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Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education “Siberian State University of Science and Technology named after Academician M.F. Reshetnev"

"The problem of modernization of traditional societies"

Completed: art. gr. MPD16-01

Solomatin S.P.

Checked by: Associate Professor of the Department of RK

Titov E.V.

Krasnoyarsk 2017

Introduction

Conclusion

traditional modernization industrial

Introduction

The unevenness inherent in the development of human civilization in general determines in our time the existence of deep differences in the development of countries and peoples. If some countries have highly developed productive forces, others are confidently reaching the level of moderately developed countries, then in others the process of formation of modern structures and relations is still underway.

Fundamental events of recent decades, such as globalization, local and international instability, the growth of fundamentalism in the Islamic world, national renaissance (expressed in an ever-increasing interest in original, national cultures), and the threat of environmental disaster created in connection with human activity make the question of patterns relevant. and the direction of trends in global social development.

However, a significant part of them can be reduced to manifestations of such a global process as the modernization of traditional societies, which affects all societies and states. Before our eyes, cultures and civilizations, which for centuries have preserved more or less unshakable foundations of their way of life, are rapidly changing and acquiring new features and qualities. This process began during European colonization, when the traditional societies of Asia, Africa and Latin America began to transform - either from the outside, through the efforts of the colonialists themselves, or from within, in order to maintain their independence and resist a new and powerful enemy. The impetus for modernization was precisely the challenge from Western civilization, to which traditional societies were forced to provide a “response.” Russian authors, speaking about the enormous difference in the levels of development of advanced and developing countries, operate with the expressive image of a “broken civilization.” “The result of the twentieth century, which felt the taste of earthly abundance, which tasted the “Gilded Age”, the century of scientific and technological breakthrough and the most intense breakthrough of the productive forces of society,” writes A.I. Neklessa, - this result, in general, is still disappointing: on the threshold of the third millennium of the existence of modern civilization, social stratification on planet Earth is not decreasing, but growing.”

Living conditions in poor Third World countries: about a billion people there are cut off from productive work. Every third inhabitant of the Earth still does not use electricity, 1.5 billion do not have access to safe sources of drinking water. All this gives rise to socio-political tension. The number of emigrants and victims of inter-ethnic conflicts has increased rapidly from 8 million people in the late 1970s. to 23 million people by the mid-1990s. Another 26 million people are temporary migrants. These facts give reason to talk about “the organic undemocratic nature of the global universe, its...classes”

Modernization occurs in societies in which, to this day, the traditional worldview has been largely preserved, influencing both the features of the economic and political structure and the nature and direction of changes caused by modernization.

Modern scientists believe that 2/3 of the world's population, to a greater or lesser extent, has features of traditional societies in their lifestyle.

The confrontation between “modern” and “traditional” arose as a result of the collapse of the colonial system and the need to adapt countries that had newly appeared on the political map of the world to the modern world, modern civilization. Between the 17th and early 20th centuries, Western countries, using their military superiority when necessary, turned areas previously occupied by traditional societies into their colonies. And although today almost all colonies have achieved independence, colonialism radically changed the social and cultural map of the globe. In some regions (North America, Australia and New Zealand) that were inhabited by relatively few hunter-gatherer tribes, Europeans now make up the majority of the population. In other parts of the world, including much of Asia, Africa and South America, the aliens remained a minority. Societies belonging to the first type, such as the United States, eventually developed into industrial countries. Societies of the second category are, as a rule, at a much lower level of industrial development, and they are often called third world countries. The world market began to take shape during the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, but only by the beginning of the 900s. swept the whole world. Almost the entire world turned out to be open to economic ties. The European world-economy has assumed a planetary scale, it has become global.

At the end of the 19th century. a system of global capitalism has emerged. But in fact, the processes of modernization began much earlier, back in colonial times, when European officials, being firmly convinced of the beneficence and usefulness of their activities for the “natives,” exterminated their traditions and beliefs, which, in their opinion, were harmful to the progressive development of these peoples Then it was assumed that modernization, first of all, implies the introduction of new, progressive forms of activity, technologies and ideas, that it is a means of accelerating, simplifying and facilitating the path that these peoples still have to go through.

The destruction of many cultures that followed violent “modernization” led to an awareness of the depravity of such an approach and the need to create scientifically based theories of modernization. A group of American anthropologists led by M. Herskowitz, during the preparation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, held under the auspices of the UN, proposed to proceed from the fact that in each culture standards and values have a special character, therefore every person has the right to live according to the understanding of freedom that is accepted in his society. Unfortunately, the universalist point of view, stemming from the evolutionary approach, prevailed, and today this Declaration states that human rights are the same for representatives of all societies, regardless of their traditions. But it is no secret that the human rights written there are postulates formulated specifically by European culture.

It was believed that the transition from a traditional society to a modern one (and it was considered obligatory for all cultures and peoples) was possible only through modernization.

The scientific understanding of modernization has found expression in a number of heterogeneous concepts that seek to explain the process of a natural transition from traditional societies to modern ones, and then to the post-modern era. This is how the theory of industrial society (K. Marx, O. Comte, G. Spencer), the concept of formal rationality (M. Weber), the theory of mechanical and organic modernization (E. Durkheim), and the formal theory of society (G. Simmel) arose. Differing in their theoretical and methodological settings, they are nevertheless united in their neo-evolutionist assessments of modernization, arguing that:

Changes in society are unilinear, therefore, less developed countries must follow the path of the developed ones:

These changes are irreversible and lead to the inevitable finale - modernization;

Change is gradual, cumulative and peaceful;

All stages of this process must inevitably be passed through;

The internal sources of this movement are of particular importance;

Modernization will improve life in these countries.

It was also recognized that modernization processes must begin and be controlled “from above” by the intellectual elite. In essence, this is a conscious copying of Western society.

All theories considered the mechanism of modernization as a spontaneous process. It was assumed that if the interfering barriers were removed, everything would go by itself; it was enough to show the advantages of Western civilization (at least on TV), and everyone would immediately want to live the same way.

But reality has refuted these theories. Not all societies, having seen the Western way of life closer, rushed to imitate it. And those who followed this path quickly became acquainted with the other side of this life, faced with increasing poverty, social disorganization, anomie, and crime. In addition, decades have shown that not everything in traditional societies is bad and some of their features coexist perfectly with ultra-modern technologies. This was proven primarily by Japan and South Korea, which called into question the previous firm orientation towards the West. The historical experience of these countries forced us to abandon theories of unilinear world development as the only true ones and formulate new theories that revived the civilizational approach to the analysis of ethnocultural processes.

1. Concepts of traditional society

Traditional society is understood as pre-capitalist (pre-industrial) social structures of the agrarian type, which are characterized by high structural stability and a method of socio-cultural regulation based on tradition. In modern historical sociology, the stages of pre-industrial society are considered as traditional society - poorly differentiated (communal, tribal, existing within the framework of the “Asian mode of production”), differentiated, multi-structural and class (such as European feudalism) - mainly for the following conceptual reasons:

due to the similarity of property relations in the first case, the direct producer has access to land only through a clan or community, in the second - through the feudal hierarchy of owners, which is equally opposed to the capitalist principle of indivisible private property);

some general features of the functioning of culture (the enormous inertia of once accepted cultural patterns, customs, methods of action, work skills, the non-individual nature of creativity, the predominance of prescribed behavior patterns, etc.);

the presence in both cases of a relatively simple and stable division of labor, gravitating towards class or even caste consolidation.

The listed features emphasize the difference between all other types of social organization and industrial-market, capitalist societies.

Traditional society is extremely stable. As the famous demographer and sociologist Anatoly Vishnevsky writes, “everything in it is interconnected and it is very difficult to remove or change any one element.”

2. Specific features and development features of developing countries

The RS group includes over 120 states. The features (characteristics) of countries in the developing world primarily include:

Transitional nature of internal socio-economic structures (range, multi-structure economy of the PC);

The overall relatively low level of development of the productive forces, the backwardness of agriculture, industry, and the service sector; and as a consequence,

Dependent position in the world economic system.

The division of developing countries is carried out according to such indicators as the level and pace of their economic development, position and specialization in the world economy, economic structure, provision of fuel and raw materials, the nature of dependence on the main centers of competition, etc. Among developing countries, it is customary to distinguish exporters and non-oil exporters, as well as states and territories that specialize in the export of finished products.

They can be divided as follows: the upper echelon consists of “new industrial countries” - NIS (or “new industrial economies” - NIE), followed by countries with an average level of economic development and, finally, the least developed (or often the poorest) countries in the world.

The pre-industrial stage of production is characterized by the following features:

the primary sector of the economy (agriculture) predominates;

the overwhelming majority of the working-age population is engaged in agriculture and livestock raising;

manual labor dominates in economic activity (progress was observed only in the transition from simple to complex tools);

in production, the division of labor is very poorly developed and primitive forms of its organization (subsistence farming) have been preserved for centuries;

in the mass of the population, the most elementary needs prevail, which, together with production, are in stagnant sucking.

Weak infrastructure.

Population less than 75 million people.

The initial stage of production is still typical, for example, for some African countries (Guiana, Mali, Guinea, Senegal, etc.), where two-thirds of the population is employed in agriculture). Primitive manual labor tools allow a worker to feed no more than two people.

Countries in the process of slowly being drawn into the system of capitalist relations include

Latin American countries

Production in these countries, with the exception of Chile and Mexico, is either poorly modernized (Argentina, Brazil) or not modernized at all, which determines the low competitiveness of export goods (for example, Argentine and Brazilian cars).

Transformations in the economy are often carried out in isolation from the social sphere.

Developing countries in Africa, which are characterized by:

The nature and pace of economic growth are influenced by a number of constraining factors, including, in addition to the negative impact of a wasteful public sector and poor economic infrastructure, internal political instability, interstate conflicts, a reduction in the flow of financial resources from outside, worsening terms of trade, and difficult access to international markets. .

The strong dependence of the economies of African states on external factors, and above all on trade with foreign countries; its improvement can be directly related to the adoption and implementation of such measures as the reduction of import customs tariffs, the abolition of taxes on the export of agricultural products, and the reduction of corporate taxes.

High levels of corporate tax (40% and above) effectively stifle African entrepreneurs, denying them access to foreign markets, and creates a breeding ground for corruption and tax evasion.

Economic instability (capital markets are poorly developed, there are no well-developed insurance schemes).

The prospects for developing and implementing independent economic policies in African countries are now directly related to their obligations to implement the recommendations of the IMF and the World Bank to implement the “structural adjustment” policy.

Newly industrialized countries (NICs).

Newly industrialized countries (NICs) are Asian countries, former colonies or semi-colonies, whose economies in a relatively short period made the leap from backward, typical of developing countries, to highly developed. The “first wave” NIS include the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. The “second wave” NIS include Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. The intensive economic growth in a number of countries in Southeast Asia was based on the following features of economic development:

high level of savings and investment;

export orientation of the economy;

high competitiveness due to relatively low wage rates;

a significant influx of foreign direct and portfolio investment due to the relative liberalization of capital markets;

favorable institutional factors in the formation of a “market-oriented” economy.

high level and accessibility of education

Development prospects:

Indonesia and the Philippines have rich natural resource potential for industrial development. Although the agricultural sector occupies an important part of the economy, industrialization is gradually increasing its pace of development and the share of the non-production sector is growing. Tourism is an important sector of the economy, attracting foreign capital to countries.

The natural part of Singapore's recreational resources is not as rich as the Indonesian and Philippine ones, but the man-made component is much larger and is at one of the highest levels in Southeast Asia and the world as a whole.

The convenient geographical location of countries at the crossroads of sea and air routes also plays a huge role in economic development.

economic growth than many industrialized countries, as well as a significantly higher level of mental development compared to the main group of developing countries.

The NIS countries personify new trends in the development of capitalism in the modern era, demonstrating the opportunities that modernization brings with it, oriented towards Western civilization, taking into account national traditions and foundations. The new industrial countries, relying on the experience and assistance of leading capitalist countries, made an extremely rapid, in just a few decades, passage from underdevelopment to the industrial stage of development and took a certain place in the international division of labor, the world economy, and the development of the modern technological revolution.

One of the forms of modernization of the former colonies, along with the capitalist one, became the socialist one, opening for some countries the path of non-capitalist development or socialist orientation. However, their inability to develop independently, and management’s mistakes in choosing an economic strategy and methods for its implementation, revealed the inconsistency of this development model. Here it is important to find out both internal and external factors that influenced the refusal of this group of countries from this form of modernization.

3. Changes in the social-class structure of traditional societies in the process of economic development

Developing countries, unlike Western countries, have not yet overcome the communal type of sociality, which goes back to the tribal system. It is determined by the personal nature of social relations, connections based on kinship, neighborhood, clan, tribe, etc. In a number of developing countries, an extensive and strong civil society has not been formed - a socially organized structure consisting of amateur voluntary membership organizations.

As is known, the institutions of civil society play a structure-forming role in social life. In developing countries, the formation of a modern economy and the growth of the state apparatus significantly outpace the formation of civil society institutions. Elements of civil society that have arisen on an independent basis do not yet form an integral and unified system. Civil society has not yet separated from government structures. Vertical social ties still predominate, with weak horizontal ones.

Particular attention is required to study the issue of the problems of transition from traditional to continuously changing modern industrial society. The modernization of traditional societies of the modern world differs significantly from that which was carried out during the transition from feudalism to capitalism. For developing countries in our time, there is no need to repeat the version of the industrial revolution, nor to carry out social revolutions. Modernization in these countries takes place in the presence of socio-cultural and economic models represented by developed countries. However, none of the traditional societies can borrow in its pure form one or another model of socio-economic development tested in Western countries.

Most researchers of globalization note that its “downside” is the process of “regionalization” or “fragmentation,” i.e. increasing socio-political heterogeneity of the world against the backdrop of increasing Westernization pressure from the West. According to M. Castells, “The era of globalization of the economy is also the era of localization of politics”

The immediate content of modernization is several areas of change. In historical terms, this is synonymous with Westernization or Americanization, i.e. movement towards the type of systems that have developed in the USA and Western Europe. In the structural aspect, this is the search for new technologies, the movement from agriculture as a way of subsistence to commercial agriculture, the replacement of animal and human muscle power as the main source of energy with modern machines and mechanisms, the spread of cities and the spatial concentration of labor. In the political sphere - the transition from the authority of the tribal leader to democracy, in the educational sphere - the elimination of illiteracy and the growth of the value of knowledge, in the religious sphere - liberation from the influence of the church. In the psychological aspect, this is the formation of a modern personality, which is characterized by: independence from traditional authorities, attention to social problems, the ability to acquire new experience, faith in science and reason, aspiration for the future, a high level of educational, cultural and professional aspirations.

4. Modernization concepts

Today, modernization is seen as a historically limited process that legitimizes the institutions and values of modernity: democracy, market, education, sound administration, self-discipline, work ethic. At the same time, modern society is defined in them either as a society that replaces the traditional social structure, or as a society that grows out of the industrial stage and carries all of these features. The information society represents a stage of modern society (and not a new type of society), coming after the phases of industrialization and technologization and characterized by a further deepening of the humanistic foundations of human existence.

Key provisions in the concepts of modernization of traditional societies:

It is no longer the political and intellectual elite that is recognized as the driving force behind modernization processes, but the broadest masses; if a charismatic leader appears, they become active.

Modernization in this case does not depend on the decision of the elite, but on the mass desire of citizens to change their lives in accordance with Western standards under the influence of mass communication and personal contacts.

Today, the emphasis is not on internal, but on external factors of modernization - the global geopolitical balance of power, external economic and financial support, the openness of international markets, the availability of convincing ideological means - doctrines that substantiate modern values.

Instead of the single universal model of modernity that the United States had long considered, the idea of driving epicenters of modernity and model societies emerged - not only the West, but also Japan and the “Asian Tigers.”

It is already clear that there cannot be a unified process of modernization; its pace, rhythm and consequences in various areas of social life in different countries will be different.

The modern picture of modernization is much less optimistic than the previous one - not everything is possible and achievable, not everything depends only on political will; it is recognized that the whole world will never live the way the modern West lives, therefore modern theories pay a lot of attention to retreats and failures.

Today, modernization is assessed not only by economic indicators, which have long been considered the main ones, but also by values and cultural codes.

It is proposed to actively use local traditions.

Today, the main ideological climate in the West is the rejection of the idea of progress (the main idea of evolutionism), the ideology of postmodernism dominates, and therefore the very conceptual basis of the theory of modernization has collapsed.

Despite the abundance of modernization concepts, their analysis allows us to conclude that there are a number of common characteristics that accompany the process of modernization, in the political (expansion of state functions, reform of traditional power structures), economic (industrialization, creation of a reproductive economic complex on a national scale, use of scientific achievements in practice), social (growth of social mobility, differentiation of social groups, urbanization) and spiritual (secularization and rationalization, increasing personal autonomy, introduction of universal standardized education) aspects of social life. However, the impact of modernization on the changes that occur during modernization varies greatly depending on the type of modernization. The main ones are: Westernization, that is, assimilation to the West, and original development, which is a search for an alternative path of transformation that combines Western experience with the preservation of the traditional basis of a modernizing society.

Westernization is the most common type of modernization at present, in which changes in traditional societies primarily serve the interests of Western civilization. The Westernization of traditional societies leads to the fact that they are actually split into two unequal parts. The first includes a small part of the population that is in one way or another connected with Western centers and has adopted the values of the Western way of life. The majority of the country's population is being thrown back in its development. The West’s exploitation of its periphery, the merciless pumping out of it of the product necessary for the development of traditional societies themselves, leads to their impoverishment and archaization against the background of the relative prosperity of the enclaves of advanced production, which, however, are largely oriented towards the needs of the West itself. The most important elements of political Westernization (democratization, introduction of a multi-party system, etc.), being inorganic and introduced, in the conditions of traditional societies give rise to completely different effects than in the West. This leads to the politicization of religious and ethnic identities, a surge in ethnic conflicts, the collapse of traditional values and norms, tribalism and corruption, having a destabilizing effect on the situation in traditional societies. However, resistance to modern globalization is realized on an international, that is, precisely global scale, although sometimes in the form of street riots.

Original development as an alternative type of modernization of traditional societies largely allows one to avoid the negative consequences inherent in Westernization. There are several ideological concepts that declare the need for original development: nationalism, socialism and fundamentalism. Despite significant differences, all these trends also have common properties that allow us to conclude about the existence of original development as an independent type of modernization.

The main essence of original development is to combine the traditional basis and progress, preserve cultural values and integrate, on their basis, the latest achievements of mankind in order to respond to the challenges of our time, preserve one’s own political, economic independence and cultural identity. The most important characteristics of original development are: a synthesis of traditions and innovations, taking into account the cultural characteristics of the country when implementing modernization goals; the strong role of the public sector, which becomes the main engine of modernization changes and maintains a leading position in the country’s economy; the desire to preserve social harmony and unity of society, limiting tendencies towards social stratification. In the era of globalization, when the aggressive universalism inherent in Western civilization claims world domination, this type of modernization is the key to independent political development and the salvation of cultural and civilizational diversity on Earth.

There are several models of original development (East Asian, Islamic, Latin American, Eurasian). Modernization in these countries has not entered into a destructive conflict with the traditional basis, creatively using many of its positive elements - such as collectivism, solidarity, and the prevalence of public interests over private ones.

Conclusion

In the context of globalization and numerous challenges of our time (from the threat to state sovereignty from Western civilization to environmental and demographic problems), societies that have taken the path of original development do not experience dramatic and destructive clashes between tradition and “modernity”, and retain genuine state sovereignty, cultural identity. Public goods are distributed more or less evenly in them, which avoids a split in society and the associated negative consequences. In addition, there are mixed types of modernization, combining features of original development and Westernization. A typical example is the republics of Central Asia, in which, which began at the turn of the 1980s - 1990s. Westernization encountered barriers from the mentality of the local population, the majority of whom rejected the implementation of this type of modernization. As a result, today one can observe a specific mixture, when powerful original layers are hidden under the thin film of declared Westernization, which have a huge impact on the political development, economy and spiritual values of the inhabitants of Central Asia. Despite the declarative acceptance of democracy and the free market, the ruling elites in Central Asia have developed various versions of “national ideas”, which to a greater or lesser extent include traditional values.

Central Asia in general, and Kyrgyzstan in particular, today faces several possible options for distinctive development - Islamic, East Asian and Eurasian, oriented towards Russia, Kyrgyzstan's neighbors in the region and the post-Soviet space as a whole. The latter option best suits the needs of the region. Eurasian integration will allow development without violating the historical and mental specificity of societies. In this case, the main partners of the Central Asian republics are Russia and the member countries of the CIS, SCO, CSTO and EurAsEC. However, this does not exclude a close relationship with states such as China, Iran and others that have chosen original development as a type of modernization. Referring to the “frightening data on the dire prospects of the Third World” cited by many publications, including at the UN level, they are largely the result of a kind of statistical aberration, an inability or unwillingness to distinguish the relative rates of deterioration in living conditions in a number of peripheral regions of the world compared with rapidly progressing regions from absolute data indicating a gradual improvement of these conditions for the vast majority of the world's population, including the most backward regions.

Without the influence of globalization, the gap between poor and rich countries would be larger for at least two reasons: imports into developed countries and foreign direct investment into peripheral countries stimulate economic growth in developing countries and therefore mitigate inequality.

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The historical situation at the end of the 20th century is characterized by a complex ethnocultural situation. The fundamental problem of the modern era is increasingly becoming the confrontation between traditional and modernized (modern) cultures. It is this confrontation that has an increasing influence on the course of the cultural and historical process. The confrontation between “modern” and “traditional” arose as a result of the collapse of the colonial system and the need to adapt countries that had newly appeared on the political map of the world into the modern world, modern civilization. However, in fact, the processes of modernization began much earlier, back in colonial times, when European officials, firmly convinced of the beneficence and usefulness of their activities for the “natives,” exterminated the traditions and beliefs of the latter, which, in their opinion, were harmful to the progressive development of these peoples . Then it was assumed that modernization primarily meant the introduction of new, progressive forms of activity, technologies and ideas; it was a means of accelerating, simplifying and facilitating the path that these peoples had to go through anyway.

The destruction of many cultures that followed such violent “modernization” led to an awareness of the depravity of such an approach, and to the need to create scientifically based theories of modernization that could be applied in practice. In the middle of the century, many anthropologists attempted and balanced analyzes of traditional cultures, based on the rejection of the universalist concept of culture. In particular, a group of American anthropologists led by M. Herskowitz, during the preparation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, held under the auspices of the UN, proposed to proceed from the fact that in each culture standards and values have a special character and that therefore every person has the right to live according to that understanding freedom, which is accepted in his society. Unfortunately, the universalist point of view, which stemmed from the evolutionary approach, prevailed; it was the evolutionary paradigm that formed the basis of the theories of modernization that appeared then, and today this declaration states that human rights are the same for representatives of all societies, regardless of the specifics of their traditions. But it is no secret that the human rights written there are postulates formulated specifically by European culture.

According to the prevailing point of view at that time, the transition from a traditional society to a modern one (and it was considered obligatory for all cultures and peoples) was possible only through modernization. This term is used today in several senses, so it should be clarified.

Firstly, modernization means the entire complex of progressive changes in society; it is synonymous with the concept of “modernity” - a complex of social, political, economic, cultural and intellectual transformations that have taken place in the West since the 16th century and have reached their apogee today. These include the processes of industrialization, urbanization, rationalization, bureaucratization, democratization, the dominant influence of capitalism, the spread of individualism and motivation for success, and the establishment of reason and science.

Secondly, modernization is the process of transforming a traditional, pre-technological society into a society with machine technology, rational and secular relations, and highly differentiated social structures.

Thirdly, modernization refers to the efforts of backward or underdeveloped countries to catch up with developed countries.

Based on this, modernization in its most general form can be considered as a complex and contradictory sociocultural process, during which the institutions and structures of modern society are formed.

Scientific understanding of this process has found expression in a number of concepts of modernization, heterogeneous in composition and content and not representing a single whole. These concepts seek to explain the process of a natural transition from traditional societies to modern ones and further to the post-modern era. This is how the theory of industrial society (K. Marx, O. Comte, G. Spencer), the concept of formal rationality (M. Weber), the theory of mechanical and organic modernization (E. Durkheim), the formal theory of society (G. Simmel) arose, which, differing in their theoretical and methodological settings, they are nevertheless united in their neo-evolutionist assessments of modernization, arguing that:

1) changes in society are unilinear, therefore, less developed countries must follow the path of the developed ones;

2) these changes are irreversible and are heading towards an inevitable ending - modernization;

3) changes are gradual, cumulative and peaceful;

4) all stages of this process must inevitably be completed;

5) internal sources of this movement are of great importance;

6) modernization will improve the existence of these countries.

In addition, it was recognized that modernization processes should be initiated and controlled “from above” by the intellectual elite. In essence, this is a conscious copying of Western society.

Considering the mechanism of modernization, all theories claim that this is a spontaneous process and if interfering barriers are removed, everything will go by itself. It was assumed that it was enough to show the advantages of Western civilization (at least on television), and everyone would immediately want to live the same way.

However, reality has refuted these wonderful theories. Not all societies, having seen the Western way of life closer, rushed to imitate it. And those who followed this path quickly became acquainted with the other side of this life, faced with increasing poverty, social disorganization, anomie, and crime. Recent decades have also shown that not everything in traditional societies is bad and some of their features are perfectly combined with ultra-modern technologies. This was proven primarily by Japan and South Korea, which called into question the previous firm orientation towards the West. The historical experience of these countries forced us to abandon theories of unilinear world development as the only true ones and formulate new theories of modernization that revived the civilizational approach to the analysis of ethnocultural processes.

Among the scientists who have dealt with this problem, it is necessary to mention, first of all, S. Huntington, who named nine main characteristics of modernization, which are found in an explicit or hidden form in all the authors of these theories:

1) modernization is a revolutionary process, because it presupposes the radical nature of changes, a radical change in all institutions, systems, structures of society and human life;

2) modernization is a complex process, because it is not reduced to any one aspect of social life, but embraces society as a whole;

3) modernization is a systemic process, because changes in one factor or fragment of the system encourage and determine changes in other elements of the system, leading to a holistic systemic revolution;

4) modernization is a global process, since, having once begun in Europe, it has embraced all countries of the world that have either already become modern or are in the process of changing;

5) modernization is a long process, and although the pace of change is quite high, it requires the life of several generations to be carried out;

6) modernization is a stepwise process, and all societies must go through the same stages;

7) modernization is a homogenizing process, since if traditional societies are all different, then modern ones are the same in their basic structures and manifestations;

8) modernization is an irreversible process; there may be delays and partial retreats along the way, but once it begins, it cannot fail to end in success;

9) modernization is a progressive process, and although peoples may experience many hardships and suffering along this path, in the end everything will pay off, since in a modernized society the cultural and material well-being of a person is immeasurably higher.

The immediate content of modernization is several areas of change. From a historical perspective, this is synonymous with Westernization, or Americanization, i.e. movement towards the type of systems that has developed in the USA and Western Europe. In the structural aspect, this is the search for new technologies, the movement from agriculture as a way of subsistence to commercial agriculture, the replacement of animal and human muscular power as the main source of energy with modern machines and mechanisms, the spread of cities and the spatial concentration of labor. In the political sphere - the transition from the authority of the tribal leader to democracy, in the educational sphere - the elimination of illiteracy and the growth of the value of knowledge, in the religious sphere - liberation from the influence of the church. In the psychological aspect, this is the formation of a modern personality, which includes independence from traditional authorities, attention to social problems, the ability to acquire new experience, faith in science and reason, aspiration for the future, a high level of educational, cultural and professional aspirations.

The one-sidedness and theoretical shortcomings of modernization concepts were realized quite quickly. Their fundamental provisions were criticized.

Opponents of these concepts noted that the concepts of “tradition” and “modernity” are asymmetrical and cannot constitute a dichotomy. Modern society is an ideal, while traditional society is a contradictory reality. There are no traditional societies at all, the differences between them are very great, and therefore there are not and cannot be universal recipes for modernization. It is also incorrect to imagine traditional societies as absolutely static and motionless. These societies are also developing, and forced modernization measures can come into conflict with this organic development.

It was also not entirely clear what was included in the concept of “modern society.” Modern Western countries undoubtedly fell into this category, but what about Japan and South Korea? The question arose: is it possible to talk about modern non-Western countries and their differences from Western ones?

The thesis that tradition and modernity are mutually exclusive has been criticized. In fact, any society is a fusion of traditional and modern elements. And traditions do not necessarily hinder modernization, but can in some way contribute to it.

It was also noted that not all the results of modernization are good, that it is not necessarily systemic in nature, that economic modernization can be carried out without political modernization, that modernization processes can be reversed.

In the 1970s, additional objections were raised against modernization theories. Among them, the most important was the reproach of ethnocentrism. Since the United States played the role of a model to strive for, these theories were interpreted as an attempt by the American intellectual elite to comprehend the post-war role of the United States as a world superpower.

A critical assessment of the main theories of modernization ultimately led to the differentiation of the very concept of “modernization”. Researchers began to distinguish between primary and secondary modernization.

Primary modernization is usually viewed as a theoretical construct that covers a variety of sociocultural changes accompanying the period of industrialization and the emergence of capitalism in individual countries of Western Europe and America. It is associated with the destruction of previous, primarily hereditary, traditions and the traditional way of life, with the proclamation and implementation of equal civil rights, and the establishment of democracy.

The main idea of primary modernization is that the process of industrialization and development of capitalism presupposes as its prerequisite and main basis individual freedom and autonomy of a person, an expansion of the scope of his rights. Essentially, this idea coincides with the principle of individualism formulated by the French Enlightenment.

Secondary modernization covers sociocultural changes occurring in developing countries (third world countries) in a civilized environment of highly developed countries and in the presence of established patterns of social organization and culture.

In the last decade, when considering the process of modernization, the modernization of former socialist countries and countries that freed themselves from dictatorship has attracted the greatest interest. In this regard, some researchers propose to introduce the concept "tertiary modernization" denoting to them the transition to modernity of industrially moderately developed countries, which retain many features of the previous political and ideological system, which hinder the very process of social transformation.

At the same time, the changes that have accumulated in countries of developed capitalism required new theoretical understanding. As a result, theories of post-industrial, super-industrial, information, “technotronic”, “cybernetic” society appeared (O. Toffler, D. Bell, R. Dahrendorf, J. Habermas, E. Gudzens, etc.). The main provisions of these concepts can be formulated as follows.

The post-industrial (or information) society is replacing the industrial one, in which the industrial (ecological) sphere is predominant. The main distinctive features of post-industrial society are the growth of scientific knowledge and the movement of the center of social life from the economy to the sphere of science, primarily to scientific organizations (universities). It is not capital and material resources that are the key factors in it, but information, multiplied by the spread of education and the introduction of advanced technologies.

The old class division of society into those who own property and those who do not (characteristic of the social structure of industrial society) is giving way to another type of stratification, where the main indicator is the division of society into those who own information and those who do not own it. The concepts of “symbolic capital” (P. Bourdieu) and cultural identity emerge, in which the class structure is replaced by a status hierarchy determined by value orientations and educational potential.

The old economic elite is being replaced by a new intellectual elite, professionals with a high level of education, competence, knowledge and technologies based on them. Educational qualifications and professionalism, and not origin or financial status, are the main criteria by which access to power and social privileges is now achieved.

The conflict between classes, characteristic of industrial society, is replaced by a conflict between professionalism and incompetence, between the intellectual minority (elite) and the incompetent majority.

Thus, the modern era is an era of dominance of science and technology, educational systems and mass information. In this regard, key provisions have also changed in the concepts of modernization of traditional societies:

1) it is no longer the political and intellectual elite that is recognized as the driving force of modernization processes, but the broadest masses, who begin to act actively if a charismatic leader appears, pulling them along;

2) modernization in this case becomes not a decision of the elite, but a mass desire of citizens to change their lives in accordance with Western standards under the influence of mass communications and personal contacts;

3) today, not internal, but external factors of modernization are emphasized - the global geopolitical balance of power, external economic and financial support, the openness of international markets, the availability of convincing ideological means - doctrines that substantiate modern values;

4) instead of a single universal model of modernity, which the United States had long considered, the idea of driving centers of modernity and model societies appeared - not only the West, but also Japan and the “Asian tigers”;

5) it is already clear that there is not and cannot be a unified process of modernization; its pace, rhythm and consequences in various areas of social life in different countries will be different;

6) the modern picture of modernization is much less optimistic than the previous one - not everything is possible and achievable, not everything depends on simple political will; it has already been recognized that the whole world will never live the way the modern West lives, therefore modern theories pay a lot of attention to retreats, retrogressions, failures;

7) today modernization is assessed not only by economic indicators, which have long been considered the main ones, but also by values and cultural codes;

8) it is proposed to actively use local traditions;

9) today the main ideological climate in the West is the rejection of the idea of progress - the main idea of evolutionism; the ideology of postmodernism dominates, and therefore the very conceptual basis of the theory of modernization has collapsed.

Thus, today modernization is seen as a historically limited process that legitimizes the institutions and values of modernity: democracy, market, education, sound administration, self-discipline, work ethic. At the same time, modern society is defined either as a society that replaces the traditional social structure, or as a society that grows out of the industrial stage and carries all its features. The information society is a stage of modern society (and not a new type of society), coming after the phases of industrialization and technologization, and is characterized by a further deepening of the humanistic foundations of human existence.