Social Development

Social Development: Essence and Content of the Concept

Every social organism—whether an individual, a class, a smaller social group, a specific society, or humanity as a whole—is not a fixed and immutable entity; rather, it is in a state of constant flux, which manifests as social development. In this section, we shall endeavor to elucidate the essence of the phenomenon denoted by the term "social development," along with its driving forces and subjects.

Social development is among those concepts that social scientists frequently employ yet often refrain from deeply exploring. This avoidance is also evident among authors of reference works, including philosophical texts, as well as in textbooks and educational resources on social philosophy.

For instance, S.Ye. Krapivensky, having introduced this term in the title of a separate chapter of his textbook, subsequently largely abandoned its use, substituting it with the term "social dynamics." He notes that while "social dynamics" captures and focuses attention on a significant aspect of social development, specifically the direction and trajectory of social changes, it still overlooks the broader dimensions of social development itself.

While we share Krapivensky's view that the direction of social change represents a crucial facet of social development, we must also recognize that it constitutes only one dimension within the intricate essence of social development, which encompasses a variety of forms of existence.

"Social development" is a specific concept, with "development" serving as its broader category, thereby necessitating that it encompass all general characteristics of the phenomenon it denotes. When examining development, including social development, it is essential not to overlook the fact that it involves not merely directed changes in material and ideal objects but also changes that are both lawful and irreversible. "Only the simultaneous presence of all these characteristics," rightly asserts Y.E. Yudin, "distinguishes developmental processes from other types of changes: the reversibility of changes characterizes processes of functioning (cyclical reproduction of a stable system of functions); the absence of lawfulness is typical of random processes of a catastrophic nature; and in the absence of direction, changes cannot accumulate, leaving the process to reflect a singular, internally coherent line typical of development. As a result of development, a new qualitative state of the object emerges, manifested in changes to its composition or structure (i.e., the emergence, transformation, or disappearance of its elements and connections)."

Thus, all three of these specified characteristics must be reflected in the definition of the concept that interests us. At the same time, it is important to note that merely indicating the presence of these characteristics is insufficient for fully elucidating the meaning of "social development." The phenomenon denoted by this term is characterized not only by the presence of these properties, common to all forms of development, but also by its own essential features that must also be incorporated into the meaning of "social development."

The first of these essential features of social development lies in the specificity of its primary factor—the human factor, which is characterized by purposeful activity. Consequently, social changes are directed in nature, determined by specific goals.

The second essential feature of social development pertains to the specificity of the objects undergoing change, which consist of the results of past human activities—objects of both material and spiritual culture, as well as individuals, groups of individuals, and social organisms that catalyze changes in these results and, in turn, in themselves through contemporary activities.

The third essential feature of social development is that it encompasses not only the outcomes of directed, irreversible, and lawful social changes occurring within society but also the comprehension of these changes, their reflection within the collective consciousness of the social organisms engaged in their vital activities.

Thus, we believe that "social development" should be regarded as a broadly general concept—a category of social philosophy that denotes the intentional, irreversible, and lawful transformations of social reality, represented in the collective consciousness as the objective and necessary results of past activities, as well as the generations of people who enact these changes while simultaneously transforming themselves through their current endeavors.

Social development, like activity itself, is infinite and yet consistently manifests as a distinct, finite process. It can take on ascending or descending forms, moving from external to internal, from internal to external, from the old to the new, and from the new to the old, from the simple to the complex, and from the complex to the simple, from the lower to the higher, and from the higher to the lower, from the accidental to the necessary, and from the necessary to the accidental.

As with development in general, social development is governed by the laws of dialectics. Characterized by a variety of forms of manifestation, it unfolds in a spiral manner, embodying the unity and struggle of opposites, as well as the transition from quantity to quality and vice versa. In any process of social development, one can delineate certain stages: the preparation of prerequisites for its formation, primarily external movement (the initiation of the process); emergence, which signifies a transition to internal movement; formation, involving the transformation by a new social developmental process of the social conditions from which it arose; the actual social development or maturity of the given social process, marked by its existence on its own foundation; and finally, the decline or dissolution of the process.

Having noted this, let us now proceed to examine the sources and driving forces of social development.