Coursework: The influence of public culture on a person. What influence does culture have on people's behavior?

« Culture- a set of traditions, customs, social norms, rules governing the behavior of those who live now and transmitted to those who will live tomorrow.” (Dobrenkov V.I. Kravchenko A.I. Sociology. In 3 volumes. Moscow, “Gaudemus”).

The Russian school of ballet, painting, theater is recognized throughout the world, and abroad Russian art there are many ardent fans. Russia has a rich cultural heritage: best museums, extensive collections of paintings, etc. Of course, our task is to preserve and develop our Heritage. However, time dictates a slightly different understanding of culture.

The understanding of the term “culture” as a method of forming a worldview, that is, something through which one can formulate values, goals and objectives that will be accepted by citizens today and tomorrow, is becoming relevant at the moment. Culture allows us to form a picture of the world, a picture of how reality is understood and in what key it should develop and, thereby - shape a lifestyle Russians.

Russian culture is now perceived, on the one hand, as “vodka, herring and unwillingness to work,” but, on the other, as scientific “breakthroughs” and “revolutions,” “great achievements” and records, creations of great talents. It is obvious that the ideas about the people and the people about themselves are formed due to the images embodied in culture, both official and not. In this vein, the issue of cultural development is a matter of the strategic development of the country. Russian philosopher L.P. Karsavin, in his discussions about the nation and its unity, wrote that “ the idea of ​​culture determines statehood».

If we, as a people and as a country, want to live better tomorrow, then today we need to create attractive and successful images of our tomorrow's life and place them in exciting scenarios. And already in them to lay down systems of values, socially desirable actions and decisions. Under the influence of these images, the desired attitudes and behavior will then be formed.

It is important not only to create images, but also to provide people with the widest possible access to them, that is, to use as much as possible effective forms and channels for broadcasting information. For example, in the first half of the 20th century, cinema was such a channel. I wanted to bring the images created on the screen to life. The authorities of various countries quickly appreciated the power of this resource: this is how Hollywood appeared and the domestic film industry was created. Hollywood, as a dream factory, is still working smoothly to create the necessary meanings and images, and quite successfully.

However, the monopoly of cinema did not last forever. Today, the most important and most intensively developing resource is the Internet, which provides ever more extensive opportunities. It is important for us to start working seriously with the Internet. How? You can start with simple things, for example, making the main museums and galleries more accessible, that is, opening virtual museums with virtual excursions and guides, promoting the development of virtual libraries, etc.

Culture as a resource. Creative industries

The concept of “creative industries” appeared in the 1990s. in the UK and quickly spread throughout the world.

Its meaning is that culture is becoming not only a costly area, but also an engine of the economy. Innovative business ventures that use culture as a resource are the fastest growing sector of the economy in a number of countries. In addition to traditional cultural institutions, creative industries also include design, fashion, publishing, sound recording, multimedia technology, etc.

All these areas belong to the sphere of commercial culture and are not perceived in Russia either as an independent integral sector of the economy, or as a subject of any kind of policy. Meanwhile, as international experience shows, the innovative “creative economy” is today an alternative to the development of heavy industry and a resource-based economy, one of the main directions of post-industrial development.

Patriotism. Legal culture as the main way to combat corruption

One of the main factors contributing to the formation of civil patriotic beliefs is universal, purposeful, effective propaganda aimed at developing a legal, socially responsible consciousness, legal culture, which President D. Medvedev so often mentions. Propaganda both through the state and through society. During the Soviet era, the favorite accusation of the West and the United States against the USSR was that everything in our country is very ideological, that propaganda “maliciously controls” the public consciousness of the masses, processing it in the direction it needs. Yes, of course, Soviet propaganda imposed on people some very dubious political beliefs and dogmas, and often justified facts of social injustice, etc. But at the same time, it was aimed at instilling in people a sense of respect for the law, love and respect for their state, responsibility for their actions, preached high moral qualities. Remember at least one feature or documentary Soviet film, in which a criminal, a person harming the state, a bribe-taker, a grabber and similar types were glorified? They simply weren't there. But in cinema, in print, in books, on government and social events, at the exhibitions, honesty, service to society and the state, contempt for criminals, traitors, and immoral people were preached everywhere.

Today, the theme of deceiving the state by any means, admiration for wealth earned through bribes, the luxurious life of corrupt officials, the “nobility” of gangster brigades, etc., etc. are almost the main plots of many means. mass media, works of art. Significant in this regard are the data from representative sociological studies conducted relatively recently by the Department of Civil Service and Personnel Policy of the Civil Service: almost 30 percent of respondents (especially those aged 20 to 40 years) believe that “to circumvent the law is not a crime, but a matter of honor and intelligence” , slightly less than 40 percent, although they personally do not intend to do this, do not at all condemn others for such actions.

D. Medvedev: “We are talking about the atmosphere in society: we must create an anti-corruption standard of behavior. Without this nothing will work. It is necessary to pay special attention to the assessment of corruption by society. The media and public organizations should be involved in legal education.”

Therefore, one of the most important tasks of the state is to promote the creation of institutions of civil society and the accessibility of culture for the population. It is also necessary to formulate a state order for the creation of patriotic cinema, holding seminars, conferences, and involving the widest possible segments of the population in the discussion of cultural problems in Russia. In this regard, it is planned to implement a set of measures aimed at ensuring the constitutional rights of citizens to access cultural values, use cultural institutions and create conditions for improving the quality of life of the population.

Financing the cultural sector

“The problems in the cultural sphere that have accumulated during the economic recession significantly exceed the state’s ability to solve them. The industry, traditionally oriented toward government financial support, turned out to be the least prepared for a market economy. The rate of deterioration of especially valuable real estate cultural heritage objects continues to lag behind the rate of their restoration. A similar situation arises with museum funds. In fact, today the process of gradual loss of the country’s national heritage (both material and spiritual) accumulated by previous generations continues.” ( From the Federal Target Program “Culture of Russia” (2006 - 2010))

The financial factor influences both the material and production base of the cultural sphere, as well as its content and quality. This is especially visible now. Our society is filled with not the best examples of mass culture, while domestic personnel teach the whole world choreography, opera and theater arts, directing, performing arts, etc. And this is generally accepted. The best specialists leave to work abroad, not least because of low wages in our country. The trend of going abroad is becoming dangerous, as the outflow of qualified specialists, cultural and artistic workers not only abroad, but also into other areas of activity has reached an alarming size. Due to the fact that citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to freely travel abroad, there is no quantitative data regarding the leakage of professionals in the field of high culture from the country. The traveling teaching and performing staff, being carriers of high culture, reproduces it in a different environment, thereby bleeding us, citizens of Russia, dry. The culture of Russia, its spiritual potential - this is its qualitative difference from other nations and peoples.

By losing our inner quality, we thereby lose the core that structures the entire social fabric of Russian society.

I would like to draw attention to the fact that at this stage culture is financed on a residual basis, and this is not acceptable in an age of competition between images and meanings. Before distributing funding, it is necessary to understand the goals and objectives that we set for ourselves. In our opinion, it is necessary to place emphasis and make financial investments consciously. It is important to come to the understanding that investments can be made in culture, and not just government subsidies for its preservation. You need to invest in those cultural images and in those cultural forms that the state needs.

State policy in the field of culture and the approach to cultural institutions should be built taking into account the fact that in the field of culture it is necessary to prioritize the following areas:

• development of connections between traditional cultural institutions and the sphere of modern communication technologies is the main task of the integral development of the cultural sphere;
• preservation of cultural traditions peoples of Russia, cultural diversity;
• creation of conditions for the development and reproduction of the creative potential of society;
• formation of a system of positive values, uniting society for the further implementation of tactical and strategic goals in the development of the country, including the formation of a state order for the creation of patriotic cinema;
• ensuring equality of opportunity and universal accessibility of culture;
• connecting the course of economic modernization countries with a certain degree of conservatism (preservation of traditions that are significant for Russia) in the field of spiritual values ​​and national culture;
• development of the most effective indicators, reflecting the state of culture in Russia, as well as allowing one to adequately correlate it (culture) with the situation in the world.

Specific steps for the near future:

• holding seminars, conferences, involving the widest possible segments of the population in the discussion of cultural problems in Russia;
• formation of government orders for the creation of patriotic films, educational programs, etc.;
• stimulating the use of modern telecommunication technologies in the field of culture - for example, the creation of virtual libraries, the implementation virtual excursions for museums, etc.

CONCEPTS OF CULTURE AND LIFESTYLE

Correlation of concepts

CULTURE(Latin cultura - cultivation, upbringing, education) - a system of historically developing supra-biological programs human activity, behavior and communication, which serve as a condition for reproduction and change social life in all its main manifestations. ( "The Newest Philosophical Dictionary")

CULTURE- a branch of the social sphere of the economy, including museums, theaters, cinema, artistic creativity, different types cultural and educational activities, art. ( "Modern Economic Dictionary")

In one case, we can say that culture (in the philosophical sense) is a complex systemic phenomenon of human life that influences all aspects of society. At the same time, culture is also perceived as a certain branch of the economy (which is important from the point of view of organizing the economic life of society).

Culture stores, transmits (transmits from generation to generation) and generates programs for the activities, behavior and communication of people. In the life of society, they play approximately the same role as hereditary information (DNA, RNA) in a cell or complex organism; they ensure the reproduction of the diversity of forms of social life, types of activities characteristic of a certain type of society, inherent in it subject environment, his social connections and personality types - everything that makes up the real fabric of social life at a certain stage of its historical development.

No major ones social change are impossible without changes in culture. As a social individual, man is a creation of culture. He becomes a person only through the assimilation of social experience transmitted in culture.

LIFESTYLE- a collective concept, thanks to which one can characterize the most different aspects of a person’s life, social group, society as a whole. Modern sociologists generally agree that the concept of culture is much broader than the concept of “way of life.” What are the similarities and differences between these concepts?

Indeed, traditions, customs, norms of behavior, morals and values ​​form the basis of both culture and way of life. The only difference is that the concept culture expresses the sublime, spiritual side of this combination of elements, and Lifestyle- everyday, material and practical side.

Lifestyle is a routine or way of life: the habit of getting up early or going to bed late, smoking on an empty stomach, dressing at home in everything old, buying food at the wholesale market and not in the store, running into the forest on weekends or doing exercises every day, reading before sleep and much more.

Culture and lifestyle are so intertwined that sometimes it is impossible to separate them. Experts argue that the roots of culture lie in the everyday experience of people, which is built on collective habits, rules and norms of behavior. The latter, figuratively speaking, represent the building blocks of both culture and way of life.

It can be argued that the concept of “lifestyle” constitutes only part of the scope of the concept of “culture”, namely that part of it that relates to the present time, which characterizes the way people live “now”. A way of life does not accumulate from generation to generation and does not form a semblance of cultural heritage. Lifestyle symbolizes the dynamic side of culture.

The components that make up a way of life are: language, beliefs, attitudes, values, behavior, dress code, quality of housing, working conditions, pastime, customs, mores, etiquette, norms and other elements of culture.

Culture: folk, elite, mass

Folk culture- the sphere of non-professional cultural activity, existing according to the folklore type in the past and present, passed on from generation to generation in the process of direct interaction between people. The elements that make it up include: values, norms, meanings, ideas, rites, rituals, ideas, knowledge, beliefs, lifestyle, artistic creativity, etc. Traditional folk culture of the past and its modern forms fill the closest and most familiar cultural space.

Elite culture is formed within the framework of layers and communities that are privileged in any area (in politics, commerce, art) and includes, like folk culture, values, norms, ideas, ideas, knowledge, way of life, etc. Some researchers tend to see elitist culture is only a subculture of privileged groups of society, characterized by fundamental closedness, spiritual aristocracy and value-semantic self-sufficiency. Individual-personal character elite culture is its specific quality. Unlike popular culture, it is not anonymity, but personal authorship that becomes the goal.

Mass culture- a specific type of spiritual production, aimed at the “average” consumer and suggesting the possibility of wide replication of the original product. Mass culture is a product of the industrial and post-industrial era, associated with the formation of mass society. Mass culture creates modern mythology, constructing its own world, which is often perceived by its consumers as more real than their own everyday existence. An essential aspect of mass culture is the precise choice of the recipient-consumer (age, social and national groups), which determines the choice of appropriate artistic and technical techniques and, if successful, generates significant income. Mass culture is traditionally contrasted with elite culture, capable of creating products that are unique in artistic value and require certain intellectual efforts and initial cultural baggage for their perception. The element of innovation in mass culture is insignificant, since its creators are mainly engaged in creating simplified versions of the achievements of “high” culture, adapted for the mass consciousness.

A special attitude towards popular culture in the USA. American sociologist D. Boorstin draws attention to the fact that, unlike Western Europe, where “high culture” is under the patronage of the state, in the United States initially mass culture, reflecting ideas, came under the control and regulation of the state (currently also of transnational corporations). standards and stereotypes of official government policy and business interests, introducing them into people's consciousness. “We,” says Boorstin, “are perhaps the first nation in history to subject mass-produced folk culture to centralized control.”

The phenomenon of mass culture is due to the commercialization of all public relations, the transformation of phenomena of spiritual culture into commodities, and, therefore, subordination to the laws of commodity-industrial production. IN popular culture money is invested, both in enterprises, land, - in the hope of making a profit. The purpose of such cultural production is to make money, not to measure human well-being or to cultivate a mature consciousness. The yardstick in this case is solely the “financial yardstick”.

FEDERAL TARGET PROGRAM “RUSSIAN CULTURE (2006 - 2010)”. EXTRACTS

1. Characteristics of the problem that the Program is aimed at solving

From 2001 to 2005, the country experienced political and economic stability. The Institute has strengthened private property, the process of reforming budget and tax legislation was carried out. The prerequisites for economic growth have emerged.

Society and the state again turned to cultural issues. An important step was the adoption of the federal target program “Culture of Russia (2001 - 2005)”, thanks to the implementation of which it was possible to largely stop the decline in the field of culture, achieve expanded state participation in its support, and increase funding. This made it possible to prevent the loss of a number of cultural monuments and strengthen interethnic and interregional ties.

At the same time, the problems in the cultural sphere that have accumulated during the economic recession significantly exceed the state’s ability to solve them. The industry, traditionally oriented toward government financial support, turned out to be the least prepared for a market economy. The rate of deterioration of especially valuable real estate cultural heritage objects continues to lag behind the rate of their restoration. A similar situation arises with museum funds. In fact, today the process of gradual loss of the country’s national heritage (both material and spiritual) accumulated by previous generations continues. Until now, there are no market criteria for assessing both movable and immovable cultural heritage objects.

As the role of culture in society increases, it ceases to be just one of the forms of satisfying needs. Bringing culture to a level that allows it to become an active participant in socio-economic processes requires certain efforts on the part of the state. State investment in culture means investing in “human capital”.

Reform in the cultural sphere is a direct consequence of the ongoing economic and political transformations. It is necessary to search for solutions that would allow, on the one hand, to ensure the preservation of cultural values, and on the other, to create economic mechanisms that allow culture to develop effectively in new market conditions.

An important factor contributing to the development of the industry is the creation of public-private partnership institutions, which
provides:

• development of patronage and charity in the field of culture;
• development of the market for cultural property, joint participation of the state and business in the development of this market, as well as in cost-effective projects in the field of culture.

The development of the market for cultural property involves resolving issues related to their valuation and insurance.

Strengthening positions Russian culture abroad, the formation of the image of Russia as a country of great cultural traditions is an integral part of the state strategy for integration into the system of international relations.

The close relationship between the processes occurring in the cultural sphere and the processes occurring in society makes the use of software target method a necessary condition further development of the industry.

A significant part of the costs associated with the implementation of the Program falls on reconstruction, restoration and emergency work at cultural heritage sites of federal significance. The program-targeted method allows you to concentrate financial resources on carrying out work on specific objects and prevent their dispersion.

The use of the program-target method is also necessary when implementing other areas of the Program, covering all main areas of cultural life: theater, music, modern and traditional art. The established practice provides for active participation in competitions and festivals of both regional and rural, as well as generally recognized groups and cultural figures.

Refusal to use the program-targeted method can lead to negative consequences, for example, to limiting the influence of the state on the implementation of cultural policy in regions of the country.

The most serious risks include reduction in funding and ineffective management of the Program, which, in turn, will entail:

• loss of part of the immovable objects of cultural heritage due to the faster rate of their wear and tear than the rate of their restoration and conservation;

• financial losses from ineffective use of immovable cultural heritage sites;
• financial losses from reduced use of museum funds and archival documents, touring activities;
• reduction in the share of national films on the Russian film market;
• reducing the influence of the state on the formation of “human capital”, loss of qualified personnel in the industry;
• violation of a single information and cultural space;
• violation of the principle of equalization of access to cultural values ​​and information resources of different groups of citizens.

Early termination of the Program may occur if the social and economic situation in the country changes, new priorities are identified in solving national problems, or the Program is ineffectively managed. Achieving the goals of the Program under such conditions will be impossible.

2. The main goals and objectives of the Program, indicating the timing and stages of its implementation, as well as target indicators and indicators

The selection of priority goals of the Program is based on the strategic goals of the development of society and an analysis of current trends in the field of culture in previous years, taking into account the evolution of the economic and legal environment for the functioning of cultural organizations.

Based on this, the goals of the Program are: preservation of the cultural heritage of the Russian Federation, formation of a single cultural space, creation of conditions to ensure equal access to cultural values ​​and information resources of various groups of citizens, creation of conditions for the preservation and development of the cultural potential of the nation, integration into the world cultural process, ensuring adaptation of the cultural sphere to market conditions.

Preservation of the cultural heritage of the Russian Federation

Russian culture has deep historical roots. On the one hand, it is based on traditions classical art, on the other hand, the traditions of the peoples inhabiting our multinational country. The various historical stages through which Russia passed left their mark on the formation of its cultural heritage.

Achieving this goal within the framework of the Program involves:

• carrying out work on the preservation and restoration of cultural heritage objects, museum values, archival documents, library collections;
• maintenance and development of infrastructure that ensures the safety of these values ​​and guarantees access to them for citizens.

Formation of a single cultural space, creation of conditions to ensure equal access to cultural values ​​and information resources of various groups of citizens

During the formative years market economy The social stratification of society has increased, interethnic and interregional ties have weakened, which has led to a reduction in established cultural ties, a weakening of traditions, and a replacement of social guidelines and values.

The implementation of this goal during the implementation of the Program means the creation of conditions under which the main spectrum public services in the field of culture and mass communications would be available to citizens living in different regions countries and belonging to different social groups.

• increasing the number of festivals, theater tours, exhibitions;
• development, implementation and dissemination of new information products and technologies in the field of culture and mass communications;
• development of industry infrastructure, strengthening its material and technical base.

Creating conditions for the preservation and development of the cultural potential of the nation

The successful development of the industry is based on the human factor. In the cultural sphere, where creativity plays a leading role, this factor is of particular importance.

Achieving this goal involves:

• identifying and supporting young talents in the field of culture and mass communications;
• support for promising creative projects in the industry;
• overcoming existing trends in the outflow of talented cultural and artistic figures from Russia;
• support for competitions, festivals and other cultural events.

Integration into the world cultural process

Expanding our country’s participation in the world cultural process is ensured by promoting achievements national culture abroad, bringing together the goals and objectives of Russian and world culture, borrowing the experience of foreign cultural organizations in solving problems facing domestic culture.

Achieving this goal involves the exchange of cultural programs, holding international seminars and conferences.

Ensuring adaptation of the cultural sector to market conditions

The implementation of this goal, on the one hand, should ensure the adaptation of the cultural sphere to new market conditions, on the other, protect it from harsh market influences, and prevent the destruction of the industry in a competitive environment.

In the process of implementing the Program, it is planned to form new economic mechanisms aimed at improving the functioning of the industry in market conditions. The proposed solutions should ensure successful operations cultural institutions in a market environment and provide for varying degrees of participation of the state and private capital in supporting culture.

Methodological foundations will be developed economic efficiency various branches of culture.

Achieving this goal involves:

• formation and regulation of the market of cultural property;
• strengthening the role of the state in protecting the cultural values ​​of the peoples of the Russian Federation.

As a result, a new attitude of citizens towards cultural heritage sites should be formed.

The main objectives of the Program are: ensuring the preservation of historical and cultural heritage; preservation and development of the art education system, support of young talents; targeted support for professional art, literature and creativity; providing conditions for artistic creativity and innovation; ensuring cultural exchange; development and implementation of information products and technologies in the field of culture; support for domestic producers of cultural goods and their promotion to the world market; updating special equipment of organizations in the sphere of culture and mass communications; modernization of the television and radio broadcasting network of the Russian Federation.

Ensuring the preservation of historical and cultural heritage

The solution to this problem is achieved by strengthening the targeting of security measures based on the concentration of resources on particularly significant movable and immovable objects of cultural heritage, which implies:

• maintaining cultural heritage sites in proper condition;
• preservation of the federal part of the Museum Fund of the Russian Federation, unique book editions, archival documents, film stocks, insurance copying of especially valuable items of stock storage in archives, libraries, film funds;
• ensuring the safety of storage of cultural property in federal ownership.

The main amount of funds allocated from the federal budget for the implementation of the Program is planned to be used to finance the reconstruction and restoration of cultural heritage sites of federal significance.

As part of the implementation of the Program, it is envisaged to improve the technical condition of cultural heritage sites (restoration), allowing for the return of these monuments to economic and cultural circulation.

Restoration of museum objects, unique and especially valuable documents of the Archival Fund of the Russian Federation will be carried out.

The expected results of the implementation of this task are presented by indicators of the number of restored immovable cultural monuments and especially valuable stock storage units. When solving this problem, indicators 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 are used according to Appendix No. 1.

Preservation and development of the art education system, support of young talents

Of particular importance is the task of ensuring the continuity of reproduction of creative potential, preserving and developing the world-famous domestic system of art education, identifying and supporting young talents.

The Program involves holding events to support festivals, competitions, exhibitions and master classes for children and creative youth.

The expected results of the implementation of this task are presented by the number of festivals, competitions, exhibitions and master classes held for children and creative youth. When solving this problem, indicators 11 and 12 are used, provided in Appendix No. 1 to the Program.

Targeted support for professional art, literature and creativity

Targeted support for art and literature is designed to create additional opportunities for enhancing cultural exchange and increase the level of accessibility of art and literature for the country's population.

The state creates conditions for the development of competition and increasing consumer demand for the results of activities in the field of culture through financial support for festivals, competitions and exhibitions that have nationwide, interethnic and international significance and form a single cultural space.

Support is provided for creative workers working in the cultural sector.

The expected results of the implementation of this task are represented by the indicator of the number of works of art created. When solving this problem, indicator 12 is used, provided in Appendix No. 1 to the Program.

Providing conditions for artistic creativity and innovation

The development of culture and art remains relevant through the formation of an effective environment for experimentation and innovation, and the introduction of new technologies.

The Program provides support for authors of new ideas and methods of creativity, creative debuts in the field of culture, expanding opportunities for searching and implementing innovative concepts for the development of art.

The expected results of the implementation of this task are presented by indicators of the number of creative debuts, innovative projects, as well as new technologies introduced in the field of culture. When solving this problem, indicator 12 is used, provided in Appendix No. 1 to the Program.

Providing cultural exchange

The key task of state policy in the field of culture in the context of expanding the rights of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation remains the preservation of a single cultural and information space, increasing the level of accessibility of cultural values ​​and reducing territorial differentiation in the provision of the population with cultural products.

The implementation of this task requires support for touring and exhibition activities.

The expected results of the implementation of this task are presented by indicators of the number of touring performances, concerts, festivals and exhibitions. When solving this problem, indicators 13, 14 and 16 are used, provided in Appendix No. 1 to the Program.

Development and implementation of information products and technologies in the field of culture

In the context of informatization of society, maintaining the competitiveness of culture largely depends on accelerating the formation of information networks in the field of culture.

As part of this task, it is necessary to carry out measures to change the structure of the industry's fixed assets based on the widespread introduction of information and communication technologies and provision of modern equipment and software products to support cultural activities.

In a situation of rapid spread of information and communication technologies, additional tasks arise related to the creation of virtual museums, electronic libraries and archives, as well as electronic catalogs and registers of cultural heritage accessible to the widest segments of the population.

It is planned to transfer the information resources of museums, libraries, archives and film collections into digital form, develop information exchange systems using global computer networks, as well as create an electronic database containing information on immovable historical and cultural monuments (40 thousand objects), a union catalog of Russian libraries and the National Electronic Library.

The expected results of the implementation of this task are presented by indicators of growth in the level of informatization: the number of entries in the consolidated catalog of Russian libraries, the database of the unified state register of cultural heritage objects (historical and cultural monuments) of the peoples of the Russian Federation and other indicators. When solving this problem, indicators 9 and 10 are used, provided in Appendix No. 1 to the Program.

Support for domestic producers of cultural goods and their promotion to the world market

To support domestic producers of cultural goods and their promotion to the world market, it is planned to implement Program activities in the following areas:

• state support for the production of Russian films;
• state protectionism in promoting products of Russian culture, art and literature to the world market.

The expected results of the Program are presented in terms of the number of films produced, as well as international cultural events held. When solving this problem, indicators 1 and 15 are used, provided in Appendix No. 1 to the Program.

Updating special equipment of organizations in the sphere of culture and mass communications

An important task of the Program is to update the special equipment of cultural organizations, the equipment of which significantly lags behind modern requirements.

The expected results of the implementation of this task are presented by indicators of the industry's provision with unique specialized equipment and computer technology. When solving this problem, indicators 2, 3, 4 and 7, provided in Appendix No. 1 to the Program, are used.

Modernization of the television and radio broadcasting network of the Russian Federation

Modernization of the television and radio broadcasting network of the Russian Federation within the framework of this Program through capital investments involves the replacement of transceiver devices and the transition to digital television and radio broadcasting.

The scientific support of the Program is based on conducting research developments for an objective assessment and analysis of the socio-cultural situation in the country. It is planned to conduct comprehensive studies of the capacity of the domestic market for the consumption of cultural services, develop and test new technologies for the creation, storage, distribution and consumption of cultural products.

The organizational support of the Program is based on a number of activities aimed at managing the Program and coordinating the actions of the customer-coordinator and government customers. The state customer-coordinator of the Program organizes the activities provided for in the section “Scientific, organizational and information support of the program” of the list of Program activities, with the participation of state customers.

The program provides for the achievement of strategic goals by the end of 2010. Since the activities of the Program are carried over to the next year throughout the entire period of its implementation, it is advisable to consider the calendar year as separate stages of the Program implementation.

Over the past century, a significant factual base has been obtained confirming the influence of the cultural component on the human psyche. David Matsumoto writes on this subject: “Culture is to human behavior what an operating system is to software; remaining unnoticed, she plays vital role in its development and functioning." Moreover, many psychologists have begun to place the cultural context at the forefront when it comes to the mental development of a person. Attitudes, customs, traditions, rules and laws of the cultural group in which a person grew up are acquired by him in ontogenesis and determine its psychological characteristics.

Both a person’s cognitive characteristics and his personal characteristics are subject to the influence of culture. Cross-cultural research has tested the doctrine of “mental unity,” which holds that human mental processes are the same, universal, and common to the entire species Homo sapiens. This doctrine arose in the 19th century, and then doubts about its truth arose. Thus, in the works of O. Comte, E. Durkheim and other sociologists, the decisive importance of the social community for the properties and behavior of the individual was emphasized.

L. Lévy-Bruhl, having studied primitive thinking from the same position, came to the conclusion that in order to study thinking, one should analyze the culture to which the individual belongs. Any culture can be characterized through the totality of existing common views, or "collective representations". It is in them, Lévy-Bruhl believed, that the reason for the “pre-logical” nature of primitive thinking in contrast to the thinking of a normal European. Criticism of Lévy-Bruhl's explanatory concepts did not prevent other researchers from confirming his data. Thus, the American psychologist Jerome Bruner, known for his work on perception and thinking, tried to create a theory connecting culture with the development of cognitive processes.

According to his theory, thinking is the result of the internalization of “tools” developed in a given culture, to which he includes not only technical tools, but also symbolic systems. Cultures differ not only in the tools they create, but also in the social institutions that transmit knowledge and skills in using tools.

A discussion of the concepts put forward that explain the influence of culture on the psyche is not included in the tasks to which this chapter is devoted. Therefore, let us turn to other data indicating cross-cultural differences in cognitive processes. There are well-known studies by W. Hudson, in which it was discovered that Africans from traditional societies do not understand the conventions of representation when perceiving paintings and photographs that are natural from the point of view of a European. These include the use of foreshortening to convey perspective - European children adequately perceived the image of a man climbing the stairs, and African children believed that he was crippled, since he had one leg shorter than the other. A number of researchers note that the natives do not recognize familiar objects or terrain in photographs, and do not even recognize themselves and their family members3. When completing the task of drawing a cow in profile, an African child draws all four hooves, two horns and two ears, i.e. everything that he knows, although he does not see. European child draws what he sees, looking at the animal in profile - one ear, one eye, etc.

Evidence has been obtained that differences in depth perception are also observed when a person observes natural real scenes rather than paintings. Thus, K. Turnbull, in his ethnographic study of pygmies living in the Iturbi forests, describes an incident when he and a pygmy came out of the forest. Cows grazing could be seen in the distance. The pygmy mistook them for ants, although he had seen cows before, but had never observed them from afar.

Along with perception, the features of memory were studied. Many studies have found that social significance and interest in what is being remembered influence memory success. Thus, the African shepherd had excellent memory on cows and plants, but hardly remembered information related to time, because everyday life villager depended little on time, flowed according to its own rhythm and did not obey a strict schedule.

Piaget's tasks for understanding the principle of conservation were often used in studies of non-European cultures (P. Greenfield, P. Deisen, etc.). Psychologists everywhere found the same stages and the same sequence in the development of understanding of the principle of conservation of weight, volume, length and quantity that Piaget described in his work with the Genevan children. However, the pace of development of such understanding in non-Western cultures was slower than in the West. However, it should be noted that the pace of development of other mental characteristics is not the same among representatives of different cultural communities. The researchers explained this by the action of three factors related to the characteristics of culture: the nature of the activities of members of a particular culture, the nature of learning and participation in social interaction with people at a higher level of development.

This is proven by studies comparing educational systems in different cultures, as well as those skills, abilities and knowledge that are primarily transmitted to the younger generation. Cross-cultural studies on infants, performed using the Bailey and Gesell scales, showed that African children in the first year of life have higher rates of mental development than Europeans (data from M. Geber, R. Diana, K. Super, M. Wober and others, completed during 1956-1975).

Having reviewed these results, K. Super did not find evidence of earlier neurophysiological development of African children, which could explain their advanced mental development. Therefore, he turned to the peculiarities of upbringing, observing the behavior of African mothers and babies, talking with Africans. In particular, he found out that in Kenya it is customary to start teaching children to sit and walk very early, for which special techniques have been developed.

Summarizing his observations and the results of other researchers, Super concluded that the faster motor development of Africans in the first year of life compared to the British is associated with the peculiarities of their education system. This, however, does not mean that African children are ahead of their English peers in other areas of the psyche. For example, they later learn to crawl, since they spend three times less time on the floor than English children. Traditions of caring for a baby are also reflected in the development of its sensory skills. Thus, the more often he is in a supine position, the faster his spatial and manipulative skills develop; The more often he is picked up and held in an upright position, the better his visual skills develop.

Differences in learning among older children also affect their development. For example, R. Sernell found that the perceptual characteristics of children from Zambia are much less developed than those of their European peers, since they are not taught drawing and design at school. But even in cases where visual activity is supported by cultural traditions, the content and technique of drawing reflect cultural factors. "Does the child draw a wide panoramic view or small scenes from life, individual objects or pictures, whether his images are fictional or realistic - all this largely depends on the culture surrounding him. In certain groups, action predominates in the drawings, in others - stationary objects and figures. The arrangement of objects in the painting also differs in different groups."

All these works show that cultural differences related to traditions and methods of teaching and upbringing determine the characteristics of the development of representatives of different cultural communities, changing the relative importance and priority of individual indicators of mental development. Differences between representatives of different cultures arise not due to the specifics of the cognitive processes themselves, but due to different developmental conditions. Depending on the experience acquired in a particular area, on the nature and methods of training, representatives of different cultures will have certain knowledge, skills and abilities that allow them to cope with those problems that arise in the life of a particular society and require resolution from its members.

Thus, anthropological and psychological studies indicate that differences in cognitive processes are due to the action of specific cultural and subcultural factors. The cultural factor influences every person, giving a special shade to the way in which a person develops from the very beginning. Therefore, a personality with all its inherent properties is also dependent on belonging to a particular group.

As an example, let us consider how the uniqueness of national cultures influences the formation of certain personality traits. University of Southern California professor N. Imamoto compared the behavior of American and Japanese mothers caring for infants. Observations were carried out daily for 4 hours for three years. He found that Japanese women immediately respond to every child's demand. If a child begins to cry, they immediately pick him up and rock him to sleep. The child feels peace and security through the mother's hugs and touches. The same model of behavior is used by other adult family members, repeating the actions of the mother. The Japanese baby is not familiar with the feeling of loneliness; he is constantly among people. As a result, he develops the ability to fit into a group, subordinate his interests to it, compromise, respect and veneration for elders. Seclusion and the need for autonomy are not encouraged in Japanese society.

An American mother behaves differently with her baby. She tries to influence him mainly with words, talks to him, tries to distract him, switch his attention to something in the environment if the child is crying. Thus, he develops cognitive interest, curiosity, the ability to help himself, to be autonomous, and independent.

One more example. Cross-cultural studies of frustration reactions have shown that Japanese children aged 6-9 years are more likely to display self-criticism, self-blame and remorse than European and Indian children (A. Parik). This is associated with authoritarianism in Japanese families. At the same time, the peculiarities of family education in India lead to greater independence of children, who, when difficulties and problems arise, rely mainly on their own strengths and almost do not turn to the adults around them for help.

Thus, the nature of educational influences, features of maternal care and child-parent communication vary in different cultures and contribute to the formation of different types of personalities. It is important that these culture-specific personality traits correspond to the nature of the cultural group's demands on its members, ensuring their adaptation to their environment. The idea of ​​the existence of the so-called national character is not a myth inherent in ordinary consciousness, but a reality confirmed by psychological research.

Culture shapes the personalities of members of society, thereby largely regulating their behavior.

Social anthropologist Clifford Geertz calls culture a system of regulatory mechanisms, including plans, recipes, rules, instructions that serve to control behavior. He believes that without culture, people would be completely disoriented: human behavior not determined by cultural models would become practically uncontrollable, it would be reduced to spontaneous, meaningless actions and uncontrollable emotions. In his works, Geertz substantiated that such cultural institutions as ritual, myth and art should not be considered as a reflection social structure, but as separate symbolic systems. He approaches culture as a system of symbols, the meanings of which guide and regulate the social behavior of people. For example, a symbol of marital status - a wedding ring - signals to other people that marital status person and thereby forces us to take this fact into account in the development of social relations.

What elements of culture give the researcher the opportunity to penetrate into its integrity? Geertz believes that in every culture there are key words-symbols, the meaning of which opens access to an understanding of the whole.

Each human society has its own specific culture, or a sociocultural system that to some extent coincides with other systems. Difference sociocultural systems related to physical conditions and resources; the range of possibilities inherent in different areas of activity, the type of language, rituals and traditions, the manufacture and use of tools; degree social development society. An individual's attitudes, values, ideals and beliefs are greatly influenced by the culture in which he lives, and of course an individual may live or move within several different cultures.

What elements can be identified as part of culture?

Culture is usually divided into tangible and intangible. Material culture includes physical objects created by man (artifacts) - cars, books, houses, etc. Artifacts have symbolic meaning, serve a specific function, and provide some value to a group or society.

IN intangible culture includes rules, patterns, models and norms of behavior, laws, values, ceremonies, rituals, symbols, myths, ideas, customs, traditions, language. These are also artifacts, but they exist in the mind and are supported by human communication.

The basic elements of spiritual culture include myths, customs, morals, laws and values. Customs, mores and laws form a normative system of culture, prescribing norms of social behavior to members of society. Values ​​complement a normative cultural system by indicating (but not prescribing) what should be preserved and honored in a culture.

Myth - the main component of human culture. Myth can be defined as an imaginative (formalized) symbolic narrative about the origin and end of the world, life and death, centered on gods, heroes or events.

Custom- a traditionally established order of behavior, fixed by collective habits (hospitality, celebration of Christmas and New Year, respect for elders). Manners- customs that acquire moral significance (the most respected and sanctified customs).

Law- normative act adopted by the highest authority state power in a constitutional manner.

Values- socially approved and shared by most people beliefs about what goodness, justice, beauty, etc. are.

A. Kroeber and K. Kluckhohn wrote: culture consists of external and internal norms that determine behavior, mastered and mediated through symbols, it arises as a result of the activities of groups of people. The essential core of culture consists of traditional (historically established) ideas, primarily those to which special value is attributed. Cultural systems can be considered, on the one hand, as the results of human activity, and on the other, as its regulators 1 .

Is there a difference between social and cultural?

American explorer, Talcott Parsons made a very clear distinction between the social and the cultural. Under social he understood real social life - processes, events, facts, and cultural, by in his opinion, this is how people imagine social life, or ideas about reality. Analyzing cultural processes, Parsons introduced the concept of generalized value - dominant ideological ideas. IN modern society Western type is “freedom”, “democracy”, “personality”.

According to Parsons, production and social relations perform a male function in society - they destabilize, destroy stereotypes, move society forward, and culture performs a female function, ensuring transmission, inheritance, stability, and conservation of social relations.

Sociologists have also revealed that only at certain stages of civilizational development does the material dominate, determining the culture and way of life of society as a whole; in more highly developed societies culture dominates.

What sociocultural supersystems does P. Sorokin identify?

In his work “Social and Cultural Dynamics” P. Sorokin, having carefully analyzed various aspects of human culture - art, education, ethics, legislation, military affairs, proposed dividing it into two opposing, mutually incompatible types. According to him, each type of culture has its own mentality; own system of knowledge, philosophy and worldview; one’s religion and standards of “holiness”; own ideas about what is right and wrong; form of art and literature; own morals, laws, norms of behavior; dominant forms of social relations; own economic and political organization; and finally, your own type of human personality with a special mentality and behavior. Sorokin identifies two opposite cultural type- speculative and sensual. These are ideal types that cannot be found in their pure form in any era. The intermediate form is designated as “idealistic”.

Speculative culture characterized by the following features: 1) reality is spiritual in nature, immaterial, hidden behind sensory manifestations (for example, God, nirvana, Tao, Brahma), it is eternal and unchanging; 2) the needs and goals of people are mainly spiritual (saving the soul, serving the Lord, fulfilling a sacred duty, moral duties); 3) to satisfy these goals, efforts are made to free the individual from sensual temptations and everyday earthly worries. At least two conclusions follow from this: truth is comprehended only through internal experience (revelation, meditation, ecstasy, divine inspiration), therefore it is absolute and eternal; the idea of ​​good is rooted in the immaterial, internal, spiritual, in supersensible values ​​( immortal life, merger with Brahma).

Sensual culture is characterized by directly opposite features: 1) reality is material in nature, accessible to the senses, it moves and constantly changes: “Becoming, process, change, flow, evolution, progress, transformation”; 2) the needs and goals of people are purely carnal, or sensual (hunger and thirst, sex, shelter, comfort); 3) to satisfy these goals it is necessary to use the external environment. Two conclusions also follow from this: truth can only be found in sensory experience, therefore it is temporary and relative in nature, the idea of ​​good is rooted in sensory, empirical, material values ​​(pleasure, enjoyment, happiness, utility), therefore moral principles are flexible, relative and depend on the circumstances.

Intermediate, idealistic culture represents a balanced combination of speculative and sensory elements. It recognizes that reality is both material and supernatural, and that people's needs and goals are both physical and spiritual; Satisfaction of goals requires both improvement of oneself and transformation of the environment. In short, "recognizing perfect world supreme, it does not declare the sensory world to be a mere illusion or a negative value; on the contrary, since the feelings are in harmony with the ideal, they have a positive value.”

Based on this typology, Sorokin proposed a periodization of the historical process (see table). The principle of periodization is the change of dominant types of cultural mentality and cultural systems: a repeating sequence of speculative, idealistic and sensual cultures.

How do cultures interact?

Sociologists directly connect the existence of culture and society, therefore the analysis of cultural systems should be carried out taking into account the same stratification differences as for society. Thus, we can distinguish cultures:

1) civilizational (relating to metasocieties that gave birth to peculiar cultural paradigms development of many ethnic and national cultures);

2) regional (related to metasociums, different societies united by natural and territorial proximity of living conditions);

3) national (related to multi-ethnic countries in the industrial and later stages of development);

4) group (related to certain social strata and substrates, i.e. communities and sub-communities in the structure of society);

5) family (related to different types of family).

These cultures are characterized by complex hierarchical and horizontal interactions. Their interpenetration, coexistence, or various dramas of rejection are possible at all levels: from interfamily (“Montagues” and “Capulets”) to interethnic and civilizational (the notorious “Americanization”).

According to X. Ortega y Gasset, interactions between cultures can, in principle, be:

1) neutral, when they coexist, do not interfere with each other and do not mix;

2) alternative, or countercultural, when cultures actively push each other, as each expansively strives to occupy a dominant position and impose its values ​​and standards in the community;

3) competitive, competitive, when in the process of self-development and the struggle for proselytes (attracted new adherents), cultures can shift into the area of ​​alternativeness and conflict relations.

American sociologist, ethnographer, social psychologist, historian Margaret Mead, in the course of studying cultural selection during the clash of cultures (mainly primitive and modern), analyzed the processes of assimilation (cultural absorption), accommodation (forced adaptive mastery of the language of another culture) and cultural selection (selective voluntary assimilation of values another culture). As a result of the research, she found out that the perception of a new culture occurs only if both cultures had a common prototype; otherwise assimilation or cultural selection is impossible.

This conclusion leads to thoughts about the ways of sociocultural transformation of modern Russian society. At the same time, we must remember that Russian society is of a mobilization type. For ^revival, he needs national values ​​and social ideology, and “Proletarians of all countries...” or “Autocracy, Orthodoxy and nationality” are no longer very suitable (to historical “realities,” as the leaders now colloquially put it).

Social culture is about values. Ideology is values ​​that collect, consolidate and mobilize for action, allowing one to get out of a state of confusion and vacillation and gain a common real perspective. Russian society is going through “troubled” times of social fragmentation and self-survival. The development of a new state ideology will become the starting point for a stable, meaningful, purposeful and responsible social development of society, when the governing elite will be able to tell the people (as in historically distant, but still memorable times): “The goals are clear, the tasks are defined. Let's get to work, comrades!

Concept of culture- a phenomenon that is extremely diverse both in nature and in the forms of its expression and functioning. It covers the entire totality of society’s achievements in material and spiritual life, reflects the level of intellectual development of man and humanity, the system of values ​​and norms governing social activities, the state of morals, etc. Such a variety of cultural manifestations could not but affect the nature of the definition of this phenomenon.

The concept of culture is used to describe historical eras (for example, ancient or medieval culture), nationalities (Inca culture), nations, specific spheres of life or activity (work culture), etc.

Hence the different concepts of culture, and therefore its definitions, which to one degree or another reflect a specific object of knowledge, correlated with the “carrier” of the cultural element. For example, culture of communication, language, lifestyle, etc.

So, one of the concepts of culture is a historically certain level of development of society and man, expressed in specific types and forms of organization of life and activity, as well as in created by people material and spiritual values.

There are material and spiritual cultures. However, this distinction is relative, possible only in abstraction, since material culture, unlike natural phenomena, is the work of human hands and minds, and therefore contains spiritual, moral, and aesthetic elements.

Culture is, first of all, a characteristic (for a given person, society) way of thinking, acting and means of communication. In the sociological understanding, culture, and first of all its core - values, regulate relationships between people, these are bonds that unite people into a single entity - society. Consequently, culture is the most important substance of human life, penetrating virtually everywhere, manifesting itself in a wide variety of forms. Thanks to this, culture is embodied in activity, objectified in material-objective and sign-symbolic forms. Firstly, there is a certain fixation and structuring historical experience of a given people, community, family. Secondly, culture, its meanings and values, technology and skills can be transferred to another person, another generation. The emphasized continuity does not at all mean absolute mental stability and immutability of culture. At the very least, the ability for self-development and variability is the most important feature of the sociocultural process. In this case, the continuity of innovative traditions is emphasized. If the culture of a particular people has developed traditions of freedom of creativity, manifestation of individuality, etc., then in this case the cultural tradition itself, as it were, “pushes” people to search and innovation. A people whose culture has little developed traditions that promote search and innovation dooms itself to falling behind and to serious ethnic and psychological difficulties. Every step along the path of social development

life will be given to him with great difficulty. The cultural development of man brings us close to issues of education. Cultural development does not proceed evenly. In general, it bears little resemblance to established stereotypical forms of development, which transform into one another with natural regularity, as is the case in the rest of human development. For a long time, psychology has attached too much importance to precisely such established, stereotypical forms of development, which themselves were the result of already established and established, that is, to a certain extent completed and only repeating and reproducing development processes. For a very long time, plant development processes with their most elementary relationships between the individual and the environment were taken as the basis for development. On this basis, the processes of growing into culture were not considered developmental processes at all. They were more often looked at as a process of simple panic assimilation of a series of skills or the acquisition of a series of knowledge. For example, growing into cultural arithmetic was considered as a simple learning, essentially no different from the assimilation of some factual data, say, addresses, streets, etc. This point of view is possible as long as development itself is understood narrowly and limitedly. But one has only to expand the concept of development to its legal limits, one has only to understand that the concept of development certainly includes not only evolutionary, but also revolutionary changes, backward movement, gaps, zigzags and conflicts, and one can see that growing into culture is development in the proper sense of the word, although a development of a different type than intellectual. Cultural development must be considered in psychology with the living process of biological evolution. So, as a living process of development, formation, struggle, development of internal psychological conflict, i.e. a contradiction or collision of the natural and historical, primitive and cultural, organic and social. All cultural behavior grows on the basis of its mental forms of development, but this growth often means struggle, pushing aside the old already established form, sometimes its complete destruction, sometimes the stratification of various genetic eras, territorial cultural layers that make the behavior of a cultural person unreceptive to others. However, if you test each of us in the development of primitive arithmetic, it turns out that both our actual capabilities and the dynamics of our development vary much more than the general cultural forms of behavior that we have learned. This is because each form cultural behavior is, in a certain sense, already a product of the psychological development of mankind, an adequate form of adaptation to a given social situation, area of ​​behavior. And since each of us grows into these specific forms, leveling occurs so naturally psychological state as an indicator of the general cultural level we are achieving. Cultural development in a number of cases affects psychology, that is, it is a process that critically influences the consciousness and state of a person. Cultural development greatly expands natural possibility. Differences in human culture, which are insignificant in natural, practical behavior, with the powerful upsurge that cultural development gives to mental functions, turn into deeply different forms of adaptation. Therefore, cultural development can increase the scale of discrepancies that exist in the differences in the psychological state of people.

Thus, the relationship between cultural development and psychological development is very complex and twofold; on the one hand, cultural development tends to level out individual personality qualities, and on the other, to increase the scale and widen the spread of various characteristics of an individual’s psychological qualities. Precisely because the relationship between cultural development and mental development is complex, and the cultural, social and philosophical worldview plays an important role here. Understanding the culture of a given social environment, philosophical view, educate a psychological personality at a given historical stage at such a level that this personality is capable of biologically and socially existing in a given society. If this does not happen, then the individual is not able to adequately navigate in a given cultural society. In this case, a psychological reassessment of the values ​​of the cultural layer deposited in consciousness occurs and the personality moves into the social layer that precedes or follows this layer. The importance of culture as social phenomenon is explained, first of all, by the fact that it is the direct, actual “culprit” of the content and style of practical life of people. Naturally, culture itself does not develop in isolation as “in itself” and “for itself”. It absorbs impulses stemming from the natural living conditions of a given group of people, the socio-economic circumstances in which they carry out their activities. But on the path of impulses external environment to a specific person, his actions, culture is by no means an inconspicuous stop that can be easily skipped.

Culture

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“The influence of culture on human psychology.”

The influence of culture on human psychology.

Culture is, first of all, a characteristic (for a given person, society) way of thinking, acting and means of communication. In the sociological understanding, culture, and first of all its core - values, regulate relationships between people, these are bonds that unite people into a single entity - society. Consequently, culture is the most important substance of human life, penetrating virtually everywhere, manifesting itself in a wide variety of forms. Thanks to this, culture is embodied in activity, objectified in material-objective and sign-symbolic forms. Firstly, there is a certain fixation and structuring of the historical experience of a given people, community, family. Secondly, culture, its meanings and values, technology and skills can be transferred to another person, another generation. The emphasized continuity does not at all mean absolute mental stability and immutability of culture. At the very least, the ability for self-development and variability is the most important feature of the sociocultural process. In this case, the continuity of innovative traditions is emphasized. If the culture of a particular people has developed traditions of freedom of creativity, manifestation of individuality, etc., then in this case the cultural tradition itself, as it were, “pushes” people to search and innovation. A people whose culture has little developed traditions that promote search and innovation dooms itself to falling behind and to serious ethnic and psychological difficulties. Every step along the path of social development

life will be given to him with great difficulty. The cultural development of man brings us close to issues of education. Cultural development does not proceed evenly. In general, it bears little resemblance to established stereotypical forms of development, which transform into one another with natural regularity, as is the case in the rest of human development. For a long time, psychology has attached too much importance to precisely such established, stereotypical forms of development, which themselves were the result of already established and established, that is, to a certain extent completed and only repeating and reproducing development processes. For a very long time, plant development processes with their most elementary relationships between the individual and the environment were taken as the basis for development. On this basis, the processes of growing into culture were not considered developmental processes at all. They were more often looked at as a process of simple panic assimilation of a series of skills or the acquisition of a series of knowledge. For example, growing into cultural arithmetic was considered as a simple learning, essentially no different from the assimilation of some factual data, say, addresses, streets, etc. This point of view is possible as long as development itself is understood narrowly and limitedly. But one has only to expand the concept of development to its legal limits, one has only to understand that the concept of development certainly includes not only evolutionary, but also revolutionary changes, backward movement, gaps, zigzags and conflicts, and one can see that growing into culture is development in the proper sense of the word, although a development of a different type than intellectual. Cultural development must be considered in psychology with the living process of biological evolution. So, as a living process of development, formation, struggle, development of internal psychological conflict, i.e. a contradiction or collision of the natural and historical, primitive and cultural, organic and social. All cultural behavior grows on the basis of its mental forms of development, but this growth often means struggle, pushing aside the old already established form, sometimes its complete destruction, sometimes the stratification of various genetic eras, territorial cultural layers that make the behavior of a cultural person unreceptive to others. However, if you test each of us in the development of primitive arithmetic, it turns out that both our actual capabilities and the dynamics of our development vary much more than the general cultural forms of behavior that we have learned. This is explained by the fact that each form of cultural behavior is, in a certain sense, already a product of the psychological development of mankind, an adequate form of adaptation to a given social situation, area of ​​behavior. And since each of us grows into these specific forms, the leveling of the psychological state as an indicator of the general cultural level that we achieve is natural. Cultural development in a number of cases affects psychology, that is, it is a process that critically influences the consciousness and state of a person. Cultural development greatly expands natural possibility. Differences in human culture, which are insignificant in natural, practical behavior, with the powerful uplift that cultural development gives to mental functions, turn into profoundly different forms of adaptation. Therefore, cultural development can increase the scale of discrepancies that exist in the differences in the psychological state of people.

Thus, the relationship between cultural development and psychological development is very complex and twofold; on the one hand, cultural development tends to level out individual personality qualities, and on the other, to increase the scale and widen the spread of various characteristics of an individual’s psychological qualities. Precisely because the relationship between cultural development and mental development is complex, and the cultural, social and philosophical worldview plays an important role here. Understanding the culture of a given social environment, a philosophical view, educates a psychological personality at a given historical stage at such a level that this personality is capable of biologically and socially existing in a given society. If this does not happen, then the individual is not able to adequately navigate in a given cultural society. In this case, a psychological reassessment of the values ​​of the cultural layer deposited in consciousness occurs and the personality moves into the social layer that precedes or follows this layer. The significance of culture as a social phenomenon is explained, first of all, by the fact that it is the direct, actual “culprit” of the content and style of practical life of people. Naturally, culture itself does not develop in isolation as “in itself” and “for itself”. It absorbs impulses stemming from the natural living conditions of a given group of people, the socio-economic circumstances in which they carry out their activities. But on the path of impulses from the external environment to a specific person and his actions, culture is by no means an inconspicuous stop that can be easily missed.

Culture- this is a complex spiritual system in which external information is digested, comprehended, evaluated, which affects the psychology of the individual and directly determines how to act.

From all of the above, we can conclude that where the demonstration effect works in full, catch-up modernization accelerates and brings results relatively quickly. Where there are barriers to the spread of the demonstration effect, modernization slows down. These barriers can be natural (long distances, lack of means of communication) or unnatural (iron curtains of various kinds). But in any case, they interfere with catching up because they deprive you of information.

Let us note in passing that some people consider catch-up modernization a positive phenomenon, and some - a negative one. Some people believe that catching up is good because it promotes development, while others believe that it is bad because it destroys our traditional culture and imposes dubious values. However, regardless of what assessment we give to modernization (I personally prefer the first point of view), it is difficult to doubt the decisive influence of the demonstration effect on it.

But here a question arises that in recent years has almost dominated discussions about the modernization of Russia. Is our lag an objective consequence of previously existing barriers to the spread of the demonstration effect (Russia’s peripheral position on the edge of Europe, the lack of means of communication, the gap between the Orthodox and Catholic churches, ignorance of Western languages, the Iron Curtain of communist times, etc.) or for us Today there are rigid barriers through which no challenge from the West can pass? In practical terms, the answer to this question means the following: we are simply behind, but we have a good chance to catch up, or we cannot catch up because we ourselves do not want to move in the direction in which the demonstration effect beckons us?

The failures of recent years in the democratization of Russia, as well as problems associated with the high level of corruption and inefficiency of our market economy, have contributed to the formation of pessimistic ideas about modernization. It is often said that in addition to, and perhaps even greater than, the demonstration effect, there is an impact on different countries traditional culture. There are cultures that are predisposed to the market and democracy, and there are those that are not. There are those in which the market, democracy and development in general are perceived positively, and there are those where they are negative. In other words, in some cultures, although people like a high level of consumption, they do not like the institutions that need to be formed to achieve such a level. And therefore the demonstration effect works only halfway. I want to buy a foreign car or an iPad, but I don’t respect the right of ownership. Therefore, modernization is carried out only at a superficial level and quickly fades when the money for purchases runs out.

Could Russia's problems be related to our special culture that denies modernization? Theoretically, they can, since history knows examples of cultures that stimulate development or, on the contrary, inhibit it. Most famous case- Protestant ethics, the meaning of which was revealed by Max Weber.

According to his theory, true believing Protestants have a special spirit that contributes to the development of capitalism. They believe that salvation in the next world cannot be earned by good deeds or sincere repentance. All people are initially predestined by God for salvation or destruction. A person is not destined to know exactly what his fate is. However, indirectly, he can judge the future by looking at his present. Success in life testifies that the Lord does not leave you, and failures, failures and ruins serve as a sign of a catastrophe that awaits in the other world.

Thus, it turns out that we can be calm about the fate of our soul only when we see our own successes, when we work honestly, lead approximate image life, feeding our family, raising children, decorating our home and city. It is not surprising that, faced with such psychological problem, a true Protestant will do everything possible to prosper. He will not necessarily become a major capitalist (although this would be the greatest evidence of success in life), but in any case he will work with high productivity, strive for career success, and establish contacts with people on whom his success depends. In other words, a Protestant turns out to be a person optimally suitable for modernization, and, accordingly, representatives of confessions in which such a capitalist spirit is not formed are less suitable.

Weber's theory is most likely correct. However, as we saw above, the lack of Protestant ethics did not prevent many European Catholic countries from rushing in pursuit of the leaders and, in fact, catching up with them. Catholic France is a very successful country. The Catholic regions of Germany are clearly not lagging behind the Lutheran ones. The north of Catholic Italy (Piedmont, Lombardy) is one of the most developed regions in Europe. Catholic Spain, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary carried out quite successful reforms in their time, becoming market and democratic. Thus, the demonstration effect in this case is more important than cultural differences.

The presence of a special culture in itself does not mean a long lag. Now, if the culture of a certain people contains some features that are incompatible with modernization, but at the same time are steadily reproduced with each new generation, then the problem is obvious. Then the demonstration effect does not work. Or more accurately, a man caught between national culture, which denies change, and with a demonstration effect that requires modernization, finds itself in a difficult situation. He must either reject temptations outside world, or part with your inner world. He must break himself, abandon his own identity, in order to build a society that is not inferior in competitiveness to the leaders of modernization.

Russia undoubtedly has its own cultural characteristics. Russia is not America, and Ukraine is not Russia. But Germany is not France, and Estonia is not Lithuania. In our country there is an idea that the cultural differences between Russia and Europe are very great, while the intra-European differences are insignificant. However, there is no instrument that can measure differences in culture the way differences in height or weight of people are measured. Do our ideas about the scale of cultural differences arise from the fact that we simply see no other way to explain Russia's lag in modernization? They say that if Italy has caught up with England in terms of GDP per capita and in building democratic institutions, then the cultural differences between a village in Sicily and an industrial center in Lancashire are not so significant. And if Russia has not caught up, then it turns out that the culture of this mysterious country is completely different.

In this regard, many curious theories appear that interpret the specifics of Russian culture. If a society, unable to otherwise understand our backwardness, places a demand for “cultural” explanations, then the “marketplace of ideas” begins to produce an incredible number of such explanations. Each one finds its consumer one way or another.

One of the most striking examples is the book “The Character of the Russian People” famous philosopher Nikolai Lossky. The author offers a certain set of traits that define this character - religiosity, the desire to find the meaning of life, powerful willpower, love of freedom, kindness, talent, etc. But as evidence of his approach, Lossky offers only examples from the life of a narrow circle of intellectuals, or even even references to fiction - to Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. As a result, we get a picture of the spiritual world of some part of the elite (which, in general, is not bad), but for the study of modernization, for understanding what factors influence production and social order, such “research” is completely unsuitable.

In the same way, “research” with conclusions of the opposite nature, but based on a similar “methodological basis,” is not suitable. The authors simply give the usual cliches the form of research when they write, for example, about the innate servility of the Russian people, about their tendency to binge drinking, about the primitivism of their beliefs, about cruelty, about a natural commitment to anti-Semitism and an inability to painstaking, creative work. At the same time, the traditional respect for rank of the Germans, the love of drinking of the Finns, the complex attitude towards Jews among the Poles, and similar phenomena are not analyzed. They say that since they are doing better with modernization, it means that the problems are not so significant.

Such “Russophilia” and “Russophobia” are two sides of the same coin. They are neither studies of culture as a whole nor an analysis of its influence on modernization. A cultural study that could really be useful for solving the problem that interests us would probably have to contain four elements. First, we need to find the real specifics of Russian life. Secondly, to show that this is truly a cultural trait, that is, that it is passed on from generation to generation. Thirdly, to identify the mechanisms of this transmission. Fourthly, to identify the mechanisms of influence of this cultural feature on economic and political institutions.

Scientific research features of our culture are emerging today. For example, Igor Yakovenko formulates a hypothesis according to which Manichaeism and Gnosticism represent the cultural codes of Russian civilization. Accordingly, our vision of the world in the light of this hypothesis turns out to be somewhat different than in the West. However, it is not entirely clear why such a vision is formed in a person born in the second half of the twentieth century. The words that all this is “absorbed by us with mother’s milk” are not very convincing. Why does “mother’s milk” have a stronger effect than, say, a demonstration effect? Why should some idea inherent in the ancestors force a person to refuse to use institutions that can improve the quality of life, despite the fact that this person is not an ascetic or a monk seeking to retire from the world?

And most importantly, the data connection mechanism is not clear cultural characteristics with specific unresolved problems of modernization. Are Manichaeism and Gnosticism, for example, related to the macroeconomic instability that prevented us from achieving GDP growth for so long in the 1990s? Moreover, did Manichaeism and Gnosticism give rise to the authoritarian character of the Russian state? And if so, what about the authoritarian regimes known in the history of almost all European nations? Do Germans, Spaniards or Poles have a problem with the same cultural codes? And if so, then what is special about Russia? Can our problems be explained by culture?