Different approaches to identifying the main areas of public life. Main spheres of public life Name of spheres of public life and phenomena

Society is a rather complex concept, and several definitions can be given to it. In the first case, it is a group of people who are united by similar interests and joint activities. Also, society can be called a part of the material world, which is closely connected with nature, but is not its subspecies. Society consists of individuals with their ways of organizing activities.

Society is a dynamic, constantly evolving system. It is complex, that is, it consists of a large number of elements, components. To study society as a whole, it is necessary to study each of its components.

There are four systems of society: economic, political, social and spiritual. These spheres are closely interconnected, without one of them the others could not exist.

Social sphere

Covers social communities and the relationship between them. This area also includes ensuring a quality standard of living for the population: the payment of pensions and benefits, free education and medical services.

The main subject of study in this area is man as a social being. No individual can exist without society, just as it can exist without it. Throughout his life, a person performs several social roles and has a certain status. The social status of a person is determined by the position occupied by a person in society in accordance with his gender, age, profession, lifestyle. Status implies the fulfillment of certain duties by a person.

The status assigned to a person from birth is called innate: These are gender, age, race. It is much easier for people born in a family with good material wealth to build their career than poorer ones. But a greater place is occupied by acquired statuses - those that are obtained by a person throughout his life: education, diligence.

Status determines what its bearer can and should do in a particular situation, and what not. The framework for its activities is set.

No less important is the concept of prestige - a certain popularity that this or that field of activity enjoys in society. The more expensive a person's profession is paid, the more prestigious it is.

A social role is a prescription for the corresponding status of behavior. Each person has his own role set - a set of roles performed by him. Boy or girl, son or daughter, student or worker - all these are social roles. They can change throughout life (student - student - worker) or remain unchanged (son - daughter).

An important element of the social sphere is the division of society into groups - social stratification. Its main types are considered to be slavery (one person is the property of another), castes (a closed group of people who are related by origin; typical for a number of Asian countries), estates (a closed group of people, the position in society in which is determined by the presence of certain rights and obligations, passing through inheritance) and class (a closed group, the position in society in which is directly related to the attitude to private property). When there is social stratification, there is also inequality – the conditions under which people have unequal access to material goods.

IN modern world conditionally allocate strata that determine the position of a person. These include education, income, power, and prestige. The transition between strata is possible, the level of social mobility (horizontal and vertical) is very high. Social lifts have a special impact on mobility, they allow you to move from one stratum to another in the shortest possible period of time. Social elevators are the army, the church, marriage, family, school, and more.

People who came out of one social class, but for some reason did not join another, are called marginal, that is, non-class individuals. They are free from stereotypes and depend only on themselves, do not bother with work.

The social institution is sustainable form organization of joint human activity. There are several main institutions and their functions: family (reproductive function - reproduction of the family), state (ensuring law and order and security), education (educational function, obtaining new knowledge, primary socialization), religion (solving spiritual problems, searching for the meaning of life). The task of social institutions is to satisfy human needs. Its primary, that is, the most necessary for successful life, is the need for food, drink, clothing, housing, communication.

Social values ​​are abstract: pity, mutual assistance, kindness - they cannot be measured or touched.

Social norms regulate behavior in society. These include legal norms, that is, norms established legally (laws, regulations), morality (the concept of good and evil), religious (the Bible says: “do not kill”, “do not steal”) and technical (when little child explain that it is dangerous to stick your fingers into the socket).

All people interact in one way or another. At the same time, they are obliged to respect the opinions and interests of others, to be tolerant. In the absence of this quality, conflicts begin, the most severe and dangerous form of which are inter-ethnic conflicts. Each ethnic group, in addition to a certain territory, language, politics and economy, has its own national culture. The culture of each ethnic group is unique, and one should try to preserve it for posterity. Each culture can be expressed by mentality - national character.

It regulates the relationship between government and society. This system is dynamic: it does not stand still and is constantly evolving.

Politics covers not only the power of the ruler, but also his opposition and their connection with the people. These are political views and ideas; legal culture and political relations, legal and political values ​​and norms. In addition, the political sphere has communication - it connects all layers of society.

The functions of politics are so extensive that they cover all aspects of human life.

— Law-making – issuance of laws and regulation of their execution

– The formation of the political consciousness of people and the manipulation of the masses - with the help of Mass Media (media): newspapers, magazines, television and radio broadcasting

— Definition of tasks and ways of development and their implementation to the masses

— Coordination of the interests of society with the interests of the state

The traditional form of government is a monarchy, in which power is inherited. Monarchy is absolute, when the power of the ruler is not limited by anything, and limited (constitutional and parliamentary). Under a republican form of government, the ruler is elected for a fixed term, it can be the president or parliament.

The political regime indicates the ways in which power is organized in the state. The most "free" is the democratic regime. Power is concentrated in the hands of the people, they are its source. Democracy is a mandatory separation of powers (into legislative, judicial and executive), equality of all citizens before the law and universal suffrage. Decisions are made by the majority, taking into account the views of the minority, as well as political pluralism - freedom of opinion and views, a large number of parties, the existence of the opposition.

Totalitarian and unitary regimes are considered undemocratic. The state intervenes in public life (under authoritarianism only in the economy and politics, under totalitarianism - including personal life), the participation of the people is minimal, there is a single ideology, sometimes even a cult of personality.

The Mass Media have a great influence on politics: thanks to their activities, the attitude of citizens to the government of the state, their choice in voting changes. The media provide big influence on a person, regulate his consciousness. Many even call the media the "fourth estate" - so great is their influence.

The mass media carry out the assessment of information and comments on it, political socialization (attracting people to the political sphere, increasing political activity), representing the interests of various groups and public associations.

The media rarely reports boring meetings or unimportant laws. Most often, they bring people sensational statements, emergencies and reports of previously unknown phenomena. Such news attracts the average reader and raises their political culture, introduces them to the values ​​of politics.

All thoughts and feelings of a person connected with his political participation are called political consciousness. Political consciousness, formed in each person and reflecting what he remembers in Everyday life, is called ordinary. Political feelings, experiences, the role of the individual in politics fall under the consideration of political psychology. Political psychology is formed on the basis of interaction between citizens and the state.

The holistic set of ideas and beliefs that serve as the basis for political action is called an ideology. The twentieth century was dominated by communist ideology when Marx's ideas about revolutionary violence came to the fore. Joseph Stalin continued the development of this ideology and the idea of ​​a world revolution was born. The leadership of the proletariat, the establishment of a dictatorial regime, the reorganization of society on the principles of equality and justice - these are the main ideas of communism.

Relations between people that arise in the sphere of goods and services fall under its regulation. They include the production, consumption, exchange and distribution of wealth.

Economics is understood as a science that studies the use by people of the benefits they have. All resources that people use in the course of their activities are called factors of production. The main factors of production are labor (the activity of people in the production of material goods), land (all types of natural resources), capital (buildings and structures, money), entrepreneurship (the ability to correctly evaluate and build their production).

Unfortunately, in the modern world there is a problem of limited resources. This problem is connected with the fact that people are not able to rationally use what they have been given. Man's desires are boundless, they have long exceeded his primary needs. And in order to satisfy most of them, a much larger supply of resources is needed than we have now.

The economic system is represented by three main types of economy: traditional, command and market.

The traditional economic system, although inherent in pre-industrial (traditional) society, is also manifested in the modern world - many people have gardens, summer cottages - subsistence farming.

The command system completely denies the existence of private property, all property is state property. Each enterprise works according to a certain plan (how much and what products need to be produced in a certain period of time), established by the authorities.

The market economy plays the most important role in the economic sphere. It is based on the right of private property, the development of competition, and economic freedom. IN market economy the state does not interfere, it only regulates and protects it by means of laws.

Spiritual culture is the process of mastering culture, science, religion. It determines the value-moral qualities of society, reflects its level and quality of development.

The very first step in the spiritual development of society is morality. It can be compared with a legal custom, not enshrined in laws, but forming its basis. Moral norms reflect the basic values ​​of society, the measure of its aesthetic, religious development.

Culture can be divided into material (sculptures, architectural buildings) and spiritual (achievements of science and art). Innovation in culture is impossible without continuity: the authors, creating their creations, rely on the achievements of the past.

The inner spiritual life of each individual is considered his spiritual world. The person who has spiritual world absent, is called unspiritual. There is a huge difference between people who regularly visit theaters and various exhibitions and deny art as such.

Culture is one of the highest human values. It focuses on the concepts of goodness and evil, truth and beauty. Patriotism is also important - love for the Motherland.

A person's views on the world around him make up his worldview - a holistic view of nature, man, society, and the ideals of the individual. The worldview can be based on faith in God, concentrate on man or science, nature.

Art is let the comprehension of beauty. It is a moving wheel whose viewpoint is constantly changing. Art was created in order to overcome the possibilities of communication between individual nations.

Was last modified: January 12th, 2016 by Elena Pogodaeva

The spheres of society are a set of relations of a stable nature between various social objects.

Each sphere of society includes certain types of human activity (for example: religious, political or educational) and the established relationships between individuals.

• social (nations, peoples, classes, gender and age groups, etc.);
• economic (productive relations and forces);
• political (parties, state, socio-political movements);
• spiritual (morality, religion, art, science and education).

Social sphere

The social sphere is a set of relations, enterprises, industries and organizations that are connected and determine the level and life of society and its well-being. This area primarily includes a range of services - culture, education, health care, physical culture, social security, catering, passenger transport, public services, communications.

The concept of "social sphere" has different meanings but they are all related. In sociology, it is a sphere of society, which includes various social communities and close ties between them. In political science and economics, it is a set of industries, organizations and enterprises whose task is to improve the standard of living of society.

This sphere includes different social societies and relations between them. Occupying a certain position in society, a person enters into different communities.

Economic sphere

The economic sphere is a set of relations between people, the emergence of which is due to the creation and movement of various material goods; it is the area of ​​exchange, production, consumption and distribution of services and goods. The mode of production and distribution of wealth is the main factor that determines the specifics

The main task of this sphere of society is to solve such questions as: "what, how and for whom to produce?" and "how to harmonize the processes of consumption and production?".

The structure of the economic sphere of society consists of:

• - labor force (people), tools and objects of working life;
• production relations - this is the production of goods, its distribution, further exchange or consumption.

Political sphere

The political sphere is the relationship of people who, first of all, are directly connected with the authorities and are engaged in ensuring joint security. The following elements of the political sphere can be distinguished:

• political institutions and organizations - revolutionary groups, presidency, parties, parliamentarism, citizenship and more;
• political communications - forms and connections of interaction between various participants in the political process, their relations;
• political norms - moral, political and legal norms, traditions and customs;
• ideology and political culture- ideas of a political nature, political psychology and culture.

spiritual realm

This is the area of ​​non-material and ideal formations, which include various values ​​and ideas of religion, morality and art.

The structure of this sphere of society includes:

• morality - a system of ideals, moral standards, actions and assessments;
• religion - various forms worldviews that are based on faith in the power of God;
• art - the spiritual life of a person, artistic perception and development of the world;
• education - the process of training and education;
• law - norms that are supported by the state.

All areas of society are closely interconnected.

Each sphere is inherent in independence, but at the same time, each of them is in close interaction with the others. The boundaries between the spheres of society are transparent and blurred.

In a social system, not only social subjects are distinguished as parts, but also other entities - spheres of society's life. Society is a complex system of specially organized human life. Like any other complex system, society consists of subsystems, the most important of which are called spheres public life.

Sphere of life of society- a certain set of stable relations between social subjects.

The areas of public life are large, stable, relatively independent subsystems of human activity.

Each area includes:

§ Certain human activities (eg educational, political, religious);

§ social institutions(such as family, school, parties, church);

§ established relations between people (i.e. connections that have arisen in the course of people's activities, for example, relations of exchange and distribution in the economic sphere).

Traditionally, there are four main areas of public life:

§ social (peoples, nations, classes, gender and age groups, etc.)

§ economic (productive forces, production relations)

§ political (state, parties, socio-political movements)

§ spiritual (religion, morality, science, art, education).

It is important to understand that people are simultaneously in different relationships with each other, connected with someone, isolated from someone when solving their life issues. Therefore, the spheres of the life of society are not geometric spaces inhabited by different people, but the relationship of the same people in connection with different aspects of their lives.

Graphically, the spheres of public life are presented in fig. 1.2. The central place of man is symbolic - he is inscribed in all spheres of society.

Social the sphere is the relationship that arises in the production of direct human life and of man as a social being.

The social sphere includes various social communities and relations between them. A person, occupying a certain position in society, is inscribed in various communities: he can be a man, a worker, a father of a family, a city dweller, etc.

Economic sphere is a set of relations between people that arise during the creation and movement of material goods.

The economic sphere is the area of ​​production, exchange, distribution, consumption of goods and services. In order to produce something, people, tools, machines, materials, etc. are needed. - productive forces. In the process of production, and then exchange, distribution, consumption, people enter into a variety of relationships with each other and with the goods - relations of production. Production relations and productive forces together constitute the economic sphere of society:

§ productive forces- people (labor force), tools, objects of labor;

§ industrial relations - production, distribution, consumption, exchange.

Political sphere- this is the relationship of people, connected primarily with power, which provide joint security.

The Greek word politike (from polis - state, city), having appeared in the writings of ancient thinkers, was originally used to denote the art of government. Having retained this meaning as one of the central ones, the modern term "politics" is now used to express social activities in the center of which are the problems of acquiring, using and retaining power. The elements of the political sphere can be represented as follows:

§ political organizations and institutions- social groups, revolutionary movements, parliamentarism, parties, citizenship, presidency, etc.;

§ political norms - political, legal and moral norms, customs and traditions;

§ political communications - relations, connections and forms of interaction between participants in the political process, as well as between the political system as a whole and society;

§ political culture and ideology- political ideas, ideology, political culture, political psychology.

spiritual realm- this is the area of ​​ideal, non-material formations, including ideas, values ​​of religion, art, morality, etc.

The structure of the spiritual realm The life of society in the most general terms is as follows:

§ religion - a form of worldview based on belief in supernatural forces;

§ morality - a system of moral norms, ideals, assessments, actions;

§ art - artistic development of the world;

§ science - a system of knowledge about the patterns of existence and development of the world;

§ law - a set of norms supported by the state;

§ education is a purposeful process of education and training.

Spiritual sphere - this is the sphere of relations that arise in the production, transfer and development of spiritual values ​​(knowledge, beliefs, norms of behavior, artistic images, etc.).

If the material life of a person is connected with the satisfaction of specific daily needs (for food, clothing, drink, etc.). then the spiritual sphere of human life is aimed at meeting the needs for the development of consciousness, worldview, and various spiritual qualities.

The complex nature of the development of society is determined by its very complex structure, the action in it of many heterogeneous factors. First of all, it carries out various types of social activities in their nature and content: production and economic, social and household, political, religious, aesthetic, etc., which seem to have their own social space. The latter is outlined by the corresponding type of social relations within which this or that social activity takes place. As a result, various spheres of society. The main ones are economic, social, political, spiritual.

Economic sphere includes the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods. This is the sphere of the functioning of production, the direct implementation of the achievements of scientific and technological progress, the implementation of the entire set of production relations of people, including ownership of the means of production, the exchange of activities and the distribution of material wealth.

The economic sphere acts as economic space, in which the economic life of the country is organized, the interaction of all sectors of the economy, as well as international economic cooperation is carried out. Here the economic consciousness of people, their material interest in the results of their production activities, as well as their creative abilities are directly embodied in life. The activities of economic management institutions are also implemented here. In the economic sphere, the interaction of all objective and subjective factors of economic development is carried out. The significance of this sphere for the development of society is fundamental.

Social sphere- this is the sphere of relations between social groups existing in society, including classes, professional and socio-demographic strata of the population (youth, the elderly, etc.), as well as national communities about the social conditions of their life and activities.

We are talking about creating healthy conditions for the production activity of people, about ensuring required level life of all segments of the population, on solving the problems of health care, public education and social security, on observing social justice in the exercise by each person of his right to work, as well as in the distribution and consumption of material and spiritual goods created in society, on resolving contradictions arising from social stratification of society, the social protection of the relevant segments of the population. This refers to the regulation of the whole complex of social-class, national and other relations concerning working conditions, life, education and the standard of living of people.

As can be seen, the functioning of the social sphere is associated with the satisfaction of a special range of social needs. The possibilities of their satisfaction are determined by the social position of a person or social group, as well as the nature of existing social relations. The degree of satisfaction of these needs determines the level and quality of life of a person, family, social group, etc. These are generalizing indicators of the achieved level of people's well-being and the effectiveness of the functioning of the social sphere. This should be directed social politics states.

Political sphere there is a space for the political activity of classes, other social groups, national communities, political parties and movements, various types of public organizations. Their activity takes place on the basis of established political relations and is aimed at the implementation of their political interests.

These interests of theirs relate primarily to political power, as well as the realization of their political rights and freedoms. In the interests of some subjects - the strengthening of existing political power. Others - its elimination. Still others seek to share political power with other subjects. As a result, everyone wants to influence political processes in one way or another in their own interests.

To do this, each of the subjects operating in the political sphere, whether it be a class, a political party or an individual, seeks to expand their political rights and freedoms. This expands the boundaries of their political activity, will create great opportunities for the realization of their political interests and the embodiment of their political will.

Modern political processes significantly politicize the consciousness of many people and increase their political activity. This enhances the role and importance of the political sphere in the life of society.

spiritual realm- this is the sphere of people's relations about various kinds of spiritual values, their creation, distribution and assimilation by all layers of society. At the same time, spiritual values ​​mean not only, say, objects of painting, music or literary works, but also people's knowledge, science, moral standards of behavior, etc., in a word, everything that constitutes the spiritual content of social life or the spirituality of society.

The spiritual sphere of public life develops historically. It embodies the geographical, national and other features of the development of society, everything that has left its mark on the soul of the people, its national character. The spiritual life of society is made up of the daily spiritual communication of people and of such areas of their activity as knowledge, including scientific, education and upbringing, from the manifestations of morality, art, religion. All this makes up the content of the spiritual sphere, develops the spiritual world of people, their ideas about the meaning of life in society. This has a decisive influence on the formation of spiritual principles in their activities and behavior.

Of great importance in this regard is the activity of institutions that perform the functions of education and upbringing - from primary schools to universities, as well as the atmosphere of family education of a person, the circle of his peers and friends, all the richness of his spiritual communication with other people. An important role in the formation of human spirituality is played by the original folk art, as well as professional art - theater, music, cinema, painting, architecture, etc.

One of the fundamental problems of development modern society lies in how to form, preserve and enrich the spiritual world of people, introduce them to true spiritual values ​​and turn them away from false ones that destroy the human soul and society. Everything suggests that the importance of the spiritual sphere in the development of modern society, for the present and the future, can hardly be overestimated. Scientists, philosophers, religious figures, and other representatives of spiritual culture are increasingly and persistently turning to the study of the processes taking place here.

Have you ever thought about what would happen to you if there were no relatives, relatives, friends, colleagues, and indeed all other people in your life? How would yours develop? For whom? By whom? There would be no one to hope, consult, talk with.

You wouldn't even be able to procreate your own lineage (excluding the process of artificial insemination). Public life is one of critical values in the life and development of a person, without it a person becomes nothing.

Social life encompasses all our relationships, from domestic, related to a joint family breakfast, shopping, work activities, legal relations, interaction with the environment, and ending with the satisfaction of spiritual needs.

A person leads a social life from birth

A person begins to lead a public life literally from the moment of his birth.

This is what ensures his psycho-emotional development.

It also contributes to the harmonious development of the whole society as this very person grows up and becomes an individual.

And what is social life from a theoretical point of view, and is it really that important to us? Let's try to understand this issue in more detail.

Conventionally, society can be compared to a constantly changing living organism. It is these changes that show that there is continuous social activity in society.

One opens a store and begins to attract buyers there, someone decides to create a musical group, organize a rally, run for president, and someone just goes about their usual business day after day, but also affects society as a whole.

Like all living organisms, society goes through certain stages: birth, functioning, development, and sometimes death. Public life is not only a set of processes taking place throughout the human world, but also events relating to its individual representatives.

In this regard, the main task of any person who lives in a particular era is to find his place in public life, having taken a certain niche, to begin to influence the nature of public life through certain activities.

Surprisingly, people are not only elements of social life, but also its main mechanisms. Therefore, each of us is a participant and direct organizer of public life.

Modern sociological science distinguishes five spheres of public life. These include:

All members of society are subject to economic relations in the twenty-first century.

A person buys and sells something, barely reaching the age of ten.

So children can make an elementary mutual exchange of games, books, disks (with the permission of their parents). Parents, in turn, already carry out commodity-money relations associated with the sale or purchase of something.

Within the framework of this sphere, it is necessary to consider entrepreneurial activity, livestock breeding, large plants, factories, concerns.

Starting a conversation about the political sphere, we certainly recall the work of political parties, the external and internal activities of the state, the bills of the parliament and the State Duma, the organization of political rallies, debates, the creation of political parties.

Here we are talking about certain rights and freedoms of individual members of society, about representatives of individual nations, peoples, nationalities, about state symbols and power.

The social sphere covers household, professional, educational relations, as well as health issues.

In the conditions of the functioning of this sphere, you study at school, occupy a certain leadership position, are a father, spouse, and also a grandfather.

Here we have the right to talk about public organizations, movements, clubs and hobby classes.

The social sphere covers, among other things, studies

We will talk about the work of artists, writers, musicians, poets, dancers, and we will also include here issues of religion, faith, conscience and morality.

The more a society and all of its above-mentioned areas develop, the more it uses the resources provided by the environment.

And accordingly, every day more and more acutely the question of the ecological situation in which humanity is.

It is this issue and activities related to the impact on the natural habitat that the ecological sphere of public relations is engaged in.

Social life at school and university

At each of the stages of socialization, a person one way or another becomes a participant in certain manifestations of social life, in addition, he can even be the initiator of their functioning.

For example, as a student, in addition to educational activities the child can successfully engage in several circles, attend sections.

Participation in olympiads, scientific conferences, competitions, organization of duty, volunteering, participation in school student self-government at the class and school levels - all this is the social life of a modern student.

Students have many opportunities to express themselves in the public arena

Surprisingly, often a student can have a wider field of social activity than his parents, although the latter have greater rights and opportunities.

Being in the status of a student, a person gets even more opportunities to involve himself in the public arena.

You can become a member of a trade union organization, a member of the public youth chamber, involve yourself in the number of members of a labor detachment.

If you wish, you can organize circle employment for other students on your own, become an activist and participate in cultural events of the educational institution.

It is easy to continue, perhaps started at school, research activities, but here - at the university, to declare yourself not only at regional sites, but also at a higher level, for example, at all-Russian and international forums.

Activities as part of a sports team, faculty, university or college, membership in a student newspaper - all this will bring not only a lot of pleasant impressions, useful information, but also good dividends, so necessary for modern students, and most importantly, it will fully contribute to the socialization of the individual.

The influence of social life on human development

It is extremely important for any person to be in society, this is the key to his psychological, and often physical health. We all know an example of what happens to a person who grows up outside of society, according to the book "Mowgli".

A modern materials, collected about such Mowgli people, once again prove that the skills acquired from infancy in the process of gradual socialization are extremely difficult, and sometimes completely impossible, to instill in a person who was previously unfamiliar with them.

From the very birth, a person is surrounded by society, initially it is represented by a close circle of people - the family. It is in this circle, due to verbal and non-verbal communication, that he learns the language, behavioral norms, mental activity.

Later, he enters kindergarten, school, begins to rotate in various circles from the point of view of human representatives (different nationalities, different social status, different norms of behavior, different religious preferences, etc.).

It is this constant cycle of human relationships that gives each individual stable development and social growth as new information is acquired.

It is extremely important for a person to share the information received with someone who can not only listen, but also challenge any of the conclusions, thereby pushing them to new searches and ways of self-development, or vice versa to support one or another theory.

Remember, even Robinson Crusoe, once on the island, began to need society, and he imitated its presence by creating a doll with which he shared his thoughts and impressions. You can certainly say that this is an example from the past!

Then let's turn to today's worldview, which often appears before us in the format of disaster films. And, mind you, no matter how apocalyptic the situation on the planet is, main character film necessarily finds a friend, colleague.

It can be another, accidentally surviving person, a robot, a dog, etc. In a word, a person, having fallen out of public life, loses himself and begins to create elements of former social ties, thereby trying to restore his status as a social being.

In conclusion, we note the following: it is social relations that make us human, instilling the concepts of mercy, kindness, conscientiousness, heroism, love and humanity.

Man and society are connected by an inextricable bond, thanks to which we have such vast gifts of science, technology and knowledge about the vast expanses of the universe.

In this video, you will learn about children who grew up in the wild without human contact: