Criteria of a traditional society. The essence and main characteristics of traditional and modern society

A traditional society is usually characterized by:

• 
  traditional economics;
• 
  the predominance of the agricultural way of life - people work on the land, live from its fruits;
• 
  the main wealth is land;
• 
  the basis of production is what is produced on the land;
• 
  dominance of agriculture;
• 
  the use of mainly hand tools (plow, plow);
• 
  natural division and specialization of labor (mainly by gender and age);
• 
  updating of equipment and production technology occurs quite slowly;
• 
  structural stability;
• 
  the behavior of individuals is strictly controlled, regulated by customs and norms of traditional behavior, established social institutions, among which the most important will be family, community;
• 
  attempts at any social transformations and innovations are rejected;
• 
  low rates of development and production;
• 
  What is important is established social solidarity, which was established by Durkheim while studying the society of the Australian aborigines;
• 
  class organization;
• 
  personalization of interpersonal communication (directly of individuals, not officials or persons of status);
• 
  informal regulation of interactions (by the norms of unwritten laws of religion and morality);
• 
  connectedness of members by kinship relations (family type of community organization);
• 
  primitive system of community management (hereditary power, rule of elders);
• 
  low mobility;
• 
  high mortality;
• 
  low life expectancy.

A traditional person perceives the world and the established order of life as something inextricably integral, holistic, sacred and not subject to change. A person's place in society and his status are determined by tradition and social origin.

In a traditional society, collectivist attitudes predominate, individualism is not encouraged (since freedom of individual action can lead to a violation of the established order, time-tested). In general, traditional societies are characterized by the predominance of collective interests over private ones, including the primacy of the interests of existing hierarchical structures (states, etc.). What is valued is not so much individual capacity as the place in the hierarchy (official, class, clan, etc.) that a person occupies.

In a traditional society, as a rule, relations of redistribution rather than market exchange predominate, and elements market economy are strictly regulated. This is due to the fact that free markets increase social mobility and change social structure societies (in particular, they destroy class); the redistribution system can be regulated by tradition, but market prices cannot; forced redistribution prevents “unauthorized” enrichment/impoverishment of both individuals and classes. The pursuit of economic gain in traditional society is often morally condemned and opposed to selfless help.

In a traditional society, most people live their entire lives in a local community (for example, a village), and connections with the “big society” are rather weak. Wherein family ties, on the contrary, are very strong.

The worldview (ideology) of a traditional society is determined by tradition and authority.

Traditional society is extremely stable.

In ancient times, changes in traditional society occurred extremely slowly - over generations, almost imperceptibly for an individual. Periods of accelerated development also occurred in traditional societies ( shining example- changes in the territory of Eurasia in the 1st millennium BC. BC), but even during such periods, change was slow by modern standards, and upon its completion, society again returned to a relatively static state with a predominance of cyclical dynamics.

At the same time, since ancient times there have been societies that cannot be called completely traditional. The departure from traditional society was associated, as a rule, with the development of trade. This category includes Greek city-states, medieval self-governing trading cities, England and Holland of the 16th-17th centuries. Stands apart Ancient Rome(before the 3rd century AD) with its civil society.

The rapid and irreversible transformation of traditional society began to occur only in the 18th century as a result of the industrial revolution. By now, this process has captured almost the entire world.

Rapid changes and departure from traditions can be experienced by a traditional person as a collapse of guidelines and values, loss of the meaning of life, etc. Since adaptation to new conditions and a change in the nature of activity are not included in the strategy of a traditional person, the transformation of society often leads to the marginalization of part of the population.

The most painful transformation of traditional society occurs in cases where the dismantled traditions have a religious justification. At the same time, resistance to change can take the form of religious fundamentalism.

During the period of transformation of a traditional society, authoritarianism may increase in it (either in order to preserve traditions, or in order to overcome resistance to change).

The transformation of traditional society ends with the demographic transition. The generation that grew up in small families has a psychology that differs from the psychology of a traditional person.
^ Industrial society - this is a type of organization social life which combines the freedom and interests of the individual with general principles regulating them joint activities. It is characterized by flexibility of social structures, social mobility, and a developed system of communications. type of society that has reached such a level of social economic development, at which the largest contribution to the cost material goods contributes mining and processing natural resources, as well as industry.

Industrial society arises as a result of the industrial revolution. Redistribution occurs work force: employment in agriculture falls from 70-80% to 10-15%, the share of employment in industry increases to 80-85%, and the urban population is also growing. Entrepreneurial activity becomes the dominant factor of production [source not specified 969 days]. As a result of the scientific and technological revolution, industrial society is being transformed into a post-industrial society.

^ Signs of an Industrial Society: it is born as a result of the industrial revolution, leading to the development of large-scale industry, new types of transport and communications, a reduction in the role of agriculture in the structure of the economy and the relocation of people to cities.

History moves unevenly, in leaps and bounds, the gaps between eras are obvious, often these are revolutions of different types.

Socio-historical progress is quite obvious and can be “measured” using various criteria.

Society seeks to dominate nature, subjugating it and extracting the maximum possible from it.

The basis of the economy is the institution of highly developed private property. The right of ownership is considered as natural and inalienable.

Social mobility of the population is high, the possibilities of social movements are practically unlimited.

Society is autonomous from the state, and a developed civil society has emerged.

Autonomy, freedoms and individual rights are constitutionally enshrined as inalienable and innate. Relations between the individual and society are built on the principles of mutual responsibility.

The ability and readiness for change and innovation are recognized as the most important social values.

^ For industrial society characteristic:

• 
  a dramatic increase in industrial and agricultural production unimaginable in previous eras;
• 
  the rapid development of science and technology, means of communication, the invention of newspapers, radio and television;
• 
  a dramatic expansion of propaganda capabilities;
• 
  sharp population growth, increasing life expectancy;
• 
  a significant increase in living standards compared to previous eras;
• 
  a sharp increase in population mobility;
• 
  complex division of labor not only within individual countries, but also across internationally;
• 
  centralized state;
• 
  smoothing of horizontal differentiation of the population (dividing it into castes, estates, classes) and growth of vertical differentiation (dividing society into nations, “worlds,” regions).

^ Post-industrial society - this is a society in whose economy, as a result of the scientific and technological revolution and a significant increase in population incomes, priority has moved from the primary production of goods to the production of services. Information and knowledge become productive resources. Scientific developments become the main thing driving force economy. The most valuable qualities are the level of education, professionalism, learning ability and creativity of the employee.

Post-industrial countries are usually called those in which the service sector accounts for significantly more than half of GDP. This criterion includes, in particular, the USA (service sector accounts for 80% of US GDP, 2002), European Union countries (service sector - 69.4% of GDP, 2004), Australia (69% of GDP, 2003), Japan (67.7% of GDP, 2001), Canada (70% of GDP, 2004), Russia (58% of GDP, 2007). However, some economists point out that the share of services in Russia is overestimated.

Services should be understood not only as trade, utilities and consumer services: any infrastructure is created and maintained by society to provide services: the state, the army, law, finance, transport, communications, healthcare, education, science, culture, the Internet - these are all services. The service sector includes production and sales software. The buyer does not have all rights to the program. He uses its copy under certain conditions, that is, he receives a service.

Close to post-industrial theory are the concepts of information society, post-economic society, postmodernity, “third wave”, “society of the fourth formation”, “scientific-information stage of the production principle”. Some futurologists believe that post-industrialism is only a prologue to the transition to the “post-human” phase of the development of earthly civilization.

The term “post-industrialism” was introduced into scientific circulation at the beginning of the 20th century by the scientist A. Coomaraswamy, who specialized in the pre-industrial development of Asian countries. IN modern meaning the term was first used in the late 1950s, and the concept is widely accepted post-industrial society received as a result of the professor's work Harvard University Daniel Bell, in particular, after the publication of his 1973 book The Coming Post-Industrial Society.

The concept of post-industrial society is based on the separation of everything social development into three stages:

Agrarian (pre-industrial) - the agricultural sector was decisive, the main structures were the church, the army

Industrial - the determining factor was industry, the main structures were the corporation, the firm

Post-industrial - theoretical knowledge is decisive, the main structure is the university, as the place of its production and accumulation

Similarly, E. Toffler identifies three “waves” in the development of society:

agricultural during the transition to farming,

industrial during the industrial revolution

informational during the transition to a society based on knowledge (post-industrial).

D. Bell identifies three technological revolutions:

invention of the steam engine in the 18th century

scientific and technological achievements in the field of electricity and chemistry in the 19th century

creation of computers in the 20th century

Bell argued that, just as the Industrial Revolution resulted in assembly-line production, which increased labor productivity and prepared a mass consumer society, so now there should be a continuous production of information, ensuring the corresponding social development in all directions.

Post-industrial theory, in many ways, has been confirmed by practice. As predicted by its creators, the mass consumer society gave birth to a service economy, and within its framework the information sector of the economy began to develop at the fastest pace.

^ Signs of a post-industrial society: the following five characteristics of a “post-industrial society”:

• 
  transition from a manufacturing economy to a service economy;
• 
  the growing predominance of the “specialist and technician class”;
• 
  dominant role theoretical knowledge as a basis for innovation and policy formulation;
• 
  future focus on technology monitoring and evaluation;
• 
  making decisions based on new “intelligent technology”.

Plan
Introduction
1 General characteristics
2 Transformation of traditional society
and literature

Introduction

Traditional society is a society that is regulated by tradition. Preservation of traditions is a higher value in it than development. The social structure in it is characterized by a rigid class hierarchy, the existence of stable social communities (especially in Eastern countries), and a special way of regulating the life of society, based on traditions and customs. This organization of society strives to preserve the socio-cultural foundations of life unchanged. Traditional society is an agrarian society.

1. General characteristics

A traditional society is usually characterized by:

· traditional economy

· predominance of the agricultural way of life;

· structural stability;

· class organization;

· low mobility;

· high mortality rate;

· low life expectancy.

A traditional person perceives the world and the established order of life as something inextricably integral, holistic, sacred and not subject to change. A person’s place in society and his status are determined by tradition (usually by birthright).

In a traditional society, collectivist attitudes predominate, individualism is not encouraged (since freedom of individual action can lead to a violation of the established order, time-tested). In general, traditional societies are characterized by the predominance of collective interests over private ones, including the primacy of the interests of existing hierarchical structures (state, clan, etc.). What is valued is not so much individual capacity as the place in the hierarchy (official, class, clan, etc.) that a person occupies.

In a traditional society, as a rule, relations of redistribution rather than market exchange predominate, and elements of a market economy are strictly regulated. This is due to the fact that free market relations increase social mobility and change the social structure of society (in particular, they destroy class); the redistribution system can be regulated by tradition, but market prices cannot; forced redistribution prevents “unauthorized” enrichment/impoverishment of both individuals and classes. The pursuit of economic gain in traditional society is often morally condemned and opposed to selfless help.

In a traditional society, most people live their entire lives in a local community (for example, a village), and connections with the “big society” are rather weak. At the same time, family ties, on the contrary, are very strong.

The worldview (ideology) of a traditional society is determined by tradition and authority.

2. Transformation of traditional society

Traditional society is extremely stable. As the famous demographer and sociologist Anatoly Vishnevsky writes, “everything in it is interconnected and it is very difficult to remove or change any one element.”

In ancient times, changes in traditional society occurred extremely slowly - over generations, almost imperceptibly for an individual. Periods of accelerated development also occurred in traditional societies (a striking example is the changes in the territory of Eurasia in the 1st millennium BC), but even during such periods, changes were carried out slowly by modern standards, and upon their completion, society again returned to a relatively static state with a predominance of cyclic dynamics.

At the same time, since ancient times there have been societies that cannot be called completely traditional. The departure from traditional society was associated, as a rule, with the development of trade. This category includes Greek city-states, medieval self-governing trading cities, England and Holland of the 16th-17th centuries. Ancient Rome (before the 3rd century AD) with its civil society stands apart.

The rapid and irreversible transformation of traditional society began to occur only in the 18th century as a result of the industrial revolution. By now, this process has captured almost the entire world.

Rapid changes and departure from traditions can be experienced by a traditional person as a collapse of guidelines and values, loss of the meaning of life, etc. Since adaptation to new conditions and a change in the nature of activity are not included in the strategy of a traditional person, the transformation of society often leads to the marginalization of part of the population.

The most painful transformation of traditional society occurs in cases where the dismantled traditions have a religious justification. At the same time, resistance to change can take the form of religious fundamentalism.

During the period of transformation of a traditional society, authoritarianism may increase in it (either in order to preserve traditions, or in order to overcome resistance to change).

The transformation of traditional society ends with the demographic transition. The generation that grew up in small families has a psychology that differs from the psychology of a traditional person.

Opinions about the need (and extent) of transformation of traditional society differ significantly. For example, the philosopher A. Dugin considers it necessary to abandon the principles modern society and return to the "golden age" of traditionalism. Sociologist and demographer A. Vishnevsky argues that traditional society “has no chance,” although it “fiercely resists.” According to the calculations of Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Professor A. Nazaretyan, in order to completely abandon development and return society to a static state, the number of humanity must be reduced by several hundred times.

1. Knowledge-Power, No. 9, 2005, “Demographic oddities”

· Textbook “Sociology of Culture” (chapter “Historical dynamics of culture: cultural features of traditional and modern societies. Modernization”)

· Book by A. G. Vishnevsky “Sickle and Ruble. Conservative modernization in USSR"

· Book “European Modernization”

· Nazaretyan A.P. Demographic utopia of “sustainable development” // Social Sciences and modernity. 1996. No. 2. P. 145-152.

mythological | religious | mystical | philosophical | scientific | artistic | political | archaic | traditional | modern | postmodern | modern

It is extremely difficult for us, practical people from the future, to understand people of the traditional way of life. This is due to the fact that we grew up in a different culture. However, understanding the people of a traditional society is extremely useful, because such understanding makes dialogue between cultures possible. For example, if you come to vacation in such a traditional country, you must understand local customs and traditions and respect them. Otherwise, there will be no rest, but only continuous conflicts.

Signs of a traditional society

Ttraditional society is a society in which all life is subordinated. In addition, it has the following characteristics.

Patriarchy- primate masculinity over the feminine. A woman, in the traditional sense, is not a completely complete being; moreover, she is a fiend of chaos. And, other things being equal, who will get more food, a man or a woman? Most likely a man, of course, if we omit the “feminized” male representatives.

A family in such a society will be completely patriarchal. An example of such a family could be the one that Archpriest Sylvester was guided by when he wrote his “Domostroy” in the 16th century.

Collectivism- will be another sign of such a society. The individual here means nothing in the face of the clan, family, teip. And this is justified. After all, traditional society was developed where it was extremely difficult to get food. This means that only together can we provide for ourselves. Because of this, the decision of the collective is much more important than any individual.

Agricultural production and subsistence farming will be signs of such a society. Tradition says what to sow, what to produce, not expediency. All economic sphere will be subject to custom. What prevented people from realizing some other realities and introducing innovations into production? As a rule, these were serious climatic conditions, thanks to which tradition dominated: since our fathers and grandfathers ran their households this way, why on earth should we change anything. “We didn’t invent it, it’s not up to us to change it,” that’s what a person living in such a society thinks.

There are other signs of a traditional society, which we consider in more detail in preparation courses for the Unified State Exam/State Examination:

Countries

So, traditional society, in contrast to industrial society, is distinguished by the primacy of tradition and the collective. What countries can be called such? Oddly enough, many modern information societies can be classified as traditional at the same time. How is this possible?

For example, let's take Japan. The country is extremely developed, and at the same time, traditions are highly developed in it. When a Japanese comes to his home, he is in the field of his culture: tatami, shoji, sushi - all this is an integral part of the interior of a Japanese home. Japanese, wears casual business suit, usually European; and puts on a kimono - traditional Japanese clothing, very spacious and comfortable.

China is also a very traditional country, and at the same time it belongs to. For example, over the past five years, 18,000 bridges have been built in China. But at the same time, there are villages where traditions are strongly respected. The Shaolin monasteries, Tibetan monasteries that strictly observe ancient Chinese traditions, have survived.

Coming to Japan or China, you will feel like a stranger - a gaijin or liaowan, respectively.

The same traditional countries include India, Taiwan, the countries of Southeast Asia, and African countries.

I anticipate your question, dear reader: is tradition good or bad? Personally, I think tradition is good. Tradition allows us to remember who we are. It allows us to remember that we are not Pokemon or just people from nowhere. We are the descendants of people who lived before us. In conclusion, I would like to quote words from Japanese proverb: “By the behavior of descendants one can judge their ancestors.” I think now you understand why the countries of the East are traditional countries.

As always, I look forward to your comments :)

Best regards, Andrey Puchkov

] The social structure in it is characterized by a rigid class hierarchy, the existence of stable social communities (especially in Eastern countries), and a special way of regulating the life of society, based on traditions and customs. This organization of society actually strives to preserve unchanged the sociocultural foundations of life that have developed in it.

general characteristics

A traditional society is characterized by:

• traditional economy, or the predominance of the agricultural way of life (agrarian society),
• structural stability,
• estate organization,
• low mobility,

A traditional person perceives the world and the established order of life as something inextricably integral, holistic, sacred and not subject to change. A person's place in society and his status are determined by tradition and social origin.

According to the formula formulated in 1910–1920. According to L. Lévy-Bruhl's concept, people of traditional societies are characterized by prelogical (“prelogique”) thinking, incapable of discerning the inconsistency of phenomena and processes and controlled by mystical experiences of participation (“participation”).

In a traditional society, collectivist attitudes prevail, individualism is not encouraged (since freedom of individual action can lead to a violation of the established order, tested by time). In general, traditional societies are characterized by the predominance of collective interests over private ones, including the primacy of the interests of existing hierarchical structures (states, etc.). What is valued is not so much individual capacity as the place in the hierarchy (official, class, clan, etc.) that a person occupies. As noted, Emile Durkheim in his work “On the Separation social labor"showed that in societies of mechanical solidarity (primitive, traditional), individual consciousness is entirely outside the “I”.

In a traditional society, as a rule, relations of redistribution rather than market exchange predominate, and elements of a market economy are strictly regulated. This is due to the fact that free market relations increase social mobility and change the social structure of society (in particular, they destroy class); the redistribution system can be regulated by tradition, but market prices cannot; forced redistribution prevents “unauthorized” enrichment/impoverishment of both individuals and classes. The pursuit of economic gain in traditional society is often morally condemned and opposed to selfless help.

In a traditional society, most people live their entire lives in a local community (for example, a village), and connections with the “big society” are rather weak. At the same time, family ties, on the contrary, are very strong.

The worldview (ideology) of a traditional society is determined by tradition and authority.

“For tens of thousands of years, the life of the overwhelming majority of adults was subordinated to the tasks of survival and therefore left even less room for creativity and non-utilitarian cognition than for play. Life was based on tradition, hostile to any innovations; any serious deviation from the given norms of behavior was a threat to everything to the team,” writes L. Ya. Zhmud.

Transformation of traditional society

Traditional society appears to be extremely stable. As the famous demographer and sociologist Anatoly Vishnevsky writes, “everything in it is interconnected and it is very difficult to remove or change any one element.”

In ancient times, changes in traditional society occurred extremely slowly - over generations, almost imperceptibly for an individual. Periods of accelerated development also occurred in traditional societies (a striking example is the changes in the territory of Eurasia in the 1st millennium BC), but even during such periods, changes were carried out slowly by modern standards, and upon their completion, society again returned to a relatively static state with a predominance of cyclic dynamics.

At the same time, since ancient times there have been societies that cannot be called completely traditional. The departure from traditional society was associated, as a rule, with the development of trade. This category includes Greek city-states, medieval self-governing trading cities, England and Holland of the 16th-17th centuries. Ancient Rome (before the 3rd century AD) with its civil society stands apart.

The rapid and irreversible transformation of traditional society began to occur only in the 18th century as a result of the industrial revolution. By now, this process has captured almost the entire world.

Rapid changes and departure from traditions can be experienced by a traditional person as a collapse of guidelines and values, loss of the meaning of life, etc. Since adaptation to new conditions and a change in the nature of activity are not included in the strategy of a traditional person, the transformation of society often leads to the marginalization of part of the population.

The most painful transformation of traditional society occurs in cases where the dismantled traditions have a religious justification. At the same time, resistance to change can take the form of religious fundamentalism.

During the period of transformation of a traditional society, authoritarianism may increase in it (either in order to preserve traditions, or in order to overcome resistance to change).

The transformation of traditional society ends with the demographic transition. The generation that grew up in small families has a psychology that differs from the psychology of a traditional person.

Opinions about the need (and extent) of transformation of traditional society differ significantly. For example, the philosopher A. Dugin considers it necessary to abandon the principles of modern society and return to the “golden age” of traditionalism. Sociologist and demographer A. Vishnevsky argues that traditional society “has no chance,” although it “fiercely resists.” According to the calculations of Professor A. Nazaretyan, in order to completely abandon development and return society to a static state, the number of humanity must be reduced by several hundred times.

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Notes

Literature

• (chapter “Historical dynamics of culture: cultural features of traditional and modern societies. Modernization”)
• Nazaretyan A.P. // Social sciences and modernity. 1996. No. 2. P. 145-152.

An excerpt characterizing Traditional Society

Princess Marya and Natasha, as always, met in the bedroom. They talked about what Pierre had told. Princess Marya did not speak her opinion about Pierre. Natasha didn't talk about him either.
“Well, goodbye, Marie,” Natasha said. – You know, I’m often afraid that we don’t talk about him (Prince Andrei), as if we are afraid to humiliate our feelings and forget.
Princess Marya sighed heavily and with this sigh acknowledged the truth of Natasha’s words; but in words she did not agree with her.
- Is it possible to forget? - she said.
“It felt so good to tell everything today; and hard, and painful, and good. “Very good,” said Natasha, “I’m sure he really loved him.” That's why I told him... nothing, what did I tell him? – suddenly blushing, she asked.
- Pierre? Oh no! How wonderful he is,” said Princess Marya.
“You know, Marie,” Natasha suddenly said with a playful smile that Princess Marya had not seen on her face for a long time. - He became somehow clean, smooth, fresh; definitely from the bathhouse, do you understand? - morally from the bathhouse. Is it true?
“Yes,” said Princess Marya, “he won a lot.”
- And a short frock coat, and cropped hair; definitely, well, definitely from the bathhouse... dad, it used to be...
“I understand that he (Prince Andrei) did not love anyone as much as he did,” said Princess Marya.
– Yes, and it’s special from him. They say that men are friends only when they are very special. It must be true. Is it true that he doesn't resemble him at all?
- Yes, and wonderful.
“Well, goodbye,” Natasha answered. And the same playful smile, as if forgotten, remained on her face for a long time.

Pierre could not fall asleep for a long time that day; He walked back and forth around the room, now frowning, pondering something difficult, suddenly shrugging his shoulders and shuddering, now smiling happily.
He thought about Prince Andrei, about Natasha, about their love, and was either jealous of her past, then reproached her, then forgave himself for it. It was already six o'clock in the morning, and he was still walking around the room.
“Well, what can we do? If you can’t do without it! What to do! So, this is how it should be,” he said to himself and, hastily undressed, went to bed, happy and excited, but without doubts and indecisions.
“We must, strange as it may be, no matter how impossible this happiness is, we must do everything in order to be husband and wife with her,” he said to himself.
Pierre, a few days before, had set Friday as the day of his departure for St. Petersburg. When he woke up on Thursday, Savelich came to him for orders about packing his things for the road.
“How about St. Petersburg? What is St. Petersburg? Who's in St. Petersburg? – he asked involuntarily, albeit to himself. “Yes, something like that a long, long time ago, even before this happened, I was planning to go to St. Petersburg for some reason,” he remembered. - From what? I'll go, maybe. How kind and attentive he is, how he remembers everything! - he thought, looking at Savelich’s old face. “And what a pleasant smile!” - he thought.
- Well, don’t you want to go free, Savelich? – asked Pierre.
- Why do I need freedom, Your Excellency? We lived under the late count, the kingdom of heaven, and we see no resentment under you.
- Well, what about the children?
“And the children will live, your Excellency: you can live with such gentlemen.”
- Well, what about my heirs? - said Pierre. “What if I get married... It could happen,” he added with an involuntary smile.
“And I dare to report: a good deed, your Excellency.”
“How easy he thinks it is,” thought Pierre. “He doesn’t know how scary it is, how dangerous it is.” Too early or too late... Scary!
- How would you like to order? Would you like to go tomorrow? – Savelich asked.

Traditional society is a type of public that has its own characteristics. What features are characteristic of a traditional society?

Definition

A traditional society is a community in which everything is regulated by values. Much more attention is paid to the preservation of numerous traditions in this class than to the development of the partnership itself. Characteristic feature traditional society is the presence of a rigid hierarchy and the existence of a clear division into classes.

The traditional society is agrarian. This can be explained by the fact that work on the land is part of the long-term values ​​that are characteristic of this type social order. The traditional caste has been preserved in its original form in some countries of Africa, Asia and the East.

Signs

The characteristic features of a traditional society are:

1. The basis of existence is agricultural activity. This way of life is characteristic of the Middle Ages. Today it is preserved in some countries of Africa, Asia and the East.
2. Estate-corporate social system. This means that the public is clearly divided into several classes, which do not overlap in any way in the course of their activities. This system originated many thousands of years ago.
3. Traditional society is characterized by value human personality, since man is a continuation of God. For this reason, spiritual life is placed higher than material wealth. A person also feels a close relationship with the land on which he was born and his class.
4. Established traditions that clearly regulate human behavior from birth, family relationships and values. The ruler has undeniable power.
5. Low life expectancy, which is associated with high fertility and equally high mortality.
6. Two features characteristic of a traditional society are reverence for one’s own culture and ancient customs.

Today, researchers agree that traditional society is deprived of choice in terms of spiritual and cultural development. This significantly slows down his progress.

Traits

What features are characteristic of traditional type society? Let's list them in order:

1. Patriarchal way of life in which the man plays main role, and the woman is minor member society.
2. A sense of community and belonging to a specific community.
3. Since traditional society is built on agriculture and primitive crafts, it is characterized by complete dependence on the forces of nature.
4. The desire of a person to earn no more than is necessary to satisfy basic needs.
5. The goal of this type of state is not development, but the maintenance of the human population. That is why countries with such lifestyles have no desire to produce goods.

The traditional type is the earliest, as it arose along with the public. At first glance it may seem that there is no development taking place in it. However, it is not. It’s just that this type of community develops in a slightly different way than other varieties.

Development

Economically, a traditional society is characterized by development based on agriculture. At the same time, material benefits are distributed depending on a person’s social status.

A traditional type of society is characterized by the value of redistributive relations, when rights and responsibilities are distributed depending on a person’s social status. At the same time, a person has no chance to improve his social status, since it is inherited, as is the choice of activity. For example, the son of a blacksmith will also be a blacksmith. In addition, marriages between people from different social strata of society are strictly prohibited.

Traditional society is characterized by division into communities. For example, it could be a merchant guild, a knightly order or thieves' corporations. A person outside the community is considered an outcast, so expulsion from it has always been one of the most terrible punishments. A person is born, lives and dies on the same earth.

Culture

A traditional society is characterized by a culture built entirely on the observance of legacies that have been laid down over many decades. Traditions are an intangible part of the culture of society, which is passed on from generation to generation. The task of a traditional community is to preserve and honor its own culture.

Religion plays a very important role in this type of society. A person is a servant of God or gods and is therefore obliged to perform certain religious rituals.

Traditional culture tends to develop over many centuries, such as Chinese or Indian culture.

Values ​​of traditional society

In this type of state, labor is considered as a duty. Among the least prestigious and difficult ones are agriculture, trade and handicrafts. The most respected are the clergy and military affairs.

Which values ​​are characteristic of a traditional society?

1. The distribution of material benefits does not depend on whether a person works for the benefit of the state or the city. It depends on the person's position. For example, a citizen from a higher class has an order of magnitude more privileges.
2. The desire to obtain material benefits that are not due to a given class causes misunderstanding among the public.
3. The mechanisms of traditional society are aimed at maintaining stability, not development.
4. Governance of the state belongs to rich people who do not need to worry about feeding their families, which means they have free time. Whereas people from the lower classes were constantly occupied with the question of how to satisfy basic needs.

The basis of traditional society is middle class- people who have private property, but do not seek excessive enrichment.

Division of society into classes

Class division is the basis of traditional society. An estate is a group of people that has certain rights and responsibilities. Belonging to a certain class is passed on from generation to generation. Among the classes of traditional medieval society, the following can be distinguished:

1. Noble people, clergy, warriors - the highest class of people. They do not need to work on the earth to meet their needs. They have property by birthright, as well as servants.
2. Independent entrepreneurs - merchants, millers, artisans, blacksmiths. They need to work to maintain their material wealth, but they are not in anyone's service.
3. Serfs are completely subordinate to the master, who regulates their lives. The duties of the peasant have always included cultivating the land, maintaining order on the estates, and carrying out the orders of the master. The owner had the opportunity to punish the peasant for offenses and monitor all aspects of his life, including personal and family relationships.

Such foundations of traditional society have not changed for centuries.

Life in a traditional society

As already noted, each layer of traditional society had its own rights and responsibilities. Thus, the upper classes had access to any benefits of civilization that society provided. They were able to display their wealth through the presence of luxurious housing and clothing. In addition, the nobility often brought gifts to the clergy, the military, and donated funds to the needs of the city.

The middle class had a stable income, which was enough for comfortable life. However, no one had the right or opportunity to boast of wealth. The lower strata of society were forced to be content with only small benefits, which were barely enough to satisfy basic needs. At the same time, their rights were often regulated by the upper classes. For example, there could be a ban on the use of certain household items for the poor or the consumption of a certain product. In this way, the social gap between layers of society was emphasized.

Traditional societies of the East

Some signs of the traditional type of society have been preserved in eastern countries before today. Despite the industrialization and economic development of the countries, they retained the following features:

• religiosity - most states in the East are Muslim, which means that religion plays a very important role both in the life of society and in the life of an individual;
• veneration of old traditions is strong in the powers not only of the East, but also in Asian ones (China, Japan);

• the possession of material assets depends on class affiliation.

IN modern world There are practically no traditional societies left in the classical sense. States evolve and develop in economic, spiritual, political directions, thereby gradually displacing the values ​​inherent in traditional society.

Man in a traditional community

A traditional type of society is characterized by the perception of a person as part of the public, in which everyone has a certain role, personal connections predominate, since family, neighborly, and clan relationships can be observed within society. This is especially noticeable in the example of noble strata of society, where everyone knew everyone personally.

Moreover, everyone has a social role that he adheres to throughout his life. For example, a landowner is a patron, a warrior is a protector, a peasant is a farmer.

In a traditional society it is impossible to obtain wealth through honest work. Here it is inherited along with position in society and private property. It is assumed that power brings wealth, not the other way around.

a brief description of

A traditional society is characterized by the following features:

1. Dependence of private and social life on religious ideas society.
2. Cyclicity of development.
3. Lack of personality, predominantly collectivist nature of society.
4. Undeniable recognition of any power, patriarchy.
5. The predominance of traditions rather than innovations.

In traditional society, special attention is paid to the family, as it is aimed at procreation. It is for this reason that families in traditional societies have many children. In addition, society is characterized by conservatism, which significantly slows down its development.