The disadvantages of the system-functional approach include the fact that individual factors in politics, personal conflicts, which political life is full of, remain without attention. The individual is considered only as a performer of functions, playing a certain role within the framework of this system. In addition, supporters of this approach are criticized for excessive schematism and formalism in the study of complex political phenomena.
Along with the methods discussed above, many others are used in political science: logical (analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, experiment, modeling, etc.), comparative, historical, methods of empirical research.
All this variety of approaches and methods in political science, with all their advantages and disadvantages, indicates that the knowledge of the essence of political phenomena and processes cannot be one-dimensional and one-linear. It is necessary to take into account and use the richness of the accumulated methodology so that knowledge can give a practical and targeted return.
The diversity of approaches is enhanced by the peculiarities of political science in different countries. At the same time, especially in recent decades, as a result of strengthening communication links, computerization, mutual influence and mutual enrichment of the leading directions and methodologies of political science are taking place.
If in the first half of the XX century. in the development of political science the idea of ​​improving the methods and methods of research prevailed, in the second half the development went along the path of specifying the subjects of research. What remains common is the strengthening of the pragmatic orientation of political science and the increasing role of its applied branches.

Question 5. Main approaches to understanding policy

The concept of "politics" is not as simple as it seems. Its definition was first given in ancient Greece, where the word polis denoted the state, and the word politics denoted state or public affairs, more precisely, the art of government. This understanding of politics is still true today, but only in the most general sense.
At the modern scientific level, there are several main approaches to understanding politics.
First of all, this is a historically established idea of ​​politics as the management of society; and since this is most of all done by the state, then politics in this approach is reduced to state activity.
There is a widespread view of politics as the regulation of relations between various social strata, ethnic groups, and state formations. Depending on the ideas about their interests, in this variant, politics is considered either as a struggle or cooperation between them, or as a complex interaction.
The understanding of politics as a struggle of various social groups and individuals for power is widely cultivated. A major theorist of political science, the American scientist G. Lasswell (1902-1978) argued that politics is connected with the formation of power. Lasswell, the founder of political psychoanalysis, introduced the concept of "imperious person". Its internal spring is the desire to overcome the feeling of inferiority by acquiring power. The allocation of the category of power as a determining one follows from the fact that the sphere of politics not only covers the state, the political system, but also goes beyond them. This is especially evident in domestic politics, where informal, hidden mechanisms for the implementation of public goals are clearly revealed.
There is also a tendency in modern science to reduce politics to the expression of economic or ideological interests. This approach comes from Marxism, from Lenin's statement: "... Politics is the most concentrated expression of the economy" (V. I. Lenin, Poln. sobr. soch. Vol. 42. P. 216).
There is a definition of politics as a characteristic of a course of action aimed at achieving certain goals in the relationship of people among themselves.
A variety of approaches to explaining the meaning of politics complicates the expression of its concept, a clear formulation. Without pretending to be an exhaustive interpretation, let's say that politics is a sphere of activity between social groups, the purpose of which is to conquer, retain and use state power to satisfy their interests and needs. Such a definition points to the state as the central element of politics, and the state itself is considered as the main category of the science of politics. This approach originates from Aristotle, who inextricably linked politics with the state. But it also corresponds to modern ideas, because it combines such key elements as activity - the state - power.

Question 6: Policy structure

Modern politics has a complex structure. Its most important elements are the following.
Objects of policy - a constantly changing set of social problems of this level, the solution of which requires political intervention, reforms and structural changes.
The subjects of politics are direct participants in political activity: people, their organizations, parties, movements pursuing political goals, solving political problems.
Political power is the ability of certain political forces to have a decisive influence on society, to develop and implement policies based on a balance of forces and interests, subordinating people to this.
Political processes - the interaction of various political forces, political subjects in solving political problems, their impact on policy objects.
Political ideas and concepts - theoretical understanding of the political development of society, reflection of the interests and sentiments of various social groups, development of solutions to political problems.
Listing only the main components of politics shows that as a phenomenon it is huge. Politics covers almost all spheres of modern life. It is no coincidence that the following concepts are widely used: economic policy, technical policy, military policy, social policy, cultural policy, educational policy, etc. Politics is also diverse in its form. This is management, the exercise of power, and the struggle for power, for influence in society, and activities about political problems, and the art of political relations, and theoretical work to put forward ideas and programs for their implementation.
The breadth and diversity of the political spectrum dictate the need for many sciences that develop certain aspects of politics as a social phenomenon. And such a variety of sciences has long existed in reality. Many sciences have their own types in the study of various aspects of politics (methodological, concrete applied, sociological, historical, legal, etc.). These are history and geography, law and sociology, philosophy and economic theory, psychology and cybernetics, praxeology and logic, etc. Each of them has as its subject the study of one or another form of politics, starting from the methodological aspect and ending with concrete applied issues.
History studies real socio-political processes, different points of view on these processes, and thus allows us to find out and explain the causes of current political processes. Political and economic geography deals in detail with the conditions (spatial and economic conditioning of political processes, the role of the environment, the natural foundations for the formation of political activity, etc.) that are important for the analysis of the political process. Philosophy creates a general picture of the world, clarifies the place of a person and his activities in this world, at the same time gives general concepts about the principles and conditions of knowledge, the development of theoretical concepts in general, political ones in particular. Law outlines the general framework for the activities of all state structures, as well as other organizations, citizens and their associations, that is, the framework for the formation of phenomena that are central to politics. Sociology studies the structure and functioning of both society as a whole and individual groups that make it up, as well as socio-political relations in this society. Praxeology studies the conditions and trends of all types of human activity, including political.
Each of these sciences has its own subject and its own angle of view in the study of politics. And only political science studies politics in general. Most domestic and foreign scientists consider political science as a general, integrative science of politics in all its manifestations. It interacts with other sciences of the socio-political cycle, using their scientific achievements in the interests of a more complete knowledge of politics.

Question 7. Political thought of the Ancient East

Political science has a rich long history in the form of the evolution of political ideas. It is based on the ideas and concepts that the best thinkers of the past developed throughout the history of mankind. The political and legal ideology arose together with the state and went through a centuries-old path of development. The comprehension of social problems and moral and political values ​​began in ancient times. A variety of ideas related to power and rights, the state and the individual, democracy and despotism are found in the works of thinkers of ancient China, the Arab East, the Muslim world, and European civilization. They were tested by historical practice, polished into clear formulas of political documents. There was a constant search for optimal models of social structure, relationships between the individual, society and the state, and for a long time it was carried out within the framework of philosophical and religious teachings.
In the III-II millennium BC. e. people's thinking was still dominated by mythological ideas about the world around them. This was also reflected in political thought: it was based on the idea of ​​the divine origin of political orders. True, the relationship between earthly and heavenly rulers was interpreted in different ways.
For the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Indians, the gods under any circumstances themselves remained the arbiters of earthly affairs, the first legislators and rulers. For example, God was in a special contractual relationship with the Jewish people and was considered their main ruler, legislator and judge. The ancient Chinese had a slightly different idea: for them, the emperor was the only conductor of the will of the heavenly forces. The gods endowed him with all the fullness of earthly power, giving him special internal forces and opportunities for its implementation.
Emphasizing the divine nature of power for a long time was a cross-cutting theme of both mythological and religious worldview. They illuminated the existing social structure with the indisputable authority of higher powers - the hierarchy of gods or a single god. For example, in ancient Babylon in the XVIII century. BC e. King Hammurabi portrayed his legislation as the implementation of the will of the gods. Therefore, the division into slaves and free, the economic, legal inequality of the free themselves had to be perceived as fair, given by the will of the gods.
In ancient Iran around the 8th century. BC e. the religious doctrine of Zoroastrianism (Zoroaster, Zarathushtra) was born. This doctrine had a great influence on the ideological and religious concepts of both the East and the West (including the formation of Christianity). The essence of Zoroastrianism is the struggle in the world of two principles: good and evil. Good personifies the light god - Ormuzd, evil - the dark god - Ahriman. Light and darkness are fighting each other, and the meaning of the existence of each person lies in the active struggle against darkness and evil. Zarathushtra was convinced of the final victory of good, although evil can triumph temporarily. The state, according to Zarathushtra, should be the earthly incarnation of the bright god Ormuzd. The monarch acts as his servant and must fight against evil in the state, instilling good.
In ancient India, the beginnings of the ideology of Brahminism were already set forth in the Vedas in the 2nd millennium BC. BC), which substantiate the division of society into 4 varnas, i.e. estates: brahmins, kshatriyas, vaishyas and sudras. These estates and their various positions are predetermined by dharma, i.e., world law and duty. The Laws of Manu (2nd millennium BC) justified the leading role of the Brahmins and their exclusive right to interpret the dharma. In addition to sophisticated earthly punishments for violating the dharma by representatives of other classes, the laws of Manu introduced the fear of the transmigration of the soul into a lower being.
Against the Brahmanist ideology and the system of varnas was directed in the VI century. BC e. the teachings of Siddhartha, nicknamed the Buddha (Enlightened One). Dharma among Buddhists acts as a regularity governing the world, a natural law. Reasonable behavior requires the knowledge and application of this law: the path of legality is at the same time the path of justice and wisdom. The main thing in - unlike Brahmanism, Buddhism proclaimed an installation on an individual path of salvation.
Certain rationalistic interpretations of the state and law are observed in the Arthashastra (4th-3rd centuries BC), the author of which is Kautilya (Chanakya), adviser and minister of King Chandragupta I. In addition to moral standards, the emphasis was on practical benefits (arthe) and the political events and administrative-imperious establishments caused by it.
The great thinker of Ancient China, Confucius (VI-V centuries BC), recognized the Divine origin of the power of the emperor, but refused the Divine origin of the state. According to his teaching, it arose from the union of families. That is, the state is a large patriarchal family, where the emperor is a strict but fair father, and his subjects are his obedient children. Relations in the state should be regulated primarily by morality. The welfare of the people is one of the central points of the political part of his doctrine. A wise administrator must know well what people love and what they hate; he should always strive for good, and then people will follow him. Following these principles means "tao" (right way). Confucius himself was not particularly successful in trying to put his ideas into practice. However, his doctrine became that starting point, that standard "measuring scale" of political culture, against which the thinkers and reformers of subsequent generations checked their theories.
Within the framework of Taoism, whose founder is considered to be Lao Tzu (6th century BC), the correct path (tao) was considered not as a path in accordance with the requirements of the gods, but as a natural necessity. That is, according to Lao Tzu, the laws of nature are higher than the laws of the gods and carry the highest virtue and natural justice. Thus, he was one of the first to criticize the socio-political structure of China. His calls for abstinence, a return to communal life in its patriarchal nature did not receive wide public support.
The founder of Moism, Mo Tzu (5th century BC), substantiated the idea of ​​the natural equality of people. To do this, he interpreted the concept of "the will of heaven" in a new way, considering it as universality, that is, an equal attitude towards all people. Hence his sharp criticism of the existing order. Mo Tzu became one of the first founders of the contractual concept of the origin of the state. He argued that the lack of governance and a common understanding of justice determined the state of hostility and chaos in society. To eliminate them, people chose the most virtuous and wise person and called him the son of heaven.
The Legists of Ancient China, represented by one of the prominent representatives of this school, Shang-Yang (4th century BC), criticized the views of Confucius for idealism in relation to the moral standards for the ruler, by which he should be guided. Shang-Yang believed that it was possible to govern not with the help of virtues, but with the help of strict laws, to which people must obey under pain of punishment and violence. To do this, the legalists substantiated the principle of collective responsibility on the basis of mutual responsibility (five-yard and ten-yard) and introduced the ideas of total denunciation. These ideas played a significant role in the further development of the system of state administration in ancient China and neighboring countries, and later, through the Mongol conquest, in Russia.
Thus, the first attempts to comprehend the socio-political structure within the framework of the religious and mythological worldview consisted in considering the earthly orders as an inseparable part of the cosmic orders that had a Divine origin. Thus, the superiority of order over chaos was affirmed.

Question 8. Political thought of Ancient Greece and Rome

In the first millennium BC. e. as society developed, there was a leap in spiritual culture and humanity took the first steps towards rational self-consciousness within the framework of philosophy. The true pinnacle of the political thought of the ancient world is considered to be the political philosophy of ancient Greece. It initially developed as an ideology of free people, so its main value is freedom. The peculiarities of the geographical position of Hellas made it possible for the close coexistence of various forms of government, the variety of interstate relations, cultural styles gave a genuine wealth of political life. In many cities-policies, citizens actively participated in political life, the power was not religious, the whole of Hellas was the scene of a struggle for power not by priests, but by ordinary citizens. That is, the development of political science reflected the objective needs of social life.
One of the first attempts to consider the emergence and development of man and society as part of a natural process, as a result of adaptation and imitation, was the ideas of Democritus (460-370). That is, the policy and laws are artificial formations, but created in the course of the natural evolution of man and society as part of nature. From this follows the criterion of justice for society: everything that corresponds to nature is fair (sense of proportion, mutual assistance, protection, brotherhood, etc.). Democritus was one of the first to substantiate the idea of ​​a democratic social order built on the principles of equality and justice. At the same time, he cannot be presented as an unconditional supporter of the mandatory participation of all citizens in the management of the policy. He, like many others, selects for this the best people, the most capable of managing.
Another direction that justifies the democratic structure of the state was sophistry (5th century BC). For example, Protagoras (481-411) justified this by the fact that the gods gave people the same opportunity to be involved in wisdom, virtues and the art of public life. The main task of the policy is to educate citizens in such virtues as justice, prudence and piety.
Socrates (469-399) was one of the first to lay the foundation for all subsequent political science the idea that those who know should govern. Political knowledge is achieved by the hard work of a person worthy of this truth, moral and politically virtuous.
The political ideas of Plato (427-347) are most fully set forth in the dialogue "The State". The participants in the dialogue are trying to model the appearance of an ideal state where true justice would reign. Plato considers the diversity of human material needs, the inability to satisfy them alone, as the motive for the creation of the state. The key to the stability of the state is the division of labor according to the inclination of the soul. The three principles of the human soul - rational, furious and lustful - in the state correspond to three similar principles - deliberative, protective and business. These last correspond to three estates: rulers, warriors and producers, who should not interfere in each other's affairs. The state should be governed by a special class of philosophers specially trained for this role.
Plato describes 7 types of government: one - described above - is ideal, which did not exist in reality; two - correct (monarchy and aristocracy) and four imperfect political forms: timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny. Moreover, he calls democracy the main trouble of politics, because it is not the power of the masses, which will inevitably lead to the tyranny of the majority. In democracy, in his opinion, morals are corrupted, prudence is driven out, arrogance and shamelessness are installed. Democracy is short-lived, the crowd very soon yields power to a one-man tyrant.
In the political ideal of Plato, the individual, society and the state are combined in the policy. He believed that true knowledge was not inherent in an ordinary individual, and sought to subordinate it to the state. To do this, he introduces a strict hierarchy of estates: philosopher-rulers (upper class); guards and warriors; artisans and peasants (physical labor). The subjects have nothing of their own - no family, no property - everything is in common. But even the upper classes do not have the right to appropriate state goods. “We are sculpting the state,” Plato wrote, “not so that only a few people in it are happy, but so that it is happy as a whole” (see Plato. “State”). In the political doctrine of Plato, many see the origins of totalitarianism.
Another prominent scholar of Ancient Greece was Aristotle (384-322), who analyzed many political concepts. In his opinion, political science deals with the state, the policy. He argued that the state is a natural formation; the development of society goes from the family to the community (village), and from it to the state (city-polis). The natural origin of the state is due to the fact that “man by nature is a political being” and carries an instinctive desire for “joint cohabitation”. However, the priority is the state - it, in his opinion, by nature stands ahead of the family and the individual. The state exists for the better life of its citizens. In his book Politics, Aristotle did not single out the state from society, emphasizing that "it is necessary that the whole precede the part." The state should be the embodiment of justice and law, an expression of the common interest of citizens.
There are also totalitarian tendencies in the teachings of Aristotle: a person is a part of the state, his interests are subordinated to the public good. He called citizens free people, but he understood freedom only as the opposite of slavery: citizens are not slaves, no one owns them; they are engaged in military, legislative, judicial affairs, and agriculture and industrial production are the lot of slaves.
Comparing the forms of government, Aristotle divides them on two grounds: the number of rulers and the purpose, that is, the moral significance of government. The result was three "right" (monarchy, aristocracy, polity) and three "wrong" (tyranny, oligarchy and democracy). He considered the best form of polity, which should unite three elements: virtue, wealth, freedom - and thus combine the interests of the rich and the poor.
A certain contribution to the interpretation of the state was made by the famous Roman orator and thinker Mark Cicero (106-43 BC). For him, the state appears as a coordinated legal communication, he considered it the embodiment of justice and law. Plato and Aristotle considered natural law and the state to be inseparable. Cicero said that natural law arose before any written law, before the creation of the state. In this regard, Cicero stood at the origins of the understanding of the idea of ​​a “lawful state”. He considered the most reasonable a mixed form of the state, in which royal power, aristocracy and democracy would be combined.
Thus, the main problems of the political philosophy of antiquity were the forms of statehood, the nature of power, the position of the individual in the state.

Question 9. Political thought of the Middle Ages

The content of political doctrines predetermines the periodization of their history, since the problem of identifying the stages in the development of political thought is primarily of a general theoretical nature. In this sense, the most appropriate is the construction of periodization, coinciding with the civilizational division of the entire history of mankind: the Ancient World, the Middle Ages, the Modern Age, the Modern Age. Accordingly, the content of this chapter is built with one deviation from the scheme. It is an acquaintance with religious ideas about politics.
As already noted, the very first attempts in the history of mankind to understand socio-political problems have come down to us in religious myths and legends. The myth of Noah, which is more than five thousand years old, tells about the solution of a number of social problems. Many issues of power, property, human relationships are reflected in the myths of Ancient Greece and Rome. A systematic approach to the consideration of many issues of statehood, law, social behavior is contained in the documents of world religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam. Religions consecrated the existing social structure with the indisputable authority of higher powers - the hierarchy of gods or a single god.

a) society is part of nature

b) nature is part of society

c) society and nature in interconnection form a single real world

d) society, having created a culture (“second nature”), has lost touch with nature

5. Name the incorrect statements:

a) a person's freedom consists in his ability to live outside society

b) no person - no society

c) each new generation is included in the already established social relations

d) the life of society is not confirmed by changes

e) knowledge, labor skills, moral standards are products of social development

Who was the creator of the doctrine of the noosphere?

a) V.I. Vernadsky c) C. Darwin

b) L.N. Gumilyov d) O. Comte

Which of the statements is true?

a) society is made up of people, therefore it is enough to study an individual person in order to have an idea about society as a whole

b) society and nature are inextricably linked and subject to a common law

c) society has become isolated from nature and is not subject to the action of natural laws

8. “The diverse ties that have arisen between social groups, classes, nations, as well as within them in the process of economic, social, political and cultural life and activity are ...”:

a) national relations

b) public relations

c) industrial relations

9. Complete the definition: "Society is ...":

a) dynamic system

b) a set of people united by the historical forms of their relationship and interaction

c) "collective" of collectives

d) all of the above

10. Match the name of the sphere of public life and its institutions:

1) the spiritual sphere of society

3) the economic sphere of society

4) the political sphere of society

a) power, state, suffrage

b) production of material goods, finance, trade

c) classes, nations, primary collectives

d) theater, religion, science, moral standards, education

What are the sciences that study social life called?

a) humanities

b) natural sciences

c) social sciences

12. The economic sphere of public life includes:

a) all relations between classes, social groups

b) relations in the process of material production

c) relations arising on the issue of state power

13. The activity of state organizations, political parties refers to:

a) the spiritual sphere of public life

b) the social sphere of public life

c) the political sphere of public life

14. Match the names of social sciences and the areas of public life they study:

1) the economic sphere of society

2) the social sphere of society

3) the political sphere of society

4) the spiritual sphere of society

a) sociology

b) political science

c) jurisprudence

d) economics

f) aesthetics

One of the first to substantiate the idea of ​​social progress

a) the ancient Greek poet Hesiod (VIII - VII centuries BC)

b) French philosopher A. Turgot (XVIII century)

c) German scientist K. Marx (XIX century)

16. The German philosopher G. Hegel (first half of the 20th century) argued that:

a) social development is a movement forward from imperfect to more perfect

b) social progress is an upward development of the human mind

c) humanity is moving towards ever greater mastery of nature, the development of production and of man himself

17. Complete the definition: "Social progress is ...":

a) the level (stage) of development of society, its culture

b) the state of society as a whole at a certain stage of historical development

c) the direction of social development, in which there is a progressive movement of society from simple and lower forms of social life to more complex and higher ones.

18. The idea that society develops along the path of regression was defended by:

a) Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle

b) the ancient Greek poet Hesiod

c) French educator J.A. Condorcet

Which of the following can be attributed to the causes of social change?

a) external factors, the influence of the natural environment

b) contradictions arising between various social forces within society

c) the desire of people for a new, more perfect

d) all of the above

In the first millennium BC. e. as society developed, there was a leap in spiritual culture and humanity took the first steps towards rational self-consciousness within the framework of philosophy. The true pinnacle of the political thought of the ancient world is considered to be the political philosophy of ancient Greece. It initially developed as an ideology of free people, so its main value is freedom. The peculiarities of the geographical position of Hellas made it possible for the close coexistence of various forms of government, the variety of interstate relations, cultural styles gave a genuine wealth of political life. In many cities-policies, citizens actively participated in political life, the power was not religious, the whole of Hellas was the scene of a struggle for power not by priests, but by ordinary citizens. That is, the development of political science reflected the objective needs of social life.

One of the first attempts to consider the emergence and formation of man and society as part of a natural process, as a result of adaptation and imitation, was the ideas of Democritus (460-370). That is, the policy and laws are artificial formations, but created in the course of the natural evolution of man and society as part of nature. From this follows the criterion of justice for society: everything that corresponds to nature is fair (sense of proportion, mutual assistance, protection, brotherhood, etc.). Democritus was one of the first to substantiate the idea of ​​a democratic social order built on the principles of equality and justice. At the same time, he cannot be presented as an unconditional supporter of the mandatory participation of all citizens in the management of the policy. He, like many others, selects for this the best people, the most capable of managing.

Sophism (5th century BC) became another trend justifying the democratic structure of the state. For example, Protagoras (481-411) justified this by the fact that the gods gave people the same opportunity to be involved in wisdom, virtues

the art of public life. The main task of the policy is to educate citizens in such virtues as justice, prudence and piety.

Socrates (469-399) was one of the first to lay the foundation for all subsequent political science the idea that those who know should govern. Political knowledge is achieved by the hard work of a person worthy of this truth, moral and politically virtuous.

The political ideas of Plato (427-347) are most fully set forth in the dialogue "State". The participants in the dialogue are trying to model the appearance of an ideal state where true justice would reign. Plato considers the diversity of human material needs, the inability to satisfy them alone, as the motivating reason for the creation of the state. The key to the stability of the state is the division of labor according to the inclination of the soul. The three principles of the human soul - rational, furious and lustful - in the state correspond to three similar principles - deliberative, protective and business. These last correspond to three estates: rulers, warriors and producers, who should not interfere in each other's affairs. The state should be governed by a special class of philosophers specially trained for this role.

Plato describes 7 types of government: one - described above - is ideal, which did not exist in reality; two - correct (monarchy

aristocracy) and four imperfect political forms: timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny. Moreover, he calls democracy the main trouble of politics, because it

- not the power of the masses, which will inevitably lead to the tyranny of the majority. In a democracy,

in his opinion, morals are corrupted, prudence is expelled, impudence and shamelessness are installed. Democracy is short-lived, the crowd very soon yields power to a one-man tyrant.

In the political ideal of Plato, the individual, society and the state are combined in the policy. He believed that true knowledge was not inherent in an ordinary individual, and sought to subordinate it to the state. To do this, he introduces a strict hierarchy of estates: philosophers-rulers (upper class); guards and warriors; artisans and peasants (physical labor). The subjects have nothing of their own - no family, no property - everything is in common. But even the upper classes do not have the right to appropriate state goods. “We are sculpting the state,” Plato wrote, “not so that only a few people in it are happy, but so that it is happy in general” (see Plato. “State”). In the political doctrine of Plato, many see the origins of totalitarianism.

Another outstanding scientist of ancient Greece was Aristotle (384-322), who analyzed many political concepts. In his opinion, political science deals with the state, the policy. He argued that the state is a natural formation; the development of society goes from the family to the community (village), and from it to the state (city-polis). The natural origin of the state is due to the fact that “man by nature is a political being” and carries an instinctive desire for “joint cohabitation”. However, the priority is the state - it, in his opinion, by nature stands ahead of the family and the individual. The state exists for the better life of its citizens. In his book Politics, Aristotle did not single out the state from society, emphasizing that "it is necessary that the whole precede the part." The state should be the embodiment of justice and law, an expression of the common interest of citizens.

Aristotle's teachings also have totalitarian tendencies: a person is a part of the state, his interests are subordinated to the public good. He called citizens free people, but he understood freedom only as the opposite of slavery: citizens are not slaves, no one owns them; they are engaged in military, legislative, judicial affairs, and agriculture and industrial production are the lot of slaves.

Comparing the forms of government, Aristotle divides them on two grounds: the number of rulers and the goal, that is, the moral significance of government. As a result, we got three "correct" (monarchy, aristocracy, polity) and three "wrong" (tyranny, oligarchy and democracy). He considered the best form of polity, which should unite three elements: virtue, wealth, freedom - and thus combine the interests of the rich and the poor.

A certain contribution to the interpretation of the state was made by the famous Roman orator and thinker Mark Cicero (106-43 BC). For him, the state appears as a coordinated legal communication, he considered it the embodiment of justice and law. Plato and Aristotle considered natural law and the state to be inseparable. Cicero said that natural law arose before any written law, before the creation of the state. In this regard, Cicero stood at the origins of the understanding of the idea of ​​a “lawful state”. He considered the most reasonable a mixed form of the state, in which royal power, aristocracy and democracy would be combined.

Thus, the main problems of the political philosophy of antiquity were the forms of statehood, the nature of power, the position of the individual in the state.

N. A. Luchkov. "Answers to Exam Questions in Political Science"

THE PROBLEM OF PUBLIC PROGRESS Social science, grade 10, profile 1. Progress and regress. 2. Inconsistency of progress. 3. Criteria for progress. 4. Variety of ways and forms of social development. The direction of development, which is characterized by a transition from the lower to the higher, from the less perfect to the more perfect, is called progress in science. The term "progress" itself comes from the Latin word progress, which means "moving forward." The concept of progress is opposed to the concept of regression. Regression is characterized by a movement from higher to lower, a process of degradation, a return to obsolete forms and structures. Models of social development Social statics cyclic progress Social dynamics linear regression spiral Examples of events and social changes recognized as progressive Positive manifestations and consequences Negative manifestations and consequences Growth and improvement of people's material production activities Increasing quantity and quality of material goods intended to satisfy people's needs Destruction of nature, irreparable damage to the human environment, undermining the natural foundations of society's existence Discoveries in the field of nuclear physics Creation of a new source of energy Creation of atomic weapons Task: continue the table and draw a conclusion, which shows the inconsistency of progress Criteria are the circumstances that determine the existence and development of a phenomenon . Ways of development reform revolution THE PROBLEM OF PUBLIC PROGRESS Test control 1. Progress is understood as: a) the decline of culture; b) moving forward; c) cyclic development; d) a state of stability. 2. The "Golden Age" called the ancient society: a) Plato; b) Aristotle; c) Lucretius Car; d) Hesiod. 3. The French Enlighteners included the following criteria of progress: a) the development of reason and morality; b) the complication of legal institutions; c) the development of productive forces; d) the conquest of nature. 4. Revolution is: a) rapid, qualitative changes in the life of society; b) slow, gradual development; c) a state of stagnation; d) return to the original state. 5. Is the judgment correct? A. The progressive development of society is always an irreversible movement forward. B. Social progress is contradictory, does not exclude return movements and regression. a) only A is true; b) only B is true; c) A and B are correct; d) both are wrong. 6. K. Popper believed that: A. The historical process is progressive. B. Progress is only possible for the individual. a) only A is true; b) only B is true; c) both are wrong; d) A and B are correct. 7. The criterion for the development of society is not: a) the level of development of science; b) the degree to which a person satisfies his needs; c) religious preferences of society; d) the state of the economy. 8. The thinker who called the development of morality the main criterion for progress: a) F. Schelling; b) G. Hegel; c) A. Saint-Simon; d) C. Fourier. 9. Reform is a transformation: a) changing the political structure of society; b) liquidating old social structures; c) changing any aspect of public life; d) leading to the regression of society. 10. A necessary condition for the self-realization of a person is: a) freedom; b) technique; c) morality; d) culture. 11. A complete change in all aspects of public life, including the foundations of the existing system, is: a) reform; b) innovation; c) revolution; d) progress. 12. One of the first to substantiate the idea of ​​social progress: a) the ancient Greek poet Hesiod; b) French philosopher A. Turgot; c) German philosopher G. Hegel; d) the founder of Marxism, K. Marx. 13. Complete the definition: “Social progress is ...”: a) the level (stage) of development of society, its culture; b) the state of society as a whole at a certain stage of historical development; c) the direction of social development, in which there is a progressive movement of society from simple and lower forms of social life to more complex and higher ones; d) the development and transition of society from higher to lower. 14. Saint-Simon believed that the highest achievement of social progress was a society: a) universal harmony; b) feudal estate; c) industrial-industrial; d) socioethical. 15. The idea that society is developing along the path of regression was defended by: a) the ancient Greek philosopher Plato; b) the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle; c) the ancient Greek poet Hesiod; d) French educator J.A. Condorcet. 16. The highest criterion of social progress, according to K. Marx, is: a) the development of productive forces; b) the moral, spiritual and moral state of society; c) the degree of increase in human freedom; d) the development of the human mind. 17. Which of the following can be attributed to the causes of social change: a) external factors, the influence of the natural environment; b) contradictions that arise between various social forces within society; c) the desire of people for a new, more perfect; d) all of the above. 18. What is the highest criterion of social progress? a) the interests of the development of productive forces; b) the moral, spiritual state of society; c) a person, the quality of his life (progressive is what contributes to the elevation of humanism); d) all of the above. 19. Ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle viewed history as: a) a cyclic cycle; b) moving forward; c) spiral movement; d) development from complex to simple. 20. The criterion of social progress can be considered: a) the development of the mind; b) development of production, science and technology; c) the development of morality; d) all of the above. 21. Are the following statements correct? A. The development of science and technology is the universal criterion of social progress. B. The development of humanism is the universal criterion of social progress. a) only A is true; b) only B is true; c) A and B are correct; d) both statements are wrong. 22. Are the following statements correct? A. Progress is characterized by a transition from higher to lower. B. Progress is characterized by degradation processes, a return to lower forms and structures, a) only A is true; b) only B is true; c) A and B are correct; d) both statements are wrong.

The criterion of progress is not derived from historical observation itself, but represents the measure with which the historian approaches the analysis of historical reality. Therefore, the criterion of progress is a priori and belongs not to history proper, but to the philosophy of history. Different concepts of the philosophy of history put forward different criteria for progress. For the Enlightenment, the main criterion for progress was the development of the mind and its implementation in life. They saw the ultimate goal of progress as a kind of complete triumph of reason and the embodiment of reasonable principles in people's lives and social order. For Hegel, the historical basis of progress and its criterion was freedom, more precisely, the awareness of freedom by a person. In the materialistic understanding of history, the criterion of social progress is the level of development of the productive forces of society.

Social progress is understood development for the better of society as a whole. It is in this capacity that progress appears first of all as the idea of ​​history. However, the concept of progress is also used in science, technology, morality, religion, law, etc., using the concept of progress in relation to certain areas of society. This raises the problem that progress in some areas of life may historically be combined with stagnation or regression in other areas. At the same time, the progressive or regressive change in society is determined by the area of ​​life that is taken as a priority in a particular philosophical concept.

The development of science and technology has always served as indisputable evidence of progress to the Enlighteners and their successors. Changes occur most clearly and rapidly in political life - the periodic rise and fall of great empires, the transformation of the internal structure of various states, the enslavement of some peoples by others - insofar as the first concepts of social development in antiquity seek to explain precisely political changes, which are given the character of cyclicity. So, already Plato and Aristotle created the first cyclical theories of the development of society. As society developed, the cyclical nature of social change extended to other areas of its life. World history was perceived as the history of the rise, greatness and death of great empires. S. L. Montesquieu"Reflections on the Causes of the Greatness and Fall of the Romans" (1734); Giovanni Battista Vico(1668-1744) "Foundations of a new science [on the general nature of nations]" expounded the theory of historical circulation, consisting of three epochs with the corresponding cycles - divine, heroic and human, replacing each other in the process of a general crisis.

The minds of the Enlightenment (Turgot and Condorcet, Priestley and Gibbon, Herder, and others) came to the conclusion that the new era in the social development of Europe had far surpassed antiquity and was a further step in social development. The first theories of social progress in world history appeared, undermining the notion of its cyclicality and the idea of ​​the progressive development of mankind. It was stated in the book J. A. Condorcet"Sketch of the historical picture of the progress of the human mind".

Theories of local civilizations. In the 19th century, the ideas of a civilizational path of development of society were born and became widespread, resulting in the concept of the diversity of civilizations. One of the first to develop the concept of world history as a set of independent and specific civilizations, which he called the cultural and historical types of mankind, was a Russian naturalist and historian N. Ya. Danilevsky(1822-1885). In the book "Russia and Europe" he chronologically singled out the following types of organization of social formations coexisting in time: Egyptian, Chinese, Assyro-Babylonian, Chaldean, Indian, Iranian, Jewish, Greek, Roman, New Semitic (Arabian), Romano-Germanic (European) . To which he added two civilizations of pre-Columbian America, destroyed by the Spaniards.

Theory of socio-economic formations. Of the theories of social development of the mid-19th - late 20th centuries, the Marxist concept of social progress as a successive change of formations was most thoroughly developed. Several generations of Marxists worked on the development and coordination of its individual fragments, striving, on the one hand, to eliminate its internal contradictions, and on the other, to supplement it. Marx and Engels sought to substantiate their concept of socio-economic formations with numerous references to historical sources, chronological tables and factual material; nevertheless, it was mainly based on abstract, speculative ideas of their predecessors and contemporaries (Saint-Simon, Hegel, L. G. Morgan and others). The concept of formations is not an empirical generalization of human history, but a creative critical generalization of various theories and views on world history, a kind of logic of history.