Social institutions examples from life. Types and functions of social institutions

History of the term

Basic information

The peculiarities of its word usage are further complicated by the fact that in the English language, traditionally, an institution is understood as any well-established practice of people that has the sign of self-reproducibility. In such a broad, not highly specialized, sense, an institution can be an ordinary human queue or the English language as a centuries-old social practice.

Therefore, a social institution is often given a different name - “institution” (from Latin institutio - custom, instruction, instruction, order), understanding by it the totality of social customs, the embodiment of certain habits of behavior, way of thinking and life, transmitted from generation to generation, changing depending on the circumstances and serving as an instrument of adaptation to them, and under the "institution" - the consolidation of customs and procedures in the form of a law or institution. The term "social institution" has absorbed both the "institution" (customs) and the "institution" itself (institutions, laws), as it combines both formal and informal "rules of the game".

A social institution is a mechanism that provides a set of constantly repeating and reproducing social relations and social practices of people (for example: the institution of marriage, the institution of the family). E. Durkheim figuratively called social institutions "factories for the reproduction of social relations." These mechanisms are based on both codified codes of laws and non-thematized rules (non-formalized “hidden” ones that are revealed when they are violated), social norms, values and ideals that are historically inherent in a particular society. According to the authors of the Russian textbook for universities, “these are the strongest, most powerful ropes that decisively determine the viability [of the social system]”

Spheres of life of society

There are 4 spheres of the life of society, each of which includes various social institutions and various social relations arise:

Economic- relations in the production process (production, distribution, consumption of material goods). Institutions related to the economic sphere: private property, material production, market, etc.
Social- relations between different social and age groups; activities to ensure social guarantees. Institutions related to the social sphere: education, family, health care, social security, leisure, etc.
Political- relations between civil society and the state, between the state and political parties, as well as between states. Institutions related to the political sphere: state, law, parliament, government, judiciary, political parties, army, etc.
Spiritual- relations that arise in the process of creating and preserving spiritual values, creating the dissemination and consumption of information. Institutions related to the spiritual sphere: education, science, religion, art, media, etc.

institutionalization

The first, most commonly used meaning of the term "social institution" is associated with the characteristics of any kind of ordering, formalization and standardization of social ties and relations. And the process of streamlining, formalization and standardization is called institutionalization. The process of institutionalization, that is, the formation of a social institution, consists of several successive stages:

the emergence of a need, the satisfaction of which requires joint organized action;
formation of common goals;
the emergence of social norms and rules in the course of spontaneous social interaction carried out by trial and error;
the emergence of procedures related to rules and regulations;
institutionalization of norms and rules, procedures, that is, their adoption, practical application;
the establishment of a system of sanctions to maintain norms and rules, the differentiation of their application in individual cases;
creation of a system of statuses and roles covering all members of the institute without exception;

So, the end of the institutionalization process can be considered the creation, in accordance with the norms and rules, of a clear status-role structure, socially approved by the majority of participants in this social process.

The process of institutionalization thus involves a number of points.

One of the necessary conditions for the emergence of social institutions is the corresponding social need. Institutions are designed to organize the joint activities of people in order to meet certain social needs. Thus, the institution of the family satisfies the need for the reproduction of the human race and the upbringing of children, implements relations between the sexes, generations, etc. The institution of higher education provides training for the workforce, enables a person to develop his abilities in order to realize them in subsequent activities and ensure his own existence, etc. The emergence of certain social needs, as well as the conditions for their satisfaction, are the first necessary moments of institutionalization.

A social institution is formed on the basis of social ties, interactions and relationships of specific individuals, social groups and communities. But it, like other social systems, cannot be reduced to the sum of these individuals and their interactions. Social institutions are supra-individual in nature, have their own systemic quality. Consequently, a social institution is an independent public entity, which has its own logic of development. From this point of view, social institutions can be considered as organized social systems characterized by the stability of the structure, the integration of their elements and a certain variability of their functions.

First of all, we are talking about a system of values, norms, ideals, as well as patterns of activity and behavior of people and other elements of the sociocultural process. This system guarantees similar behavior of people, coordinates and directs their certain aspirations, establishes ways to satisfy their needs, resolves conflicts that arise in the process of everyday life, provides a state of balance and stability within a particular social community and society as a whole.

In itself, the presence of these socio-cultural elements does not yet ensure the functioning of a social institution. In order for it to work, it is necessary that they become the property of the inner world of the individual, be internalized by them in the process of socialization, embodied in the form of social roles and statuses. The internalization by individuals of all sociocultural elements, the formation on their basis of a system of personality needs, value orientations and expectations is the second most important element of institutionalization.

The third most important element of institutionalization is the organizational design of a social institution. Outwardly, a social institution is a set of organizations, institutions, persons provided with certain material resources and performing a certain social function. Thus, the institution of higher education is put into action by the social corps of teachers, service personnel, officials who operate within the framework of institutions such as universities, the ministry or the State Committee for Higher Education, etc., who for their activities have certain material values (buildings, finance, etc.).

Thus, social institutions are social mechanisms, stable value-normative complexes that regulate various areas of social life (marriage, family, property, religion), which are not very susceptible to changes in people's personal characteristics. But they are set in motion by people who carry out their activities, "play" by their rules. Thus, the concept of "the institution of a monogamous family" does not mean a separate family, but a set of norms that is realized in an innumerable set of families of a certain type.

Institutionalization, as shown by P. Berger and T. Lukman, is preceded by the process of habitualization, or "accustoming" of everyday actions, leading to the formation of patterns of activity that are later perceived as natural and normal for a given occupation or solving problems typical in these situations. Action patterns, in turn, serve as the basis for the formation of social institutions, which are described in the form of objective social facts and are perceived by the observer as a "social reality" (or social structure). These tendencies are accompanied by signification procedures (the process of creating, using signs and fixing meanings and meanings in them) and form a system of social meanings, which, developing into semantic connections, are fixed in natural language. Signification serves the purposes of legitimation (recognition as legitimate, socially recognized, legal) of the social order, that is, justification and substantiation of the usual ways to overcome the chaos of destructive forces that threaten to undermine the stable idealizations of everyday life.

With the emergence and existence of social institutions, the formation in each individual of a special set of sociocultural dispositions (habitus), practical schemes of action that have become for the individual his internal "natural" need is connected. Thanks to habitus, individuals are included in the activities of social institutions. Therefore, social institutions are not just mechanisms, but "a kind of" factory of meanings "that set not only patterns of human interactions, but also ways of comprehending, understanding social reality and the people themselves" .

Structure and functions of social institutions

Structure

concept social institution suggests:

the presence of a need in society and its satisfaction by the mechanism of reproduction of social practices and relations;
these mechanisms, being supra-individual formations, act in the form of value-normative complexes that regulate social life as a whole or its separate sphere, but for the benefit of the whole;

Their structure includes:

role models of behavior and statuses (prescriptions for their execution);
their justification (theoretical, ideological, religious, mythological) in the form of a categorical grid that defines a "natural" vision of the world;
means of transmitting social experience (material, ideal and symbolic), as well as measures that stimulate one behavior and repress another, tools to maintain institutional order;
social positions - the institutions themselves represent a social position (“empty” social positions do not exist, so the question of the subjects of social institutions disappears).

In addition, they assume the existence of a certain social position of "professionals" who are able to put this mechanism into action, playing by its rules, including a whole system of their preparation, reproduction and maintenance.

In order not to denote the same concepts by different terms and to avoid terminological confusion, social institutions should be understood not as collective subjects, not social groups and not organizations, but as special social mechanisms that ensure the reproduction of certain social practices and social relations. And collective subjects should still be called "social communities", "social groups" and "social organizations".

Functions

Each social institution has a main function that determines its "face", associated with its main social role in the consolidation and reproduction of certain social practices and relations. If this army, then its role is to ensure the military-political security of the country by participating in hostilities and demonstrating its military power. In addition to it, there are other explicit functions, to some extent characteristic of all social institutions, ensuring the implementation of the main one.

Along with explicit, there are also implicit - latent (hidden) functions. Thus, the Soviet Army at one time carried out a number of hidden state tasks unusual for it - national economic, penitentiary, fraternal assistance to "third countries", pacification and suppression of riots, popular discontent and counter-revolutionary coups both within the country and in the countries of the socialist camp. The explicit functions of institutions are necessary. They are formed and declared in codes and fixed in the system of statuses and roles. Latent functions are expressed in unforeseen results of the activities of institutions or persons representing them. Thus, the democratic state that was established in Russia in the early 1990s, through the parliament, government and president, sought to improve the lives of the people, create civilized relations in society and inspire citizens with respect for the law. Those were the clear goals and objectives. In fact, the crime rate has increased in the country, and the standard of living of the population has fallen. These are the results of the latent functions of the institutions of power. Explicit functions testify to what people wanted to achieve within the framework of this or that institution, and latent ones indicate what came of it.

The identification of the latent functions of social institutions allows not only to create an objective picture of social life, but also makes it possible to minimize their negative and enhance their positive impact in order to control and manage the processes taking place in it.

Social institutions in public life perform the following functions or tasks:

The totality of these social functions is formed into the general social functions of social institutions as certain types of social system. These features are very versatile. Sociologists of different directions tried to somehow classify them, to present them in the form of a certain ordered system. The most complete and interesting classification was presented by the so-called. "institutional school". Representatives of the institutional school in sociology (S. Lipset, D. Landberg and others) identified four main functions of social institutions:

Reproduction of members of society. The main institution that performs this function is the family, but other social institutions, such as the state, are also involved in it.
Socialization is the transfer to individuals of patterns of behavior and methods of activity established in a given society - the institutions of the family, education, religion, etc.
Production and distribution. Provided by the economic and social institutions of management and control - the authorities.
The functions of management and control are carried out through a system of social norms and regulations that implement the corresponding types of behavior: moral and legal norms, customs, administrative decisions, etc. Social institutions control the individual's behavior through a system of sanctions.

In addition to solving its specific tasks, each social institution performs universal functions inherent in all of them. The functions common to all social institutions include the following:

The function of fixing and reproducing social relations. Each institution has a set of norms and rules of conduct, fixed, standardizing the behavior of its members and making this behavior predictable. Social control provides the order and framework in which the activities of each member of the institution must proceed. Thus, the institution ensures the stability of the structure of society. The Code of the Institute of the Family assumes that members of society are divided into stable small groups - families. Social control provides a state of stability for each family, limits the possibility of its collapse.
Regulatory function. It ensures the regulation of relationships between members of society by developing patterns and patterns of behavior. All human life takes place with the participation of various social institutions, but each social institution regulates activities. Consequently, a person, with the help of social institutions, demonstrates predictability and standard behavior, fulfills role requirements and expectations.
Integrative function. This function ensures cohesion, interdependence and mutual responsibility of the members. This happens under the influence of institutionalized norms, values, rules, a system of roles and sanctions. It streamlines the system of interactions, which leads to an increase in the stability and integrity of the elements of the social structure.
Broadcasting function. Society cannot develop without the transfer of social experience. Each institution for its normal functioning needs the arrival of new people who have learned its rules. This happens by changing the social boundaries of the institution and changing generations. Consequently, each institution provides a mechanism for socialization to its values, norms, roles.
Communication functions. The information produced by the institution should be disseminated both within the institution (for the purpose of managing and monitoring compliance with social norms) and in interaction between institutions. This function has its own specifics - formal connections. This is the main function of the media institute. Scientific institutions actively perceive information. The commutative possibilities of institutions are not the same: some have them to a greater extent, others to a lesser extent.

Functional qualities

Social institutions differ from each other in their functional qualities:

Political institutions - the state, parties, trade unions and other kinds of public organizations pursuing political goals, aimed at establishing and maintaining a certain form of political power. Their totality constitutes the political system of a given society. Political institutions ensure the reproduction and sustainable preservation of ideological values, and stabilize the social class structures that dominate in society.
Sociocultural and educational institutions aim at the development and subsequent reproduction of cultural and social values, the inclusion of individuals in a particular subculture, as well as the socialization of individuals through the assimilation of stable sociocultural standards of behavior and, finally, the protection of certain values and norms.
Normative-orienting - mechanisms of moral and ethical orientation and regulation of the behavior of individuals. Their goal is to give behavior and motivation a moral argument, an ethical basis. These institutions assert imperative universal human values, special codes and ethics of behavior in the community.
Normative-sanctioning - social and social regulation of behavior on the basis of norms, rules and regulations enshrined in legal and administrative acts. The binding nature of the norms is ensured by the coercive power of the state and the system of appropriate sanctions.
Ceremonial-symbolic and situational-conventional institutions. These institutions are based on a more or less long-term adoption of conventional (by agreement) norms, their official and unofficial consolidation. These norms regulate everyday contacts, various acts of group and intergroup behavior. They determine the order and method of mutual behavior, regulate the methods of transmission and exchange of information, greetings, addresses, etc., the rules of meetings, sessions, and the activities of associations.

Dysfunction of a social institution

Violation of normative interaction with the social environment, which is a society or community, is called a dysfunction of a social institution. As noted earlier, the basis for the formation and functioning of a particular social institution is the satisfaction of a particular social need. Under the conditions of intensive social processes, the acceleration of the pace of social change, a situation may arise when the changed social needs are not adequately reflected in the structure and functions of the relevant social institutions. As a result, dysfunction may occur in their activities. From a substantive point of view, dysfunction is expressed in the ambiguity of the goals of the institution, the uncertainty of functions, in the fall of its social prestige and authority, the degeneration of its individual functions into “symbolic”, ritual activity, that is, activity not aimed at achieving a rational goal.

One of the clear expressions of the dysfunction of a social institution is the personalization of its activities. A social institution, as you know, functions according to its own, objectively operating mechanisms, where each person, on the basis of norms and patterns of behavior, in accordance with his status, plays certain roles. The personalization of a social institution means that it ceases to act in accordance with objective needs and objectively established goals, changing its functions depending on the interests of individuals, their personal qualities and properties.

An unsatisfied social need can bring to life the spontaneous emergence of normatively unregulated activities that seek to make up for the dysfunction of the institution, but at the expense of violating existing norms and rules. In its extreme forms, activity of this kind can be expressed in illegal activities. Thus, the dysfunction of some economic institutions is the reason for the existence of the so-called "shadow economy", resulting in speculation, bribery, theft, etc. The correction of dysfunction can be achieved by changing the social institution itself or by creating a new social institution that satisfies this social need.

Formal and informal social institutions

Social institutions, as well as the social relations they reproduce and regulate, can be formal and informal.

Role in the development of society

According to American researchers Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson (English) Russian it is the nature of the social institutions that exist in a given country that determines the success or failure of the development of a given country.

Having considered the examples of many countries of the world, scientists came to the conclusion that the defining and necessary condition for the development of any country is the presence of public institutions, which they called public institutions. Inclusive institutions). Examples of such countries are all developed democratic countries of the world. Conversely, countries where public institutions are closed are doomed to fall behind and decline. Public institutions in such countries, according to researchers, serve only to enrich the elites that control access to these institutions - this is the so-called. "privileged institutions" extractive institutions). According to the authors, the economic development of society is impossible without anticipatory political development, that is, without the formation public political institutions. .

Literature

Andreev Yu. P., Korzhevskaya N. M., Kostina N. B. Social institutions: content, functions, structure. - Sverdlovsk: Ural Publishing House. un-ta, 1989.
Anikevich A. G. Political power: Questions of research methodology, Krasnoyarsk. 1986.
Power: Essays on modern political philosophy of the West. M., 1989.
Vouchel E.F. Family and kinship // American Sociology. M., 1972. S. 163-173.
Zemsky M. Family and personality. M., 1986.
Cohen J. Structure of sociological theory. M., 1985.
Leiman II Science as a social institution. L., 1971.
Novikova S. S. Sociology: history, foundations, institutionalization in Russia, ch. 4. Types and forms of social connections in the system. M., 1983.
Titmonas A. On the issue of the prerequisites for the institutionalization of science // Sociological problems of science. M., 1974.
Trotz M. Sociology of Education // American Sociology. M., 1972. S. 174-187.
Kharchev G. G. Marriage and family in the USSR. M., 1974.
Kharchev A. G., Matskovsky M. S. Modern family and its problems. M., 1978.
Daron Acemoglu, James Robinson= Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. - First. - Crown Business; 1 edition (March 20, 2012), 2012. - 544 p. - ISBN 978-0-307-71921-8

Footnotes and notes

Social Institutions // Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy
Spencer H. First principles. N.Y., 1898. S.46.
Marx K. P. V. Annenkov, December 28, 1846 // Marx K., Engels F. Works. Ed. 2nd. T. 27.S. 406.
Marx K. To the criticism of the Hegelian philosophy of law // Marx K., Engels F. Soch. Ed. 2nd. T.9. S. 263.
see: Durkheim E. Les forms elementaires de la vie religieuse. Le systeme totemique en Australie.Paris, 1960
Veblen T. Theory of an idle class. - M., 1984. S. 200-201.
Scott, Richard, 2001, Institutions and Organizations, London: Sage.
See ibid.
Fundamentals of Sociology: A Course of Lectures / [A. I. Antolov, V. Ya. Nechaev, L. V. Pikovsky et al.]: Ed. ed. \.G.Efendiev. - M, 1993. P.130
Acemoglu, Robinson
Theory of institutional matrices: in search of a new paradigm. // Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology. No. 1, 2001.
Frolov S. S. Sociology. Textbook. For higher educational institutions. Section III. Social relationships. Chapter 3. Social institutions. Moscow: Nauka, 1994.
Gritsanov A. A. Encyclopedia of sociology. Publishing House "Book House", 2003. -.p. 125.
See more: Berger P., Lukman T. The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise on the Sociology of Knowledge. M.: Medium, 1995.
Kozhevnikov S. B. Society in the structures of the life world: methodological research tools // Sociological journal. 2008. No. 2. S. 81-82.
Bourdieu P. Structure, habitus, practice // Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology. - Volume I, 1998. - No. 2.
Collection "Knowledge in the connections of sociality. 2003" : Internet source / Lektorsky V. A. Foreword -

As you know, social relations are the main element of social communication, which ensures the stability and cohesion of groups. Society cannot exist without social connections and interactions. A special role is played by interactions that ensure the satisfaction of the most important needs of society or the individual. These interactions are institutionalized (legalized) and have a stable, self-defying character.

In everyday life, social ties are achieved precisely through social institutions, that is, through the regulation of relationships; a clear distribution (of the functions, rights, duties of the participants in the interaction and the regularity of their actions. Relationships last as long as its partners fulfill their duties, functions, roles. To ensure the stability of social relations on which the existence of society depends, people create a kind of system of institutions, institutions that control the behavior of their members. Passed down from generation to generation, the norms and rules of behavior and activities in various social spheres became a collective habit, tradition. They directed the way of thinking and way of life of people in a certain direction. All of them were institutionalized (established, consolidated) over time. in the form of laws and institutions).All this formed a system of social institutions - the basic mechanism for regulating society.It is they who lead us to an understanding of the essence of human society, its constituent elements, signs and stages of evolution.

In sociology, there are many interpretations, definitions of social institutions.

Social institutions - (from lat. Institutum - institution) - historically established forms of organization of joint activities of people. The concept of "social institution" is borrowed from legal science, where it defines a set of legal norms that regulate social and legal relations.

Social institutions- these are relatively stable and integrated (historically established) sets of symbols, beliefs, values, norms, roles and statuses, thanks to which various spheres of social life are controlled: family, economy, politics, culture, religion, education, etc. this is a kind of , powerful tools, tools that help to fight for existence and successfully survive both the individual and society as a whole. their purpose is to satisfy the important social needs of the group.

The most important feature of the institutional connection (the basis of a social institution) is the obligation, the obligation to comply with the duties, functions, and roles assigned to the individual. Social institutions, as well as organizations in the system of social ties, are nothing more than a kind of fastener on which society rests.

The first who started the term "social institution" and introduced into scientific circulation and developed the corresponding theory was G. Spencer, an English sociologist. He studied and described six types of social institutions: industrial (economic), political, trade union, ritual (cultural and ceremonial), church (religious), domestic (family). Any social institution, according to his theory, is a stable structure of social actions.

One of the first attempts to explain the nature of a social institution in "domestic" sociology was made by Professor Yu. Levada, interpreting it as a center (node) of people's activities that maintains its stability for a certain time and ensures the stability of the entire social system.

There are many interpretations and approaches to understanding the social institution in the scientific literature. Often it is seen as a stable set of formal and informal rules, principles, norms, and guidelines that regulate various areas of human activity.

Social institutions are organized associations of people who perform certain socially significant functions that ensure the joint achievement of goals based on the fulfillment of their social roles within the framework of values and patterns of behavior.

It includes:

■ a specific group of people who perform public functions;

■ an organizational set of functions performed by individuals, group members on behalf of the entire group;

■ set of institutions, organizations, means of activity;

■ some social roles that are especially important for the group - that is, everything that is aimed at satisfying the needs and regulating people's behavior.

For example, the court - as a social institution - acts as:

■ a group of people who perform certain functions;

■ organizational forms of functions that the court performs (analyzes, judges, analyzes)

■ institutions, organizations, means of functioning;

■ the social role of a judge or prosecutor, lawyer.

One of the necessary conditions for the emergence of social institutions is certain social needs that have always arisen, existed and changed. The history of the development of social institutions shows the constant transformation of institutions of the traditional type into a modern social institution. Traditional (in the past) institutions are characterized by strict rituals, circulars, fanned by centuries of tradition, as well as family ties and relationships. Historically, the clan and the family community were the first leading institutions. Then there appeared institutions that regulate relations between clans - institutions for the exchange of products (economic). Subsequently, the so-called political institutions (regulation of the security of peoples), etc. appeared. During the course of historical development, certain social institutions dominated in the life of society: tribal leaders, the council of elders, the church, the state, etc.

Institutions should organize the joint activities of people in order to meet certain social needs.

Each institution is characterized by the presence of the goal of its activity, specific functions that ensure the achievement of this goal, a set of social positions, roles typical for this institution, a system of norms, sanctions, and incentives. These systems determine the normalization of the behavior of people, all subjects of social action, coordinate their aspirations, establish forms, ways to satisfy their needs and interests, resolve conflicts, and temporarily provide a state of equilibrium within a particular society.

The process of formation of a social institution (institutionalization) is quite complex and lengthy, it consists of several successive stages:

Any institution has functions and a range of tasks in public life, which are of a different nature, but the main ones are:

■ enabling group members to meet their needs;

■ regulating the actions of group members within certain limits;

■ ensuring the sustainability of public life.

Each person uses the services of many structural components of social institutions, it:

1) is born and brought up in a family;

2) studies in schools, institutions of various kinds;

3) works at various enterprises;

4) use the services of transport, housing, distribution and exchange of goods;

5) draws information from newspapers, TV, radio, cinema;

6) realizes his leisure, uses his free time (entertainment)

7) uses security guarantees (police, medicine, army), etc.

During life, satisfying his needs, a person is included in the network of social institutions, performing in each of his specific role, duty, functions. A social institution is a symbol of order and organization in society. People, during historical development, have always sought to institutionalize (regulate) their relations related to actual needs in various fields of activity, therefore, according to the type of activity, social institutions are divided into:

Economic - those that are engaged in the production, distribution, regulation of goods, services (satisfying the needs for obtaining and regulating means of subsistence)	Economic, trade, financial associations, market structures, (property system)
Political - satisfying the needs for security and establishing social order and associated with the establishment, execution, support of power, as well as education, regulation of moral, legal, ideological values, support for the existing social structure of society;	State, parties, trade unions, other public organizations
Educational and cultural - created to ensure the development of culture (education, science), the transfer of cultural values; in turn, they are divided into: socio-cultural, educational (mechanisms and means of moral and ethical orientation, normative-sanctioning mechanisms for regulating behavior based on norms, rules), public - all the rest, local councils, ceremonial organizations, voluntary associations that regulate everyday interpersonal contacts ;	Family, scientific institutions, art institutions, organizations, cultural institutions
Religious - regulating the relationship of people with religious structures, solving spiritual problems and problems of the meaning of life;	clergy, ceremonies
Marriage and family - which satisfy the needs for the reproduction of the genus.	Relations of kinship (paternity, marriage)

Such a typology is not complete and unique, but includes the main ones that determine the regulation of basic social functions. However, it is impossible to assert that all these institutions are separate. In real life, their functions are closely intertwined.

On economic social institutions, the economy as a social institution has a complex structure. it can be represented as a set of more specific institutional elements of production, distribution, exchange and consumption, as a set of institutionalized sectors of the economy: state, collective, individual, as a set of elements of economic consciousness, economic regulations and economic relations, organizations and institutions. The economy as a social institution performs a number of functions:

■ distribution (support and development of forms of social division of labor);

■ stimulating (providing increased incentives to work, economic interest)

■ integration (ensuring the unity of interests of employees);

■ innovative (updating the forms and organizations of production).

Depending on the formalization and legalization of social institutions, they are divided into: formal and informal.

Formal - those in which functions, means, methods of action are expressed [in formal rules, norms, laws, have a guarantee of a stable organization.

Informal - those in which functions, means, methods of action have not found expression in formal rules, regulations, etc. (a group of children who play in the yard, temporary groups, interest clubs, protest groups).

The diversity of social relations and the versatility of human nature modify both the structure of social institutions and dynamize their development (withering away, liquidation of some, emergence of others). Social institutions, constantly developing, change their forms. The sources of development are internal (endogenous) and external (exogenous) factors. Therefore, the modern development of social institutions takes place according to two main options:

1) the emergence of new social institutions in new social conditions;

2) development and improvement of already established social institutions.

The effectiveness of social institutions depends on a large number of factors (conditions), including:

■ a clear definition of the goals, objectives and scope of functions of the social institution;

■ strict observance of the performance of functions by each member of the social institution;

■ conflict-free inclusion and further functioning in the system of public relations.

However, a situation may arise when changes in social needs are not reflected in the structure and functions of a social institution, and disharmony, dysfunction may arise in its activities, expressed in the ambiguity of the goals of the institution, uncertain functions, and a decrease in its social authority.

social institution or public institution- a form of organization of joint life activity of people, historically established or created by purposeful efforts, the existence of which is dictated by the need to meet the social, economic, political, cultural or other needs of society as a whole or part of it. Institutions are characterized by their ability to influence people's behavior through established rules.

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Subtitles

History of the term

Types of social institutions

The need for the reproduction of the genus (the institution of family and marriage).
The need for security and order (the state).
The need to obtain means of subsistence (production).
The need for the transfer of knowledge, the socialization of the younger generation (institutions of public education).
Needs in Solving Spiritual Problems (Institute of Religion).

Basic information

Therefore, in the Russian language, a social institution is often given a different name - “institution” (from the Latin institutio - custom, instruction, instruction, order), understanding by it the totality of social customs, the embodiment of certain habits of behavior, way of thinking and life, transmitted from generation to generation, changing depending on the circumstances and serving as an instrument of adaptation to them, and under the "institution" - the consolidation of customs and practices in the form of a law or institution. The term "social institution" has absorbed both the "institution" (customs) and the "institution" itself (institutions, laws), as it combines both formal and informal "rules of the game".

Spheres of life of society

There are a number of spheres of the life of society, in each of which specific social institutions and social relations are formed:
− Economic- relations in the production process (production, distribution, exchange, consumption of material goods). Institutions related to the economic sphere: private property, material production, market, etc.
− Social- relations between different social and age groups; activities to ensure social guarantees. Institutions related to the social sphere: education, family, health care, social security, leisure, etc.
− Political- relations between civil society and the state, between the state and political parties, as well as between states. Institutions related to the political sphere: state, law, parliament, government, judiciary, political parties, army, etc.
− Spiritual- relations that arise in the process of the formation of spiritual values, their preservation, distribution, consumption, as well as transmission to the next generations. Institutions related to the spiritual sphere: religion, education, science, art, etc.

− Kinship institution (marriage and family)- associated with the regulation of childbearing, relations between spouses and children, the socialization of young people.

institutionalization

the emergence of a need, the satisfaction of which requires joint organized action;
formation of common goals;
the emergence of social norms and rules in the course of spontaneous social interaction carried out by trial and error;
the emergence of procedures related to rules and regulations;
institutionalization of norms and rules, procedures, that is, their adoption, practical application;
the establishment of a system of sanctions to maintain norms and rules, the differentiation of their application in individual cases;
creation of a system of statuses and roles covering all members of the institute without exception;

The process of institutionalization thus involves a number of points.

One of the necessary conditions for the emergence of social institutions is the corresponding social need. Institutions are designed to organize the joint activities of people in order to meet certain social needs. Thus, the institution of the family satisfies the need for the reproduction of the human race and the upbringing of children, implements relations between the sexes, generations, etc. The institution of higher education provides training for the workforce, enables a person to develop his abilities in order to realize them in subsequent activities and ensure his own existence, etc. The emergence of certain social needs, as well as the conditions for their satisfaction, are the first necessary moments of institutionalization.
A social institution is formed on the basis of social ties, interactions and relationships of specific individuals, social groups and communities. But it, like other social systems, cannot be reduced to the sum of these individuals and their interactions. Social institutions are supra-individual in nature, have their own systemic quality. Consequently, a social institution is an independent public entity, which has its own logic of development. From this point of view, social institutions can be considered as organized social systems characterized by the stability of the structure, the integration of their elements and a certain variability of their functions.

The third most important element of institutionalization is the organizational design of a social institution. Outwardly, a social institution is a set of organizations, institutions, persons provided with certain material resources and performing a certain social function. Thus, the institution of higher education is put into action by the social corps of teachers, service personnel, officials who operate within the framework of institutions such as universities, the ministry or the State Committee for Higher Education, etc., who for their activities have certain material values (buildings, finance, etc.).

Structure and functions of social institutions

Structure

concept social institution suggests:

the presence of a need in society and its satisfaction by the mechanism of reproduction of social practices and relations;
these mechanisms, being supra-individual formations, act in the form of value-normative complexes that regulate social life as a whole or its separate sphere, but for the benefit of the whole;

Their structure includes:

role models of behavior and statuses (prescriptions for their execution);
their justification (theoretical, ideological, religious, mythological) in the form of a categorical grid that defines a "natural" vision of the world;
means of transmitting social experience (material, ideal and symbolic), as well as measures that stimulate one behavior and repress another, tools to maintain institutional order;
social positions - the institutions themselves represent a social position (“empty” social positions do not exist, so the question of the subjects of social institutions disappears).

In addition, they assume the existence of certain social positions of "professionals" who are able to put this mechanism into action, playing by its rules, including a whole system of their preparation, reproduction and maintenance.

“Social institutions are organizations and groups in which the life activity of community members takes place and which, at the same time, perform the functions of organizing and managing this life activity” [Ilyasov F. N. Dictionary of Social Research http://www.jsr.su/ dic/S.html].

Functions

Each social institution has a main function that determines its "face", associated with its main social role in the consolidation and reproduction of certain social practices and relations. If this is an army, then its role is to ensure the military-political security of the country by participating in hostilities and demonstrating its military power. In addition to it, there are other explicit functions, to some extent characteristic of all social institutions, ensuring the implementation of the main one.

Social institutions in public life perform the following functions or tasks:

Reproduction of members of society. The main institution that performs this function is the family, but other social institutions, such as the state, are also involved in it.
Socialization is the transfer to individuals of patterns of behavior and methods of activity established in a given society - the institutions of the family, education, religion, etc.
Production and distribution. Provided by the economic and social institutions of management and control - the authorities.
The functions of management and control are carried out through a system of social norms and regulations that implement the corresponding types of behavior: moral and legal norms, customs, administrative decisions, etc. Social institutions control the individual's behavior through a system of sanctions.

In addition to solving its specific tasks, each social institution performs universal functions inherent in all of them. The functions common to all social institutions include the following:

The function of fixing and reproducing social relations. Each institution has a set of norms and rules of conduct, fixed, standardizing the behavior of its members and making this behavior predictable. Social control provides the order and framework in which the activities of each member of the institution must proceed. Thus, the institution ensures the stability of the structure of society. The Code of the Institute of the Family assumes that members of society are divided into stable small groups - families. Social control provides a state of stability for each family, limits the possibility of its collapse.
Regulatory function. It ensures the regulation of relationships between members of society by developing patterns and patterns of behavior. All human life takes place with the participation of various social institutions, but each social institution regulates activities. Consequently, a person, with the help of social institutions, demonstrates predictability and standard behavior, fulfills role requirements and expectations.
Integrative function. This function ensures cohesion, interdependence and mutual responsibility of the members. This happens under the influence of institutionalized norms, values, rules, a system of roles and sanctions. It streamlines the system of interactions, which leads to an increase in the stability and integrity of the elements of the social structure.
Broadcasting function. Society cannot develop without the transfer of social experience. Each institution for its normal functioning needs the arrival of new people who have learned its rules. This happens by changing the social boundaries of the institution and changing generations. Consequently, each institution provides a mechanism for socialization to its values, norms, roles.
Communication functions. The information produced by the institution should be disseminated both within the institution (for the purpose of managing and monitoring compliance with social norms) and in interaction between institutions. This function has its own specifics - formal connections. This is the main function of the media institute. Scientific institutions actively perceive information. The communicative capabilities of institutions are not the same: some have them to a greater extent, others to a lesser extent.

Functional qualities

Social institutions differ from each other in their functional qualities:

Political institutions - the state, parties, trade unions and other kinds of public organizations pursuing political goals, aimed at establishing and maintaining a certain form of political power. Their totality constitutes the political system of a given society. Political institutions ensure the reproduction and sustainable preservation of ideological values, and stabilize the social class structures that dominate in society.
Sociocultural and educational institutions aim at the development and subsequent reproduction of cultural and social values, the inclusion of individuals in a particular subculture, as well as the socialization of individuals through the assimilation of stable sociocultural standards of behavior and, finally, the protection of certain values and norms.
Normative-orienting - mechanisms of moral and ethical orientation and regulation of the behavior of individuals. Their goal is to give behavior and motivation a moral argument, an ethical basis. These institutions assert imperative universal human values, special codes and ethics of behavior in the community.
Normative-sanctioning - social and social regulation of behavior on the basis of norms, rules and regulations enshrined in legal and administrative acts. The binding nature of the norms is ensured by the coercive power of the state and the system of appropriate sanctions.
Ceremonial-symbolic and situational-conventional institutions. These institutions are based on a more or less long-term adoption of conventional (by agreement) norms, their official and unofficial consolidation. These norms regulate everyday contacts, various acts of group and intergroup behavior. They determine the order and method of mutual behavior, regulate the methods of transmission and exchange of information, greetings, addresses, etc., the rules of meetings, sessions, and the activities of associations.

Dysfunction of a social institution

Formal and informal social institutions

Social institutions, as well as the social relations they reproduce and regulate, can be formal and informal.

Classification of social institutions

In addition to the division into formal and informal social institutions, modern researchers distinguish conventions (or “strategies”), norms and rules. The convention is a generally accepted prescription: for example, “in the event of a telephone break, the one who called back calls back.” Conventions support the reproduction of social behavior. A norm implies a prohibition, requirement or permission. The rule provides for sanctions for violations, therefore, the presence in society of monitoring and control over behavior. The development of institutions is connected with the transition of a rule into a convention, i.e. with the expansion of the use of the institution and the gradual rejection in society of coercion to its execution.

Role in the development of society

According to American researchers Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson (English) Russian it is the nature of the public institutions that exist in a particular country that determines the success or failure of the development of this country, their book Why Nations Fail, published in 2012, is devoted to proving this statement.

After examining the examples of many countries of the world, scientists came to the conclusion that the defining and necessary condition for the development of any country is the presence of public institutions, which they called public (Eng. Inclusive institutions). Examples of such countries are all developed democratic countries of the world. Conversely, countries where public institutions are closed are doomed to fall behind and decline. Public institutions in such countries, according to researchers, serve only to enrich the elites that control access to these institutions - this is the so-called. "extractive institutions" (eng. extractive institutions). According to the authors, the economic development of society is impossible without advancing political development, that is, without the formation public political institutions. .

The foundation on which the whole society is built is social institutions. The term comes from the Latin "institutum" - "charter".

For the first time this concept was introduced into scientific circulation by the American sociologist T. Veblein in the book The Theory of the Leisure Class in 1899.

A social institution in the broad sense of the word is a system of values, norms and relationships that organize people to meet their needs.

Outwardly, a social institution looks like a set of individuals, institutions, equipped with certain material resources and performing a specific social function.

Social institutions have a historical origin and are in constant change and development. Their formation is called institutionalization.

institutionalization- this is the process of defining and consolidating social norms, connections, statuses and roles, bringing them into a system that is able to act in the direction of satisfying some social need. This process consists of several stages:

1) the emergence of needs that can only be satisfied as a result of joint activities;

2) the emergence of norms and rules governing interaction to meet emerging needs;

3) adoption and implementation in practice of the emerging norms and rules;

4) creation of a system of statuses and roles covering all members of the institute.

Institutes have their own distinctive features:

1) cultural symbols (flag, emblem, anthem);

3) ideology, philosophy (mission).

Social institutions in society perform a significant set of functions:

1) reproductive - consolidation and reproduction of social relations, ensuring the order and framework of activities;

2) regulatory - regulation of relationships between members of society by developing patterns of behavior;

3) socialization - the transfer of social experience;

4) integrative - cohesion, interconnection and mutual responsibility of group members under the influence of institutional norms, rules, sanctions and a system of roles;

5) communicative - dissemination of information within the institution and to the external environment, maintaining relationships with other institutions;

6) automation - the desire for independence.

The functions performed by the institution can be explicit or latent.

The existence of the latent functions of the institution allows us to talk about its ability to bring more benefits to society than originally stated. Social institutions perform the functions of social management and social control in society.

Social institutions govern the behavior of community members through a system of sanctions and rewards.

The formation of a system of sanctions is the main condition for institutionalization. Sanctions provide punishment for inaccurate, negligent and incorrect performance of official duties.

Positive sanctions (gratitude, material incentives, creation of favorable conditions) are aimed at encouraging and stimulating correct and proactive behavior.

The social institution thus determines the orientation of social activity and social relations through a mutually agreed system of expediently oriented standards of behavior. Their emergence and grouping into a system depend on the content of the tasks solved by the social institution.

Each such institution is characterized by the presence of an activity goal, specific functions that ensure its achievement, a set of social positions and roles, as well as a system of sanctions that ensure the promotion of desired and the suppression of deviant behavior.

Social institutions always perform socially significant functions and ensure the achievement of relatively stable social ties and relationships within the framework of the social organization of society.

Social needs unsatisfied by the institution give rise to new forces and normatively unregulated activities. In practice, it is possible to implement the following ways out of this situation:

1) reorientation of old social institutions;

2) creation of new social institutions;

3) reorientation of public consciousness.

In sociology, there is a generally recognized system for classifying social institutions into five types, which is based on the needs realized through institutions:

1) family - reproduction of the genus and socialization of the individual;

2) political institutions - the need for security and public order, with their help political power is established and maintained;

3) economic institutions - production and livelihood, they ensure the process of production and distribution of goods and services;

4) institutions of education and science - the need for obtaining and transferring knowledge and socialization;

5) the institution of religion - the solution of spiritual problems, the search for the meaning of life.

2. Social control and deviant behavior

As already mentioned, one of the main functions of social institutions is to ensure social control. Social control is the normative regulation of people's behavior in social systems.

It is a mechanism for maintaining public order, including norms and sanctions.

So, the main mechanisms of social control are norms and sanctions.

Norm- the rule that exists in a given society and is accepted by an individual, a standard, a pattern of behavior that determines how he should behave in a given situation. Norm - socially approved invariants of behavior.

Norm - the interval of permissible actions. Norms are formal and informal.

Sanctions- rewards and punishments associated with the implementation of norms. Sanctions can also be classified into several types:

1) formal;

2) informal;

3) positive;

4) negative.

Phenomena that do not fit into the framework of social norms are called deviation.

Deviant behavior is actions, human activities, social phenomena that do not correspond to the norms established in a given society.

In the sociological study of deviant behavior, the influence of the value orientations of the individual, his attitudes, the features of the formation of the social environment, the state of social relations, and institutional forms of ownership are analyzed.

As a rule, social deviations are associated with a persistent distortion of value orientations typical of society and social groups.

The main direction of the sociological study of the problem of deviation is aimed at identifying its causes.

Within the framework of sociology, the following theories have developed on this issue.

1. Charles Lombarzo, William Sheldon believed that certain physical personality traits predetermine the deviation of the personality from the norm.

So Sheldon divides people into 3 types:

1) endomorphs are overweight, not prone to deviant behavior;

2) mesomorphs - athletic physique, may be characterized by deviant behavior;

3) ectomorphs - thin, hardly prone to deviant behavior.

2. Z. Freud saw the cause of deviations in the fact that conflicts constantly occur within each personality.

It is the internal conflict that is the source of deviant behavior.

In any person there is an “I” (consciousness) and a “super-I” (unconscious). There are constant conflicts between them.

"I" tries to keep the unconscious in a person. If this fails, then the biological, animal essence breaks out.

3. Emile Durkheim. Deviation is determined by the process of socialization of the individual.

This process may or may not succeed.

Success or failure is associated with a person's ability to adapt to the system of social norms of society.

Moreover, the more a person shows creative activity, the more chances to live his life successfully. Success is influenced by social institutions (family, institute of education, fatherland).

4. R. Merton believed that deviant behavior is a consequence of the mismatch between the goals generated by the social structure and culture and the socially organized means of achieving them.

Goals are something to strive for, a basic component in the lives of all walks of life.

Means are evaluated in terms of the possibility of achieving the goal.

They must be portable and efficient. Based on this premise, deviant behavior occurs only if the balance between goals and means to achieve them is disturbed.

Thus, the main reason for the deviation is the gap between the goals and means of achieving these goals, which occurs due to unequal access to the means of different strata of groups.

On the basis of his theoretical developments, Merton identified five types of deviant behavior depending on the attitude towards goals and means to achieve them.

1. conformism- the agreement of the individual with the goals generally accepted in society and the means to achieve them. The assignment of this type to deviant is not accidental.

Psychologists use the term "conformism" to define a person's blind following of other people's opinions, so as not to create unnecessary difficulties in communicating with others, to achieve their goals, sometimes sinning against the truth.

On the other hand, conforming behavior makes it difficult to assert one's own independent behavior or opinion.

2. Innovation- acceptance by the individual of goals, but a preference to use non-standard means to achieve them.

3. ritualism- rejection of generally accepted goals, but the use of standard means for society.

4. retreatism- complete rejection of social attitudes.

5. rebellion- changing social goals and means in accordance with one's will and raising them to the rank of socially significant ones.

Within the framework of other sociological theories, the following types are distinguished as the main types of deviant behavior:

1) cultural and mental deviations - deviations from the norms of culture. May be hazardous or non-hazardous;

2) individual and group deviations - an individual, an individual rejects the norms of his subculture. Group - illusory world;

3) primary and secondary. Primary - prank, secondary - deviant deviation;

4) culturally acceptable deviations;

5) over-intellectuality, over-motivation;

6) culturally condemned deviations. Violation of moral standards and violation of the law.

The economy as a social institution is a set of institutionalized modes of activity, models of social actions that form various types of economic behavior of people and organizations to meet their needs.

The core of the economy is work. Work- this is a solution of problems associated with the expenditure of mental and physical efforts, with the goal of producing goods and services that satisfy human needs. E. Giddens identifies six main characteristics of the work.

1. Money. Wages or salary for most people - the main source of satisfaction of their needs.

2. Activity level. Professional activity is often the basis for the acquisition and implementation of knowledge and capabilities.

Even if the work is routine, it offers some structured environment in which the energy of a given person can be realized.

Without work, the possibility of realizing knowledge and abilities may decrease.

3. Variety. Employment gives access to situations beyond the domestic environment. In a work environment, even when tasks are relatively monotonous, an individual may derive satisfaction from performing duties that are not like household chores.

4. Structuring time. For people who have a regular job, the day is usually organized around the rhythm of work. Although it can sometimes be depressing, it gives a sense of direction in daily activities.

For those who are unemployed, boredom is a big problem, and such people develop an apathy towards time.

5. Social contacts. The work environment often engenders friendship and the opportunity to engage in collaborative activities with others.

In the absence of contacts at work, the circle of friends and acquaintances of a person decreases.

6. Personal identity. Employment is usually valued for the sense of personal social stability it provides.

In historical retrospect, the following main types of economic activity are distinguished:

1) in a primitive society - hunting, fishing, gathering;

2) in slave-owning and feudal societies - farming;

3) in an industrial society - commodity-industrial production;

4) in a post-industrial society - information technology.

There are three sectors in the modern economy: primary, secondary and tertiary.

The primary sector of the economy includes agriculture, mining and forestry, fishing, etc. The secondary sector includes enterprises that convert raw materials into manufactured goods.

Finally, the tertiary sector is associated with the service industry, with those activities that, without directly producing material goods, offer the rest of any services.

There are five primary types of economic systems or types of economic activity.

The state economy is a set of public enterprises and organizations working for the benefit of the entire population.

In every modern society there is a public sector of the economy, although its share varies.

World practice shows that the total nationalization of the economy is ineffective, since it does not give the proper economic effect, as well as the general privatization of enterprises.

The private economy dominates in modern developed countries.

It arose as a result of the industrial revolution at the stage of industrial society.

Initially, the private economy developed independently of the state, but economic cataclysms raised the question of strengthening state regulation of the private sector in the economy.

barrack economy- this is the economic behavior of military personnel, prisoners and all other people living in a confined space, "barracks" form (hospitals, boarding schools, prisons, etc.).

All these forms are characterized by the “camp collectivity” of their life, the obligatory and compulsory performance of functions, dependence on funding, as a rule, from the state.

The shadow (criminal) economy exists in all countries of the world, although it refers to criminal activity. This type of economic behavior is deviant, but it is closely related to the private economy.

The English sociologist Duke Hobbes, in his book Bad Business, develops the idea that it is impossible to draw a clear line between professional economic behavior and everyday business activity.

In particular, banks are sometimes rated as "elegant robbers". Among the traditional forms of mafia economic activity: trafficking in weapons, drugs, live goods, etc.

A mixed (additional) economy is the work of a person outside the scope of his professional employment.

Sociologist E. Giddens calls it "informal", noting the "bifurcation" of labor into professional and "additional", for example, the work of a doctor on a personal plot, which is carried out at a non-professional level.

Additional work sometimes requires a huge investment of time and energy from a person, and the result is low.

The economy as a social institution is designed to satisfy primarily the material needs of man.

Politics as a social institution is a set of certain organizations (authorities and administrations, political parties, social movements) that regulate the political behavior of people in accordance with accepted norms, laws, and rules.

Each of the political institutions carries out a certain type of political activity and includes a social community, layer, group, specializing in the implementation of political activities to manage society. These institutions are characterized by:

1) political norms governing relations within and between political institutions, and between political and non-political institutions of society;

2) material resources necessary to achieve the goals.

Political institutions ensure the reproduction, stability and regulation of political activity, the preservation of the identity of the political community even with a change in composition, strengthen social ties and intra-group cohesion, exercise control over political behavior.

The focus of politics is power and control in society.

The main carrier of political power is the state, which, relying on law and law, carries out compulsory regulation and control over social processes in order to ensure the normal and stable functioning of society.

The universal structure of state power is:

1) legislative bodies (parliaments, councils, congresses, etc.);

2) executive bodies (government, ministries, state committees, law enforcement agencies, etc.);

3) judicial authorities;

4) army and state security agencies;

5) state information system, etc.

The sociological nature of the activities of the state and other political organizations is associated with the functioning of society as a whole.

Politics should contribute to the solution of social problems, at the same time, politicians tend to use state power and representative bodies to satisfy certain pressure groups.

The state as the core of the sociological system provides:

1) social integration of society;

2) safety of life of people and society as a whole;

3) distribution of resources and social benefits;

4) cultural and educational activities;

5) social control over deviant behavior.

The basis of politics is power associated with the use of force, coercion in relation to all members of society, organizations, movements.

The subordination of power is based on:

1) traditions and customs (traditional domination, for example, the power of a slave owner over a slave);

2) devotion to a person endowed with some higher power (the charismatic power of leaders, for example, Moses, Buddha);

3) conscious conviction in the correctness of formal rules and the need to comply with them (this type of subordination is characteristic of most modern states).

The complexity of sociopolitical activity is associated with differences in social status, interests, positions of people and political forces.

They influence the differences in the types of political power. N. Smelser cites the following types of states: democratic and non-democratic (totalitarian, authoritarian).

In democratic societies, all political institutions are autonomous (power is divided into independent branches - executive, legislative, judicial).

All political institutions influence the formation of state and power structures, form the political direction of the development of society.

Democratic states are associated with representative democracy, when the people for a certain period of time transfer power to their representatives in the elections.

These states, mostly Western, are characterized by the following features:

1) individualism;

2) constitutional form of government;

3) the general agreement of those who are controlled;

4) loyal opposition.

In totalitarian states, leaders seek to retain power, keeping the people under complete control, using a unified mono-party system, control over the economy, the media, and the family, conducting terror against the opposition. In authoritarian states, approximately the same measures are carried out in milder forms, in the conditions of the existence of the private sector and other parties.

The sociopolitical subsystem of society is a spectrum of different vectors of power, control, and political activity.

In an integral system of society, they are in a state of constant struggle, but without the victory of any one line. Crossing the border of measure in the struggle leads to deviant forms of power in society:

1) totalitarian, in which the military-administrative method of government dominates;

2) spontaneous market, where power passes to corporate groups that merge with the mafia and wage war with each other;

3) stagnant, when a relative and temporary balance of opposing forces and control methods is established.

In Soviet and Russian society, one can find manifestations of all these deviations, but totalitarianism under Stalin and stagnation under Brezhnev were especially pronounced.

The education system is one of the most important social institutions. It ensures the socialization of individuals, through which they develop the qualities necessary for indispensable life processes and transformations.

The institution of education has a long history of primary forms of knowledge transfer from parents to children.

Education serves the development of the individual, contributes to its self-realization.

At the same time, education is of crucial importance for the society itself, ensuring the fulfillment of the most important tasks of a practical and symbolic nature.

The education system makes a significant contribution to the integration of society and contributes to the formation of a sense of common historical destiny, belonging to this single society.

But the education system has other functions as well. Sorokin notes that education (especially higher education) is a kind of channel (elevator) through which people increase their social status. At the same time, education exercises social control over the behavior and worldview of children and adolescents.

The education system as an institution includes the following components:

1) educational authorities and institutions and organizations subordinate to them;

2) a network of educational institutions (schools, colleges, gymnasiums, lyceums, universities, academies, etc.), including institutions for advanced training and retraining of teachers;

3) creative unions, professional associations, scientific and methodological councils and other associations;

4) educational and scientific infrastructure institutions, design, production, clinical, medical and preventive, pharmacological, cultural and educational enterprises, printing houses, etc.;

5) textbooks and teaching aids for teachers and students;

6) periodicals, including journals and yearbooks, reflecting the latest achievements of scientific thought.

The institution of education includes a certain area of activity, groups of persons authorized to perform certain managerial and other functions on the basis of established rights and obligations, organizational norms and principles of relations between officials.

The set of norms that regulate the interaction of people about learning indicates that education is a social institution.

A harmonious and balanced education system that meets the modern needs of society is the most important condition for the preservation and development of society.

Science, along with education, can be regarded as a social macro-institution.

Science, like the education system, is a central social institution in all modern societies and is the most complex area of human intellectual activity.

More and more, the very existence of society depends on advanced scientific knowledge. Not only the material conditions for the existence of society, but also the ideas of its members about the world depend on the development of science.

The main function of science is the development and theoretical systematization of objective knowledge about reality. The purpose of scientific activity is the acquisition of new knowledge.

Purpose of education- transfer of new knowledge to new generations, i.e. youth.

If there is no first, then there is no second. That is why these institutions are considered in close relationship and as a single system.

In turn, the existence of science without education is also impossible, since it is in the process of education that new scientific personnel are formed.

The formulation of the principles of science has been proposed Robert Merton in 1942

Among them: universalism, communalism, disinterest and organizational skepticism.

The principle of universalism means that science and its discoveries are of a single, universal (universal) character. No personal characteristics of individual scientists (gender, age, religion, etc.) matter in assessing the value of their work.

Research results should be judged solely on their scientific merit.

According to the principle of communalism, no scientific knowledge can become the personal property of a scientist, but should be available to any member of the scientific community.

The principle of disinterest means that the pursuit of personal interests does not meet the requirements for the professional role of a scientist.

The principle of organized skepticism means that the scientist must refrain from formulating conclusions until the facts are fully consistent.

A religious institution belongs to a non-secular culture, but plays a very important role in the lives of many people as a system of norms of cultural behavior, that is, serving God.

The social significance of religion in the world is evidenced by the following statistics on the number of believers at the beginning of the 21st century: out of 6 billion of the world's population, more than 4 billion are believers. And about 2 billion profess Christianity.

Orthodoxy within Christianity ranks third after Catholicism and Protestantism. Islam is practiced by a little more than 1 billion, Judaism - more than 650 million, Buddhism - more than 300 million, Confucianism - about 200 million, Zionism - 18 million, the rest profess other religions.

Among the main functions of religion as a social institution are the following:

1) an explanation of the past, present and future of man;

2) regulation of moral behavior from birth to death of a person;

3) approval or criticism of social orders in society;

4) uniting people and support in difficult times.

The sociology of religion pays great attention to clarifying the social functions that religion performs in society. As a result, sociologists have formulated different points of view on religion as a social institution.

So, E. Durkheim believed that religion- the product of a person or social group, necessary for moral unity, an expression of a collective ideal.

God is a reflection of this ideal. Functions of religious ceremonies Durkheim sees in:

1) rallying people - a meeting to express common interests;

2) revitalization - revival of the past, connection of the present with the past;

3) euphoria - general acceptance of life, distraction from the unpleasant;

4) order and training - self-discipline and preparation for life.

M. Weber paid special attention to the study of Protestantism and highlighted its positive impact on the development of capitalism, which determined its values such as:

1) hard work, self-discipline and self-restraint;

2) multiplying money without waste;

3) personal success as the key to salvation.

The religious factor affects the economy, politics, the state, interethnic relations, the family, the area of culture through the activities of believing individuals, groups, organizations in these areas.

There is an "imposition" of religious relations on other social relations.

The core of the religious institution is the church. The Church is an organization that uses a variety of means, including religious morality, rites and rituals, with the help of which it obliges, makes people act accordingly.

Society needs the Church, as it is a spiritual support for millions of people, including those seeking justice, distinguishing between good and evil, gives them guidelines in the form of moral norms, behavior and values.

In Russian society, the majority of the population professes Orthodoxy (70%), a significant number of Muslim believers (25%), the rest are representatives of other religious denominations (5%).

Almost all types of beliefs are represented in Russia, and there are many sects.

It should be noted that in the 1990s, the religiosity of the adult population had a positive trend due to socio-economic transformations in the country.

However, at the beginning of the third millennium, a decrease in the rating of trust in relation to religious organizations was revealed, including the Russian Orthodox Church, which enjoys the greatest trust.

This decline is in line with the decline in confidence in other public institutions as a reaction to unfulfilled hopes for reforms.

He prays every day, visits the temple (mosque) at least once a month, about a fifth, that is, about a third of those who consider themselves believers.

At present, the problem with the unification of all Christian denominations, which was vigorously discussed during the celebration of the 2000th anniversary of Christianity, has not been resolved.

The Orthodox Church believes that this is possible only on the basis of the faith of the ancient, indivisible Church, of which Orthodoxy feels itself to be the successor.

Other branches of Christianity, on the contrary, believe that Orthodoxy needs to be reformed.

Various points of view testify to the impossibility of uniting Christianity on a world scale, at least at the present time.

The Orthodox Church is loyal to the state and maintains friendly relations with other confessions in order to overcome interethnic tensions.

Religious institutions and society should be in a state of harmony, interacting with each other in the formation of universal values, preventing social problems from developing into inter-ethnic conflicts on religious grounds.

Family is a social-biological system of society that ensures the reproduction of members of the community. This definition contains the main goal of the family as a social institution. In addition, the family is called upon to perform the following functions:

1) socio-biological - satisfaction of sexual needs and needs for procreation;

2) upbringing, socialization of children;

3) economic, which is manifested in the organization of the household life of all family members, including the provision of housing and the necessary infrastructure;

4) political, which is associated with power in the family and the management of its life;

5) sociocultural - regulation of the entire spiritual life of the family.

The above functions testify to the need for a family for all its members and the inevitability of uniting people living outside the family.

The selection of types of families and their classification can be carried out for various reasons:

1) according to the form of marriage:

a) monogamous (marriage of one man with one woman);

b) polyandry (a woman has several spouses);

c) polygyny (marriage of one man with two or more wives);

2) by composition:

a) nuclear (simple) - consist of a husband, wife and children (full) or with the absence of one of the parents (incomplete);

b) complex - include representatives of several generations;

3) by number of children:

a) childless;

b) one-child;

c) small children;

d) large families (from three or more children);

4) by stages of civilizational evolution:

a) the patriarchal family of a traditional society with the authoritarian power of the father, in whose hands is the solution of all issues;

b) egalitarian-democratic, based on equality in relations between husband and wife, on mutual respect and social partnership.

According to the forecasts of American sociologists E. Giddens and N. Smelzer in a post-industrial society, the institution of the family is undergoing significant changes.

According to Smelser, there will be no return to the traditional family. The modern family will change, partially losing or changing some functions, although the family's monopoly on the regulation of intimate relationships, childbearing and caring for young children will continue into the future.

At the same time, even relatively stable functions will partially decay.

Thus, the function of childbearing will be carried out by unmarried women.

Centers for the upbringing of children will be more involved in socialization.

Friendship and emotional support can be obtained not only in the family.

E. Giddens notes a steady trend of weakening the regulatory function of the family in relation to sexual life, but believes that marriage and the family will remain strong institutions.

The family as a socio-biological system is analyzed from the standpoint of functionalism and conflict theory. The family, on the one hand, is closely connected with society through its functions, and on the other hand, all family members are interconnected by consanguinity and social relations.

It should also be noted that the family is a carrier of contradictions, both with society and between its members.

The life of a family is connected with the solution of contradictions between husband, wife, children, relatives, surrounding people regarding the performance of functions, even if it is based on love and respect.

In the family, as in society, there is not only unity, integrity and harmony, but also a struggle of interests.

The nature of conflicts can be understood from the standpoint of the exchange theory, which implies that all family members should strive for an equal exchange in their relationship. Tensions and conflicts arise from the fact that someone does not receive the expected "reward".

The source of the conflict may be the low wages of one of the family members, drunkenness, sexual dissatisfaction, etc.

The strong severity of violations in metabolic processes leads to the disintegration of the family.

In 1916, Sorokin identified the trend of the crisis of the modern family, which is characterized by: an increase in the number of divorces, a decrease in the number of marriages, an increase in civil marriages, an increase in prostitution, a drop in the birth rate, the release of wives from the custody of their husbands and a change in their relationship, the destruction of the religious basis of marriage, weakening the protection of the institution of marriage by the state.

The problems of the modern Russian family as a whole coincide with the global ones.

All these reasons allow us to talk about a certain family crisis.

Causes of the crisis include:

1) reduced dependence of wives on husbands in the economic sense;

2) increased mobility, especially migration;

3) changes in family functions under the influence of social, economic, cultural, religious and ethnic traditions, as well as a new technical and environmental situation;

4) cohabitation of a man and a woman without registration of marriage;

5) a decrease in the number of children in a family, as a result of which even a simple reproduction of the population does not occur;

6) the process of nuclearization of families leads to a weakening of ties between generations;

7) the number of women in the labor market is increasing;

8) the growth of the public consciousness of women.

The most acute problem is dysfunctional families that arise for socio-economic, psychological or biological reasons. The following types of dysfunctional families are distinguished:

1) conflict - the most common (about 60%);

2) immoral - oblivion of moral standards (mostly drunkenness, drug use, fights, foul language);

3) pedagogically untenable - a low level of general culture and the absence of a psychological and pedagogical culture;

4) antisocial family - an environment of disregard for generally accepted social norms and requirements.

Dysfunctional families deform the personality of children, causing anomalies both in the psyche and in behavior, for example, early alcoholization, drug addiction, prostitution, vagrancy and other forms of deviant behavior.

To support the family, the state forms a family policy, which includes a set of practical measures that give families and children certain social guarantees in order to ensure the functioning of the family in the interests of society. Thus, in a number of countries, family planning is carried out, special marriage and family consultations are created to reconcile conflicting couples, the conditions of the marriage contract are changed (if before the spouses had to take care of each other, now they must love each other, and failure to comply with this condition is one of most compelling reasons for divorce).

To solve the existing problems of the institution of the family, it is necessary to increase spending on social support for families, increase the efficiency of their use, improve legislation to protect the rights of the family, women, children and youth.

Lecture:

The concept and types of social institutions

Remember that the subsystems of society are the economic, political, social and spiritual spheres of life. Each of us is included in all these areas. How? Let's look at the example of ninth grader Andrei. Before going to school, mother asked Andrey to take out the garbage (social sphere). At the chemistry lesson, he learned a lot of new and interesting things about the types of covalent bonds (spiritual sphere). After school, Andrei went to the department of the passport office of the FMS and received a passport (political sphere). And on the way home I bought fruit in the market (economic sphere). These areas differ from each other in the nature of social relations, activities and social institutions.

In this lesson, we will analyze what a social institution is. What is there to parse? After all, it is clear to everyone that an educational institution is called an institute! In fact, this concept is much broader. Social institutions are organizations (family, party, state), and institutions (school, bank, police), and relationships (purchase - sale, upbringing, education). There are a lot of institutions and each of them has its own significance for the individual and society as a whole. Because each institution performs certain functions to meet human needs, which are very diverse. For example, the institutions of marriage and the family satisfy the need for procreation and the upbringing of children; institution of the state in organizing the life of people and ensuring order. Thus, institutions have developed historically and are in demand by society. Remember the term of the lesson:

social institution is a sustainable form of organization of people's life, aimed at meeting the needs of society and man.

Examples of social institutions by area:

Economic sphere: production, distribution, exchange, consumption, property, market, bank, firm, money, etc.

Political sphere: state, power, party, laws, parliament, government, court, citizen, etc.

Social sphere: family, marriage, motherhood, fatherhood, childhood, nation, school, university, healthcare, etc.

Spiritual sphere: religion, art, science, education, media, morality, etc.

Characteristic features of social institutions

Despite the fact that each social institution performs its specific functions, they are also characterized by common features:

First, any social institution organizes, streamlines and coordinates human activity by establishing rules and patterns of human behavior. For example, a school regulates the relationship of teachers, students and their parents with the help of the Charter.

Secondly, each social institution monitors the observance of rules and models, and applies sanctions to their violators - punishment measures, from legal to moral and ethical. For example, for violation of the norms of the Charter of the school, sanctions can be applied to the student, from a warning to expulsion from school.

The significance of social institutions in the life of society and man is great. In the following topics, you will get to know the main social institutions in detail.

Exercise: Using social science knowledge, formulate your definition of a social institution. Write your answer in the comments 📝

Social institutions examples from life. Types and functions of social institutions

History of the term

Basic information

Spheres of life of society

institutionalization

Structure and functions of social institutions

Structure

Functions

Functional qualities

Dysfunction of a social institution

Formal and informal social institutions

Role in the development of society

see also

Literature

Footnotes and notes

Encyclopedic YouTube

Subtitles

History of the term

Types of social institutions

Basic information

Spheres of life of society

institutionalization

Structure and functions of social institutions

Structure

Functions

Functional qualities

Dysfunction of a social institution

Formal and informal social institutions

Classification of social institutions

Role in the development of society

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Social institutions examples from life. Types and functions of social institutions

History of the term

Basic information

Spheres of life of society

institutionalization

Structure and functions of social institutions

Structure

Functions

Functional qualities

Dysfunction of a social institution

Formal and informal social institutions

Role in the development of society

see also

Literature

Footnotes and notes

Encyclopedic YouTube

Subtitles

History of the term

Types of social institutions

Basic information

Spheres of life of society

institutionalization

Structure and functions of social institutions

Structure

Functions

Functional qualities

Dysfunction of a social institution

Formal and informal social institutions

Classification of social institutions

Role in the development of society

We also recommend