When the economy becomes a determining factor, or a formal approach to studying history

The ancient world, the Middle Ages, the New Time, the Newest are all stages of the development of society, based on a socio-economic formation. It was on its basis that a formational approach to the study of history arose. What does it represent, what categories are derived from it, who became the founder? It is these issues that are proposed to be considered.

Classical education presents history in the form of certain stages of development, the main characteristic of which is the formation of people. Such a research approach to the past was developed and substantiated by Karl Marx. He argued that the use of such a method as a formational approach to history is the only correct one for distinguishing the stages of human development. Is it so?

Proceeding from his works, the formational approach is a study of the development of society from the primitive system to the present, on the basis of a modification of the economic model. In this case, the transition should be carried out mainly at the expense of the so-called "revolutions", i.e. Cardinal changes in the life of society.

Thus, the primitive communal system is the first in a series of formations that distinguish the formational approach. He refers to the history of the development of mankind as a harbinger of civilizations. Archaeological evidence indicates that at that time the proto-economy was based on 3 types of activities: fishing, gathering and hunting. The basic tools of labor were so primitive that with their help it was impossible to develop other types of activity. However, permanent migration could not meet the ever-increasing needs of developing humanity. There was a need for new tools, which became slaves. Their appearance was the cardinal change that ensured the transition to a new formation - the slave system.

In addition to the emergence of a new type of society, at the same time, the rapid growth of states that have been called "slave-owning" is also beginning.

The next turning point came at a time when the efficiency of slave labor had become so low that it was necessary to look for a new method for the functioning of the economy. They became land lease relations, gradually developing in the countries of Europe, Asia and Russia. It should be noted that the latter never stayed in the state of the first economic formation considered above. Thus, a new stage in the development of society and the state, feudalism, emerged, which is singled out as one of the basic formational approach. This became possible due to two factors: the concentration of large areas of land in the hands of one kind and the forced hiring of these territories by the rest of society.

The fourth step was capitalist society. Formational approach to the study of history says that the emergence of this kind of unification became possible only thanks to scientific and technical progress, which ensured the development of manufactories, and later industry. At the same time, the author considered the distinctive feature of capitalist society to be the so-called "sale of labor" to the working capitalists.

The top of the development of history, according to the approach under consideration, was to become the so-called "communist society", where everyone works, and the results of labor are divided among all members.

The presented brief characteristic of the approach under study clearly demonstrates that the emphasis is only on promoting the economy as the main factor in the development of society. But the formational approach to studying history does not take into account other factors, which also had a great impact on communities of people. And in contrast to it, a civilizational approach was developed , taking into account also religious, geographical, psychological and cultural aspects.

In this regard, it should be noted that, despite the solidity of the evidence advanced by the author, the formal approach to studying the history of the one-sided, and in the study of the past, it is necessary to take into account all the factors of the development of society.