Economics methods. Personnel management Economic approach and its elements

Personnel management activities- purposeful impact on the human component of the organization, focused on aligning the capabilities of personnel and goals, strategies, conditions for the development of the organization.

One of the most important components of management activities- personnel management, as a rule, is based on the concept of management - a generalized view (not necessarily declared) about the place of a person in an organization. In the theory and practice of managing the human side of an organization, four concepts can be distinguished that have evolved within the framework of three main approaches to management: economic, organic and humanistic.

An economic approach.

The economic approach to management gave rise to the concept of using labor resources. Within the framework of this approach, the leading place is occupied by technical, rather than managerial, training of people at the enterprise. In essence, an organization is viewed as a mechanism, and a person, personnel acts as a certain screw of this mechanism, which must work properly.

Basic principles of using labor resources:

1) ensuring the unity of leadership - subordinates receive orders from only one boss;

2) adherence to a strict management vertical - the chain from boss to subordinate goes down from top to bottom throughout the organization and is used as a channel for communication and decision-making;

3) Fixing the necessary and sufficient amount of control - the number of people subordinate to one boss should be such that it does not create problems for communication and coordination;

4) ensuring discipline - obedience, diligence, energy and the manifestation of external signs of respect must be carried out in accordance with accepted rules and customs.

5) adherence to a clear separation of the headquarters and line structures of the organization - the staff personnel, being responsible for the content of activities, under no circumstances can exercise the powers vested in line managers;

6) achieving a balance between power and responsibility - it makes no sense to make someone responsible for any work if he is not given the appropriate authority;

7) achieving the subordination of individual interests to a common cause with the help of firmness, personal example, honest agreements and constant control;

8) Ensuring equality at every level of the organization, based on goodwill and fairness, in order to inspire staff to perform their duties effectively; a well-deserved reward that boosts morale, but does not lead to overpayment or re-motivation.

Characterization of conditions and special difficulties in the framework of the economic approach.

Efficiency conditions	Special difficulties
A clear task for execution	Difficulty adapting to changing conditions
The environment is stable enough	Clumsy bureaucratic superstructure (strict preset and hierarchical management structure, which makes it difficult for executors to make creative and independent decisions when the situation changes)
Production of the same product	If the interests of employees prevail over the goals of the organization, undesirable consequences are possible (since the motivation of personnel is reduced exclusively to external stimulation, then even minor changes in the incentive scheme is enough for unpredictable consequences)
The person agrees to be a part of the machine and behaves as planned	Dehumanizing impact on workers (using the limited capabilities of staff can be effective in low-skilled labor)

The essence and content of administrative, economic and socio-psychological methods of the organization's UP

PM methods - ways of influencing teams and individual workers in order to coordinate their activities in the process of functioning of the organization. The plurality of management methods and different approaches to their classification complicate the task of choosing those of them that will be more effective in solving specific management problems.

Administrative methods (40%)

Administrative methods are based on power, discipline and punishment and are known throughout history as the "stick method." These methods are focused on such motives of behavior as a conscious need for labor discipline, a sense of duty, the desire of a person to work in a certain org. culture. Organizational and administrative methods have a direct impact on the controlled object through orders, instructions, operational instructions given in writing or orally, monitoring their implementation, a system of administrative means of maintaining labor discipline etc. They are designed to provide organizational clarity and work discipline. These methods are regulated by legal acts of labor and economic legislation.

There are three possible forms of the emergence of organizational and administrative methods:

1.mandatory prescription (order, prohibition, etc.);

2. conciliatory (consultation, compromise resolution);

Organizational and administrative methods are distinguished from others by the clear targeting of directives, the obligation to comply with orders and instructions, failure to comply with which is considered a direct violation performing discipline and entails certain penalties. Directive commands are obligatory for execution in a timely manner, even if it is unprofitable for the performer. In essence, organizational and administrative methods are methods of coercion that remain in force until labor becomes the first vital need.

Economic methods (40%)

Economic methods are based on the correct use of the economic laws of production and are known by their methods of influence as the "carrot method".

Economic methods are central to management. This is due to the fact that management relations are determined primarily by economic relations and the underlying objective needs and interests of people.

For economic management methods to be effective, it is necessary, at a minimum, to ensure the "responsiveness" of the organization to economic levers.

Only in conditions of justified independence is a real transition to economic methods of leadership possible: the collective disposes of material assets, the received income (profit), wages and realizes its economic interests. Economic methods help to identify new opportunities, reserves; we are talking about changing the system of material incentives, taking into account the economic interests of all participants in the production process. The challenge is to create conditions in which economic methods were effective and targeted.

In contrast to organizational and administrative economic management methods involve the development of general planning and economic indicators and means of achieving them. This is a kind of economic mechanism in economic relations. As a result of increasing the effectiveness of economic levers and incentives, conditions are formed under which the labor collective and its members are encouraged to work effectively not so much by administrative influence (orders, directives, instructions, etc.), but by economic incentives. On the basis of economic management methods, organizational-administrative and socio-psychological methods should be developed and strengthened, professionalism and the culture of their application should be increased.

The specific set and content of levers of economic influence are determined by the specifics of the controlled system.

Socio-psychological methods (20%)

Socio-psychological methods are based on motivation and moral impact on people and are known as "persuasion methods". Labor results largely depend on a number of psychological factors. The ability to take these factors into account and with their help purposefully influence individual employees can help a leader form a team with common goals and objectives. Sociological research indicate that if the success of a business manager's activity depends 15% on his professional knowledge, then 85% depends on the ability to work with people.

The main purpose of using these methods in management is the formation of a positive socio-psychological climate in the team, due to which educational, organizational and economic tasks will be largely solved.

The main means of influencing the team is persuasion. While convincing, the leader must take into account the nature of human behavior and human relations as fully as possible in the process of joint activities. The object of the same socio-psychological leadership in the work collective is the relationship of workers, their relationship to the means of labor and the environment.

Socio-psychological methods of leadership require that at the head of the team were people who are flexible enough, able to use various aspects of management. The success of a leader's activities in this direction depends on how correctly he applies various forms of socio-psychological influence, which, ultimately, will form healthy interpersonal relationships. The main forms of such impact are used:

· Planning of social development of labor collectives;

· Persuasion as a method of education and personality formation;

· Economic competition;

• criticism and self-criticism;

· Permanent production conferences, which act as a method of management and as a form of participation of workers in management;

· Various kinds of rituals and ceremonies.

Distinctive features of UP methods

Administrative methods	Economic methods	Social psychological methods
The establishment of state. orders	Technical and economic analysis	Socio-psychological analysis
Formation of the structure of governing bodies	Feasibility study	Socio-psychological planning
Approval of administrative rules and regulations	Technical and economic planning	Creation of a creative atmosphere
Legal regulation	Economic incentives	Employee participation in management
Issuance of orders and orders	Financing	Social and moral motivation
Coaching	Motivation labor activity	Meeting cultural and spiritual needs
Selection, selection and placement of personnel	Salary	Formation of teams and groups
Approval of methods and recommendations	Lending	Create a normal nutcase. climate
Development of regulations, job descriptions	Profit and equity participation	Establishment social norms behavior

Strategic PM of the organization, its place in overall strategy organizations. Control personnel reserve, its tasks and main content.

The term " strategic management"Was introduced in the 60s-70s of the 20th century to distinguish current management, carried out at the level of business units, from management at the highest level of leadership.

The need for strategic management in Russian conditions due to the following reasons. At first, over the past ten years, the environment in which domestic organizations operate has radically changed. The precarious economic situation of many organizations is associated with the lack of deep economic knowledge, managerial skills and experience of working in a competitive environment, the need for the organization to adapt to the constantly changing external environment. Secondly, the departure from central planning, privatization and the entire course of economic transformations in Russia require managers to be able to foresee, formulate a strategy, determine the merits and competitive advantages, elimination of strategic threats and dangers, that is, the use of all strategic management tools. Thirdly, the application of ideas and principles of strategic management, the need for changes in the management system are relevant not only for large companies, with which the emergence of strategic management was associated, but also for medium and even small enterprises.

Strategic management- this is the kind of organization management that relies on human potential as the basis of the organization, responds flexibly to the challenge from the external environment, makes timely changes in the organization that allow it to achieve competitive advantages, focusing on the needs of customers in its activities, which together makes it possible for the organization to survive in the long term, while achieving their goals.

That is, strategic management is a process that encompasses the actions of the leaders of the organization to develop, implement and correct the strategy.

The main principles of strategic management are:

q long-term assessed prospects and decisions made,

q orientation of management influences on changing the potential of the management object (production of products, services, technology, personnel, etc.) and creating opportunities for more effective implementation of this potential;

q priority consideration in the development and adoption management decisions conditions and possible changes in the external environment;

q alternative choice of management decisions depending on the state of the internal and external environment of the organization;

q implementation of constant control over the state and dynamics of the external environment and timely introduction of changes in management decisions.

The strategic management process includes 5 interrelated stages. They logically follow from one another. At the same time, there is a steady feedback and feedback from each stage on all the others.

1.analysis of the external and internal environment is usually considered the initial stage of strategic management, since it serves as the basis for determining the mission and goals of the organization, and for developing a strategy of behavior in the environment competitive environment, allowing to carry out the mission and achieve the goals.

2. Determination of the mission (purpose) of the organization, strategic goals and objectives of their implementation

3. Formulation and selection of a strategy to achieve the intended goals and results of activities

4. Effective implementation strategies, implementation of the planned strategic plan

5. Evaluation and control over the progress of the strategy being implemented, adjusting the directions of activity and methods of its implementation.

Strategic personnel management is based on the same principles and foundations as strategic management of the entire organization as a whole, since it is an integral part of it.

Strategic HR management- This is the management of the formation of the competitive labor potential of the organization, taking into account the ongoing and upcoming changes in its external and internal environment, allowing the organization to survive, develop and achieve its goals in the long term.

The purpose of strategic personnel management- to provide a coordinated and adequate state of the external and internal environment, the formation of the labor potential of the organization, counting on the forthcoming long period.

Strategic personnel management allows you to solve the following tasks.

1. Providing the organization with the necessary labor potential in accordance with its strategy.

2. Formation of the internal environment of the organization in such a way that the internal organizational culture, value orientations, priorities in needs create conditions and stimulate the reproduction and implementation of labor potential and strategic management itself.

3. Based on the settings of strategic management and the end products of activities formed by it, it is possible to solve problems associated with functional organizational structures management, including personnel management. Strategic management methods allow you to develop and maintain the flexibility of organizational structures.

4. Possibility of resolving contradictions in matters of centralization-decentralization of personnel management. One of the foundations of strategic management is the delineation of powers and tasks, both from the point of view of their strategic nature and the hierarchical level of their implementation. The application of the principles of strategic management in personnel management means the concentration of strategic issues in the personnel management services and the delegation of some of the operational and tactical powers to the functional and production divisions of the organization.

The subject of strategic personnel management is the organization's personnel management service and the top line and functional managers involved by the type of activity.

In strategic personnel management as object management examines the "meaningful" characteristics of personnel (knowledge, skills, abilities, social status, norms of behavior and values, professional qualifications, hierarchical and demographic structures). These characteristics, which he carries, express from a long-term perspective staff potential organizations. In addition, personnel management technologies (technologies for realizing labor potential, reproduction and development of personnel) are also the object of strategic management. Together, they form the labor potential of the organization.

Assessing the activities of organizations that have the ability to use advanced methods of personnel management, one can single out three established types of organizations.

1st type... They comprehensively deal with issues of strategic planning and apply elements of strategic personnel management. This is a small part of widely diversified financial and industrial associations and enterprises with great financial and organizational capabilities, a developed regional network.

2nd type... Use methods strategic planning staff. These are organizations with a strong financial position, stable technologies and a diversified product. They can be quite compact in size and have an average headcount.

3rd type... Delegate functional tasks of a strategic nature to the personnel management service. They develop strategies for the development of personnel and are guided by them in their activities. These include medium and large enterprises various organizational forms, regional ramification, diversification of technologies and products.

Strategic personnel management can be effective only within the framework systems of strategic personnel management. It means an ordered and purposeful set of interrelated and interdependent subjects, objects and means of strategic personnel management, interacting in the process of implementing the function of "strategic personnel management". The main working tool of such a system is the personnel management strategy.

Thus, the strategic personnel management system ensures the creation of structures, information channels, and most importantly - the formation of a personnel management strategy, its implementation and control over this process.

The organizational system of strategic personnel management is built on the basis of the existing organizational structure of the personnel management system. three main options for the organizational design of the system:

1. Complete separation of the system into an independent structure (but at the same time there is a danger of separation from the operational practice of implementing the strategy)

2. Allocation of the strategic management body into an independent structural unit (strategic management department) and the formation of strategic working groups on the basis of subdivisions of the personnel management system

3. Formation of a system of strategic personnel management without separation into structural units (but at the same time, strategic management issues are assigned a secondary role)

The most effective option is to create a "headquarters" strategic department within the personnel management system and coordinate the activities of other departments on strategic planning issues, when some of the personnel of already existing divisions of this system are assigned responsibilities for the "strategic personnel management" function.

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Types of economic systems. Approaches in economic theory

Introduction

Economic system(English Economicsystem) - a set of all economic processes occurring in society on the basis of the existing property relations and economic mechanism. In any economic system, the primary role is played by production in conjunction with distribution, exchange, consumption. In all economic systems, production requires economic resources, and the results economic activity distributed, exchanged and consumed. At the same time, there are also elements in economic systems that distinguish them from each other:

· Socio-economic relations;

· Organizational and legal forms of economic activity;

· Economic mechanism;

· A system of incentives and motivations for participants;

· Economic ties between enterprises and organizations.

Market- a complex economic system of social relations in the field of economic reproduction. It is conditioned by several principles that determine its essence and distinguish it from other economic systems. These principles are based on the freedom of a person, his entrepreneurial talents and the fair treatment of them by the state. Indeed, these principles are few - they can be counted on the fingers of one hand, but their importance for the very concept of a market economy can hardly be overestimated. Moreover, these foundations, namely: freedom of the individual and fair competition, are very closely related to the concept the rule of law... The guarantees of freedom and fair competition can be given only in the conditions of civil society and the rule of law. But the very essence of the rights acquired by a person under the rule of law is the right to freedom of consumption: every citizen has the right to arrange his life as he sees it, within the framework of his financial capacity... A person needs the rights to property to be inviolable, and in this protection of his rights he himself plays the main role, and the state assumes the role of protecting other citizens from illegal encroachments on the property of a citizen. This alignment of forces keeps a person within the law, since, ideally, the state is on his side. A law that begins to be respected, whatever it may be, becomes fair at least for the one who respects it. But, defending the rights of citizens, the state should not cross the border of both totalitarianism and chaos. In the first case, the initiative of citizens will be restrained or manifested in a perverted form, and in the second, the state and its laws can be swept away by violence. However, the "distance" between totalitarianism and chaos is quite large, and the state, in any case, must play "its" role. This role is to effectively regulate the economy. Regulation should be understood as a very wide range of measures, and the more effective its use, the higher the trust in the state.

Distinctive features:

· A variety of forms of ownership, among which the leading place is still occupied by private property in its various forms;

· Deployment of the scientific and technological revolution, which hastened the creation of a powerful industrial and social infrastructure;

Limited government intervention in the economy, but the government's role in social sphere is still great;

· Changes in the structure of production and consumption (increasing the role of services);

· An increase in the level of education (post-secondary);

· A new attitude to work (creative);

Increased attention to environment(limiting the reckless use of natural resources);

· Humanization of the economy ("human potential");

· Informatization of society (increase in the number of knowledge producers);

· Renaissance of small business (rapid renewal and high differentiation of products);

Types of economic systems

Pure capitalism (market economy)

This is an economic system, the hallmarks of which are private property, free competition and pricing in the markets based on the laws of supply and demand, the priority of personal vested interests (the desire to maximize their income), the minimum level of economic power of individual entities (the inability to radically affect the market situation), the minimum degree of government intervention in the economy. This type of economic system is best described by A. Smith, who proclaimed the law of the "invisible hand", i.e. self-regulation of the market mechanism, when the desire to derive their own benefit at the same time leads to ensuring the interests of the whole society. In conclusion, it should be noted that the term "pure capitalism" is conditional, used only in theory, in reality there was capitalism of free competition. Moreover, today "pure capitalism" is even more absurd than "pure socialism".

This system is built on the most effective economic control within the firm and market competition. Only the right to private property allows one to build economic control within the firm, to be able to flourish or go bankrupt as a result of market competition. Competition forces the private owner to take economic initiative, save limited resources, take risks or be careful in spending funds, look for sources of profit and avoid unnecessary expenses.

Private property was invented in ancient Greece and Ancient rome, but private owners in these countries used the labor of slaves, i.e. instead of economic control within a private enterprise, they used corporal punishment. At that time, they preferred to buy a slave in the market and force him to work for the owner for free by means of corporal punishment than to pay a free worker a wage, bonus or fine. At that time, people did not yet know such a great invention as economic control. This invention was made much later - at the beginning of modern times, in Western Europe. In a craft workshop in the Middle Ages, the apprentice received a salary for working for a foreman, but the apprentice did not receive it. The main incentive for the apprentice and apprentice was administrative incentives, the apprentice dreamed of passing the exam for the title of master, for this it was necessary to make a masterpiece and arrange a feast for the masters of his workshop for his own money. The apprentice ate from the master's table, worked for free, did housework, was qualified as an artisan, and dreamed of becoming first an apprentice and then a master. At the same time, market relations were already present in Western European countries, but not fully, since the wide development of market relations was hindered by the guild charter, which hindered the development of broad competition between artisans, supported egalitarian tendencies, and prevented the enrichment of the successful and the ruin of the losers. For example, the shop charter forbade increasing the number of machines and the number of apprentices, working by candlelight on the second shift, admitting artisans from other cities with their products to the city market, etc. In modern times, workshops and their charters were canceled in order to introduce broad market relations and wide competition between manufacturers into the economy. The craft workshops were replaced by manufactories, where a division of labor was introduced and the number of hired workers was sharply increased. The organization of labor at a manufactory cannot even be imagined without the widespread use of economic control, although in Russia at manufactories in the 17-19 centuries. often assigned (serfs) peasants worked.

In the United States at the beginning of the 19th century. there were disagreements about the possibility of using different types of social control in a private enterprise. In the South, the United States used corporal punishment as an incentive to exploit African slaves on cotton plantations under the slogan "Slavery is normal for blacks." In the North, the United States has used economic incentives on labor in farms, manufactories, and factories. Market competition has shown that economic incentives are more effective than corporal punishment... A. Tocqueville in his work "Democracy in America" ​​noted that the state of the economy in two neighboring states differs sharply if slavery exists in one state, and in the other it is prohibited. The prohibition of slavery leads to a flourishing economy, and the existence of slavery leads to a decline in the economy. The dispute between opponents and supporters of slavery was resolved during the civil war between North and South in favor of the northerners, i.e. opponents of slavery.

Command economy (communism)

An economic system in which the opposite principles are realized: rigid centralization of economic power in the state - the main subject of economic life, including the use of resources at all levels; the behavior of subjects is determined by national goals, the public interest dominates over the private. All resources are owned by the state, are not available for free use and are distributed by directive according to plans. As a result, production often acquires an autonomous character, does not provide for the satisfaction of social needs, technical progress is inhibited and the economy stagnates.

This economic system arose in states belonging to the Asian formation and in societies with a totalitarian regime of power (fascism or socialism).

A command economic system is a way of organizing an economy in which land and capital are state-owned and the allocation of resources is in the hands of state central authorities in accordance with state plans. Thus, economic control and the market were abolished. For the leaders of socialist enterprises, state plans for the production of products were introduced, for non-fulfillment of which under Stalin they could be repressed on the principle "from the chair to the bunk", under Khrushchev and Brezhnev they could be dismissed. And for overfulfillment of the plan, they were promoted in service - they were appointed ministers, were given orders and medals. Instead of efficient market allocation of resources, the communists introduced ineffective state allocation of resources. The communists abolished private property, took their resources from private owners and took them into state ownership. Instead of economic control, the communists even tried to introduce a system of ideological control in the economy as part of a campaign of socialist competition. Instead of a bonus and a fine, the foremost workers were given flags, a photograph was placed on the honor board, and a laudatory article was placed in the newspaper. The first leader was the miner Alexei Stakhanov, who cut several coal production rates during a shift, after which all other workers were raised the production rate. The best working conditions were created for the foremost workers - they were provided with new advanced equipment, etc., while the rest of the workers were not provided with these conditions, but they were obliged to keep up with the foremost workers in terms of production. Socialist competition has shown its complete ineffectiveness.

Mixed system

An economy in which there is a combination of some properties of the first and second systems. A mixed system has emerged in many industrialized countries, where an efficient market mechanism is complemented by flexible contour government regulation. The role of the state is reduced, first of all, to the creation of favorable conditions for conducting entrepreneurial activity, improving the market infrastructure, providing certain social guarantees for the population, solving national problems and tasks. In general, this type of economic system allows you to combine the advantages of the market mechanism with government regulation, which eliminates the "failures" of the market, minimizing its negative effects on society.

A mixed economy is characterized by a combination of elements of pure capitalism and a command economy. Goods and services are produced by both the government and private companies. The state is actively involved in the redistribution of income, the implementation of social programs, the definition of legislative norms of economic life, regulation of the monetary system.

Market and command economic models in their pure form can be found today only in theory. In reality, the economies of most developed countries today are mixed. In a mixed economic system, the economy is based on private property, although there is a fairly large public sector in France, Germany and the UK. In companies like the German airline Lufthansa, a significant portion of the shares are owned by the state, but these companies do not receive government plans, obey the laws of the market and have to compete with private enterprises.

Traditional economics

This type of economic system should be considered in isolation, since it takes place in countries defined as undeveloped. Its most characteristic features are: economic activity is not perceived as a primary value; the individual belongs to his original community; economic power is combined with political power. Practically all questions - what to produce, how, on the basis of what technologies, how to distribute the produced products - all this is determined by the prevailing customs and traditions. The same applies to needs that do not fulfill here a stimulating function for the development of production. The traditional economy is impervious to technological progress and is difficult to reform.

The traditional economy of these four types of economic systems is the oldest, it was built on moral control and the absence of a market. Today in Russia a traditional economic system exists among the peoples of the North who raise deer according to tradition and do not ask themselves the question of whether it is profitable and maybe worth it to grow something else? Resource ownership in this system is most often collective, i.e. hunting grounds, pastures, croplands and meadows belong to the entire tribe or community. Stolypin's reform in Russia destroyed communal ownership of land and introduced private ownership of land. After the October coup, the communists actually restored communal land ownership, declared the land public property, and then made it state property and forced the peasants to work on the collective farm almost free of charge for workdays (stubs in the magazine) with the help of the threat of repression. As a result, under Khrushchev and Brezhnev, the incentives to work almost disappeared from the peasants, and agriculture in Russia without economic incentives and without market competition was actually collapsed as an industry. Russia until 1917 was one of the largest exporters agricultural products, and under the communists our country was constantly balancing on the brink of starvation, under Khrushchev and Brezhnev, Russia became an importer of these products. Under Brezhnev, the state spent huge amounts of money on the development of agriculture, but this money disappeared without a trace like in a bottomless barrel.

Economic theory

Economic theory is a discipline of economic science, which is its theoretical and philosophical foundation. Consists of many schools and directions. Economic theory develops and is replenished with new data over time, therefore, such a direction as the history of economic doctrines is engaged in its development in a historical perspective. The main task of economic theory is to explain the events taking place in economic life with the help of models of reality, to reflect the real economy.

Economic theory consists of a number of sections: methodology of economic science, microeconomics, macroeconomics, international economics, econometrics, game theory. In modern economic theory, a number of scientific schools and directions can be distinguished: neo-Keynesianism, monetarism, new institutional economic theory, neuroeconomics, the Austrian school, new political economy, economics and law.

Economic theory methods:

1. Method of analysis and synthesis - analysis involves dividing the object or phenomenon under consideration into separate parts and determining the properties of an individual element. With the help of synthesis, a complete picture of the phenomenon as a whole is obtained.

2. Method of induction and deduction - with the method of induction, there is a study of individual facts, principles and the formation of general theoretical concepts based on the results (from the particular to the general). The method of deduction involves research from general principles, laws, when the provisions of the theory are distributed into separate phenomena.

3. The method of the systems approach - considers a separate phenomenon or process as a system consisting of a certain number of interconnected elements that interact and affect the efficiency of the entire system as a whole.

4. The method of mathematical modeling - involves the construction of graphical, formalized models, which in a simplified form characterize individual economic phenomena or processes.

5. The method of scientific abstraction - allows you to exclude from consideration certain insignificant relationships between the subjects of the economy and focus on the consideration of several subjects.

Functions of economic theory:

1. Cognitive - allows you to analyze individual processes of the economy, establishes the relationship between these phenomena, determines the properties of the subjects of the economy (financial and credit institutions, enterprises, the state, the population).

2. Methodological - allows you to define economic theory as the basis for the development of a number of other economic disciplines (marketing, statistics, management, pricing).

3. Educational - allows citizens to form an economic culture, logic, basic concepts of the market.

4. Practical - recommendations for improving the current economic situation, reducing inflation, increasing the gross national product, etc., developing specific principles and methods of a rational economy.

5. Prognostic - based on the analysis of economic phenomena and processes to develop directions for future development.

The basic elements of economic theory, on which any economic theory is based, are three types of statements: statements of purpose, statements of constraints imposed on opportunities, and statements of choices.

Purpose statements

A goal is something that people want to achieve. The manager of the firm may have the goal of making the greatest possible profit. The consumer can strive to obtain the greatest possible material satisfaction for a given income. People in any situation can confuse what they pursue narrowly - "economic" goals with a commitment to the values ​​of the family, social responsibility etc. Concepts such as purpose, intent, and preference are essentially interchangeable.

Restriction Statements

Due to the phenomenon of scarcity of resources, the possibilities of people are not unlimited. People are always faced with limitations: the things they need come with an opportunity cost, and many of them may simply not be possible. The assertion of the constraints imposed on the set of available opportunities is a key part of any economic theory. Some limitations relate to what is physically possible given the resources and level of knowledge. Other constraints do not take the form of physical limits, but alternative costs, often defined in terms of prices.

Choice Statement

The final component of economic theory is a statement about the most likely choices to be made based on specific goals and constraints on opportunities. For example, the choices that underlie the law of demand view consumers as people with the goal of obtaining the greatest possible satisfaction in the presence of restrictions imposed on their capabilities by the size of their budget, the range of goods offered and the prices of these goods. Based on these goals and restrictions, the law of demand states that, in all likelihood, people will prefer to increase their purchases of a given product when the price for it decreases, given that all other conditions remain the same (all other things being equal).

Formational and civilizational approaches to the periodization of social development

The study of the laws and stages of development of society is an extremely important problem for science and social practice. Without this, it is impossible to understand the complex socio-economic processes of human movement to the heights of modern civilization.

Scientists-economists of the past and modern times interpret the essence and features of the historical development of society in different ways. The most widespread are the formational and civilizational approaches to understanding the process economic development human society.

The formational approach was developed by K. Marx and his followers. Its essence lies in the fact that the productive forces of society, together with production relations, represent a certain mode of production of material goods, and the mode of production, in combination with the political superstructure of society, is a socio-economic formation. The fundamental economic core of each mode of production, and accordingly the formation, is the dominant form of ownership, since it is this form that determines the method of connecting the worker with the means of production.

The formation approach provides that the development of human society occurs as a sequential change from one mode of production to another:

Primitive;

Slave-owning;

Feudal;

Capitalist;

Communist.

The formation approach proceeds from the fact that the decisive role in social development belongs to the production process, property relations, and its main driving forces are the contradictions between productive forces and production relations and the exacerbation of the class struggle in society.

However, in modern conditions, the formation approach, while recognizing certain of its provisions, is subjected to critical analysis.

First, the five-stage periodization of the development of society does not have an all-encompassing significance. It is more or less acceptable mainly for the countries of Western Europe, but does not fully reflect the originality of the development of the Asian mode of production, the evolution of the civilizations of China, India, and also does not highlight the features of the historical development of Russia and Ukraine.

Secondly, the formational approach does not reveal the diversity of life, impoverishes the history of human society, reducing it mainly to one factor - development material production, practically does not take into account the role of socio-cultural and other uneconomic factors in the development of society (national, religious, ethnic, mental, etc.).

Thirdly, reflecting the history of human development as a process of “revolutionary” destruction of the old mode of production and its replacement with a new one, the formational approach thus allows for a certain discontinuity (discreteness) of the natural-historical process.

Fourth, the formational approach excessively absolutes class confrontation between property owners and non-owners, between employers and employees.

Therefore, with the aim of a deeper scientific knowledge of the laws of the development of society, world social science has developed and widely uses a civilizational approach regarding the knowledge of the history of the development of mankind.

Civilization is a historically specific state of society, which is characterized by the achieved level of productive forces, a special form of production and the corresponding spiritual culture of people.

The civilizational approach defines in a different way the regular stages of development of economic systems.

The civilizational approach is based on the following principles:

1) the versatility of the analysis of economic systems;

2) natural evolutionary gradualness of the historical process;

3) rejection of class, confrontational assessments of the content and goals of the system;

4) knowledge of the system in the unity of its economic and sociocultural elements;

5) strengthening the role of the human factor in social development;

6) recognition of world history as a single planetary whole.

As you can see, the civilizational approach does not suffer from economic determinism, since it provides for the legitimacy of the influence of other factors on the development of human society. It is focused not on the peculiarities of the mode of production, but first of all on the integrity of human civilization, the dominant importance of common human values, the integration of each society into the world community (Fig. 3.1).

The most important feature of civilization is its humanistic orientation. Man is not only the main subject of production and civilization as a whole, but also their immediate goal, target function.

American economist W. Rostow put forward the theory of "stages of growth", in which he identified five stages of economic development:

Traditional society;

Transitional society;

Shear stage;

Maturity stage;

Stage of high level of mass consumption.

Another American scientist L.G. Morgan singled out a three-stage in the development of human history:

The era of savagery (hunting);

The era of barbarism (cattle breeding);

The era of civilization.

Contemporary foreign economics(J. Galbraith, R. Aron and others), using the criterion "the degree of industrial development of society", distinguishes three stages of industrial civilization:

Pre-industrial (agrarian) society;

Industrial society;

Post-industrial society.

The pre-industrial society is dominated by agriculture and manual labor. It existed until the end of the HUL century, i.e. before the deployment of the industrial revolution.

Large-scale mechanized industrial production played a leading role in industrial society.

Postindustrial society is a new, most developed stage of human civilization, which was initiated by the scientific and technological revolution that unfolded in the second half of the 20th century. and gradually developed into a modern information and intellectual revolution. Postindustrial society is dominated by science, fundamentally new types of technology and technology, informatics, computerization, automation and robotization of all spheres of economy and management. V social production intellectual capital, knowledge, services (education, health care, culture, production of spiritual goods, etc.) are brought to the fore. As a result of these scientific and technical transformations, a worker of a new type is formed, the creative nature of his work is enhanced and everything is acquired. more weight the needs of the creative self-regulation of the individual.

The rapid development of information and intellectual technologies, computerization, astronautics has strengthened the connection between man and space, which, according to V.I. Vernadsky about the noosphere allows us to conclude that modern society is on the verge of the emergence of a new noosphere-cosmic civilization, which will determine the economic, scientific, technical and cultural face of man in the XXI century.

The post-industrial society is characterized by the deepening of the international division of labor, the strengthening of interconnections and interaction of national economies. The world market for goods, capital, qualified work force, the role of universal human interests and values ​​is increasing. All these objective processes predetermine the development of local forms of civilization into global ones, they cover more and more countries and more and more affect the life of the peoples of the whole world.

The civilizational concept of the development of society makes it possible to determine the historical place of our country, its location at the top of the industrial stage and the prospects for the transition to the post-industrial stage. This requires the creation of a social market economy in conjunction with the development and use of highly efficient technologies, restructuring of the economy, the introduction of new forms of organization and management of production, the comprehensive development of science, education, culture and the person himself.

Noting the advantages of the civilizational approach, at the same time, it should be noted that his excessive emphasis on the formation of a "united world civilization" contains a potential danger in terms of the possibility of blurring and ignoring the specificity of the economic, national and socio-cultural development of different countries and peoples, their loss of their identity and uniqueness.

Therefore, the process of forming a single world civilizational space often takes place in a contradictory form - from diversified cooperation and partnership of peoples to confrontation and local intercivilizational conflicts.

Bibliography

economic capitalism formational civilizational

1. Economic theory: Textbook / Borisov E.F.

2. A.G. Voitov. History of Economic Thought

3.http: //www.abc-people.com/typework/economy/econo-6.htm

4.http: //phi.msk.ru/

5. Political economy: Textbook for universities / Medvedev VA, Abalkin LI, Ozherelyev OI. and others - M .: Politizdat, 1990. - S. 48-50.

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Within the framework of this approach, society is considered in connection with such economically significant factors as the mode of production, accumulation and distribution of wealth. It reveals how, in a concrete historical perspective, the action of these factors affects various structures and institutions of society, leading to certain social and political problems or contributing to their resolution; explores the role economic factors in relation to the values ​​and goals that can be cultivated in the society.

It should be noted that the economy as an activity for the production, accumulation and distribution of material wealth exists at every stage of human history, however, the assessment of the role and mechanisms of this activity in different periods of history was different.

In antiquity and during the Middle Ages, you can find examples of judgments about the economy that have social and philosophical significance. In particular, according to Aristotle, wealth as a set of necessary means is of great importance both for the private life of people and within state activities... However, wealth is only a means to ensure a normal life, but, in no case, is not a goal to which one can strive for its own sake. The presence of wealth gives a free person the opportunity to engage in deserving deeds, for example, to serve society or improve oneself in the sciences and arts. Money as a medium of exchange is natural and useful. However, money (in contrast to natural reserves, which are spoiled) does not have a natural boundary for the amount of its accumulation. And this is a prerequisite for the fact that "everyone involved in money circulation strives to increase the amount of money to infinity." It follows from this that instead of being a means, wealth itself can become an end and, thus, compete with other, more significant goals. According to Aristotle, this is bad: “At the heart of this trend (the accumulation of wealth - approx. ed.) there is a striving for life in general, but not for a good life. "

In the Middle Ages, the problem of wealth was also touched upon, however, mainly within the framework of religious and moral problems. For the Middle Ages (as well as for antiquity) the problem of "fair price" was urgent. “Price” was understood here not as a purely economic category (in relation to costs and profits; as a result of supply and demand), but also as a moral norm according to which economically significant actions were judged. In Europe, the pursuit of wealth before the Reformation (16th century) was consistently condemned, in particular, the collection of interest (usury), which was explicitly declared a sin.

Thus, such an "obvious" and "natural" problem for the economic science of our time as the question of effective ways increasing wealth in conditions of total scarcity only 400-500 years ago was not only not relevant, but, moreover, the desire for this was regarded as unreasonable and unworthy behavior.

The German sociologist Max Weber (1864 - 1920) was one of the first to study the question of why there were corresponding changes in views of wealth. Weber in his work "Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism" came to the conclusion that the reasons for the spread and establishment of the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe should be sought in the peculiarities of the religious doctrine of Protestantism, where, in contrast to Catholicism, the emphasis was not on formal adherence to the dogma of Christianity, but on moral practice , expressed in the worldly service of a person, in the fulfillment of his earthly duty.

Economics in a more or less modern sense - as the theory of liberal markets - originates from the work of the English economist Adam Smith (1723 - 1790). Smith expressed the idea that the main source of the nation's wealth under capitalism is not the protectionist policy of the state in the form of protecting the domestic market from foreign competition and not an active trade balance for finished goods (as economists who adhered to the doctrine of mercantilism believed), but the creation by the state of such conditions when each active member of society will be able to satisfy his own interest, striving, first of all, for his own benefit. Selfishness and selfish interest of each - this, according to Smith, is the main source of universal prosperity. “It is not from the benevolence of a butcher, brewer, or baker we expect to receive our meal, but from their self-interest. We do not appeal to humanity, but to their selfishness and never tell them about our needs, but only about their benefits. "

Smith, therefore, believed that it was the entrepreneur's desire to achieve his private interests that was the main driving force economic development, ultimately increasing the well-being of both himself and society as a whole. The problem, however, is that in the 18th and 19th centuries. the well-being of a significant part of society (employees) was very far from ideal. Hard labor for 16 hours a day (including children), life in barracks, lawlessness and poverty did not fit in with the idea that the primary satisfaction of an entrepreneur of self-interest is the key to universal prosperity.

The protest against such conditions of existence found its expression in the political and economic doctrine of Marxism or the system of ideas, which were originally formulated by the German philosopher and economist Karl Marx (1818 - 1883).

The actual economic component of Marxism is presented in Marx's Capital. In this work, in contrast to the so-called. "Bourgeois political economy" (an example of the latter is the just-mentioned doctrine of A. Smith), which proceeds from the fact that the main sources of wealth are such factors of production as land (its natural fertility), machinery and equipment, as well as the labor of those who directly carries out the corresponding production process or organizes it, Marx came to the conclusion that the only source of value and wealth is the labor of hired workers. According to Marx, labor as a commodity is bought by the capitalist in the market for a certain price (wages) and is combined by him with other factors of production, for example, machines and equipment. The price of the product produced with these factors of production and then sold in the market is higher than the original price of the factors of production. It follows from this that the source of the higher price is precisely labor, which creates new or surplus value, which is unjustly appropriated by the capitalist.

As the main objection to the economic doctrine of Marxism, the statement that the labor of hired workers is not the only source of value is most often put forward, since other factors of production are also important. In particular, machines and equipment that have a certain price were once bought by a capitalist at own funds... Consequently, its costs must be taken into account in the value of the final product, and not only the labor of employees. The answer to this from the point of view of Marxism is that the capitalist was able to accumulate funds and buy the appropriate equipment because he had previously, in the previous cycle of production, appropriated part of the value that is created by labor. The capitalist pays the hired worker a wage, the value of which is much less than the value that his labor creates. He takes the rest for himself due to the difference between the value wages and the price of the goods being sold, and then buys the appropriate equipment with these funds. Thus, from the point of view of Marxism, only the labor of an employee is the only source of value and wealth in society.

The described state of affairs, from the point of view of Marxism, is not only subjectively experienced by the oppressed, exploited class of hired workers as unjust, but objectively, in a historical perspective, cannot continue for too long. The reason for this is that at a certain stage in the development of society, the private capitalist form of appropriation of wealth comes into conflict with the social nature of production. In a society where the production system is very complex, i.e. where individual enterprises and branches of economic activity are closely related to each other and act only as separate components in the system of social division of labor, a centralized system of organizing production and appropriate planning is necessary. And this can be achieved only on the basis of socialization of the relevant factors of production. Marx himself writes about it this way: “The monopoly of capital becomes the fetters of the mode of production that has grown under it and under it. The centralization of the means of production and the socialization of labor reach the point where they become incompatible with their capitalist shell. It explodes. The hour of capitalist property strikes. The expropriators will be expropriated. "

The economic crises of overproduction that are characteristic of capitalism are, from the point of view of Marxism, evidence that it is impossible to effectively organize and manage the process on the basis of a private interest (a set of such individual interests) economic activity... Specifically, historically and politically, the transition from the private capitalist to the social nature of production (from capitalism to socialism) occurs in the form of a social (socialist) revolution.

Marxism as a historical and philosophical doctrine is a theory of socio-economic formations or historically established types of society, which are based on a certain mode of production.

Certain productive forces and production relations correspond to each mode of production. Productive forces are means of production (means of labor, i.e. tools, tools, machines, etc., with the help of which the objects of labor are influenced, i.e. on natural raw materials or partially processed materials) and people who have a certain production experience, skills for work, allowing them to bring the means of production into action. Production relations, more precisely, production-economic relations, are relations between people regarding the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of the corresponding goods. Examples of industrial relations: slave-slave-owner relations; peasant and feudal lord; hired worker and capitalist.

Productive forces and relations of production, together, in Marxism are called "basis", i.e. the material basis that determines the appearance of any society. The state, its laws and institutions, political parties and the programs (ideologies) advocated by them are a "superstructure" over the base, which is a reflection and political and legal justification (legitimation) of the corresponding type of production relations. In particular, the doctrine of liberalism as its ideological justification corresponds to bourgeois production relations. The Marxist social doctrine is called materialistic in the sense that it is material factors (basis) that determine the corresponding ideas in the superstructure, and not vice versa. According to Marx, "it is not the consciousness of people that determines their being, but on the contrary, their social being determines their consciousness."

The historical development of society, from the point of view of Marxism, is a movement from the primitive communal, through the ancient Eastern, slave-owning and feudal to the capitalist, and from it to the communist socio-economic formation. All these formations - except the first and the last - are characterized by antagonism between the oppressors and the oppressed in connection with the exploitation of the latter by the ownership of property. “Free and slave, patrician and plebeian, landowner and serf, master and apprentice, in short, the oppressor and the oppressed were in eternal antagonism to each other, waged a continuous, sometimes hidden, sometimes obvious struggle, which always ended in a revolutionary reorganization of the entire public building or general destruction struggling classes. "

The transition from one formation to another occurs due to objective reasons, since each subsequent formation as a certain mode of production provides a more efficient production activity than the previous one. In order for such a transition to take place, the productive forces must first develop, then certain production relations come into correspondence with them, and, finally, there is a revolution in the superstructure. In particular, capitalism, as the corresponding production relations, replaced feudalism because manufactures and factories working for the market required the existence of a free wage labor market for their effective functioning, i.e. the proletariat, whose representatives in connection with production needs and market conditions can be freely hired, trained and fired. Feudal conditions, i.e. the often eternal dependence of a significant part of the population on their permanent owners is much less suitable for organizing efficient and more or less mobile market production.

Despite the impressive criticism of bourgeois economic relations, the socialist revolution, the inevitability of which in the XIX century. said K. Marx, did not happen (with the exception of the USSR and a number of countries associated with it; but, as historical experience has shown, in most of these countries, socialism was a temporary phenomenon). Why did it happen that Marx's foresight did not come true? In order to answer this, it is necessary to turn to the analysis of those social transformations that took place in Western society in the 20th century, which greatly changed its appearance in comparison with the 19th century, making the problem of a radical reorganization of economic relations irrelevant, at least at the present time. time.

As already mentioned, the main reason for the appearance in the 19th century. such a radical socio-political doctrine as Marxism was the division of society into two antagonistic classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, one of which, acting on the basis of the principle lasses faire(the principle of non-interference of the state in the economy), subjugated the other, making his life practically unbearable. The class division of society, about which Marx spoke, was preserved in the 20th century, but the acuteness of social contradictions between classes, or, more precisely, the subjective experience of the injustice of bourgeois economic relations on the part of the subordinate class, has significantly weakened. The consequence of the weakening of the severity of these experiences was the crisis of the socialist and communist parties and movements in the Western world, whose political programs were precisely based on them.

The fact is that in modern Western states mechanisms of social protection have developed (in particular, in the form of legally formalized labor contracts guaranteeing a certain level of income, regulation of working conditions, payment of appropriate benefits to the unemployed and pensioners) and, most importantly, the standard of living of a significant part of employees has significantly increased. The German philosopher and sociologist Jurgen Habermas (born 1929), analyzing the socio-economic structure of modern Western society, came to the conclusion that at present “the role of the wage earner is losing its painfully proletarian features due to the continuous rise in living standards, albeit differentiated by social strata ". And therefore, in conditions when “the welfare state has smoothed out the acuteness of class contradictions ... the theory of class consciousness does not find empirical confirmation. To a society in which it is increasingly difficult to identify specific class worlds, it is no longer applicable. "

Analyzing modern Western society within the framework of the Marxist paradigm and comparing it with what it was in the 19th century, it is important to understand that the antagonistic contradictions of the past did not disappear altogether, but transformed into a special dynamic social structure, one part of which is bourgeois entrepreneurial activity as a pursuit of profit , and the other - a new "class" of consumers (in fact, of course, for the most part, all the same employees) who, for the sake of preserving and, even more, for even more efficient functioning of a system focused primarily on profit , were admitted to the corresponding goods (to ensure sales markets). The modern "consumer society" with its completely defined priorities and standards, as well as the corresponding "mass culture" are not annoying accidents that arose "suddenly" and "from nowhere", but natural consequences of the immanent logic of the functioning and development of the bourgeois type of economy.

Analysis of various problems of society from the standpoint of the economic paradigm should not be identified only with the ideas that were formulated in the framework of classical political economy and Marxism. Within the framework of the leading direction of modern economic science - marginalism - for a long time (at the turn of the 50-60-ies of the XX century) a special direction emerged - "economic imperialism", whose representatives are not limited to the study of such highly specialized "economic" problems as, for example , issues of increasing the efficiency of production of certain material goods, and uses the methodology of limiting analysis to study the functioning of almost any social institutions and any forms of human behavior. The methods of economics are used to investigate such non-traditional problems for economics as, for example, the patterns of language development and church attendance, political activity, legal systems, suicide, altruism and social interaction, marriage, fertility and divorce.

If you compare this direction with Marxism, here one can find one definite similarity: both directions claim the status of a general, fundamental science of society. The difference between them is that if in Marxism the "economic approach" to society means that the organization of production plays a decisive role, predetermining the social and political structure (the basis determines the superstructure, and not vice versa), then in economic imperialism the "economic approach" is the study of almost any social objects and phenomena based on two initial premises: utility maximization and stability of preferences.

In particular, according to the leading representative of “economic imperialism,” the American economist Gary Becker (born 1930), “human behavior should not be divided into any separate compartments, in one of which it is maximizing, in the other it is not. , in one it is motivated by stable preferences, in the other - by unstable, in one it leads to the accumulation of an optimal amount of information, in the other it does not. Rather, we can assume that all human behavior is characterized by the fact that participants maximize utility with a stable set of preferences and accumulate optimal amounts of information and other resources in many different markets. ” Becker illustrates this point with many examples. In particular, “Good health and a long life are important goals for most people, but a moment's thought is enough for each of us to be sure that these are not the only goals: sometimes better health or longer life expectancy can be sacrificed because they conflict with other goals. The economic approach assumes that there is an “optimal” life span at which the usefulness of an extra year of life is less than the usefulness lost as a result of using time and other resources to achieve it. Therefore, a person can be a heavy smoker or neglect physical exercise because of complete absorption in his work, and not necessarily because he is ignorant of the possible consequences or "unable" to process the information he has, but because a segment of his life that he donates is of insufficient value to him to justify the costs of not smoking or doing less strenuous work. Such decisions would be "unreasonable" if life expectancy were the only goal, but insofar as there are other goals, these decisions may turn out to be thoughtful and in this sense - "prudent". According to the economic approach, most (if not all!) Deaths are thus somewhat suicides - in the sense that they could be delayed if more resources were invested in prolonging life. This not only leads to interesting conclusions for the analysis of what is colloquially called suicides, but the generally accepted distinction between suicides and "natural" deaths is called into question. "

And here is another case of Becker's rational explanation of what, from the point of view of some, is always accompanied by some "mystery" and therefore does not lend itself to rational analysis: “According to the economic approach, a person decides to marry when the expected utility of marriage exceeds the expected utility of single life, or the additional costs arising from continuing the search for a more suitable pair. Likewise, a married person decides to end it when the expected utility of returning to a single state or entering into another marriage outweighs the utility losses associated with divorce (including separation from children, division of joint property, legal expenses, etc.) ".

It should be noted that not all economists share the idea of ​​Becker and other representatives of "economic imperialism" about the omnipotence of the methodology of economic analysis.

At the beginning of our consideration of the economic approach to the analysis of society, it was noted that in antiquity and the Middle Ages, the problems of economic activity, although they were touched upon, were interpreted there in a completely different sense than in modern times: not as "purely economic" problems, for example, problems sources of the nation's wealth and the effectiveness of economic activities of certain of its subjects, but as problems that have, first of all, social and moral aspects.

Due to the noted difference between what is called "economic problems" in more or less close to us time, what was meant by this earlier, there is a feeling that economic activity in the distant past was much less rational than it is now. This is really so if we evaluate it from the point of view of criteria, principles and concepts that have arisen and are used in the conditions of the modern economy. If we look at the archaic economy of antiquity and the Middle Ages from a different point of view, from the point of view of “themselves” (that is, understand them as a special “ideal type” with its own axioms and problems and the special logic of economic activity arising from them), it turns out that in these economies the activity is aimed at maximizing its own utility no less than in the modern one, although on the basis of completely different methods and strategies.

One of the first to turn to the analysis of the special logic of economic activity in archaic societies was the French ethnographer and sociologist Marcel Moss (1872-1950). In the work “Essay on the Gift. The form and basis of exchange in archaic societies "Moss showed that in societies that are at a relatively low level of development, the exchange of goods is carried out through an act of donation, which only on superficial consideration may seem like a free action, but in reality is a way of organizing social cohesion, status approval and prestige, a special form of submission and obligation to the one to whom this gift is presented. The one to whom the gift was presented is obliged not only to accept it, but also to “give it away” by preparing a return gift. “To refuse to give, to invite, as well as to refuse to take, is identical with a declaration of war; it means to renounce union and unification. " Considering various types of acts of fictitious generosity, in relation not only to other people, but also to nature and the gods (sacrifice), Moss came to the conclusion that in all these cases we are talking about a special non-market (in the modern sense of the word), but nevertheless , quite expedient and economically sound (but carefully hidden) strategy: "gifts to people and gods pursue ... the goal of buying peace with one and the other."

French sociologist and philosopher Pierre Bourdieu (1930 - 2002), analyzing the structure of the archaic economy in his work "Practical Meaning", came to the conclusion that, although it is impossible to use such categories of modern economic science as "labor", "market exchange "," Capital "," credit "(because none of this in the sense that modern economic science invests in them, there is simply no , those. there are neither types of exactly such activity, nor exactly such institutions), nevertheless, one can speak of their kind analogs (instead of "labor" - "work", instead of "exchange" - "gift", instead of "capital" and "credit ", Respectively," symbolic capital "and" credit of fame "). In particular, there is no “labor” and “exchange” as activities aimed primarily at efficiency and profit, because an archaic society is too poor, too dependent on nature and has too ineffective technology at its disposal. As a result, there "no one knows the difference between productive and unproductive, profitable and unprofitable labor." In this society, due to low labor productivity, the factor of social cohesion of individuals, willingness to help each other and unite efforts to achieve common goal... An open announcement in such a society about one's personal, selfish economic interest would be ineffective, destructive social strategy... As Bourdieu writes, "the peculiarity of the 'archaic' economy lies ... in the fact that economic activity cannot explicitly recognize those economic goals in relation to which it is objectively oriented."

As for "capital", due to the underdevelopment of monetary circulation, as well as for the previously indicated reasons, it simply cannot exist exclusively in the form of money. But it exists in a different form. According to Bourdieu, “within the framework of an economy that, by definition, refuses to recognize the“ objective ”essence of“ economic ”practices, that is, the law of“ naked interest ”and“ selfish calculation, ”“ economic ”capital itself can act only insofar as it achieves its goal recognition at the cost of a transformation that makes the present principle of its functioning unrecognizable; such a denied capital, recognized in its legitimacy, and therefore not recognized as capital (one of the foundations of such recognition can be gratitude - in the sense of gratitude for good deeds) - this is symbolic capital, and in conditions when economic capital is not recognized, it, probably, along with religious capital forms the only possible form of accumulation ”. Symbolic capital as capital of a "good name", honor and prestige, earned, among other things, through (at first glance) economically ruinous behavior (for example, a gift instead of a sale, certain types of "gratuitous" assistance, etc.) allows, if necessary, to accumulate significant forces of supporters and allies, in general, those who are ready "at the first call" to come to the rescue. The latter is of no small importance in the event of, for example, a short period of seasonal work (harvesting), war or any other exceptional events requiring a quick response. This shows that symbolic capital, despite its seeming "ephemeral", can be quite effectively converted into material benefits.

One of the reasons for the disintegration of the way of archaic economies (in the categories of Marxism - "production relations") in the development of society, Bourdieu sees in the fact that in such economies too much effort is spent on maintaining the fiction of disinterestedness and concealing the true one, i.e. the mercenary essence of economic activity. “As part of the work of reproducing existing relationships (holidays, ceremonies, exchanges of gifts, visits or tokens of courtesy, and especially weddings), which is just as necessary for the existence of a group as reproduction economic foundations its existence, the labor required to conceal the function of exchanges occupies no less place than the labor required to perform this function ”. In other words, at a relatively early stage in the development of society, when the people and social groups that make up it are still too weak to individually solve their problems and, thereby, also confront each other in one form or another, the archaic, effective for this case, dominates. type of economic relations. If you have enough strength to realize your interest alone, any additional efforts to hide it begin to look like a waste of energy. The fiction of unselfishness loses its original meaning and begins to be perceived simply as a waste of money.

Economics has the status of a scientific discipline, where many methods of scientific and practical research are combined.

Scientific abstraction or associative methods

Like any scientific discipline, for example, mathematics, in economics there are a number of generally accepted scientific abstractions, axioms, theorems, which are accepted without proof for the purposes of scientific research.

The option closest to everyday life is a theoretical justification (assumption) that every economic agent - a business, a household, or an individual person - a consumer, is a rationally acting subject. Those. it is assumed that the entrepreneur always strives to increase profits (which was well described in the work of K. Marx "Capital"), and that, for example, a buyer or a trader in the stock market seeks to make a rational decision from all options.

Despite the fact that practice also proves some irrationality of behavior ("lemmings effect" or crowd), nevertheless, scientific abstraction in economics helps to create a set of universal models for analyzing the behavior of economic agents in a particular economic system.

Integration and Differentiation Method (or Induction and Deduction Method)

This method is based on the study of a general phenomenon on the basis of a particular event, or vice versa, the study of a particular phenomenon on the basis of a larger one. This allows you to study economic systems, for example, the behavior of an individual as a consumer in the market, based on the analysis of the behavior of a group or segment of consumers (analysis of a reference group).

Similarly, if you apply such methods to the financial market, then judging by how the general stock exchange index behaves, you can draw certain conclusions about how the economy of the entire country is functioning. Or, on the contrary, according to how the exchange rate of a particular country behaves, it is possible by deduction to predict and analyze the work of a particular business - for example, to study the dynamics of the balance of payments of export-import companies.

Method of historical research and analogies

In economics, as in science, the method of comparing past events with present is used very often. For example, all economic crises, starting with the history of tulip mania, have a certain algorithm of development that is repeated in a historical retrospective. This is a good scientific basis for research, the result of which can be the ability to predict the onset of new crises and their main parameters.

Methods of statistical processing of information

Economics, as a science, deals with a huge amount of data, which include factors in the development of large and small economic systems - from the study of the dynamics of consumer preferences and the size of lending to individual households and ending with the study of the parameters of the budget of a particular country.

Collection, analysis and preparation of ready-made solutions used in economics is based on statistical processing of information using special econometric models. They allow you to systematize the amount of information, filter random events and give the researcher a probabilistic outcome of events.

From a purely practical point of view, for example, on financial market, a trader or investor is also studying the statistics of the number of exits of the price level of an asset (stock, bond or currency) above (below) a certain level.

Modeling processes in the economy

Modeling in economics occurs in the same way as it is used in theoretical physics or mechanics, when a model of a certain complexity is created to study a process, sometimes in the form of a set of mathematical functions.

The economy uses a large arsenal of such mathematical models, starting from the model of the Monte Carlo type and ending with complex systems from hundreds of equations. Such modeling is very often used not only in macroeconomics, but also in purely practical areas, for example, in insurance, where there are special models for analyzing the occurrence of certain insured events.

Graphical analysis methods

Since economics, as a science, deals with processes taking place in a certain space and time, then naturally the question arises of the analogy of these events with cyclical or wave events. Any economic system, be it the economy of the country as a whole, the business of an individual enterprise or the price of a share on the stock market, develops in a certain cyclical sequence. So the share price cannot grow infinitely upward, since the economy of any country is experiencing growth and decline phases (crises). Accordingly, for such a cyclic (wave) analysis, graphic-analytical methods are used.

 

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