The formation of society is associated with the realization of material and spiritual human needs. Meeting needs is the main motive for people's participation in industrial relations and the foundation of economic development.
Value needs
Human needs prompt people to action. Needs exist together with the means by which they are satisfied. These "tools" are formed directly in the workflow. Labor is an expedient activity. It manifests itself primarily in a person’s ability to create objects and means for material production. In the formation of property, the central link is the appropriation of labor resources.
Economic interest
It arises from a system of diverse needs. Economic interests are the most important motive for labor activity. With the improvement of production, the number of needs increases. They, in turn, contribute to the further development of the economy. The formation of needs, among other things, depends on subjective factors. They primarily include the tastes and inclinations of a person, the spiritual needs of a person, physiological and psychological characteristics, as well as folk customs and habits. In this regard, conditions are formed under which a person is forced to establish the value of services or goods.
Production activities
It is carried out using the economic system. The latter is a specific socio-organizational mechanism. Due to the limited resources available, it is impossible to meet the needs of all members of society. Nevertheless, civilization strives for this goal as an ideal. This forces mankind to develop a variety of tools that would allow to realize this task. One of such tools is economic theory.
Source elements
The first signs of economic thinking are found in the writings of thinkers of ancient Egypt and in ancient Indian treatises. Valuable commandments regarding housekeeping are also found in the Bible. As a scientific direction, economic theory began to take shape more distinctly in the works of ancient Greek philosophers. The first ideas were formulated by Xenophon, Aristotle, Plato. It was they who introduced the term "saving", denoting to them the doctrine of the creation and maintenance of a household in slave-owning conditions. This direction was based on elements of natural labor and the market.
Economic School Development
The works of ancient Greek thinkers became the foundation for the further formation of the doctrine. It was subsequently divided into several areas. As a result, the following main economic schools were formed:
- Mercantilism.
- Marxism.
- Physiocrats.
- Classical School of Economics.
- Keynesianism.
- Neoclassical school.
- Monetarism.
- Marginalism and the historical school.
- Institutionalism.
- Neoclassical synthesis.
- Left-wing radical school.
- Neoliberalism.
- School of the theory of economics offers.
General characteristic of the traditional direction
The main economic schools were formed under the influence of various views of different scientists. A prominent role in the formation of traditional teachings was played by such figures as F. Quesnay, W. Petit, A. Smith, D. Ricardo, D. S. Mil, Jean-Baptiste Say. With a difference of views, they were united by several common ideas, on the basis of which a classical economic school was formed. First of all, all of these authors advocated economic liberalism. Its essence is often expressed by the phrase laissez faire, which literally means "leave to do." The principle of this political demand was formulated by the physiocrats. The idea was to provide complete economic freedom for the individual and competition, unlimited state intervention. Both of these economic schools considered a person as a "business entity." The desire of the individual to increase his wealth contributes to the increase of such a whole society. The automatic self-tuning mechanism (the “invisible hand,” as Smith called it) directs the disparate actions of consumers and manufacturers so that a long-term equilibrium is established in the entire system. At the same time, the continued existence of under-production, over-processing of products and unemployment in it becomes impossible. The authors of these ideas made a significant contribution to the formation of the school of economic science. Subsequently, they were used and improved. Many economic schools have supplemented these ideas. As a result, systems were formed that corresponded to one or another stage in the formation of society. Thus arose, for example, a socio-economic school.
Smith's idea
On the basis of the school of economic theory, a supporter of which was this figure, the concept of working value was developed. Smith and his followers believed that the formation of capital is carried out not only through agriculture. In this process, the work of other segments of the population, the whole nation as a whole, is of particular importance. Proponents of this school of economic theory argued that, participating in the production process, workers of all levels enter into cooperation, cooperate, which, in turn, eliminates any difference between productive and "sterile" activities. Such interaction is most effective when carried out in the form of market exchange of goods.
Economic schools: mercantilism and physiocrats
These teachings, as described above, existed in the 18-19 centuries. These economic schools had different views on the production of social wealth. So, mercantilism adhered to the idea that trade is the basis. To increase the volume of social wealth, the government must by all means support domestic sellers and manufacturers, hindering the activities of foreign ones. Physiocrats believed that the economic basis is agriculture. They divided society into three classes: owners, producers, and infertility. As part of this exercise, tables were formulated, which, in turn, became the foundation for the formation of a model of intersectoral equilibrium.
Other directions of the 18-19 centuries
Marginalism is an Austrian school that adheres to the idea of marginal utility. The leading figure in this direction was Karl Menger. Representatives of this school explained the concept of "value" from the perspective of consumer psychology. They tried to base the exchange not on production costs, but on a subjective assessment of the utility of the goods sold and acquired. The neoclassical school, whose representative was Alfred Marshall, developed the concept of functional relationships. A proponent of the mathematical direction was Leon Valras. He characterized the market economy as a structure that is able to achieve equilibrium through the interaction of supply and demand. He developed the concept of a general market balance.
Keynesianism and Institutionalists
Keynes based his ideas on evaluating the performance of the entire economic system as a whole. In his opinion, the structure of the market is not initially balanced. In this regard, he advocated strict government regulation of trade. Proponents of institutionalism, Earhart and Gelbraith, believed that the analysis of an economic entity is impossible without taking into account the formation of the environment. They proposed a comprehensive study of the economic system in the dynamics of evolution.
Marxism
This direction was based on the theory of surplus value and the principle of the systematic formation of the national economy. The leading figure in the exercises was Karl Marx. His work was subsequently developed in the writings of Plekhanov, Engels, Lenin and other followers. Some of the propositions put forward by Marx were revised by the "revisionists." These, in particular, included such figures as Bernstein, Sombart, Tugan-Baranovsky and others. In the Soviet years, Marxism acted as the basis of economic education and the only legal scientific direction.
Modern Russia: HSE
The Higher School of Economics is a research institute that carries out design, educational, socio-cultural and expert-analytical activities. It is based on international standards. HSE, speaking as part of the academic community, considers engaging in university global interaction and partnership with foreign institutions a key element of its practice. Being a Russian university, the institution works for the benefit of the country and its population.
The main directions of the HSE are empirical and theoretical studies, as well as the dissemination of knowledge. University teaching is not limited to fundamental disciplines.