Method of production of material goods of society and economic relations. Production of material goods and the foundations of the life of human society

Method of production of wealth

The concept of " way of producing wealth first introduced into social philosophy by Marx and Engels. Each method of production is based on a certain material and technical basis. The method of production of material goods is a certain type of life activity of people, a certain way of obtaining the means of subsistence necessary to satisfy material and spiritual needs. The mode of production of material goods is the dialectical unity of the productive forces and production relations.

Productive forces are those forces (man, means and objects of labor) with the help of which society influences nature and changes it. Means of labor (machines, machine tools) - there is a thing or a complex of things that a person places between himself and the object of labor (raw materials, auxiliary materials). The division and cooperation of social productive forces contributes to the development of material production and society, the improvement of labor tools, the distribution of material goods, and wages.

Production relations are relations about ownership of the means of production, exchange of activities, distribution and consumption. The materiality of production relations is expressed in the fact that they develop in the process of material production, exist independently of people's consciousness, and are objective.

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See what the "Method of production of material goods" is in other dictionaries:

In Marxism, a historically defined way of obtaining material wealth; the unity of the productive forces and production relations... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

MODE OF PRODUCTION- PRODUCTION METHOD, historically determined. method of obtaining material wealth; unity produces. forces and industries. relations. foundation of societies. economy formations. The replacement of one S. p. by another is a revolution. way. In the course of history, successively ... ... Demographic Encyclopedic Dictionary

In Marxism, a historically defined way of obtaining material wealth; unity of productive forces and production relations. * * * METHOD OF PRODUCTION METHOD OF PRODUCTION, in Marxism, a historically defined way of obtaining material ... encyclopedic Dictionary

A historically defined way of obtaining material goods necessary for people for industrial and personal consumption; represents the unity of productive forces and production relations. Two sides of S. p. ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Historically concrete unity of productive forces and production relations. The concept "S. P." characterizes the social aspects of the activities of societies. a person aimed at creating the material goods necessary for his life. His… … Philosophical Encyclopedia

In Marxism, a method of producing material goods based on private ownership of the means of production and the exploitation of wage labor. In English: Capitalist mode of production See also: Modes of production Capitalism Financial ... ... Financial vocabulary

Encyclopedia of Sociology

CAPITALIST MODE OF PRODUCTION- English. capitalist mode of production; German Produktionswiese, capitalistische. The method of production of material goods, based on private ownership of the means of production and the exploitation of wage labor, which determines the development of the capitalist, ... ... Explanatory Dictionary of Sociology

Or politarism is the name of several modes of production, the common thing among which is that they are all based on a peculiar form of private property of a general class. General class private property always takes the form of ... ... Wikipedia

Exist., m., use. often Morphology: (no) what? way, why? way, (see) what? way than? way about what? about the way; pl. What? ways, (no) what? ways, why? ways, (see) what? ways of what? ways about what? about ways 1. Way ... Dictionary of Dmitriev

Good- this is everything that people would like to appropriate, that is of value to them, has utility - real or imaginary, that a person considers important or necessary for himself.

Examples of goods are food (bread, butter, meat, milk, etc.), other consumer goods (clothes, cars, etc.), certain phenomena or processes in nature (sunlight, spring water, air) .

Taking into account the definition we have given, anti-goods, or goods with a minus sign, are allocated to a special category. Antiblago is what people (in the normal state) would not like to appropriate, which they consider harmful.

Examples of anti-boons are exhaust fumes, acid rain, hurricanes, engine noise, magnetic storms, snowdrifts, and so on.

As you can see, the term “good” is universal in the sense that it covers both objects to which a person had a hand (man-made goods), and natural phenomena and processes in the world that are not related to human activities.

When defining the category of "good" it is necessary to take into account the following two aspects.

1. Sometimes you have to choose not among the benefits, but among the anti-benefits (“choose the lesser of two evils”). In our country, this is exactly what people often have to do during all kinds of elections (it is not an easy task to select the more worthy from among the unworthy).

2. There is not and cannot be a single measure (what is "good" and what is "bad"). What one person perceives as a blessing, another may consider an anti-good. As you know, products containing nicotine, alcohol, narcotic and other substances that affect the human psyche are usually perceived by their consumers as a blessing, and by others - often as an evil. In the modern economy, the variety of goods circulating in it is extremely large. Therefore, it is advisable to classify goods according to various criteria.

Based on the object classification of goods, the following types (groups) can be distinguished.

Wealth include: natural gifts of nature (earth, air, climate), products of economic (production) activities of people (food, buildings and structures, machinery and equipment, etc.).

intangible benefits- these are benefits that affect the development of a person's abilities or determine his status (in particular, social). One (apparently, the main) part of them is created in the non-productive sphere (health care, education, art, cinema, theater, etc.), the other is mainly associated with the lifestyle (conditions) of a particular person.

With this in mind two subgroups of intangible goods can be distinguished: internal and external. Internal benefits are the abilities given to a given person by nature, which he develops in himself of his own free will (voice, ear for music, propensity for scientific activity, etc.). External benefits are all that the outside world gives for the development of a person and the satisfaction of his needs (reputation, business connections, a certain social position in society, etc.).

It is usually said about the goods of the first group that they are consumed and disappear, and about the goods of the second group - that they are used and at the same time gradually wear out.

To obtain the missing consumer goods (consumer goods), as a rule, you need indirect benefits ( resources).

indirect benefits(resources), in turn, are divided into real (physical) and financial (in monetary form).

The point of managing is often to use the resources that exist in the present to create wealth in the future.

The degree of storage depends from specific benefits. Thus, services are absolutely non-storable, since they are consumed directly at the moment of production. Perishable foodstuffs (for example, fresh fish, fresh meat, milk) are low-storable. Close to absolutely stored goods are the so-called noble metals (for example, gold, silver). Most of the real (physical) goods have incomplete storage in time and are subject to negative environmental influences. There are also goods that are absolutely stored and even capable of increasing quantitatively over time (for example, money, securities and other financial assets).

For many goods, there is a natural divisibility limit - a single good, a piece (one book, one cassette, etc.). Some benefits are divisible almost absolutely: "a loaf of bread - and that in half." There are also benefits that are extremely difficult to classify as divisible (for example, communication routes, main oil and gas pipelines, power lines). It is enough to remove any part of it, cut it “across” - and all good disappears as an object of consumption (use). Depending on the nature (method) of obtaining the benefit, the subjects distinguish two of their categories (groups) - economic and non-economic.

1. economic benefits - these are the benefits that are the object or result of the economic activity of people, i.e. which can be obtained in quantities limited in comparison with the needs satisfied. In other words, in relation to economic goods, to one degree or another, there is a problem of scarcity, which determines the corresponding behavior of a person - a choice in conditions of limited resources (air-conditioned air, electric lighting, tap water).

2. Non-economic (free or free) goods - these are benefits that are provided by the external environment (nature) without human effort. Such benefits exist in nature “freely” in an amount sufficient to fully and permanently satisfy certain human needs (atmospheric air, sunlight, water in open reservoirs, etc.).

Depending on the degree of availability (ownership) of goods and the nature of their use by economic agents, the following types are distinguished.

1. private goods - these are goods that are available only to one subject and its use excludes the possibility of its consumption by other subjects. Examples are a toothbrush, a pair of shoes that someone else owns. It is unlikely that anyone else will encroach (other than their owner) on their use (consumption).

2. public goods - these are goods, access to which cannot be limited, and their consumption can be carried out simultaneously by many subjects. Examples are knowledge, national security. Goods "common resources" are specific goods that are available (belong) to everyone, but they are consumed by only one subject. Examples are mushrooms in the forest, birds in the sky, fish in the river. The benefits of "natural monopolies" are specific benefits available (belonging) to one subject, and many can use them at the same time. Examples are cable network system, piping systems.

motivating motive for the organization of social production are the needs of people. There are several interpretations of needs in the economic literature. The most common approach is: human needs- this is a state of dissatisfaction, or need, which he seeks to overcome. There are other points of view - these are conscious requests or needs for something, these are objectively necessary conditions for life, etc. Since human needs are diverse, their classification according to certain criteria is necessary.

The following classification criteria can be distinguished:

By significance (primary, or biological, and secondary, or social);

By subjects (individual, group, collective, public);

By objects (material, spiritual, ethical, aesthetic);

As far as possible implementation (real, ideal);

By areas of activity (needs for work, communication, recreation, etc.);

According to the nature of satisfaction, economic needs are distinguished (they include that part of human needs for which limited resources are used and production is necessary) and non-economic needs (those that can be satisfied without production, for example, the need for water, air, sunlight, etc.). .d.).

Classification of needs people, taking into account the staging of social development, was proposed by an American sociologist of Russian origin A. Maslow. Its visual interpretation - in the form of "Maslow's pyramid" - has five levels. It is believed that these needs form a hierarchy. Only after a relatively complete satisfaction of the needs of one level, the attention of the decision maker switches to the needs of the next level. Economic theory deals mainly with the first and second levels.

In economic theory, the concept of "material good" is poorly developed. It is believed to be clear. In addition, there is an approximate list of benefits, so scientists think little about this. At the same time, the phenomenon has a number of features that are worth dwelling on.

The concept of good

Even the ancient Greek philosophers began to think about what is good for a person. It has always been perceived as something positive for the individual, bringing him pleasure and comfort. But for a long time there was no consensus about what it could be. For Socrates, it was the ability to think, the human mind. An individual can reason and form correct opinions - this is his main goal, value, purpose.

Plato believed that the good is a cross between rationality and pleasure. In his opinion, the concept cannot be reduced to either one or the other. The good is something mixed, elusive. Aristotle comes to the conclusion that there is no single good for all. He closely links the concept with morality, arguing that only the correspondence of pleasure with ethical principles can be good. Therefore, the state assigned the main role in creating benefits for a person. From here came two traditions to consider them a model of virtue or a source of pleasure.

Indian philosophy singled out four main benefits for a person: pleasure, virtue, benefit and liberation from suffering. At the same time, its component is the presence of a certain benefit from a thing or event. Later, material wealth began to be correlated and even identified with the concept of God. And only the emergence of economic theories translates reflections on the good into a practical area. By them in the broadest sense is understood something that satisfies the requirements and meets the interests of a person.

properties of goods

In order for a material good to become such, it must meet certain conditions and have the following properties:

• the good must be objective, that is, fixed in some material carrier;
• it is universal, as it has significance for many or all people;
• the good must have social significance;
• it is abstract and intelligible, as it reflects in the minds of man and society a certain concrete form, as a result of production and social relations.

At the same time, goods have the main property - this is utility. That is, they should bring real benefits to people. This is where their value lies.

The good and the needs of man

In order for a good to be recognized as such, several conditions must be met:

• it must meet the needs of the person;
• the good must have objective properties and characteristics that allow it to be useful, that is, to be able to improve the life of society;
• a person must understand that the good can satisfy his certain requirements and needs;
• a good person can dispose of it at his own discretion, that is, choose the time and method of satisfying needs.

To understand the essence of goods, you need to remember what needs are. They are understood as internal incentives that are implemented in activities. The need begins with the awareness of need, which is associated with a feeling of lack of something. It creates discomfort of varying degrees of intensity, an unpleasant feeling of lack of something. Makes you take some action, look for a way to satisfy the need.

A person is simultaneously attacked by several needs and he ranks them, choosing the most relevant ones to satisfy first. Traditionally, biological or organic needs are distinguished: in food, sleep, reproduction. There are also social needs: the need to belong to a group, the desire for respect, interaction with other people, the achievement of a certain status. As for spiritual needs, these requirements correspond to the highest order. These include cognitive need, the need for self-affirmation and self-realization, the search for the meaning of existence.

Man is constantly busy satisfying his needs. This process leads to the desired state of pleasure, gives in the final stage positive feelings, to which any individual aspires. The process of emergence and satisfaction of needs is called motivation, as it makes a person carry out activities. He always has a choice of how best to achieve the desired result and he independently selects the best ways to remove the scarce state. To satisfy needs, the individual uses various objects and it is these that can be called good, since they lead a person to a pleasant feeling of satisfaction and are part of a large economic and social activity.

Economic theory about goods

The science of economics could not ignore such a question of the good. Since the material needs of a person are satisfied with the help of objects produced on the basis of resources, then the theory of economic benefits arises. They are understood as objects and their properties that can meet the requirements and desires of a person. The peculiarity of the process of satisfying material needs is such that the needs of people always exceed production capabilities. Therefore, the benefits are always less than the needs for them. Thus, economic resources always have a special property - rarity. There are always fewer of them on the market than necessary. This creates an increased demand for economic goods and allows you to set a price for them.

Resources are always needed for their production, and they, in turn, are limited. In addition, material goods have another property - utility. They are always associated with profit. There is the concept of marginal utility, that is, the ability of a good to satisfy a need most fully. As consumption increases, marginal demand decreases. So, a hungry person satisfies the need for food with the first 100 grams of food, but he continues to eat, while the benefits decrease. The positive characteristics of different goods may be similar. A person chooses the necessary of them, focusing not only on this indicator, but also on other factors: price, psychological and aesthetic satisfaction, etc.

Classifications of goods

Diverse consumption of material goods leads to the fact that in economic theory there are several ways to divide them into types. First of all, they are classified according to the degree of limitation. There are goods for the production of which resources are spent and they are finite. They are called economic or material. There are also goods that are available in unlimited quantities, such as sunlight or air. They are called non-economic or free.

Depending on the mode of consumption, goods are divided into consumer and production goods. The former are designed to meet the needs of the end user. The latter are necessary for the production of consumer goods (for example, machine tools, technology, land). Material and non-material, private and public goods are also distinguished.

Tangible and intangible goods

Various human needs require specific means of satisfying them. In this regard, there are tangible and intangible benefits. The first includes objects that are comprehended by the senses. A material good is everything that can be touched, smelled, considered. Usually they can accumulate, be used for a long time. Allocate material benefits of one-time, current and long-term use.

The second category is intangible goods. They are usually associated with services. Intangible benefits are created in the non-productive sphere and affect the state and abilities of a person. These include health care, education, trade, service, etc.

Public and private

Depending on the mode of consumption, a material good can be characterized as private or public. The first kind is consumed by one person who has paid for it and owns it. These are means of individual demand: cars, clothes, food. The public good is indivisible, it belongs to a large group of people who jointly pay for it. This type includes environmental protection, cleanliness and order on roads and in public places, protection of law and order and the defense of the country.

Production and distribution of wealth

Creating wealth is a complex, costly process. Its organization requires the efforts and resources of many people. In fact, the entire sphere of the economy is engaged in the production of various types of material goods. Depending on the dominant needs, the sphere can independently regulate itself, releasing the necessary goods. The process of distribution of wealth is not so simple. The market is a tool, however, there is also a social sphere. It is in it that the state assumes the functions of distribution in order to reduce social tension.

Service as a blessing

Despite the fact that it is customary to understand material goods as a means of satisfying a need, services are also a means of eliminating need. Economic theory today actively uses this concept. According to her, material services are a kind of economic good. Their peculiarity is that the service is intangible, it cannot be accumulated or evaluated before it is received. At the same time, it also has utility and rarity, like other economic goods.

Social production is the process of creating any material goods necessary for the existence and normal functioning of society. Production is called social because there is a division of labor between the most diverse members of society. Everyone knows that any production is organized to meet certain needs of people. The degree of socialization of production elements, which testify to their belonging to private individuals or society, is considered a criterion for the development of the socio-economic formation of a given society.

The foundations of social production in world political economy were laid several centuries ago. Any human activity aimed at the transformation of some into can be considered social production. Its main phases are:

Production of products;

Distribution;

Consumption.

In the course of a person's production activity, material and in the process of distributing the finished product (consumer goods and means of production) are obtained, they are redistributed between various subjects of production. Exchange is the process of selling and acquiring various goods for other goods or their monetary equivalent. The consumption or use of goods can be personal or industrial.

Social production is characterized by the following factors, which are its fundamental principle:

Labor or conscious activity, which is aimed at meeting the public and personal needs of a person in various spiritual and material benefits;

Means of production, which include (materials, raw materials) and (equipment, inventory, facilities).

Social production and its structure have been the subject of study by the most famous economists and philosophers. As a result of such a study, it was concluded that it has a cellular structure. In almost any country, labor resources, raw material bases and consumers are dispersed throughout its territory, therefore, in order to meet the needs of a person in certain commodities, a division of labor is necessary, in which social production is dispersed among different specialized enterprises.

Due to the cellular structure of this production, two levels are distinguished during its operation:

Production as an aspect of the technical and technological process of labor, carried out directly in the primary cells of production;

Production as a socio-economic and the entire country or nation.

At the first (micro level), people are direct workers with certain labor and production relations. At the second level of the functioning of social production, called the “macrolevel”, economic and production-economic relations are formed between economic entities.

Public production has the following structure:

It is formed by a variety of sectors of construction, industry, agriculture, which are based on the creation of wealth from natural resources. It also includes industries serving the needs of people: trade, transport, utilities, consumer services enterprises;

Non-material production - it is formed by such systems: health care, education, science, art, culture, in which non-material services are provided and various spiritual values ​​are created.

The initial basis of the life of any society is social production. So, a person, before creating works of art, doing science, politics or health care, must satisfy his most minimal needs: to have shelter, clothing, food. It is this that is the source of the well-being of society.

Human life activity is studied by the most diverse sciences, representing separate branches of knowledge, each of which can be a complete master in a limited area, within the limits of research precisely demarcated by it.

Economic theory studies the economic activity of people.

Economic activity is an expedient activity, i.e. the efforts of people in the process of managing, based on a certain calculation and aimed at satisfying their various needs.

The vital activity of a person in the process of managing is manifested, on the one hand, in the expenditure of energy, resources, etc., and on the other hand, in the corresponding replenishment of living expenses, while the economic entity (i.e., a person in economic activity) seeks to act rationally, i.e. by comparing costs and benefits (which does not exclude errors in making business decisions). This behavior is explained as follows.

An essential feature of human life and activity is dependence on the material world. Some material goods (air, water, sunlight) are in such quantity and in such a form that their use is available to a person everywhere, at all times. Satisfying the needs for them does not require any effort and donations. These are free and gift goods. As long as such conditions persist, these goods and the need for them are not the concerns and calculations of man.

Other material goods are available in limited quantities (various kinds of "rarities"). In order to satisfy the needs of them and to have them in an accessible quantity, efforts are needed to obtain and adapt them to needs. These benefits are called economic. It is they that are of interest to the practical business executive and the theoretical economist. The loss of these benefits is a loss, damage, the compensation of which requires new efforts, costs, donations. The well-being of people depends on them, so the business executive treats them carefully, economically, prudently.

The economic activity of people is a very complex and intricate complex of various phenomena and processes, in which economic theory distinguishes four stages: production proper, distribution, exchange and consumption. Production is the process of creating material and spiritual goods necessary for the existence and development of man. Distribution is the process of determining the share, quantity, proportion in which each economic person takes part in the product produced. Exchange - the process of movement of material goods and services from one subject to another and a form of social connection between producers and consumers, mediating social metabolism. Consumption - the process of using the results of production to meet certain needs. All these stages are interconnected and interact (Fig. 2.1.1).

But before characterizing the interconnection of these four stages, it is important to note that all production is a social and continuous process; constantly repeating, it historically develops - it goes from the simplest forms (primitive man's extraction of food with the help of primitive means) to modern automated high-performance production. Despite the dissimilarity of these types of production (both from the point of view of the material basis and from the point of view of social form), one can single out common points inherent in production as such.

Production in general is the process of man's influence on the objects and forces of nature in order to adapt them to the satisfaction of certain needs.

Although production in general is an abstraction, the abstraction is reasonable, since it really singles out the general, fixes it, and therefore saves us from repetition.

Any production is characterized by the interaction of three simple elements: labor, objects of labor and means of labor.

Human labor plays a decisive role in the production process. It is a fundamental condition for the life of society. It is labor that has an active, creative, constructive role. Labor is the source of wealth. All material goods and services are the result of human labor. Even the ancients understood the special role of labor. For example, the words of Horace are known: "Nothing is given to mortals without great labor" (Fig. 2.1.2).

The interaction of the labor force and the means of production is realized through technology and the organization of production. Technology reflects the technical side of production and is a way of human impact on the objects of labor, based on the use of mechanical, physical, chemical properties of the means of production. The organization of production ensures the unity, interaction of all workers involved in production, interconnected by the division of labor, as well as the organization of the use of labor and means of production. Through such forms as specialization, combination, cooperation, concentration of production, etc., the interconnection of production develops along sectoral and territorial directions. Improving the complex and flexible system of organizational ties is an important condition for economic growth.

The social nature of production, which gives rise to the existence of the concept of "social production", is explained by the fact that the production process is carried out not by isolated economic entities, but in society in the system of social division of labor and specialization.

The social division of labor means that in any more or less numerous community of people, none of the participants in the economy can live on the basis of complete self-sufficiency in all production resources, in all economic benefits. Different groups of producers are engaged in certain types of economic activity, which means specialization in the production of certain goods.

It is by virtue of organization, co-operation and division of labor that production has a social character. Since production always has a social character, people, regardless of their will and consciousness, enter into certain relations with each other in it, and not only according to the systemic organization of the factors of production, but also according to the social form of participation in it and the nature of the appropriation of its results.

Today the importance of energy and information is seriously increasing. Until recently, mechanical and especially electrical motors were the main driving force and the main source of energy used in production. In 1924, at the International Energy Conference in London, the German physicist O. Wiener calculated that the mechanical engines of the whole world at a time when no more than 2 billion people lived on earth replaced the labor of approximately 12 billion people. Since then, the power of mechanical engines on the globe has increased significantly, more powerful energy sources have been used, such as nuclear, intranuclear, laser, energy of chemical processes, etc. It is estimated that by the end of the 21st century.

nuclear power plants will provide up to 45% of the world's electricity. Of great importance today is information, which is a condition for the operation of a modern system of machines, which includes a control device, and conditions for improving the quality, qualification of the workforce, as well as a necessary prerequisite for the successful organization of the production process itself.

The correlation and interconnection of the four stages of human economic activity is expressed as follows.

Production is the starting point of economic activity, consumption is the end point, distribution and exchange, mediating stages linking production with consumption. Although production is the primary stage, it serves consumption. Consumption forms the final goal and motive of production, since in consumption the product is destroyed, it dictates a new order for production. A satisfied need creates a new need. The development of needs is the driving force behind the development of production. But the emergence of the needs themselves is due to production - the emergence of new products causes a corresponding need for this product and its consumption.

The distribution and exchange of the product depend on production, for only what is produced can be distributed and exchanged. But, in turn, they are not passive in relation to production, but have an active feedback effect on production. In the most general form, according to accepted accounting methods, the structure of social production can be represented as follows (Fig. 2.1.3).

Material production, according to official statistics, includes industries and enterprises where material goods are produced: these are industry, agriculture and forestry, construction, as well as industries that provide material services: transport, communications, communal and personal subsidiary farming. Such a solution to the problem is far from indisputable, and positions are expressed in the economic literature that deny the legitimacy of classifying the sectors of the national economy that represent the sphere of circulation (i.e., trade, public catering, material and technical supply, marketing and procurement) to material production on the grounds that that their main function - buying and selling - does not create a new product and does not increase the cost of goods.

From the sphere of material production, one should distinguish the non-productive sphere, or the sphere of non-material production. It includes: health care, education, science (debatable), culture, art, housing, utilities, consumer services, management, financing and lending, passenger transport, service communications, sports, etc.

Labor expended in the sphere of material production and creating material wealth acts as productive labor.

Unproductive labor is labor that does not contribute to the creation of material wealth.

Productive and unproductive labor is socially useful labor necessary for the development of society, affecting the efficiency of the total social product of labor.

Socially useful can be not only things, material goods, but also services of a material (repair, transport, storage) and non-material nature (services of education, health, culture, life). Production needs are met by scientific, information, transport and other services. The totality of all services forms the service sector.

Production and personal services are an integral part of the social product, and the labor expended on their production acts as part of productive, socially useful labor.

HTP led to the rapid development of the service sector, which does not create an independent material product, but performs important social functions. This area includes industrial and social infrastructure.

For modern reproduction, the sphere of military equipment also plays a significant role. In addition, in some countries (with mono-specialization - for example, oil) there is also a zero division - oil production.

The minimum allowable for social reproduction is the presence of two subdivisions in reproduction: Iu II. I is the production of means of production, II is the production of consumer goods. This division is due to the fact that the means of production and consumer goods perform significantly different functions in the process of reproduction. If the former serve to reproduce predominantly material, material elements of the productive forces, then the latter serve to reproduce the personal factor of production.

All of the above processes are carried out under certain conditions, in a certain situation, economic environment.

The doctrine of the environment of human economy distinguishes between natural and social environment. This is explained by the fact that in their economic activity people are limited and conditioned: firstly, by nature; secondly, a public organization.

The natural environment determines the natural conditions of management. These include climatic and soil conditions, conditions of heredity, population size, quality of food, housing, clothing, etc. We already know that a person carries out his activities in conditions of natural limited resources. So, it is known that the area of ​​the globe is 510.2 million square meters. km, and most (3/4) falls on the sea. At the same time, the soil conditions of the earth's crust are different, the volume of minerals is limited, the flora and fauna (forests, furs, etc.) are diverse - all this determines certain economic conditions.

The climatic conditions of human life are also varied. Thus, the hot zone of the earth's surface is 49.3%, moderate - 38.5, cold - 12.2%. The climate determines the duration and effectiveness of agricultural work. Thus, the duration of agricultural work in Europe ranges from 11 to 4 months (in Russia - 4 months, in Germany - 7, southern England - 11 months). The duration also determines the time of freezing of navigable rivers, which will certainly affect the results of economic activity (the Volga freezes for 150 days, the Rhine - for 26 days, and the rivers of the Arkhangelsk region - for 200 days). According to Humboldt's calculations, a field of bananas growing in southern latitudes can feed 133 times more people than an equal field of wheat. The amount of rainfall also affects the yield. So, in the Tula region, the climate is relatively dry (no more than 200 mm of rain), in rainy years, the yield increases by almost 1.5 times. The most favorable for economic activity are regions with average precipitation (from 250 to 1000 mm), these include: Central and Western Europe, Eastern China, the eastern half of the United States.

A very significant role in achieving certain economic results is played by heredity. In ancient Sparta, children of weak constitution were killed, and on the island of Kondia there was a law according to which young people of both sexes were selected, distinguished by beauty and strength. They were forced to marry in order to improve the "breed" of people. Science today, of course, recognizes the law of heredity. Children inherit not only external resemblance, but also mental qualities, not only health, but also diseases (diabetes, arthritis, cancer, sclerosis, epilepsy, hysteria, etc.). Poverty coupled with poor nutrition and poor hygienic conditions are reflected not only in the growth of mortality and diseases of the present, but also of the future generation. It is very important to remember that all reforms to improve the situation of the population do not have their beneficial effect immediately, but gradually.

From the standpoint of modern science about the life of people in the natural environment, it is necessary to take into account the connection between man and space. The idea of ​​human life and activity as a cosmic phenomenon has existed for a long time. At the end of the XVII century. Dutch scientist H. Huygens in his work "Kosmoteoros" noted that life is a cosmic phenomenon. This idea was comprehensively developed in the works of the Russian scientist V. I. Vernadsky on the noosphere. The noosphere is a new phenomenon on Earth. In it, for the first time, a person becomes the largest geological force, because with his work and thought he can radically rebuild his life, change the conditions of life in comparison with the past. The power of a person on Earth, according to this teaching, is connected not with his matter, but with his brain, with his mind and directed by this mind - his work.

It is possible to separate man from nature only mentally. Not a single living organism is in a free state on Earth. All of them are inextricably and continuously connected, first of all, by nutrition and respiration with the material and energy environment surrounding them. Outside of it, in natural conditions, they cannot exist, let alone engage in economic activity. Materially, the Earth and other planets are not alone, but are in communion. Cosmic matter enters the Earth and affects the life of people, and the earth (the results of this life) goes into outer space, the so-called "breath of the Earth". The state of the biosphere depends entirely on life on Earth. The strengthening of consciousness, thoughts in the economic activity of people, the creation of forms that increasingly increase the influence of life on the environment, lead to a new state of the biosphere - the noosphere (the realm of the human mind).

The biological unity and equality of all people is the law of nature. Hence the realization of the ideal of equality, and of economic life - the principle of social injustice is natural and inevitable. It is impossible to go against the conclusions of science with impunity. This is what determines the inevitability of reforms in economic activity.

In the 21st century humanity becomes a single whole with its vital activity, because today there is not a single corner of the Earth where a person could not live and work, communication has increased, communication using radio, television, computers, information, etc. All this is thanks to technology created by the mind person. Under these conditions, universal human values ​​come to the fore, and global universal human values ​​are the main problems in the development of the world economy.

The importance and significance of the natural environment of economic activity are unconditional, but their influence should not be exaggerated, because a person is so cunningly created that his body adapts to certain conditions, people develop knowledge about the properties of materials, the ability to use them on the basis of the development of science and technology, growth levels of social culture that may make it easier or harder for them to struggle with nature.

The economic activity of people is carried out within the framework of certain rules of the game, the main of which are property relations. It is these relationships that determine the social environment of economic activity, which is reflected in the performance of management. Adam Smith wrote that "a man who is unable to acquire any property can have no interest in eating more and working less." Motivation to work here is either extremely weak or completely absent. This theoretical proposition is confirmed by the practice of economic management in "post-communist" countries, where until recently "no one's" public property prevailed. Private property creates conditions for free competition and encourages initiative, creative and more productive work.

A significant influence on the conditions of economic activity is exerted by various kinds of state organizations that establish laws, business rules that regulate working conditions, as well as societies, partnerships, parties and trade unions that require improved working conditions. The replacement of an absolutely bureaucratic economic system with free institutions, as it were, "cleanses" the social atmosphere, freeing business executives from the oppressive feeling of bondage and subordination, awakening in them personal initiative, business scope, and raises self-esteem among hired workers, accustoms them to consistent and persistent, although more calm and correct, defending their interests.

Property relations give rise to differentiation of producers, the poor and the rich appear. Upbringing, education and average life expectancy in these social groups are different. Upbringing and education, promoting physical and mental development, improve the human body, make it more capable of work and are reflected in heredity. Therefore, by studying at universities, you, dear students, benefit not only yourself, but also your children, grandchildren, and descendants! The French physiologist Florence argued that under favorable conditions, a person at the end of the 19th century. could live 100 years, while the average life expectancy then was 40 years (for comparison: today in France - 76 years, in Russia - 69.5 years). The French doctor Dipson showed that the average life expectancy of the rich at the end of the 19th century. was 57 years, and the poor - 37 years.

Property relations largely determine the working conditions. Even the ancients understood that a person cannot work without rest. The commandment of Moses says that the seventh day of the week should be dedicated to rest: "Do not do any work on that day, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any your livestock, nor the stranger that is in your dwellings." In addition to the Sabbath day, the Jews also had a Sabbath year (every seventh and 50th anniversary). At this time, it was commanded to forgive debts under pain of great punishments.

During the emergence of capitalism, the working day was 15, 16, 17 or more hours a day. Our farmers work the same today.

The desire for an "unreasonable" increase in the working day is caused by the erroneous belief that profit depends on the length of the working day. There is no doubt that a person can and must work without damage to his body only a certain, certain number of hours a day. It is assumed that during the day a person should work 8 hours, sleep 8 hours, rest 8 hours. If these limits are exceeded, then a person shortens the life period during which he will be able to work, and becomes a victim of premature death. Excessive physical stress causes expansion of the lung tissue, large veins are pressed down, less blood flows to the heart, blood pressure increases, strong heartbeats, liver and spleen disorders. A prolonged sitting position with the torso tilted forward leads to circulatory disorders in the chest, abdominal cavity, causes difficulty in breathing, indigestion, hemorrhoids, cramps, stomach pain, etc., and constant standing during work is no less harmful.

Thus, the behavior of "economic man" is determined not only by natural, but also by social conditions, and, consequently, not only by social laws, but also by the laws of biology, the cosmos, and the entire system of laws of natural science. The difference between economic laws is that the former manifest themselves through the activities of people, which are determined by consciousness, usually appear on average as tendencies and (most of them) are of a historically transitory nature.