communities of people into larger ones, the desire to pool resources, wars, crises, the desire to isolate themselves, etc.
In any case, the state arises (that is why it actually arises) for good purposes. As the Russian philosopher wrote Vladimir Solovyov:“The state exists to transform earthly life into heaven, and not to contribute to its final transformation into hell.” Be that as it may, the state is an objective, natural phenomenon, and society cannot exist without it.
So what is a state?
It is very difficult to formulate a clear and precise definition of it. In literature over more than two millennia, hundreds of definitions have been given of what should be understood by the state. It was defined as the mental and moral concentration of the interests of all citizens (Aristotle) and as the beginning of common benefit, justice and legal interests (Cicero), and as a moral principle (Kant), and how the majority of the people are deceived (Mohr, Rousseau), and as an expression of interests economically ruling class(Marx), and as an institution for protecting the welfare of citizens, etc. and so on. T. Hobbes, and moreover, he called the state a mortal God.
There is no great exaggeration in this. The state, state power in society really acts as something like God. Let us remember the words of F.M. Dostoevsky, who said that if there is no God, then everything is permitted. So, even if there is no God, or he does not interfere in human affairs, then he is replaced by the state, and quite successfully, if the power in it is normal, institutional power.
The Italian thinker and revolutionary A. Gramsci compared the state to a moat in front of the fortress walls and casemates of civil society. Simply put, the state has not been compared to anything. And it must be said that centuries-old experience has, to one degree or another, confirmed the correctness of what was said above. However, this same experience indicates that with all the diversity of approaches to understanding the state in modern science emerge, by and large, two interpretations of it.
1. Broad, when the state is understood peoples united into a single whole, living in a certain territory, having uniform governance structures and laws.
In this sense, the state is actually synonymous with society. This idea of the state existed in Antiquity (Plato, Aristotle, Cicero). By and large, this is a philosophical approach to understanding the state.
2. Narrow interpretation, when the state is understood in fact, the power structures themselves (the apparatus), which are endowed by society with legal powers to solve the most important (most significant) management tasks of public life. In this regard, the state is the king, the president, legislative, executive, and judicial bodies. Here sociological, political science and legal approaches are predominantly manifested.
In our opinion, the most acceptable, one might say working, definition of the state is the following.
State - it is a political, legal and territorial organization of citizens, which has a special apparatus of management and coercion, making its decisions binding on the population of the entire country. This is the highest legitimate form of power in society, which it recognizes and, of course, to which everyone is obliged to obey. Of course, such a definition is far from perfect and cannot convey the entire huge palette of properties and qualities inherent in the state.
It is impossible not to notice that the state is a contradictory phenomenon. It contains almost all aspects, aspects and trends that occur in human life. It expresses class, national, and universal interests. The state can be both a soulless machine and an instrument of moral health: it creates and destroys, helps and takes, heals and cripples, pleases and saddens. Let's be honest, few people loved the state, but everyone or the majority understood that public life was impossible without it. Many reacted to it like a fire - they stayed at such a distance so as not to freeze, but also so as not to burn.
As a wise old peasant once told the author when he was a student: “I don’t expect anything good from the state and I don’t ask anything from it, except for one thing, that it leave me alone. But I understand perfectly well that the state can do without me, but I can’t do without it.” Well, perhaps it's true. Without the state there can be no individual, no society, no normal human life.
