Materialistic theory of state and law

Materialistic theories of the origin of life represent civilization as a sufficiently high level of mastery of natural forces. It indicates the achievement of technical progress, contributes to the receipt of natural benefits. The spread of inventions had an obvious beneficial effect on public life. Together with this material abundance does not mean a spiritual and cultural flourishing. It can not be assessed either as unconditionally moral, or as unambiguously immoral. Technical progress is considered to be a neutral phenomenon in relation to the cultural world.

Civilization as a subject of research

The materialistic theory of the emergence of culture considers technical achievements in various contexts. For example, the significance of achievements is the ability not only to irrigate previously infertile land, but also to create weapons of mass destruction. The concept of civilization, as a rule, is associated with the cultural-neutral in its essence technical development. The range of its use is very wide. The concept of culture, in its turn, approaches as much as possible spiritual progress. Civilization is a world of material objects, transformed by man. Culture is considered an internal property of the individual, his assessment of spiritual development, freedom or depression, complete dependence on the society surrounding him, or his autonomy and isolation.

The attitude of Western philosophy

In the writings of many thinkers, a sharply negative assessment of such a phenomenon as civilization is revealed. This attitude to it as a "cultural agony" was expressed in his works by Spengler. Since that time, the negative assessment has become even stronger. Among the negative properties of civilization, as a rule, there is a tendency to standardize thinking, the focus on the absolute correctness of universally accepted truths. She is credited with a low assessment of the originality and independence of perception, which are regarded as a social danger. If from this point of view culture promotes the formation of a perfect personality, then civilization creates a law-abiding ideal member of society. He is satisfied only with the blessings that are given to him.

Civilization is often seen as a synonym for urbanization, tyranny of machines, crowding, the source of the dehumanization of the world. Indeed, no matter how deep the penetration of the human mind into the secrets of nature, his own spiritual world remains largely mysterious. Science and civilization alone can not provide cultural progress. There is a need for a certain spiritual education, consisting of a variety of moral, intellectual, ethical achievements of all mankind. They must act not as passive components of material existence, but as an independent and active layer within an objectively developing historical process.

Socioeconomic formations

The brightest representative of the materialist theory of the origin of the state - Marx - in contrast to the philosophers' arguments about society, put forward a new category. He pointed to the existence of socio-economic formation. It is a society that is at a certain level of historical development, with distinctive characteristics. Primitive communal system, slavery, feudalism, capitalism and socialism are the elements that form the classical formational ladder of human evolution. A qualitatively defined, concrete historical type of social structure, taken in the unity of its components - the method of production, the state of art and science, the whole diversity and richness of the spiritual world, family-household interactions, the way of life of people as a whole - this is the social and economic formation .

Structure of the system

All those who are representatives of the materialist theory-Lenin, Engels, Marx and their followers-point out that the socioeconomic formation has a structure characterized primarily by such categories as "basis" and "superstructure." These components are designed to clarify the way in which production relations affect other aspects of human activities - legal, political and so on. In other words, the materialistic theory of the origin of civilization indicates that the basis and superstructure are allocated exclusively for concretising the understanding of the structure of the society, determining the cause-effect interactions. Lenin, clarifying the significance of these categories, said that the key idea of the materialist perception of history is that social relations are divided into ideological and material. The first act as a superstructure over the second one.

Characteristics of categories

Materialistic theory considers the basis as the aggregate of production relations that constitute the economic system of society. It is the defining model of ideological forms of social interactions. The superstructure, in turn, is represented in the form of a set of ideas and relations associated with them. It is also called the complex of organizations and institutions that consolidate the concepts. These institutions are, in particular, political associations, the state, trade unions, other public organizations.

Nuance

It should be noted that the basis and superstructure do not exhaust all the variety of phenomena taking place in social life. For example, such phenomena as science, some other spiritual categories, can not be regarded as a product of any economic model of society. These phenomena can not depend on the properties of the basis. A fairly crude simplification will be the inclusion of science in the structure of the ideological superstructure in a particular socio-economic formation. However, along with this, undoubtedly, both economic and ideological interactions influence its world outlook, the direction of development of this or that sphere of knowledge.

Materialistic theory of state, law

In the concept there are very specific ideas. In particular, it proceeds from the premise that the emergence of the state is mainly due to economic reasons. As preconditions are the social division of labor, the creation of a surplus product, the development of private property, and then the split of society into classes that have opposite economic interests. The appearance of the state in such development is an objective result. It acts as an institution that, using special means of control and repression, restrains the confrontation of the formed classes and provides mainly the interests of the prevailing economic layer. The materialistic theory of the state puts forward the idea that a new education has replaced a tribal organization. At the same time, the customs system was replaced by a legal system of norms.

Content of the concept

The materialistic theory of the state does not impose new institutions from outside. All of them appear on the basis of natural social development. It, in turn, is associated with the decomposition of the primitive system, the spread of private property, the social stratification of the population along property lines (the emergence of the poor and the rich). As a result of development, the interests of different classes begin to conflict.

Under such conditions, the tribal organization became unable to manage. There was a need to create a powerful institution. It should be able to provide the advantage of the interests of some members of society in opposition to the needs of others. In this regard, a society that consists of unequal economic layers generates a special organization. It supports the interests of the propertied, while restraining the confrontation of dependent members of society. The state acts as this special organization. According to the followers of the concept, it is a temporary and historically transitory phenomenon. With the elimination of class differences in the existence of an authority, there will be no need.

Classification of forms

Materialistic theory distinguishes three models of the emergence of a power organization:

1. Athenian (classical). In accordance with this model, the emergence of the state is determined directly and predominantly by class contradictions, which are formed within the society.
2. Roman. This form of appearance of the state differs in that the tribal organization is transformed into a closed aristocracy. It is isolated from the powerless and numerous mass of plebeians. The victory of the latter destroys the tribal system, on the ruins of which the state appears.
3. Germanic. The state on this model appears as a consequence of the conquest of a vast area.

The legal system in the concept

The economic conditionality and class character of the legal model is the most important principle of Marxist theory. The key content of the concept is the idea that law is a product of society. It acts as an expression and consolidation of the will of the class that dominates the economic sphere. Materialistic theory indicates that in the emerging relationships, the propertied individuals must invest their strength in the formation of the authority and give their will to universal expression in the form of law. In other words, the creation and existence of a legal system is conditioned by the need to consolidate the regulatory regulation of social interactions in the interests of the dominant stratum.

Over time, the principles of materialistic theory were fixed in domestic law. On the basis of class, the conclusion was drawn that in a society in which there are no antagonistic strata, the will of all friendly associations led by the working-class movement is expressed in the legal system.

Settings

Materialistic theory proclaims the rule: from each individual - according to ability, each subject - according to needs. People should get used to meeting the requirements of the hostel. When this happens, they will voluntarily begin to work according to their abilities. Materialistic theory forms certain limitations for the legal system. They fit into the historical framework of class society. The concept claims that law is a transient phenomenon. It is necessary for society only at a particular stage of its development. In the event of the disappearance of class, it will lose its social value.

Positive features of the concept

As one of the merits of the materialistic theory, it is worth mentioning the elaboration of postulates that law is an indispensable tool for ensuring the economic freedom of a subject. It is an impartial regulating mechanism of the relations of consumption and production. The moral foundations of the normative system in a civilized society take into account and express the objective needs of social development within the permissible and forbidden behavior of all interacting participants. We can also note the following advantages of the materialistic theory:

1. The selection of specific criteria for the permissible and the forbidden. This was made possible by the fact that the adherents of the concept viewed the legal system as a law - a complex of formally defined normative acts.
2. The dependence of the right on social and economic factors, which have the most significant impact on it, is expressed.
3. A close relationship is shown between the legal system and the authority that establishes and enforces standards.

Negative moments

There are also cons of materialistic theory. First and foremost, the concept exaggerates the role of class in the legal system to the detriment of universal norms. The existence of law is confined to the historical framework. Moreover, the legal system is excessively rigidly connected with material factors. This underestimates the degree of influence of other circumstances on its formation.