14.3. Social System’s Structure and Its Basic Elements

Various types of cooperation in a society form the system of social connections which determine the structural differentiation of a society. Society is a complex, multilevel system consisting of many elements. For that, to understand the principles of functioning of this system, it is necessary to answer the questions: what basic elements does it contain? And how do they cooperate?

According to the application of a human activity society as an extremely complex whole is divided into four basic spheres: the economic, which is the ultimate determinant of all the social process, the social, political and intellectual ones. Speaking about the subject of the activity, a society includes: individuals, groups of people i.e. social communities. Social communities may be distinguished: 1) according to the scale – microsocial (small), local (medium) and macrosocial (large); 2) according to the social status – formal (official) and non-formal (non-official); 3) according to the direct connections – real and conditional.

Guided by the principle of historicism forms of a social differentiation may be considered according to their appearance in the real historical process. All structures forming in their interaction a social structure as a whole have a duel background. Two of them – ethnical and demographical structures – are connected with the biological nature of man and in the most considerable way represent it in a social life, though having a social aegis beyond it. Other structures are: class, educational-professional and settlement-habitual spheres. They are social in the true sense of the word that is civilized and formed as a result of three great social labor divisions, provided the transition to a private property and class appearance.

Man exists in each of these communities, characterizing the components of the social structure. He carries out his duties as a member of a family, as a class and profession representative, as a city or village inhabitant, as an individual related to one of the ethnical communities. Thus we may say that the social structure of a society is a complete set of all communities functioning in it, taken in their interaction.

The determining element of the social sphere in any class society is classes. The question of the structure of the social sphere is linked above all with the problem of interrelation between classes.

Classes emerged at a time of disintegration of the gentile system. The main premises for the stratification of a society into classes were two processes: the development of productive forces and the division of labor.

A scientific analysis of the history of the mankind made it possible to identify the truly decisive feature of a social class, demonstrating that its essence is directly linked with the place occupied by the class in social production: the most important question here is whether the class is an owner of the means of production or not. This deter­mines the class's position in a society, the forms of its everyday life, its way of life, and these in their turn determine its psychology, ideo­logy, and worldview. Since material production is the decisive con­dition of the life and development of a society, it is this material pro­duction that constitutes the real basis of a class division.

In his work "A Great Beginning" Lenin formulated a classical de­finition of social classes: "Classes are large groups of people differ­ing from each other by the place they occupy in a historically deter­mined system of social production, by their relation (in most cases fixed and formulated in law) to the means of production, by their role in the social organization of labor, and, consequently, by the dimensions of the share of social wealth of which they dispose and the mode of acquiring it. Classes are groups of people one of which can appropriate the labor of another owing to the different places they occupy in a definite system of social economy."

There are processes of softening a class opposition in the modern western society. Greater social justice becomes firmly established. Workers and employers aim to coexist in accordance with principles of partnership as a civilized form of the class opposition.

The next great differentiation is connected with nations and national relations. The specifically human forms of community which replaced the primitive horde were gens, tribes, nationalities and nations. A nation is a community of people which arises at the time of the appearance of capitalism on the basis of a communal economic life, territory, language, certain features of psychology, traditions of everyday life and culture. Unlike nationality, a nation is a more stable community of people, the sta­bility being ensured by profound economic factors.

Nations emerged both out of related tribes and nationalities, out of groups of unrelated tribes, races and nationalities. The spe­cific features of a historical development, economic structure, cul­ture, geographic and historical environment, everyday life and traditions impose an imprint on the nation's spiritual image, shaping the national character and national self-consciousness.

The highest criterion of man’s belonging to some definite nation is his national self-consciousness.

The term “people” is another concept associated with nation which is the least researched in philosophy. The substantiation of the term is limited: 1) usually only participants of material production are referred to people as a subject of history; 2) only social groups whose activity leads to a progressive development of a society is thought of as the people; 3) a barrier is erected between the people and outstanding personalities who are absolutely opposed, as if the people does not consist of persons.

Sometimes the term “people” is identified with that of “a nation” or “an ethnos” so far as an individual is simultaneously associated both with people and with a definite nation or ethnos. But this identification is not correct; as there are uninational people (Japanese, French, etc.) and multinational ones (American, former Soviet, etc.).

To clear out the term “people” it is necessary to take into consideration several moments:

1) common historical destiny which is not obligatory connected with the common territory and state though it is the precondition of its formation. The people’s destiny sometimes is represented in dispersing throughout the world: the Jews, Armenians, or in the long period of division: North and South Korea, former West and East Germany, Poland as a result of three divisions in the end of the XVIII century;

2) common faith and common idea that integrate the people into a single whole. This faith may be not only religious but secular as well (national liberation, for instance).

L. Tolstoy, the greatest Russian writer, said: “It is bad if a man has nothing peculiar for what he is ready to die”. The lack of such “something peculiar” is evident in our society now.

3) common historical perspective when the people are able to enjoy life without making great sacrifices to “happy future”. The lack of such historical perspective that once united people into a single whole makes this unity weaker and destroys it.

A few words should be said of people’s historical memory that is preserving the past in the present, the way people evaluate their past, correlate it with their ideals, activity and perspectives. All this influences social and psychological state of people. People who do not respect their own past have no future.

So, without claiming to rigorous definition one can conclude that people is a social integrity characterized by common historical destiny and historical memory that reflects this destiny; by common faith, common idea and common historical perspective.

So, society is a complex system of the elements which represent the whole variety of social relations. As a system, society is characterized by its integrity meaning its ability to provide the unity of all the elements of the system.