What role does politics play in society? Examples. Politics and Politics

In news programs and analytical materials, we constantly hear about politics. It is present everywhere. Even people who are completely uninterested in the problems of peace and the state, will not hide from it anywhere. And what role does politics play in society? Is it possible to do without it? Let's figure it out.

Define the concepts

To understand what role politics plays in the life of society is impossible without the interpretation of terms. Often people get confused just because their concepts are far from scientific. The word "politics" is of Greek origin. It literally means "the art of governing the state." It arose when the rich and the poor appeared, a class of enlightened people stood out and rose above the rest of the mass of citizens. That is, politics is a kind of superstructure over society. It consists in the birth, development and realization of ideas that lead to various changes. It should be noted that at present, politics is divided into external and internal. The latter affects the situation in one country, pushes its development. External - is aimed at regulating interstate relations. Two of these directions somehow affect the life of an ordinary person. The place of politics in the life of society is sometimes difficult to define for the layman. After all, most of the processes take place in state bodies. Citizens face real politics during election campaigns. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. In fact, the role of the state, and therefore of politics, is great in virtually all spheres of life. Whether the construction of enterprises, regulation of wages, the work of housing and communal services or cultural events - everywhere there is an organizational and managerial element.

Why should society have a policy?

Any tool is so comprehensive as it is considered that it has its own functions. Without their identification it is impossible to understand the role of politics in the life of society. After all, we will not be able to see the underlying foundations of the functioning of the state. The functions of politics are diverse:

• Definition of the main goals and directions of development;
• Organization of the work of society to achieve them;
• Distribution of resources (material, human, spiritual);
• Identification and coordination of the interests of the subjects of the process;
• Development of norms of behavior and their implementation;
• Security (of any kind);
• Familiarizing people with management processes;
• control.

This list can be expanded by deciphering each of the items. In practice, they are complex and multifaceted. Behind each stands the work of the relevant services, institutions and organizations. But already from the above list it is clear what role politics plays in the life of society. You can answer briefly - the most important.

Politic system

It should be noted that the state systems are different. From this directly depends on how society, politics and power interact. For example, the socialist system is seriously different from slave or capitalist. Goals are placed incommensurable in scope and significance for the citizen. Science divides political systems into authoritarian, democratic and totalitarian systems. Each in its own way organizes management, realizes the functions of the state, its interaction with the population. The political system is divided into:

• Normative;
• Institutional;
• Communicative;
• Cultural and ideological.

They characterize the degree and nature of the relationship between power structures and society. The subsystem includes organizations, public services and institutions, as well as citizens. Let's consider them.

Institutional subsystem

Surely this term is not clear to everyone. Let's push the word "institute". It means a higher educational institution, but also a special institution engaged in scientific research. It turns out that we have a certain structure that performs a number of functions, among which we distinguish organizational and ideological. When society is viewed in politics, then first of all talk about this subsystem. It includes political parties, social movements and the state. Their common goal is the exercise of power, at a legislatively fixed level. It is clear that the state, as a system, takes political decisions and puts them into practice. Parties and movements influence the activities of the latter, based on the views of their supporters. They also take an active part in the formation of law-making structures. There are structures included in the institutional subsystem that do not participate in political life. Take, for example, the trade unions. They do not claim power, do not fight for it. But certain tasks in society are being decided. There are many such organizations.

The state

This institution has the widest powers. After all, he, as a rule, concentrates and implements power in society. Its functions are very diverse. This is due to the fact that the state relies on a large part of the people, expresses its interests. It creates special institutions, a management and coercion apparatus. The policy of the state should be coordinated with the aspirations and hopes of the people, be aimed at creating the conditions for realizing the potential of the society. Otherwise, a crisis situation may arise in the country. In other words, a different political force will destroy the state in order to create another, more appropriate to the requirements of the population. To prevent this, a consensus is needed between the political forces. It is provided by the main parties that have supporters among the majority of the population. The state writes rules and principles for the functioning of the entire political system. That is, it is engaged in lawmaking activity, regulates the work of public organizations right up to their prohibition. The criterion for such solutions is one - the security of the population in any sphere. To implement its own tasks, the state has enormous resources. In addition, it must unite (integrate) society, unite around itself, as near the core, all other institutions.

Communicative Subsystem

It is impossible to assess the essence of the influence of politics on the life of society, if we consider it homogeneous. In any country there are layers and groups of the population. They have different interests, they unite in organizations or parties that put forward their own demands. A set of relationships between similar entities is called a communicative subsystem. It is regulated by special normative acts and accepted by the society in the relations of subjects, to which the individual person also belongs. The purpose of interaction of public organizations, parties, citizens is to influence the government so that the latter takes into account their needs in their activities. That is, groups of people are struggling for their own interests. And the state is called upon to balance them, taking into account whenever possible in making power decisions.

Cultural-ideological subsystem

On the life of society, not only laws affect. There is still a whole layer of ideological attitudes, to which people are accustomed to rely on, developing an attitude toward power. These include cultural values and ethical norms, attitudes and prejudices. Surely you yourself noticed that some slogans promoted by political forces do not find sympathy among citizens, do not cause interest. But then an idea will arise and how the fire spreads everywhere. It simply meets the people's aspirations, is based on a set of attitudes that people take as natural. The political culture of any society is based on generations formed, ingrained images, called stereotypes. They occupy a special role in political culture, since they are very deeply implemented and are not easily amended. For example, monarchical ideas still have many supporters in Russia, although almost a hundred years have passed since the fall of the tsarist regime.

Regulatory subsystem

This, perhaps, is the most understandable of all the constituent parts of politics. It is a collection of laws. Also, it can include institutions and organizations that perform a monitoring function. As a rule, the state develops norms. They are binding for the whole society. Democracy, some of the rights to initiate lawmaking can be passed on to citizens or their associations.

Politics and spheres of life of society

The structure of the state is such that any of its segments can not work and exist separately. Everything is interconnected. A tool that allows the objects of realization of power to find consensus is politics. One can safely conclude that without its influence, no one man can do it. And this fact does not depend on the desire of the individual. As they say, to live in a society and to be free from it does not work. Whatever sphere you take, politics is everywhere. Whether you go to the store, work or home sit. The state and other participants of the political system are invisibly present nearby.