Political sphere. Political and legal spheres of society

The political and legal sphere of society's life is based on the awareness by social communities of their political interests and needs related to the conquest of power, the use of power functions, legislative activity and the implementation of laws.

Types of power in society:

· Economic;

· Political;

· Legal;

· Military;

· Spiritual;

· Family;

· Informational.

The structure of the political and legal sphere of society:

· Political organization of society;

· Political and legal consciousness of subjects;

· Political and legal relations;

· Political and legal culture;

· Political and legal activity.

The main functions of the state:

· Executive;

· Regulatory;

· Protective;

Foreign policy:

· Integration.

State classification

1. According to the functional characteristic:

· Police (military);

Religious;

· Legal;

· Social.

2. By form of government:

· Monarchy;

· Theocracy;

Republic.

3. According to the administrative-territorial structure:

· Unitary;

· Federal;

Confederate.

4.By political regime:

· Democratic.

5. For political stability:

· Stable;

· Unstable.

Signs of law:

· Obligatory;

· Formal certainty;

· Enforcement of the law is carried out voluntarily on the part of the subjects of society and forcibly on the part of the state;

· Rules of law are designed for an unlimited number of cases and facts.

Law performs the following function:

· Strengthening the foundations of the existing system;

· Promotes the development of positive social relations;

· Creation of preconditions for purposeful and expedient functioning of the state activity;

· Criteria of lawful and unlawful behavior of people;

· Education in people of legal consciousness.

The main criteria for the political and legal sphere of society:

· Consistency of state policy with the interests of the citizens of the country and the rule of law;

· Presence and observance of political and legal freedoms;

· Democracy;

The rule of law, etc.

Social sphere of society

The social sphere of society is a necessary subsystem that characterizes the position of people in society from the standpoint of social equality or inequality, justice or injustice.

The main elements of the social structure of society:

· Classes;

· Strata;

Estates;

· People of the city and village;

· Representatives of mental and physical labor;

· Socio-demographic groups;

· Ethnic and national communities.

Approaches to the social sphere of society:

class;

stratification.

The main criteria for the development of the social sphere of society:

The status of the individual in society;

· The position of various demographic, professional and other social communities in society;

Quality and standard of living;

The level of material well-being.

Spiritual sphere of society

The spiritual sphere of the life of society is connected with the reproduction of individual and social consciousness, with the satisfaction of the spiritual needs of the subjects of society and the development of the spiritual world of man.

Spiritual production;

· Storage;

· Distribution;

· Consumption of the spiritual values of society.

The main criteria for the spiritual sphere of society:

Development of individual consciousness;

The ability of a person to realize himself, his relationship with nature and society;

· Humanistic orientation of public outlook;

· The state of spiritual values;

· The state of education, upbringing, science and art;

· Practical implementation of the freedom of conscience of citizens, etc.

The main functions of the spiritual life of society:

· Reproduction of individual and social consciousness;

· Creation, storage, distribution and consumption of spiritual values;

· Worldview;

· Methodological;

· Scientific and educational;

· Communicative,

Artistic and aesthetic;

· Educational and educational, etc.

The political and legal sphere of the life of society is a subsystem, the content of which is the exercise by a specially created institution (state) of power in society using legal norms and guarantees, the realization of the interests of citizens in relation to power. The political life of society and the activities of its institutions today are inseparable from the law and legal norms established by the state. The attitude of citizens to legal norms and laws, the perfection of legislation are a necessary basis for streamlining the political life of society, excluding political imperious voluntarism and permissiveness, abuse of official position, as well as anarchy and disorder on the part of citizens. The vital activity of the subjects of society can be associated with the conquest of power, the use of power functions or their loss, with lawmaking and the implementation of laws. The main subjects of this sphere of social life are the citizens of the country and the state as a special apparatus for managing the country (society), to which citizens delegate certain functions, empower it and instruct it to solve specific tasks. The subjects of politics and law are also various public organizations, unions and movements, the purpose of which is to participate in the political and legal life, in the conquest or retention of power.

Political and legal life is carried out within a certain organizational framework - in the political organization of society as a set of political institutions - the state, political parties, movements, unions, as well as in law as an institution of society. An important characteristic of political life is its consistency. The political system of the life of society includes: the political and legal organization of society, the political and legal relations of subjects, the functioning of political and legal consciousness, the mode of exercising power in the country.

The main criteria of political and legal life are: consistency of the policy of the state apparatus with the interests of the citizens of the country and the rule of law; the existence of political and legal freedoms and their exercise; democracy; the rule of law in the political activities of the subjects of society, etc.

The structure of the political and legal sphere of society consists of:

Communication, behavior and activities of subjects as a system of political and legal relations of society;

The totality of functioning political and legal institutions, primarily state institutions;

The functioning of the political and legal consciousness of the subjects;

Implementation of the government.

The functions of the political system of society are diverse:

power function;

regulatory and legal;

communicative (concessional);

ideological;

organizational and managerial;

property distribution;

harmonization of interests of the main subjects of the political and legal process;

law-making;

stabilization;

ensuring the security of society, the individual and the state;

controlling-coercive, etc.

The basis for the classification of political systems is, as a rule, the political regime, the nature and method of interaction between the authorities, the individual and society. According to this criterion, political systems can be divided into totalitarian, authoritarian and democratic.

There are four main elements of the political system, also called subsystems: 1) institutional, 2) communicative, 3) normative, 4) cultural and ideological.

TO institutional subsystem include political organizations (institutions), among which the state occupies a special place. Of non-governmental organizations, political parties and socio-political movements play an important role in the political life of society. All political institutions can be conditionally divided into three groups. Proper political organizations include organizations whose immediate purpose of existence is the exercise of power or influence on it (the state, political parties and socio-political movements). The second group includes organizations operating in the economic, social, spiritual spheres of society (trade unions, religious and cooperative organizations, etc.). They do not set themselves special political tasks, do not participate in the struggle for state power. But their goals cannot be achieved outside the political system. Therefore, such organizations participate in the political life of society, defend their corporate interests, seeking to take them into account and implement them in politics. The third group includes organizations that are situationally involved in the political life of society. They arise and function to realize the personal interests and inclinations of a certain stratum of people (hobby clubs, sports societies). They acquire a political connotation as objects of influence on the part of the state and other proper political institutions. They themselves are not active subjects of political and legal life.

Communication subsystem The political system of a society is a set of relations and forms of interaction that develop between ethnic communities, classes, social groups and strata, individuals regarding their participation in the exercise of state power, the development and implementation of policies. Political relations are the result of numerous and varied connections of political subjects in the process of political behavior, communication and activities. It is their own political interests and needs that motivate subjects to enter into relationships. Allocate primary and secondary (derivative) political relations. The former include various forms of interaction between social groups (classes, nations, estates, etc.), as well as within them, the latter - relations between states, political parties, other political institutions that reflect in their activities the interests of certain social strata or the whole society .

Political relations are built on the basis of certain rules (norms). The political and legal norms and rules that determine and regulate the political life of society constitute regulatory subsystem political system of society. The most important role is played by legal norms (constitutional norms, laws, other normative legal acts). The activity of political parties and other public organizations is regulated by their charter and program norms. In a number of countries, along with documented political and legal norms, customs, traditions and moral norms are of great importance. Therefore, another group of political norms is represented by ethical and moral norms, which enshrine the ideas of the whole society or its individual strata about good and evil, truth, justice, democracy, and freedom. Advanced modern societies have come close to realizing the need to return to politics such moral guidelines as honor, conscience, nobility, and dignity.

Cultural and ideological subsystem political system is a set of political ideas, views, principles, feelings and beliefs of political life participants, different in their content. The political consciousness of the subjects of the political process functions at two levels - theoretical and ordinary. The main element of the theoretical level is political ideology. Political psychology occupies an important place in everyday practical consciousness. The forms of manifestation of political ideology include ideas, concepts, teachings, political programs, slogans; and to political psychology - feelings, emotions, moods, prejudices, traditions, beliefs. A special state of political consciousness, political ideology and political psychology, the specificity of their manifestation in the actual political life of subjects form the political culture of society. It covers the spiritual, organizational, managerial and practical aspects of political life, as well as the content and style (rules) of behavior and communication of political subjects.

The functioning of the political system of society is closely connected with the legal foundations of the state. Thus, the main directions of the reform of the political system in our country are determined by the Constitution, adopted by referendum on December 12, 1993. It proclaims the Russian Federation a democratic federal legal state with a republican form of government (Article 1). The bearer of sovereignty and the only source of power in Russia is the people, exercising their will directly (through elections and referendums), as well as through public authorities and local governments (Article 2). In Russia, free elections, in which all citizens from the age of 18 participate (except for those declared incompetent by the court and held in places of deprivation of liberty by a court verdict), the President, deputies of the State Duma, members of the highest legislative bodies and heads of the highest executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Federation, bodies local self-government, heads of city and district administrations. The Constitution of our state enshrined and guaranteed fundamental human rights and freedoms. Political and ideological pluralism, diversity and equality of different forms of ownership, and separation of powers are declared to be the foundations of the constitutional system. But the real formation of a democratic regime in Russia has just begun.

Among the various regulators of social relations (economy, morality, science, art, etc.), law occupies a special place. The most common is the definition of law as a system of generally binding norms (rules) established and sanctioned by the state, enforced voluntarily or by coercive force. But along with such a normative approach, which characterizes law as a phenomenon of spiritual life and emphasizes the dependence of law on the state will, there are other points of view in science. Law is also understood as a phenomenon of society, a social institution of society and has a typical structure that is characteristic of other phenomena of society. In this sense, law includes: the legal consciousness of subjects, the totality of legal institutions and the system of legal relations.

Unlike other social phenomena, law is characterized by the following features:

1) general obligatoriness - the rules of law regulate the behavior of all members of society or certain categories of non-personalized subjects, the requirements of the law are binding on everyone to whom they are addressed, regardless of the attitude of certain persons towards them;

2) formal certainty - the rules of law are established by the state in special acts, accurately and in detail reflect the requirements for the behavior, communication and activities of individuals and legal entities;

3) enforcement of the rules of law is carried out voluntarily by the subjects and forcibly - by the state (if necessary);

4) the rules of law are designed for an unlimited number of cases and facts.

The functions of law in society are diverse. First, law, being a regulator of social relations, consolidates the foundations of the existing system. Secondly, by obliging to take active positive actions, the law contributes to the development of social relations. Thirdly, by establishing the rights and obligations of specific individuals and organizations, law introduces a certain order into society and the activities of the state, creates the prerequisites for their purposeful and expedient functioning. Fourthly, in the practical activities of state bodies (and, above all, the courts), law acts as a criterion for the lawful and unlawful behavior of people and social communities, and is the basis for the application of state coercion measures to violators of law and order. Fifthly, law plays an important educational role, developing in people a sense of justice, legality, kindness, and humanity.

Thus, law acts as a kind of measure of human freedom in society, setting the boundaries of the social activity of subjects in relation to each other. Each participant in public relations can achieve their goals using various options. This shows his relative independence, freedom of choice and decision. Law, reflecting the coordinated interests of the whole society, limits and streamlines this choice by certain limits, puts up barriers to undesirable behavior, but does not impose any particular course of action on the subject. Law also regulates the relationship of society with nature.

The structure of the political and legal sphere of society consists of:

Communication, behavior and activities of subjects as a system of political and legal relations of society;

The totality of functioning political and legal institutions, primarily state institutions;

The functioning of the political and legal consciousness of the subjects;

Implementation of the government.

The functions of the political system of society are diverse:

power function;

Regulatory and legal;

Communicative (concessional);

Ideological;

Organizational and managerial;

Property distribution;

Coordination of interests of the main subjects of the political and legal process;

Law-making;

Stabilization;

Ensuring the security of society, the individual and the state;

Controlling-coercive, etc.

There are four main elements of the political system, also called subsystems: 1) institutional, 2) communicative, 3) normative, 4) cultural and ideological.

Unlike other social phenomena, law is characterized by the following features:

3) enforcement of the rules of law is carried out voluntarily by the subjects and forcibly - by the state (if necessary);

4) the rules of law are designed for an unlimited number of cases and facts.

As parts, not only social subjects are singled out, but also other formations - 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 areas of 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).

Of course, a person is able to live without satisfying these needs, but then his life will not differ much from the life of animals. Spiritual needs are met in the process spiritual activity - cognitive, value, prognostic, etc. Such activity is aimed primarily at changing individual and social consciousness. It manifests itself in scientific creativity, self-education, etc. At the same time, spiritual activity can be both producing and consuming.

spiritual production called the process of formation and development of consciousness, worldview, spiritual qualities. The product of this production are ideas, theories, artistic images, values, the spiritual world of the individual and spiritual relations between individuals. The main mechanisms of spiritual production are science, art and religion.

Spiritual consumption called the satisfaction of spiritual needs, the consumption of products of science, religion, art, for example, visiting a theater or a museum, obtaining new knowledge. The spiritual sphere of the life of society ensures the production, storage and dissemination of moral, aesthetic, scientific, legal and other values. It covers various consciousnesses - moral, scientific, aesthetic,.

Social institutions in the spheres of society

Appropriate social institutions are being formed in each of the spheres of society.

In the social sphere the most important social institution within which the reproduction of new generations of people is carried out is. The social production of a person as a social being, in addition to the family, is carried out by such institutions as preschool and medical institutions, schools and other educational institutions, sports and other organizations.

For many people, production and the presence of spiritual conditions of existence are no less important, and for some people even more important than material conditions. Spiritual production distinguishes people from other beings in this world. The state and nature of development determine the civilization of mankind. Main in the spiritual realm institutions act. This also includes cultural and educational institutions, creative unions (writers, artists, etc.), the media and other organizations.

At the heart of the political sphere there are relations between people that allow them to participate in the management of social processes, to occupy a relatively safe position in the structure of social ties. Political relations are forms of collective life that are prescribed by the laws and other legal acts of the country, charters and instructions regarding independent communities, both outside the country and inside it, written and unwritten rules of various . These relations are carried out through the resources of the corresponding political institution.

On a national scale, the main political institution is . It consists of many of the following institutions: the president and his administration, government, parliament, court, prosecutor's office and other organizations that ensure the general order in the country. In addition to the state, there are many organizations in which people exercise their political rights, that is, the right to manage social processes. Social movements also act as political institutions that seek to participate in the governance of the entire country. In addition to them, there may be organizations at the regional and local levels.

The relationship of spheres of public life

The spheres of public life are closely interconnected. In the history of the sciences about there have been attempts to single out any sphere of life as defining in relation to others. So, in the Middle Ages, the idea of the special significance of religiosity as part of the spiritual sphere of society dominated. In modern times and the Age of Enlightenment, the role of morality and scientific knowledge was emphasized. A number of concepts assign the leading role to the state and law. Marxism affirms the decisive role of economic relations.

Within the framework of real social phenomena, elements of all spheres are combined. For example, the nature of economic relations can influence the structure of the social structure. A place in the social hierarchy forms certain political views, opens up appropriate access to education and other spiritual values. The economic relations themselves are determined by the legal system of the country, which is very often formed on the basis of the people, their traditions in the field of religion and morality. Thus, at various stages of historical development, the influence of any sphere may increase.

The complex nature of social systems is combined with their dynamism, i.e., mobile character.

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POLITICAL AND LEGALSPHERE

Introduction

1. Man and politics

4. The role of civil society

Introduction

Power- a political and economic phenomenon that describes the system of domination-subordination and implies the presence of a subject of power, a center and source of power, a certain design of power relations (laws).

State- a community of people united by one territory, common legal laws and public authorities, as well as taxes.

civilstate- the sphere of self-manifestation of free citizens and voluntarily formed associations and organizations protected by relevant laws from direct interference and arbitrary regulation of the activities of these citizens and organizations by the state authorities.

Legalstate- the legal form of organization and activity of public political power and its relationship with individuals as subjects of law.

Politics- one of the forms of activity for the management of social relations and connections that arise between people in the process of creating material and spiritual values. Politics includes the following elements: power, political relations, political organizations, political interests and ideas.

1. Man and politics

Modern ideas about the relationship between personality and politics were formed under the influence of two methodological guidelines of political science. The first is institutional analysis, which has its origins in classical political thought. The second is a behavioral approach developed in the second half of the 20th century. Institutional analysis is characterized by an interest in the philosophical, moral, value, cultural and historical elements of politics in their relationship with human nature. This analysis allows us to single out two theoretical models for describing, understanding and explaining the interaction between a person and politics: “subordination” and “interest”. Each of them characterizes various mechanisms for including a person in power. Under the conditions of functioning of the model of subordination, which operates in a society with a sufficiently high degree of regulation, the mechanism of selection, control and prescription interacts. The need for such a model is motivated by human nature: unreasonable, selfish and, therefore, in need of control. The main elements of this model were noticed by Aristotle, who believed that domination and subordination are not only necessary, but also useful, as they are inherent in the very nature of people, among whom some are born to be subjugated, others to rule.

Its fundamental foundations were developed by T. Hobbes, who believed that the innate human instinct is “an eternal and endless desire for more and more power. Moreover, where there is no power capable of keeping everyone in subjection, people do not experience any pleasure (but, on the contrary, it means bitterness) from life in society ”Hobbes T. Elected. prod. in 2 vols. - M., 1964. V.2. - P.149-155. . Power is the source of all ethical norms. This idea of Hobbes was supported and studied both by elitistists, according to which the normal functioning of society is possible where there is a competent minority power over the majority, and by egalitarians - supporters of democratic traditions, according to which individuals, in the name of general freedom, are obliged to give up "thirst for » power and be guided only in accordance with the «general will» of society. New motives explaining the need for a subordinate position of the individual are introduced by modern political scientists: firstly, by justifying its managerial tasks, since modern society is a mature meritocracy, where power is based on the recognition of merit (D. Bell, S. Lipset, W. Moore); secondly, ensuring constant and stable democracy, which is based on the requirement of “politics for politicians” (R. Dahl, W. Kornhauser, J. Schumpeter); thirdly, the achievement of greater equality (J. Rawls, G. Gans). Thus, the personality in the “submission” model acts as a passive object of control, in need of mechanisms that can curb its imperfect nature.

A different model of "interest" was originally developed in the works of A. Smith and G. Spencer, in which the relationship between the individual and power is viewed indirectly, through the prism of personal interest as a source of social activity. In this model, social and political order is possible as a result of a combination of interests of various groups of society. Therefore, it is not the power of suppression that is important, but the rational awareness of people's personal benefits from combining common efforts. There are two types of this model:

at the heart of the "concept of prudent interests" any power is a source of human oppression;

the "concept of competing interests" is based on order as an unintended consequence of the interaction between individuals.

The most important thing in the model of "interest" is the consideration of the individual as a subject of political activity.

Supporters of "behavioral orientation" in the analysis of the relationship between man and power believe that the desire for power is one of the natural signs of a person, his emotions and instincts, reproducing relations of domination and subordination (S. Freud, Adler, Reich, E. Erickson, K. Jung, M. Block, G. Lasswell, S. Moscovici, F. Greenstein and others).

The transformation of an individual into a social being speaks of the emergence of his need for status, including in such an incarnation as “the instinct for power” or “the need for power”. The need for power has a long tradition of research in political psychology. Currently, there are many concepts of the need for power: A. Adler, E. Fromm, Yu. Kozeletsky, P. Kuusi, G. Lasswell, D. McLelland, J. Atkinson, L.Ya. Gozman, E.B. Shestopal, etc. So, E.B. Shestopal deduces three reasons why power can be desirable: to dominate others and limit the actions of others, to create a certain deprivation for them; so that other people do not dominate him and do not interfere in his affairs; in order to carry out a political achievement Gozman L.Ya., Shestopal E.B. Political psychology. - Rostov-on-Don, 1996. - P.108. .

But the psychological concept of S.B. Kaverin, who, from the classification of personality needs he built, which he called basic, derives the need for power as a quasi-need, consisting of at least five basic ones: the need for freedom, the hedonistic need, the need for self-affirmation, the need for self-expression, the need to be a person. As a result of the analysis of the above needs, he argues that when combining certain needs, personality types are formed, each of which is characterized by its own vision of power, “determined by the dominant need” Kaverin S.B. The need for power. - M.: Knowledge, 1991. - P.18. .

All data was summarized in a table. From it, five conditional types of personality can be distinguished, striving for power according to one or another criteria: a nonconformist, a conformist, a dictator, an adventurer and a democrat. The desire for power varies from person to person. Sometimes it is reduced in representatives of a weak type of nervous system, with their characteristic timidity and self-doubt. This need is not clearly expressed in people who are completely involved in other activities, as well as in incapacitated individuals, neurotics who have difficulties in communicative communication. A critical need is a complex of a person's aspirations to gain influence on individuals and communities, using such means of power as coercion and privileges, etc. Kozeletsky Yu. Man is multidimensional. - Kyiv: Lybid, 1991. - P.83. Yu. Kozeletsky believes that “in the event of a discrepancy between the claims to leadership and the actual power opportunities, motivational tension is born and a person tries to increase the level of control he has had over other people, seeks to increase his economic and political influence” Ibid. P.85. . Hence, the critical need is most often formed on the basis of selfish interests. So, McClelland came to the conclusion that this need manifests itself in two forms: 1) egocentric - a person strives for power because the possession of it gives him satisfaction; 2) sociocentric - power allows you to achieve certain social goals. In life, these two forms are interconnected, however, often individuals with various anomalies come to powerMcClelland D.C., Burnham D.H. Power as the Great Motirator//Harvard Business Pewiew, 1976, P.54. .

Attitude to power	Dominant need	Personality type symbol
Power as a desire for independence and independence	Need for freedom	Nonconformist
Power as a source of material well-being or other personal benefits	hedonistic needs	Conformist
Power as predominance, dominance over others, a source of prestige, high status, fame	The need for self-assertion	Dictator
Power as a game	The need for self-expression	Adventurer
Power as a service to people, society	The need to be a person	Democrat

The life form of a person manifests itself in all value areas and therefore it can be described as the ability to inspire other individuals with their own value orientation, either constant or as an incoming motive for activity. Thus, in the opinion of E. Spranger, all manifestations of power relations can, in general, be defined as political. Hence, a powerful man is a political man. All life thoughts of a powerful person are aimed at serving their aspirations. Knowledge for him is a means of exercising power. For the ruler, the sciences of society and man usually come first; from them he tries to extract the benefit that will help him achieve power, and therefore the cratic person focuses on those areas of theoretical knowledge that help manage people in accordance with his life plans. The economy for a politician, in the sense of wealth (both material and purely financial) is always a powerful political tool. Aesthetic - for a cratic person is just a link in the chain of means for achieving his goals. But often the imperious and the aesthetic touch. This takes place only when a cratic person begins to be driven not so much by rational calculation and knowledge of circumstances, but by boundless fantasy, pouring out into gigantic projects of shaping and reshaping the world whole. It is these fantasies that many of the great conquerors in the history of world civilization have possessed. Spranger singles out two types of personalities in social terms: a pure politician who is busy only with the realization of his goals, even if this does not correspond to the will of everyone else; a type of socially founded power, where the ruler makes the people happy by the very fact of his rule. At the heart of a cratic person is the desire to dominate others. But at the same time, this is a very abstract definition, since the ruler is defined regardless of law and community. In the system of political relationships, according to Spranger, the following statement is true: “Only one who obediently follows the demand for higher values living in his own soul has the ability to lead others and subordinate them to the influence of his own value direction” Spanger E. Lebensformen. Geisteswissenschaftliche Psychologie und Ethik der Personlichkeit. Tubingen: Max Niemeyer, 1914. S. 132-157-230. .

B.A. Levi writes that any doctrine of human existence encounters the phenomenon of power. Power is a symbolic embodiment of being, created by an individual and society, for a Western person, and for an Eastern person, power is recognized as a value, as an expression of the very mystery of being. In this case, power appears independently of man, as a reflection of the spirit of the universe. Therefore, a person is obliged to consciously submit to this authority, without even thinking about its meaning Levy B.-H. Barbarie a visage humane. P., 1977. P.225. . Thus, power is an integral part of everyday worldview. The formation and functioning of the modern everyday worldview is a complex and contradictory process that is influenced by both modern science and various forms of consciousness and activity. Understanding the nature of everyday worldview should be based not only on psychological, but also on socio-cultural foundations.

2. Origin and nature of the state

The concept of "state" was introduced into political and legal use relatively recently. Until the Renaissance, more specific concepts were used to designate the state: principality, kingdom, tyranny, republic. Plato's famous work "State" does not refute what has been said, because a more accurate translation of its name into Russian corresponds to the concept of "Constitution" or "City-State". A special generalizing term "state" (from Italian - stato), applicable to any of its specific forms, was introduced by N. Machiavelli. From Italian, this word passed into all European languages: (English state, German to staat, French etat, Spanish estado). Later, thinkers (Rousseau and others) began to distinguish between "civil society" within the framework of society, and Hegel finally delimited the concepts of society, civil society and the state.

Civil society and the state were not always legal, although the latter always adopted laws, systems of legal norms to regulate the relations of its citizens. The Roman Empire was by no means a legal state, although it operated the famous system of "Roman law", which was then called "written reason" and which had a huge impact on the subsequent development of Western culture as a whole.

It took considerable efforts of philosophers, political thinkers, lawyers to streamline, humanize relations between the state and society. Why did the state come into being? As you know, the primitive society of people did without a state. The power of the elder of the clan, the rural community, the tribal leader was quite enough for society to somehow live without a state.

So, according to psychological theory, the emergence of the state is associated with a brilliant idea that suddenly illuminated the mind of a single person. Close to the starting positions of such an explanation is the well-known theory of the “social contract”, the meaning of which is as follows: people belonging to different communities were constantly at enmity with each other, raided, captured and killed strangers. And when they finally realized the danger of this, they agreed to establish the state as a kind of supra-communal body of power and control, transferring to it part of their "natural rights" in exchange for protecting common and individual interests. There were and are many supporters of the class theory of the emergence of the state, developed by Marxism: “The state arises there, then and insofar as where, when and insofar as classes arise with opposite, irreconcilable interests” (V.I. Lenin). And so that these classes do not “devour” each other and society in a fruitless struggle, the state arises as a force that stands above society, if not reconciling class contradictions, then at least moderating them, i.e. placing them within the boundaries of a certain order (F. Engels).

It should be said that this theory comes mainly from the experience of ancient Greece and it can explain the emergence of Greek city-states. However, in a number of cases, this logical connection is not traced: first, the state arises, due to certain non-class reasons, and then classes arise with their opposite interests. The variant of the "parallel" formation of classes and the state is quite common.

So, for example, the fact that Ancient Egypt was the "homeland of the state" is largely due to the specific conditions of the geographical environment and, consequently, the life and livelihoods of the local population. It is one thing when a rural community can take ready-made foodstuffs (fruits) from nature, when it is enough to throw grain into fertile soil and without much difficulty get a good harvest, then the formation of a state can wait. In Egypt, waterless sandy and rocky deserts stretch for hundreds of kilometers. For the earth to bear fruit, enormous labor efforts of people were required. Land for sowing in the Nile Valley had to be won from the sands, swamps and thickets. The main occupation of the Egyptians was agriculture, and they dug canals, built dams and other irrigation facilities. To maintain these structures, the forces of the clan or even the rural community were not enough. A power was needed that could tell and order all farmers what, how and when to do. Over time, this power took shape as a state, and people associated with organizational and managerial activities isolated themselves into a dominant social group. Not only internal, but also external factors, in particular the threat of invasion, can act as an incentive for the formation of a state. On the part of other tribes and peoples, the conquest of some by others. Thus, in China, the emergence of the state in the XVIII century. BC. associated with the conquest of the Xia tribe by the Shan tribe.

The formula “classes arise - a state arises” is not entirely applicable to the history of the emergence of the state among the “barbarians”, against whom mighty Rome fought for centuries and who, in turn, fought against it and, finally, in 476 AD. conquered. The barbarians did not have a state, although slaves, in particular, among the Germans in small numbers, were used. The Germans had their own kings and commanders, but they had pre-state, tribal power. The kings of the Germans were chosen by nobility, and military leaders by valor. At the same time, the kings did not have unlimited or arbitrary power, and the leaders dominated rather because they were an example. Nobody was allowed to execute, imprison in chains and subject to corporal punishment, except for the priests, and even then not in the form of punishment and by order of the leader, but as if at the behest of the gods.

In the last centuries of the existence of the Roman Empire, many barbarians, especially from among the Germans, were in the military civil service of Rome, adopting Roman customs, decorating themselves with various Roman titles. As the French historian Jacques Le Goff emphasizes, these barbarians “acted not as enemies, but as admirers of the Roman political system. They could rather be mistaken for usurpers of Roman power.” In other words, the barbarians, in addition to rich trophies, borrowed from the Romans many principles of state organization. It is no coincidence that the later German monarchs called their political structure the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation."

As you can see, there were many reasons for the emergence of the state, and they were different for different peoples.

Is the state a monster or a miracle? The state is a multifaceted, multifunctional structure and its essence cannot be expressed by any one figurative comparison or definition. On the one hand, any state carries coercion, violence. On the other hand, it somehow streamlines and stabilizes people's lives. Hence his different assessments: “The state? What is it?... The coldest of all cold monsters is called the state. It lies coldly; and this lie creeps out of his mouth: "I, the state, make up the people." If there is still a people somewhere, it does not understand the state and hates it as an evil eye and a violation of customs and rights,” said the ancient Iranian prophet Zarathustra, if you follow the presentation of F. Nietzsche.

"Leviathan", i.e. T. Hobbes called the state a biblical monster that humiliates a person in modern times. For Plato and Aristotle, the main thing in the state was not the “monstrous” principle associated with coercion and violence, but the principle that makes it possible for people to live together to achieve happiness. Hegel generally deified the state, calling it "the image and reality of reason", "moral idea".

Therefore, to the question: what is a state - a monster or a miracle? - there can be only one answer: the state is both a monster and a miracle. These two images deserve not a divisive union "or", but a connecting "and". The famous Russian lawyer P.I. Novgorodtsev (1866-1924) wrote that "the state is not only class domination, it is primarily a public legal regulation of private and public life." It can also be said that the state is a product of the emergence and development of human civilization. Together with the state, cities, trade, writing, the first scientific knowledge, philosophical, political and legal ideas and teachings appear - for all that it implies the domination of one class or social group over others. Political characteristics of the state. In the language of political science, the state can be defined as a special type of social relations and phenomenon, which (type) is characterized by the following essential features: a) the relationship of power and subordination; b) the monopoly use of violence by those in power; c) the presence of a legal order; d) relative constancy; e) institutional dimension.

In this definition, given by the Latin American political scientist L.S. Sanisteban, "caught" a fundamentally important point: the state assumes a certain type of social behavior of people, legally regulated by those who hold power, maintains the normative order in society and has the ability, if necessary, to use coercion for this.

The French sociologist P. Bourdieu, correcting the well-known formula of M. Weber (“The state is an organization that has a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical violence in a certain territory”), writes: “The state is X (to be determined), which has a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical and symbolic violence in a certain territory and against the population concerned”. This means that the state exists both objectively - as a set of institutions and mechanisms - and subjectively - as a complex of structures and categories of thinking and perception. The formation of the state is accompanied by the formation of a field of power, i.e. space in which various political forces are fighting among themselves for power in the state. In society, the sphere of politics, political relations, stood out as an independent one.

3. Legal and social state

Among the most significant political ideas designed to overcome the alienation of the majority of the population from power and control, to transfer the rights and freedoms of the individual from the realm of declarations to the realm of life, the first place belongs to the ideas of a legal and social state and civil society. The movement towards a legal and social state, towards a civil society is similar to the movement of knowledge towards absolute truth, to which people, realizing that the time is unlikely to come when they say “we know everything,” nevertheless strive. The development of Western civilization, which led to the establishment of a liberal-democratic political and social order, is largely determined by the desire to create a legal and social state and civil society.

Let us preface the further exposition with a few remarks about law in general and its role in the life of society and the state.

Law as a regulator of human behavior. “Law”, according to a strictly legal characterization, is a criterion of “legal legitimacy”, a kind of social sign that a person has the right or not the right to do, as he has the right or not the right to act. The life of society and the state would be simply impossible if people could not distinguish what is permitted from what is not permitted. Law, in its broadest sense, consists in the fact that it gives the validity, the justification of a certain behavior of people of the freedom (possibility) of such behavior, recognized in a given society and state, their practical life. Moreover, validity, justification, which are given one way or another, must be recognized in society and the state.

What and who establishes certain norms, rules of behavior of people, guided by which they, people, know: it is possible to do this, but it is impossible to do this, it is not supposed to? Not allowed by what and by whom? Even in the ancient Greek myths about the deeds and relationships of the supreme god Zeus, his wife Themis, the goddess of law and legal order, and their daughters, the idea that there is law by nature, i.e. natural law, and human law, i.e. "positive" or "positive" law.

Natural law is a set of rules, principles, rights and values that are determined by the very nature of man and, therefore, do not depend on legislative recognition or non-recognition of them in a particular state. What comes from human nature comes from nature in general and therefore acquires the same force and obligation as, say, earthly gravity.

Positive law is a real, existing in laws, other documents, actually tangible (and therefore “positive”) regulatory regulator, on the basis of which legally permitted and legally prohibited behavior is determined and legally binding, imperative-powerful solutions.

If natural law is the property of mankind from the moment of its birth, then positive law takes shape and develops in the conditions of civilization, one of the main features of which is the state-political existence of people as peoples and nations. Natural law is provided by the very nature of man. Positive law, the guarantee of the operation of its norms and regulations, is ensured by the state power, which organizes it by its nature and, for the most part, by coercive force in terms of methods.

If until the second half of the XVIII century. in Europe, the traditional, statist understanding of law dominated. According to this understanding, law was defined as a set of generally binding norms (rules of conduct) of people established or sanctioned by the state. Moreover, the state was often personified with the sovereign (recall the pompous and proud phrase of Louis XIV: “The state is me”), and the right and the law, the law and the sovereign's decree were actually identified. Then from the second half of the XVIII century. law is no longer understood as a set of norms established or sanctioned by the state and expressing the will of the ruling classes, but something completely different - a normative system that expresses the will of the citizens of the state and stands guard over the rule of law and legality. An important role in this was played by I. Kant, who correlated the concept of law with the concept of morality, which regulates the ruler, and the concept of freedom in its real, life expression. He noted that “the civil state, considered only as a legal state, is based on the following a priori principles: the freedom of each member of society as a person; his equality with every other as a subject; independence of each member of the community as a citizen.

Based on the understanding of law developed in the second half of the 18th century, we can say that the rule of law is a state in which the rule of law over power is exercised. The rule of law must correspond to the rule of law society and vice versa. In a legal state and a legal society, the state serves its citizens. But there are no rights without duties. Therefore, in a legal state and a legal society, a citizen is equally obliged to the state: just as the state is obliged to protect the rights and legitimate interests of its citizens, to ensure social security, honor and health, so the citizen is obliged to comply with the laws of the state even in cases where he is with them for some reason. or disagree.

The main differences between a legal state and a non-legal state

Illegalstate	Legalstate
State power is not limited by any laws	State power is exercised on the basis of the rule of law
There is no separation of powers or it is formal	Separation of powers is real
The rights and freedoms of man and citizen are not protected	Real protection of human and civil rights and freedoms
Everything that is not allowed by the government is prohibited	Everything that is not prohibited by law is allowed
An accusatory understanding of the tasks of justice, the presumption of innocence is absent in the legislation or is not observed in practice	The legislation provides for the presumption of innocence and the right of the accused to testify only in the presence of a lawyer
National legislation does not recognize or denies the priority of international legal acts and norms	Priority of international legal acts and norms over national legislation, bringing the second in line with the first
In international relations, there is a stake on force in accordance with the principle "the end justifies the means"	In international relations, the stake is on the peaceful political and legal settlement of disputes, following the Principle “righteous goals are not achieved by unrighteous means”

It is interesting to note that the rule of law formula is absent in most constitutions of Western countries. At the constitutional level, this formula was first recorded in the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany (1949) and in the Spanish Constitution (1978), i.e. countries previously dominated by fascist regimes. Unlike modern Germany, where the term "rule of law" (Rechtsstaat) is widely recognized, in France the corresponding term (L "Etat de droit) does not have such recognition. French lawyers prefer to solve the issue of the rule of law in practical terms in relation to individual state institutions, not theoretically.

Social state. One of the most important functions of the state should be to provide all people with a guaranteed minimum income. Thus, in Sweden more than 30% of the gross national product is spent on social needs (the minimum pension is about 7 thousand dollars a year, and the full pension that can be received after working for 30 years is approximately 60% of the salary), in Germany - 24 , in the USA - 14%.

Social state can define how democratic state, based on the wide social basis And conductive active And strong social politics, directed on the promotion or stable security vital level population, protection And implementation rights And freedom citizens, on the creation contemporary systems healthcare, education And social security, on the maintaining the poor And the poor layers, on the prevention And successful permission social conflicts.

4. The role of civil society

The well-known Western political scientist A. Arato instead of the traditional dualism "state - civil society" offers a five-sided ("five-part") structure, which includes: 1) an economic society distinguished on the basis of forms of ownership; 2) purely economic associations and unions; 3) a political society, allocated on the basis of suffrage and political parties; 4) civil society, distinguished on the basis of rights in the field of communication; and 5) civic associations and movements.

With any approach, civil society is a relatively independent public entity both in form and in the content of its functions. The main thing in this regard is that civil society is called upon to control the state, which in turn is called upon to serve society.

What is civil society? We can say that civil society is a non-state part of society based on the autonomy of individuals. These are the family, the school, voluntary organizations and unions, the spiritual expression of whose interests is public opinion.

Until the XVII-XVIII centuries. civil society in most European states was in the fold. As if responding to Rousseau’s call “to find a form of association that protects and protects with all its common strength the person and property of everyone”, various political and religious corporations, merchant guilds, cooperatives and, finally, trade unions appear. Civil society, in accordance with common interests, enters into special relations with the state. I. Fichte saw the essence of the latter in the fact that a kind of agreement is concluded between the state and the individual, according to which the individual agrees to a certain restriction of his freedom and undertakes to obey the general provisions of the state, and the state in response to this guarantees the security of the individual and his property. By the way, it is private property, according to the classical ideas of Western thinkers, coming from J.Zh. Rousseau and G. Hegel, is the economic foundation of civil society.

The well-known English proverb “My house is my fortress” has not only a literal, but also a deep generalizing meaning. If a person has his own "home", i.e. property, and if this property is reliably protected by law, then he gains confidence, holds himself with dignity in front of power at any level, up to the state. Here, civil society acts as an entity, the main character of which is the "man-owner". No, this is not an elite Forsyte society, not a closed aristocratic club, but a democratic society of those who own something: means of production, money capital, stocks, information that people need, intelligence that generates ideas, and finally, just a labor force. Every person has the right to his own business. The participants in such a society separated from the state power are independent and independent of each other (or dependent within the limits of the agreement reached among themselves). They decide all their affairs themselves, take risks themselves and reap the rewards of risk.

In the process of development, civil society embraces ever wider sections of the population - not only the haves, but also the poor and the have-nots. In a slave-owning society, a slave was completely powerless, he could be sold, bought, killed. The feudal peasant also did not enjoy civil rights. But, remaining in a number of cases the object of sale, he has already acquired the right to life. With the emergence and development of capitalism, the worker, being included in the structures of civil society, became a citizen of the state with an unprecedented and previously impossible scope of rights and obligations. The state in that part of it that is characterized as a “tool”, “machine” of the ruling class elites, was forced not only to reckon with the emerging social associations, but also to embark on the path of legal ordering of its relations with the entire population, to significantly rebuild its own power structures.

civil society - system non-state public relations And institutions, guaranteeing man implementation his natural And social rights And expressing various needs, interests And values free, relatively independent members societies.

The idea of civil society is represented in the public consciousness and in science in various senses, of which three can be distinguished as the main ones:

1) as a normative concept of an ideal social order;

2) as an analytical scheme for interpreting contemporary social reality;

3) as an ideological construct.

The central idea of civil society is the problem of correlation between private and public spheres of public life. From the point of view of personal interests, such principles of civil society as personal freedom, inviolability and security of citizens, the right to property, the right to free existence and functioning of independent associations can be singled out as system-forming. Moreover, the realization of civil rights and freedoms of the individual is guaranteed not only by law, but by the entire set of norms governing the relationship between the individual and society. The area of personal autonomy is quite wide and the intrusion by state authorities into the sphere of private interests is unacceptable. We can say that the principle of self-worth of the individual, its autonomy in relation to the state, lies at the foundation of civil society.

The consideration of civil society as a set of self-organized and self-governing social ties and relations that allow expressing the interests of various social strata and groups implies activity in the public sphere. Through civil society, organized, institutionally represented in the political process, the economic and political interests of the majority, primarily of various non-elite strata and groups, are carried out. The institutionalization of interests as a system of representation of interests at different levels is carried out through various kinds of associations and unions, defined as “interest groups”. Thus, along with civil and territorial representation, the activity of various organizations united by a common interest, regardless of their location and relationship to state structures, is being activated. A multi-level system of representation of interests presupposes the presence of horizontal integration links, and also provides the possibility of the existence of a wide range of political and non-political actors that ensure the satisfaction of various needs of the individual.

When recognizing as the main social basis of a civil society of the middle class, consisting of highly productive, highly qualified, enterprising and enterprising workers with a fairly high level of income, it should be agreed that a certain type of personality is necessary for the adequate functioning of civil society. In particular, civil society in the West is based on the principle of individualism, through which the individual expresses his rights and expresses himself as a person in the activities of numerous parties, associations, movements and other public organizations.

Civil society makes it possible to moderate the claims not only of the authorities to citizens, but to restrain a person's desire for rebellion - both conscious and unconscious, spontaneous, purely destructive. This is not about social revolutions. They say that in the West the time for such revolutions has passed. We are talking about rebellion as one of the "essential dimensions of a person", a person who says: "I rebel, therefore we exist." An example is the riots of football fans against everyone and everything - if their football team lost, they “out of grief” overturn and set fire to cars, smash shop windows to smithereens, throw stones at policemen. If their football team has won, they do the same - but this time out of happiness. Civil society largely contributes to the normal course of the political process in the state, which is especially important for states where, for various reasons, there is a frequent change of governments (as, for example, in Italy). Being a non-state part of society, civil society nevertheless serves as a stabilizing factor for both the state and society as a whole.

In turn, the modern state is directly interested in mobilizing the potential of civil society, given its mass democratic nature. Moreover, in a number of cases it deliberately refuses some of its functions (or limits them) in favor of civil society organizations and associations created on a voluntary basis. Through their network, the state mobilizes and attracts significant material and labor resources, which make it possible to relieve state structures, compensate for the shortcomings of their activities, and solve specific problems.

The established forms of political and legal life in different Western countries are not identical. In England, for example, there is no "written" constitution, but there is a huge number of constitutional acts. The English judiciary, unlike the American one, does not control the government and Parliament. Governments are formed on a party basis. Perhaps this somehow goes beyond the ideal framework of civil society and the rule of law, but nevertheless does not call into question the democratic principles of power and government in the British Isles.

The rule of law, civil society, human rights, to the extent and in the forms in which all this exists, are the great achievements of Western civilization. However, they should not be included in the category of universal human values. In the conditions of other civilizations - Chinese, Japanese, Islamic - other standards and other values are no less great for their peoples.

Today Russia, the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution, is a democratic legal state (Article 1), a social state (Article 7); a person, his rights and freedoms are the highest value; recognition, observance and protection of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen is the duty of the state (Article 1).

How true is all this? These definitions are more a statement of the future than of the present. In today's Russia, the basic principle of a democratic legal state has not been implemented - the priority of human rights and freedoms in relation to any power structures, state institutions and institutions.

The public opinion of today's Russia perceives the idea of a legal state in the most general formulation and does not understand its essence. This is evidenced by the data of a sociological survey conducted by the Russian Independent Institute for Social and National Problems during 1995-1997.

As for civil society in contemporary Russia, it exists and outwardly looks quite convincing.

5. Political structure of society

politics state regime legal

political structure societies in action, in dynamics, then eat functional, received characterize how political mode. Firstly: basis political regime is functional subsystem political systems, And activity his directed on the security functioning, transformations And protection mechanism implementation authorities in society. Secondly: on the our sight, category "political mode" shows how in reality operate political institutions, in aggregates constituents political system, from taking into account connections various (external) external And (internal) internal disturbances in system. So, Aristotle on the basis analysis modes functioning Greek policies, created my classification three right, major modes: monarchy, at which supreme power belongs one; aristocracy, at which power belongs several; polity, at which power belongs everyone; And three wrong - tyranny, oligarchies And democracy, on opinion Montesquieu, republic possible only in small policies, monarchy, founded on the honor, - characteristic for states medium sizes, when same states become too much big, despotism nearly inevitable.

Can designate main approaches in understanding political modes: political and legal(institutional)an approach, for whom characteristically identification concepts "mode" from notion "the form board" or "the form state building" (typically for French schools, where monarchy And republic varied how forms board); sociologicalan approach , in accordance from which the main thing Attention given consideration connections between society And state, connections, established in real life And divergent on the the moment from prescribed constitution And laws norms political behavior. Mode at this considered in wide meaning, how regulator in relationships social And political, but not only how structure authorities from inherent to her methods implementation political will, or how the form board or state devices. Supporters sociological approach think, what modes not may to be transformed through changes determining them Existence legal procedures. Every mode determined relevant system social grounds.

Modern politicalthe sciencehighlightsfivemajorpoliticalmodes:democratic,authoritarian,totalitarian,post-totalitarian,sultanic(despotic)INreality,meaningcategories"politicalmode"isbeforeTotalAndmainwayinvolume,whatsheallowsto answeron thequestion,howingivensocietyfunctioningpoliticalsystem,howcarried outpoliticalpower.Politicalmodeis anmeaningfulcharacteristicpoliticalsystemssociety.Politicalmodeis ancharacteristicallpoliticallifesociety,includingstate.

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Political sphere. Political and legal spheres of society

Social institutions in the spheres of society

The relationship of spheres of public life

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