Forms of social dynamics plan. Society development

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Social dynamics are the processes of society in the process of its development, transition from one state to another.

The term social dynamics, both in our and foreign literature, is interpreted ambiguously.

The aggravation of social dynamics, the fundamental logic of behavioral stereotypes and old values lead to a sharp increase in the role of society and its influence on the individual. In other words, today the social level clearly dominates the humanitarian and psychological level, and the individual characteristics of people adapt to new socially significant patterns associated with the realities of a market economy. Shifting the center of gravity to the social level, due to its objective-logical nature, allows us to achieve a mass effect when using social technologies.

The source of social dynamics, which adds to the anatomical (structural) dimension of society also the physiological (characterizing its growth and development), to social harmony - the vertical melody, to the peace of repetition of the same thing - progress associated with the emergence of a new, more complex - are according to Comte, forces of different orders.

For Lavrov, social dynamics was not the self-development of social forms in the spirit of the spontaneous evolution of Comte or the organic development of Spencer; he did not think of it as extra-personal. For some formulations he was even reproached for sociological nominalism, but in essence this was unfair. Watson, he defended biographies as a scientific subject.

The fundamental law of social dynamics (also known as the law of progress) is, therefore, that every upsurge, every impulse of the spirit evokes - by virtue of universal consensus - a corresponding response in all social fields without exception - art, politics, industry. And everywhere the spirit plays a leading role, forming the power center of social evolution. Despite the fact that, having (therefore) his task - to moderate them, and not to command them, he needs the impulses delivered by desires, passions and feelings.

Meanwhile, the concept of social dynamics reflects a certain and very significant aspect of social development as a whole. From the totality of diverse changes in historical reality, the concept of social dynamics absorbs and concentrates its attention on one side - the direction of social changes, their trajectory. In this regard, we can distinguish cyclical, linear and spiral types of social dynamics.

A reflection of the cyclical type of social dynamics are theories of the historical cycle that are well known to the reader, extremely diverse in the material used by the authors, the form of presentation, methods of argumentation, and the vision of world-historical prospects. If for Vico the fundamental principle is the unity of world history, then Danilevsky, on the contrary, proceeds from the denial of this unity and considers the history of society as a set of different cultural and historical types, each of which ceases to exist after going through a certain life cycle.

If the concept of the type of social dynamics reflects the trajectory, the direction of historical movement at one stage or another (or at several stages combined), then the concepts of evolution and revolution reflect the nature of these changes.

Intensive interaction with other cultures acts as a factor of social dynamics and, therefore, a stimulus for stratification processes. In this case, society develops objective criteria for assessing its movement, receiving additional incentives for the development of normative scales of statuses and positions.

Comte's doctrine of social dynamics contains an evolutionary model of society, built using concepts drawn from the history of religion. This is the doctrine of the progress of society, which goes through three stages corresponding to the periods of human life - childhood, adolescence and maturity. The first stage is theological, at this stage a person tries in vain to achieve unconditional knowledge of the inner essence of phenomena and the reasons for their occurrence. The explanation is based on the principle of analogy: things and active forces are endowed with human properties, for example, will. At this stage, religious consciousness is represented by three types: fetishistic, polytheistic and monotheistic. The last type already marks the decomposition of theological thinking and the transition to speculative speculation, which dominates the philosophical or metaphysical stage. The dominance of abstract concepts sets in, deities give way to essences, personified abstractions. At the third and final stage of this history of the spirit, as a principle of general human development, man no longer strives to know final causes, but, by observing phenomena, to establish natural connections between them.

In the doctrine of social dynamics, Comte characterizes the development of society as natural and progressive.

Social genetics (or social dynamics): 1) determines historical trends or lines of development that are found outside the time-repeated development of both all social life and its individual aspects or institutions and 2) explains deviations and deviations from these trends.

The second part of sociology - social dynamics should be, according to Comte, a general theory of the natural progress of mankind, studying the causes and patterns of social change, because the historical development of society is associated with the processes of evolution and progress, and the most powerful factor determining progress was the human mind.

The historical process is a consistent series of successive events in which the activities of many generations of people were manifested. The historical process is universal; it covers all manifestations of human life from obtaining “daily bread” to studying planetary phenomena. The real world is inhabited by people, their communities, and in connection with this, the reflection of the historical process should be, according to N. Karamzin’s definition, “a mirror of the existence and activity of peoples.” The basis, the “living tissue” of the historical process is events, that is, certain past or passing phenomena, facts of social life. He studies this entire endless series of events in their unique appearance inherent in each of them. historical science.

There is another branch of social science that studies the historical process - philosophy of history. It seeks to reveal the general nature of the historical process, the most general laws, the most significant relationships in history. This is an area of philosophy that studies the internal logic of the development of society, cleared of zigzags and accidents. Some questions of the philosophy of history (the meaning and direction of social development) were reflected in the previous paragraph, others (problems of progress) will be revealed in the next. This section examines the types of social dynamics, factors and driving forces of historical development.

The historical process is society in dynamics, that is, in movement, change, development. The last three words are not synonyms. In any society, diverse activities of people are carried out, government bodies, various institutions and associations carry out their tasks: in other words, society lives and moves. In everyday activities, established social relations retain their qualitative characteristics, society as a whole does not change its character. This manifestation of the process can be called functioning society. Social changes - This is the transition of certain social objects from one state to another, the appearance of new properties, functions, relationships in them, i.e. modifications in social organization, social institutions, social structure, patterns of behavior established in society. Changes that lead to deep, qualitative shifts in society, transformations of social connections, and the transition of the entire social system to a new state are called social development. Philosophers and sociologists consider different types of social dynamics. The most common type is considered linear movement as an ascending or descending line of social development. This type is associated with the concepts of progress and regression, which will be discussed in the following lessons. Cyclic type combines the processes of emergence, flourishing and collapse of social systems that have a certain length of time, after which they cease to exist. You were introduced to this type of social dynamics in previous classes. Third, spiral type is associated with the recognition that the course of history can return a particular society to a previously passed state, but characteristic not of the immediately preceding stage, but of an earlier one. At the same time, the features characteristic of a long-gone state seem to be returning, but at a higher level of social development, at a new qualitative level. It is believed that the spiral type is found when reviewing long periods of the historical process, with a large-scale approach to history. Let's look at an example. You probably remember from your history course that a common form of manufacturing was dispersed manufacturing. Industrial development led to the concentration of workers in large factories. And in the conditions of the information society, there is a return to working at home: an increasing number of workers perform their duties on personal computers without leaving home. In science there were supporters of recognizing one or another of the named options for historical development. But there is a point of view according to which linear, cyclical, and spiral processes appear in history. Οʜᴎ act not as parallel or replacing each other, but as interconnected aspects of an integral historical process. Social change can occur in different forms. You are familiar with the words “evolution” and “revolution”. Let us clarify their philosophical meaning. Evolution is gradual, continuous changes, transforming one into another without jumps or breaks. Evolution is contrasted with the concept of “revolution”, which characterizes abrupt, qualitative changes. A social revolution is a radical qualitative revolution in the entire social structure of society: deep, radical changes covering the economy, politics, and spiritual sphere. In contrast to evolution, a revolution is characterized by a rapid, abrupt transition to a qualitatively new state of society, a rapid transformation of the basic structures of the social system. As a rule, a revolution leads to the replacement of an old social system with a new one. The transition to a new system can be carried out both in relatively peaceful forms and in violent ones. Their ratio depends on specific historical conditions. Revolutions were often accompanied by destructive and cruel actions and bloody sacrifices. There are different assessments of revolutions. Some scientists and politicians point out their negative features and dangers associated both with the use of violence against a person and with the violent rupture of the very “fabric” of social life - social relations. Others call revolutions “locomotives of history.” (Based on knowledge from the history course, determine your assessment of this form of social change.) When considering the forms of social change, we should remember the role of reforms. You came across the concept of “reform” in your history course. Most often, social reform is called the reorganization of any aspect of social life (institutions, institutions, order, etc.) while maintaining the existing social system. This is a type of evolutionary change that does not change the fundamentals of the system. Reforms are usually carried out “from above”, by the ruling forces. The scale and depth of reforms characterize the dynamics inherent in society. At the same time, modern science recognizes the possibility of implementing a system of deep reforms that could become an alternative to revolution, prevent it or replace it. Such reforms, revolutionary in their scope and consequences, can lead to a radical renewal of society, avoiding the shocks associated with spontaneous manifestations of violence inherent in social revolutions.

This type is associated with the concepts of progress and regression, which will be discussed in the following lessons. The cyclic type combines the processes of emergence, flourishing and collapse of social systems that have a certain length in time, after which they cease to exist. You were introduced to this type of social dynamics in previous classes. The third, spiral type is associated with the recognition that the course of history can return a particular society to a previously passed state, but characteristic not of the immediately preceding stage, but of an earlier one. At the same time, the features characteristic of a long-gone state seem to be returning, but at a higher level of social development, at a new qualitative level. It is believed that the spiral type is found when reviewing long periods of the historical process, with a large-scale approach to history. Let's look at an example. You probably remember from your history course that a common form of manufacturing was dispersed manufacturing. Industrial development led to the concentration of workers in large factories. And in the conditions of the information society, there is a return to working from home: an increasing number of workers perform their duties on personal computers without leaving home. In science there were supporters of recognizing one or another of the named options for historical development. But there is a point of view according to which linear, cyclical, and spiral processes appear in history. They appear not as parallel or replacing each other, but as interconnected aspects of an integral historical process. Social change can come in many forms. You are familiar with the words “evolution” and “revolution”. Let us clarify their philosophical meaning. Evolution is gradual, continuous changes, transforming one into another without jumps or breaks. Evolution is contrasted with the concept of “revolution,” which characterizes abrupt, qualitative changes. A social revolution is a fundamental qualitative revolution in the entire social structure of society: deep, radical changes covering the economy, politics, and the spiritual sphere. In contrast to evolution, a revolution is characterized by a rapid, spasmodic transition to a qualitatively new state of society, a rapid transformation of the basic structures of the social system. As a rule, a revolution leads to the replacement of an old social system with a new one. The transition to a new system can be carried out both in relatively peaceful forms and in violent ones. Their ratio depends on specific historical conditions. Revolutions were often accompanied by destructive and cruel actions and bloody sacrifices. There are different assessments of revolutions. Some scientists and politicians point out their negative features and dangers associated both with the use of violence against a person and with the violent rupture of the very “fabric” of social life - social relations. Others call revolutions “locomotives of history.” (Based on knowledge from the history course, determine your assessment of this form of social change.) When considering the forms of social change, we should remember the role of reforms. You came across the concept of “reform” in your history course. Most often, social reform refers to the reconstruction of any aspect of social life (institutions, institutions, orders, etc.) while maintaining the existing social system. This is a type of evolutionary change that does not change the fundamentals of the system. Reforms are usually carried out “from above”, by the ruling forces. The scale and depth of reforms characterize the dynamics inherent in society. At the same time, modern science recognizes the possibility of implementing a system of deep reforms that could become an alternative to revolution, prevent it or replace it. Such reforms, revolutionary in their scope and consequences, can lead to a radical renewal of society, avoiding the shocks associated with spontaneous manifestations of violence inherent in social revolutions.

is a consistent series of successive events in which the activities of many generations of people were manifested. The historical process is universal; it covers all manifestations of human life from obtaining “daily bread” to studying planetary phenomena.
The real world is populated by people, their communities, therefore the reflection of the historical process should be, according to N. Karamzin’s definition, “a mirror of the existence and activity of peoples.” The basis, the “living tissue” of the historical process is events, that is, certain past or passing phenomena, facts of social life. He studies this entire endless series of events in their unique appearance inherent in each of them. historical science.

TYPES OF SOCIAL DYNAMICS

The historical process is society in dynamics, that is, in movement, change, development. The last three words are not synonyms. In any society, diverse activities of people are carried out, government bodies, various institutions and associations carry out their tasks: in other words, society lives and moves. In everyday activities, established social relations retain their qualitative characteristics; society as a whole does not change its character. This manifestation of the process can be called functioning society.
Social changes - This is the transition of certain social objects from one state to another, the appearance of new properties, functions, relationships in them, i.e. modifications in social organization, social structure, patterns of behavior established in society.
Changes that lead to deep, qualitative changes in society, transformations of social connections, and the transition of the entire social system to a new state are called social development.
Philosophers and sociologists consider various types of social dynamics. The most common type is considered linear motion as an ascending or descending line of social development. This type is associated with the concepts of progress and regression, which will be discussed in the following lessons. Cyclic type combines the processes of emergence, flourishing and collapse of social systems that have a certain length in time, after which they cease to exist. You were introduced to this type of social dynamics in previous classes. Third, spiral type is associated with the recognition that the course of history can return a particular society to a previously passed state, but characteristic not of the immediately preceding stage, but of an earlier one. At the same time, the features characteristic of a long-gone state seem to be returning, but at a higher level of social development, at a new qualitative level. It is believed that the spiral type is found when reviewing long periods of the historical process, with a large-scale approach to history. Let's look at an example. You probably remember from your history course that a common form of manufacturing was dispersed manufacturing. Industrial development led to the concentration of workers in large factories. And in the conditions of the information society, there is a return to working from home: an increasing number of workers perform their duties on personal computers without leaving home.
In science there were supporters of recognizing one or another of the named options for historical development. But there is a point of view according to which linear, cyclical, and spiral processes appear in history. They appear not as parallel or replacing each other, but as interconnected aspects of an integral historical process.
Social change can occur in different forms. You are familiar with the words “evolution” and “revolution”. Let us clarify their philosophical meaning.
Evolution is gradual, continuous changes, transforming one into another without jumps or breaks. Evolution is contrasted with the concept of “revolution,” which characterizes abrupt, qualitative changes.
A social revolution is a radical qualitative revolution in the entire social structure of society: deep, radical changes covering the economy, politics, and spiritual sphere. In contrast to evolution, a revolution is characterized by a rapid, spasmodic transition to a qualitatively new state of society, a rapid transformation of the basic structures of the social system. As a rule, a revolution leads to the replacement of an old social system with a new one. The transition to a new system can be carried out both in relatively peaceful forms and in violent ones. Their ratio depends on specific historical conditions. Revolutions were often accompanied by destructive and cruel actions and bloody sacrifices. There are different assessments of revolutions. Some scientists and politicians point out their negative features and dangers associated both with the use of violence against a person and with the violent rupture of the very “fabric” of social life - social relations. Others call revolutions “locomotives of history.” (Based on knowledge from your history course, determine your assessment of this form of social change.)
When considering the forms of social change, we should remember the role of reforms. You came across the concept of “reform” in your history course. Most often, social reform refers to the reconstruction of any aspect of social life (institutions, institutions, orders, etc.) while maintaining the existing social system. This is a type of evolutionary change that does not change the fundamentals of the system. Reforms are usually carried out “from above”, by the ruling forces. The scale and depth of reforms characterize the dynamics inherent in society.
At the same time, modern science recognizes the possibility of implementing a system of deep reforms that could become an alternative to revolution, prevent it or replace it. Such reforms, revolutionary in their scope and consequences, can lead to a radical renewal of society, avoiding the shocks associated with spontaneous manifestations of violence inherent in social revolutions.

It should be recognized that reform and revolution treat an already advanced disease, while constant and early prevention is necessary. This kind of prevention includes INNOVATION and MODERNIZATION processes. Agree, it is not so radical and sensitive for society.

The process of modernization can be illustrated by examples of the gradual transition from feudalism to capitalism in England as a result of the Industrial Revolution. The introduction of the steam engine and the replacement of manual labor with machine production occurred without government control and intervention, very slowly and gradually, without radically breaking the usual way of life. Society managed to adapt to the gradual changes of capitalism.

The term “social dynamics” is interpreted ambiguously both in our and in foreign literature. O. Comte, who introduced this term into scientific circulation, meant by it unidirectional progressive processes of social development, excluding leaps and breaks. In modern Western sociology, the development of the problem of social dynamics is associated with the name of P. Sorokin, who believed that “like the physiology of the human body, which studies the basic physiological processes that are repeated in human organisms, “social physiology” or dynamics concentrates its attention on the basic social processes that repeat in the life history of all social groups." So, in the first case, social dynamics are understood as linear processes, in the second - cyclical. In our literature, the concept of “social dynamics” until recently was denied the status of a scientific category. Moreover, in special reference publications it was emphasized that this term retained its meaning only in studies of history and sociology3.

Meanwhile, the concept of “social dynamics” reflects a certain and very significant aspect of social development as a whole. From the totality of diverse changes in historical reality, the concept of “social dynamics” absorbs and concentrates its attention on one side - the direction of social changes, their trajectory. In this regard, we can distinguish cyclical, linear and spiral types of social dynamics.

In social life, cyclical processes are widespread, having their own logic of development and specific forms of implementation. They cannot be reduced to random and short-term phenomena in the forward movement of society, to partial “deviations” from the main ascending line, as is often presented within the framework of a purely progressivist approach to the interpretation of social development.

Two classes of cyclical changes can be distinguished: systemic-functional and historical.

The system-functional cycle reflects social changes within the framework of one qualitative state, and the final result of a series of changes becomes the starting point of a new series of similar changes. As a result of the resolution of emerging contradictions within the framework of a given quality, there is a repeated alternation of ups and downs, a repetition of the same phases of the functioning of the social system. It should be emphasized that the reproduction of social quality in an unchanged form does not mean complete substantive identity of the beginning and end of the cycle, and, thus, system-functional cycles are actually quasi-cyclical, quasi-circular processes.

The development of society within the framework of social-functional cycles indicates its relatively stable state: naturally formed social communities (ethnic groups, classes, strata), stable forms of activity of social subjects, their traditional roles in society, political, social and other institutions are reproduced. Thus, self-regulation of society is carried out. A social system that is out of balance returns after a certain time to its original state - a kind of pendulum movement occurs. The cycle is a way of existence and preservation of society, and this is especially evident in societies that are relatively closed compared to the outside world.

The geographical location of a society may have a certain influence on isolation, but the activity of its internal immune systems, which prevent the penetration of innovations, is of decisive importance. Artificial limitation of contacts with the outside world is carried out by various means (political, religious, ideological, etc.), but at the same time a single main goal is pursued - the preservation of the social system in its current form through the sustainable reproduction of traditional relations and connections. Such societies, of course, change, although in general their development is hampered and they do not move to the next stage for a more or less long time. Examples of such development include classical nomadic societies, some archaic agricultural communities, as well as eastern civilizations, often called “traditional.”

When comparing the dynamics of two societies (one with a predominance of linear processes, and the other with a predominance of cyclical ones), ideas about absolute stagnation often arise in socio-philosophical literature. A striking example of such ideas is the Eurocentric views that formed in the 18th-19th centuries. In Western countries at this time there was a linear process of development of capitalist relations. Comparing it with eastern societies, in particular China, many thinkers (I.G. Herder, A.I. Herzen, N.Ya. Danilevsky, N.G. Chernyshevsky) defined the latter as stagnant societies. Meanwhile, the history of China, where feudal relations dominated for almost two millennia, is a typical example of cyclical development, conditioned, on the one hand, by geopolitical isolation and, on the other, by high internal stability and regulation. Political centralization, a strict hierarchical structure of power, regulation of economic life, the socio-economic ethics of Confucianism, which rejected and suppressed cultural, ideological and technical innovations - all this was a prerequisite for the increased stability of Chinese society. Even numerous movements of the popular masses contributed to the stabilization and ordering of society, because they freed it from certain obvious vices. And only in the second half of the 19th century. cyclical processes began to show a tendency to transform into linear regression. This trend manifested itself in the form of increasing paralysis of power, a decline in the living standards of the majority of the population, and declassification. And yet, the loss by society of certain results achieved earlier occurred while maintaining and reproducing, in the main features, traditional relations and forms of activity.

The historical cycle is the unity of the processes of genesis, flourishing and collapse of social systems and reflects the real fact that society, like any material formation, has a certain life span, after which it ceases to exist. Of course, the disappearance of a social organism does not occur completely without a trace: in each individual case, a certain connection with it of the formations that arose in its place is preserved. This was the case in the territory of the former Roman Empire, where a number of independent states arose, which in the Renaissance and Modern times enriched many of the inherited achievements of Roman culture. But in this case it is legitimate to talk about the historical cycles of newly formed states.

Recently, more and more attention has begun to be paid to the development of the question of a possible megacycle in the evolution of the Earth as a planetary system, in which a change from an ascending line to a descending one is not excluded. This problem, first posed (albeit in an abstract form) by Charles Fourier, is becoming increasingly relevant today due to the sharp increase in contradictions on a global scale1.

A reflection of the cyclical type of social dynamics are well-known to the reader theories of the historical cycle, extremely diverse in the material used by the authors, the form of presentation, methods of argumentation, and the vision of world-historical prospects. Let us compare, for example, the concepts of D. Vico and N. Ya. Danilevsky. If for Vico the fundamental principle is the unity of world history, then Danilevsky, on the contrary, proceeds from the denial of this unity and considers the history of society as a set of different cultural and historical types, each of which ceases to exist after going through a certain life cycle.

Unfortunately, the analysis of these theories in the recent past suffered from significant simplification and one-sidedness! Firstly, these theories were strictly opposed to the idea of social progress, although a more careful study of the issue reveals that throughout the development of social philosophy, theories of the cycle in various versions included this idea, and this is quite logical, for the cycle is the combination of ascending and descending branches of development. Secondly, the emergence of cyclical theories was somewhat directly correlated in the literature with the political sympathies and antipathies of their authors, as well as the moral and psychological atmosphere of the corresponding time. Undoubtedly, these factors leave a certain imprint on any creativity, but the main thing must not be missed: theories of cyclism reflect certain aspects of objective social dynamics and their appearance at different historical stages indicates the essential nature of these aspects. Thirdly, the metaphysical nature of these concepts was somewhat exaggerated; it was forgotten that, within certain limits, the metaphysical approach is legitimate and even necessary.

Linear processes occupy an extremely large place in historical reality. At the same time, the essence of the linear type of social dynamics is not limited to linear progress - another historical form of its implementation is linear regression, as a descending line in the development of society, when a process of narrowing the functional capabilities of the social system occurs, ultimately leading to dead-end situations in social development. Linear progress and linear regression represent a contradictory unity of opposites, one of which at a certain stage plays a dominant role.

Considering the relationship between linear progress and linear regression, let us pay attention to the following circumstance. Their understanding as multidirectional vectors of historical development often leads to a significant shift in this emphasis over time. And if linear progress is seen as directed toward the future, then linear regression is perceived almost as a backward movement, even in time, as a kind of “progress in reverse.” In reality, linear regression should not be interpreted as a simple repetition in reverse order of previously completed stages and phases. At a new temporary stage of social development, there are different conditions, a different social environment, and therefore a repetition of the old is possible only primarily in relation to form, although, of course, to a certain extent this also applies to content. Old social institutions cannot be revived in their original appearance, because in new historical conditions they turn out to be unable to fulfill their former functions. In this regard, it is legitimate to talk about the asymmetrical orientation of linear progress and linear regression.

A distinctive feature of linear dynamics is its cumulative nature, expressed in the fact that each new phenomenon is not a mechanical addition to the old, but its genetic continuation. During the implementation of linear processes, irreversible states arise that do not completely deny the previous ones, but partially absorb their properties, enrich them, thereby complicating the entire process as a whole. This situation is very successfully illustrated by V.G. Revunenkov when analyzing the development of the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. Characterizing the period of linear progress in the history of this revolution, V.G. Revunenkov emphasizes that “the main feature of the ascending line of the revolution was that at each subsequent stage more and more radical groups of the bourgeoisie came to power, the influence of the masses on the course of events increased more and more, and the tasks of bourgeois-democratic transformations of the country were solved more and more consistently”1 . At the same time, the stage of linear regression as “the descending line of the revolution did not represent a retreat towards the feudal past; on the contrary, it meant the strengthening and further development of social orders based on private capitalist property and the wage labor system”2. In other words, the descending phase of the revolution realized one of the possibilities genetically inherent in the ascending phase. Linear regression did not consist in a total rejection of the achievements of the first phase, but in a shift in emphasis: bourgeois democracy was replaced by bourgeois authoritarianism, protecting the interests primarily of large owners.

The implementation of a linear type of social dynamics is associated with such a historical phenomenon as the multivariance of social development. It manifests itself to the greatest extent in critical situations, when society faces the problem of historical choice. During these periods, compared to periods of stable functioning, there is a much wider range of possibilities, the diversity of which can be reduced to three main options: conservation of the existing state, forward and downward movement. The last two options are carried out in the form of linear trends, and behind each of them there are material and ideological carriers - different classes and social strata, which fight among themselves to direct these trends according to their interests.

Clarification of the limits of the linear dynamics of society is of great theoretical and practical importance. In a broad sense, these limits are limited to the period of quantitative changes between two successive qualitative states of society. In general historical terms, linear progress and linear regression replace each other when the potential for growth on its own basis is exhausted. The nature of interaction between society and the natural and historical environment has a certain influence on the limits of linear dynamics. At the same time, the limits of linear progress of society can be expanded by overcoming the historical lag by assimilating the social experience of countries ahead.

A large-scale, panoramic approach to the study of social reality makes it possible to detect in it a spiral type of dynamics, which reflects the direction of processes covering various qualitative states of society. Let us immediately emphasize: in social life, spiraling appears not as the only one, but as one of the relatively independent types of social changes. Such a remark is extremely important, given that in our philosophical literature the opinion of development as occurring exclusively in a spiral has been firmly established.

The spiral type of social dynamics reflects a set of genetically related processes that negate each other, and is revealed when summing up a large amount of data at relatively long stages of historical development. During each negation, the phenomenon passes not only into another qualitative state, but also into its opposite. In the course of subsequent negations, the phenomenon again turns into its opposite and at the same time, as it were, returns to its original state, but this return to the supposedly old is carried out at a new level, with the discovery of new properties. In terms of socio-ontology, this thesis can be illustrated by the example of a spiral associated with the denial of primitive public private property, which today, in turn, is denied by the processes of socialization and socialization. In terms of social and epistemological, we can refer to the following revolution: ancient dialectics - the centuries-old dominance of metaphysics in philosophy and natural science - a return to dialectics. It is quite clear that in both cases we are faced with only an ostensible return, taking place at a qualitatively new level.

Let's try to graphically depict the now familiar three types of social dynamics in Fig. 1

Taoism Confucianism philosophy legalism

Even a cursory analysis of these images reveals that the spiral is a synthesis of a cycle (circle) and a line.

The spiral as a graphic image, a geometric model acts as an analogue of the term “social continuity”, which reflects the dialectical unity of discontinuity and continuity, relative identity and difference, genetic connection of successive processes. When a spiral is defined by the formula “a return to the supposedly old, a repetition of the old on a different level,” then we are talking, in essence, about a development process in which renewal and obsolescence are only partial.

It would be simplistic to interpret the spiral direction as unambiguously progressive, ascending. As part of the development of the social system, downward spiral processes are also realized, which are also natural and make it possible to understand the reasons for the decomposition of a given society. Spiral processes of both directions also take place in the development of culture. So, at the beginning of the 17th century. In the European consciousness, thanks to the intensive growth of scientific and technical knowledge and their implementation in production, the psychology of man as a conqueror of nature began to take shape, which over the next two centuries became a distinctive feature of European humanism. A utilitarian attitude towards nature contributed to the economic and cultural progress of Europe and, in general, provided it with a significant breakthrough compared to other regions. But the 19th and especially the 20th centuries. with their dehumanization of production, environmental crises, etc. showed with sufficient clarity that a certain limit has been reached for the progress of European culture in its traditional forms. Awareness of this fact, on the one hand, entailed a crisis in the former psychology of the “lord of nature,” which was reflected in the widespread dissemination of anti-scientist and anti-technicist sentiments.

In social reality, cyclical, linear and spiral processes appear not as parallel or following each other at certain intervals, but as interconnected, interdependent and interpenetrating moments of the same holistic development process. In other words, the dialectics of social development is such that it simultaneously contains cyclicality, linearity, and spiraling in the diversity of its historical forms of manifestation. Turning, for example, to any transition period, we discover within its framework the action of various alternative trends, including those that, in retrospective analysis, qualify as “zigzags.” In reality, these trends represent multidirectional linear processes, reflecting society’s painful search for optimal ways of further development. During this same period, there are both the beginnings of the future society and the remnants of the past, i.e. elements of spiral dynamics of both directions. This situation characterized the period from 1917 to the mid-30s in Russian history, which was replete with various linear processes: “war communism”, new economic policy, “the great turning point”. At the same time, the “birthmarks” of the past system remained in society and the embryos of the future administrative-command system appeared. In general, during the transition period, a cyclical type of social dynamics prevailed in the form of a system-functional cycle, caused by a fierce struggle of opposites (“who will win?”) in economics, politics, and public consciousness.