Traditional rural society. Traditional society: how to understand it

Plan
Introduction
1 General characteristics
2 Transformation 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 raise 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 as individuals, and classes. The pursuit economic benefit in traditional society it 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.

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 ( shining example- changes in the territory of Eurasia in the 1st millennium BC. BC), but even in such periods changes were carried out slowly according to modern standards, and upon their 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.

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 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: features of the culture of traditional and modern societies. Modernization")

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

· Book “European Modernization”

· Nazaretyan A.P. Demographic utopia " 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- primacy of the masculine over the feminine. Woman in traditional plan the creature is not entirely complete, 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 natural economy will be signs of such a society. Tradition says what to sow, what to produce, not expediency. The entire 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 liawan, respectively.

The same traditional countries include India, Taiwan, countries South-East Asia, 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 concept of traditional society covers the great agrarian civilizations of the Ancient East (Ancient India and Ancient China, Ancient Egypt and medieval states of the Muslim East), European states of the Middle Ages. In a number of countries in Asia and Africa, traditional society continues to exist today, but the collision with modern Western civilization has significantly changed its civilizational characteristics.

The basis of human life is work, in the process of which a person transforms the matter and energy of nature into items for his own consumption. In a traditional society, the basis of life activity is agricultural labor, the fruits of which give a person everything necessary funds to life. However, manual agricultural labor using simple tools provided a person with only the most necessary things, and even then under favorable conditions. weather conditions. The Three "Black Horsemen" terrified the European Middle Ages - famine, war and plague. Hunger is the most severe: there is no shelter from it. He left deep scars on the cultural brow of European peoples. Its echoes can be heard in folklore and epic, in the mournful drawl of folk chants. Majority folk signs- about the weather and crop prospects. Dependence of a person in a traditional society on nature reflected in the metaphors “nurse-earth”, “mother-earth” (“mother of the damp earth”), expressing a loving and caring attitude towards nature as a source of life, from which one was not supposed to draw too much.

The farmer perceived nature as Living being, requiring a moral attitude towards oneself. Therefore, a person in a traditional society is not a master, not a conqueror, and not a king of nature. He is a small fraction (microcosm) of the great cosmic whole, the universe. His work activity obeyed the eternal rhythms of nature(seasonal changes in weather, length of daylight hours) - this is the requirement of life itself on the borderline of the natural and social. An ancient Chinese parable ridicules a farmer who dared to challenge traditional agriculture based on the rhythms of nature: in an effort to accelerate the growth of cereals, he pulled them by the top until he pulled them out by the roots.

A person’s attitude towards the subject of labor always presupposes his attitude towards another person. By appropriating this item in the process of labor or consumption, a person is included in the system public relations ownership and distribution. In the feudal society of the European Middle Ages private ownership of land prevailed- the main wealth of agricultural civilizations. Matched her a type of social subordination called personal dependence. The concept of personal dependence characterizes the type of social connection between people belonging to various social classes of feudal society - the steps of the “feudal ladder”. The European feudal lord and the Asian despot were full masters of the bodies and souls of their subjects, and even owned them as property. This was the case in Russia before the abolition of serfdom. Personal addiction breeds non-economic forced labor based on personal power based on direct violence.

Traditional society has developed forms of everyday resistance to the exploitation of labor on the basis of non-economic coercion: refusal to work for a master (corvée), evasion of payment in kind (quitrent) or monetary tax, escape from one’s master, which undermined the social basis of traditional society - the relationship of personal dependence.

People of the same social class or estate(peasants of the territorial neighboring community, the German mark, members of the noble assembly, etc.) were bound by relationships of solidarity, trust and collective responsibility. The peasant community and city craft corporations jointly bore feudal duties. Communal peasants survived together in lean years: supporting a neighbor with a “piece” was considered the norm of life. Narodniks, describing “going to the people,” note the following features folk character, such as compassion, collectivism and readiness for self-sacrifice. Traditional society has formed high moral qualities: collectivism, mutual assistance and social responsibility, included in the treasury of civilizational achievements of mankind.

A person in a traditional society did not feel like an individual opposing or competing with others. On the contrary, he perceived himself an integral part of their village, community, policy. The German sociologist M. Weber noted that having settled in the city Chinese peasant did not break ties with the rural church community, but in Ancient Greece expulsion from the polis was even equated to death penalty(this is where the word “outcast” comes from). The man of the Ancient East completely subordinated himself to the clan and caste standards of social group life and “dissolved” in them. Respect for tradition has long been considered main value ancient Chinese humanism.

The social status of a person in a traditional society was determined not by personal merit, but social origin . The rigidity of the class and class barriers of traditional society kept it unchanged throughout his life. People to this day say: “It was written in the family.” The idea that one cannot escape fate, inherent in the traditionalist consciousness, has shaped a type of contemplative personality whose creative efforts are directed not at remaking life, but at spiritual well-being. I.A. Goncharov, with brilliant artistic insight, captured such psychological type in the image of I.I. Oblomov. "Fate", i.e. social predestination, is a key metaphor ancient Greek tragedies. Sophocles' tragedy "Oedipus the King" tells of the titanic efforts of the hero to avoid the terrible fate predicted for him, however, despite all his exploits, evil rock celebrates victory.

The daily life of traditional society was remarkable stability. It was regulated not so much by laws as tradition - a set of unwritten rules, patterns of activity, behavior and communication that embody the experience of ancestors. In the traditionalist consciousness, it was believed that the “golden age” was already behind, and the gods and heroes left examples of actions and exploits that should be imitated. People's social habits have remained virtually unchanged for many generations. Organization of everyday life, methods of housekeeping and norms of communication, holiday rituals, ideas about illness and death - in a word, everything we call everyday life, was brought up in the family and passed down from generation to generation. Many generations of people have seen the same social structures, modes of activity and social habits. Submission to tradition explains the high stability of traditional societies with their stagnant patriarchal cycle of life and extremely slow pace of social development.

The sustainability of traditional societies, many of which (especially in Ancient East) remained virtually unchanged over the centuries, contributed to public authority of the supreme power. Often she was directly identified with the personality of the king (“The State is me”). The public authority of the earthly ruler was fueled by religious ideas about the divine origin of his power (“The Sovereign is God’s vicegerent on earth”), although history knows few cases when the head of state personally became the head of the church (the Anglican Church). The personification of political and spiritual power in one person (theocracy) ensured the dual subordination of man to both the state and the church, which gave traditional society even greater stability.

Society is a complex natural-historical structure, the elements of which are people. Their connections and relationships are determined by a certain social status, the functions and roles they perform, the norms and values ​​generally accepted in a given system, as well as their individual qualities. Society is usually divided into three types: traditional, industrial and post-industrial. Each of them has its own distinctive features and functions.

This article will look at traditional society (definition, characteristics, basics, examples, etc.).

What it is?

To the modern man of the industrial era, new to history and social sciences, it may be unclear what a “traditional society” is. We will consider the definition of this concept further.

Operates on the basis of traditional values. It is often perceived as tribal, primitive and backward feudal. It is a society with an agrarian structure, with sedentary structures and with methods of social and cultural regulation based on traditions. It is believed that for most of its history, humanity was at this stage.

Traditional society, the definition of which is discussed in this article, is a collection of groups of people at different stages of development and without a mature industrial complex. The determining factor in the development of such social units is agriculture.

Characteristics of a traditional society

Traditional society is characterized by following features:

1. Low production rates, satisfying people's needs at a minimum level.
2. High energy intensity.
3. Failure to accept innovations.
4. Strict regulation and control of the behavior of people, social structures, institutions, and customs.
5. As a rule, in a traditional society any manifestation of personal freedom is prohibited.
6. Social formations, sanctified by traditions, are considered unshakable - even the thought of their possible changes is perceived as criminal.

Traditional society is considered agrarian, as it is based on agriculture. Its functioning depends on the cultivation of crops using a plow and draft animals. Thus, the same piece of land could be cultivated several times, resulting in permanent settlements.

A traditional society is also characterized by the predominant use manual labor, extensive absence of market forms of trade (predominance of exchange and redistribution). This led to enrichment individuals or classes.

The forms of ownership in such structures are, as a rule, collective. Any manifestations of individualism are not accepted and rejected by society, and are also considered dangerous, as they violate the established order and traditional balance. There is no impetus for the development of science and culture, so extensive technologies are used in all areas.

Political structure

The political sphere in such a society is characterized by authoritarian power, which is inherited. This is explained by the fact that only in this way can traditions be maintained for a long time. The management system in such a society was quite primitive (hereditary power was in the hands of the elders). The people actually had no influence on politics.

Often there is an idea about the divine origin of the person in whose hands the power was. In this regard, politics is actually completely subordinated to religion and is carried out only according to sacred instructions. The combination of secular and spiritual power made possible the increasing subordination of people to the state. This, in turn, strengthened the stability of a traditional type of society.

Social relations

In the field social relations The following features of traditional society can be distinguished:

1. Patriarchal structure.
2. The main purpose of the functioning of such a society is to maintain human life and avoid its extinction as a species.
3. Low level
4. Traditional society is characterized by division into classes. Each of them played a different social role.

5. Personality assessment in terms of the place that people occupy in the hierarchical structure.
6. A person does not feel like an individual; he considers only his belonging to a certain group or community.

Spiritual realm

In the spiritual sphere, traditional society is characterized by deep religiosity and moral principles instilled from childhood. Certain rituals and dogmas were an integral part of human life. Writing as such did not exist in traditional society. That is why all legends and traditions were transmitted orally.

Relationships with nature and the environment

The influence of traditional society on nature was primitive and insignificant. This was explained by low-waste production represented by cattle breeding and agriculture. Also in some societies there were certain religious rules decrying the pollution of nature.

It was closed in relation to the outside world. Traditional society did its best to protect itself from outside invasions and any external influence. As a result, man perceived life as static and unchanging. Qualitative changes in such societies occurred very slowly, and revolutionary changes were perceived extremely painfully.

Traditional and industrial society: differences

Industrial society arose in the 18th century, primarily in England and France.

Some of its distinctive features should be highlighted.
1. Creation of large machine production.
2. Standardization of parts and assemblies of various mechanisms. This made mass production possible.
3. Another important one distinguishing feature- urbanization (the growth of cities and the resettlement of a significant part of the population on their territory).
4. Division of labor and its specialization.

Traditional and industrial societies have significant differences. The first is characterized by a natural division of labor. Traditional values ​​and patriarchal structure prevail here, and there is no mass production.

Post-industrial society should also be highlighted. Traditional, in contrast, aims to extract natural resources, rather than collect information and store it.

Examples of Traditional Society: China

Vivid examples of a traditional type of society can be found in the East in the Middle Ages and modern times. Among them, India, China, Japan, and the Ottoman Empire should be highlighted.

Since ancient times, China has been distinguished by its strong state power. By the nature of evolution, this society is cyclical. China is characterized by a constant alternation of several eras (development, crisis, social explosion). It should also be noted the unity of spiritual and religious authorities in this country. According to tradition, the emperor received the so-called “Mandate of Heaven” - divine permission to rule.

Japan

The development of Japan in the Middle Ages also suggests that there was a traditional society here, the definition of which is discussed in this article. The entire population of the Land of the Rising Sun was divided into 4 estates. The first is the samurai, daimyo and shogun (personified the highest secular power). They occupied a privileged position and had the right to bear arms. The second estate were peasants who owned land as a hereditary holding. The third is artisans and the fourth is merchants. It should be noted that trade in Japan was considered an unworthy activity. It is also worth highlighting the strict regulation of each class.

India

Vivid examples of a traditional type of society can be found in India throughout the country's history. The Mughal Empire, located on the Hindustan Peninsula, was based on a military fief and caste system. The supreme ruler - the padishah - was the main owner of all the land in the state. Indian society was strictly divided into castes, whose lives were strictly regulated by laws and sacred regulations.

Traditional society - sociological concept

Studying various forms human activity determines that some of them are defined as the most significant and basic for characterizing different types of society. Quite often like this fundamental concept is social production. Since the 19th century, many philosophers and then sociologists have put forward ideas that different types This activity is determined by ideology, mass psychology and social institutions.

If, according to Marx, such a basis is production relations, then supporters of the theories of industrial and post-industrial society considered productive forces to be a more fundamental concept. However, they called traditional society the first stage of social development.

What does it mean?

Not in the specialized literature precise definition this concept. It is known that for convenience this was used to designate the stage that precedes the industrial society that began to develop in the 19th century, and the post-industrial one in which we live now. What type of society is this? Traditional society is a certain type of relationship between people, which has a weak or undeveloped statehood, or is even characterized by the absence of the latter. This term is also used to describe

tics of rural, agrarian structures that are in a situation of isolation or stagnation. The economy of such societies is described as extensive, completely dependent on the vagaries of nature and based on cattle breeding and cultivation of the land.

Traditional society - signs

It's primarily practical complete absence industry, strong links between different sectors, a patriarchal culture based on the predominance of religious dogmas and traditions, as well as established values. One of the main cementing aspects of such a society is the dictate of collective aspirations over individual, rigid hierarchical structure, as well as the immutability of the way of life, elevated to an absolute. It is governed by unwritten laws, for violation of which very severe punishments are imposed, and the most powerful lever for regulating the behavior of its members is family ties and customs.

Traditional society and historians

This theory did not gain popularity among historians, who reproached sociologists that such social structure was a “figment of the scientific imagination” or existed in marginal systems such as the Aboriginal tribes of Australia or provincial villages in African or Middle Eastern states. Sociologists represent traditional society as a certain stage in the development of humanity, which dominated until the 19th century. However, neither Ancient Egypt or China, nor ancient Rome and Greece, nor medieval Europe or Byzantium cannot be imagined as fully corresponding to this definition. Moreover, many signs of an industrial or even post-industrial society, such as written law, the primacy of relationships between people over the “man-nature” relationship, a complex system management and social structures were present in early period time. How can this be explained? The fact is that the concept of traditional society is used by sociologists for convenience in order to be able to characterize the changes that occurred during the industrial era.