The role of state social policy
The uniqueness of the transition period is reflected in the strategy of social policy and the choice of priorities social development and mechanisms for managing these processes at the national, regional and individual levels. In a socially oriented market economy, there is a significant degree of state participation in regulating distribution processes, ensuring employment and social protection vulnerable segments of the population.
The need to carry out further market reforms and strengthen state regulation of social processes forms the prerequisites for the model of a social market economy. The transition to a socially oriented market economy involves going through several stages of reform and developing actions of both a short-term and long-term nature. The most negative social consequences The reforms that manifested themselves first were the low level of income of the population, the social polarization of society, the persistently high level of poverty and unemployment, the inaccessibility of socially significant benefits for a significant part of the population, the deterioration of health indicators, the demographic and environmental situation.
The most important indicator, which largely determines all the basic social parameters of the population’s livelihoods, is the level of income. The most acute problem in the area of income, on the solution of which the social stability of society largely depends, is the persisting significant amount of poverty and the high level of socio-economic differentiation of the population in terms of income level, quality of consumption, and property status.
During the transition to a market, socio-economic differentiation of society is inevitable, but the danger of social conflicts will be minimal if the gap in income between the 10% of the richest and 10% of the least affluent population does not exceed 10 times, and the share of the population with incomes below the subsistence level is no more than 10%. .
The level of income differentiation that has developed over the years of reform corresponds to a certain extent to the moderately polar model of social differentiation of society with a coefficient of the order of 10 - 15: 1. To maintain social stability Russian society and strengthening the social base of market reforms in the medium term, it is necessary to ensure lower values of the indicator of differentiation of income of the population and begin, based on the implementation of a set of economic, social and organizational and legal measures, to implement the strategic task of transition to a consolidating model of social differentiation that dominates in industrial developed countries Oh.
The most important consequence of the increasing stratification of society is not only the fact that the state cannot long time to consolidate sharply polar segments of society with incomparable conditions, opportunities, and life prospects. The main thing is that in such a situation it becomes impossible to solve the problem of mobilizing social resources for economic development. The necessary social base for market reforms has not yet been formed, and the main task is to strengthen the influence of the role of social factors that help accelerate the processes of economic transformation.
Income differentiation is not the only sign of social stratification in society. It is also necessary to take into account the quality of consumption, the availability of various goods and services to the population, different conditions for increasing economic activity and social status, and much more. Differences in income levels determine qualitative differences in the structure of consumer spending, which can serve as a boundary that distinguishes the type of consumption of the low-income strata from the middle-income strata, and the average-income strata from the rich.
During the years of formation and development of the market economy, the most negative changes occurred in wages. Unjustified differentiation in wages remains in various sectors of the economy.
It is necessary to take into account that the level of income depends not only on factors influencing the labor and social activity of workers, but also, to a greater extent, on changes in the position of individual professional and industry groups in the labor market. Different sectors of the economy have different capabilities to adapt to market conditions. In general, workers in raw materials export-oriented industries, monopolistic enterprises, professional groups serving the market, and employees of enterprises (organizations) with foreign capital were in the most advantageous position. It is critical that the level of remuneration for highly qualified labor is especially low for workers in education, healthcare, science, on whose activities the quality of the labor social and intellectual potential of society depends, as well as in mechanical engineering, which is considered throughout the world as a basic sector of the economy, agriculture, on the development of which The food security of the country depends. The assessment of labor in these industries is completely inconsistent with either their role in economic development or quality characteristics their work force.
Under these conditions, the possibilities for increasing social status and wages are narrowed, depending on the labor activity and personal abilities of workers. There is a growing crisis of labor motivation, which has such negative consequences as a low level of use of qualified workers and underemployment of specialists, exclusion of labor from life values, changing behavioral stereotypes that arise in conditions of a real contradiction between the goal - the accumulation of capital at any cost - and the means of achieving it, which are often illegal, etc. These social processes, refracted at the individual level, form the social well-being of the individual, self-esteem of his financial situation and prospects for a person's life.
Currently, differences in income of the population, caused mainly by socio-professional and industry factors, are increasing depending on the degree of adaptation of the population to market conditions. The level of social adaptation to changed economic conditions is largely determined by an individual’s ability to effectively use personal potential to improve their well-being. Over the years of reform, the majority of the population has not yet formed a system of values, work motivation, and social attitudes adequate to the needs of a market economy. Research by Russian scientists indicates that approximately a third of the population can be classified as them and about 20% - as those who are career-oriented and life success, the rest of the population belongs to the intermediate type.
A society emerging under market conditions is a complex social system with a close interweaving of group and individual interests, with many forms and types of consumption, quality of life, economic behavior, methods of social adaptation and reproduction, the relationship of which determines the specific social structure of society at a given stage of development. A necessary element in constructing a model of the well-being of the population should be a mechanism that ensures the creation of the necessary conditions within which, with the help of the state, the potential of the population interested in the development of economic reforms, but in need of removing barriers to increasing their social status and income, will be activated. For those who, due to their socio-economic status, cannot participate in social production, the state provides social protection.
Solving the problem of increasing the capacity of the population to support the ongoing reforms will largely depend on the orientation of the economy towards improving the quality of life of broad sections of the population. Low quality of life, high polarization of society, inaccessibility of socially significant benefits destabilize the socio-economic situation and act as a deterrent to ongoing economic transformations. Even if GDP growth rates are not high enough, a transition to the stage of social stabilization is possible only if a model of social orientation of the economy is ensured, the fundamental principle of which is to ensure social justice. Therefore, at the present stage and in the medium term, one of the main goals of social policy is to increase the real income of the population, making it possible to satisfy the necessary material and social needs. The implementation of this goal will contribute not only to the preservation and improvement of the physical, labor and intellectual potential of society, but also to strengthen the influence of income growth on the development of the consumer market and, accordingly, on increasing production volumes in industries producing consumer goods.
Currently, a significant increase in wages and other forms of income is a task of paramount importance. To do this, it is necessary to increase the size of the minimum state guarantees, the initial basis of which should be the social consumer budget, reflecting the required level of life support. With economic growth and expansion of the revenue base of the state budget, it is necessary to plan a gradual approach of the minimum income to the size of the social budget.
Changing the tax scale will help reduce income differentiation and achieve greater social justice. The principles of tax redistribution adopted in each country are most fully reflected in the taxation of individual income. In the vast majority of developed countries, incomes that do not meet the minimum needs of life are exempt from taxes, and maximum rates are applied to extremely high incomes that exceed the level defined in democratic states as economically and socially reasonable. Since the mechanism for reimbursing the costs of labor reproduction is largely determined by the level and methods of tax redistribution, when determining rates income tax it is necessary to make a transition from a calculated indicator that has no economic basis to the use of a subsistence minimum for these purposes. It is also necessary to gradually increase the level of taxation of excess income, while reducing income tax rates in relation to income the amount of which corresponds to the subsistence level, establishing a tax-free minimum for income the level of which is below the subsistence level.
One of the areas of income regulatory policy is the formation of a mechanism for indexing income when the cost of living increases. Laws on indexation of wages and other forms of income adopted in many countries provide for very low indexation thresholds - with price increases starting from 0.2%. Rising prices cause a fall in consumer demand among the middle-income, especially low-income, strata, which need indexation in to a greater extent, than the population with average and even higher incomes. On the other hand, the growth of production is threatened by a fall in mass demand for consumer goods. Therefore, with rising prices for basic food products and essential goods, low incomes and, above all, incomes below the official poverty line should be indexed.
The negative consequences of social disproportions in income levels, as already noted, have intensified the processes of labor demotivation. To overcome these negative trends, it is necessary to create equal conditions for the reproduction of labor at the inter-industry and intra-industry levels, between the private and public sectors, as well as within enterprises (organizations). For these purposes, it is necessary to bring the minimum wage as the main regulator of wages to a really significant value - not lower than the subsistence level of an able-bodied worker.
The special impact of social factors on economic development occurs through the formation and development of human potential. It is its social components such as health, education, professional and qualification level that are directly related to economic indicators - labor activity, income growth, and the formation of the competitiveness of the workforce. In turn, the quality of human potential is directly dependent on the functioning and development of the social complex - education, healthcare, housing and communal services, culture, the functioning of which depends on the state of the economy.
The period of formation and development of market relations had a negative impact on the financing of the social complex, for the functioning of which the market mechanism is not enough. The most important indicator determining the resource base of social reproduction of the population is the share government spending in GDP allocated for education, healthcare, science, provision environmental safety. The implementation of a welfare model, the main goal of which is to improve the level and quality of life, will be the final stage in the formation of a model of a social market economy. 10
The transition to a socially oriented market economy will require limiting social risks and imbalances in the main areas of life support for the population and creating the necessary conditions conducive to the social orientation of economic development. The most important areas include:
- * ensuring minimum state guarantees financed from the budget, the initial basis of which is the minimum social budget, reflecting the socially necessary level of life support for the population;
- * implementation of regional and targeted programs to combat poverty and unemployment;
- * development of a wage regulation system based on collective agreements and tariff agreements in the social partnership system and the elimination on this basis of high differentiation in wage levels;
- * strengthening the role of the minimum wage as an instrumental influence on economic and social processes;
- * improving the system of collecting income tax based on changes in the scale of taxation of individual income;
- * the formation of a mechanism for indexing the income of low-income groups with rising prices for essential food products and socially significant services;
- * strengthening government control over the formation of costs and the reasonableness of prices for essential items;
- * support and development of social infrastructure that ensures the reproduction of human capital on the basis of government funding within a fixed share as a percentage of GDP;
- * ensuring the availability of socially significant benefits and services, primarily medical care, education, housing at the level of the minimum social standard.
At the present stage and in the medium term, one of the main goals of the state’s social policy is to increase the real incomes of the population, which makes it possible to satisfy the necessary material and social needs. The implementation of this goal will contribute not only to the preservation and improvement of the physical, labor and intellectual potential of society, but also to strengthen the influence of income growth on the development of the consumer market and, accordingly, on increasing the production volume of industries producing consumer goods. social reform income stratification
In turn, it is possible to achieve a reduction in social differentiation of the population using the mechanism tax policy state and public control, as well as the formation of mechanisms for indexing income when the cost of living increases.
Literature
Gasanov A.S. The role of the state’s social policy in raising the standard of living of the population // Issues of structuring the economy. 2008. No. 1 p. 8-10.
Course work
On the topic
Social policy and social work: the place and role of social policy in the theory of social work
Introduction
Chapter 1. Social work as a theoretical activity
Chapter 2. Concept and essence of social policy
Chapter 3. The relationship between social policy and social work
Conclusion
Bibliography
Introduction
The relevance of research. IN Lately The country has made a significant step towards the institutionalization of social work as a system of ideas, values, relationships and institutions regarding ensuring the social well-being of people with special needs and currently having a social problem requiring social protection, assistance and social support. Particularly noteworthy is the development of social work theory, which for a long period, as is known, lagged behind the direct practice of social work.
In the context of rapid social changes at the macro level of the social work system, in order to optimize its activities, it is necessary to carry out effective social activities and create qualitatively new programs that resolve and anticipate the problems of a particular society. The main goal of these efforts is to promote the normal functioning of the social sphere through the implementation of social policies.
Currently, social policy is considered as a specific ideology and practice of the formation and implementation of social obligations of the state and society in general and their individual structures in particular in relation to various groups of the population.
Therefore, studying the place and role of social policy in the theory of social work is an urgent problem today.
The degree of development of the problem. In an effort to take part in improving the system for protecting the rights of citizens in the context of radical changes in the social sphere, specialists in the field of philosophy, sociology, pedagogy, history and other sciences focused on current problems of scientific knowledge in social work, studying its foreign experience and their own Russian traditions.
Researchers such as V.G. Bocharova, S.I. Grigoriev, L.G. Guslyakova, N.S. Danakin, V.I. Zhukov, I.G. Zainyshev, I.A. Zimnyaya, V.A. Nikitin , P.D. Pavlenok, A.M. Panov, A.S. Sorvina, M.V. Firsov, E.I. Kholostova, E.R. Yarskaya-Smirnova and others tried to comprehend the essence of the theory of social work as a science.
Research into the theory, methodology and methodology of social work is actively developing, among which the leading place belongs to the publications of I.A. Grigorieva, L.G. Guslyakova, V.M. Kapitsina, I.K. Larionov, V.P. Moshnyagi, V.A. Nikitin, V.G. Popov, E.I. Kholostova, T.V. Shipunova and others.
Russian scientists also turn to the study of problems of the relationship between social policy and the theory of social work (works of N.A. Volgin, V.I. Zhukov, V.V. Kolkova, I.M. Lavrinenko, E.I. Kholostova, etc.).
However, the place and role of social policy in the theory of social work has not been sufficiently studied. This leads to the following research problem: social policy as a science objectively comes to the fore in the theory of social work, because Currently, it is an emerging social institution, the importance of which is increasing both due to long-term trends in the development of a civilized society, and as a result of the situational difficulties of the transforming Russian society.
Object of study: theory of social work as a system.
Subject of research: the place and role of social policy in the system of social work theory.
Purpose of the study: generalization of theoretical approaches to the problem of the relationship between social policy and the theory of social work.
Summarize the main theoretical aspects of the theory of social work;
Reveal the essence and content of social policy;
Analyze the relationship between social policy and social work theory.
Social work theory is a field of knowledge about the patterns of organizing and improving social work as practical activities. Object and subject are fundamental methodological indicators of the development of scientific knowledge. At this stage of development of scientific knowledge, notes S.I. Grigoriev, an independent science is recognized as that area that has its own subject of research and specific methods of scientific analysis.
If a theory is a scientifically valid explanation of a fact, the part of science that deals with general principles and knowledge as opposed to practical methods and skills, then the theory of social work is a system of views on explaining social processes, phenomena, relationships and the influence of social services on them.
In broad terms, social work theory is a system of views and ideas on the use or explanation of phenomena and processes, social relations arising under the influence of the activities of social services and bodies of social protection and assistance to the population.
In a narrower, special sense, the theory of social work is a form of organizing scientific knowledge about the most significant connections and relationships that arise under the influence of the activities of social services and social protection bodies.
The theory of social work is characterized by a variety of approaches to identifying an object and subject. The Dictionary of Social Work notes: “The object of social work research is the process of connections, interactions, ways and means of regulating the behavior of social groups and individuals in society. The subject of social work as an independent science is the patterns that determine the nature and direction of the development of social processes in society."
Social phenomena, processes and relationships are the object of scientific attention of other sciences: philosophy, history, sociology. Each specific science does not study the entire object, but only a certain part of it, a “slice”, certain type relationship. The subject of social work research is not global social processes, but specific ones that are directly related to the life of the individual and social group.
In the theory of social work as a science, some researchers consider clients in need of outside help as the object of research, and social problems as the subject. Others consider the subject through the client’s social situation as a specific state of the problem of a particular client, with all the wealth of its connections and mediations related to the resolution of this problem.
Some specialists in the field of social work agree that the object of social work research is the process of connections, interactions, mutual influences of mechanisms, methods and means of regulating the behavior of social groups and individuals that contribute to the realization of their vital forces and social subjectivity, as well as the nature of the conjugation of vital forces individual and group and means of ensuring their implementation in different social situations.
They consider the subject of social work as an independent social science to be the patterns of promoting the formation and implementation of human life in new economic conditions, as well as the improvement of the mechanisms for connecting vital forces and the means of ensuring their implementation and rehabilitation.
Despite the different formulations of the object and the subject, they are similar in that in modern conditions social work goes beyond boundaries social assistance extremely needy categories, becoming theoretical knowledge about a person and ways to improve his social well-being.
In the very general view patterns of social work express the most significant connections between specialists of social protection agencies and various groups or individuals who consume social services.
Significant connections between the subject of social work and the object, affecting the effectiveness of achieving the goals of social work, can be expressed by the following patterns:
1. The common interest of the social worker and the client in the final results of their interaction.
2. The integrity of the social work specialist’s influence on the client.
3. Realization of the client’s general interests through private ones (I want to become needed - sit with my grandson, I want to become famous - write an article, a book, a memoir).
4. Correspondence between the level of development of the subject and the object.
5. Patterns manifest themselves regardless of the will and desire of the social worker.
The laws of social work most fully express in an integrated form the nature and direction of the totality of social connections and phenomena related to the social situation.
One of the central places in the content of the mechanism of social work belongs to the principles and methods of influence of the subject on the object.
The principles of social work are the fundamental ideas and norms of behavior of social work bodies, determined by the requirements of objective laws of development and functioning of social processes, and the requirements of best practice. The principles, on the one hand, are associated with the laws of social work, and on the other hand, with the practical experience of social work, which gives sustainable positive results.
The complexity of the relationship between the client and society, between the object and the subject is explained by the multiplicity of principles of social work. They can be combined into three groups:
socio-political;
organizational;
psychological and pedagogical.
Socio-political principles express requirements arising from the nature of the state's social policy.
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Course work
On the topic
Social policy and social work: the place and role of social policy in the theory of social work
Introduction
Chapter 1. Social work as a theoretical activity
Chapter 2. Concept and essence of social policy
Chapter 3. The relationship between social policy and social work
Conclusion
Bibliography
Introduction
The relevance of research. Recently, the country has taken a significant step towards the institutionalization of social work as a system of ideas, values, relationships and institutions regarding ensuring the social well-being of people with special needs and currently having a social problem requiring social protection, assistance and social support. Particularly noteworthy is the development of social work theory, which for a long period, as is known, lagged behind the direct practice of social work.
In the context of rapid social changes at the macro level of the social work system, in order to optimize its activities, it is necessary to carry out effective social activities and create qualitatively new programs that resolve and anticipate the problems of a particular society. The main goal of these efforts is to promote the normal functioning of the social sphere through the implementation of social policies.
Currently, social policy is considered as a specific ideology and practice of the formation and implementation of social obligations of the state and society in general and their individual structures in particular in relation to various groups of the population.
Therefore, studying the place and role of social policy in the theory of social work is an urgent problem today.
The degree of development of the problem. In an effort to take part in improving the system for protecting the rights of citizens in the context of radical changes in the social sphere, specialists in the field of philosophy, sociology, pedagogy, history and other sciences focused on current problems of scientific knowledge in social work, studying its foreign experience and their own Russian traditions.
Researchers such as V.G. Bocharova, S.I. Grigoriev, L.G. Guslyakova, N.S. Danakin, V.I. Zhukov, I.G. Zainyshev, I.A. Zimnyaya, V.A. Nikitin , P.D. Pavlenok, A.M. Panov, A.S. Sorvina, M.V. Firsov, E.I. Kholostova, E.R. Yarskaya-Smirnova and others tried to comprehend the essence of the theory of social work as a science.
Research into the theory, methodology and methodology of social work is actively developing, among which the leading place belongs to the publications of I.A. Grigorieva, L.G. Guslyakova, V.M. Kapitsina, I.K. Larionov, V.P. Moshnyagi, V.A. Nikitin, V.G. Popov, E.I. Kholostova, T.V. Shipunova and others.
Russian scientists also turn to the study of problems of the relationship between social policy and the theory of social work (works of N.A. Volgin, V.I. Zhukov, V.V. Kolkova, I.M. Lavrinenko, E.I. Kholostova, etc.).
However, the place and role of social policy in the theory of social work has not been sufficiently studied. This leads to the following research problem: social policy as a science objectively comes to the fore in the theory of social work, because Currently, it is an emerging social institution, the importance of which is increasing both due to long-term trends in the development of a civilized society, and as a result of the situational difficulties of the transforming Russian society.
Object of study: theory of social work as a system.
Subject of research: the place and role of social policy in the system of social work theory.
Purpose of the study: generalization of theoretical approaches to the problem of the relationship between social policy and the theory of social work.
Summarize the main theoretical aspects of the theory of social work;
Reveal the essence and content of social policy;
Analyze the relationship between social policy and social work theory.
Chapter 1.Social work as a theoretical activity
The theory of social work is a field of knowledge about the patterns of organizing and improving social work as a practical activity. Object and subject are fundamental methodological indicators of the development of scientific knowledge. At this stage of development of scientific knowledge, notes S.I. Grigoriev, an independent science is recognized as that area that has its own subject of research and specific methods of scientific analysis.
If theory is a scientifically based explanation of a fact, a part of science that deals with general principles and knowledge as opposed to practical methods and skills, then social work theory is a system of beliefs for explaining social processes, phenomena, relationships and the influence of social services on them.
In broad terms, the theory of social work is a system of views and ideas on the use or explanation of phenomena and processes, social relations that arise under the influence of the activities of social services and bodies of social protection and assistance to the population.
In a narrower, special sense, the theory of social work is a form of organizing scientific knowledge about the most significant connections and relationships that arise under the influence of the activities of social services and social protection bodies.
The theory of social work is characterized by a variety of approaches to identifying an object and subject. The Dictionary of Social Work notes: “The object of social work research is the process of connections, interactions, ways and means of regulating the behavior of social groups and individuals in society. The subject of social work as an independent science is the patterns that determine the nature and direction of the development of social processes in society."
Social phenomena, processes and relationships are the object of scientific attention of other sciences: philosophy, history, sociology. Each specific science does not study the entire object, but only a certain part of it, a “slice”, of a certain type of relationship. The subject of social work research is not global social processes, but specific ones that are directly related to the life of the individual and social group.
In the theory of social work as a science, some researchers consider clients in need of outside help as the object of research, and social problems as the subject. Others consider the subject through the client’s social situation as a specific state of the problem of a particular client, with all the wealth of its connections and mediations related to the resolution of this problem.
Some specialists in the field of social work agree that the object of social work research is the process of connections, interactions, mutual influences of mechanisms, methods and means of regulating the behavior of social groups and individuals that contribute to the realization of their vital forces and social subjectivity, as well as the nature of the conjugation of vital forces individual and group and means of ensuring their implementation in different social situations.
They consider the subject of social work as an independent social science to be the patterns of promoting the formation and implementation of human life in new economic conditions, as well as the improvement of the mechanisms for connecting vital forces and the means of ensuring their implementation and rehabilitation.
Despite the different formulations of the object and subject, they are similar in that in modern conditions social work goes beyond the boundaries of social assistance to those in dire need, becoming theoretical knowledge about a person and ways to improve his social well-being.
In the most general form, the laws of social work express the most significant connections between specialists of social protection agencies and various groups or individuals who consume social services.
Significant connections between the subject of social work and the object, affecting the effectiveness of achieving the goals of social work, can be expressed by the following patterns:
1. The common interest of the social worker and the client in the final results of their interaction.
2. The integrity of the social work specialist’s influence on the client.
3. Realization of the client’s general interests through private ones (I want to become needed - sit with my grandson, I want to become famous - write an article, a book, a memoir).
4. Correspondence between the level of development of the subject and the object.
5. Patterns manifest themselves regardless of the will and desire of the social worker.
The laws of social work most fully express in an integrated form the nature and direction of the totality of social connections and phenomena related to the social situation.
One of the central places in the content of the mechanism of social work belongs to the principles and methods of influence of the subject on the object.
The principles of social work are the fundamental ideas and norms of behavior of social work bodies, determined by the requirements of objective laws of development and functioning of social processes, and the requirements of best practice. The principles, on the one hand, are associated with the laws of social work, and on the other hand, with the practical experience of social work, which gives sustainable positive results.
The complexity of the relationship between the client and society, between the object and the subject is explained by the multiplicity of principles of social work. They can be combined into three groups:
socio-political;
organizational;
psychological and pedagogical.
Socio-political principles express the requirements arising from the nature of the state’s social policy:
1. State approach to problems solved in social work, which involves:
the ability to analyze and identify trends in socio-political development in public life and determine real and most effective ways to solve social work problems;
see the prospects for the development of social work, subordinated to the interests of social protection of the population, and the ability to solve pressing problems of today;
the fight against any manifestations of departmentalism and bureaucracy that harm the interests of the individual, family, and society.
2. The principle of humanism and democracy in social work presupposes the recognition of man as the highest value, the protection of his dignity and civil rights, creating conditions for the free manifestation of individual abilities. Humanism in social work requires highlighting such criteria of human activity and interpersonal relationships that would express the unity of tasks and interests of the individual and humanity as a whole, in which social equality, justice, and humanity would be the norm of relations between people.
The principle of humanism of social work is closely related to the democracy of the relationship between the social worker and the client, their predominantly informal nature.
Unlike official relationships regulated by official orders and instructions, informal connections between a social worker and a client arise and are built on the basis of psychological compatibility of personal qualities, interests, and sympathies.
The democracy of relationships in social work opens up enormous opportunities for its specialists to demonstrate their creative and professional abilities to achieve client trust and confidence in the correctness of recommendations in changing circumstances.
Democracy in social work requires the ability to establish contact with a client, adherence to the norms and rules of communication, respect and attention to the client’s personality, involving him in an active search for ways to solve problems and the unobtrusive influence of his experience, intelligence, and knowledge.
3. It is important to note the close connection of democracy and humanism with the specific living conditions of people.
Life is always richer than theory. Circumstances are constantly changing, clients are diverse in gender, age, health, culture, and qualifications. A social worker must constantly sense novelty, analyze a specific situation, and identify the specifics of the social situation.
4. The principle of legality implies strict implementation of laws and legal acts based on them. They formulate the policy of the state.
Organizational principles. Social policy is then worth something if it is implemented in practice. Slogans must be put into practice. And this group of principles contributes to the implementation of the proclaimed ideas into concrete actions:
1. Socio-technological competence implies a social worker’s deep awareness of the conditions and technology for solving emerging problems and the ability to put his knowledge into practice: a clear formulation of the problem, retraining and study, knowledge of the objects of social work, their features; activity of the social worker himself.
2. Stimulation is the encouragement of a person to a conscious, interested manifestation of activity, which consists in the realization of his energy, abilities, moral and volitional potential to achieve a certain goal. It should be borne in mind that the source of motivating force in any type of activity is not the interests and needs of a person themselves, but the degree of their satisfaction.
3. Monitoring and verification of execution. The meaning of the control and inspection activities of social services and government bodies is to ensure the implementation of state-guaranteed measures for the social protection of various groups of the population.
4. Unity of powers and responsibilities, rights and obligations of social service personnel. Clear functioning is achieved on the basis of a clear understanding of one’s functions and tasks, and capabilities.
Life convinces us that great powers with little responsibility create fertile ground for arbitrariness, ill-considered decisions, and permissiveness. Strict proportionality of both powers and responsibilities is important.
Psychological and pedagogical principles can be characterized as methods of psychological and pedagogical influence on clients:
1. An integrated approach, i.e. comprehensive impact on the object, involvement of all kinds of measures in solving its problems: taking into account external and internal factors, connections, living conditions. This principle assumes:
Taking into account interests, needs, moods, characters, temperaments;
Taking into account the influence of external conditions (material and household, sanitary and hygienic, political);
Use of all means and methods of influence on the client.
2. Differentiated approach - taking into account the characteristics of a person belonging to a certain class, age, because they have a different approach to money, ideals, needs. Without taking this into account, it is impossible to influence the will and feelings of people.
3. The principle of purposefulness. The purpose of influencing the client determines the method and nature of the social worker’s actions. Achieving a goal is a measure of the effectiveness of the actions taken. The goal is important when choosing methods and forms of working with a client.
Specific principles of social work determine the basic rules of activity in the field of providing social services. These include the principles of universality, protection of social rights, social response, preventive orientation, client-centrism, self-reliance, maximization of social resources, confidentiality, tolerance.
The main task of the theory of social work is the systematization of scientific knowledge about its object. As noted by the Russian scientist, General Secretary of the Interregional Public Organization “Association of Social Service Workers” L.V. Topchiy, since the first half of the 90s. XX century, the theory of social work in Russia is trying to develop a synthesized approach to the study of the problems of providing professional assistance to a person in a difficult life situation and the formation of opportunities for the social development of society and the state.
Social work as theoretical knowledge can act as a system for a number of reasons - from the point of view of the inextricable connection of its theoretical and empirical parts; as a uniting knowledge of many sciences, the invariant of which is a holistic comprehension of man; as having interconnected elements of science - its laws, principles and methods, etc. The system of laws and principles of the theory of social work is holistic in nature, aimed at the positive transformation of social practice. The process of cognition of any theory is impossible without identifying its basic categories - the basic concepts in which the subject of science is expressed.
Experts distinguish three groups of categories of social work theory. 1. Categories borrowed from others social sciences: socialization, social activity, social subjectivity. 2. Categories that primarily serve the theory of social work, but are also used by other branches of knowledge: social adaptation, psychosocial work, social risk groups. 3. Own categories as key concepts of the theory of social work: charity, client of social services, difficult life situation. It is necessary to pay attention to the interrelation of five important categories that outline the subject field of the theory of social work. These are concepts arising from each other: social action, social interaction, social system, social relations and the category that unites them - social process.
Other fundamental concepts that make up the categorical apparatus of this science are social work, social protection, social assistance, social service, social security, social insurance, social life, social sphere, social problem, social activity, social policy, difficult life situation, client of social services, etc.
The theory of social work realizes its task by performing a number of essential functions: informational, which allows one to describe information about social processes in a generalized form; explanatory, with the help of which cause-and-effect relationships and trends in the formation of social processes are identified; heuristic, thanks to which new knowledge about social problems is formed, new ones are created and already known scientific concepts are clarified; practical, allowing you to make decisions in specific social situations and implement social programs, satisfying the needs of society; prognostic, which consists of considering strategic directions for the development of social processes and ensuring preventive impact on certain phenomena in the social sphere; worldview, which gives rise to a scientific worldview and systemic thinking among subjects of social work, allowing one to see social entities in the fullness of their interrelations.
Social work as a type of theoretical activity is characterized by certain levels of knowledge. Firstly, the fundamental level that forms the knowledge base, at which an attempt is made to create a general integrative theory, develop a methodology and technique for studying the practice of social work and ways to optimize it. This level is associated with the laws and categories of science. Secondly, the application layer, based on empirical studies, where theoretical generalizations are used to solve social problems and answers are given to specific questions related to improving the organization and implementation of social work.
Thirdly, the socio-engineering level, summarizing the innovations developed by theorists. They are introduced into the practice of social work with the help of its technologies, helping to predict trends in the development of the social work system and evaluate its effectiveness. At the same time, the theory of social work is whole system, the structural components of which function and develop in interaction, and each of them objectively influences changes in other components and the entire system as a whole.
It is necessary to identify the main groups of fundamental theoretical problems, studied by social work. They represent the directions along which the theory moves towards understanding the essence of current social problems and relationships within its multifaceted object.
In social work these are: societal problems associated with synergetic patterns of development of social systems different levels; problems of phenomenological reduction, construction of the world by social subjects; problems of optimizing the relationships between the theory of social work and other social sciences - philosophy, sociology, psychology, social pedagogy, social ecology, social law, ethics, etc.; problems of group formation and the specifics of the functioning of small groups in the social sphere; problems of social action and social change relating to multi-level subjects and objects of social work; communication problems related to the interactions of social work subjects; problems of social stratification and inequality in the socio-economic sphere; problems of norms and social deviations associated with the lifestyle and behavior of people in society; problems of social risk in the life of public entities; problems of providing multi-level social assistance to clients of social services; problems of social control as a function of social work; sociocultural problems associated with modern forms of knowledge and activity in the social sphere; problems of professional activity in the social work system, its motivation and effectiveness; problems of social education and the specifics of the process of teaching social work; problems of managing the social work system, forming and implementing effective social policy; problems associated with the organization of non-state and non-professional forms of social assistance - charity, sponsorship, patronage of the arts, social assistance of public and religious organizations, etc. In addition to general theoretical problems, based on identifying priority problems in the social sphere, it is possible to identify specific problem areas that require the priority attention of Russian social work researchers .
This is the formation of conditions to ensure successful interaction between humans and the environment; development of preventive social activities in various subsystems of the social sphere; ensuring minimum standards of human life at a scientifically based level; reducing the social costs of a market economy in the interests of the most vulnerable segments of the population; actualization of human potential and assistance to subjects in self-realization; conceptual status of social work theory; ensuring high quality social education, etc.
The diversity and complexity of the problems of the theory of social work make it possible to determine its place among other sciences that study the relationship between man and society. Experts emphasize that the theory is interdisciplinary and integrative in nature. The use of an integral approach to the study of these scientific problems allows us to place the theory of social work at the center of the social sciences from the point of view of the criterion for optimizing human life, possible due to the initiation of his vital forces and with the help and support of a social worker. In this perspective, the attention of science is focused on the individual’s acquisition of social well-being, overcoming difficulties and improving social well-being as a goal and result of practical activities in social work.
The search for the effectiveness of social work in solving social problems forces us to revisit the concept of social change as the main theoretical paradigm in its field. The study of changes through the synthesis of various human sciences leads to the implementation of a triune task - finding ways to harmonize the interactions of the individual and the environment; the formation of optimal relationships between people in society and groups; changing the situation of the client himself in the life world based on stimulating his social and personal potential.
Conclusions from the first chapter:
Social work as a theoretical activity reveals its object of knowledge and analyzes the patterns of development of specific processes in the social sphere associated with optimizing the life activity of people in it. This allows practical social work to function effectively at any level.
Exploring social phenomena, processes and relationships, the theory of social work in its object belongs to the social sciences, but is associated with ecology, psychology, medicine, pedagogy - therefore it is interdisciplinary in nature.
The object of the theory of social work is the social relations between its subjects and objects related to the optimization of their functioning in the socio-ecological sphere.
The subject of the theory of social work is the social processes that determine the optimization of life activities and relationships between people and their surrounding socio-ecological environment in the system of social work practice.
Chapter 2.The concept and essence of social policy
Social policy is interpreted as an integral function of a civilized state and a modernized society.
Social policy is an obligatory element of the activities of society and the state, its most important area where the desired state of the social sphere is constructed, which is its main object. This is an activity to manage the development of the social sphere and determine priority areas its improvement in order to improve the standard of living of all social groups. The concept of “standard of living” characterizes the structure of human needs and the possibility of satisfying them on the basis of a system of indicators indicating the standards of social security for working and non-working people, the level of social resources coming from government sources, etc.
The state, represented by the relevant government bodies at the federal and regional levels, based on the principle of social guarantees, is responsible for increasing the standard of living and social improvement of citizens.
Consequently, social policy demonstrates how the goals and objectives put forward by basic social institutions in a specific period of time correlate with people’s ideas about the required level of their social security. The scope of social policy includes the distribution of income, goods, services, material and social conditions for the reproduction of the population.
It is aimed at limiting the scale of absolute poverty, providing those in need with sources of livelihood, maintaining social health, etc. Accordingly, the result of effective social policy is to provide better opportunities to meet the needs of members of society, maintain its stability, develop the social insurance system, activate factors that stimulate highly productive work, further develop the social service system, stimulate employment, and create an attitude towards the social responsibility of society members for your social well-being, etc.
There are a number of definitions of social policy, and the broad ones include everything that contributes to the achievement of the goals of society as social policy, while the narrow understanding reduces this phenomenon only to the support of socially weak categories of the population.
Among domestic authors, one can single out as the most complete point of view P.D. Pavlenko, according to whom the social policy of the state is a certain orientation and system of measures to optimize the social development of society, relations between social and other groups, the creation of certain conditions to satisfy life the needs of their representatives. This broad definition covers the entire content of social activity of society, but the researcher also includes in this definition the mechanisms of goal setting and social control.
E.I. Kholostova gives the following definition of social policy: “social policy is a set of ideological ideas of society and the state about the goals of social development and activities to achieve social indicators that meet these goals."
We can distinguish five groups of approaches to understanding social policy in modern science. Firstly, social policy is considered as an activity to solve the problems of the whole society, therefore, from this point of view, it is aimed at achieving its most important goals. Secondly, social policy is considered as a policy of stabilizing the social and labor sphere of society - in this case, it is aimed at regulating the relations between labor and capital.
Thirdly, social policy can be considered as an activity aimed at the lower social classes - declassed elements, marginal groups, etc. in order to protect the wealthy classes from their claims by developing state aid and public charity.
Fourthly, social policy is considered as a tool for mitigating individual and social inequality through a system of state and public redistribution measures. The goal of social policy in this approach is to maintain income differentiation within the decile coefficient (10:1) through appropriate tax policy.
Fifthly, social policy is considered from the point of view of the basic values of modern civil society and the welfare state - accordingly, its goals are recognized as achieving justice and social partnership. In domestic science and practice, the latter theoretical approach to understanding the essence of social policy prevails.
According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the theoretical and legal basis of its social policy is the concept of a social state. In the seventh article of the country's Basic Law, Russia is defined as a social state whose policy is aimed at creating conditions for a decent life for all citizens and free human development.
The welfare state acts as one of the systems of social relations that allow society to achieve social harmony. A social state is a special type of highly developed state, which ensures a high level of social security for all citizens through active efforts to regulate the social and economic spheres of society, establishing social justice and solidarity in it.
The concept of a “welfare state” was first introduced in the mid-19th century. L. von Stein. The main idea of the concept of a welfare state is solidarity as a public good. The institutionalization of the welfare state occurred after World War II, when this concept was successively included in the constitutions of Germany, France, Spain, Sweden and other countries.
Close to the concept of the social state are the concepts of the “welfare society” and the “social welfare state” of L. Buchanan, D. Kreft, I. Milenz and others. Their authors proved the ability of the state to effectively combat poverty and social inequality, which is carried out through its competent intervention into socio-economic processes in accordance with existing legislation. At the same time, the process of forming a powerful social security system is carried out on the basis of two principles - taking into account need and labor contribution.
The welfare state model is presented at three levels: at the macro level it is embodied in social policy; social programs of local self-government are implemented at the meso level; at the micro level principles of the welfare state
The main characteristics of the welfare state are democratic form boards, government subsidies to ensure the well-being of the population, collective guarantees of social support, protection of the market economic system, universal health care, full employment of the working population, a significant share of employers' expenses on social security, a developed system of pensions, benefits, etc. .
In the process of forming these characteristics, the main measures are gradually transferred from controlling and restrictive to preventive and socio-pedagogical.
The social state provides the necessary minimum only for persons who do not have earnings or other income. It is designed to guarantee a range of services in accordance with the subsistence level and create equality of starting opportunities using budget funds. At the same time, the majority of citizens themselves create the necessary social security fund through the system of social and health insurance, and progressive taxation. Thus, through partial redistribution of income in favor of low-income categories of the population, the principle of social solidarity is implemented.
The social state emerges not spontaneously, but on the basis of targeted policies. In civil society, there is a multilateral agreement among people to achieve their rights and interests; Availability developed system economic and other legislation; targeted social protection of the population through a guaranteed payment system; solidary relations based on partnerships between citizens and the state; extensive funding of social programs. These are just some of the prerequisites for its occurrence.
For the effective functioning of a social state, the amount of government spending on the social sphere must be determined by the objective needs of society, the severity of its problems, and measures of social assistance, with a wide range of its forms, must be targeted.
For Russian social policy, this means an active role of the state in the economy, social control, the creation of an effective social protection system, respect for human rights, i.e. strengthening the social orientation of the state, an important indicator of which is the volume and nature of financing with the help of various tools and with a wide range of people enjoying the benefits of social protection, all these types of social policies are designed to solve the problems of ensuring economic life, protecting private property, and relationships with the lower social classes.
According to most researchers, in modern Russia a liberal type of social policy is being implemented, when the state regulates the market, distributes public goods, access to which is gradually expanding, and bears the main costs, making a choice when providing assistance in favor of those most in need. This option is characterized by a high degree of socio-economic stratification with minimal provision of social benefits.
At the same time, business entities use the services of the state - the guarantor of social policy, and civil society, at moderate costs, has access to the benefits of social protection.
Two main features of Russian social policy can be distinguished. First of all, it is considered as a state policy, as a result of which civil society cannot act as its full-fledged subject. The interaction of the state, subjects of the Federation, economic entities and the population within the framework of social policy is as follows. The state, on the basis of federal legislation and federal programs, the state budget and state social insurance funds, determines and ensures uniform minimum social standards, controls the implementation of established social guarantees and determines the general direction of social policy development.
The dynamics of transformations in Russian social policy over the past ten years in the conditions of the transition period have been quite intense. We can say that we are now dealing with a completely different state, a different social policy, and different institutions that ensure it. As for recipients of state support, significant changes have occurred among them.
In the conditions of our country, some authors note, the functioning of the institution of social policy largely depends on the regional factor, on the characteristics of the territories in which it is carried out. This specificity is determined by natural and climatic conditions, the volume of socio-economic resources, national and cultural traditions, the mentality of the population of the region, and is expressed in the peculiarities of the state-administrative structure in a given subject of the Federation, differences in organizational and legislative activities, greater or lesser acceptance of the main ideological concepts of a modern social state.
Social policy can be considered as an institution not only of a national, but also a regional scale, and the processes of institutionalization of social policy proceed unevenly in the subjects of the Federation, demonstrating significant territorial differences.
Subjects of the Federation, on the basis of the regional budget, organize the implementation of federal social policy, taking into account the specifics of its implementation on the ground, and develop their own social programs aimed at creating conditions for increasing people’s life chances.
Enterprises and corporations, using their own financial resources, participate in the implementation of state social programs at the regional and municipal levels and offer various types of corporate social programs and additional social guarantees to workers.
The population, relying on the financial resources of households and the personal motivation of citizens, takes part in the implementation of social programs or blocks their progress. Another feature is that social policy in Russia is interpreted not as a policy of supporting all citizens, but as an area of activity aimed primarily at socially vulnerable segments of the population.
This approach excludes a significant part of the country's citizens from the object sphere of social policy, while they do not acquire sufficient grounds for turning from objects into subjects of this activity. In modern Russian society, there is a high degree of social inequality, as a result of which the positions of “strong” and “weak” social strata in the economic, social and cultural space are polarized.
However, the realities of modern social policy, manifested, in particular, in the adoption of Federal Law No. 122-FZ of August 22, 2004, known as the “Law on the Monetization of Benefits,” indicate the curtailment of social security programs due to the imbalance between the individual and collective expectations of citizens and insufficient state resources.
By this law, the powers of federal government bodies to provide state assistance to the population and social services were limited and transferred to the level of constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Accordingly, the availability of benefits for the social majority due to serious socio-economic problems in many regions has decreased significantly.
Assistance measures are often limited to providing social benefits and some benefits only to the least wealthy citizens. Federal government bodies, according to this law, perform only methodological and coordination functions. Instead of a program for the formation of social relations and the construction of society in the interests of people, social policy in Russia is increasingly turning into a set of emergency measures, the implementation of which in most cases is delayed.
Thus, in the process of social changes, the emphasis in Russia is being transferred from the policy of the welfare state to the subsidiarity of social policy, which is based on the principle of self-sufficiency of citizens, strict dosing various types assistance, so as not to contribute to the abuse of the services of the state and public organizations where self-help, support of a person by family and immediate social environment is possible.
Accordingly, the importance of a person’s personal potential and his desire to act in a changing society for the benefit of himself and his loved ones is growing. However, the majority of Russian citizens have not yet developed the ability to adapt to rapid social changes.
Taking into account the interests and needs of social, professional, national, gender and age groups of the population is a complex process not free from contradictions. And the more deeply the vital needs of various groups of the population, the conditions and possibilities for their implementation are studied and understood, the more accurately and completely they are formulated in the tasks of social policy, and, consequently, the more successfully they are solved.
In general, it is generally accepted that social policy is a system of measures carried out by the state, public organizations, local government and businesses on a wide range of issues related to public welfare, as well as the decision-making process itself.
Quite often, these measures, the process of their development and implementation, are considered as political activities that influence the well-being of citizens.
Conclusion on the second chapter.
Social policy is also understood as the purposeful activity of the state to redistribute resources among citizens in order to achieve well-being.
In the modern domestic context, the problems of social policy have their own post-Soviet specificity, which is partly explained by the traditionally high role of the state in various sectors of public life, as well as the legacy of socialist principles of economic and cultural management.
Social policy includes living standards, welfare, income of the population; the sphere of labor and labor relations, employment problems; social protection of low-income and disabled population groups; environmental policy;
certain areas of development of the social sphere, including education, healthcare, science, culture, physical culture and sports;
modern infrastructure, including housing, transport, roads, communications, trade and consumer services; migration policy, as well as policies regarding individual recipients: families, youth, disabled people, elderly and other categories of the population.
Chapter 3.The relationship between social policy and social work
In social policy, two interdependent, interacting elements can be identified: scientific-cognitive and practical-organizational.
The scientific-cognitive element acts as a result of analysis and comprehension of urgent needs in society, trends in the development of social processes, as a generalized result and assessment of the previous course of the state’s social policy. It reflects the level of public opinion and mood, the degree of social sustainability different layers population. All this analytical material allows authorities government controlled develop a concept of social policy, formulate its main tasks and directions.
The practical-organizational element is associated with the direct implementation of conceptual provisions and strategic objectives of social policy. And here the diversified organizational activities of government bodies governing the system of social services and work with the population, subordinated to the tasks of the state’s social policy, become of great importance. A comprehensively balanced, scientifically based social policy of the state, consonant with the interests of the people, forms the most important basis for the content of social work, providing it with purposefulness and providing organizers with confidence in practical steps.
Organizational work is the administrative activity of management bodies for the rational division of labor in solving a given task, for the optimal use of forces and means, and methods of incentives for high-quality and timely completion of the task. Organizational work on the implementation of social policy is the organizational level of social work and includes: a deep understanding of the tasks arising from the content of social policy and a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the conditions for their solution; selection and placement of personnel, creation or modification organizational structures in the interests of solving existing problems; informing the performers of the task, determining their functions, powers and responsibilities, resources and funds available; clarification of the meaning and social significance of high-quality and timely completion of tasks, methods of stimulating work; coordinating the efforts and actions of structural units and specific performers, ensuring the purposefulness of their activities; carrying out the progress of tasks in stages and in general, assessing the performance of performers, drawing lessons and formulating conclusions for subsequent activities.
The scientific-cognitive side, characterizing first of all the level of scientific validity of social policy, formulates the goals and general content of the development of the social sphere, its infrastructure, determines the direction and strategy of organizational work in this direction, and therefore performs an important methodological function in relation to social work in society.
At the same time, the methodological function of the scientific and educational component of social policy does not mean that its impact on the nature and content of organizational and social work in society is one-sided.
Social work, with its extensive structure of government bodies in various regions of society and an extensive network of centers for social assistance to the population, has a reverse and active impact on social policy, since it plays the role of feedback information in the system of managing social processes. By incorporating the practical-organizational aspect of the state’s social policy, it ensures the realism of the latter and tests its vitality. This is the dialectic of interaction between social policy and social work.
Social work is a form, a method of social policy. On the other hand, social policy is revealed in social work. However, the unity of social policy and social work does not mean their coincidence or identity. Social work in its content is more voluminous than social policy, more dynamic, more mobile, while social policy remains more stable, acting as a determining party in relation to social work.
The goal of social policy is the regulation and coordination of interests for the sustainable and balanced development of society, that is, the achievement of social peace or social harmony. We emphasize this, since the coordination of interests, from our point of view, is a much more important goal than the interests of any, the most respectable or the most promising, socio-age group.
Since most researchers today agree that social policy (the level of goal setting) defines a new area of social theory and practice, social work and its nature ( technological level), then it should be noted that both of the given definitions of social policy speak of certain integrative needs of society, and not of assistance to any social groups. It is impossible to ignore the fact that such an understanding of social policy and social work is available both in the scientific literature and in public opinion.
Thus, the Austrian Academy of Social Work notes that “in every society there may be needs and conflicts that people cannot overcome on their own. Social problems are caused by both individual and social reasons. In this regard, society has an obligation to provide appropriate assistance. One of the specific forms of such a proposal is social work."
This understanding allows us to designate the main function of social work as “compensatory” (deficit). I.A. Grigorieva believes that the compensating function is one of the possible projections of social integration, therefore the definition of the Austrian Academy does not contradict at all, but is included in broader previous definitions. On the other hand, the “compensatory” understanding makes social policy and social work “marginal” sociological disciplines of populations, or “at-risk populations.” It remains unclear what science or theory is involved in the development of “normal” populations.
In the spirit of the restorative-normalization approach, which has clearly taken the lead since the 1970s, an integrative approach seems preferable. In addition, the integrative understanding of social policy emphasizes two principles: the prevention of social risks and the activation of human resources. We emphasize that the importance of helping victims of social risks is not denied, but their prevention is put “at the forefront,” as well as the client’s participation in solving their own problems.
The identification of a “compensating” and “integrating” understanding of social work is close in meaning to the division into residual and institutional systems of social policy (as well as systems of social protection or social security, since most authors consider these concepts to be very close) that has developed in the English-language literature.
The residual and institutional systems can be described as follows.
Residual system - problems of individuals, groups and the population are solved thanks to the participation of family, relatives and neighbors seeking help from government services is considered “abnormal” help is provided after checking the circumstances and the degree of inability to solve the problem on their own help is temporary and minimal receiving help is humiliating, associated with the loss of social status.
Institutional system - problems are solved in accordance with established laws, according to norms and rules, such treatment is considered “normal”; help is, if possible, preventive in nature; help that is adequate to the problem and needs is universal; everyone can receive it without losing self-esteem.
From this comparison it is noticeable that residual social policy can carry a disintegrative “charge”, as can be seen in the example of the USA and Germany, although the USA builds social policy on liberal principles, and Germany on conservative (insurance) principles. The universal opportunity to receive assistance provides the institutional system with a solidarity-integrating character.
Therefore, in the last decade in the United States, an attempt has been made to change the strategy of social policy on a state scale. A transition was envisaged from welfare to workfare, where receiving benefits meant some commitment to employment (perhaps in the public sector) or working off benefits.
The first laws on working off benefits were adopted back in 1984, and their implementation showed that working off benefits reduces the degree of dependence and stimulates job searches. Of course, the effectiveness of this “revolution” in social policy depends on macroeconomic factors and the availability of jobs in the labor market. But even if you have to be content with public works (as at the moment, when there is an economic recession in the United States), the “repayment” of benefits through work helps reduce social dependency.
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Abstract on the subject: Political science
The role and place of politics in the life of society. Social functions of politics
Completed by: 3rd year correspondence student
E&M group -1 Antonova Sofia
Moscow, 2010
1. Politics, its role in the life of society. The structure of the political sphere. Political system of society
The word “politics” comes from the Greek word Politika, which means “state affairs”, “the art of government”.
The political superstructure did not always exist. Among the reasons for its occurrence is the polarization of society, leading to the emergence of social contradictions and conflicts that need to be resolved, as well as the increased level of complexity and importance of managing society, which required the formation of special authorities separated from the people. The most important prerequisite for politics was the emergence of political and state power. Primitive societies were non-political.
Modern science offers various definitions of politics. Among them are the following:
1. Politics are the relations between states, classes, social groups, nations that arise regarding the seizure, exercise and retention of political power in society, as well as relations between states in the international arena.
2. Politics is the activity of government bodies, political parties, public associations in the sphere of relations between social groups (classes, nations), states, aimed at integrating their efforts with the aim of strengthening political power or gaining it.
3. Politics is the sphere of activity of groups, parties, individuals, the state, associated with the implementation of generally significant interests with the help of political power.
The political system of a society is understood as a set of various political institutions, socio-political communities, forms of interactions and relationships between them, in which political power is exercised.
Functions political system societies are diverse:
1) determination of goals, objectives, ways of development of society;
2) organization of the company’s activities to achieve its goals;
3) distribution of material and spiritual resources;
4) coordination of the diverse interests of the subjects of the political process;
5) development and implementation of various norms of behavior into society;
6) ensuring stability and security of society;
7) political socialization of the individual, introducing people to political life;
8) control over the implementation of political and other norms of behavior, suppression of attempts to violate them.
The basis for the classification of political systems is, as a rule, the political regime, the nature and method of interaction between government, the individual and society. According to this criterion, all political systems can be divided into totalitarian, authoritarian and democratic.
Political science identifies four main elements of a political system, also called subsystems:
1) institutional;
2) communicative;
3) regulatory;
4) cultural and ideological.
The institutional subsystem includes political organizations (institutions), among which the state occupies a special place. Non-governmental organizations play a major role in the political life of society political parties and socio-political movements.
All political institutions can be divided into three groups. The first group - strictly political - includes 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 - non-proprietary-political - includes organizations operating in the economic, social, cultural spheres of society (trade unions, religious and cooperative organizations, etc.). They do not set themselves independent political goals and do not participate in the struggle for power. But their goals cannot be achieved outside the political system, therefore such organizations must participate in the political life of society, defending their corporate interests, ensuring that they are taken into account and implemented in politics.
Finally, the third group includes organizations that have only a minor political aspect in their activities. They arise and function to realize the personal interests and inclinations of some layer of people (interest clubs, sports societies). They acquire a political connotation as objects of influence from the state and other proper political institutions. They themselves are not active subjects of political relations.
The main institution of the political system of society is the state. Its special place in the political system is predetermined by the following factors:
1) the state has the broadest social basis and expresses the interests of the bulk of the population;
2) the state is the only political organization that has special apparatus of control and coercion, extending its power to all members of society;
3) the state has a wide range of means of influencing its citizens, while the capabilities of political parties and other organizations are limited;
4) the state establishes the legal basis for the functioning of the entire political system, adopts laws defining the procedure for the creation and activities of other political organizations, and establishes direct bans on the work of certain public organizations;
5) the state has enormous material resources to ensure the implementation of its policies;
6) the state plays an integrating (unifying) role within the political system, being the “core” of the entire political life of society, since it is around state power that the political struggle unfolds.
The communicative subsystem of the political system of society is a set of relationships and forms of interaction that develop between classes, social groups, nations, and individuals regarding their participation in the exercise of power, the development and implementation of policy. Political relations are the result of numerous and varied connections between political subjects in the process of political activity. People and political institutions are motivated to join them by their own political interests and needs.
There are primary and secondary (derived) political relations. The first includes various forms of interaction between social groups (classes, nations, estates, etc.), as well as within them, the second includes relations between states, parties, and other political institutions that reflect in their activities the interests of certain social strata or the entire society.
Political relations are built on the basis certain rules(norm). Political norms and traditions that define and regulate the political life of society constitute the normative subsystem of the political system of society. The most important role is played in it by legal norms (constitutions, laws, other legal acts). The activities of parties and other public organizations are regulated by their statutory and program norms. In many countries (especially England and its former colonies), along with written political norms, unwritten customs and traditions are of great importance.
Another group of political norms is represented by ethical and moral norms, which enshrine the ideas of the whole society or its individual layers about good and evil, truth, and justice. Modern society has come closer to realizing the need to return such moral guidelines as honor, conscience, and nobility to politics.
The cultural-ideological subsystem of a political system is a set of political ideas, views, perceptions, and feelings of participants in political life that are different in content. The political consciousness of the subjects of the political process functions at two levels - theoretical (political ideology) and empirical (political psychology). To forms of manifestation political ideology include views, slogans, ideas, concepts, theories, and political psychology includes feelings, emotions, moods, prejudices, traditions. They have equal rights in the political life of society.
In the ideological subsystem, a special place is occupied by political culture, understood as a complex of typical of this company, ingrained patterns (stereotypes) of behavior, value orientations, political ideas. Political culture is the experience of political activity passed on from generation to generation, which combines knowledge, beliefs and behavior patterns of individuals and social groups.
Politics is a historically transitory phenomenon. It begins to form only at a certain stage in the development of society. Thus, in primitive tribal society there were no political relations. The life of society was regulated by centuries-old habits and traditions. Politics as a theory and management of social relations begins to take shape as more developed forms of division of social labor and private ownership of tools of labor emerge, since tribal relations turned out to be unable to folk ways regulate new relationships between people. Actually, starting from this stage of human development, that is, from the emergence of a slave-owning society, the first secular ideas and ideas about the origin and essence of power, state and politics appeared. Naturally, the idea of the subject and essence of politics has changed, and we will focus on the interpretation of politics that is now more or less generally accepted, that is, politics as a theory of the state, politics as a science and the art of management.
The first of the famous thinkers who touched upon the issues of development and organization of society, expressed ideas about the state, it was Aristotle who did this in his treatise “Politics”. Aristotle forms his ideas about the state based on an analysis of the social history and political structure of a number of Greek city-states. The basis of the Greek thinker's teaching about the state is his conviction that man is a “political animal,” and his life in the state is the natural essence of man. The state is presented as a developed community of communities, and the community as a developed family. His family is the prototype of the state, and he transfers its structure to the state structure. Aristotle's doctrine of the state has a clearly defined class character. A slave state is a natural state of social organization, and therefore the existence of slave owners and slaves, masters and subordinates is completely justified.
The main tasks of the state, that is, political power, should be to prevent excessive accumulation of wealth among citizens, since this is fraught with social instability; the immense growth of political power in the hands of one individual and the keeping of slaves in obedience.
A significant contribution to the doctrine of state and politics was made by N. Machiavelli (1469–1527), an Italian political thinker and public figure. The state and politics, according to Machiavelli, are not of religious origin, but are an independent side of human activity, the embodiment of free human will within the framework of necessity, or fortune (fate, happiness). Politics is not determined by God or morality, but is the result of practical human activity, the natural laws of life and human psychology. The main motives that determine political activity, according to Machiavelli, are real interests, self-interest, and the desire for enrichment. The sovereign, the ruler must be an absolute ruler and even a despot. He should not be limited by either moral or religious precepts in achieving his goals. Such rigidity is not a whim; it is dictated by the circumstances themselves. Only a strong and tough sovereign can ensure the normal existence and functioning of the state and keep in his sphere of influence the cruel world of people striving for wealth, prosperity and guided only by selfish principles.
The most complete doctrine of politics turned out to be developed by Marx, Engels and their followers. According to Marxism, politics is an area of human activity determined by relations between classes, social strata, and ethnic groups. Its main goal is the problem of conquest, retention and use of state power. The most important thing in politics is the structure of state power.
The state acts as a political superstructure over the economic base. Through it the economically dominant class ensures its political dominance. Essentially, the main function of the state in a class society is to protect the fundamental interests of the ruling class. Three factors ensure the power and strength of the state.
Firstly, this is public power, which includes a permanent administrative and bureaucratic apparatus, the army, the police, the court, and houses of detention. These are the most powerful and effective government bodies.
Secondly, the right to collect taxes from the population and institutions, which are necessary mainly for the maintenance of the state apparatus, power and numerous governing bodies.
Thirdly, this is an administrative-territorial division, which contributes to the development of economic relations and the creation of administrative and political conditions for their regulation.
Along with class interests, the state to a certain extent expresses and protects national interests, regulates mainly through a system of legal norms the entire range of economic, socio-political, national and family relations, thereby helping to strengthen the existing socio-economic order.
One of the most important levers through which the state carries out its activities is law. Law is a set of norms of behavior enshrined in laws and approved by the state. As Marx and Engels put it, law is the will of the ruling class, elevated to law. With the help of law, economic and social or socio-political relations are consolidated, that is relationships between classes and social groups, family status and the situation of national minorities.
After the formation of the state and the establishment of law in society, previously non-existent political and legal relations are formed. The representatives of political relations are political parties that express the interests of various classes and social groups. Political relations, the struggle between parties for power is nothing more than a struggle economic interests. Each class and social group is interested in establishing the priority of its interests in society with the help of constitutional laws. For example, workers are interested in objective remuneration for their work, students are interested in a scholarship that would provide them with at least food, owners of banks, factories and other property are interested in maintaining private property. We can say that at a certain stage the economy gives rise to politics and political parties because they are needed for normal existence and development. .
Although politics is a product of the economy, it nevertheless not only has relative independence, but also has a certain influence on the economy, and in periods of transition and crisis this influence can even determine the path of economic development. The influence of politics on the economy is carried out in various ways: directly, through economic policy carried out by government agencies (financing of various projects, investments, prices of goods); establishment of customs duties on industrial products in order to protect domestic producers; pursuing a foreign policy that would favor the activities of domestic producers in other countries. The active role of politics in stimulating economic development can be carried out in three directions:
1) when political factors act in the same direction as the objective course of economic development, they accelerate it;
2) when they act contrary to economic development, then they restrain it;
3) they can slow down development in some directions and accelerate it in others.
The implementation of correct policies is directly dependent on the extent to which the political forces in power are guided by the laws of social development and take into account the interests of classes and social groups in their activities.
So, we can say that in order to understand the socio-political processes occurring in society, it is important to know not only the role of social philosophy, ideology, and politics separately, but also their interaction and mutual influence.
2. The place and role of politics in the development of modern society
2.1 The role of politics in society
Politics is the objectively determined and purposeful participation of large masses of people, organized social groups and individuals in the affairs of the state, in solving problems related to the life of society as a whole.
Characteristics of the policy :
The connection between the particular and the general, the interest of the individual and the interest of social integrity (group, country, humanity): we enter the world of politics when we solve not only our private problems, but act based on an understanding of their connection with tasks that go far beyond our personal interests when many other people are concerned about the same problems;
Any type of politics is associated with solving problems of the existence and functioning of the state - a social institution that serves to solve problems of interest to the whole society;
Connection with the actions and interests of large masses of people;
Purposeful activities that require sober analysis and consideration of diversity conditions and components of political action, a purely impulsive response here has extremely low effectiveness (although it is often found in real politics);
Powerful character, the ability of coercion, volitional influence to give purposefulness to the actions of many people.
It is necessary to take into account that all of the above qualities are not isolated, but complement each other: thus, the authoritative nature of politics predetermines the use of the state mechanism; the combination of private and general interests is carried out in theoretical form, and the implementation of the theory and program involves turning to the mechanisms of power.
The role of politics in public life is determined by its functions. Among them are the following:
Integration, unification of all elements of public life, mobilization of social resources to realize the common goals and interests of society;
Implementation of the general will in the presence of social differentiation, diversity of interests and socio-political orientations of people.
From the mid-50s of the 20th century. In political science, the concept of “political life” introduced into scientific terminology by David Lane is actively used. It allows us to consider politics in the inextricable unity of the institutional and behavioral aspects of existence, which is expressed in its following features:
Politics can act both as a sphere and result of interaction between social and political institutions, organizations, structured political relations, and as actions of subjects of political relations;
Political life serves as the sphere of action of public interest and management, and their main instruments are power, coercion, and authoritative influence, which almost always use the power of an organization, which can be states, parties, unions, movements, and social institutions;
The active, active nature of politics allows people, with its help, to influence many aspects of life: economics, culture, science, morality;
Large masses of people are always involved in political life: classes, ethnic and professional communities, on whose activity the direction, appearance, and effectiveness of political events depend;
The center, the node of political life - the diverse relationships between the individual and the state.
Consideration of politics in precisely this aspect is fundamentally important for a democratic society and the formation of its institutions. After all, democracy is impossible without human participation, and in order to be useful to a democratic society, it must be qualified and active.
External factors influencing the course of political life:
Elements of the natural environment (territory, resources, climate, etc.). Have an impact on political processes, form political problems and influence the choice of ways and possibilities for their solution;
Economic relations prevailing in society, influencing political life (and it itself actively influences their formation);
Development of technology (its impact is manifested in such phenomena as war, an increase in the speed of information dissemination, etc.);
Status characteristics social structure societies that combine the recording of the objective state of participants in political relations (income, type of occupation, level of education) and their own ideas about their place in society;
The nature of ethno-national communities, because stable state systems are formed on the basis of the nation, nations strive for sovereignty, the formation of separate, independent state structures;
Religion, which often acts as the main factor in the consolidation of large masses of people;
Ideology is a means of spiritual unity and leadership that directs the behavior of people in the sphere of political relations, shaping the will and desire for political action;
Facilities mass media, the information they supply and interpret;
Public opinion, within the framework of which there is an active and direct reflection of vital needs, objective trends in social development;
Political psychology of society.
2.2 International aspect of politics in modern society
At the turn of the millennium the international climate changed, becoming more favorable for interstate cooperation, however political changes Only part of the contradictions between Eastern and Western countries and Middle Eastern states were resolved. Modern world politics has become an arena of intensifying struggle between global and domestic political principles.
Under the influence of integration factors, the prerequisites for the further unification of national states, the creation of a humanistic world order, the gradual emergence of a global civil society, and the establishment of norms and principles of a culture of peace in relations between peoples are being actively formed in the world. More and more states are bringing emphasis on cooperation from the military sphere to the financial and economic fields. The practical results of such integration ties can already be called: undermining the monopoly position of the great powers as the sole arbiters of the destinies of the world; democratization of international cooperation. Such trends lead to the formation of the logic of development of a multipolar world, which in turn is being seriously tested.
The steady expansion of subjects of international politics entails an increase in motivation for behavior in the extrapolitical sphere. Power, prestige, survival, and increased control over resources become sources of constant and unprogrammed shifts in world politics. The reality of modern international relations presupposes the primary orientation of states towards legal norms and regulators of foreign policy relations. At the same time, the system of international law also needs a qualitative update; changes in the structure of the UN and other international organizations are required in accordance with the goals of humanization and democratization of world politics.
Politics is a set of relationships that develop as a result of the purposeful interaction of groups regarding the conquest, retention and use of power in order to realize their socially significant interests. In this sense, politics is understood as the result of a collision of multidirectional actions of groups competing with each other and with the government. Among group needs, a block of irreconcilable interests emerged, the implementation of which threatened a sharp increase in social tension. This created a powerful social need for new and effective ways to regulate human relations. This need was realized as the state became established - as a specific public institution. Only state power was the force that could not only ensure the implementation of group interests, but also preserve integrity, ensure order and stability of social life. Thus, the activities of the state were intended to try on the warring sides and provide conditions for the survival of the entire society as a whole.
As a global mechanism for regulating social relations, politics is a way to rationalize intergroup conflicts. From the moment of its inception, the state serves as the center of power that is capable of organizing the proper distribution of resources, statuses, and values using coercive methods. From this point of view, politics is a way of simplifying conflicts, when all their diverse content is brought under the common denominator of state will.
Politics as a special sphere of human life has the ability to organize its own orders at various levels of social space. So, regulating interstate relations or the connection of national states with international institutions (UN, European Union, NATO, etc.), politics plays the role of a unique global-planetary mechanism for regulating world conflicts and contradictions. Here its subjects and agents are national states, various regional associations and coalitions, and international organizations. In this case, politics acts as the highest level method of regulating world and foreign policy relations, or as megapolitics.
Conflict relationships within individual states form the level of macropolitics. This is the most common and typical level of organization of intergroup dialogue. Mesopolitics characterizes connections and relationships of a group nature that occur at the level of individual regions, local structures, institutions and organizations. Micropolitics is a lower level of interpersonal or intragroup relations. At each level, political processes form specific institutions, mechanisms and technologies for resolving conflicts and regulating disputes.
The political world is a complex and multi-layered complex of phenomena and the functions of the most important institutions in the system of resolving international conflicts and achieving consensus between states.
An important task of political science is to study the patterns, basic norms and features of interaction between states, regional and global organizations and other subjects of international relations in modern conditions. This problem has acquired particular relevance today, when the study of decision-making mechanisms, roles and functions of the most important institutions in the system of resolving international conflicts and achieving consensus between states is especially important.
Politics is a complex, multidimensional concept. As a type of social activity in decision-making, distribution of benefits, setting goals, social leadership, seeking power, competing interests and exerting influence, politics is carried out within any social group. Analysis of various approaches to the theoretical interpretation of the political sphere allows us to draw a conclusion about its multidimensional nature. Politics appears in the unity of three interrelated aspects: as a sphere of public life; as one of the types of activity of social subjects and as a type of social relations between individuals, small groups, etc.
In the first aspect, politics appears as an element of the structure of society, which is assigned the functions of coordinating general and private interests, exercising domination and maintaining order, realizing universally significant goals and leading people, regulating resources and managing public affairs.
The second aspect is associated with the interpretation of politics as a way of aggregate and individual activity of social actors, a type of human activity and social behavior.
The third aspect characterizes politics as a type of conflict relations and social interactions.
Thus, the reason for Russia’s plight is not only the ill-conceived policies of the Russian ruling elite, but also targeted actions by NATO countries, and, above all, the USA. Many Western politicians in the 90s. openly talked about the need to liquidate Russia as a sovereign independent state. Yes, ex Secretary of State in the Clinton administration, M. Albright said: “The task of the United States is to manage the consequences of the collapse Soviet Empire" The famous American politician Z. Brzezinski called for putting the Russian economy under the indirect control of the world's leading powers
The NATO bloc is expanding at an accelerated pace, which has already come close to the borders of Russia, the United States is trying to quarrel Russia with its closest neighbors Ukraine, Georgia, the Baltic countries, China, and drag it into international conflicts, confront the Muslim world. This is evidenced, in particular, by events in Chechnya and the Balkans, Georgia and Ukraine.
The plans of Western politicians to strangle the Russian state found support among our domestic liberal globalists. Economic liberalization imposed from outside, which has been persistently implemented for purely personal gain since the early 1990s. our so-called “democrats” have led the country to economic disaster, collapse of national industry, depopulation (extinction) local population. According to A.S. Panarin, “the country is ruled by the global elite, which has already parted with the nation and does not consider “this” people to be its own” . Russia's favorable geographical position, the presence of a vast territory rich in various resources, and the long-term general crisis that has struck the country make it an attractive target for external expansion.
Currently, Russia has already become the object of various types of expansion: military-political (from NATO); economic (from the USA and some Western countries); ethnic (from China and Central Asia); confessional (from the Islamic world) .
To avoid such a dramatic development of events, Russia must mobilize all its resources and direct them to strengthening statehood and reviving economic, military and other potential. For this required :
1) subordinate political power to the will of the people - force the ruling elite express and defend the national interests of Russian society and the state in foreign and domestic policy, and not your personal ones;
2) return to the state the property stolen from it, restore state control over the extraction and export of natural resources, and place the main emphasis on state-capitalist production in the development of large-scale industry;
3) limit the ideological expansion of Western media;
4) strengthen the external borders of the state, establish a visa regime with the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, stop illegal migration of citizens of other states to Russian territory, and in every possible way facilitate the return to Russia of compatriots living in other countries;
5) form combat units of the army only on a contract basis, while maintaining general military service, without any deferments from conscription for all categories of citizens suitable for military service, but limiting the terms of conscription to six months;
6) begin a real, and not just a show, fight against corruption at all levels of government.
The events of recent years show that in order to preserve its sovereignty and its significance in the international arena, Russia in its foreign policy should not focus only on the West. She needs to be careful foreign policy, maintaining friendly relations with all countries of the world community, guided by the following principles of the priority of their national interests, which should meet the interests of the entire Russian people: international cooperation should be built on pragmatism, and not on personal and public emotions; international treaties should be concluded taking into account the need to solve specific problems and achieve certain goals, and any foreign policy actions should be considered as creating conditions for the development of the country.
The policy can be implemented on several levels:
At the lowest level, local problems are resolved and political activity at this level is carried out mainly by individuals
The local level requires government intervention; policy is most actively pursued by groups and associations interested in economic development your region;
National level occupies a central place in political theory, which is determined by the position of the state as the main institution for resource distribution;
At the international level, the main subjects of political activity are sovereign states.
The role of politics as a special sphere of public life due to its three properties: universality, all-encompassing nature, the ability to influence almost all aspects of life, elements of society, relationships, events; inclusion, or penetrating ability, the possibility of limitless penetration and, as a consequence, the ability to combine with non-political social phenomena, relationships and spheres.
The importance of politics is determined functions it performs in society, and which characterize the most important directions of its impact on society:
1. Ensuring the integrity and stability of society as a complex social system, integration of various segments of the population;
2. Management and regulation of social processes;
3. Expression of power-significant interests of all groups and sectors of society;
5. Political socialization of the individual;
6. Mobilization and achievement of efficiency of overall activities.
Politics in its development has received the status of the most important social mechanism, without which not a single complexly organized society is capable of reproducing and developing its social order. Currently, the role and significance of policy depends on the performance of its following functions:
Expression and implementation of powerfully significant interests of groups and sectors of society;
Rationalization of conflicts, giving intergroup relations a civilized character that pacifies the warring parties;
Distribution and redistribution of public goods, taking into account group priorities for the functioning of society as a whole;
Management and leadership of social processes as the main method of coordinating group interests by putting forward the most general goals of social development;
Integration of society and ensuring the integrity of the social system;
Socialization of the individual, his inclusion in the life of a complex state and society. Through politics, a person acquires the qualities necessary for a realistic perception of reality, overcoming the destructive consequences of subconscious reactions to political processes;
Ensuring communication. Politics creates special forms communication between groups of the population conflicting over power, forming or using for this purpose specific institutions (mass media), methods of maintaining contacts between the government and the population (political advertising), strategies for informing the population and fighting competitors (propaganda, agitation, political public relations - special techniques public relations)
Creation of reality (projective function). Politics is capable of forming new relationships between people and states, transforming reality in accordance with the plans of various political subjects, creating new forms of organizing social life, and creating opportunities for new relationships between man and nature.
Bibliography:
1) Smirnov I., Titov V. Philosophy: Textbook for students of higher educational institutions. M., 1998–288 p.
2) http://policylect.narod.ru/index.html- Electronic lectures on the basics of political science3) A. V. Klimenko, V. V. Romanina Social science. M., Bustard, 2003- 480 p.
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