Most often, the basis for dividing social control into different types is the subjectivity of its implementation. The subjects here are workers, administration, public organizations of labor collectives.
Depending on the subject, the following are usually distinguished: types of social control:
1. Administrative control. Carried out by representatives of the administration of the enterprise, heads of various levels in accordance with normative documents. This type of control is also called external, since its subject is not included in the directly controlled system of relations and activities, it is outside this system. In an organization, this is possible due to managerial relations, so here the control exercised by the administration is external.
The advantages of administrative control are due primarily to the fact that it is a special and independent activity. On the one hand, this frees the personnel directly involved in the main production tasks from control functions, on the other hand, it contributes to the implementation of these functions at a professional level.
The disadvantages of administrative control are manifested in the fact that it cannot always be comprehensive and operational; it is quite probable that he is biased.
2. Public control. It is carried out by public organizations within the framework provided for by the charters or regulations on their status. The effectiveness of public control is due to the organization, structure and cohesion of the relevant public organizations.
3. Group control. This is the mutual control of the members of the team. Distinguish between formal group control (working meetings and conferences, production meetings) and informal (common opinion in the team, collective moods).
Mutual control occurs when the bearers of social control functions are the subjects of organizational and labor relations with the same status. Among the advantages of mutual control, first of all, the simplicity of the supervisory mechanism is noted, since normal or deviant behavior is observed directly. This not only ensures the relatively constant nature of the control functions, but also reduces the likelihood of errors in normative assessment associated with the distortion of facts in the process of obtaining information.
However, mutual control also has disadvantages. First of all, it is subjectivism: if relations between people are characterized by competition, rivalry, then they are naturally predisposed to unfairly attribute to each other some violations of discipline, to prejudice each other's organizational and labor behavior.
4. Self-control. It is a conscious regulation of one's own labor behavior based on self-assessments and assessments for compliance existing requirements and norms. As you can see, self-control is a specific way of behavior of the subject of organizational and labor relations, in which he independently (regardless of the factor of external coercion) supervises his own actions, behaves in accordance with socially accepted norms.
The main advantage of self-control is the limitation of the need for special control activities on the part of the administration. In addition, self-control allows the employee to feel freedom, independence, personal significance.
Self-control has two main drawbacks: each subject in assessing his own behavior is inclined to underestimate social and normative requirements, is more liberal towards himself than towards others; self-control is largely random, i.e., poorly predictable and manageable, depends on the state of the subject as a person, manifests itself only with such qualities as consciousness and morality.
Depending on the nature of the sanctions or incentives used, social control is of two types: economic (encouragement, penalties) and moral (contempt, respect).
Depending on the nature of the implementation of social control, the following types are distinguished.
1. Solid and selective. Continuous social control is of an ongoing nature, the entire process of organizational and labor relations, all individuals included in the organization, are subject to supervision and evaluation. With selective control, its functions are relatively limited, they apply only to the most significant, predetermined, aspects of the labor process.
3. Open and hidden. The choice of an open or hidden form of social control is determined by the state of awareness, awareness of the social control functions of the object of control. Hidden control is carried out with the help of technical means, or through intermediaries.
Social control can be exercised in institutional and non-institutional forms.
1. institutional form social control is implemented through a special apparatus specializing in control activities, which is a set of state and public organizations (bodies, institutions and associations).
2. Non-institutional form
social control is a special kind of self-regulation inherent in various social systems, control over people's behavior by the mass consciousness.
Its functioning is based mainly on the action of moral and psychological mechanisms, consisting of continuous monitoring of the behavior of other people and assessments of compliance with its social prescriptions and expectations. A person becomes aware of himself by observing other members of society (organizations, groups, communities), constantly comparing himself with them, assimilating certain norms of behavior in the process of socialization. Society cannot exist without mental reactions, mutual evaluations. It is thanks to mutual contacts that people realize social values, acquire social experience and skills of social behavior.
A variety of institutional social control is state control.Among the types of state control are: political, administrative and judicial.
· Political control carried out by those bodies and persons who exercise the powers supreme power. Depending on the political and state structure, these are the parliament, regional and local elected bodies. Political control can be exercised to a certain extent by political parties that have received the support of the majority of the people, especially those represented in government.
· Administrative control carried out by the executive bodies of all branches of government. Here, as a rule, higher officials control the actions of subordinates, inspection and supervisory bodies are created that analyze the implementation of laws, regulations, management decisions, study the effectiveness and quality of administrative activities.
· Judicial control all the courts at the disposal of the society are carried out: general (civil), military, arbitration and constitutional courts.
However, it is difficult for one state to respond to many social demands and demands, which leads to an aggravation of social conflicts that have a destructive effect on the nature public life. This requires an effective feedback that ensures the participation of citizens in public administration, an important element of which is public control. Therefore, along with state control, a special form of social control is public control - public control by society represented by the public, individual citizens, social organizations, associations and movements, as well as public opinion. In a modern democratic society, public control is the activity, first of all, of the established institutions of civil society and individual citizens - their formal and informal participation in it.
[edit] Types of social control
There are two types of social control processes:
processes that encourage individuals to internalize existing social norms, the processes of socialization of family and school education, during which internal requirements society - social prescriptions;
· the processes that organize the social experience of individuals, the lack of publicity in society, publicity - a form of social control over the behavior of the ruling strata and groups;
Subject social control is inextricably linked with deviance, deviant behavior, although it has a broader, sociological significance.
It is possible that the desire for order is innate in man. In any case, all scientific, philosophical, religious constructions are aimed at revealing the patterns (order!) of the World or bringing Order into the Chaos of Being. In a broad, general scientific sense, order is certainty, a regularity in the arrangement of system elements and their interaction with each other. In relation to society, order is understood as certainty, regularity in the structuring of society and the interaction of its elements (communities, classes, groups, institutions).
Social the control- a mechanism of self-organization (self-regulation) and self-preservation of society by establishing and maintaining a normative order in a given society and eliminating, neutralizing, minimizing norm-violating - deviant behavior.
But this is too general a definition that needs commentary.
One of the main questions of sociology is how and why is the existence and preservation of society possible? Why does it not disintegrate under the influence of the struggle of various, including antagonistic, interests of classes and groups? * The problem of order and social control was discussed by all sociological theorists from O. Comte, H. Spencer, K. Marx, E. Durkheim to P. Sorokin, T. Parsons, R. Merton, N. Luhmann and others.
* Turner J. The structure of sociological theory. S. 27, 70.
So, O. Comte believed that society is bound by “general consent” (consensus omnium). One of the two main branches of sociology social static (other - social dynamics) - is, according to Comte, the theory of social order, harmony. And basic social institutions (family, state, religion) were considered by scientists in terms of their role in the integration of society. In other words, how institutions social control. Thus, the family teaches to overcome innate egoism, and the state is called upon to prevent the “radical divergence” of people in ideas, feelings and interests*.
* Comte O. The course of positive philosophy // Ancestors of positivism. SPb., 1912. Issue. 4.
G. Spencer, who also stood at the origins of sociology and adhered to organismic ideas about society, believed that three organ systems are inherent in a social organism: supporting (production), distributive and regulatory. The latter just ensures submission constituent parts(elements) of society as a whole, that is, it essentially performs the functions social control. Being an evolutionist, H. Spencer condemned revolution as an unnatural violation of order*.
* Spencer G. Basic principles. SPb., 1887.
The starting point for the sociology of E. Durkheim is concept of social solidarity. Classification related to solidarity concepts dual ("dual"). There are two types sociality: simple, based on consanguinity, and complex, based on the specialization of functions that arose in the process of division of social labor. For simple sociality mechanical solidarity of a homogeneous group is characteristic, for a complex one - organic solidarity. To maintain mechanical solidarity, repressive law is sufficient, providing for severe punishment of violators. Organic solidarity should be characterized by restitutive (“restorative”) law, the function of which is reduced to “simple restoration of the order of things”*. Looking ahead, we note that this idea of “restorative law”, “restorative justice” as an alternative to criminal, “compensatory” justice (retributive justice) has become widespread in modern foreign criminology. The more cohesive the society, the higher the degree social integration of individuals, the less deviations (deviations). And the inevitable conflicts in society should be resolved peacefully.
* Durkheim E. On the division of social labor. Method of sociology. M., 1990. S. 109.
The views of the scientist evolved from the primacy of duty and coercion social norms to voluntariness, personal interest of individuals in their acceptance and following them. The true basis of solidarity, according to the "late" Durkheim, is not in coercion, but in an internalized (learned by the individual) moral duty, in a sense of respect for general requirements(group pressure).
Start of special studies social control its functions, institutions, methods are associated with several names. Different authors solve the question of priority in this area of sociological knowledge in different ways.
Undoubtedly a major contribution to the study of problems social control introduced by W. Sumner. Already in his early works he considered the processes control society over the environment and coercive pressure (“collective pressure”) on the members of society, ensuring its cohesion*. Sumner proposed a typology of sources (means) of collective pressure: folk customs including traditions and customs; institutions; the laws. These three social mechanisms provide conformity, but are not sufficient for solidarity, which is itself a by-product of conformity.
* Sumner W. Folkways. Boston, 1906.
As we already know, the key in the theory of G. Tarde - a representative of the psychological direction in sociology and criminology - is "imitation", with the help of which the scientist explained the main social processes, character social facts, the structure of society and the mechanism of its cohesion*. Not surprisingly, typical social The relationship is the teacher-student relationship. G. Tarde paid great attention to the study of various forms of deviance, revealing their statistical patterns. He believed that the results of such studies make it possible to put under the control spontaneous social processes. An important factor social control is the socialization of the individual.
* Tard G. Laws of imitation of St. Petersburg, 1892 (last edition - 1999).
For E. Ross, solidarity and cohesion are secondary to social control. It is he who binds individuals and groups into an organized whole. key concept concept of E. Ross - "obedience" *. It can act in two forms: personal-informal and impersonal-official. The first is based on consent. The second is provided through control. Perhaps E. Ross proposed the first classification of mechanisms social control: interior the control- ethical and external - political. For the first, group goals are important, for the second, the institutionalized apparatus of means (legal, educational, etc.). More E. Ross considers the family as a factor social control shaping and implementing behavior patterns. Internalization (assimilation) by the individual of these models as personal ideals the best way provides obedience.
* Ross E. Social Control. NY, 1901.
R. Park identified three forms social control: elementary sanctions, public opinion, social institutions. In one form or another, these forms control considered by various authors.
From the vast scientific heritage of M. Weber, his constructions of three ideal types of domination are directly related to the problem under consideration: rational, traditional, charismatic *. They can also be considered as types social control. M. Weber himself believed that "the legitimacy of the order can only be guaranteed internally", namely: effectively-emotionally - by devotion; value-rationally - by faith in the absolute significance of order as an expression of immutable values; religiously - the belief in the dependence of good and salvation on the preservation of order. The legitimacy of the order can also be guaranteed by the expectation of external consequences, including law, coercion. The first type of legitimacy, legal or formal-rational, is based on interest. In a rational state, they obey not individuals, but established laws. Their implementation is carried out by the bureaucracy (classic examples are modern bourgeois England, France, the USA). The second type - traditional is based on mores, traditions, habits, which are attributed not only legality, but also sacredness. This type is inherent in a patriarchal society, and the main relationship is master-servant ( classic example feudal states of Western Europe). The third type - charismatic (Greek charisma - a divine gift) - is based on the extraordinary abilities of a person - a leader, a prophet (be it Jesus Christ, Mohammed, Buddha or Caesar, Napoleon, finally - A. Hitler, I. Stalin, Mao ...). If the traditional type of domination is supported by the usual - mores, traditions, habits, then the charismatic one rests on the unusual, extraordinary, amazing, supernatural. Weber viewed charisma as a "great revolutionary force" that interrupted the gradualism of traditional development. He was lucky not to live in his native country to the charisma of Hitler, as well as other "leaders" with an extraordinary "gift" ...
*Weber M. Staatssoziologie. Berlin, 1966.
The work of our compatriot P. Sorokin, forced to live and work in exile since 1922, thanks to the coming to power in Russia of charismatic leaders, is largely devoted to the topic social regulation of human behavior. The title and content of his first major scientific work of the Petersburg period, Crime and Punishment, Feat and Reward, is devoted to the mechanism social control*. There are stable forms social behavior - "due", "recommended", "prohibited" and forms social reactions to them are negative (punishment) and positive (reward) sanctions. In general, these forms constitute the regulatory substructure. In "The System of Sociology"** P. Sorokin, paying tribute to the problem social order, examines the mechanism of "organized" forms of behavior. Social reactions to biopsychic stimuli, repeated many times, develop into a habit, and when realized, into a law. The totality of conscious forms of behavior in various areas of social life forms institutions, the totality of the latter constitutes social order or organization.
* Sorokin P. Crime and punishment, feat and reward. SPb., 1913.
** Sorokin P. The system of sociology. Pg., 1920. T. 1.
P. Sorokin attached great importance social stratification and social mobility (in fact, he introduced these concepts into scientific circulation). Hence the role concepts"status" ("rank") as a set of rights and obligations, privileges and responsibilities, power and influence. Difficult vertical mobility eventually leads to a revolution - "shaking up" social strat. Unnatural and violent nature social revolutions makes them undesirable. And the best way to prevent revolutions is to improve the channels of vertical mobility and social control.
In his main work "Social and Cultural Dynamics" * P. Sorokin summarizes his understanding social. Its specificity is the "non-material" component: "norms - values - meanings". It is the presence of values and norms, as well as meanings (without taking into account which it is often impossible to distinguish between a fight and boxing, rape and a voluntary sexual act, etc.) that characterizes social being, in contrast to the inorganic and organic levels of being.
* Excerpts from this fundamental four-volume work, see: Sorokin P. Man. Civilization. Society. M., 1992. S. 425-504.
Problem social control is essential for functionalism and constitutes a significant part of the theory social actions. According to its largest representative, T. Parsons, the functions of reproduction social structures are provided by a system of beliefs, morality, socialization organs (family, education, etc.), and normative orientation in the theory of action plays the same role as space in classical mechanics. In "Structure social actions” Parsons raises the most important question for him: how do the social systems? He sees the answer in two main mechanisms that integrate personality into social system: mechanisms of socialization and social control*(note that from our point of view, socialization is one of the mechanisms social control).
* For details see: Turner J. Decree. op. pp. 70-72.
The mechanisms of socialization, according to Parsons, are the means by which the assimilation (internalization) of cultural patterns - values, attitudes, language - takes place by the individual. The mechanisms of socialization also provide stable and reliable interpersonal relationships that help relieve tension, anxiety, and fatigue.
Mechanisms social control include ways of organizing the role of the status of individuals in order to reduce tension and deviations. To mechanisms control include: institutionalization (ensuring the certainty of role expectations); interpersonal sanctions and gestures (used by actors social actions for the mutual consistency of sanctions); ritual actions (removal of tension in a symbolic way, strengthening of the dominant cultural patterns); structures that ensure the preservation of values and the distinction between “normal” and “deviant”; structures of re-integration (normalization of tendencies towards "deviation"); institutionalization of a system capable of using violence, coercion. In a broad sense, to the mechanisms social control(more precisely, preserving the integration public system) also applies to socialization, which ensures the internalization (assimilation) of values, ideas, symbols. Parsons also analyzed three methods social control in relation to deviants: isolation from others (for example, in prison); isolation with partial restriction of contacts (for example, in psychiatric hospital); rehabilitation - preparation for returning to a "normal" life (for example, with the help of psychotherapy, the activities of public organizations such as "AA" - Alcoholics Anonymous).
The Age of Enlightenment and the 19th century were imbued with faith and hope about the possibility of a successful social control and "order". It is only necessary to listen to the advice of educators, the opinion of scientists and work a little to bring reality in line with Reason...
However, a few questions still remain unclear:
What social“order”, are there objective criteria for its evaluation? For the natural sciences, this is probably the level of entropy of the system - its (entropy) decrease or not increase. And for social systems? Maybe synergetics can help us in answering this question?
"Order" for whom? In whose interests? From whose point of view?
Is a society possible without "disorder"? Obviously not. Organization and disorganization, "order" and "disorder" (chaos), "norm" and "deviation" are complementary (in Bohr's sense). Recall that deviations are a necessary mechanism for change and development.
How, by what means, at what cost is “order” maintained (“new order” by A. Hitler, Gulag “order” by I. Stalin, “order” by America in Vietnam and Iraq, the USSR in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Afghanistan, Russia in Chechnya)?
In general, “the order that is held together by our cultural learning appears to be extremely vulnerable and fragile. This is only one of the possible orders, and we cannot be sure that it is the most correct.
* Bauman Z. Think sociologically. M., 1996. S. 166.
Social practice of the XX century. with two world wars, the Cold War, hundreds of local wars, Hitler and Lenin-Stalin concentration camps, genocide, right-wing and left-wing extremism, terrorism, fundamentalism, etc. - destroyed all illusions and myths about "order" and opportunities social control(one of his contemporaries noted: human history was divided into “before” Auschwitz and “after”). The amount of crimes committed by the states - "pillars of order", exceeded the crimes of singles by a hundred times. At the same time, the states - "sponsors of the murders" (N. Kressel) - do not "repent" (perhaps with the exception of Germany), but deny, renounce their deeds. S. Cohen in the article “Human Rights and Crimes of States: A Culture of Denial”* names three forms of such refusal (denial):
- denial of the past (denial of the past). Thus, publications appeared in the West declaring the Holocaust a “myth”, domestic Stalinists call the horror of Stalinist repressions a “myth” (however, the recent Duma events on the anniversary of the memory of the Holocaust, when many of our elected representatives refused to honor the memory of the victims, indicate that in on this issue we are "catching up" with the West...);
- literal denial - according to the formula "we don't know anything";
- sacramental refusal (implicatory denial) - according to the formula "yes, but ...". Thus, the majority of war criminals, under the pressure of facts, admit: "Yes, it was." And then a “but” follows: there was an order, military necessity, etc.
* Cohen S. Human Rights and Crimes of the State: the Cultural of Denial. In: Criminological Perspectives. A Reader. SAGE, 1996. P. 489-507.
It is not surprising that postmodernism in the sociology of the late 20th century, starting with J.-F. Lyotard and M. Foucault, comes to the denial of the possibility social control over deviant manifestations, expressed categorically and succinctly by N. Luhmann in the words chosen as an epigraph to this chapter. And although it is likely that realistic-skeptical postmodernism - as a reaction to the illusions of the beautiful-hearted Enlightenment - is as one-sided as the Enlightenment itself, however, some considerations of a general scientific nature (in particular, the law of increasing entropy in a system) incline us to the side of postmodernism. “The victory of order over chaos is never complete or final... Attempts to construct an artificial order in accordance with ideal target doomed to fail."
* Bauman Z. Think sociologically. M., 1996. S. 192, 193.
This does not exclude, of course, the possibility and necessity of systems, primarily biological and social, resist disorganizing entropy processes. As the father of cybernetics N. Wiener wrote, “we are swimming upstream, struggling with a huge stream of disorganization, which, in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics, tends to reduce everything to heat death ... In this world, our first duty is to arrange arbitrary islands of order and system ... We must run as fast as we can in order to stay where we once left off ”*.
* Viner N. I am a mathematician. M., 1967. S. 311.
Most of us fight for life to the end, knowing its inevitability and maintaining courage (or not so much ...) “in spite of” the inevitable (A. Malraux), and “beyond despair” (J.-P. Sartre). But that doesn't change the end result. Each society also ceases to exist sooner or later (how often do we remember Lydia and Chaldea, Babylon and Assyria, the Sumerian empire and the Inca civilization today?). This should not serve as an obstacle to efforts to self-preserve by organizing and maintaining "order" and reducing chaotic processes, including negative deviant behavior. One should not only forget that organization and disorganization are inextricably linked, one cannot be without the other, and deviations are not only “harmful”, but also “useful” from the point of view of the survival and development of the system.
So the problem social control there is pretty much a problem social order, the preservation of society as a whole.
There is a different understanding social control. At the beginning of the chapter, we gave its most general definition. In a narrower sense social control is a set of means and methods of influencing society on undesirable forms of deviant behavior with the aim of their elimination (elimination) or reduction, minimization.
The social regulators of human behavior are the values developed by society (as an expression of a person’s attitude to certain objects and the properties of these objects that are significant for people) and the norms corresponding to them (legal, moral, customs, traditions, fashion, etc.), i.e. rules , samples, standards, standards of behavior established by the state (law) or formed in the process of joint life. The easiest way to transfer rules (and values) is by personal example and imitation (“do as I do”). However, for complex, "post-primitive" societies, it is not enough. Mankind has developed a specific way of forming, preserving and transmitting (broadcasting) values and norms - through signs. J. Piaget argued: “The main realities created social way ... are the following: 1) rules (moral, legal, logical, etc.), 2) values that correspond or do not correspond to these rules, and 3) signs "*. I note that from my point of view, values are primary in this series, and rules are developed in accordance with values, and not vice versa. However, like everything in science, this is a debatable issue. Finally, the accumulation, storage, transmission of information through sign systems is possible only insofar as signs are given meaning, understandable those who perceive them.
* Piaget J. Selected psychological works. M., 1969. S. 210.
Social the control is not limited to the normative regulation of people's behavior, but also includes the implementation of normative decrees and non-normative influence on the behavior of members of society. In other words, to social control include actions to implement prescriptions (norms), measures of responsibility for persons who violate accepted norms, and in some states of a totalitarian type, and persons who do not share the values proclaimed on behalf of society.
The main methods social control are positive sanctions - encouragement and negative sanctions - punishment ("carrot and stick", "bait and switch").
To the main mechanisms social control include external, carried out from the outside, various social institutions, organizations (family, school, public organization, police) and their representatives with the help of sanctions - positive (encouragement) and negative (punishment), and internal, based on internalized (learned, perceived as one's own) values and norms and expressed concepts honor, conscience, dignity, decency, shame (it is impossible, because it is shameful, conscience does not allow). To the outside control also applies indirectly, associated with public opinion, the opinion of the reference group with which the individual identifies himself (parents, friends, colleagues). The classic formula for indirect control we find in “Woe from Wit” by A. Griboyedov: “What will Princess Marya Aleksevna say ?!” (unless, of course, the princess represents your reference group).
Distinguish formal the control, carried out by special bodies, organizations, institutions and their representatives within their official powers and in a strictly established manner, and informal (for example, indirect), punitive (repressive) and deterrent (preventive, preventive).
It is well known that positive sanctions (reward) are much more effective than negative ones (punishment), and internal the control much more effective than external. Unfortunately, humanity, knowing this, more often resorts to external control and repressive methods. It is believed that this is "simpler" and "more reliable". The negative consequences of "simple decisions" are not long in coming...
Exist various models(forms) social control and their classification*. One of them, proposed by D. Black (modified by F. McClintock) **, is reproduced in Table. 16.1. Each of the forms shown in the table social control has its own logic, its own methods and language, its own way of defining an event and responding to it. In reality, a combination of several forms is possible.
*Black D. The Behavior of Law. NY: Academic Press, 1976; Daws N. Anderson B. Social Control: The Production of Deviance in the Modern State. Irvington Publishers!:, c, 1983.
** For more details, see the articles by L. Hulsman and F. McClintock in the book: Crime Control Planning. M., 1982. S. 16-31, 99-105.
Table 16.1
Mechanisms social control(according to Black)
Generally social control comes down to the fact that society, through its institutions, sets values and norms; ensures their transmission (transmission) and socialization (assimilation, internalization) by individuals; encourages compliance with norms (conformity) or acceptable from the point of view of society, reform; reproaches (punishes) for violation of norms; takes measures to prevent (prevention, prevention) of undesirable forms of behavior.
In a hypothetically ideal (and therefore unrealistic) case, a society ensures the complete socialization of its members, and then neither punishments nor rewards are required. However, even in an ideal society, fellow citizens will find something to complain about! “Imagine a society of saints, an exemplary monastery of exemplary individuals. Crimes in the proper sense of the word are unknown here; however, offenses that seem insignificant to a layman will cause here exactly the same scandal as ordinary crimes cause under ordinary conditions.
* Durkheim E. Norma and pathology // Sociology of crime. M., 1966. S. 41.
Real implementation social control over deviance significantly depends on the power, form of government, political regime in the country*. It is no coincidence that G. W. F. Hegel believed that the forms control over crime "even more characterize a given society than crime itself"**. Theoretical, based on a huge historical material, the study of the role of power and political structures in social control over deviant behavior was carried out by M. Foucault ***. Modern measures social control and above all, the prison is the result of the all-encompassing disciplinary power of capitalist society, striving to create a "disciplinary individual." This power is manifested not only in the prison, but also in the barracks, the psychiatric hospital, outside the factory walls, in the school building. The disciplinary power is characterized by hierarchical supervision (systemic observation, constant the control), positive and negative sanctions, tests (exams, reviews, training, inspections, etc.). The purpose of the disciplinary control- the formation of "pliable bodies", and its symbol is a prison. But then the whole society “begins to take on a strong resemblance to a prison, where we are all guards and prisoners at the same time”****.
* For more details, see: Gilinsky Ya. Deviance, social control and the political regime. In: Political Regime and Crime. SPb., 2001. S. 39-65.
** Hegel. Philosophy of law. M., 1986. S. 256.
*** Foucault M. Supervise and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. M., 1999; He is. A History of Madness in the Classical Age. SPb., 1997; He is. Will to Truth: Beyond Knowledge, Power and Sexuality. M., 1996.
**** Monson P. A boat in the alleys of the park: An introduction to sociology. M., 1995. S. 63.
This is echoed by the work of our contemporary and compatriot A. N. Oleinik “Prison subculture in Russia: from everyday life to state power”*, in which the author, as a result of empirical research and painstaking analysis, compares Russia as a “small society” (in difference from the "big society" - civilized) with a prison. I can’t resist a long quote: “The tendency towards the reproduction of a “small society” and the incomplete nature of modernization are the main factors that determine the post-Soviet institutional context... The state deliberately suppresses any attempts to form a collective subject, thus contributing to the formation of a desert between everyday life groups of "insiders" and the authorities... And here it doesn't matter what specific form the group of "insiders" takes: the nomenklatura, the families of the president or people from the KGB... no, it means death even before the birth of civil society ... A group of "insiders" seeks to privatize and material resources to which its members have access... Post-Soviet people hate the state because it reproduces the logic of a group of "us" and therefore views citizens as "strangers." But at the same time, post-Soviet people are incapable of getting rid of such a state in which their own way of life, their own views and behavior materialize”**.
We all live surrounded by people, sharing our joys and sorrows with them. But not everyone wants to obey social norms and rules. For a certain orderliness of society, the concept of "social control" was introduced. These new phenomena in society are very effective. We all remember the social censure developed during the heyday of the USSR. When a person did not want to work or acted as a hooligan, he was taken on bail, but the whole society was condemned for such inappropriate behavior. And it worked! A person, perhaps not of his own free will, but began to change. As a result, the society achieved its goal. Social control was introduced for the same purpose - to streamline interpersonal and social relations.
Social control: concept, types, functions
A society can be called organized and relatively safe only if there are mechanisms for self-control of citizens and social control of the state. The higher the first concept is developed, the less social surveillance will be required from the authorities. Self-control is the responsible behavior of an adult who has developed the skills of volitional effort on himself at the level of self-awareness, control over his behavior in accordance with generally accepted norms in society.
Capricious, impulsive, spontaneously inherent in children. An adult, on the other hand, has internal self-control in order not to create conflict or other unfavorable situations for himself and for society. If a society consists of people with an underdeveloped sense of responsibility, then it needs to be introduced formal types of social control by special bodies. But we must not forget that constant hard oppression gradually makes self-control less and less significant, and, as a result, society is degrading, as there are fewer and fewer people who are able to think responsibly and control their will.
What are the main types of public control?
Existing species social management behavior is divided into two large sections, which are called formal and informal.
The essence of formal control lies in the implementation of legislative and rational regulation by state authorities and supervision of the behavior of citizens. In case of violation of the norms, the state applies sanctions.
Formal control was preceded by informal control, which still takes place in society. Its essence lies in the self-organization of a certain social group, where the rules are not written, but are regulated by the opinions of group members, authoritative personalities, and elders.
How is formal control carried out?
Formal control has its roots in the historical period of the formation of forms public organization, which goes beyond the simple, that is, the state. Today state form The organization of society has reached such a level of development that such types of social control as formal are simply required to be highly organized. The larger the state, the more difficult it is to organize public order. Formal control is the organization of order on the territory of the entire state, that is, it has a global scale. Its functions are carried out by special people who receive state wages(judges, policemen, psychiatrists). The developing social control in society, its types led to the organization of entire institutions, structures and authorized bodies. These are the police, the prosecutor's office, courts, schools, the media and similar institutions.
Features of informal control
Informal management of behavior at the level of a large society is inefficient. It is localized and restricted to group members. For violation of the norms established in such social groups, punishment is applied that takes the form of threats or real actions: physical impact on a person, rejection in communication, reproaches, ridicule, various kinds of censure ... Informal types and forms of social control do not neglect sanctions in the form exclusion from the community, the so-called ostracism. For a person to whom this group is important, such an action is very noticeable. He feels empty and hopeless. This prompts him to take various actions to return to such a group or, conversely, to replace interests and reassess values.
The degree of cohesion of the members of a social group, unity in goals, in opinion depends on how effective informal types and forms of social control, the level of its organization will be. Take, for example, a rural community of the past, whose traditions have been preserved in places to this day - there were no clearly defined rules, but the preservation of rituals, various ceremonies brings up social behavior, norms and a deep understanding of the need to comply with them.
Socialization as a form of control
In a traditional society with unwritten informal rules, the essence and types of social control differ significantly from a modern developed society, where all norms of behavior of individuals are strictly prescribed and clothed in a set of laws. Sanctions in such a group of people are imposed in the form of fines, prison terms, administrative, disciplinary and criminal liability. To reduce violations of the law, the state, through its institutions and structures, is taking measures to socialize society - through the field of education, cultural work, propaganda through the media, and so on.
coercion of man
If the methods of socialization do not work, it is necessary to apply such types and methods of social control as coercion. If an individual does not want to voluntarily obey, society forces him to do so by force. Coercion includes the main types of social control, which are described in the norms of each state, based on its norms and laws. Coercion can be local, preventive, for example, at the place of work, using the basic laws of the state. It can also be carried out immediately without warning, using harsh forms of influence on a person. Such a coercive type of social control is the psychological impact on the individual through psychiatric clinics with the use of drug treatment.
Forms of Human Responsibility
If a person does not show responsibility in work or behavior, the state assumes the functions of educating such a citizen by various methods. These methods are not always as humane as we would like. For example, supervision is not a very humane form of instilling responsibility on the part of the state. It is carried out in different ways.
Supervision can be general, when the supervisory body monitors the implementation general norms, without going into details, looks only at the end result. It can also be detailed, when the controller agent monitors every detail, regulating the implementation of the necessary norms at each stage. Supervision on a state scale can take on such forms when not only behavior, but also thoughts and private life are regulated. That is, the state takes the form of total control, brings up denunciation, applies censorship, surveillance and other methods.
In a developed civil democratic society, social control (types of sanctions) is not total. Citizens are brought up responsible behavior that does not require coercion. Responsibility can be political, moral, legal, financial. Group and collective responsibility, fastened by cultural values, traditions and norms, is very important. When a person is in a team, he has a desire to correspond to a significant group of people. He, without noticing, is changing, trying to imitate the members of the team. Such a change in behavior does not imply pressure and violent influence on the individual.
Implementation of internal control
Internal behavior management implies the concept and types of social control that regulate measures aimed at the effective fulfillment by citizens of structural units of the tasks assigned to them. Thus, an auditing and controlling body is being formed that checks the financial part, economic and job descriptions, compliance with sanitary and epidemiological standards, and the like.
On the other hand, internal control is understood as the responsibility of a person. An educated and responsible person will not allow himself to commit offenses or any actions that are contrary to the basic norms of society. Self-control is brought up in childhood. But also with the help of certain methods a person can be encouraged to take responsibility and regulate their behavior, emotions, words and actions.
What are the main functions of social control?
Internal social control, the types, functions that it is characterized by is the controllability of powers to avoid abuse in the workplace, checking the workflow and the safety of material assets. As for the functions of social control in general, they can be divided into:
- Regulatory.
- Protective.
- Stabilizing.
Regulatory - ensures the regulation of relations and their management at all stages of the development of society and its levels. Protective - aims to protect all traditional values accepted in society, to stop all attempts to break and destroy these traditions. Stabilizing - takes measures to maintain public order in the norms adopted by law, predicts the behavior of individuals and social groups, preventing actions aimed at destabilizing public order.
A society without values is doomed to destruction. This is what unites and expresses the goals and aspirations of society and its individual citizens. Values have their own classification and hierarchy.
- spiritual;
- material;
- economic;
- political;
- social.
According to direction:
- integrating;
- differentiating;
- approved;
- denied.
They are also divided according to the needs and type of civilization. In general, we can say that values are classified into:
- formed under the influence of traditions and modernity;
- primary basic and secondary;
- expressing the ideals of society (terminal);
- expressing tools for achieving the goal (instrumental).
Whatever type of value it may be, its main task is to be a measure of the level of socialization of society and the implementation of the laws and behavioral norms adopted in it. In the USSR, oddly enough, values were based on the principles of the Bible. A person was condemned for promiscuity, disrespectful attitude towards parents, theft, envy. After the mass revolutions of freedom, the so-called sexual revolutions, the values of society turned upside down. The institution of the family has lost its former significance, children began to show less respect for their parents. Without a foundation, it is difficult to bring up responsibility and control the correct behavior of people. Now social control no longer performs an educational function, but a punitive one.
The Role of Social Control Agents
In modern society, there are certain people - agents who exercise social control. These people have received special training in order to properly organize society. Agents of social control are policemen, doctors (psychiatrists), judges, social workers. They do not work on enthusiasm, but receive a certain payment for their work. It is difficult to imagine modern society without these people, since they are a kind of guarantors of previously adopted decrees, instructions, laws and regulations of the legislative branch of the state.
Social control today is not based on the principle "so the grandmother said", with the loss of the authority of the elders, other control methods appeared, which are determined by the state. At the moment, society is organized by institutions. These institutions are varied:
- militia;
- prosecutor's office;
- places of deprivation of liberty;
- mass media;
- school;
- social services.
These bodies are authorized by the state to maintain, regulate and improve public order through the application of punitive or educational methods to specific people. Naturally, all these methods are used strictly according to the instructions of higher authorities. If a person or a group of people does not heed the recommendations or orders of social control agents, sanctions are applied to them: criminal punishment, disciplinary or administrative liability.
- a mechanism for maintaining public order through regulation, implying the actions of society aimed at preventing deviant behavior, punishing deviants or correcting them.
The concept of social control
The most important condition for the effective functioning social system is the predictability of social action and social behavior people, in the absence of which the social system is waiting for disorganization and disintegration. Society has certain means by which it ensures the reproduction of existing social relations and interactions. One of these means is social control, the main function of which is to create conditions for the stability of the social system, maintaining social stability and at the same time for positive social changes. This requires flexibility from social control, including the ability to recognize positive-constructive deviations from social norms, which should be encouraged, and negative-dysfunctional deviations, to which certain sanctions should be applied (from the Latin sanctio - the strictest decree) negative character, including legal ones.
- this, on the one hand, is a mechanism of social regulation, a set of means and methods of social influence, and on the other, the social practice of their use.
In general, the social behavior of the individual proceeds under the control of society and the surrounding people. They not only teach the individual the rules of social behavior in the process of socialization, but also act as agents of social control, monitoring the correct assimilation of social behavior patterns and their implementation in practice. In this regard, social control acts as a special form and method of social regulation of people's behavior in society. Social control is manifested in the subordination of the individual to the social group in which he is integrated, which is expressed in the meaningful or spontaneous adherence to the social norms prescribed by this group.
Social control consists of two elements— social norms and social sanctions.
Social norms are socially approved or legislatively fixed rules, standards, patterns that regulate the social behavior of people.
Social sanctions are rewards and punishments that encourage people to comply with social norms.
social norms
social norms- these are socially approved or legislatively fixed rules, standards, patterns that regulate the social behavior of people. Therefore, social norms are divided into legal norms, moral norms and proper social norms.
Legal regulations - These are norms formally enshrined in various kinds of legislative acts. Violation of legal norms involves legal, administrative and other types of punishment.
moral standards- informal norms functioning in the form of public opinion. The main tool in the system of moral norms is public censure or public approval.
To social norms usually include:
- group social habits (for example, "don't turn up your nose in front of your own");
- social customs (for example, hospitality);
- social traditions (for example, subordination of children to parents),
- public mores (manners, morality, etiquette);
- social taboos (absolute prohibitions on cannibalism, infanticide, etc.). Customs, traditions, mores, taboos are sometimes called general rules social behavior.
social sanction
Sanction is recognized as the main instrument of social control and represents an incentive for compliance, expressed in the form of encouragement (positive sanction) or punishment (negative sanction). Sanctions are formal, imposed by the state or specially authorized organizations and persons, and informal, expressed by unofficial persons.
Social sanctions - they are rewards and punishments that encourage people to comply with social norms. In this regard, social sanctions can be called the guardian of social norms.
Social norms and social sanctions are an inseparable whole, and if some social norm does not have a social sanction accompanying it, then it loses its social regulatory function. For example, in the 19th century in the countries of Western Europe, the birth of children only in a legal marriage was considered a social norm. Therefore, illegitimate children were excluded from the inheritance of their parents' property, they were neglected in everyday communication, they could not enter into worthy marriages. However, society, as it modernized and softened public opinion regarding illegitimate children, gradually began to exclude informal and formal sanctions for violating this norm. As a result, this social norm ceased to exist altogether.
There are the following mechanisms of social control:
- isolation - isolating the deviant from society (for example, imprisonment);
- isolation - limiting the deviant's contacts with others (for example, placement in a psychiatric clinic);
- rehabilitation - a set of measures aimed at returning the deviant to normal life.
Types of social sanctions
Although formal sanctions appear to be more effective, informal sanctions are actually more important to the individual. The need for friendship, love, recognition, or the fear of ridicule and shame are often more effective than orders or fines.
In the process of socialization, forms of external control are internalized so that they become part of his own beliefs. An internal control system is being formed, called self-control. A typical example of self-control is the pangs of conscience of a person who has committed an unworthy act. In a developed society, the mechanisms of self-control prevail over the mechanisms of external control.
Types of social control
In sociology, two main processes of social control are distinguished: the application of positive or negative sanctions for the social behavior of an individual; interiorization (from the French interiorisation - transition from outside to inside) by an individual of social norms of behavior. In this regard, external social control and internal social control, or self-control, are distinguished.
External social control is a set of forms, methods and actions that guarantee compliance with social norms of behavior. There are two types of external control - formal and informal.
Formal social control based on official approval or condemnation, carried out by public authorities, political and social organizations, the education system, the media and operates throughout the country, based on written norms - laws, decrees, resolutions, orders and instructions. Formal social control may also include the dominant ideology in society. Speaking of formal social control, they mean, first of all, actions aimed at making people respect laws and order with the help of government representatives. Such control is especially effective in large social groups.
Informal social control based on the approval or condemnation of relatives, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, public opinion, expressed through traditions, customs or the media. The agents of informal social control are such social institutions as family, school, religion. This type of control is especially effective in small social groups.
In the process of social control, violation of some social norms is followed by a very weak punishment, for example, disapproval, an unfriendly look, a smirk. Violation of other social norms is followed by severe punishments - the death penalty, imprisonment, exile from the country. Violation of taboos and legal laws is punished most severely; certain types group habits, especially family habits.
Internal social control- independent regulation by the individual of his social behavior in society. In the process of self-control, a person independently regulates his social behavior, coordinating it with generally accepted norms. This type control is manifested, on the one hand, in a sense of guilt, emotional experiences, "remorse" for social actions, on the other hand, in the form of an individual's reflection on his social behavior.
An individual's self-control over his own social behavior is formed in the process of his socialization and the formation of socio-psychological mechanisms of his internal self-regulation. The main elements of self-control are consciousness, conscience and will.
- it is an individual form of mental representation of reality in the form of a generalized and subjective model of the surrounding world in the form of verbal concepts and sensory images. Consciousness allows the individual to rationalize his social behavior.
Conscience- the ability of a person to independently formulate his own moral duties and demand from himself their fulfillment, as well as to make a self-assessment of the actions and deeds performed. Conscience does not allow an individual to violate his established attitudes, principles, beliefs, in accordance with which he builds his social behavior.
Will- conscious regulation by a person of his behavior and activities, expressed in the ability to overcome external and internal difficulties in the performance of purposeful actions and deeds. The will helps the individual to overcome his inner subconscious desires and needs, to act and behave in society in accordance with his convictions.
In the process of social behavior, an individual has to constantly fight with his subconscious, which gives his behavior a spontaneous character, therefore self-control is the most important condition for people's social behavior. Typically, individuals' self-control over their social behavior increases with age. But it also depends on social circumstances and the nature of external social control: the tighter the external control, the weaker the self-control. Moreover, social experience shows that the weaker the individual's self-control, the tougher external control should be in relation to him. However, this is fraught with great social costs, since strict external control is accompanied by social degradation of the individual.
In addition to external and internal social control of the social behavior of an individual, there are also: 1) indirect social control based on identification with a reference law-abiding group; 2) social control based on the wide availability of a variety of ways to achieve goals and satisfy needs, alternative to illegal or immoral.
The efforts of society aimed at preventing deviant behavior, punishing and correcting deviants, are defined by the concept of "social control".
social control- a mechanism for regulating relations between the individual and society in order to strengthen order and stability in society. AT narrow sense of social control - is the control of public opinion, publicity of the results and assessments of people's activities and behavior.
Social the control includes two main element: social norms and sanctions. Sanctions- any reaction on the part of others to the behavior of a person or group.
Kinds:Informal(intra-group) - based on the approval or condemnation from a group of relatives, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, as well as from public opinion, which is expressed through traditions and customs or through the media.
Formal(institutional) - based on the support of existing social institutions(army, court, education, etc.)
In sociology, it is known 4 principal forms of social control:
External control (A set of institutions and mechanisms that guarantee compliance with generally accepted norms of behavior and laws)
Internal control(self-control);
Control through identification with a reference group;
Control through the creation of opportunities to achieve socially significant goals by means most suitable for this person and approved by society (the so-called "multiple possibilities").
In the process of socialization, norms are assimilated so firmly that people, violating them, experience a feeling of awkwardness or guilt, pangs of conscience.
Generally accepted norms, being rational prescriptions, remain in the sphere of consciousness, below which is the sphere of the subconscious, or unconscious, consisting of elemental impulses. Self-control means containment of the natural elements, it is based on volitional effort. There are the following mechanisms of social control:
isolation - isolating the deviant from society (for example, imprisonment);
isolation - limiting the deviant's contacts with others (for example, placement in a psychiatric clinic);
rehabilitation - a set of measures aimed at returning the deviant to normal life.
B.46 Civil society and the state.
Civil society is a set of social relations, formal and informal structures that provide conditions political activity person, satisfaction and realization of various needs and interests of the individual and social groups and associations. A developed civil society is the most important prerequisite for building a state of law and its equal partner. Signs of civil society: the presence in society of free owners of the means of production; developed democracy; legal protection of citizens; a certain level of civic culture, a high educational level of the population; the most complete provision of human rights and freedoms;
self management; the competition of its constituent structures and various groups of people; free-forming public opinion and pluralism; strong social policy of the state; mixed economy; large specific gravity in a middle class society. The state of civil society his needs and goals define the main features and social purpose of the state. Qualitative changes in the structure of civil society, the content of its main areas of activity, inevitably lead to a change in the nature and forms of state power. At the same time, the state, having relative independence in relation to civil society, can significantly influence its state. This influence, as a rule, is positive, aimed at maintaining stability and the progressive development of civil society. Although history knows the opposite examples. The state as a special phenomenon of social power has qualitative features. It is organized in the form of a state apparatus; manages society through a system of functions and certain methods. Externally, the state is represented in various forms. State signs- its qualitative features, expressing the features of the state in comparison with other organizations that carry out power-management functions in society. The main features of the state include: sovereignty, the territorial principle of the exercise of power, special public power, inextricable connection with law
B. 47 Mass consciousness and mass action. Forms of mass behavior.
mass consciousness- base of mass actions, behavior. Mass actions can be poorly organized (panic, pogroms) or sufficiently prepared (demonstration, revolution, war). Much depends on whether the situation is realized or not, whether there are leaders who are able to lead the rest.
Bulk Behavior(including spontaneous) is a term of political psychology, which refers to various forms of behavior of large groups of people, crowds, circulation of rumors, panic and other mass phenomena.
The forms of mass behavior include: mass hysteria, rumors, gossip, panic, mayhem, riot.
mass hysteria- a state of general nervousness, increased excitability and fear caused by unfounded rumors (medieval "witch hunt", post-war "cold war", trials of "enemies of the people" in the era of Stalinism, forcing the threat of a "third world war" by the media in the 1960s 70 years, mass intolerance towards representatives of other nationalities.)
rumors- a set of information that arises from anonymous sources and is distributed through informal channels.
panic- this form of mass behavior, when people who are faced with danger show uncoordinated reactions. They act independently, usually interfering and injuring each other.
pogrom- a collective act of violence undertaken by an uncontrolled and emotionally agitated mob against property or a person.
rebellion- a collective concept denoting a number of spontaneous forms of collective protest: rebellion, unrest, confusion, uprising.
B. 48. Culture as a system of values
culture is a system of values accumulated by mankind over the long history of its development. including all forms and ways of human self-expression and self-knowledge. Culture also appears as a manifestation of human subjectivity and objectivity (character, competencies, skills, abilities and knowledge). Basic elements of culture: language, customs, traditions, mores, laws, values.
Values- these are socially approved and shared by most people ideas about what kindness, justice, love, friendship are. No society can do without values. Values are the defining element of culture, its core. They act like a) desirable, preferable for a given social subject (individual, social community, society) the state of social ties, the content of ideas, artistic form, etc.; b) criterion for evaluating real phenomena; c) they determine the meaning of purposeful activity; d) regulate social interactions; e) internally motivate to activity. AT value system social subject may include various values:
1 ) meaningful life (ideas about good and evil, happiness, purpose and meaning of life);
2 ) universal: a) vital (life, health, personal security, welfare, family, education, qualifications, law and order, etc.); b) public recognition (industriousness, social status, etc.); c) interpersonal communication (honesty, disinterestedness, goodwill);
d) democratic (freedom of speech, conscience, parties, national sovereignty, etc.);
3 ) particular: a) attachment to a small homeland, family; b) fetishisms (belief in God, striving for the absolute).
