Society is a complex system that hasproperty development and dynamics. In the conditions of variability of the external environment, changes in society are inevitable. Given the need to preserve the fundamental relations that ensure the stability of human society as an integral element, measures are being taken at the highest legislative level for their rigid and unprincipled consolidation, in which even minimal spontaneous changes are not allowed.
The most important social relationships are recorded.in the form of regulatory prescriptions, compliance with which should be rigorous for all members of society. At the same time, a system of sanctions is being developed and empowered with legal force, which guarantees unconditional fulfillment of fundamental norms.
What is a social institution?
Forms of organization and regulation of publiclife evolved historically. Each of them is a specific system of relations between people. The process of formation and the result of the consolidation of these systems is called institutionalization. Thus, we can talk about different types of social institutions, where each of them affects relations in the family, the state, the educational sphere, etc.
Это наглядные примеры уже имеющихся в социальной system of institutions. Thanks to them, it is possible to standardize relations, regulate the activities of their participants, to prosecute for behavior that does not meet accepted standards. This guarantees the stability and sustainability of the social structure.
Structure
Regardless of the type of social institution,each of them covers a range of elements. All components can be combined into several main categories. To elaborate the concept of “social institution” (types and functions, a separate section in the article will also be highlighted) let us analyze its elements using the example of family relations. In this case, it is possible to distinguish five categories of elements:
- spiritual and ideological - they include feelings, ideals, common and personal values (for example, love, sympathy, a sense of responsibility, a desire to raise children together, etc.);
- material - the acquisition of joint real estate, passenger cars, family businesses, etc .;
- behavioral - sincerity, tolerance, trust, mutual support, willingness to compromise or, conversely, put an ultimatum ,;
- cultural and symbolic - family traditions, wedding rituals, wedding rings, anniversary celebrations, etc .;
- registration and documentary - fixing actscivil status (birth, death, marriage, divorce, change of surname, etc.), alimony registration, social welfare system for large families, single mothers without a breadwinner.
What is special
Никто специально не придумывал ни один из видов social institutions. The structure of each social system is formed by itself in view of the needs of a certain group of people. A vivid example of this is the creation of a militia institute with the aim of protecting public law and order. The very process of institutionalization of relations in a particular sphere consists in the streamlining, standardization, design and organization at the legislative level of those rules, norms and customs, by which this or that social system is meant.
Особенность каждого социального института состоит in individuality. Despite the fact that they are all based on public relations, relations and interactions of individuals or their groups, we are talking about a relatively independent social education with its own development plan. In this context, the concept and types of social institution would be more correctly considered as an organized subsystem with a constant structure, but with variable elements and functions.
При этом утверждение ценностей и идеалов в единой social system does not mean that this social institution will fully function. In order for all subsystems to effectively interact with each other, it is important that each of them be recognized as a society. That is why an important role in the process of socialization of society is assigned to the institution of education. Its task is to educate members of society on sociocultural values.
The role of social organizations
Помимо социальных институтов, значение имеют social organizations - structural social units, which are one of the forms of streamlining the relationships, relations and interaction of individuals both within and outside a social group. The following features are characteristic of social organizations:
- they are created solely in order to achieve certain goals;
- they help to satisfy the interests of a person and a citizen to the extent that is established by legislative norms, moral values;
- they contribute to the efficient operation of their members through the division of labor according to a functional basis.
An example of the most complex and at the same time significantsocial organization is the state. This is a public-governmental institution, in which the apparatus of power occupies central positions. An inseparable element in this system is civil society, which exists under any regime of government, both under a democratic and an authoritarian one.
The center of civil society is always putsovereign person - a person and a citizen who has the right to life, personal freedom, property. If we talk about the values and priorities of civil society, the rule of law, democratic freedoms, and political pluralism are most significant.
What are social institutions, their functions and purpose for?
Relationships in society develop overmany hundreds of years. They undergo a series of changes, developing along with society. At the same time, the timeliness of the legislative registration of the changes is of paramount importance. Otherwise, the system of relations fails, all types of social institutions degrade, the functions that are entrusted to them, cease to be performed, which hinders the natural progress of society. Therefore, the main purpose of each social institution is:
- maintenance and improvement of demographic indicators in the state (to a greater extent this function is assigned to the family institution);
- socialization of individuals at the expense of the young generation - it is important to transfer to the new members of society the experience gained in all spheres of public life, acceptable norms of behavior and interaction;
- distribution, exchange and rational consumption of resources, material, intellectual and spiritual benefits;
- ensuring the safety of members of society or their individual groups through the application of moral and legal norms, customs, administrative and criminal penalties.
Basic institutionalization processes
Most often, the authors distinguish the following types and types of social institutions:
| Economic | Political | Spiritual | Family |
| · Property · Trade · Industrial production · Finance · wage · Agriculture | · State · political parties · Army · judicial branch · Reforms · Election · foreign policy | · the science · Education · Religion · Clergy · Moral education · Etiquette · Art · Culture | · family ·motherhood · Fatherhood · Marriage ·cohabitation · Alimony · Children · Custody · Inheritance |
Каждому виду социального института присущи свои functions and purpose. Thus, for example, political systems establish the power and mechanism of governing society, ensure the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state, set the course of ideological values and interests of various social strata.
Any type of socio-economic institutionsaimed at the effective development of the economy. Property relations assign material values to a specific owner, allowing him to profit from his property. In turn, money serves as the universal equivalent in the in-kind exchange of goods, and wages are a direct reward for labor. Thanks to economic institutions, the system of production and trade is in close contact with other spheres of public life.
The development of science, education, art andcultures are all spiritual institutions that are needed to maintain moral values in society. The main goal, which is pursued in this area, is the preservation and enhancement of cultural values in society.
Family as a kind of social institution
Speaking of family, first of all it is worth notingthat this system of relations is a key link in the entire social chain. People make up for society by coming into it from the family. It is here that the personality, the individual, grows up. Only families are able to set the tone for social life in general, so it is imperative that peace and prosperity reign in them.
С научной точки зрения, семья — это группа людей, based on formal marriage or consanguinity. Family members are linked by joint management, mutual responsibilities and responsibilities. At the same time, family and marriage are not equal concepts. Marriage is a union of a man and a woman, at the conclusion of which the rights and duties of the spouses in relation to each other, their parents and children are born.
After the transition of society from subsistence farmingto industrial production, traditional patriarchal foundations were gradually destroyed. They were replaced by matrimonial relations. Since then, the family composition - a husband, wife and children. Such a family is called nuclear and it goes through several stages:
1. Education family - marriage.
2. The beginning of the period of childbirth - the birth of the first heir.
3. Completion of childbirth - the birth of the last descendant.
4. Marriage of adult children. Sociologists call this stage "empty nest."
5. The death of one of the spouses - the termination of the marriage, the end of the family.
Functions of family institutions in society
The mission that each family has as a cellsociety, is built in several directions. The tasks that confront all types of social institutions and the functions of the family have many similarities. The main ones are:
- Reproductive.It implies the instinctive desire of a person to continue a kind. At the same time, it is important that the offspring be reproduced biologically, intellectually and spiritually healthy - only such a child will be able to learn the basics of spiritual, material and intellectual culture accumulated by previous generations.
- Educational. It is in this social institution that the primary socialization of man takes place. For the full development of the individual family is of paramount importance.
- Economic.It implies the maintenance of family members of the common household, as well as economic support for minors who are disabled due to illness and age. The Soviet state, by contributing to all kinds of social institutions, also affected the family institution. However, the current wage system is not fundamentally different from the previous one. The peculiarity lies in the fact that neither a single man nor a single woman could live separately on the average salary. This circumstance cannot be discounted, since it is a significant incentive for marriage.
- Status.A person at birth will inherit social status, which, of course, can change throughout life, but more often it is he who determines his capabilities at the beginning of an independent path and the final fate.
Science and Society
As a social institution and science activityoriginated in the Middle Ages. Her appearance was caused by the need to service the developing capitalist industry. The purpose of science as a type of social institution of society was to improve the theoretical knowledge, without which even the slightest development of industry would be impossible.
Estimated to do sciencecapable of no more than 8% of the working population with higher education. In modern society, science often turns into a professional activity. Research forms of work are recognized as necessary and stable socio-cultural traditions, without which the formation and existence of society is impossible. Science as one of the activities of social institutions belongs to the priority areas of development of any civilized state.
Education as a system of social relations
Education is professionally organizedthe process of familiarizing a person with society’s culture, norms, and values, if we speak of him as one of the types of social institutions. The concept of "education" has a number of characteristic features:
- mandatory installation of patterns of behavior;
- instilling a love of knowledge;
- attendance;
- the use of symbolic cultural signs (wearing a school emblem, memorizing a school anthem);
- training, built on the ideology of equality, progressive education.
This social subsystem is one ofthe most powerful. Its structure includes several elements - pre-school, general educational, professional, post-graduate, remedial education. Each of them faces several problems:
- complexity in the interaction of personality and society;
- the ineffectiveness of the phased overcoming the disintegration of school education;
- the impossibility of finding a consensus on the harmonization and integration of educational technologies.
The current education system in Russianot yet able to form a sufficiently strong “immunity” of spiritlessness and immorality in modern man. Large-scale sociocultural changes in the world make it possible to detect obvious discrepancies between the existing social institution and emerging social needs in the present tense. These inconsistencies led to repeated attempts to reform the educational system.
