In order to modernize the financial sphere, society needs a change in consciousness and the acquisition of such an important quality as economic thinking. The transition to a market system, the emergence of large infrastructure, the launch of new mechanisms, the reduction of state control, privatization - all this in most cases leads to misunderstanding, indifference, old ideas about the economy, the economic system as a whole. It is at this moment that there is an urgent need for a new look, without which no transformation can do. The formation of modern economic thinking is the most important task, the solution of which is possible only in the process of changes in the world as a whole.
Consciousness
The role of consciousness and competent thinking in the economy is distinguished by its tendency to increase. But it is important to remember that economic thinking in Russia has developed for a long time under the conditions of a command-administrative system with a strong bureaucratic component and has changed in every way. It is for this reason that the purposefulness and speed of changes in the opinions of society will affect the depth and quality of transformations of any sphere.
The emerging needs led to a lot of research on the development of economic thinking and laying its foundations. In studying this term, a number of fundamental sciences were used: psychology, philosophy, economics and sociology. Only a versatile approach helps to give a deep understanding and determine the ways of forming consciousness in modern conditions.
Philosophical approach
The greatest progress in the scientific literature in the study and description of economic consciousness was achieved by the work of the following famous authors; A.K. Uledova, V.D. Popov, V.I. Fofanov and others.
In our country, special attention is paid to the works of L. I. Abalkin, L. S. Blyakhman, V. I. Miroshkin, V. V. Radchenko, K. A. Ulybin. Also, the functioning of economic consciousness was studied by many Western economists: L. Erhard, F. Hayek, M. Freeman, P. Hein, H. Lampert, P. Samuelson.
How to study thinking?
The most in-depth and detailed study of the formation of modern economic thinking in our country began in the mid-80s of the last century. The rise in the study of this aspect of the economy falls at the end of the 80s. At this time, concepts, functions and the principle of action of economic consciousness were described in detail, already existing thinking was subjected to sharp criticism.
Despite the hard work of scientists in this field, many questions remained a mystery, were widely discussed, and sometimes not even touched upon. To a greater extent, this applied to the types of economic consciousness among the population, methodological prerequisites for studying the direction of changes, ways and means involved in the development of thinking.
Changes in the economic sphere
The coming accelerated changes have led to the deformation and transformation of economic thinking. Under the influence of such factors, its types began to develop.
It is important to remember that the process of economic reform is heterogeneous. You can often notice situations that are characteristic not of the modern, but of its original traditional forms. It is these factors that do not allow the modern consciousness of people to develop fully, in every way deform it, give perverted and false forms.
To get rid of heterogeneous development, it is important to use mechanisms for adjusting policies, as well as special approaches to the formation of economic thinking. Currently, almost no specialist publishes work on the formation of this type of consciousness.
The following issues should be investigated in particular detail. What characteristics of socially oriented market thinking are optimal in the conditions of Russian society? What is the peculiarity of the formation of economic consciousness in these conditions.
Study
The main purpose of the study is to determine the foundations of economic thinking, its varieties, the characteristics of consciousness among the people of a particular country, the means and methods of forming an approximate market consciousness. To achieve this goal, it is important to solve the following economic problems:
- To study the prerequisites for the formation of consciousness, analyzing the relationship between the material and the ideal in the field of economics.
- Decide on the content and structure of economic consciousness, identify the relationship with science in general.
- Decide on the types of thinking, reveal the main features of each.
- Indicate the features and stages of development of specific thinking in the country.
The concept
Economic thinking is a complex phenomenon with a difficult structure that arises as a result of economic relations and manifests itself in the knowledge and transformation of reality. When considering this issue, it is important to take into account the conditions under which the development of this type of consciousness - the spiritual, socio-political and financial side of the life of the country.
In general, economic consciousness was formed under the influence of specific historical conditions and was determined by the objective need to comprehend socio-economic changes. Thinking is certainly a social process that has its own functions and takes into account the individual abilities of economic entities.
Consciousness as a social phenomenon is a complex process and needs to combine different scientific knowledge: philosophy, sociology, flexibility of interdisciplinary issues.
Thinking of this type helps to show the level of public awareness of economic issues and relations in the country, as well as to consider the existing reality. This approach allows us to consider modern economic thinking in a specific situation. In the traditional understanding of the market, consciousness was determined by the experience accumulated by people, their participation in economic relations with the connections that they enter into every day. Many scientific sources clarify that consciousness is not only knowledge of the laws of economics and categories, but also a guide to the relations themselves.
Features of human formation
In a broad sense, economic thinking is an activity of consciousness aimed at cognizing and reflecting the activities, interests and needs of the economic sphere as a whole and its modification in the process of practical and economic activity between subjects. The same concept as a form of consciousness exists on an empirical and theoretical level.
The first level is formed in the economic relations themselves and is based on the facts of everyday life experience in living conditions. Sociological research has helped to reveal that this kind of consciousness works on an empirical level. It reflects external phenomena that fix a certain connection.
Empirical and theoretical level
The empirical level of consciousness includes everyday issues that become habitual for a person as a result of regular practice. The second level is theoretical. It is associated with the modernization of economic production, the strengthening of ties and the complexity of the structure. It includes the process of awareness of economic activity, the laws of development of science, the emergence of judgments, concepts that reflect reality in its entirety.
The empirical level is the result of theoretical knowledge, provides all the conditions for the formation of initial knowledge in the economy. The theoretical, however, becomes real only if it is empirically refracted. This level also provides empirical concepts and already systematized views.
Distinctive features of modern economic consciousness
The economic thinking of people currently differs in the following group of signs:
- The most pronounced sign of modern economic consciousness, scientists and experts believe the strengthening of its innovative qualities, creativity and the emergence of newer projects. Through a cognitive, scientific and innovative process, thinking evaluates and predicts the state of the economy in a country. It creates visual images, the possibility of improving the market system and the modification of activities between actors.
- The process of globalization of economic thinking: an important reorientation process, which includes the transition to general criteria, the integration of the country's economy in the world relations of other countries.
Intellectual activity
Another and not the least important feature of modern economic consciousness, which speaks of its high level of development, is the equipment with more sophisticated methods of intellectual activity (economic models and modeling algorithms, computer technology, process automation, costing and accurate economic calculations). Modern progress makes it possible to use new types of raw materials in the economy, to produce products with new and higher quality properties, to rebuild the production process and the material and technical components of the market. Such a factor once again indicates that it is very important to ensure that economic thinking develops under the influence of science.
A new modern consciousness in society appears as a result of contradictions: the opposition of obsolete, familiar to many, rooted in other conditions of economic ideas by new circumstances and living conditions.
The relationship of the two systems
In general, the principles of economic thinking consist of the influence of creative and innovative thought. Modern consciousness expands the intellectual and spiritual knowledge of society, directs them to the search for reasonable and adequate assessments of changing economic processes.
Relations themselves in this area do not stop changing, so they are more like a process. Thinking helps to reflect economic relations on an empirical level, as well as formulate them in the form of laws and concepts on a theoretical basis. If the economic thinking of the modern population of planet Earth does not continue to actively improve and transform, then as a result the economy will be in a state of stagnation. All this will badly affect the general situation in the world.
Type of economic thinking
Consciousness in the economic sphere directly depends on the historical conditions and characteristics of relations in society. The production process becomes the main typological characteristic, is the main factor for understanding the essence of economic consciousness and determining its quality.
If we talk about an ancient person who existed during the communal period, it is important to remember that commodity-money relations were not developed at all, and the main and almost the only form of relations was natural exchange. The economic consciousness of people in ancient times was formed under the influence of abstract figurative concepts and sensory perception of the environment.
Scientists called this type of thinking mythological. Now it exists only in fairy tales, myths and legends. This type of thinking works on the principle of unconscious identification of the subjective world created in the human imagination and objective reality. The main feature of this type of consciousness is that a rational being thinks, experiences himself as a part of a certain outlined group society. His behavior and order of thinking develop as a result of group activity. In this case, the individual form of labor is not observed at all.