What is intergenerational continuity? The eternal conflict of generations: problems and prospects for its solution.

Detailed solution Paragraph § 19 on social studies for students of grade 11, authors L.N. Bogolyubov, N.I. Gorodetskaya, L.F. Ivanova 2014

Question 1. Why do you need to know how many of us, residents of Russia? What do the statistics know about the life expectancy of Russians? What threatens the current demographic situation in the country?

The main tasks of the statistical study of the population include the consideration of the following processes:

- natural formation of contingents of the population and the change of generations, that is, the formation and reproduction of the population;

- the formation and change of the composition of the population by sex, age, social and economic composition, level of education and literacy, ethnic groups and many other characteristics;

- resettlement of the population over the territories and the changes taking place here;

- population migration.

The total population of Russia as of January 1, 2016 is 146,519,759 people (with Crimea) according to Rosstat. The population of Russia as of January 1, 2015 was 146,267,288 people. According to preliminary estimates, the population growth in Russia in 2015 was 0.17% or 252,471 people. There was an increase in the population in all federal districts with the exception of Privolzhsky: -0.16% or 46,714 people. and the Far East: -0.27% or 16 492 people. The largest relative increase was recorded in the Crimean Federal District: 1.41% or 32,421 people. Further, the North Caucasian Federal District with an increase of 0.61% or 58 456 people. and the Central Federal District: 0.36% or 139,752 people.

In 2013, Russia reached the highest life expectancy for women in the history of the country - 76.5 years (which is higher than the indicators of the Soviet era). At the same time, the average life expectancy for the entire population as a whole (women and men) in 2013 increased to 70.8 years. The average life expectancy of Russians in 2014 increased to 71 years. Actual data can be tracked in the corresponding section on the website of the Federal State Statistics Service.

However, despite a clear increase in life expectancy, Russia still lags significantly behind developed countries in this parameter (USA - 78.7 years, Germany - 81 years, Japan - 83.1 years) and occupies one of the last lines in the global ranking, behind Ukraine, Belarus and a number of African countries.

In the next two years, natural population growth is expected in the Volga and Southern Federal Districts. At the moment, the Volga Federal District has a positive balance - in five national republics (Tatarstan, Chuvashia, Mari El, Bashkortostan and Udmurtia), as well as in the Orenburg region (75% of Russians) and the Perm Territory (83% of Russians). In the Southern Federal District, there is a positive balance in Kalmykia and the Astrakhan region (61% of Russians). The increase in the district will be achieved due to the excess of the birth rate over the death rate in the Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Adygea.

The most demographically unfavorable Central Federal District will begin to show positive dynamics no earlier than 2017.According to data for the first half of 2013, natural population decline persisted in all regions of the Central Region, while Moscow is leading in terms of a positive balance of natural movement of the population.

Questions and tasks to the document

When the next demographic analysis of the situation in the Russian Federation appears in the press, then again the talk starts about the problems associated with a low standard of living. They say that income does not allow our citizens to have as many children as the country needs to increase its population. But excuse me ... Was it possible that in the mid-late 1940s, when there was a sharp increase in the birth rate in the USSR, people were better off than now? .. Is it really in the 1980s, when the average life expectancy in the USSR reached a record 74 years old, people bathed in luxury? .. Of course not. It turns out that security, life "like cheese in butter" is far from the main indicator of growth in the number of residents of the state and average life expectancy. There are plenty of examples of this even today ...

A far from direct proportion between the income of the population and its size can be observed in a number of countries. So, in Germany, among German families (ethnic Germans) today it is rare to find a family in which more than two children were born. But in families of immigrants from Turkey, living in the same Germany, children are born much more.

Based on these data, it can be concluded that the leading role in the demographic issue belongs to the system of values ​​- the social mentality of the peoples inhabiting the state. Religious roots also play an important role ...

However, this should not at all become an excuse for those representatives of the federal and regional authorities who wish to write off the low birth rate only on the ignorance of the people ...

Another tick in front of the number of births does not mean at all that this will increase the population of the village, city, region, region, republic and the entire state. We must not forget that the main Russian demographic problem is not the number of newborns, but social responsibility both to oneself and to society.

Let's not forget that demography is no less an important component of a state's independence than the army. Therefore, to solve the demographic problem in Russia, it is necessary to purposefully and methodically raise the level of culture and spirituality in society, offer a set of social guarantees for families, continue to invest in medicine, develop the economy, and popularize large families ...

Income does not allow our citizens to have as many children as the country needs to grow its population.

Low fertility is the ignorance of the people.

Question 2. What are the main reasons for the problems of demography? How does he confirm his opinion?

The leading role in the demographic issue belongs to the system of values ​​- the social mentality of the peoples inhabiting the state.

The main Russian demographic problem lies not in the number of newborns, but in social responsibility both to oneself and to society.

To solve the demographic problem in Russia, it is necessary to purposefully and methodically raise the level of culture and spirituality in society, offer a set of social guarantees for families, continue to invest in medicine, develop the economy, and popularize large families.

QUESTIONS FOR SELF-TEST

Question 1. What is the current demographic situation in Russia characterized by?

The All-Russian Population Census, conducted in 2010, showed that the resident population of the Russian Federation was 142.9 million people. The Russian Federation today ranks 9th in the world in terms of the number of inhabitants after China, India, USA, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria.

Compared to the 2002 census, the population decreased by 2.3 million people, including in urban areas - by 1.1 million people, in rural areas - by 1.2 million people.

More than a quarter (26%) of Russians live in the Central Federal District, where the population density is highest and amounts to 57 people per 1 km2 (the average population density in Russia is 8.3 people per 1 km2). The North Caucasian Federal District is almost as densely populated, with a population density of 54 people per 1 km2. The most sparsely populated by January 1, 2010 were the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Kamchatka Territory, Magadan Region, Nenets, Chukotka and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs, where the population density was less than 1 person per 1 km2.

In 2009, for the first time since the early 1990s. there was an increase in the number of residents of Russia. It was formed both due to the decreased natural loss, and as a result of the increased migration gain.

Question 2. What factors have had a negative impact on the current demographic situation in Russia? Which of these factors are long term?

Over the past hundred years, Russia has gone through several periods when population reproduction was "narrowed", that is, it did not provide growth. Two of these periods were associated with catastrophic mortality during the World War and the Civil War, famine. After the Great Patriotic War, infant mortality began to decline, while fertility rates dropped. But since the mid-1960s. the birth rate dropped to 2.1-2.2 children per woman of childbearing age, which no longer ensured simple reproduction of the population. Nevertheless, until the early 1990s. the country's population grew.

The sharp drop in the birth rate in the 1990s. aggravated the already unfavorable situation with the reproduction of the population. But even if today it was possible to return to the fertility rates that existed before this drop, say, to the indicators of 1965-1985, this would not lead to the restoration of the positive natural increase in the country's population. A return to higher birth rates in the late 1930s or at least the early 1950s, when more than half of Russia's population was rural, is now unlikely.

Question 3. What positive changes were recorded in the 2010 population census?

Fertility rates show positive dynamics in the last intercensal period. In 2009, 1.8 million children were born, which is 47.8 thousand people (3%) more than in 2008.

Since 2009, the infant mortality rate has continued to decline. This indicator dropped to 8.1 deaths under 1 year of age per 1000 births.

External migration in 2009 accounted for only 15% of the total migration turnover, but it is this that influences the change in the population of Russia as a whole.

TASKS

Question 1. Analyze the data in the following table, draw conclusions about the current trend and its impact on the demographic situation.

The number of migrants is decreasing every year. The main reason for the reduction in migration flows from the CIS countries is the reduction in possible labor income in Russia due to the devaluation of the ruble.

A significant role was also played by the increase in costs for foreign workers as a result of changes in legislation - an increase in the cost of patents for work and the introduction of a fee for examinations in the history of Russia and the Russian language. For the same reason, since the beginning of 2015, the situation with the legalization of foreign workers has worsened on the Russian labor market: the number of permits for migrant work issued in the first nine months of this year has decreased by 44 percent compared to the same period last year.

By tightening the procedure for registering migrant labor, the government has sharply worsened the situation with the legalization of foreign labor.

Question 2. Many European countries are faced with serious problems in connection with the growth of migration from Asia and Africa. What measures can help Russia avoid a repetition of the situation with youth crime in the suburbs of Paris, pogroms in London, etc.?

When developing the immigration policy of the Russian Federation, it seems expedient to use this experience in order to avoid repeating the mistakes already made by European countries in relations with ethnic diasporas and confessional groups; secondly, the study of migration processes in such Western European countries as France, Germany and Great Britain.

The main measures can be restriction of migration flows, toughening of legislation in the field of migration.

Question 3. Make a plan for an oral presentation on the topic "The population of Russia in the mirror of demography."

1. Demographic situation in the Russian Federation;

2. Peoples inhabiting our country;

3. Demographic crisis among different nationalities;

4. Ways of exit of peoples from the demographic crisis.

REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTER 2

Question 1. What do you think, what social values ​​did the French writer and philosopher Voltaire compare, stating: “Not inequality is burdensome, but dependence”? Do you share this point of view?

Social stratification and subordinate hierarchy.

Social stratification is the differentiation of people in society depending on access to power, profession, income, and some other socially significant characteristics.

Hierarchical organization - a structure with a vertical form of management (control) of the elements included in it. In fact, it is a pyramid, each level of which is controlled by a higher level.

Question 2. Remember one of the famous works of A. Pushkin and try to determine whether Eugene Onegin can be called a marginal after his arrival in the village. Substantiate your opinion.

Quite possible. Eugene is a secular man and came to the village to change the situation. I think he was really going to be a part of this village. But he did not become her until the end and left the village. Now he is a cross between a villager and a socialite.

A marginal is a person who is on the border of various social groups, systems, cultures and is influenced by their conflicting norms, values, etc.

Question 3. State your point of view on the situation in modern Russia of representatives of different professions. To do this, place the following professions on various steps of the social ladder: steelmaker, entrepreneur, lawyer, pilot, driver, waiter, manager, teacher, salesman, broker, doctor, banker, engineer, scientist.

The social ladder is a scheme for the arrangement of strata of the population in terms of their material and professional status. The more material goods or prof. skills, the higher a person is on the social ladder.

Stage 1 - waiter, steelmaker, teacher, driver, salesman,

Stage 2 - entrepreneur, lawyer, manager, doctor, broker

Stage 3 - banker, engineer, scientist, pilot.

Question 4. Indicate what type of social interaction the following characteristics correspond to:

Mutual interest, the profitability of interaction for both parties, while neither of them is infringed to the extent that it itself considers unreasonable, unacceptable, that is, each party receives what it considers acceptable, justified;

The direction of this interaction is possible to achieve an emerging joint goal (but not a similar one), which also contributes to the strengthening of guarantees of cooperation, friendship, partnership;

Reinforcement by means of exchange such as loyalty, appreciation, respect, support.

Collaboration is a process of joint activities, for example in the intellectual sphere, of two or more people or organizations to achieve common goals, in which knowledge is exchanged, learning and reaching agreement.

Question 5. Consider the following statements. The first belongs to the German thinker G. Lessing: "I am quite convinced that not a single people in the world is gifted with any ability predominantly in front of others," the second - to the Russian physiologist I. M. Sechenov, who noted that the main features of human mental his ability to feel does not depend on race or geographic location: "Only then becomes clear the consciousness of moral and mental kinship between all people of the world, no matter what races they belong to."

How, in your opinion, can nationality influence a person's activities, his attitude to work, the choice of profession, and the mastery of culture? Argument your answer.

Nationality cannot influence a person's activities, his attitude to work, the choice of profession, and the mastery of culture. All this is influenced not so much by nationality as by the environment, upbringing, mentality.

Mentality is a set of mental, emotional, cultural characteristics, value orientations and attitudes inherent in a social or ethnic group, nation, people, nationality. Also, this term can be used to characterize the worldview, way of thinking of an individual.

Question 6. The English writer E. Burgess characterized the family as "the unity of interacting individuals." Draw a conclusion from this characterization: how did the author view the family - as a social institution or as a small group?

A social institution is a historically established form or created by purposeful efforts of the organization of the joint life of people, the existence of which is dictated by the need to meet the social, economic, political, cultural or other needs of society as a whole or a part of it. Institutions are characterized by their ability to influence people's behavior through established rules.

Small social group - an association of people who have direct contact with each other, united by joint activities, emotional or family closeness, aware of their belonging to a group and recognized by other people.

Consequently, E. Burgess viewed the family as a small group.

Question 7. In one of the classes there was a discussion of the question "What is my family for me and what does it mean to me?" Among the considerations expressed were the following: “The family is the most dear, close people”, “The family is my whole life. I learn from my parents a lot that I wouldn’t have learned on my own ”,“ I learned to think in a family ”,“ For me, a family is a big team. If something needs to be done, we do it with the whole family. " What opinions could you join? Why? How would you yourself answer this question?

The family is a small country in which PAPA is the president, MAMA is the minister of finance, the minister of health, the minister of culture and family emergencies. A CHILD is a people who constantly demand something, are indignant and organize strikes.

Family is the most important thing, that's what makes my heart beat.

Family is the coziest and warmest place on Earth. And in this place you are truly happy.

Question 8. How are you. understand the following words of the American writer of the XIX century. R. Emmerson: “When we are young we are reformers, and when we are old we are conservatives. The conservative is looking for welfare, and the reformer is looking for justice and truth ”? What arguments could you make against or in defense of this judgment?

In youth, every person disagrees with something, he sees the world differently, wants to change something. He argues, tries to find justice in order to change people for the better, change power, etc. But soon the person realizes that he cannot do anything. It comes closer to old age, when you have grandchildren, you are looking for everything possible to live well, you agree with your salary, work day and night so that your family has everything for a prosperous life.

At the origins of temporal consciousness lay different types of time perception - ordinary (individual), family (generic),
sacred (mythical), to which the historical temporal consciousness is later added. We'll focus on this in Chapter 5.
the question in more detail, here we note that the family (generic)
time exists even in the most primitive cultures. The peoples
with the gentile organization of society, the main function of the family
time is social stratification: the position of all members of the clan (family, tribe) depends most significantly on
from age. Relevant social groups - for example, children
before puberty or not initiated, not
married boys and girls, married (married, with children), old people, etc. - have different rights and responsibilities, that is, different social positions (for more details, see, for example: Hareven 1977).

^ Cycles and stages 361

The second function of family time since ancient times has been
segmentation of the past, the instrument of which was the counting of generations. The history of the family (clan) was periodized by the change of the heads of the clan.
From family time, the concept of generations has passed into history.
It is not surprising that generations are used as a unit of time
in the earliest historical descriptions, in particular, in the Old Testament and the works of ancient Greek authors - Hesiod, Herodotus and others 3. However, already in the very first historical works (Greek
and Roman historians), as well as in the Bible, the concept of generation and
generational change is ambiguous. Where one generation ends and another begins, even at the level of one clan (dynasty,
families)? What moment can be considered a generational change, the end
time of one generation and the beginning of time of the next?

It is sometimes believed that generations (in particular, biblical ones) correspond to the duration of life (average or a given individual). But in fact, such a concept almost never
was used neither in family time, nor in historiographic time. V
the antiquities of a generation were defined in two completely different ways.

At the family time level, generation was usually measured and
measured by the period from the death of the elder of the family (clan)
and until the death of his eldest heir. So, the expression “this
was with my grandfather ”implies that the great-grandfather at that time no longer lived, otherwise the event would have been dated by the great-grandfather. At
the fact of the existence (that is, of a birth that has already occurred or has not yet occurred) of the speaker's father at the mentioned moment of the past is not essential for the dating of the event in family time.

This "family" interpretation of the generation has also passed into historical research - we are talking about periods of government that have been used since ancient times as a unit of time (for more details, see.
above, ch. 2, § 5). The period of the ruler's reign was often identified with the generation - such an interpretation can be found already in Herodotus
(Herodotus. History II, 142; VI, 98).

In addition, Greek and Roman historians used to
generation accounts (yevea, aetas) and other period of life - interval

3 In particular, as noted in previous chapters, the famous “five
centuries "Hesiod (gold, silver, etc.) is actually not something
other than five "generations" (yevoq).

362 Chapter 4

The time from the birth of a man until the moment when he has his own child (male). As Heraclitus said,
this ends the cycle of human life. In the Bible, essentially
the same interpretation of the generation is used - before the birth of the first
a male descendant (see: Genesis 4-5, etc.). Two notable exceptions - Seth and Isaac - do stand out as special circumstances.

Although these two interpretations of the generation seem to be completely different, it can be seen that if we assume the average
life expectancy and the average age of birth of the first child (male) are unchanged, then the average
"Existence" of the generation in both definitions is the same. Therefore, the only question is whether to consider the moment of change
generation death of the eldest in the family or the birth of a new "successor of the family". Note that the estimates of the average life of a generation by most ancient authors range from 25 to 35 years
(i.e. a century consists of 3-4 generations), which indicates that
in particular, about a rather late age of marriage in ancient societies.

Both definitions of generations were widely used in the writings
ancient authors - Hesiod, Heraclitus, Herodotus, Zeno, Plato,
Aristotle, Polybius, as well as Virgil, Lucretius, Plutarch, Varro, Censorin, and others, in Judaistic philosophy and history, as well as among the thinkers of the European Middle Ages. We meet the first generation concept in countless chronicles and
chronicles that recorded periods of reign of various rulers as historical units of time (see above, Ch. 2, § 5),
in the second version, they acted as a basic element
biblical-Christian chronology, which we considered in
Chapter 2, § 3. In both cases, the concept of generation asked not only
unit of historical time, but also formed the primary idea of ​​the cyclical nature of historical development. The alternation of generations from death to death or from birth to birth symbolized the endless repetition and uniformity of the historical
development.

Traditional for Christian historiography was the idea of ​​longer cycles, consisting of a certain fixed number of generations, which also appears in the New

^ Cycles and stages 363

Testament: “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the resettlement to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from
resettlement to Babylon before Christ fourteen generations ”(Matt. 1:17).
From the late Middle Ages to the Renaissance, countless variations on this theme were created, in which gradually
events of worldly history were included.

One of the most famous examples is the essays
Joachim of Flora (c. 1132-1202) "Concordianovietveteristestamenti" ("Concordianovietveteristestamenti") and "Enchiridion in Apocalypsin". Proving that the New Testament
is a copy or repetition of the Old Testament, Joachim shared
each of the two stories, Old and New, for segments with a certain number of generations. In particular, the period of 12 generations from
Jacob before David in the Old Testament corresponded, in his opinion,
period of 12 generations from the birth of Jesus to the emperor Constantine (Joachim de Floris 1928, v. 2, p. 3fi).

Nikolai Kuzansky (1401-1464) divided history into periods in
1,700 years = 34 generations x 50 years. This period, in his opinion,
separates Adam from the Flood, the flood from Moses, Moses from Christ and
Christ from the end of the world. So the end of the world was to
come at the beginning of the 18th century. (Nicolaus Cusanus. De novissimis diebus; cit.
no: Sorokin 1937-1941, v. 4, p. 459).

Before the beginning of modern times, generations were interpreted at the level
family time that extended to the whole society. V
XVI century., When the concept of social generation arises, the problem
definition rises with new acuteness. Social (spiritual and political) are added to the two previous types of historical generations.

Apparently, N. Machiavelli was at the origin of the new concept. (Machiavelli 1996; ). Since the XVI century. the problem of social generations is increasingly occupying the minds of philosophers and historians and
the number of works in which it is touched is growing rapidly. WITH
this time and until the beginning of the XIX century. she attracts the attention of such
thinkers like J. Boden, T. Campanella, B. Pascal, D. Hume,
J. J. Rousseau, A. Ferguson, A. de Saint-Simon, C. Fourier and many
others.

However, the beginning of a serious scientific development of the concept of social generations is usually associated with O. Comte, who singled out
it as an independent topic in the IV volume of his “Course of

364 ^ Chapter 4

Tive Philosophy ", published in 1839. (Comte 1839, p. 635-641). V
late XIX - first third of XX century. famous philosophers, sociologists wrote about the role of changing social generations in the historical process,
economists and historians: O. Cournot, J. Mill, G. Spencer, O. Lorenz,
W. Dilthey, L. von Ranke, V. Paretre, G. Adams, C. Mannheim, H. Ortega y Gasset, not to mention many less famous authors.
This topic also enjoyed tremendous success among art critics,
musicologists and philologists.

After World War II, the problem of social generations
partly loses its former popularity (for the reasons that we
let's say a little below), but nevertheless it is still being discussed by sociologists, political scientists, art historians and, finally, historians. We
referring interested readers to the relevant papers 4,
and here we restrict ourselves to a brief analysis of the main difficulties that arise when using this concept.

The concept of a social historical generation as a phenomenon,
related to social, political and cultural
history, originally also had a predominantly biological and genealogical character and was based on the fact that usually between
fathers and children, there is a characteristic age difference of 25
30 years. This naive notion of social generation originated from
biological and genealogical with the help of an additional hypothesis, which boils down to the fact that there is a certain relationship between the continuous process of alternation of fathers and children and the discrete process of changes in the historical picture of society and culture.
But this raises a natural question: where does one end
social generation and another begins? How many social
generations are replaced in society, say, for 100 years -
three, four, ten?

Centuries-old discussion of the relationship
the change of generations and the historical process is essentially around three, largely interrelated, issues: primacy or

4 A very complete overview of works on the problem of social generations from
the origins of this concept and before the beginning of the XX century. was given in: ^ Mentre 1920. An extensive bibliography and a brief overview of the works of the late XIX - first third
XX century shown in: Sorokm 1937-1941, v. 4, p. 505-526, esp. p. 513-514 fn.
Among the relatively recent publications containing, in particular, reviews of studies written in the 20th century, one can point out: ^ Spitzer 1973;
Jaeger 1977; Kessler, Masson 1985; Attias-Donfut 1988.

Cycles and stages 365

The secondary nature of the phenomenon of "social generations", the degree of its universality and the duration of the "life" of each generation.

The first question is as follows. If the phenomenon of generational change in history can be proven, then is it
about primary (i.e., ultimately biologically determined)
phenomena at regular intervals or secondary (based on
which are certain external events and circumstances),
occurring at indefinite intervals?

In most of the works of the second half of the XIX century. generational change
was considered as a primary factor, that is, as a driving force of the historical process, the cause of events taking place in history. In the works of the French O. Comte and J. Dromel, the Englishman J. Mill,
the Italian G. Ferrari, the German O. Lorenz and many other authors
the idea was expressed that the change of generations is a motor
historical progress. Moreover, the existence of
some biologically determined rhythm of historical change.
In the 20-30s of the XX century. this idea was developed by the Spaniard X. Ortega y Gasset,
Frenchman F. Mentre, as well as a number of German scientists (V. Pinder, son
O. Lorenz A. Lorenz, H. Müller, F. Drerap) 5. After World War II, biological theories of the historical process lost
former popularity - they are supported only by individual followers of X. Ortega y Gasset (for example, the Spaniard X. Marias), A. Schlesinger, Jr. and some other authors.

An alternative point of view - about the "secondary" nature of the change of generations, implying that they are not a cause, but a consequence of historical events, was first clearly formulated by the German philosopher W. Dilthey in works published
in the 60-70s of the XIX century. While studying romanticism in German literature, he found that many of the prominent representatives
this trend was born in about the same years. Based
This Dilthey hypothesized that the perception of intense impressions in adolescence contributes to the fact that a significant number of individuals of approximately the same age learn
for the rest of his life, a supply of relatively uniform philosophical,

5 X. Ortega y Gasset expressed this idea with a directness bordering on the Bolshevik: “We can ... present each generation as our own
a kind of biological projectile, released into space at a precisely set time, with a certain force, direction " (Ortega y Gasset
1991, p. 6).

366 Chapter 4

Social and cultural representations. At the same time, such a "imprint", received in youth in a relatively short time, is not
later supplanted by equally strong impressions of the opposite kind.

In the 20-30s of the XX century. this hypothesis was developed by many German literary historians - E. Wexler, I. Petersen, F. Kümmer.
But special merit in its development belongs to K. Mannheim, who was the first to attempt a systematic generalization of the problem of historical generations, using the methods that developed in
XX century sociology and psychology (Mannheim 1952). In his opinion, already in early adolescence (in the first phase of development) under the influence
environment, a certain stock of characteristic emotions penetrates into consciousness, and then, in the second phase, around the 17th year of life, reflexive overcoming of problems begins to be added. In other words, in adolescence (in English this period is called "teenage", that is, 13-19
years) a certain picture of the world is formed, based on a set of experiences, and it is through it that subsequent life experience is refracted.

Finally, after the Second World War, a kind of consensus was reached on this point of discussion. The overwhelming majority of researchers are inclined to think that a generation is formed by an event, that is, it is a derivative of historical changes.
At the same time, once formed, the social generation determines the features of a particular period of history, that is, it becomes the primary factor for the historical process.

The next debatable problem is related to the assessment of the degree of commonality of the phenomenon of social generations. Does this concept have a universal, i.e., expressing the unity of time and society,
general character, or, on the contrary, it can be applied only for
designation of a partial relationship, namely age similarity
within limited social groups? In a slightly more simplified
form alternative views on social generations are reduced to
the choice between the elite and the masses.

This discussion arose almost simultaneously with the emergence of the very concept of social generations, that is, back in the 16th century. V
in this sense N. Machiavelli was the first supporter of the "elite"
the theory of generations (in particular, the alternation of political elites), and
J. Boden was the first to connect the concept of social generations with

^ Cycles and stages 367

The structures of the masses in the work "Six Books of the Republic" ("Les six livres
de la Republique ", 1576; special book IV, ch. 3 on revolutions).

This opposition of two alternative points of view on the degree of "universality" of the phenomenon of social generations was preserved until
XX century In the first third of our century, one of the most famous exponents of the "elitist" theory was V. Pareto, the "mass" - X. Ortega y Gasset 6.

The approach to this issue is closely related to the previous one: most of the supporters of the "primary", biological concept of generational change supported the idea of ​​the universality of the influence of this factor on the historical process. At the same time, supporters of the "secondary"
the process of formation of historical generations believe that historical events shape generations not on the scale of the whole society, but only in its individual groups, primarily in political
or cultural elites. In the XIX - first third of the XX century. the idea of ​​the "partial" relationship in question was dictated mainly by the objects of analysis themselves. The fact is that the problem of the formation of generations was discussed primarily in works on the history of art -
generations stood out in music, painting, literature. This approach is still preserved in works on art history. But in
In social science, since the 30s of our century, the discussion of the problem of the formation of generations has moved on to a different plane.

On the one hand, a significant role here again was played by
the work of K. Mannheim, who showed that even general impressions
adolescence cannot, of course, have the same effect on all
groups and strata of society, on the contrary, we must proceed from the fact that different public interests cause different reactions
individuals for the same impulse. Especially important in his analysis
the opposition of generation and class in the form of the so-called horizontal and vertical segmentation of a historically developing society.

On the other hand, the problem of the relationship between the role of elites and the masses
began to actively develop in sociology and political science in the context
the broader problem of power. Thanks to this, as in the first
point of discussion, in this issue a certain
agreement that allows for the role of both the elite and the masses.

6 ^ Pareto 1926; see also: Osipova 1993, p. 223-228; Ortega y Gasset 1991 ; 1991 .

368 Chapter 4

Finally, the last debatable issue, which is essential primarily for historical research, is associated with
assessment of the terms of the "life" of social generations. Although this question
looks like a purely technical or formal, the answer to it in
largely determines the differences in the positions of the authors defending the idea of ​​historical cycles of generational change.

As noted above, even ancient authors who used
one of the two "family" concepts of historical generations, the average "duration" of a generation was estimated in fairly wide
limits - from 25 to 35 years. Within the framework of the concept of social generations, a third definition of the “life span” of a generation arises, namely, the period of social activity. It is defined in even more
wide range: in the age range from 20-30 to 50-60 years,
that is, 20-40 years of "social life".

Since the end of the XIX century. approach to determining the duration of "life"
generation becomes even more flexible. The idea arises that
when analyzing the process of generational change, not all
period of social activity of a person, but only the second half
this period, since the first half of everyone's social life
generation goes to fight the previous
half of their social life the onslaught of the next generation).
This point of view was shared by G. Adame, H. Ortega y Gasset,
A. Schlesinger (senior and junior) and a number of other authors. According to their
opinion, with the duration of social activity of the generation 25-
30 years, the term of his "full life" is only 12-15 years.

As we will show in the next section, due to the existence of such broad interpretations of the life periods of social generations, this concept can be used to explain historical cycles of almost any duration. Therefore, the idea of ​​changing
social generations as a mechanism of cyclical fluctuations in the processes occurring in society is present in a huge number
works. But in the presence of a common basis - the alternation of generations -
the actual cyclical mechanisms of historical development are formulated in several different versions.

In the first version, the duration of the “life” of one social generation is directly associated with one cycle: “Historical changes should be measured at intervals of one generation, during

^ Cycles and stages 369

Nie each of which a new group of human beings receives education, says goodbye to childhood and takes possession of society "
(Mill 1914, p. 257). In this case, the cycle duration is, according to the authors' estimates, from 25 to 35 years (Mill 1914 ;
Millard 1918; L Lorenz 1928).

More common, however, is a cycle consisting of
two generations and based on purely family or household
ideas about the eternal conflict between fathers and children. And although the shape
manifestations of this conflict by different authors takes on a variety of forms (religiosity-atheism, militancy-peacefulness,
conservatism-liberalism, introversion-extroversion. propensity for analysis or synthesis, anarchy or order, innovation
or imitation, etc., etc., ad infinitum), the content of all
such cycles, consisting of two generations, are generally of the same type 7.

The cycle of three generations has not become widespread. Only occasionally a period of three generations is used in
as a unit of time - the fact is that if the duration of the "life" of a generation is taken equal to 33 years, then three generations form a period of about a hundred years. This method of counting historical time was used, for example, by Herodotus, who was referred to in
turn to the traditions of the Egyptians: “... 300 generations are
10,000 years, counting three generations per century "( Herodotus. History II,
142). In the second half of the XIX century. this idea was actively used
L. von Ranke and O. Lorenz (Ranke 1898 ; About Lorenz 1886; 1891).
However, in their works, it was not so much about cycles consisting of
three generations, how much about the mechanical unification of three generations in one century.

Finally, many historians operate with cycles consisting of
four generations. Apparently one of the first such a cycle
suggested by the medieval Arab thinker Abdurrahman ibn
Khaldun (1332-1406), whose works, however, became known
in Europe only in the XIX century. Considering the history of various states and dynasties, Ibn Khaldun came to the conclusion that their development

7 They are found in N. Machiavelli, D. Hume, A. Saint-Simon, C. Fourier,
G. Le Bon, G. Spencer, C. Bernard, J. Tarde, V. Pareto, H. Ortega-y Gasset, A. Toynbee, A. Schlesinger and many other philosophers,
sociologists and historians, not to mention cultural historians (see, for example: ^ Sorokin 1937-1941, v. 4, p. 401-405).

370 Chapter 4

It is described in cycles consisting of four generations - founder, successor (founder's son), imitator (grandson) and destroyer (great-grandson; see: Ibn Khaldun. Introduction). True, in this
case, it was also about the "family" generations, with regard to the same
to social generations, the four-phase cycle began to be used
only at the end of the XIX - first third of the XX century. (Ferrari 1874; Mewes 1896;
Ligeti 1931).

By the middle of the XX century. an understanding was formed that the systematic division of the historical process into generation-intervals
hardly scientifically acceptable. Perhaps only bright
events in spiritual history and art history usually lead to the emergence of new age cohorts as their carriers. Memoir literature proves how fully realized
the participants in this sphere themselves are the community of their generation. In political history, as well as in economic and social history, model generations are much more difficult to define. Therefore, for an extensive
literature on the phenomenon of generations published after the second
world war, is characterized by the limitation of historical analysis to the time horizon of the recent past (see, for example: Samuels 1977).

In the 50s, in the research of historical generations begins
dominate youth themes, and, in particular, the problem of "gaps" between generations. The generation of post-war youth attracts special attention of researchers. Thus, H. Schelski characterized the German youth of the first post-war decade as
"Quiet generation" of cautious, adapted, busy with platitudes of life of individuals (Schelsky 1963). D. Riesman et al. (Reisman et al. 1967), analyzing the changes in character
American youth, suggested that in the industrial societies of the XX century. there is a transition from an internally to an externally conditioned type of personality behavior.

In the late 60s - early 70s, a large number of studies
was dedicated to the student unrest that gripped in the middle
60s, almost all developed countries. This phenomenon has been considered by specialists from many countries - sociologists, psychologists, historians - from a variety of points of view, including within the framework of
theories of "conflict" or "gap" between generations. One of the most
interesting works - monograph by L. Fewer (Feuer 1969).

In the United States, where generational gaps have generally been
less brightly than in Europe, since the early 60s a significant number of

^ Cycles and stages 371

Investigators are working on the phenomenon of age cohorts.
Much attention is paid to studies of the age structure
specific groups, unions, schools, movements, etc. The most famous
works of W. Zwan and A. Spitzer, in which the analysis of history from the point
generational vision is limited to short-term phenomena, especially tipping points (Evan 1959; Spitzer 1973).

Nevertheless, the generation as a unit of measurement of historical time and the basis of historical cycles still continues to be used, although the problem of determining the change of generations and
remained unresolved. Conventionally modern views can be summarized as follows. A generation is formed by an event experienced in youth. But, once formed, the generation begins to actively
influence public consciousness, thereby determining some
events of public life. Essentially as a generation in
In this case, generations of elites are considered - cultural and political, carriers of ideas and ideologies. Since install
the moment of generational change is directly impossible, the periods corresponding to different generations are established ex post: some changes in public consciousness and in public life first
are recorded and then associated with a generational change (for example,
in such and such years, according to this researcher, for example, the image of an infantile hero dominated in literature, which is associated with the arrival of a new generation of writers in literature, the worldview
which was imprinted by such and such an event).

References to social generations retain their popularity, but rather as a literary or journalistic
image than a rigorous scientific concept. Typical examples are Remarque's “lost generation”, Shelsky's “quiet generation” or the “sixties” in Russia.
^

2. "Cycles of life"

Another very common concept used by
in many works devoted to cyclical processes in society, it is also closely associated with biology. It's about the "cycles of life"
or "life cycles" based on analogies with
living organisms. The endless recurrence of birth, maturation and dying of biological organisms observed in nature could not help but suggest the existence of similar
processes in public life.

372 Chapter 4

In principle, the concepts of life cycles are indirectly related to human beings: in most cases, the authors
the corresponding schemes proceed from the premise that the cycles
life arise as a result of the conscious or subconscious activities of people. But in general, they are, in contrast to the schemes based
on the change of generations, are nothing more than an analogy with
living organisms, and the analogy is very limited and
conditional. If in modern biology more or less clearly identified and studied the mechanisms that control life
organism (up to cellular metabolism, DNA structure and
genetic codes of heredity), then in the models of life cycles,
proposed by social scientists, no mechanisms governing
birth, development and death of the object under study is not developed. Strictly speaking, all constructions in this area remain at the level
Of "biological" concepts of primitive tribes and can rather be regarded as an artistic device than as a scientific
concept.

Nevertheless, the analogies of society or its components with living organisms, which arose at least in the era of antiquity, continue to be popular to this day. The greatest
the theory of life cycles was spread in two areas: in
works on the philosophy of history and, oddly enough, in economic
research.

We spoke in detail about philosophical works in which the development of society is likened to a living organism in Chapter 3, and here only
Let us briefly recall them. These studies fall into two groups:
those in which one universal cycle of life is considered, and those in
which authors appeal to a set of societies and try
reveal the cycle of life in each of them.

The idea of ​​the existence of one universal cycle of life, covering the entire history of mankind, can be found in ancient philosophy, Judeo-Christian tradition, Zoroastrianism and Islam. The most famous examples are the schemes of Anneus Flor.
("Four ages" of the history of Rome), St. Augustine ("six ages
world "), GVF Hegel (" four ages of the world ") and, finally, K. Marx
("Five eras" or "steps" in the development of society, which later
have been converted into "formations"; for more details see: Cairnes 1962).

The second, more numerous group includes the schemes of multiple life cycles of states (G. Vico), cultures (G. For-

^ Cycles and stages 373

Ster, G. Rückert, N. Danilevsky, O. Spengler, A. Rosenberg and
etc.), civilizations (A. Toynbee, K. Quigley, etc.), ethnic groups (L. Gumilev), nations (M. Olson), economic systems (C. Kindleberger)
etc. 8.

All of the above schemes - both of one universal and multiple cycles of life - despite some curious
observations and analogies are highly speculative
and essentially do not go beyond the scope of philosophical reasoning "about
the futility of all that exists. " Practically none of these schemes are recognized or used by the professional community of historians,
which allows us not to return to their consideration.

Another part of the concepts of life cycles is developed in economic science and outwardly has a purely technical and applied character. Despite this, economic theories of life cycles, in
difference from philosophical, found application in works devoted to cyclical processes in historical development (primarily
turn, naturally, in works on economic history, but not only
in them).

Perhaps the first such scheme was proposed by K. Marx in
"Capital" called "capital turnover cycle".
The meaning of his concept is that each type of equipment
has a certain service life (this is reflected, in particular, in the terms adopted by the state in all countries
depreciation write-offs). It is assumed that equipment is purchased and put into operation unevenly, that is, there are
periods of bulk purchases and renewal of fixed capital (machinery and structures). With a given service life, the purchased generation of equipment wears out and becomes unusable after a certain period of time, and again there is a need for it.
bulk update.

In fact, we are talking about the "life cycle" of equipment - the appearance ("birth") and subsequent "dying" (due to physical or moral wear and tear) of generations of technology used in
production. In this concept, a certain complexity is presented by the problem of the initial unevenness of investments or
"First push". It is usually assumed that this role is played by non-

8 The corresponding bibliography was given in chap. 3. In addition, we will indicate only the previously unmentioned works: ^ Olson 1982; Kindleberger 1964.

374 Chapter 4

The cue is the initial or initial economic crisis, during which the volume of investments is sharply reduced, and in the course of the subsequent
the rise in capital investment becomes more than average, thereby generating further fluctuations in investment.

The theoretical weakness of this model, as it is easy to see, lies in its openness - in order for it to start working,
the first, "non-model" crisis is needed that has nothing to do with
change of generations of technology, after which all subsequent cycles
can already be seen as generated by a periodic mass change of production equipment. Another difficulty
associated with the service life of individual elements of fixed capital: firstly, they are not constant, and secondly, it is difficult to identify the "centers of gravity" of the service life - as a rule, they are distributed
fairly evenly over time 9.

Nevertheless, despite significant shortcomings, this model became widespread in Marxist literature and was used to explain cycles of very different durations - from 3-4 to 50-60 and more years (depending on the period
service of one or another part of the fixed capital).

Another approach was first proposed by S. Kuznets (Kuznets
1930), who tried to distinguish the "life cycles of industries" (more precisely, industry technologies). I. Schumpeter was the first to consider the “cycle
life of innovations ", associated with the cycles of innovation activity of entrepreneurs (Schumpeter 1939). Since the 60s, the concept of "product life cycle" has been used (Nelson 1962),
which was then extended to the field of international trade (Vernon 1966) 10 .

In essence, all these schemes constitute a single group and describe the same process of innovations - products or technological processes (the distinction between product innovations and process innovations is rooted in the economic literature in

9 For more details see, for example: Grigoriev 1988 for a related bibliography.

10 For industry life cycles, see also: ^ Burns 1934; Alderfer, Michle 1942;
on innovation life cycles, see: Mensch 1979 ; Duijn 1983 ; Freeman
et al 1982; Klemknecht 1987; For product life cycles, see: Levitt 1965; Rapp
1975; Ayres 1987; on the life cycles of international trade see: Vernon 1979;
Hirsch 1975. For reviews, see: Aukutsionek 1989; Menshikov, Klimenko 1989;
Ranneva 1989.

Cycles and stages 375

70-80s thanks to the works of G. Mensch and K. Freeman). General
the diagram of the life cycle looks in all these cases as follows.

The "birth" of an innovation is associated with the beginning of the use of a certain firm (manufacturer) of a new technical idea. This idea
can be expressed in the production of a qualitatively new product, the use of a new technology for the production of a known product, a new
external design of an existing product, etc. (depending on the degree of "novelty", innovations are usually subdivided into
"Basic" and "improving"). The "birth" is followed by the "infancy" period, when the manufacturer tries to meet the market demand
for a new product or service. If this product or service survives,
that is, they find demand in the market (and the percentage of "infant mortality"
innovations is unusually high), the period of "childhood" of this innovation begins, when it is used by a limited number (one
or several) manufacturers, while receiving additional
profit (since all innovations or allow you to save on
costs or monopolistically satisfy a new need).

Then comes the period of "maturity" when the number is produced ^
Lei who use this innovation begin to grow rapidly (usually, the original innovators try to delay the beginning of the "coming of age" of their brainchild by using various patent restrictions).
At the same time, the market demand for the corresponding product or service is rapidly expanding, they begin to oust their previous analogues from the market, and an active process of replacing a part is underway.
previously produced goods or services. After the relative saturation of the market occurs, the period of expansion of the innovation ends and the period of "old age" begins, during which
the demand for a given product or service remains relatively unchanged.
In the meantime, the next innovation is “born”, which can subsequently completely or partially displace the previous one and lead to its “death”.

Within the framework of this general scheme, the duration of the life cycle of specific goods and services, as well as of its individual phases, can be
very different - from several months to tens of years - that
allows the use of "life cycles" of innovations to explain general economic cyclical processes of very different duration.

Finally, the third concept of the cycle used in economics
life was proposed by the American economist, laureate
F. Modigliani's Nobel Prize and is associated with a change in the norm
savings. The essence of this concept boils down to the fact that an individual's income and the saved share of this income depend on the person's age.
At the beginning of an independent working life, income is relatively small, and the share of savings is extremely insignificant. As you get closer to middle age, incomes rise and to an even greater extent
the share of savings that should provide for old age is increasing. Finally, upon retirement, income decreases, and the share
savings is reduced to almost zero (see: ^ Modigliani 1949; Modigliani,
Brumberg 1954; Ando, ​​Modigliani 1963).

Although this scheme is designed for the micro-level, its
can be used at the macro level as well. According to Modigliani's theory, the share of income saved at the national level depends on
from the age structure of the population as a whole - if the age pyramid shifts towards younger or older age cohorts, the share of savings, other things being equal, should decrease. Changes in the age structure of the population, in
particular, can be explained by fluctuations in the savings rate in the United States
throughout the post-war period.

Unfortunately, all schemes of cyclical development of the economy,
based on the concept of life cycles - equipment,
technologies, innovations, products, etc., have the same drawback as the models of historical cycles based on the concept of changing social generations. The very fact of existence
life cycles at the level of certain types of equipment, technologies
and so on. no doubt, as well as the fact of generational change
within the same family. Problems arise when trying to generalize these local phenomena, bringing them to the level of national
economy of a country as a whole. In essence, as in the concepts of social generations, the hypothesis of the presence of some external, exogenous for the considered
systems of influences synchronizing individual cycles
life (at least, it is assumed that there is some initial
synchronization, after which it can be achieved automatically).

Cycles and stages 377
^

3. Cosmic factors

Almost the oldest ideas about the cyclic processes of earthly life were associated with space, more precisely, with the idea of ​​the influence of cosmic bodies on human life. Naturally, the detection of cyclical or periodicity in the movement of the moon, planets,
comets, etc. gave rise to the conviction of the cyclical nature of the
their influence, and thus the cyclical nature of earthly events. These
ideas extended to the life of not only individual
people, but also states and peoples.

Astrological concepts of the cyclical nature of earthly events existed in Babylon, Assyria and Egypt, China and India, Ancient
Greece and Rome (overview and bibliography of astrological concepts
cycles of social life, see: Sorokin 1937-1941, v. 4, p. 460-497).
After a slight decline in the early Middle Ages, astrological concepts flourished again in Europe in the 12th-14th centuries, thanks to the acquaintance of Europeans with Arab culture, in particular astronomy and mathematics. During this period, the spread of astrological
theories of social development meant undermining the theological notions that God is the only arbiter of human destinies. Remaining largely metaphysical,
astrological theories and cycles had at the same time a certain materialistic coloring. Another prerequisite for their flourishing was the theory of numbers brought by the Arabs - from here arose
colossal fascination with magic numbers and periods (see,
for example: Thorndike 1929).

But despite the centuries-old popularity of astrology, in the application to history, it began to be actively used, perhaps only with
the beginning of the New Time. On the one hand, before that astrology was in
more directed to the future, acting as the basis for various prophecies and predictions, and only thinkers of the XVI-XVII centuries.
almost en masse began to try to apply astrology to the study of the past 11. As noted in Chapter 3, the astrological concepts of historical cycles were developed by J. Woden,
T. Brahe, F. Bacon, I. Kepler, G. Galilei and many other scientists. WITH
on the other hand, the period of passion for astrology, including the

11 This did not mean that the prophecies stopped appearing - for example, in
1555 the famous "Centuries" of the Frenchman Michel were published
Nostradamus.

378 Chapter 4

In terms of history, which began in the 16th century, it was associated with the astronomical discoveries of that time. So, it was believed that the simultaneous appearance in the sky of Saturn and Jupiter (known, however,
still to Arab astronomers), which is observed every twenty
years, causes a change of rulers, uprisings, etc. (see: Ceren 1976
, with. 318-329). In Arabic manuscripts and in the works of Kepler it is
the phenomenon was called the Great Conjunction.

The enthusiasm for astrological concepts of historical development in the second half of the 17th - early 18th centuries is growing even more.
primarily in England. Among the most famous are the books by J. Russell and J. Holwell (Russell 1659; Holwell 1682), in
which determined the frequency of past historical events and made forecasts for the future. Special mention should be made of
the astrological works of Isaac Newton, who is known to have been
not only an outstanding physicist and astronomer, but also a great mystic in the field of history (see: Kuznetsov 1982, p. 104ff).

In the XVIII - the first half of the XIX century. astrological concepts
cyclical development of history gradually lose their popularity,
which was explained, however, not so much by the loss of faith in astrology as by the dominance of linear ideas about historical development in the concept of progress. The search for cycles in historical development
and attempts to connect them with astrology are reanimated at the end

XIX - the first quarter of the XX century., Starting with fin de siecle, marked by the strengthening of the general mood of mysticism and belief in otherworldly forces, magic, astral theories, etc. (see above, Ch. 2, § 5). The center of astrological concepts of historical cycles was then
Germany and Austria; among the most famous astrological and historical works of this period, one can point out, in particular, the works of J. Friedrich, E. Sasse, R. Meves, F. Stromer-Reichenbach
(Friednch 1864; Sasse 1879; Mewes 1896; Stromer-Reichenbach 1919).

Astrologers have proposed an almost endless set of cosmic cycles and associated magic numbers - from a few days to centuries. Most popular since the earliest
times were, for example, numbers 7, 12, 365, associated with calendar
astronomical periods (see above, Ch. 2, § 2), which extended to the annual reckoning. A typical example of the quest for the magic in historical cycles derived from the numbers 12 and 365,
represent the reasoning of the famous Russian poet of the beginning

XX century Velimira Khlebnikova: “... I affirm that the years between the beginning

^ Cycles and stages 379

Lami states are multiples of 413. That 1383 is separated by the fall of states, the death of freedoms. That 951 separates the great campaigns reflected by the enemy ... I generally found that time G separates similar
events, and z = (365 + 48y) x, where at can have positive and
negative values ​​... The forces should have been affected by the timing of the rotation, and we are the children of the forces " (Khlebnikov 1986, p. 589, 591).

From the second half of the XIX century. theories linking historical development with "cosmic waves" are beginning to spread more and more actively. We are talking about various types of cosmic radiation,
the intensity of which, as supporters of this approach believe,
subject to periodic changes that have a direct impact on the development of society. Sometimes an additional link is built into this mechanism: it is assumed that cosmic wave radiation affects the climate (temperature, humidity, amount
precipitation), magnetic field or other characteristics of the earth's atmosphere, and this, in turn, affects the processes occurring on the Earth (see, for example: Rode, Feybridge 1966 ; Gnevyshev, Ol
1971). In the first third of the XX century. maintaining interest in these theories
Russian "cosmists" contributed greatly - V. Vernadsky, V. Dokuchaev, N. Morozov, K. Tsiolkovsky, D. Svyatsky, A. Chizhevsky and others.

Cyclic schemes of historical development, used in
cosmic radiation as an explanatory mechanism, in essence, are constructed in accordance with the classical rules of construction
syllogisms and consist of two premises and a conclusion, in which
the three key terms are linked in pairs. The big premise containing the predicate of the conclusion, in this case, says that "cosmic radiation affects the earthly nature." The small premise containing the subject of the conclusion is reduced to the statement: “the intensity
cosmic radiation is subject to cyclical fluctuations. "
The conclusion says that "the development of life on Earth is cyclical."

Both premises are practically not objectionable. Analysis
the impact of cosmic radiation on the life of the earth
organisms are among quite respectable areas
biological research, and interest in them has sharply increased in
links with manned space flights 12. Equally respectable

12 However, such studies were actively carried out already at the beginning of this century - an extensive bibliography of relevant works

380 Chapter 4

Is the study of various cosmic radiation variable
intensity, however, already within the framework of another science - astrophysics.
But here is the conclusion of the above syllogism, despite its
formal consistency, invariably arouses skepticism from the scientific community, especially when it comes to historical
development.

The first and most extensive group of cosmological concepts of the cyclicity of terrestrial processes by the "transmission mechanism"
to ensure the influence of cosmic factors on the development of society, considers the vital activity of plants. In historical (especially historical and economic) works belonging to this
direction, it is usually proved that cyclical fluctuations in solar activity, climate, Earth's magnetic field, etc. (see, for example, Fig. 4.1) affect agricultural productivity, and from
In agriculture, wave changes are spreading to other spheres of the economy and human activity in general.

Figure 4.1. Astrophysical and meteorological indicators

So, at the beginning of the XIX century. the famous English astronomer W. Herschel, who built the first model of the Galaxy and discovered the planet

Introduced in: Chizhevsky 1976; more recent studies are presented, for example, in: ^ Gnevyshev, Ol 1971.

Cycles and stages 381

Tu Uranus, proved the influence of solar activity on price fluctuations
for grain. But the "radiative" theories of social processes reached their heyday at the end of the 19th - first third of the 20th centuries. Push
these studies were provided by the work of W. Jevons, who linked solar activity with economic cycles, and not only in
agriculture, but also in industry (Jevons 1884). idea of
links between economic cycles and changes in solar activity
was especially widespread at the end of the XIX - first third
XX century After World War II, this line of research in
in general, continues to enjoy the attention of the professional community, albeit on a much smaller scale 13. Mostly similar
works are devoted to the influence of space and climatic factors
to cyclical fluctuations in crop yields in the pre-industrial era - modern supporters of this concept clearly prefer not to intrude into the more immediate past.

The second group of studies is devoted to the impact of cosmic factors on cyclic processes in life.
the person himself. Fluctuations in the intensity of cosmic radiation,
and above all, the cycles of solar activity are associated with the periodicity of such phenomena of biological and social life as
epidemics, psychopathic mass hysteria, suicides, crimes, etc.
the work of A. Chizhevsky (Chizhevsky 1976) with an extensive bibliography of publications dating back to the first third of our century.

It should be noted that the authors of these studies are usually
exercise a certain caution in their conclusions, preferring
avoid historical generalizations and limit yourself to analysis
purely biological, less often - mental aspects of the problem. Only
units bridge the gap from cosmic waves to social
and the political history of mankind. In particular, A. Chizhevsky in
1918 submitted to the Faculty of History and Philology of Moscow University a dissertation on the topic "Investigation of the periodicity of the world-historical process", in which he tried
systematize the history of mankind for 2500 years. Materials (edit)
this dissertation (which, as far as we know, was not accepted

13 For a bibliography of works from the first half of our century, see: Sorokin
1937-1941, v. 4, p. 502; among the most famous post-war publications
you can mention: ^ Stetson 1947, ch. fourteen; Akerman 1957, v. 2, p. 249; Ashton 1959,
ch. 2; Deane 1967, p. 227-22K; Mathias 1969, p. 228-231; Cass, Shell 1983; Mirowsh 1984.

382 Chapter 4

That for protection) entered the prepared by Chizhevsky in 1929-1933.
a manuscript of a work recently published under the title "Earth in
embraced by the sun " (Chizhevsky 1995). In it, Chizhevsky argued that for the years of minimal solar activity
accounted for only 5% of mass social movements, and for years
maximum - more than 60% of social cataclysms.

In general, of all the once unusually popular cosmological concepts of cyclicity, perhaps only that part of the "wave" direction that is associated with the study of fluctuations in agricultural yields has survived to this day.
cultures, and even then almost exclusively in application to the "pre-industrial" era. All other concepts of this type - both astrological and "cosmic-wave" theories of social processes -
passed into the category of "paranormal knowledge". Professional
the community of historians ignores them, which, however, does not exclude their popularity among amateurs and simply overly impressionable people (with the permission of the readers, we will not cite
related bibliography).
^

4. Mechanical models

In contrast to the concepts of generational change and the influence of astrological factors, the analysis of historical cycles from mechanistic
positions are among the relatively recent "inventions":
it has been known since the middle of the 19th century. In "mechanical" concepts, society or its individual subsystems (economy, social sphere, political structure, etc.) are considered as a similarity
mechanical system (the simplest analogue is a mechanical watch),
in which, due to a combination of lagged (lagging) dependencies (transmission mechanisms or gears) and some
system of coefficients (something like the coefficients of friction) describes the mechanism of continuous motion or transmission of motion. The ideology of such models goes back to "social physics"
O. Comte and other positivists of the 19th century.

Essentially, all mechanical concepts are based on
strong causal assumption
in the social system. This approach is most widespread primarily in economic research, but examples
its applications can also be found in works on social and political issues. It is characteristic that, as a rule, social and political

^ Cycles, and stages 383

Czech models of mechanical interactions in one way or another
take into account the effect of economic factors due to which
the system acquires "rigidity". The creation of such models is marked
late XIX - early XX century, the period of widespread so
called "economic determinism"; traces of it clearly
are felt today. As for the "pure" economy, mechanical systems still constitute the overwhelming majority of cyclical patterns of economic development.

One of the most famous examples is the famous model of the "accelerator-multiplier" proposed by the future Nobel Prize winner in economics P. Samuelson in 1939. (Samuelson 1939):

Where Y t is the total final income per year t(numerically equal to the final product);

With t - phase (depending on the phase of the cycle) consumer costs;

I t - phase investment costs;

A t - autonomous costs independent of the cycle phase 14.

In the economy of such mechanical models, a truly innumerable number has been created (among the most famous are

14 “If autonomous costs are growing at a constant rate, then one of the
solutions to this system is the trajectory of a uniform increase in income (and at the same time consumption and investment) at the same rate. This
the trajectory is usually called equilibrium. If influenced by any
factors, the economy has left the equilibrium trajectory, then the nature of its further movement is determined by the coefficients b and
a. For example, when a 1, there is a gradual approach to the trajectory of uniform growth, and this movement can be oscillatory
at a certain ratio of parameters B and a. At a = 1 amplitude
fluctuations around the equilibrium trajectory will remain constant. AND
finally if a> 1, then there will be either moving away from the equilibrium
trajectory, or oscillation around it with increasing amplitude "
(Aukutsionek 1984, p. 56-57; for more details about the properties of the "multiplier accelerator" model, see: ^ Allen 1963, ch. 12).

384 Chapter 4

Mint the works of J. Hicks, R. Goodwin, J. Dusenberry, E. Hansen), but despite significant conceptual differences, their ideology is quite the same type (for reviews, see, for example, in: Aukutsionek
1984; ^ Gordon 1986; Gorokhova, Grigoriev 1988).

Since the mid-1970s, a new generation has been replacing the traditional Keynesian and neoclassical schemes of the cycle.
economic models of cyclical fluctuations, based on the theory of rational expectations. At the origin of this direction was
American economist R. Lucas (Lucas 1981), received in 1995 for
the development of this theory by the Nobel Prize, as well as T. Sargent,
N. Wallace and a number of other theorists. In models of rational
expectations, an attempt was made to take into account the decision-making process of economic entities and their reaction to
changes in the economic environment, the role of information in the economic system, etc. (see: Entps 1988). But, in our opinion, even in these
models retain a fair amount of "mechanism" 16.

Of course, economic models of cyclical fluctuations are
is an extreme example, but similar models are widely used
in all social sciences, with the only difference that sociologists, political scientists, historians, etc. (i.e. e. practically all social scientists-non-economists) describe them not mathematically, but verbally.

An example is a typical mechanical
model of cyclical interaction of foreign and domestic policy: war with an external enemy - impoverishment of the bulk of the population - social fermentation - change in the balance of political forces - establishment of new political power -
a gradual weakening of power within the country - an orientation towards external

15 This can be illustrated by the example of the model of R. Lucas, whose reasoning “is constructed as follows. Role of the "first impulse"
in full accordance with neoclassical tradition, it is attributed to an unexpectedly increasing supply of money. Since the latter
is identified with the expansion of market demand, there is an unforeseen increase in prices (for finished products). This prompts
entrepreneurs decide to expand production ...
After a while ... participants in the economic process who
in accordance with the hypothesis of rational expectations should be the best
use all incoming information, realize the disadvantages of the previous expansion of production and make decisions about
the transition to a reduction in output and new investment. Cyclical boom is giving way to crisis ("recession") " (Entpov 1988, p. 24-26).

^ Cycles and stages 385

Numerical expansion as a means of strengthening domestic political positions - a war with an external enemy, etc.

Another example is the cyclical development of science within the framework of the concept of paradigm shift proposed by T. Kuhn: the emergence
a new theory - turning it into a scientific school - institutionalization of a scientific school and the acquisition by its supporters of key
organizational positions in the scientific community - "ossification"
scientific school due to the lack of competition - the emergence of a new theory that undermines the old paradigm, etc.

If we talk about specific historical studies, the authors of which used "mechanical" models of cyclical
development, the most famous example is the work of French historians of the first half of our century
F. Simian and E. Labrousse.

F. Simian in works published at the height of the economic crisis of the early 1930s (Simiand 1932a, 1932b), based on the study
dynamics of nominal wages in 1789-1928 singled out
alternation of long-term periods of economic growth and recession
("Phases A and B"). The main symptom of these cycles and the reason for them
change, he considered the movement of prices, which determines, in his opinion, the level of wages and profits, which, in turn, affects
on collective psychology and social relations (note,
which Simian himself called his belief system social monetarism).

A similar interpretation of the interaction of economic and social processes was used by E. Labrousse, who argued that
economic cycles (of different lengths) determine socio-historical development by their rhythm (Labrousse 1933-1936,1944).
In a sense, Labrousse's model was even more rigid, since he deduced the causes of the French Revolution directly from the previous economic recession.
and the rise in prices and incomes at the beginning of the XIX century. in turn, considered it a consequence of the socio-political events of the revolutionary period.

Attempts to build mechanical interaction models
economic and socio-political factors explaining
cyclical processes in historical development, have been repeatedly undertaken in recent decades, primarily by Western
Marxist researchers. So, P. Sweezy proposed the scheme
a wave-like mechanism for changing the methods of capital accumulation,

386 ^ Chapter 4

Which manifests itself in the restructuring of socio-political structures (Sweezy 1967; 1970).

This approach was further developed in the works of D. Gordon et al. (Gordon 1980; Gordon etal. 1982). In their opinion, the economic downturn is causing deep division and conflict in society over
about the structural reforms necessary for the effective functioning of the economy. The resolution of the crisis situation is carried out
largely by political means with the active participation of all political forces and institutions. Thus, the mechanism
cyclical fluctuations are reduced to changes in the "social structure of accumulation", which refers to the totality of political institutions and their interactions.

The emergence of a favorable "social structure of accumulation" creates conditions for economic expansion;

Institutional context conducive to accumulation
capital, gives rise to an investment boom and vigorous economic activity;

The process of capital accumulation exhausts its possibilities within the framework of this “social structure of accumulation”. The continuation of capital accumulation on the same scale requires either the reproduction of the conditions that existed at the beginning of the boom, or the transition
to a new system of organization of the production process and market
work force. But the initial conditions cannot be replicated, and the required reforms are not easy to implement;

The process of capital accumulation slows down and society enters a period of stagnation. Attempts to change the institutional
the structure is caused by the hostility of the political forces in control of the situation;

Economic downturn leads to further destabilization
"Social structure of accumulation";

Restoring opportunities for rapid capital accumulation depends on the creation of a new institutional structure;

The inner content of this new "social structure
accumulation ”is essentially, but not exclusively, determined by the nature of the class struggle in the preceding period;

The emergence of a favorable "social structure of accumulation" creates conditions for a period of economic expansion and
etc. (Gordon et al., 1982, p. 32).

Cycles and stages 387

Similar or similar models can be found in the works of many
other Marxist scholars 16. For example: economic growth increases the volume of distributed goods, thereby increasing the possibilities for the struggle of the proletariat for the distribution of the produced product, which leads to an increase in social
activity and mass strike movement. Redistribution of product in favor of employees reduces efficiency
production and reduces incentives for entrepreneurs to develop it, as a result, a recession begins in the economy. As the recession deepens, entrepreneurs begin to innovate,
increasing the efficiency of production, which leads to a new rise, etc.

In the social sciences, we find countless
similar models. They are not always formulated explicitly and
often only implied. Not the least reason for this is the reluctance of social scientists, with the exception of economists and, in part, sociologists (since the time of T. Parsons), to admit the use of relatively simple schemes. For our part, note that using
in an explicit form of schemes or models does not indicate the weakness of science, but
about its strength - only in this case it is possible to clearly judge the prerequisites,
mechanism and degree of generality of the proposed concept of social development, and thereby about the level of our knowledge about society.

• How do peers differ from their contemporaries?
• Is there a conflict between "fathers and children"?
• Is harmony possible in relations between generations?
• Why is childhood especially valuable?
• What rights do children have?

What is a generation? Generation is usually understood as the time interval between the average age of parents and children. From this point of view, in terms of age in society, a number of generations are distinguished, measured by a certain number of years.

The ancient Greek historian Herodotus believed that 300 human generations is 10 thousand years, because three generations form a century. At present, in our country, this interval is about 27 years. People born in the same year are often referred to as age cohorts. But the concept of "generation" is broader than the concept of "age cohort", since people of several age cohorts are united in a generation. For example, the generation of the times of perestroika (the second half of the 80s of the XX century) included both those who are 12 years old and those who are 40-65 years old.

Each person is a contemporary of a certain era and a contemporary of a certain generation. You know from your own experience that one generation of people is vastly different from another. Let's try to understand the problem of generations. The judgment "worse is better" leads to an assessment of reality from the standpoint of uncritical self-justification: no matter what, we are always better. If this judgment had triumphed in people's ideas, then we would have had no choice but to recognize the whole of human history as continuous stagnation and even a movement backwards.

The history of mankind convinces us that this is not the case. Rather, a different judgment is justified: "old - new" or "obsolete - advanced." It is clear that the new is replacing the outdated, that is, inappropriate to the changed conditions. Nevertheless, humanity as a human race does not fall apart, the “connecting thread” does not break. Why? Or rather, thanks to what? Thanks to the continuity of generations. At the junction of generations, as a rule, many problems arise: this is the familiar problem of "fathers and children", and the problem of continuity, which is new for you - cultural, moral, spiritual, that is, everything that one generation adopts from another, and it , in turn, transfers to the next. The history of one person cannot be divorced from the history of those who preceded or contemporary to him. Each generation, on the one hand, continues the inherited activity, culture in new conditions, and on the other hand, it modifies the old conditions. In other words, a generation cannot exist otherwise than on the basis of the results of the activities of its predecessors. But this continuation is at the same time the enrichment of the previous activity with new results, new elements, new forms, that is, its change, and hence its complication. Since ancient times, people have grown bread and produced metal. But look at how the activities of the farmer and the blacksmith have changed over the centuries.

Let's summarize: the change of generations is an objective factor of social progress that does not depend on us. The change of generations is, first of all, a process that ensures continuity in the development of the human race. Continuity is manifested in the inheritance of "children" of the culture created by previous generations, at the same time, this process contains the difference between "fathers" and "children". In the process of joint activities of adults and young people to change living conditions, there is a continuity of generations.

Scientists, investigating the problem of generational change, noticed that the succession of generations is always selective. What does it mean? Some knowledge, norms, values ​​are assimilated and passed on to future generations, while others that do not correspond to the changed conditions are rejected or changed. Give examples known to you from history, everyday life, confirming this conclusion.

The level of continuity is not exactly the same in different types of people's activities: in production, political views, worldview, it is higher than in the sphere of consumer interests, leisure, artistic tastes and some other areas. Discrepancies between seniors and younger ones in their views on fashion, leisure, and entertainment are most closely related to age. Differences between generations (the habit to a certain style of behavior established in the years of one's own youth, attachment to certain music, dances) are aggravated here by age characteristics: youthful thirst for novelty is opposite to the orientation toward stability and constancy inherent in mature age.

"Fathers and Sons"... The very fact of the coexistence of several generations of people in one society presupposes the presence of certain, including fundamental, differences between them. Thus, “fathers” often consider well-being as the result of hard work, “children” take wealth for granted. “Fathers” in their actions are mainly guided by social norms, “children” are more concerned with personal feelings. "Fathers" in their decisions are based on moral norms, "children" are largely guided by sympathies and antipathies. “Fathers” see work as a virtue, “children” as inevitability. This is understandable: changes in the standard of living lead to a change in thinking, behavior, choice of value orientations of people of different generations. We must understand for ourselves that each new generation is no worse and no better than the previous ones. It's just different.

Childhood is a special period... Let us agree that in a number of generations, childhood is a special period. There is a whole life ahead, a lot of good deeds. Society values ​​and, depending on its capabilities, tries to protect childhood. The rights of children and adolescents in modern society are specially stipulated in international and domestic legal acts. This means that society considers children not only as their future citizens, but also as active participants in legal relations. Thus, according to the International Covenant (Treaty) on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, “every child, without any discrimination on the basis of race, color, language, religion, national or social origin, property status, has the right to such measures of protection that are required in his position as a minor on the part of his family, society and state ”.

The international community has adopted a social convention (agreement) on the rights of the child. This document defines the most important principles that should be taken into account when passing laws in individual countries that have recognized the convention. Among these principles is caring for children. (“The child should, in all circumstances, be among those who are the first to receive this protection and assistance.”) A fundamental provision of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is the right to enjoy the benefits of social security, which includes the healthy growth and development of the child, special care, food, housing, entertainment and medical service.

A separate principle of the convention is the protection by society and the state of physically, mentally or socially handicapped people. This, of course, a humane rule applies to children who do not have a family, and to children who are brought up in families that do not have sufficient means of subsistence.

And one more fundamental principle from the Convention on the Rights of the Child: “The child must be protected from all forms of neglect, abuse and exploitation. It must not be traded in any form. A child should not be hired before reaching the appropriate age minimum, and in no case should he be entrusted or allowed to work and activities that would be harmful to his health or education or would be an obstacle to his physical, mental or moral development. "

This principle, like the other listed principles, can be implemented under certain social relations. They serve as a kind of reference point for civilized countries that care about their present and future. That is why it is generally accepted that society is better organized, the better it is for children and old people - weak and vulnerable generations - to live in it.

All children strive to become adults as soon as possible, and many old people yearn for their departed youth. Only the capabilities of some and the experience of others help to see life from various angles, establish a true connection between generations.

Basic concepts

• Child rights.

Terms

• Generation, age cohort, convention.

Self-test questions

1. What is a generation?
2. What do you think is the problem of “fathers and children”?
3. Why is the protection of the rights of the child necessary?
4. What are the most important rights of the child?

Tasks

1. Think about the relationship between the concepts of "contemporaries" and "peers", give a definition of these concepts.
2. Explain how the generational conflict manifests itself. Think about how you can explain its relative smoothing out during the period of wars and revolutions and aggravation in a relatively peaceful time.
3. List the traits of your peers that allow you to judge one or another of them as modern or outdated. Explain what an “outdated person” means in your mind.
4. In what ways would you like to be like your parents, and in what ways would you not? Make a conclusion about the continuity of generations in your family.

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Introduction

There is always a need to master the sociocultural experience of the past. Scientists, in search of a social ideal, turn to national culture, try to find answers to emerging questions of modern practice in the life and activities of past generations, since culture always implies the preservation of previous experience. Moreover, one of the most important definitions of culture characterizes it as the “non-genetic” memory of the collective. Therefore, it is always associated with history.

An essential necessity of the current stage in the development of humanitarian knowledge is the creative comprehension of the memory of the national past and the continuation of cultural and historical continuity. Studying the characteristic features of a particular era, one can more easily understand what the socio-cultural originality of the present consists of. The memory of the past is not only a tribute to the achievements of national culture, but also the acquisition of knowledge necessary to solve social problems associated with the formation of a humanistic worldview. Modern social practice, domestic science is in need of new generalized data, both positive and destructive experience of the cultural and historical dynamics of Russian society.

The relevance of the research topic is due to the following circumstances. Firstly, in our country, qualitative changes are taking place in the socio-economic and political structure, the transformation of the foundations of the spiritual life of society. A peculiar moment can be considered the fact that with an obviously insufficient development of the concept of a national idea and programs for carrying out social and economic reforms, market mechanisms have come into active action. Under their influence, on the one hand, more and more conditions are created for the manifestation of various forms of spiritual freedom of the individual, the choice of new social actions, and on the other, more and more carriers of various forms of private and personal property are reproduced, projecting their ideology onto the life of society. Under these conditions, the spirit of individualism came to the surface of social life, sometimes conflicting with the experience of past generations. One of the consequences of the transition period, which requires the closest attention and study, is a revolution in the scale of values, i.e. the real value of various social groups, material and spiritual products of their activities. In search of a way out of this situation, modern social science is naturally engaged in the search for productive mechanisms of socio-cultural dynamics, including those traditional for domestic culture.

Secondly, attention to the peculiarities of the socio-cultural continuity of generations in Russian society is due to a large extent to worldview reasons. The problem of the continuity of generations in Russian society has a pronounced worldview aspect. It is quite obvious that the choice and potential of certain mechanisms of the socio-cultural continuity of generations have been subjected to repeated value rethinking on the part of various strata of society in different periods of Russian history. There is no doubt that the formation of the value attitudes of the national culture was carried out depending on socio-political practice and on the basis of specific internal and external tasks of strengthening the integrity and independence of the Russian state. This explains the increased interest of scientists in elucidating the characteristic features of the continuity of generations in various socio-historical conditions, since their interpretation and implementation into practice can help to arrange the life of Russian society in modern conditions.

Thirdly, an appeal to the problem under study is relevant because the best examples of the life and activities of people of the past can and should be a means of educational influence for present and future generations. This is also important because cultural and historical memory is imperfect, and the past cannot be recreated in full. The validity of this conclusion is associated with the infinite nature of knowledge. The researcher is always open to opportunities to search for new information and facts, for a deeper and more comprehensive reading of the history and culture of the Fatherland. In difficult transitional conditions for the modern Russian society, studies of the specifics of the socio-cultural continuity of generations, with its significant ideological and methodological potential, are actualized. This can contribute to a more complete understanding of Russian culture and history, as well as an understanding on this basis of socio-cultural tasks solved in the process of modernizing modern Russian society and the state.

The state of scientific elaboration of the problem can be characterized as follows. First of all, it should be noted that to date, world and domestic science has accumulated a significant array of ideas, concepts and concepts, in which the dynamics of culture is presented from the standpoint of different cognitive paradigms: from the point of view of patterns of evolutionary changes, historical development, as well as based on postmodern ideas about the fragmentation of cultural dynamic fields; in terms of philosophical or informational analysis; based on the ideas of the theories of innovative and creative or management activities and social communication. Of undoubted value are studies of the social and historical dynamics of culture, carried out within the framework of the structural-functional approach (B. Malinovsky, R. Merton, E.A. Orlova, A. Redcliff-Brown, T. Parsons, E. Evans-Pritchard and etc.); the theory of social conflict (G. Simmel, L. Coser, T. Parsons, R. Dahrendorf and others); from synergistic positions (G.A. Avanesova, ON Astafieva, M.S., Kagan, A.P. Nazare-chan, etc.); from the point of view of the conditioning of the evolution of cultural forms by a set of social factors (A. Mol, A. Ya. Flier, etc.).

The analysis of scientific works on the research topic also showed that they raised and in a number of aspects solved the problems of the succession of generations that were urgent in the past. However, some theoretical solutions did not stand the test of time, as a result of which they require rethinking both the methodological and applied aspects of the problem under study.

First of all, it should be noted that in the entire array of studies related to this topic, specific demographic and historical studies, limited by a relatively narrow time and territorial framework, prevail. Such works, as a rule, give a detailed idea of ​​the place, time, specificity of the succession of generations, but do not rise to the level of generalizing conclusions characteristic of sociological knowledge.

It is important to emphasize that in the content of Russian scientific works published in the 70-80s of the XX century, the defining line is the “ideological component” in the generational change. Based on this, the corresponding categorical apparatus was developed, the final conclusions of the research were formed. Nevertheless, during this period, works were published containing rich theoretical and empirical material, which today makes it possible to assess the depth and completeness of the development of socio-philosophical aspects of the continuity of generations, to determine the characteristic socio-cultural characteristics of different generations. At this time, the problems of the continuity of generations were investigated by A.I. Afanasyeva, I.V. Bestuzhev-Lada, V.I. Volovik, V.K. Egorov, S.N. Ikonnikova, I. M. Ilyinsky, L. N. Kogan, I.S. Kon, A.V. Lisovsky, N.M. Melnikova, V.V. Nikitenko, B.S. Pavlov, I.V. Sukhanov, M.Kh. Titma, V.N. Shubkin, L.A. Shevyrnogova and others.

A significant contribution to the development of a conceptual apparatus that reflects the process of socio-cultural continuity of generations was made by the authors of the collective monograph "Continuity of Generations as a Sociological Problem." The theoretical solidity of this work makes it possible to use many of its provisions in modern research on various problems of the succession of generations.

Of great importance is the study of the problems of succession, carried out by E.A. Baller, who reveals the content of the concept of "continuity" in the broad context of socio-cultural and historical issues. It seems important to the author's conclusion that the connection between the zigzags of historical development and continuity cannot be derived only from the reasons of the socio-political order. When analyzing certain historical periods, one should also focus on the problems of the development of spiritual culture, the way of life of people of past eras.

The role of the continuity of generations in the process of cultural dynamics is devoted to the works of many foreign researchers, such as S. Eisenstadt, K, Davis, M Weber, M. Mead, K. Mannheim, K. Keniston, H. Ortega y Gasset, A. Toynbee , L. Foyer, 3. Freud, C. Reich, T. Rozzak et al.

In the past two decades, the concept of "generation" has attracted the attention of philosophers, historians, sociologists, causing their active scientific search on various problems of the continuity of generations. In this regard, the names of M.B. Glotova, V. Zh. Kelle, L.V. Nikonenko, A. Ya. Puchkova, T.A. Trofimova, G.G. Feoktistov, V.I. Chuprova, A.V. Sharonova and others. The works of these authors are of interest from the standpoint of analyzing changes in value orientations of different generations in the course of cardinal social transformations in Russia at the end of the last century.

In modern domestic and foreign humanitarian studies, such scientists as S.S. Averintsev, A.A. Great, J.H. Billington, A. Ya. Gurevich, P.S. Gurevich, B.S. Erasov, S.N., Ikonnikova, L.G. Ionin, I.V. I. V. Kondakov Malygina, A. Ya. Flier, M.M. Shibaeva and others actively raise the issues of the continuity of generations, inheritance of social and cultural experience, cultural and historical memory, considering them through the prism of various theoretical problems. In some detail, for example, the problems of cultural and historical memory are developed in the works of Ya. Assman, L.V. Belovinsky, F. Oli, L.P. Repina, P. Hutton, V.A. Shni-relman, O. G. Axle et al. A.I. Arnoldov, A.A. Aronov, A.S. Akhiezer, L.P. Bueva, G.G. Diligensky, E.V. Ilyenkov, V.P. Zinchenko, M.S. Kagan. IKh Kuchmaeva, V.A. Lektorsky, D.S. Likhachev, A.F. Losev, Yu.M. Lotman, M.O. Mnatsakanyan, A.A. Oganov, A.M. Panchenko and others.

In an independent direction, it is possible to single out research topics, where certain aspects of the continuity of generations are posed and substantiated through the prism of patriotic education of young people. The works of L.A. Bublik, A.V. Gulygi, V.I. Lutovinova, V.M. Mezhueva, O.A. Platonov and many others.

Thus, there is a significant body of ideas and concepts, which, however, are very fragmented due to interdisciplinary and methodological boundaries.

Object of study: the continuity of generations.

Subject of study: aspects of the continuity of generations in Russian society.

Purpose of the study is to identify the features of the continuity of generations in the Russian society.

Achieving this goal is associated with solving a number of research tasks:

Analyze the main aspects of understanding the concept of "continuity of generations" in the framework of interdisciplinary scientific discourse;

To reveal the essence and mechanisms of the succession of generations as a process of cultural transmission;

Determine the features of the continuity of generations in the Russian society;

To investigate the contradictions in the continuity of generations in Russian society at the present stage of socio-cultural development, to develop some theoretical and practical recommendations for using the research results in modern social and spiritual practice.

Hypotheses:

1. In connection with the growing processes of individualization in modern society, the internal differentiation of generation "Y" is higher than that of the previous ones.

2. Due to fundamental changes in the socio-political sphere of society, there are significant differences in the political views of generations.

The scientific novelty of the research results is as follows. The main aspects of humanitarian and social understanding of the concepts of “generation” and “continuity of generations” in the context of social and humanitarian discourse are revealed. The main features of the succession of generations of the Russian society are highlighted and characterized.

Proposals have been developed for further research of the features of the socio-cultural continuity of generations.

1 . Continuity of generations in the context of social and humanitarian discourse

1.1 The concept of "continuity of generations" in humanitarian and social knowledge

A generation as a complex sociocultural phenomenon stimulates the development of various approaches to its conceptual definition. The difference in points of view on this concept is justified and indicates the complexity of the object of research and the need to study it from different angles of view.

The capacity of this concept is evidenced by the dictionary of the Russian language S.I. Ozhegov, which contains the following definitions that emphasize different aspects of the phenomenon under study: 1) relatives of the same degree of kinship in relation to a common ancestor; 2) simultaneously living people of a similar age; 3) a group of people close in age, united by a common activity.

In its most general form, the semantics of the concept of "generation" can be decomposed into general meanings: as a step of origin; as a homogeneous group in terms of age; as a stage of development; as a length of time; as a kind of spirit of the times. Such a variety of meanings of this concept is due to the fact that the action of the most general laws and driving forces of social progress, the formation and development of human society, the reproduction of the population, the formation of life and customs of various peoples of the world, their resettlement and cultural and historical relationships are carried out in the process of interaction and change of generations ... The generation is the subject of research for a number of social and humanitarian sciences: ethnography, demography, sociology, psychology, gerontology, history, philosophy, cultural studies, etc. Each of them singles out its own aspect of the study of the generation and, accordingly, gives it its own definition. That is, the concept of "generation" is inherently interdisciplinary.

An etymological analysis of the concept of "generation" is presented in the work of F. Engels "The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State" (1884). Referring to the question of the use of L. Morgan in the book "Ancient Society" (1877) of the concept " gens " to designate a generic union, F. Engels noted that the concept of "generation" comes from the common Aryan root "gan", meaning to produce offspring.

The concept of "generation" is polysemantic, interdisciplinary and integral. Already in the ancient biblical and evangelical texts, there is an ambiguous use of the term "generation" to denote descendants, peers and contemporaries. The understanding of a generation as a historical and demographic community was first encountered by the “father of history” Herodotus. Outlining the history of generations of Egyptian rulers, Herodotus wrote that three hundred human generations make up ten thousand years, because three generations make up a century. This understanding of the generation was predominant among thinkers until the middle of the nineteenth century, and statisticians and demographers cited numerous calculations that confirmed the assumption of Herodotus.

Scientific interest in the analysis of the generation and its problems manifested itself in Western European social philosophy in the second half of the nineteenth century. In scientific treatises of this period, in addition to the biological and genetic aspect of the definition of the concept of "generation", three more are presented: the positivist-naturalistic - as a spatial-chronological community, the romantic-humanitarian - as an ideological and spiritual community and the historical-political - as a temporarily dominant community. On the one hand, the discontinuity of generations was emphasized (J. Bromel), and on the other, the continuity and coexistence of generations (A. Cournot). The most pronounced demographic approach in understanding the generation is characteristic of G. Ryumelin, who proposed a quantitative concept of the length of a generation, defining it as the average age difference between parents and children in a given historical period. K. Marx and F. Engels combined the cultural-historical understanding of the generation with the class-economic one. V. Dilthey focused on the spiritual community of generations and its historical conditioning.

In the first half of the twentieth century, an attempt to combine the positivist-biological and romantic-historical understanding of the generation was undertaken by the German sociologist K. Mannheim in his article “The Problem of Generations” (1928). According to Mannheim, a generation is characterized by a certain "position" (Generationslagerung), a specific "relationship" (Generationszusammengang) and a well-known "unity" (Generationseinheit). Each generation has its own time dimension and historical and cultural space. From the point of view of K. Mannheim, the change of generations is a universal process based on the biological rhythm of human life, as a result of which new participants appear in the cultural process, while the old participants in this process gradually disappear; members of any given generation can only participate in a chronologically limited segment of the historical process and it is therefore necessary to constantly pass on the accumulated cultural heritage.

In the second half of the twentieth century, the European romantic-idealistic understanding of the generation finds its development in the "spiritual-historical theory of generations" of the Spanish philosophers J. Ortega y Gasset and J. Marias. From their point of view, the generation acts as a subject of historical activity, loyal to the political ideas of its time. Describing the dynamics of the expansion of a generation, H. Ortega and Gasset noted that the life of a generation lasts about 30 years and is divided into two periods. During the first period, the new generation spreads its ideas, inclinations, tastes, which are established and become dominant in the second period.

In American sociology of this period, the generation, on the one hand, is treated as an object of socialization (T. Parsons, S. Eisenstadt, M. Mead), and on the other, as a subject of socio-political conflict (G. Marcuse, L. Foyer).

In Soviet literature, the demographic understanding of a generation was expounded by Ya.S. Ulitsky in the article "The demographic concept of a generation" (1959), Analysis of the existing definitions of a generation and its problems is presented by I.S. Cohn in the monograph "The Sociology of Personality" (1967) and in the article "The Concept of Generation in Contemporary Social Science" (1979). For dissertations and scientific publications of the 1960s - 1980s, two main directions in defining the concept of "generation" are characteristic: socio-demographic (B.Ts. Urlanis, V.A. Boldyrev, V.V. Nikitenko , V.A. Gaidis) and class-historical (A.I. Afanasyeva, V.I. Volovik, I.Yu. Korzh, V.N. Klepov, L.N. Kogan, N.M. Melnikova, L. A. Shevyrnogo-va, B. S. Pavlov).

In modern domestic social science, there are several approaches to understanding the concept of "generation". For example, for anthropologists and lawyers, the genetic characteristics of people and the stage in descent from a common ancestor are important in understanding the generation. Ethnographers view a generation as an age group of a certain ethnic group, whose members are united by common traditions and institutional prescriptions. From the standpoint of the historical and cultural approach, a generation is interpreted as a set of people united by active participation in specific historical events, having common spiritual and moral ideals and being carriers of a certain type of subculture. From the point of view of the socio-demographic approach, a generation is defined as coexisting and reproducing one of the other age groups: children, youth, adults, the elderly and long-livers. The sociological approach involves considering the generation as a social community of people within certain age boundaries, which are characterized by similar conditions of socialization and life, typical needs and value orientations.

For the first time in Russian literature, the classification of generations was proposed in the 19th century by the demographer A.P. Roslavsky-Petrovsky, who divided the entire population into the younger generation (up to 15 years old), the flourishing generation (from 16 to 60 years old) and the withering generation (over 60 years old). Soviet demographer B.Ts. Urlanis in his work "History of one generation (socio-demographic sketch)" (1968) proposed to divide the population into three generations: pre-working age (up to 15 years), working age (16 to 59 years) and post-working age (over 60 years). Describing the generations of people over the 50-year period of the existence of the USSR, G.L. Smirnov and I.Yu. Korzh consider it necessary to distinguish between the generation of participants in the Great October Socialist Revolution and the Civil War, the generation of participants in the first five-year plans for building the foundations of socialism, the generation of participants in the Great Patriotic War and the post-war restoration of the national economy, the generation of participants in the development of virgin lands and space.

The "Demographic Encyclopedic Dictionary" presents the following classification of generations: real generation (aggregate of peers), hypothetical generation (aggregate of contemporaries), zero generation (aggregate of married couples), first generation (aggregate of offspring of married couples), second generation (aggregate of grandchildren), third generation (set of great-grandchildren). The Sociological Encyclopedic Dictionary proposes to distinguish between a genealogical generation (descending from one ancestor), a real generation (a set of peers), a conditional generation (a set of contemporaries), a chronological generation (a set of associates).

Sociological studies of intragenerational and intergenerational interactions, continuity and conflicts between generations contribute to the knowledge of the specifics of the historical development of society as a system, structure and organization.

The variety of shades in relations between generations can be viewed along the following lines:

1. The social aspect determines the position of generations in society, the attitude of the system of state power towards them. In modern conditions, the younger and older generations find themselves in the most difficult situation. They need special conditions to protect them.

2. The economic aspect characterizes the level of employment of generations in various spheres of labor activity, the possibilities of professional advancement and career, the level of income. Inflation and unemployment, the development of large and small businesses have created new conditions that require a different economic culture, management and marketing skills. All this is quite new for the older generation, it causes hostility towards commerce and pragmatism of modern youth. Many of the former professions have lost their importance, have caused the need to acquire new specialties in adulthood. The younger generation turned out to be more adapted to market relations, to a change in the prestige of professions.

3. The political aspect characterizes relations between generations in the power system, the level of political activity, participation in parties and movements, rallies and other forms. One of the main indicators of the degree of tension between generations is criticism or defense of the previous order, sympathy or antipathy towards the leaders of society.

4. The spiritual and moral aspect determines the differences in the level of education of the older and younger generations, attitudes towards cultural heritage, changes in aesthetic tastes and artistic preferences, moral norms and culture of behavior. Overcoming ideological dogmatism, freedom of opinion and independence of positions have significantly changed the spiritual climate of intergenerational relations. Many differences have emerged in the real life experience of today's youth. Opportunities for obtaining education on a commercial basis, acquiring new professions, participating in competitions and overseas internships have increased. Fluency in information, the ability to use the Internet and computers have significantly expanded the range of intellectual resources of the younger generation. At the same time, new problems arise: the level of knowledge of the classics is declining, interest in the artistic heritage is being replaced by a surrogate of mass culture that popularizes eroticism, violence, and drug addiction. Culture often becomes a field of disagreement, and differences in attitudes towards values ​​often become dramatic, complicated by mutual accusations.

5. The everyday aspect reflects changes in the living conditions of generations. Life has become more “comfortable” for the younger generation in comparison with the conditions of everyday life of the older generation. The younger generation has higher standards of consumption and living comfort.

6. The socio-psychological aspect characterizes the relationship between generations in the process of communication, at work and at home, on the streets and in transport, between relatives and strangers, parents and children. reveals a lot of losses of traditional moral norms of benevolence, sympathy, cordiality. Negative attitudes such as aggressiveness, spitefulness, and irritability have spread significantly. All of this has a negative impact on the mental health of generations. This is evidenced by the growth of suicides, drug addiction, neurotic disorders, which cause significant damage to the spiritual image of generations. That is why a culture of intergenerational relations based on love and care, compassion and respect is so important.

7. The ethnic aspect influences the fact that relations between generations have become quite acute in recent years. The formation of the near abroad, territorial claims to the ancestral lands, oppression of the Russian-speaking population in the republics, national conflicts, religious intolerance have influenced the interethnic relations of generations. The need to remember that generations are responsible to history for a careful attitude to the cultural heritage of peoples, for the preservation of the originality and national identity of cultures. This is the spiritual education of a person.

Continuity of generations is the process of mutual transfer, assimilation, preservation and use of material and spiritual values, social information and experience of previous and coexisting generations. Continuity in society is a natural connection between the past, present and future, ensuring the integrity of its historical development. Unlike inheritance and borrowing, which includes the acquisition and preservation of both positive and those components that may turn out to be useless and even harmful for another generation, continuity presupposes the selective and adaptive development of what is necessary for the functioning and progressive development of a generation.

There are several approaches to studying the problem of the continuity of generations. The economic approach took a priority place in explaining the succession of generations by the founders of Marxism. K. Marx and F. Engels in "German Ideology" (1845-1846) stated: "Each new generation uses materials, capital, productive forces transferred to it by all previous generations, on the one hand, continues the inherited activity under completely changed conditions, and with another, ? modifies the old conditions through a completely changed activity. " Modern foreign researchers prefer the anthropological approach, the foundation of which was laid by the works of the English ethnographers E. Tylor "Primitive Culture" (1871) and J. Frazer "The Golden Branch" (1890). The most popular today abroad is the anthropo-cultural concept of the succession of generations by the American ethnographer M. Mead, which she outlined in her work "Culture and Involvement" (1970). According to M. Mead, three types of cultures should be distinguished in the history of mankind: post-figurative, in which the younger generation learns mainly from their ancestors; cofigurative, in which the young and adult generations learn, first of all, from those equal in age and experience; prefigurative, in which the adult generation learns from the young.

In domestic science, the problem of the continuity of generations has been actively studied since the second half of the twentieth century. Demographers interpreted the succession of generations as reproduction and change of the main age groups within the life cycle. Philosophers, sociologists and culturologists have focused on the continuity of generations as a regularity of the historical and socio-cultural development of society, as a process of transferring social experience and values ​​of spiritual culture from the past generation to a new generation. In the 1960s - 1980s, V.I. Volovik, I.V. Sukhanov, V.N. Klepov, E.V. Sergeev, B.S. Pavlov, L.A. Shevyrnogova; in the 1990s - L.V. Nikonenko, A. Ya Puchkov, V. Zh. Kelle, V.I. Chuprov.

The dialectic of the continuity of generations is manifested not only in the fact that one generation gives or wants to give to another, but also in the fact that each generation actively and with interest takes and assimilates from the other, contributes to the further development of society. Depending on the understanding of dialectical negation, two aspects stand out in explaining the continuity of generations. One - focuses on the preservation of positive content and its increment in the process of synthesis, defending the absence of conflict between generations. The other emphasizes the moment of denial, defining continuity as a result of a generational conflict.

The basis of the continuity of generations is the process of socialization of the individual, which can be both spontaneous and purposeful; both adaptive and interiorization. Of great importance in the formation of a generation are such purposeful forms of socialization as education (assimilation of knowledge acquired by other generations), upbringing (acquisition of value orientations characteristic of other generations) and training (mastering the skills and abilities characteristic of other generations).

The transmission of heritage from generation to generation occurs through the joint activities of representatives of different generations and their mastery of the traditions of other generations. In the USSR, special attention was paid to the study of the revolutionary, combat and labor traditions of previous generations. Among the forms of continuity of generations, the following were promoted: the study of the theoretical heritage of the founders of Marxism-Leninism and their followers, the life and work of "fiery" revolutionaries, outstanding party and state leaders; honoring participants in revolutions, civil and Great Patriotic wars, campaigns to places of military glory and military-patriotic games; glorification of labor dynasties, patronage and mentoring, development of the classical cultural heritage of previous generations.

It is necessary to distinguish two vectors of succession of generations: vertical - from previous generations to subsequent and horizontal - from coexisting generations of different socio-economic, ethnopolitical and spiritual-cultural systems.

The content of the inherited is determined by the specific economic, political, everyday and spiritual-ideological conditions of the life of the generation. The social institutions that regulate the process of passing on the heritage from generation to generation are, first of all, the family and the school, as well as legal, scientific, artistic and religious institutions, and the media. In the conditions of stable functioning of society, the transmission of heritage from previous generations to the next prevails, in conditions of unstable - the transformation of the heritage of previous generations by the next. But in any case, there is a transfer of cultural heritage from one generation to the next.

1.2 Continuity of generations as a processcultural transmission

The process of transferring the semantic world and other cultural values ​​and traditions from generation to generation is a cultural transmission. It is the transmission that ensures the continuity and continuity of cultures. As a result of the transmission, the younger generation gets the opportunity to start from what the older generation has achieved, adding new knowledge, skills, values, traditions to those already accumulated.

Each generation has its own characteristics: values ​​and spiritual image, life experience and attitude to the events of the era, creative achievements and the preservation of traditions. It assimilates the achieved level of development and, on this basis, becomes the initiator of transformations that contribute to moving forward. These two sides of the intergenerational relationship - the development of cultural heritage and innovation - form the basis of the historical development of society. The character of cultural continuity is reflected in the spiritual image of generations.

Defining the change of generations as a cultural and historical process based on the biological rhythm of human life, the following most important aspects can be distinguished in it:

1) the process of cultural evolution involves a change in the participants in cultural creation;

2) over time, old participants in the cultural process drop out of it;

3) people of the same generation can participate in the cultural process only locally (“here and now”);

4) the cultural process can be carried out only as a result of the transfer of cultural heritage;

5) the transition from generation to generation is a continuous sequential process.

Traditions play a special role in the process of generational change. On the one hand, traditions are those values ​​that are passed from generation to generation according to the law of continuity and continuity. They can be written or oral, be encoded in samples

behavior of adults, in the functioning of social institutions, etc. On the other hand, tradition is not only that which is transmitted, but also that in the depths of which innovations are formed.

The question arises: how can tradition, that is, following a ready-made model, allow innovation, that is, a retreat leading to a rejection of traditions. The fate of the tradition in the change of generations is formed in different ways in different cultural and historical epochs.

First, full or almost complete identity in views and norms of behavior can be observed in successive generations. This is the situation in the conditions of a Stognation society, such as, for example, the early Middle Ages. For people belonging to such a society, the complete absence of any doubts about the expediency and legitimacy of the material and spiritual factors of their existence is specific. Social creativity was absent. Relations between generations within the family were of a patriarchal clan character. The entire community, including the family, stood guard over the existing order.

However, in the late Middle Ages, this order begins to erode, as there is a development of crafts, cities, trade.

Secondly, the functioning of traditions in the change of generations may have a different character, similar to what happens at the turn of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Traditions are preserved, but there is no longer the former strict exactingness to their observance. State laws, reflecting a new social reality, come into competition with traditions. Traditions are beginning to be viewed as something routine.

A condescension to private violations of traditions arises, and thus a niche appears in which alternative traditions can arise and mature.

The situation is different in a crisis of spiritual culture, when cultural continuity is called into question, or even tendencies to abandon cultural traditions arise. New social and cultural knowledge, ideals and values ​​stimulate the crisis of the old ideology. But in this case, the continuity of the existence of culture is ensured by the unity of culture and culture creation. All these features and trends affect the nature of the continuity of generations.

Nowadays, interest in the history of the family and kind is growing significantly. New promising areas of study of the history of the nobility, merchants, clergy, intelligentsia, entrepreneurship are identified.

In recent years, the most important archival documents have been published, on the basis of which the history of the family dynasty can be recreated. Knowledge of family history is the basis for the continuity of generations and respect for cultural heritage. And vice versa, oblivion of ancestors inevitably leads to immorality, humiliation of dignity, barbaric attitude towards historical and spiritual and moral values.

Historical generation - a period of time during which this generation lives and actively acts, becoming a contemporary of the events of the era that influenced its spiritual appearance. In modern conditions, they are increasingly talking about the "business generation", which actively manifests itself in entrepreneurial and commercial activities, which affects value orientations and the emerging lifestyle. Generation in this sense is not so much quantitative as qualitative certainty.

The older generation can involve several generations in the field of their attraction, creating a stable tradition of attitude to historical events and spiritual values ​​of their time, causing emotional involvement and mutual understanding. Such relations develop between generations in conditions of relative stability of society. But the dynamics of change, as a rule, in the new generation evokes a critical attitude to the previous period, proclaiming the rejection of the previous goals and values, declaring them false.

In a society with a fairly stable structure and a slow pace of change, the success of upbringing was assessed depending on how the elders managed to pass on the accumulated knowledge, skills and abilities to the younger generation. The younger generation was being prepared for life in a society that would be broadly similar to that in which their parents lived their entire lives. The elders could not even imagine life differently, their past was a blueprint for the future. Such a model of culture is characteristic not only of the distant past, but is typical of periods of stagnation, a slower pace of development, for isolated regions, closed ethnic groups. This type of cultural continuity has been thoroughly investigated by the American anthropologist M. Mead.

The older generation embodies the wisdom of life, which should be taken unquestioningly. It is a role model and reverence, because it owns all the necessary complex of knowledge and values, norms of behavior. The older generation is highly respected among

youth, and his experience is not only instructive, but also leaves an indelible mark on the soul of a young person, creates the necessary stability of the way of life, maintaining an atmosphere of mutual understanding and care, the routine and ritual of everyday life. The integrity of the inner world does not undergo major changes even with the modernization of individual elements of everyday life or when moving to a new country. Inclusion in a different culture does not completely displace the traditional way and style of life, if it is fixed in the consciousness and behavior of generations and is perceived as a standard of relations.

The loss of value orientations causes nostalgia, which is a complex complex of feelings of loneliness and melancholy, a desire to immerse oneself in one's native environment. Traditional cultures have great energetic power and influence the spiritual image of generations, supporting the style of communication, norms and methods of raising children, spiritual and moral values ​​and priorities. The traditional culture of peoples has a deep and ramified "root system", without which a generation loses its vitality, loses an idea of ​​its origins. It forms national identity, patriotism and spiritual and moral values. However, for all the importance of tradition, it would be wrong to ignore the new trends that arise in each new era and are the result of the dynamism of history. In the new situation, the experience of the younger generation is radically different from that of the older generation.

Young people themselves develop life guidelines, behavior style and values, ideas about success and the meaning of life. And this is quite justified, because the previous approaches to solving life problems turn out to be ineffective. In this sense, the older generation loses its authority, but at the same time retains knowledge of traditions. The process of extinction of the old culture is gradually taking place. The older generation reacts to the new situation in different ways: some peacefully accept changes, others sharply criticize all innovations. This inevitably entails a state of spiritual vacuum, uncertainty about the future, anxiety and anxiety.

Categorical and arrogant relations between generations destroy the possibility of understanding and dialogue, and lead to increased tensions. Disapproval of everything new, the desire to turn back the course of history, to stop the pace of change does not evoke a positive response from young people and inevitably lead to confrontation between generations.

No less dangerous is the neglect of the young experience of the elders, the desire to erase from memory all the achievements of past years. Each generation fulfills its historical role and deserves support, because without this, the link between generations is interrupted. The continuity of generations is the basis of the historical development of a person and society, therefore all public and personal efforts should be aimed at mutual understanding and dialogue.

The acceleration of change and the introduction of innovations has a significant impact on the psychological state and well-being of a person. People live at "high speeds" when the world, ideas and attitudes, values ​​and orientations, social institutions and organizations are changing rapidly.

The transience leads to a feeling of fragility and instability of life, creates a mood of uncertainty and instability, gives rise to a special mindset on the short-term nature of connections and human relations.

Increased mobility increases the number of human contacts, makes them superficial, and causes a growing feeling of loneliness. The rapidity of changes and novelty complicate the problems of human adaptation in the world, causing psychological overload and moral fatigue. There is a deficit of mental comfort, positive emotions from communication. The stream of novelty penetrates into family life.

The abundance of options for marriage unions, a wide choice of models of family life also affect the spiritual and moral component of the individual. Society is divided into separate subcultures, each of which forms a special world with its own hierarchy of values, style and way of life, preferences and sympathies, rules and prohibitions.

Fragmentation of society entails the disintegration of a single structure of values. The central core of values ​​that existed in the past is disappearing at an incredible rate. Over the years, a generation has grown up that is not familiar with many ideological slogans, rituals, and organizations.

Without continuing to describe the tendencies of modern society, it is necessary to understand the position of the younger generation in the face of constant changes, to develop a strategy for adapting to changes that will help restore mental strength.

A growing person needs a sense of security, stability and goodwill of the world around him, he needs life guidelines that are approved and supported, receive public recognition and respect. Lack of a sense of identity gives rise to loneliness, loss, alienation.

In the conditions of the rapid pace of modernization of society, the transformation of social institutions, significant changes are taking place in the social position of the younger generation.

There are buying and selling relationships, illegal transactions, double standards, rudeness and licentiousness, disrespect for elders. The media, which deliberately disseminate violence, permissiveness, and violation of the most basic human rights, also have a negative influence. The programs that contribute to the education of morality and high spirituality have almost disappeared.

A decline in the intellectual and moral level of society can lead to irreparable losses in the spiritual image of the younger generation. The real solution to the problem of continuity in the change of generations in a crisis is that it is necessary to proceed from the transience of any crisis of culture and the replacement of the stage of its destabilization with the stage of stabilization with the preservation of the core of culture and the development of new, appropriate models. At the same time, one should bear in mind the double role of youth in the development of culture.

Young people are a transponder of culture in the transmission from the past to the future, ensuring the preservation and continuity in the development of culture. But it passes on to the descendants the culture in a partially transformed form. It is in this sense that she creates culture. The two functions - preservation and innovation - must always be balanced. Thus, any change in culture presupposes the preservation of the unity and continuity of culture through the continuity of generations.

1.3 Theoretical and methodological traditions fromteachings of sociocultural dynamics

In views on socio-cultural dynamic processes, two opposite positions can be distinguished, between them there are many more concepts. Representatives of one of the extreme positions argue that there is no single history of mankind, which means that there are no general laws of development, and each generation of scientists has the right to interpret history in its own way. K. Popper, for example, believed that belief in the law of progress fetters the historical imagination.

The adherents of a different position believe that the course of history, the fate of peoples and the life of each person are rigidly determined, controlled and predetermined. It can be divine providence, and fate, and an astrological chart, and karma, and the law of social development, etc. A person is powerless in front of this predetermination, he can only try to guess his fate, or, having studied the laws of development, harmoniously exist in their field, or learn to manage the laws of evolution.

E. Durkheim believes that both the imaginary abilities of sorcerers and magicians to transform one object into another are an illusion, as well as the idea that everything in the social world is arbitrary and accidental and the will of one legislator can change the appearance and type of society. To control historical evolution, to change nature, both physical and moral, according to E. Durkheim, is possible only in accordance with the laws of science.

The conceptual diversity of the problem of sociocultural development in macro-dimension is grouped around three main directions: firstly, around the idea of ​​linearly progressive development - evolutionism, secondly, around the idea of ​​the cyclical nature of the civilizational process, and, thirdly, around current social-synergetic approaches. In this regard, it is possible to single out the main scientific directions and various models of socio-cultural dynamic processes developed in the process of their development.

Linear-stage direction (evolutionism). The linear-stage direction is characterized by the consideration of society as a complex system, the elements of which are closely interconnected. In this system, specific laws of development of a universal nature operate, i.e. development takes place in one direction, has the same stages and patterns. Accordingly, the main task of science is to identify these laws, and therefore, when studying history, it is necessary to clearly define the factors that determine historical development. This development is called "social progress". In this process, the cultural identity of each country, although recognized, recedes into the background. There are three main features inherent in the traditional theory of universal sociocultural evolution:

1. Modern societies are classified according to a certain scale - from “primitive” to “developed” (“civilized”).

2. There are clear, discrete stages of development - from “primitive” to “civilized”.

3. All societies go through all stages in the same order.

The dynamics of society and culture are subject to the same laws. This position was held by I. - G. Herder, J. - A. Condorcet, G. - V. - F. Hegel, O. Comte, K. Marx, E. Taylor. Their main methodological differences concerned not the very essence of sociocultural dynamics as a linear process, but the mechanisms that "trigger" it, those factors that become decisive for historical changes.

Another direction closely related to the linear-stage approach to explaining sociocultural dynamics is evolutionism itself, which addressed the issues of the relationship between the universal and the national in culture, the role of the individual and the people, the relationship between Eastern and Western cultures, the purpose and meaning of history. Evolutionism attracted many scientists, its most famous supporters are L. Morgan, G. Spencer, J. McLennan, J. Lebbock, J. Fraser. But the founder of the evolutionary theory of the development of cultures is considered to be the English scientist E. Tylor - the author of the fundamental work "Primitive Culture". His concept was based on several simple propositions, the meaning of which boils down to the fact that humanity is a single species. That human nature is the same everywhere. That the evolution of society and culture everywhere obeys the same laws. At the same time, evolutionary development goes from simple to complex, from lower to higher. The character of the culture then corresponds to the stage of evolution in which the society finds itself.

In the last third of the XIX century. the work of N.Ya. Danilevsky "Russia and Europe" (1869), which laid the foundations of a new paradigm in explaining the processes of sociocultural dynamics and became the basis of a new scientific approach - civilizational (cyclical), a new understanding of the principles and mechanisms of cultural dynamics of social processes.

The civilizational approach is characterized by the denial of the concept of “common human civilization”. The development of mankind occurs through the change of distinctive cultural-historical types, and it cannot be said about any cultural-historical type that it acts as the basis and leader of world social evolution. Theorists of the civilizational direction proceed from the idea of ​​constant return, circulation, the idea of ​​a plurality of cultures, considering humanity as a set of historically formed communities, each of which occupies a certain territory and has specific features inherent only in it, which together form a special cultural and historical type.

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Increasingly, we hear from our parents, grandfathers and grandmothers that young people are useless, not at all the same as before, do nothing, are not interested in anything, but once it was ... The question arises: is everything really so pessimistic, is modern youth really the collapse of our society? Let's try to figure it out.

Youth "from" and "to" ...

First, let's define the age range of young people. First, the criterion of adulthood is the school, then the university, and then work and family. Here the question may arise: is it such an order for every person, does everyone necessarily go through all the stages? After all, someone will call an adult someone who has a good job and financial independence, and someone only someone who is married, and if you look into the law, then a person from the age of 18 is completely responsible for his actions, that is, becomes an adult. As you can see, this question cannot be answered unequivocally. For each, the adult part begins at a different period of his life.

Let us recall the recent transition of the Ukrainian school to a 12-year education system. This step allegedly brought us closer to the Western education system and continued childhood for the children. For example, in France, complete secondary education is also designed for 12 years, but the main difference here is that the last two or three years are the specialization of education, while in our country most adolescents begin to study a specialty only at an institute or university.

Considering this issue further, it is necessary to take into account the diversity of cultures. There are cultures in which a girl, having reached the age of 16, must marry and continue the family. So, at the age of 16, this girl leads a full adult life, and in our country a person of this age is considered a teenager and cannot even drive a car. How do you define the age range for growing up?

It is clear that youth is a subjective and relative concept, however, the general lower limit of youth can be set at 14-16, and the upper 25-30 years. In Ukraine, a young person is a person under the age of 35. In our article, we will consider individuals under the age of 25.

Crowd culture

Having dealt with the problem of age, I propose to consider the question: modern youth - a problem or a hope of society? Opinions on this matter are different. As practice shows, the older generation always calls the young a problem, because it was brought up in a conservative society, where strict norms and rules reigned, constant control over people and constant dictate from the state, because it is difficult for people to get used to the idea that life has changed, no longer Lenin and the Communist Party, that children no longer go to October and pioneers, and society strives for independence and independence.

Older people also think that the younger generation is mired in computers, television and is no longer interested in anything. Our parents and grandfathers believe that all this is a huge negative influence, because watching films, detective stories, action films and various computer games, in which there is a lot of blood, leads to the fact that children themselves want to participate in violence. Indeed, we often hear about bloody clashes between schoolchildren. Children strive to be like the actors, heroes who amazed them, or one of their peers.

This is the problem of the influence of the masses on the individual. All aspects of life were captured by the mass character, the widely used concept of "mass culture", the culture of the crowd. The masses do not define the opposition, they are guided by the principle "do as I do". That is why schoolchildren so contemptuously call themselves smarter than people "nerds", and those who behave differently are simply not noticed. It has been and always will be, such a stereotype of behavior is genetically embedded in us: to follow the leader, live in communes, tribes, exceptions are rare.

Depressive mood

Depressive disorders have become an important problem in the modern world. According to various statistics, 3-6% of the world's population suffers from them. Today, the peak in the development of depression falls on the age of 20-25, but experts are increasingly detecting cases of such disorders in adolescents, which cannot but be alarming. This is not only a youth, but also a social problem.

Depression at a young age leads to disruptions in the development of the child, his alienation, closeness and even aggressiveness. Often such a disorder goes unnoticed, therefore, parents and educators should look closely at their children, since a healthy person is not only a physically developed, but, above all, a mentally healthy person.

Scientific progress

The culture of today's youth, like society as a whole, has changed a lot as a result of scientific progress. Today, the Internet is an important discovery of the twentieth century, which we use almost everywhere: at home, in a cafe, just on the street and even on board an airplane. This technology gives us knowledge and the ability to exchange information.

Television and radio can also be attributed to sources of information, but unlike the World Wide Web, they do not give the opportunity to freely choose: the viewer is able to find out only what the authors of these radio and television programs want to show him.

So, today's youth have no problems with access to information. This is how she radically differs from the older generations. Technical inventions have expanded the worldview of the modern young man, significantly increasing his capabilities. But such availability of information very often creates unforeseen problems, the main of which is the overcrowding of the World Wide Web with a large amount of "dirt", which clogs a person's head with unnecessary and often even harmful things. At the same time, young people are the most vulnerable, since they always gravitate towards everything new, are exposed to external influences. Therefore, parents must control the information that their children consume, and the state must fight against harmful resources.

Also, the Internet, TV and radio play an important role in the spread of subcultures. They emerge as a new vision of modern problems, when people with the same worldview unite and form such groups. As a result, the culture is renewed, a new look at modernity appears.

Very often the behavior, appearance and philosophy of people go beyond what society has defined as normal. This is precisely the main problem of subcultures. But in reality, their main drawbacks were aggressiveness and even banditry. But aggressive and illegal behavior is generally not approved anywhere, and not all subcultures are aggressive.

The main difference between generations

The core of human development is generational change. This is due to the peculiarities of the human psyche and consciousness. Each generation grows up in the conditions of a particular century, which is characterized by a certain worldview, philosophy, development of science and technology. And people's beliefs are formed according to the knowledge that society has at the time of their existence.

Once people were convinced that the Earth is the center of the Universe, and the Sun and other planets revolve around it. But after the publication of the heliocentric model of Nicolaus Copernicus, the situation changed dramatically. The church did not approve of this theory, and people could not get used to the new knowledge, which today no one doubts.

In the process of evolution, a new generation, with the beginning of its life, receives certain knowledge, takes it as truth and moves on. Moreover, the older a person is, the more difficult it is for him to comprehend a new theory, to change an established worldview. This can also explain the alienation of the elderly from mobile phones, computers and other modern technology, which is habitual today.

Outcome

No matter how hackneyed it sounds, hope dies last. I would like to believe that the current generation is no worse than the previous ones. Evolution and history will help us to make sure of this. History testifies that young people have always been criticized, since the time of Aristotle there have been disputes about the otherness of youth, about its incorrectness and about the decline of human culture in connection with this. Having matured, the already former youth begins to snort towards the younger ... But, whatever one may say, the youth is undoubtedly the hope of the nation. So it was, is and will be.