Each stage of social development brings its own characteristics. So, on the basis of changes in the economic sphere, a concept such as formation appeared.
Thus, a formation is a certain period inherent in a particular stage. It has its own unique structure, views and beliefs. Despite the certainty of this term, it is often confused with a similar word, civilization. Despite some commonality, formation and civilization have different directions.
Speaking about the formation, a special place should be given to the economic sphere, and the sphere of cultural life plays a big role in the question of civilization. As for the community of these concepts, it consists in the fact that each term is directly related to society and plays a significant role in determining its laws.
It is necessary to consider the term "formation" not at one particular stage of the existence of mankind, but in the system of their changes. So, we can distinguish the formation of the ancient Greeks or, for example, the formation related to the life of the descendants of the people who conquered Australia. It is believed that for that time they are quite optimal in economic terms, but as for their cultures, they are completely different and do not enter into any comparison. Therefore, here we can say that formation and civilization are different concepts that change over time and in their own way affect the life of society.
Also, a formation is a system of classifications, each of which has a connection with the main forces acting on development. It is believed that changes in formations are associated with changes in both natural and socio-political conditions, and the improvement of material and production capabilities also plays a significant role in this matter.
In this regard, the term formation is to some extent the same as the economic formation. Different sources use these concepts in different ways. Sometimes they are considered absolute synonyms, and sometimes they say that the formation is the socio-economic structure of a particular society in the broad sense, while the economic formation has a narrower focus and concretizes economic development.
It should be noted that both the formation and civilization are dynamic processes. That is, they are constantly evolving, but despite this, they can collapse, or even degrade. It is believed that such variability creates a constant threat to all of humanity. And based on these findings, it becomes apparent that the hardened structures of civilizations and formations create more stable conditions for all of humanity. But since progress is inevitable, it remains only to support the development of these systems and not to let go beyond the reasonable.
The connection between two such significant concepts is obvious, but nevertheless, for a deeper study, it is necessary to consider separately both the formation and civilization. In this situation, it is possible to identify in each of them a lot of individual characteristics and find commonality. It was on the basis of these subtleties that it was noted that the formation is more concerned with the structure inherent in society, and civilization with the mechanisms of formation and development.