Under economy It is customary to understand the system of social production, the process of creating material goods necessary for human society for its normal existence and development, as well as the science that studies economic processes.

The economy plays a huge role in the life of society. It provides people with the material conditions of existence - food, clothing, housing and other consumer goods. Economic sphere- the main sphere of society, it determines the course of all processes occurring in it.

The main factors of production (or basic inputs) are:

the land with all its riches;

labor depends on the number of the population and its education and qualifications;

capital (machines, machine tools, premises, etc.);

Entrepreneurial ability.

The main questions of economics are what, how and for whom to produce.

Different economic systems solve them differently. Depending on this, they are divided into four main types: traditional, centralized (administrative-command), market and mixed.

With traditional economy manufacturing industry began. Now it has been preserved in a number of economically underdeveloped countries. It is based on natural form of economy. Signs of natural production are: direct relations in production, distribution, exchange and consumption; products are produced for domestic consumption; It is based on communal (public) and private ownership of the means of production. The traditional type of economy prevailed at the pre-industrial stage of the development of society.

Centralized (or administrative-command) economy based on a unified plan. It dominated the territory of the Soviet Union, in the countries of Eastern Europe, and a number of Asian states. Currently preserved in North Korea and Cuba. Its main features are: state regulation of the national economy, which is based on state ownership of most economic resources; strong monopolization and bureaucratization of the economy; centralized economic planning of all economic activity.

Under market economy is understood based on commodity production. The most important mechanism for coordinating economic activity here is the market. For the existence of a market economy, private property is necessary (that is, the exclusive right to own, use and dispose of goods belonging to a person); competition; free, market-determined prices.

The economic systems mentioned above are almost never found in their pure form. In each country, elements of various economic systems are combined in their own way. Thus, in developed countries there is a combination of market and centralized economic systems, but the former plays a dominant role, although the role of the state in organizing the economic life of society is significant. This combination is called a mixed economy. The main goal of such a system is to use the strengths and overcome the shortcomings of a market and centralized economy. Sweden and Denmark are classic examples of mixed economies.

In connection with the transition of a number of former socialist countries from a centrally controlled economy to a market economy, they have formed a special type of economic system called a transitional economy. Its main task is to build a market economic system in the future.

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Essay

On the topic: "The role of the economy in the life of society"

There are major and minor roles in our life. Our life can be divided into different spheres of social life. One of the elements of society is the economic sphere. The economic sphere is the main sphere of society, it determines the course of all the processes taking place in it.

The economy plays a huge role in the life of society. It provides people with the material conditions of existence - food, clothing, housing and other consumer goods. The economy usually includes everything that is connected with the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of goods created by human labor. The main goal and role of the economy is to meet the needs of each individual, the needs of organizations and enterprises, as well as the whole society as a whole. economics material society welfare

For many centuries, the problem of how to satisfy the numerous needs of people was solved through the extensive development of the economy, that is, the involvement of new spaces and cheap natural resources in the economy.

With the development of scientific and technological progress, it became clear that this approach to the use of resources has exhausted itself: humanity has felt their limitations. Since then, the economy has been developing mainly in an intensive way, implying rationality and efficiency in the use of resources. According to this approach, a person must process the available resources in such a way as to achieve maximum results at a minimum cost.

The whole set of goods necessary for a person is created in two mutually complementary spheres of the economy: material production and spiritual production. The production of material goods - (bread, machine tools, electricity, etc.) is the basis of the life of human society. In the non-productive sphere, spiritual, cultural and other values ​​are created, services are provided in the field of education, medicine (services mean expedient types of labor that satisfy certain needs of people). Production must be continuous.

The level of development of production is reflected in the spirituality of society. If production develops on an increasing basis, then the need for cultural values ​​also increases. People, gaining confidence in the future, spend money on a variety of entertainment, purchase goods for consumption.

If production falls, then unemployment rises, uncertainty about the future appears, crime and drug addiction grow, people become isolated, as it were, in themselves. There is a so-called subculture. Overcoming negative processes in society is stretched for an indefinite period of time. And this hurts all the foundations of the state: the family, the rule of law, etc.

Thus, the standard of living depends on production and labor productivity. The wider and more varied the production, the higher the productivity of labor, the better the quality of life and the well-being of the people.

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The economy is such a general, capacious and multi-valued concept that it is almost impossible to define it in one phrase or a single feature. This is tantamount to trying to define such commonly used concepts as man, society, life, happiness, and so on. According to P. Samuelson, no definition of the subject of economics can be accurate. Moreover, in his opinion, this is not necessary.
The name "economy" comes from the Greek words oikos (house, household) and nomos (law), which literally means the art of managing a household.
In our time, the content of the concept of "economy" has undergone significant changes. The economy is now carried out not so much within the framework of the family, but on the scale of the city, country, and the whole world. It is organized both according to the territorial and production principles, i.e. within enterprises, firms, industries, etc.
The economy is now understood as: a) the totality of production relations of a historically defined mode of production or the economic basis of society (the economy of capitalism, the economy of socialism, etc.); b) the national economy of the country as a whole, including the relevant sectors and types of production (the economy of Russia, the economy of the Republic of Belarus, etc.); c) a branch of science that studies the functional or sectoral aspects of economic relations (economics of industry, economics of agriculture, etc.).

The economy is, first of all, people with their skills and abilities. Outside of a person, a family, society as a whole, there is not and cannot be any economy. In turn, the man-made economy itself has an active influence on the formation and development of the human personality.
The economy is the product and result of the conscious impact of man on the nature around him in order to obtain the means of subsistence necessary for life. Therefore, the economy can be defined as the interaction of man with nature in the process of extracting the necessary natural benefits.
Influencing the environment, a person cannot but come into contact with other people. As a result, certain relations arise between people in the process of their general development and use of natural resources and the creation of the necessary conditions for life. Such relations are called economic or industrial.
In every society, production relations form a single integral system. This system of relations, together with the purpose of development of production determined by it, the forms of its organization and methods of management, forms the economy of a given, historically determined mode of production. The basis of any economy is formed by the ownership of the means of production. They characterize the method of connecting direct producers with the means of production, as well as the social type and form of appropriation of the results of social production.
The economy is a special sphere of public life of people. It functions and develops according to its own laws. An economic law is an internal, stable, essential, causal dependence and interrelation in the phenomena and processes of the economic life of society.
Since the relations of production are of an objective nature, the economic laws are also objective, i.e. they do not depend on the will and consciousness of people. In this respect, economic laws are analogous to the laws of nature. However, economic laws are not implemented by themselves, regardless of the economic activity of people. They are independent of consciousness, but dependent on the practical activity of anyone.
dey. Therefore, there is no complete identity between the laws of nature and economic laws, but there are certain differences (Fig. 1.1).
First, the laws of nature are eternal, while economic laws are historical, i.e. transitory character. Some of them are common to all stages of development of human society. They reveal the interconnections of those general phenomena that are inherent in all modes of production. For example, the law of the correspondence of production relations to the level of development and the nature of the productive forces, the law of the steady growth of the productivity of social labor, the law of economy of time, etc.
At the same time, each social system has its own specific laws, which express the qualitative definiteness of a given system of production relations. At the same time, the old economic laws are not destroyed by the will of people, but lose their force in connection with the emergence of new economic conditions. The state is unable to eliminate economic laws and create new ones. Otherwise, it would be necessary to recognize that all social development depends on the consciousness and will of people. To say so is to adhere to subjective-idealistic views on economic laws.
Secondly, the laws of nature are implemented outside of human activity, while economic laws are implemented only through the economic activity of people. Although people directly pursue their subjectively set deeds, their activity expresses an objective necessity that does not depend on their will and consciousness. On the contrary, the will, consciousness, intentions of people are determined by objective economic laws. Negative, crisis phenomena in the economy, in the final analysis, are always caused by an underestimation of economic laws and subjectivism in economic policy.
Thirdly, the laws of nature are implemented precisely, unconditionally, while economic laws are implemented less accurately and not so unconditionally. This is due to the fact that in the development of society there are many accidents, probabilistic factors, and therefore economic laws appear as trends in social development.

The totality of economic laws is not their mechanical sum, but an organic integral system. All laws in this contradictory unity are interconnected, interacting and in a certain subordination (subordination). Thus, system-forming laws determine the direction, measure and nature of the progressive development of the economy. The direction of economic development is determined by the action of the basic economic law of a given mode of production. The measure of the progressive development of society is determined by the law of economy of time. The nature of the development of the economy and the operation of economic laws depend on the type of production relations, which are based on ownership of the means of production.
The objective nature of economic laws does not mean that their action is always spontaneous and inevitable, and people are completely powerless in front of them. These laws, like the forces of nature, act blindly, violently and destructively until they are known and ignored. People, however, can learn the laws and change the conditions on the basis of which they arise. In this way, they can change the nature of the operation of these laws.
The knowledge and use of economic laws are two interdependent aspects of the process of mastering by society the laws of functioning and development of the economy.
ki. Mastering economic laws means knowing them and using them in a certain way, directing the action of these laws to satisfy the economic interests of people.
The fact that objective laws and their action do not depend on the will and consciousness of people creates the basis for science. The task of science is to reveal the operation of economic laws, to reflect their real essence in the minds of people. If there were no objective laws, then there would be no need for economic science. In this case, the practice would be completely dependent on human arbitrariness. The denial of the objectivity of economic laws creates the ground for subjectivism and even adventurism in economic policy.
Due to the difference between economic laws and the laws of nature, the path to their knowledge is difficult and complicated. Economic laws are difficult to formalize mathematically, since any economic phenomenon, and even more so the economy of the country as a whole, is a complex mechanism, the functioning of the links of which should be considered as a probabilistic process.
The economy is not the sphere of application of forces only of professional economists. All members of society participate in everyday life. In a modern market economy, everyone is obliged to be an economist. This is due to the need in any business to take into account the ratio of costs and benefits, which gives an economic aspect to any form of human activity.

TEST

discipline: Economic theory

Topic: Economic theory. The role of economic theory in the life of society

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………...3

1. The subject of economic theory…….……………………. ..………………..4

2. The role of economic theory in the life of society .......................................................... ..7

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………… 12

List of used literature……….…………………………………….13

INTRODUCTION

There are different ideas about the economy. In the ordinary sense, the economy is the entire national economy of the country, all its branches and types of material production and non-productive spheres: industry, agriculture, transport, construction, housing and communal services, etc. In a stricter sense, the economy is the totality of all relations between people in the process of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material and non-material goods and services necessary to satisfy diverse needs. Finally, there is the science of economics, which gives a complete picture of the entire economic life of people.

The purpose of the test is to reveal the concept of "Economic theory" and determine its role in public life.

THE SUBJECT OF ECONOMIC THEORY

Economic theory is represented by a set of sciences that can be divided into two groups: general and particular economic theories. The first reveals the essence, content, as well as the patterns of development of economic processes in society as a whole, regardless of industries and areas of activity. The second one considers separate functions of economic management - the theory of accounting, the theory of statistics, the theory of finance, etc.

Economic theory does not study everything, but only the main, most important processes of the economic life of society and each person in it. In order to live, people must satisfy their needs, requests for food, clothing, housing, education, etc. There is a need to produce them using natural resources, tools of production, machines, knowledge and accumulated experience of people. There are relations between people, the relationship of people to nature, economic entities (enterprises, firms, individual entrepreneurs, societies) are formed. In the complex variety of these relations and processes of obtaining goods to meet the needs of people, objective connections, principles, dependencies and patterns are manifested. They must be revealed by economic theory.

There are three approaches to defining what economic theory does.

The first approach is that, since the material needs of society are unlimited, and economic resources for the production of goods and services are limited (or rare), the efficiency (performance) of the economy is achieved through rational choice: the output of one type of product can be increased by reducing the production of another . In addition, the optimality of the current production of products and the future possibilities of meeting the needs are commensurate. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure full employment of the population and a sufficient volume of production in society. The main thing in this approach is the ratio of "needs - resources", which is the subject of study of economic theory. This approach is typical for representatives of "Economics", the subject of which is the activity of a person, household, firm, society, the role of the state in the production, exchange, distribution and consumption of goods.

The second approach is reduced to the definition of the subject of economic theory and consists in the study of the system of productive forces and production relations. At the same time, not only the external, economic manifestations of one or another are studied, but also their social (public) essence, the interaction of public organizations and the laws of development. This approach is characteristic of Marxist economic theory, political economy. However, this does not mean that the questions posed are not studied in Economics, but here they are studied through resources, factors of production, market relations, and are considered directly in political economy.

The essence of the third approach is that the subject of study of economic theory is society as a set of economic relations, management systems, efficient use of resources, as well as methods of state regulation and economic policy in order to achieve stable economic growth and prosperity.

Each of these approaches expands the range of objects (goods, needs, resources, productive forces, production relations, superstructure) and subjects (owners, households, firms, the state), the relationship between which is studied by economic theory. They deepen and generalize our ideas about the economic life of society in a system of principles, theories, and laws.

The subject of the course of economic theory is the economic relations that take shape in social development, in their interaction with the productive forces, the economic mechanism of management, which takes into account the interests of all subjects of society. Economic theory as an academic discipline studies economic categories, economic laws and the mechanism of management that regulate relations in production, distribution, exchange and consumption, as well as various levels of the functioning of the economic system - in the links of micro-, macroeconomics and the world economy.

Thus, economic theory appears to us as a system of knowledge about the complex variety of phenomena in the economic life of society, which makes it possible to see a certain order, a causal relationship that can be known and influenced in economic concepts, categories, laws, principles and forms.

The most stable is the structure of the course of economic theory, which is based on the subject of economic science - economics and its levels - a separate enterprise, firm, national economy of the country, international processes in the economy.

In addition to the general foundations of economic theory, there are three levels of relations, and hence the division of economic science, called "microeconomics", "macroeconomics" and "intereconomics" (world economy).

THE ROLE OF ECONOMIC THEORY IN THE LIFE OF SOCIETY

The more complex the system of economic relations in society becomes, the more tangibly the limitations of ordinary economic thinking become apparent. Of course, common sense helps the small farmer to work out the rules of rational behavior, say, in the conditions of pre-industrial production. But in the era of industrial and post-industrial economy, it has become impossible to manage large enterprises and associations without serious scientific economic training. It is certainly impossible to successfully manage a single national economy without mastering economic theory. This theory is designed to perform three main economic functions that are qualitatively inaccessible to ordinary thinking:

cognitive function;

predictive function;

practical function.

The cognitive function is to comprehensively study the forms economic phenomena and their inner essence , which allows you to discover the laws, on which the national economy develops.

Such a study begins with the consideration of facts, mass economic data, the behavior of economic entities. Facts must be reliable and typical, characteristic of the studied socio-economic life. In this case, the facts, as they say, are "a stubborn thing." Good factual material includes irrefutable information about events, figures, statistical materials, documents, testimonies, references to authoritative statements of scientists, practitioners, etc. Only such sources of information make it possible to avoid erroneous theoretical constructions that are divorced from reality.

In order to better understand the processes under study, scientists resort to theoretical generalizations of real facts, discover trends and laws of economic development. It uses economic analysis (economic patterns are derived from the relevant facts), economic models (abstract - abstracted from secondary points - generalization of reality) and economic principles, laws (generalization of motives and practices of economic behavior of people).

Economic life develops because there are causal relationships between certain processes. One phenomenon is the cause, and the other is its effect.

Cause and effect relationships vary greatly in nature. They are divided into two types:

subjective-psychological, random, insignificant, single, non-recurring, unstable;

objective, necessary, expressing the essence of phenomena, mass, constantly reproducing, absolutely (unconditionally) acting.

The specified division of dependencies between economic phenomena allows us to determine when we find regular cause-and-effect relationships in the economy, and when some processes are caused by a random combination of circumstances.

Suppose a certain citizen believed in luck and decided to enrich himself with the help of slot machines. He was lucky, he won, to his delight, a large sum of money. But then happiness changed him. Is it all natural?

Meanwhile, economists have found quite natural connections. For example, always as a result of a significant increase in mass unemployment for a certain period, both the degree of inflationary depreciation of money and the output on a social scale decrease. Or, if the value of bank interest increases significantly, then the amount of savings placed by the population and enterprises in credit and banking institutions increases markedly.

So, economic laws express the necessary, essential, massive and steadily repeating causal relationships between economic processes.

Consequently, scientific economic theory cognizes the entire system of economic relations and the laws of their development. This serves as a basis for predicting the course of economic development.

Prognostic (from the Greek prognosis - foresight, prediction) function of economic theory is to develop the scientific foundations for predicting scientific, technological and socio-economic development for the foreseeable future. In many cases, this function makes it possible to determine with great certainty how, for example, the population size in a given country and in the world will change in the future, what production capabilities society will have in such a perspective, and what social and economic tasks the state will be able to solve.

Economic forecasting, based on the data of economic science, plays an important role for large enterprises and business associations. It allows you to make rational long-term decisions based on the correct consideration of future production costs and benefits. Now, with any significant renovation of production and construction of enterprises, it is required to draw up a business plan. It provides for the necessary monetary and material costs and the results of the economic activity planned for a certain period.

Some conditions of future economic development, such as the state of the weather or the results of scientific research, cannot be predicted with sufficient accuracy. Because of this uncertainty, three types of forecasts are commonly made:

optimistic (taking into account the most favorable circumstances);

pessimistic (assuming the worst course of circumstances)

main (taking into account the most likely changes).

The management of the modern economy is in some respects like a game of chess. Here, people cannot count on the success of the upcoming business if they are not able to foresee the course of future events at least a few "steps" and act in accordance with a reasonable forecast.

The practical (from the Greek praktikos - active) function of economic science is to determine the scientific foundations of real economic activity. In this case, the achievements of scientific economic thinking are put at the service of the rational behavior of business entities. It is about defining the ground rules and ways to better achieve the intended goals.

Since its inception, economic theory has expressed the needs of the development of the economy and, in accordance with them, developed recommendations for entrepreneurs and the state. In modern conditions, the theory of economic development plays an ever-increasing role in substantiating progressive transformations in all countries of the world. The eminent English economist John Keynes had good reason to say: “The ideas of economists and political thinkers - both when they are right and when they are wrong - are of much greater importance than is commonly thought. In fact, only they rule the world. The practical men who consider themselves quite immune to intellectual influences are usually the slaves of some economist. lunatics in power who hear voices from heaven derive their wild ideas from the writings of some academic scribbler a few years ago."

The necessary economic literacy cannot be acquired without knowing the main points of the history of economic thought, as well as without critically overcoming the outdated theoretical legacy.

At the same time, economic science does not develop specific areas of economic activity. At different stages of social development, the state itself in each country determines the goals of its policy, making a choice from a variety of possible directions for socio-economic development. In this case, economic science can establish to what extent the goals set are achievable and compatible. It is also able to assess how the means used are really the most suitable and effective for the implementation of the intended tasks. In this regard, various options for economic policy can be developed to better use production opportunities and obtain appropriate socio-economic results.

The fundamental indicator of the correctness of any economic theory is its correspondence to practical experience, observable facts. The famous economist Maurice Allais stated: “Subordination to observational data is the golden rule on which every scientific discipline depends. Whatever the theory, if it is not confirmed by experimental data, then it has no scientific value and must be rejected. The usefulness of a reliable theory increases if it is based on scientific methods of cognition.

CONCLUSION

Economic theory is of great practical importance; performs a practical function. Firstly, it brings into a system, in a certain order, the whole mass of phenomena and processes of economic life, secondly, it creates interest and opportunity in the actions of individuals, and, thirdly, it develops principles, rules, and forms of economic management of subjects of a market economy.

Economic theory substantiates the guidelines of economic activity, effective directions for the use of resources, ways and means of objective impact through economic forms (categories) on the satisfaction of needs. In addition, it develops a management mechanism, its structure and elements that actively influence the subjects of a market economy and determine their expedient behavior.

Economic theory, generalizing the facts of economic development, not only makes it possible to determine the expediency and priority of meeting the needs today, but also to develop rational long-term tasks and ways to achieve them, to substantiate economic strategy and economic policy. Based on economic theory, economic policy is formed in society as a system of measures and methods for the practical implementation of goals and socio-economic tasks, in which the priorities of economic strategy and directions, methods, and the mechanism of functioning of the social system are expressed in a concentrated manner.

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