The form of social economy is a specific way of people working. It reflects the structure of social needs and affects the distribution of available resources.
Relevance of the issue
Each economic system has its own specific characteristics. Moreover, the historical path of mankind shows that at one stage or another of development, encompassing various social and labor models, some common features are preserved. In particular, the forms of social economy — natural and commodity — are manifested.
Some researchers consider them to be opposite to each other. Other authors adhere to the position that they have a common economic basis - individual property. In addition, they indicate the existence of a single goal, which is to satisfy the needs of the owner of the property and his family. At the same time, the latter nevertheless indicate a number of signs by which these basic forms of social economy are distinguished. Let's consider them in more detail.
The natural form of social economy
It is considered historically the first way to carry out human labor activities. This form of social economy appeared in ancient times, in the era of the formation of the primitive communal system. At that time cattle breeding and agriculture arose. They were the first branches of the national economy. Such activities existed in the primitive population, who did not know the concepts of "division of labor", "private property", "exchange".
Development in the feudal era
In the initial period of peasant dependence, the natural form was inherent in the surplus product, which was expressed in the form of various payments and duties. The peasant family was engaged in cattle breeding, agriculture, processing of raw materials into finished products. The farm acted as a source of production assets, labor, and consumer goods to meet the current needs of the feudal estate. It provided an increase in its reserves. Feudal rule was based on the activities of small peasant communities. They themselves produced almost all the products necessary for life. The in-kind form of social economy does not have relations associated with the exchange of some products for others or for money.
Historical transformation
With the advent of commodity-money circulation and an increase in the volume of production, in-kind rent began to turn into cash. In the process of developing the form of social production, subsistence farming began to be supplanted by them. This was due to the division of labor and intensive technological progress. These factors have destroyed the isolation and traditions characteristic of the existing form of social economy. Commodity production , in turn, was transformed into capitalist. However, the remnants of the past system were still preserved.
Distribution area
Forms of the organization of a social economy, such as cattle breeding and agriculture, prevail today in many developed countries. As for the underdeveloped countries, they employ more than half of the total population. They act as the main forms of social economy . According to experts, such a situation will prevail for a long time in these states.
Many peoples of Africa, Southeast Asia, Native American tribes of America have preserved the diversity of subsistence farming. In particular, fishing and hunting are widespread in these territories. Often they are combined in primitive ways of cultivating the land. In developing countries, there are more advanced economic forms of social economy .
Characteristic
Among the forms currently existing, the most widespread in developed countries are communal economy, private capitalist, patriarchal-natural, small commodity. In addition, there is a state-capitalist model. Of the above forms, the communal, patriarchal-natural, and feudal economy are of a natural nature. The first is based on collective ownership, simple cooperation, extremely low consumption and equal distribution. Patriarchal subsistence farming is prevalent mainly in developing African countries. It is based on private property and individual peasant labor. Moreover, the land usually belongs to leaders, churches and feudal lords. Most of the peasants lease plots or get them on enslaving terms. This form of social economy is distinguished by primitive methods of cultivating the land. Moreover, products are created mainly to meet the personal needs of the peasant.
In general, economically, these countries are at a fairly low level. There are practically no capitalist enterprises on their territories, and there is no export sector. The main disadvantage of the natural form of management is that it does not allow to achieve high productivity. It provides only the minimum conditions for existence. That is why it was destroyed by such a powerful mechanism as production.
Forms of social economy in developed countries
Currently, a fairly common system in which products are created for their subsequent sale. This form of social economy has the following features:
- Division of labor.
- Exchange of products.
- Openness of relationship.
- Indirect, indirect links between the creation of a product and its consumption.
Commodity production is developing in accordance with the formula "output-exchange-consumption". Products enter the market. There they are exchanged for other goods, and only after that the products fall into the sphere of consumption. Exchange in the market determines the economic relationship between the manufacturer and the end user.
The emergence and development of the system
Prerequisites for the emergence of commodity production are:
- Division of labor.
- Economic isolation of people.
Creation of products is carried out since ancient times. Historically, the first is the simple production of artisans and peasants. In the capitalist era, the system was rapidly developing. At the same time, not only the results of activity, but also the labor force itself began to act as a product.
Key concepts
In production, the main element is goods. They call the good created by labor and intended for the equivalent exchange for other utility in the market. Goods acquire exchange value. It expresses the ability of a product to be exchanged for other useful items in one proportion or another. The quantity will depend on the size of the value embodied in the product. It follows from this that a product has two key properties: price and utility.
Specificity
Commodity production has the following features:
- Openness. Workers create goods not for personal consumption, but for the purpose of selling them to other people. The flow of new products goes beyond the scope of the production unit and enters the market to meet the needs of customers.
- Division of labor. It develops depending on the deepening of specialization (isolation) of workers and enterprises of certain types of products or elements of complex products. This phenomenon is called technical progress. He, in turn, becomes more intense in the division of labor.
- The presence of indirect links between product creation and consumption. The market confirms or does not confirm the need to produce certain products for sale.
This form of social economy, thus, provides equilateral technological progress in modern conditions. In the process of deepening the division of labor, the intensity of the use of more modern equipment increases. This, in turn, contributes to the growth of production. By increasing productivity, the output of products per capita is increasing. Along with this, the variety of products that are used in the exchange increases.
Division of labor
For the first time, it arose during the separation of livestock and agriculture from agriculture. Subsequently, the craft was isolated. After a while, the economic law of labor differentiation gained strength. In accordance with it, progress depends on a qualitative division of workers' activities. This leads to the isolation and coexistence of various types of labor. As a result, there appears international differentiation (between countries), general (between large areas of activity - industry, agriculture, etc.), private (division within sectors into sub-sectors), single (within one enterprise into various divisions).
Isolation of people
Association of citizens in groups for the production of a specific product organically complements the division of labor. People choose this or that type of work and turn it into independent activity. Along with this, the person’s dependence on other commodity owners increases, which contributes to the need to exchange a variety of products, to establish market relations.
Economic isolation closely interacts with the forms of ownership of production assets. It will be most complete when the creator of the product is a private owner. To a lesser extent, separation is achieved in case of leasing of property. In this case, the user will conduct the farm for a certain period.
Modern realities
Currently, a market economy is based on the interaction of public and private sectors of the economy. The modern market model, in the center of which is a person, goes through several stages in its development. The first step is simple commodity production. It has the following features:
- The presence of the division of labor as a material condition for the existence of a model.
- Private ownership of labor products and means of their creation.
- Individual labor of the owner of production assets.
- Satisfying mass needs through the sale of products.
- Establishing communication between people through the formation of market relations.
With a developed model, not only the products themselves, but also the labor force act as products. As a result, market relations are universal. Achieving a system of a higher level of development is associated with the introduction of a capitalist model during the initial accumulation of funds. It includes two aspects:
- The transformation of manufacturers in free, but not having any production assets. This process means the emergence of a new product on the market - labor.
- The concentration of monetary wealth and productive means of the minority.
Administrative command model
This is a special form of social economy. At its core, it is very similar to the market model. It also preserves the connection between production and consumption, but they are significantly deformed by unnecessary intervention from the center.
The administrative apparatus sends instructions, gives orders, sets the standards for direct executors. This system existed in the Soviet period. The material base was machine production and the division of labor. The key models of the system were planning and directive and planning and regulatory. They were distinguished by the presence of a rigid regulatory mechanism.
In the command economy, the independence of enterprises is ignored. Moreover, their activities are evaluated in accordance with standards and plans. As practice shows, this model is effective in a crisis. However, such a system cannot exist for a long time, since it significantly limits the freedom of enterprise.