The modern theory of the origin of the state is potestar, or crisis. Crisis theory of the origin of the state Theory of internal conflict

The primary form of human life in human history, which captured the era from the formation of personality to the transformation of statehood, was primitive society.

Legal science can use archaeological periodization, which marks the following main points in the development of primitive society: the stage of the appropriating type of economy; stage of the producing type of economy.

Between such stages there passed an important milestone of the Neolithic revolution. For a very long time, humanity lived in the form of a herd, and later, through the creation of a tribal community and its disintegration, it moved to the form of a state.

The essence and development of the crisis theory of the origin of the state

During the stage of the economy of appropriation, the individual was happy with what nature gave him, so he was engaged in gathering, fishing, hunting, and used various natural materials such as stones and sticks as tools.

The form of social organization in such a society is a tribal community, that is, an association (society) of people that is based on blood relations and runs a common economy. The clan community united different generations: old parents, young boys and girls and their children. Such a community was headed by the most authoritative, intelligent, experienced food providers, lovers of traditions, rituals, in other words, leaders. The clan community was considered a personal, rather than territorial, combination of individuals. Family-type communities were united into the largest formations, such as clan communities, tribes, and tribal allied groups. These formations were also based on family relationships. The purpose of such combinations is protection from external influence (attack), organization of hikes, group hunting, and so on.

The peculiarity of such associations is the nomadic type of life activity and a strictly fixed system of age division of activities, which was marked by a strict division of functions for the life support of the community. A little later, group marriage changed to pair marriage, along with the prohibition of blood ties, because this led to the birth of sick children.

The first stage of primitive society was distinguished by management in association on the basis of natural self-government, i.e. in a form that could suit the level of development of people. The power had social character, since its source was a group that independently created governing bodies. Community in in general terms was considered a source of power, and its members themselves tried to exercise full power.

Such a community was distinguished by the existence of certain institutions of power:

• head (leader, leader);
• council of the smartest and most important people (elders);
• the main gathering of all adult individuals of the association, which resolved important issues.

The main features of the power of the primitive association were considered:

• election;
• changeability;
• efficiency;
• lack of privileges;
• social character.

Tribal power could have a consistent and democratic type; this seemed real under the conditions of the absence of any property differences between members of society, the most complete equality, and a common system of desires and interests of all members of the association.

In the 12-10th millennium BC. Ecological crisis phenomena began to arise, such as unpleasant changes in climatic conditions, which led to a change in megafauna: animals and vegetation disappeared, but all this was food for humans. These phenomena, according to scientists, have become a threat to human life, as biological species, which created the need for a transition to the emergence of a new way of existence and new production - a producing economy.

This transition in the literary sphere was called the “Neolithic Revolution” (the Neolithic is considered a different Stone Age). Although this phenomenon is called a revolution, it was not a one-time type, fleeting in nature, everything happened slowly and for a long time, the transition itself covered hundreds and thousands of years. Throughout the entire period, there was a transition from hunting, fishing, gathering, various types agriculture and livestock breeding to the most improved forms of agriculture, such as irrigated, slash-and-burn, and so on. And in the cattle-breeding area - to pasture, transhumance, etc.

The meaning of the Neolithic revolution is that in order to fulfill personal desires, the individual was forced to move from the appropriation of already existing important forms to real active labor, including the creation of tools with his own hands. This transition was combined with selection work, both in the fields of cattle breeding and agriculture. Gradually, people learned to create ceramic objects, and later switched to metal processing and metallurgy.

According to various experts in the field of science, a productive economy already existed by four millennia BC. became the second and main method of human existence and production. This transition entailed a restructuring of the organization of power relations, including the creation of the simplest state associations - primary class city-states.

The emergence, and after the improvement, of agricultural societies led to the creation of early civilizations on their basis. They appeared primarily in the valleys of large rivers, such as the Nile, Euphrates, Indus, etc., this was explained by the more suitable weather and landscape conditions of such places. The transition to the producing type determined the rise of all humanity, which was important for the flourishing of civilization. The producing type economy began to lead to the complication of production organization, the creation of new options for organization and management, the need to regulate agricultural and economic production, rationing and accounting for the working contribution of each member of society, the results of his work, the activity of each in the creation of social funds, and the division of the share of the formed product.

The Neolithic Revolution, which explained the transition of human life to a productive economy, led primitive society to its division, the formation of class and then to the creation of statehood.

Theological (religious, theocratic) theory ( theos - god - state is the result of divine will) (Tertullian, Aurelius Augustine). It is impossible to comprehend the nature of the state due to its divine origin. IN modern conditions This theory has been somewhat modified, and is expressed in Christian democratic concept states. Theological theory originated in ancient times. It received its greatest development in the Middle Ages (under feudalism). It still has a certain distribution now (represents official Vatican doctrine). The most prominent representative of this theory in Russia is Joseph Volotsky (1439 - 1515), in the West - the medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas (1226 - 1274). Theological the theory does not distinguish between the process of the emergence of society, state and law. Society, and with it the state and law, arise simultaneously and are the creation of divine reason, the practical embodiment of the will of God on earth. Everything that exists on earth is by the will of God. The state and law are eternal, like God himself. The monarch is the representative of God on earth. According to theologians, any secular power is derived from the power of the church, the power religious organizations. And the people must unquestioningly obey the dictates of the state will, as a continuation of the divine will. Evaluating Theological Theory, it should be borne in mind that it was determined by the religious consciousness of people during the Middle Ages and earlier, as well as the level of knowledge about society that existed in that period. It also reflected the realities that the first states were theocratic, the accession to the throne of the monarch was covered by the church and this gave the government special authority. In later times, this theory was used to justify the unlimited power of the monarch. This theory is in circulation in modern period, in particular in the teaching of theologians.

Patriarchal (paternalistic) theory(the state is big family) (Aristotle, in China - Confucius, 551 - 479 BC) , the founder of which is rightfully considered ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. According to the teachings of Aristotle, the state is a product of natural development, arising as a result of the emergence and growth of the family. The formation of a state is based on the natural desire of people for mutual communication. Such communication leads to the fact that a village or clan is formed from several families, and from all the villages or clans a state is formed. The state, according to Aristotle, is the highest form of communication, which includes all other entities and forms of communication. It “appears only when communication is formed between families and clans for the benefit of life.” Followers of the patriarchal theory: Robert Filmer (England, 17th century), Nikolai Mikhailovsky (Russia, 1842 - 1904). Patriarchal theory received modern refraction in the idea of ​​state paternalism, that is, the care of the state for its citizens and subjects in the event of an unfavorable situation - illness, disability, unemployment. It is also positive that its supporters called for eliminating from life everything that is immoral, harmful, and unreasonable towards a person, and this is only possible in a society built on the type of family relationships.

Contractual (natural law) theory originated in the V-VI centuries. BC. in the teachings of the sophists of Ancient Greece. They believed that the state is created by people based on voluntary agreement to ensure the common good. This theory was based on two main provisions: before the emergence of state and law, people lived in the so-called state of nature; the state arises due to the conclusion of a social contract. Contract theory - suggests social purpose of the state– the creation of a state is based on a social contract; people agree to create a state to ensure natural rights. If an agreement is concluded between those already ruling and the rest of the population, then it is agreement of subordination; if between the population, then - association agreement. Contract theory expressed in natural law theory or natural law theory. It received its development in the 17th and 18th centuries, although the origins of this theory are found in the works of thinkers of ancient Greece 5-4 centuries BC. The most famous representatives were: G. Grotius, T. Hobbes, J. Locke, J.J. Russo, A.N. Radishchev, Spinoza. According to contract theory state – the result of a social contract on rules cohabitation. Before the advent of the state, people were in the so-called state of nature, which means either freedom and equality of all members of society (Locke), or a war of all against all (Hobbes), or general prosperity - the Golden Age (Rousseau). Each person had a certain amount of inalienable natural rights received from God or from nature. At the same time, in pre-state society there was no power capable of protecting people and guaranteeing their natural rights. That's why In order to protect a person, guarantee him his natural rights and a normal life, people entered into an agreement among themselves, a kind of agreement on the creation of a state, transferring to it, as a body representing their common interests, part of their rights.

The advantage of this theory: she proclaimed the people as the source of state power, sovereignty belonging to the people. Rulers are only representatives of the people, can be removed at the will of the people and are obliged to report to them. The theory is democratic in nature, because proceeds from the fact that human rights and freedoms belong to him from birth, people are equal to each other, and everyone is valuable to society.

Theory of violence appears in the 19th century in Germany in two variants as internal violence theory (the state arises as a result of violence of one part of society over another in order to subjugate the minority to the majority) and theory of external violence (the state arises as a result of the conquest of one tribe or people by another, the State is an apparatus for suppressing the enslaved people and maintaining the order necessary for the conquerors; law is created for the same purpose). This theory explains the emergence of the state as a result of the action of a military-political factor - the conquest of some tribes by others. The winners strive, with the help of the state, to assert their dominance and force the vanquished to submit to themselves (E. Dühring, L. Gumplowicz, K. Kautsky).

Racial theory– people, due to their physical and mental inequality, form superior and inferior races. The superior race is the creator of civilization and is called upon to dominate the inferior races, and since the latter are not capable of managing affairs, the representatives of the superior race dominate them. They created the state as an organization for managing an inferior race and as a product of civilization, since inferior peoples cannot have their own civilization ( J. Gabino, F. Nietzsche).

Marxist theory (class, economic) arose in the 19th century, the founders Marx and Engels (the work “The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State”), development in the works of V.I. Lenin. The main tenet of Marxist theory is doctrine of socio-economic formation, based on a specific method of production and corresponding forms of ownership. The method of production determines political, social, spiritual and other processes in society. Superstructural phenomena - politics, law, legal institutions depend on the economic structure of society, but at the same time they have some independence. According to Marxist theory, the state arose due to economic reasons - the social division of labor, the emergence of a surplus product, private property, and the split of society into opposing classes. Soviet science and the science of others socialist countries I considered this theory to be the only correct one. From the point of view of Marxist theory the state arises as a result of the social division of labor, the emergence of surplus product, private property, the split of society into classes and the struggle between them. This theory views the emergence of state and law as natural historical process, developing according to its own laws. From the point of view of Marxist theory, the development of the economy in primitive society led to three major social divisions of labor (the separation of shepherd tribes, the separation of crafts from agriculture, the emergence of merchants) which led to the emergence of private property, the split of society into antagonistic classes and to class struggle. The state, and with it the law, are created by the economically dominant class (exploiting), which, with the help of the state, becomes politically dominant, acquiring powerful tools to suppress, oppress, keep the exploited classes in obedience. The founders of Marxism assessed the fact of the appearance of the state positively, but believed that, having fulfilled its mission, the state would gradually wither away along with the disappearance of classes.

Psychological theory– the origins of psychological theory were laid in Ancient Rome. As Cicero believed, people united into a state due to an innate need to live together. A psychological explanation of the reasons for the emergence of the state was given by N. Machiavelli. He proceeded from the fact that the formation and structure of the state is “an act of a single will ruling over the state.” Founder of psychological theory - L.I. Petrazhitsky. He explained the emergence of the state by the special properties of the human psyche, including the desire of people to search for authority, which they could obey and whose instructions they could follow in Everyday life. Therefore the state and law are generated by the emotions and experiences of people, and not the material conditions of life. The state is the result of a person’s psychological need to search for an authority to which one could obey; the state is generated by the emotions and experiences of people, and not by the material conditions of life. The reasons for the emergence of the state are a certain state of people’s psyche: constant dependence primitive people from the authority of the leader, sorcerers or shamans, fear of them magical power led to the emergence of state power, to which people submit voluntarily. Evaluating this theory, it should be said that certain properties of the people’s psyche (for example, emotional perception of state-legal reality) are important, but are not decisive in the reasons for the emergence of the state.

Potestar (crisis) theory– argues that the state was not imposed on society from the outside; it arises objectively, due to the internal needs of organizing the life of communal landowners and the transition of a primitive communal society from an appropriating economy to a producing one, as a result of changes in the material conditions of society. The formation of the state proceeded gradually over a long period of time. Formation and development of classes and state coming parallel, since not only classes caused the emergence of the state, but the state itself stimulated the emergence of classes. Early class society defended the interests of the entire society, all its layers; later the class nature of the state emerged.

Organic theory– transfers the laws of nature to human society.

Patrimonial theory– the state comes from the owner’s right to land (patrimonium). From the right of ownership of land, power automatically extends to the people living on it; This is how feudal suzerainty develops (Haller).

Irrigation theory– the emergence of the state was due to the need to carry out large-scale irrigation work and low weapon development. The state acts as the organizer of large-scale work.

1. The concept and characteristics of the state. The essence and social purpose of the state

The state is a complex phenomenon. Since ancient times, attempts have been made to define the concept of "state", but Until now, there is no generally accepted, generally accepted idea of ​​it.

In legal literature, the concept of a state is defined by listing its characteristics. This is a generally accepted technique. There is virtually no serious disagreement among scientists about the feature data set. Despite the diversity of states that exist both now and in different historical eras, on at different levels their development, etc., are inherent in all states some common features, characteristics, properties. They allow us to identify the state and distinguish it from other organizations of society.

State- this is special political organization, having an apparatus coercion and control, giving its orders binding force for the population of the entire country and possessing sovereignty.

State is a historically established, consciously organized social system, managing the company. Main features of the state:

1. availability of public political power , which has a special apparatus of control and coercion. The state is a complex mechanism (apparatus) for managing society, which is system government agencies and the corresponding material resources necessary to perform its tasks and functions. The presence of a special layer of persons - civil servants;

2. territorial organization of the population- means that the state organized society appear state borders, which mean the territorial integrity of the country;

3. state sovereignty- independence of state power from any other political power within the country and outside it, expressed in its exclusive right to independently decide all its affairs. Supremacy- fullness of state power on its territory, its independence in determining the content of its activities and full rights in establishing the regime of social life. In a democratic society, state power is limited by law and based on it. The independence of state power means that it independently determines its foreign policy and relations with the world community. But this independence is not absolute. Sovereignty modern states self-limited by mutual obligations of states under international agreements, as well as the need to comply with generally accepted norms and principles of international law;

4. generally binding and comprehensive nature of acts– is determined by exclusive powers in the field of lawmaking, that is, the right to adopt, amend, supplement or repeal legal norms that apply to the population of the entire country. Only the state, through generally binding acts, can establish legal order in society and enforce compliance with it;

5. presence of state treasury, which is associated with the collection of taxes and other funds for the maintenance of the state apparatus and other needs of the state. The concept of the state treasury also includes state loans, internal and external loans, customs duties, securities, currency values, gold reserves and more;

6. Lawmaking– issues laws and regulations that have legal force and contain rules of law;

7. Availability of law enforcement (punitive) authorities (court, prosecutor's office, police, etc.);

8. Presence of armed forces and security agencies (coercive apparatus);

9. Close organic connection states with the right;

These features constitute the political and legal characteristics of the state

Thus, state- power-political organization of society, which has state sovereignty, a special apparatus of management and coercion, the state treasury and establishing the legal order in a certain territory.

Social purpose of the state reveals what it is intended for, what purposes it should serve.

The main purpose of the state is serve society . For these purposes, the state must:

1. establish a certain order in society and maintain it, using coercion when necessary;

2. act as a social arbiter in relations between various groups, layers of society in the clash of their interests;

3. protect the individual from arbitrariness, create normal living conditions for all segments of society, especially for the socially disadvantaged (disabled, unemployed, pensioners, single-parent families, orphans, etc.);

4. ensure the security of society and its organs from criminal elements and the country from external aggression from other states;

5. act as an integrating force, achieving peace and harmony in society;

Ideally social purpose of the state – serve a person, create conditions so that he can develop as much as possible and demonstrate his abilities and talents. The social purpose of the state is closely related to its essence: what is the essence of the state, these are the goals and objectives that it sets for itself. A democratically structured state must act in the name of the common good, act as an instrument of social compromise (in content) and be legal in form.

Universal purpose of the State– to be an instrument of social compromise, mitigating and overcoming contradictions, seeking agreement and cooperation of various segments of the population and social forces; ensuring a general social orientation in the content of all functions it performs.

Currently there are two main approaches to the interpretation of the essence of the state:

1. First approach – Class essence of the state – is that the essence of the state is defined as the expression of the interests and will of the economically dominant class and the imposition of the will of this class on the entire society. This approach is inherent in the Marxist understanding of the state, considered as a class organization of whoever is in power, and the state itself is characterized as an apparatus of violence, coercion, and suppression. Its essence is the dominance of the economic elite and organized violence against other classes of society.

2. The second approach – General social essence of the state – the ability of the state to unite the entire society, resolve emerging contradictions and conflicts, and act as a means of achieving social harmony and compromise. Advantages of this approach compared to the class one:

1. It is based on the universal, general social nature of the state, which must govern society in the interests of each and every person;

2. Focuses on democratic methods of managing society, since social compromise cannot be achieved through coercion and violence;

3. Emphasizes the value of state organization for society, since humanity has not yet invented a more perfect and rational organization of human life;

Despite the opposition of these two approaches to the essence of the state, they do not exclude each other. Consequently, any state has a dual essence: it contains both features of class, that is, the aspirations of the ruling forces whose interests they represent (otherwise there would be no fierce struggle for power in any society), and features of general sociality, adherence to universal ideals. But specific gravity of certain qualities are not the same and depend on many factors, among which the leading role is played national traditions, features of historical progress, religious, cultural specifics, geographical position countries and others. It is obvious that in a democratically structured state the features of general socialism will prevail, in a totalitarian state – the features of class.

The opinion has been established in the legal literature O the dual nature of the essence of the state . It contains the beginnings of both the so-called classism, i.e. the desire of the rulers to express the will of those social forces whose interests they represent, otherwise there would not have been a fierce struggle for control state power, and significant commitment modern state universal human ideals, fulfillment of its general social purpose. Both characteristics are inherent in the essence of any state, but the relative weight of one or the other principle is not the same in different states and at different stages of their development.

1. Theories of the origin of law: theological, natural law, historical school rights, psychological, Marxist and others

A special role in the knowledge of law was initially assigned to religion. That's why The most ancient teachings about the state are theological.

IN Ancient Egypt, Babylon, and Judea, the idea of ​​the divine origin of state and law dominated. The emergence of law was justified by divine providence. Legal standards- these are the moral rules of life that come from God and point humanity to the right direction of life. The concept of law was associated with justice, and subsequently - with justice.

All people are equal and endowed by God equal opportunities. Consequently, violation of this equality in human relations is a deviation from divine law. An important factor maintaining divine order in society is punishment: during life - by the state, and after death for sins, misdeeds and crimes - by divine court.

Most widespread theological teachings were received during the period of establishment of feudal relations. During this period, the teaching of the famous theologian Thomas Aquinas appeared (according to his teaching, the world is ruled by the Divine Mind). Law is the action of justice in the divine order of human society, and justice itself expresses a person’s attitude not to himself, but to other people and consists in rewarding everyone with what belongs to him.

F. Aquinas distinguished between right and law. The latter was “a certain institution of reason for the common good, promulgated by those who have charge of society,” i.e. rulers. The law is assessed from the point of view of its compliance with law as the highest justice of divine origin. The eternal law is not accessible to human consciousness. But a person distinguishes between good and evil, proper and improper behavior.

Natural law is a reflection of the Eternal Law in human relationships. Natural law prescribes to strive for self-preservation, procreation, obliges to seek the truth (God) and respect the dignity of people, it is reflected and concretized in human laws, the purpose of which is to force people to avoid evil and strive for virtue by force and fear of coercion. Law exists where there is no contradiction between natural and human laws. But human laws are not perfect, so if they contradict natural regulations and divine law, then they can be disobeyed.

Natural law theory – the idea of ​​natural law arose in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome (Socrates, Aristotle, Stoics, Cicero, Ulpian).

Certain provisions of the theory of natural law were known to the thinkers of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. In particular, the sophists proceeded from the fact that there is nothing eternal or unchangeable at the basis of the formation of law. "Right" or “truth” is the result of an agreement between people, their agreement to adhere to certain rules in their relationships in order to ensure the safety of each and everyone. Thus, Law is an invention of people, an artificial formation. Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato objected to this. They argued that not all law is an artificial invention of the human mind. Along with written laws, there are eternal, unwritten laws that are independent of the will of people and constitute natural law. Natural law comes from the freedom and equality of people. However, Aristotle at the same time believed that nature itself intended some people to be free and others to be slaves. However, the relationship between slave and master must be friendly, because they rest on natural principles. During the Middle Ages, these theories underwent major changes. The thinkers of this period proceeded from the divine origin of law. But later (17-18 centuries) Grotius, Spinoza, Rousseau, Radishchev abandoned the idea of ​​​​the divine origin of natural law and turned to the will of the people. It was recognized that along with positive law, which is created by the state (legislatively), there is supreme right - natural right inherent in man by nature . It is a criterion of positive law from the point of view of its compliance with justice. If there is no such correspondence, then the laws of the state are illegal (at the same time, natural law was understood as the laws of nature, according to which everyone is equal).

This concept uses new knowledge, the main emphasis is on the organizational functions of the primary city-states, on the relationship between the origin of the state and the formation of a producing economy. At the same time, special importance is attached to the major ecological crisis at the turn of the Neolithic revolution, the transition at this stage to a producing economy and, above all, breeding activity. The theory takes into account both large, generally significant crises and local crises, for example those that underlie revolutions (French, October, etc.)

"Incest" theory

Claude Lévi-Strauss developed and substantiated the idea that the peculiarities of human production (reproduction of the race), namely the prohibition of incest (incest), were the initial social fact in the separation of man from the natural world, the structuring of society and the emergence of the state. The essence of the theory is that in order to ensure the implementation of the prohibition of incest, it was necessary to apply very harsh, cruel measures of restraint. This required the creation of special bodies within the clan community, which, both through the forcible suppression of incest within the clan and through the development of ties with foreigners for the purpose of mutual exchange of women, became the prototype of the future state structure. Despite the apparent simplicity and attractiveness of this theory, it is hardly possible to consider the establishment of a ban on incest and the creation within the clan society of structures that ensure its implementation as the root cause of the formation of the state. Historically, this prohibition arose long before the emergence of the first states, and, therefore, their appearance is associated not only with the effect of the named reason, but also with other facts.

Essence of law- this is the main, internal, relatively stable qualitative characteristic of law, which reflects the nature and purpose of it in the life of society. Identification of the essence is based on the study of social values, ideas that determine the nature of law. Since law is a complex, multifaceted social phenomenon, it can be studied in various aspects, from various points of view. The history of legal thought is represented by a fairly wide range of views on the essence of law and the definition of its concept. The approaches existing in legal science are an expression of historically specific social problems and at the same time an option for their resolution. Law in its substantive versatility can be expressed in various ideological foundations, for example, as the will of the ruling class, as a protected interest, as justice, as a measure of freedom, etc. The founders of philosophy, outstanding ancient thinkers, saw the essence of law in general social justice:

Socrates: justice is more precious than any gold - this is equality for all and the voluntary submission of all to the law; legal and fair are the same thing. Law is justice, expressed in the realization of reasonably balanced interests of all members of society.

Plato: justice is a combination of three virtues - wisdom, courage, moderation; it lies in the fact that no one should interfere in the affairs of others, seize someone else’s, or be deprived of their own. “... Those laws are wrong that are not established for the common good of the entire state as a whole... where the laws are established in the interests of several people.”

Aristotle: law is political justice, a fair order established in the state, in society. “The concept of justice is connected with ideas about the state, since law, which serves as a measure of justice, is the regulating norm of political life.”

The essence of law is determined by the material and socio-cultural conditions of society, the nature of classes, social groups of the population, of individuals, the general will as a result of coordination, a combination of private or specific interests, expressed in law or otherwise recognized by the state and, as a result, acting as a general (general social) scale, measure (regulator) of people’s behavior and activities. Recognition of the general will as the essence of law distinguishes law from other normative regulators, gives it the quality of a general social regulator, an instrument for achieving public consent and social world in society. The understanding of will in law in the advocated approach excludes the reduction of law to an instrument of violence, a means of suppressing individual will. The will, enshrined in law, is officially certified and ensured by state power; meets regulatory requirements; has specific forms of external expression (law, judicial precedent, regulatory agreement, legal custom, etc.); is the result of coordination of interests of participants regulated relations and because of this, it acts precisely as a general will, and is, to one degree or another, acceptable to them; corresponds to the progressive ideas of law, etc. The compliance of the general will with these requirements gives it the character of a general, state will, as a result of which the law acquires the quality of a really operating phenomenon and is established as the dominant system of normative regulation.

The first form of human activity in human history, spanning the era from the creation of man to the formation of statehood, was a primitive society.

Legal science uses archaeological periodization, which identifies the following main stages in the development of primitive society:

• stage of appropriating economy;
• stage of the producing economy.

Between these stages lay the most important boundary of the Neolithic revolution.

For a long time, humanity lived in the form of a primitive herd, and later, through the formation of a tribal community and its decomposition, it moved on to the formation of a state.

The essence and development of the crisis theory of the origin of the state

During the period of the economy of appropriation, man was content with what nature gave him, therefore he was mainly engaged in gathering, fishing, hunting, and used various tools in the form of labor tools. natural materials, such as stones, sticks.

Form social organization in primitive society - a clan community, that is, an association (community) of people based on consanguineous relationships and leading a joint household. The clan community united different generations: old parents, young men and women and their children. The family community was headed by more authoritative, wise, experienced food providers, experts in customs and rituals, that is, leaders. The clan community was a personal, not a territorial union of people. Family communities united into the largest formations, such as clan associations, tribes, tribal unions. These formations were also based on consanguinity. The purpose of such associations is protection from external influence(attacks), organization of hikes, group hunting, etc.

Note 1

The peculiarity of primitive communities is a nomadic way of life and a strictly fixed system of gender and age division of labor, which was expressed by a strict distribution of functions for the life support of community education. Over time, group marriage replaced pair marriage, along with the prohibition of incest, since it led to the birth of inferior people.

The first stage of primitive society was determined by management in the community on the basis of natural self-government, that is, a form that could correspond to the level of development of mankind. Power had a public character, since its source was the community, which independently formed self-government bodies. The community as a whole was a source of power, and its members independently exercised full power.

The primitive community was determined by the existence the following institutes authorities:

• leader (leader, leader);
• council of the wisest and most revered people (elders);
• a general meeting of all adults in the community, which resolved the most important life issues.

The main features of the power of primitive society were:

• election;
• turnover;
• urgency;
• lack of privileges;
• public character.

The power of the clan system had a consistently democratic character; this seemed possible under the conditions of the absence of any property differences between members of the communities, the most complete actual equality, unified system needs and interests of all community members.

In the 12-10th millennium BC, environmental crisis phenomena gradually arose, such as unfavorable changes climate system, which led to a change in the megafauna: animals and plants that were consumed by humans disappeared. These phenomena, according to scientists, have become a threat to the existence of humans as a biological species, which demonstrated the need for a transition to the emergence of a new way of existence and production - a producing economy.

This transition in literature was called the “Neolithic revolution” (Neolithic is the new Stone Age). Though this phenomenon called a revolution, it was not a one-time, transient in nature, it occurred over a long period, the transition itself covered tens of millennia. During this period, there was a transition from hunting, fishing, gathering, archaic forms of agriculture and cattle breeding to the most developed forms of agriculture, such as irrigated, slash-and-burn, non-irrigated, etc., and in the pastoral sector - to pasture, transhumance, etc.

The essence of the Neolithic revolution is to satisfy one's own vital needs man was forced to move from the appropriation of already existing animal and plant forms to real active labor activity, including to self-production tools. This transition was accompanied by selection activities both in the areas of cattle breeding and agriculture. Over time, man learned to make ceramic objects, and later switched to metalworking and metallurgy.

Note 2

According to various scientists, the productive economy had already become the second and main way of existence and production of mankind by the 4th–3rd millennia BC. This transition entailed a restructuring of the organization of power relations, including the formation of early state entities– early class city-states.

The emergence and subsequent flourishing of early agricultural societies led to the formation of the first civilizations on their basis. They arose primarily in the valleys largest rivers, such as the Nile, Euphrates, Indus, Tigris, Yangtze, etc., this was explained by the most favorable climatic and landscape conditions of these territories. The transition to a producing economy determined the growth of all humanity, which was necessary for the flourishing of civilization. The producing economy led to the complication of production organization, the formation of new functions of organization and management, the need to regulate agricultural production, rationing and accounting for the labor contribution of each member of the community, the results of his labor, the activities of each in the formation of public funds, and the distribution of the share of the created product.

Note 3

The Neolithic revolution, which determined the transition of all mankind to a productive economy, led primitive society to its stratification, the formation of classism and then to the formation of statehood.

It appeared during the era of slavery in order to justify the existing system and its basis - the division of the population, due to innate qualities, into two breeds of people - slave owners and slaves. Racial theory is based on the thesis that people are divided into superior and inferior races. The former are called upon to dominate society and the state, the latter - subhumans - are called upon to blindly obey the former. The founder of racial theory, the Frenchman J. Gobineau (1816-1882), declared the Aryans to be the highest race, given to dominate the inferior ones, which included Jews and others. In Nazi Germany, on the basis of racial ideology, a special system of values ​​was created in the form of “leader of the nation”, “purity” blood,” history was presented as the history of the struggle of the superior Aryan race with other inferior races. Racial theory believed the most important means solutions to all state-legal, social and international problems of the war, which, according to another representative of this theory, the German philosopher F. Nietzsche, was a vital necessity for the state. Hitler used racial theory to justify the legal right of the superior Aryan race to destroy entire nations and national minorities.)

Demographic theory

The essence of this theory is that almost all social processes, including the formation of a state, is always determined by the growth of the population living in a certain territory, which needs to be managed.

Crisis theory

This concept uses new knowledge, the main emphasis is on the organizational functions of the primary city-states, on the relationship between the origin of the state and the formation of a producing economy. At the same time, special importance is attached to the major ecological crisis at the turn of the Neolithic revolution, the transition at this stage to a producing economy and, above all, breeding activity. The theory takes into account both large, generally significant crises and local crises, for example those that underlie revolutions (French, October, etc.)