As everyone knows, the 21st century has been distinguished by the development of technology, technology and the modernization of everything that is subject to it. Of course, this speeds up the work of people of many professions, makes it safe, fast and interesting. It would seem that some pluses, and even health can be preserved (if we are talking about factory non-safe equipment). But it was not there.
Technological progress has brought with it a lot of negative effects that have affected the population. For example, the Internet - addiction, loss or deterioration of vision from taps, headaches and brain cancer, as well as problems with the musculoskeletal system and oxygen saturation of the lungs. Tellingly, children spend less and less of their holidays outdoors or at their grandmother's in the village. They are ready to go anywhere, as long as they have in their pocket mobile phone, there was a music center and a TV in the room.
Of course, the availability and modernization of such equipment as telephones, computers and music centers is very important for the correct timely development of mankind, but not when dependence on hardware affects a person’s life for the worse.
I want to talk about radios. What is it for us? Almost everyone will answer that this is an opportunity to listen to music while driving a car, as well as hear the news while in traffic jams. But on the other hand, on the part of the owners of radio stations, this is an opportunity to sell advertising space on the most popular radio stations, put a song on the request of listeners (of course, for money), and provide other paid services. All this is achieved initially by scrolling trendy tracks, increasing the "attendance" of radio stations and the number of listeners. All these aspects are continuously interconnected. But the biggest problem is that while listening to popular music, teenagers, and other people who are not aware of this issue, turn up the volume, and even worse - with headphones. This entails hearing impairment and imbalance of the nervous system.
The same can be said about music centers. They are also good in moderation. After all, if you remember by what criteria the buyer chooses this item, everyone will remember that the main thing is that there is a good reproduction of music, and that the quality does not deteriorate with increasing volume. Here is the pitfall.
The only thing that is carefully selected (and then only at large enterprises that respect themselves and their employees) is office equipment. She passes several tests for quality, safety for health, receives a license and approval for sale in order to constantly contact people with such equipment.
So scientifically technical progress entails, of course, more good than bad. This is a new standard of living, comfort. But for this it is necessary to constantly remember the elementary rules of behavior with equipment, especially with the one that emits waves. Only with the observance of these rules will progress bring benefits to the population.
Is our society as a whole developing, or are some individual societies that make up the population of the planet developing? If so, in what direction does the movement take place, what is its result, if not final, then at least intermediate? We will talk about all this and much more in this article.
The meaning of social progress for each of us
The answers to the above questions seem self-evident. However, in reality they are not so simple. In addition, almost every step we take depends on the answer to them. Should students go to a university, and if so, which one? Should you stay in Russia or should you strive to go abroad? Is starting a family worth it? How to educate our children, what to prepare them for? Who should be preferred in the elections? The answer to all these, as well as many other questions that are vital for every person, depends on how each of us, often without even realizing it, imagines where our society is heading.
Why is progress arousing such interest among scientists and ordinary people?
It is very useful, when trying to answer the global questions of being that interest us, to see what the thinkers of the past thought about it, and then compare it with what the theory of society offers today. Perhaps, in the history of social thought, there is not a single more or less major thinker who does not touch upon such topics as development and progress in his writings. Why do they arouse such great interest among scientists, as well as among ordinary people?
The meaning of the idea of progress goes far beyond the scope of science. Time and again history has proved the correctness of the Marxist thesis that, penetrating the masses, ideas become driving force mobilization of the entire population. In the 20th century, 2 economic miracles occurred - the restoration and modernization of the economy of the USSR after the Great Patriotic War, and also after civil war 1917-1923 It would hardly have happened if most of population Soviet Union did not believe that the development of the country was progressive.
Is there really progress in society? If yes, what is it? Philosophers and sociologists have solved the question of the objectivity of such a phenomenon as social progress in different ways. Points of view that can be called diametrically opposed were expressed.
Thinkers who believed that progress is an objective reality
Most thinkers believed that progress is an objective reality. I. Kant and A. Augustine, K. Marx and O. Comte, M. Weber and E. Durkheim thought so. The notion that social development is heading towards a just outcome, that sooner or later everyone will be rewarded according to their deserts, underlies the three Abrahamic religions (considering the biblical Abraham as their founder) - Islam, Christianity and Judaism.
Thinkers who denied the objectivity of progress
Some sociologists at the same time denied that progress is an objective phenomenon, believing that the development of individual societies occurs cyclically. They are born and then they die. Therefore, it is meaningless to talk about human progress. This position was held by L. N. Gumilyov, N. Ya. Danilevsky, O. Spengler. Some religions of the East are based on this point of view: in China - Taoism, in India - Hinduism, in Tibet, as well as in the states of Southeast Asia and in Russia (Tuvans, Buryats, Kalmyks) - Buddhism.
Negative Consequences of Progress
The problem of progress was also considered from the other side. The idea was expressed that the development of society, primarily technology and science, is accompanied by various negative consequences that manifest themselves in the moral character of the human race. This position was held by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a French educator (years of life - 1712-1778), as well as Ferdinand Tennis, a German sociologist (1855-1936). Both of them, without denying the benefits that the division of labor and technical progress bring to society, believed that as a result of these processes, a person moves away from nature, the natural foundations of education and life (Rousseau). In addition, there is a destruction of the natural forms of communities (Tennis).
The concept of "progress" and its signs
"Progress" is a word that has long been used by thinkers without any clear definition. They relied only on intuitive ideas that were accepted at the level of everyday consciousness. The main features that distinguish this concept from other social processes were identified only in the 60s of the 20th century. The most important signs of progress are:
His direction. Progress is a change in society towards some end state. Each subsequent stage is closer to it than the previous one.
Cumulative. Society at each stage uses the best achievements of the previous one, adding something new to it.
Staged. Any society passes in its development through a certain finite number of stages that cannot be bypassed.
The source of development is internal. The change in the state of the whole society does not occur due to external causes. The reasons for the change are internal incentives that are inherent in this society itself or some individual members of it. This can be driven by people's desire for knowledge, social contradictions, or technological improvements.
Irreversibility. Progress cannot be stopped, reversed or directed in another direction as long as this or that society exists.
Social optimism, positive direction of ongoing changes. Each next stage in some most important respect, from the point of view of the creator of the concept, is significantly better than the previous one.
Why is it important to define the main criterion for progress?
Not a single thinker who is a supporter of the concept of progress has said that each next stage of society is better in every respect than the previous one. Most scientists understood that people, acquiring new opportunities, lose something very important. The division of labor, for example, leads to the destruction of a rural community with warm (somewhat too idealized) relations between its members. However, in the end, a person gains more than he loses. Therefore, it is important to define some main criterion by which progress should be judged.
Progress Criteria
Increasing the level of human domination over nature, as well as the corresponding achievement of an increasing level of abundance (L. White).
Movement towards the act of atonement for sins. This is an event, the form and time of which are determined in advance at the moment when God created the world (Augustine).
Achieving new levels of knowledge of society and nature (O. Comte).
Achieving the optimal state of the whole society and social structure - the political and material equality of all citizens, the formation of forms of community that are most consistent with human nature - justice, equality (K. Marx).
Creation of some ideal conditions for personal development - equal for all life opportunities, as well as freedom of choice.
Criticism of the idea of progress
Once the idea of progress took shape, it was questioned from the start. However, the most violent attacks on it began in the 2nd half of the 20th century. Criticism of this concept closely intersects with another criticism - the concept of society in the traditional sense.
Arguments of critics of the idea of progress
Critics rely on the following arguments:
Linear, that is, progressive development towards some ideal state cannot be proved, since the human community as a whole, as well as society taken separately, is unique. It is also impossible to identify specific patterns without relying on a comparison of a large number of recurring cases.
The very object of development (progressive or regressive) has been disappearing in recent years. This object is a separate autonomous society. Basically, today it is changing under the influence of causes external to it. They are largely situational and random in nature, so it is impossible to talk about the progress of a certain society, taken separately.
It is also illegal to single out one criterion as the leading one. Any development in some respect (in political freedoms, in technology, in wealth and knowledge) leads, as a rule, to negative consequences in relation to other criteria. It is impossible to predict these consequences, but they often exceed all positive ones. Therefore, it is impossible to say that society as a whole is developing progressively.
It is also impossible to identify the main factor due to which society moves forward, because it does not obey the principle of causality in its development. Functional dependencies predominate in it. Meanwhile in classical theories progress, a certain factor is singled out (divine providence, the development of productive forces, knowledge, or the differentiation of society), which determines all other aspects of the life of society. Even M. Weber said that not only the economy affects ideology, but there is also an inverse relationship. In the 20th century, the belief was further strengthened that any change in society is the result of the interaction of many factors.
Progress biological, scientific and technical (NTP)
Exist different kinds progress: biological progress, economic, spiritual, social, scientific and technical, etc. Some of them need explanation. Biological progress is the predominance of fertility over mortality in populations, the expansion of the area of \u200b\u200bresidence, an increase in the number of individuals, and an increase in intraspecific variability. It is studied in biology.
Let us consider in more detail the scientific and technological progress, since it is the most relevant today. This type of progress is a single progressive development of technology and science, which is interdependent. Scientific and technical progress under the influence of the complication of the needs of society and their growth, it accelerates, which contributes to the transformation of production into a technological process in which various achievements of science are purposefully applied. The continuity of scientific and technological progress primarily depends on the development of fundamental research in society, which reveals new properties of society and nature, as well as on applied and experimental design developments, which allow scientific ideas to be translated into technologies and new equipment.
Two forms of NTP
It is carried out in two forms, which are interdependent: evolutionary and revolutionary. Evolutionary means that the traditional foundations of technology and science are being improved. The revolutionary one assumes that technical and scientific progress proceeds as a scientific and technological revolution, giving rise to fundamentally new technologies and techniques, leading to a radical transformation in the society of productive forces.
Features of modern scientific and technological progress
A characteristic feature of scientific and technical progress today is that it concerns not only industry, but also many other aspects of society: transport, agriculture, communications, education, healthcare, services and everyday life. Scientific and technical progress today is becoming systemic, more and more complex. The strengthening of the resource-saving orientation is also an important feature of it today. As a result of the introduction of various scientific and technological achievements, it becomes possible to save labor and material and technical resources. And this is an important criterion for the effectiveness of scientific and technological progress.
In addition, there is an increase in the social orientation, which is manifested in the fact that the scientific and technological progress is increasingly affecting the social factors of human life: the conditions of work, life, and study. There is also a greening of scientific and technical progress, that is, the development and application of waste-free or low-waste technologies, the development effective ways processing and integrated use of natural resources, as well as more complete involvement of consumption and production waste in economic circulation.
Scientific and technological progress in modern world and environmental issues
Modern processes associated with an increase in the intensity of human impact on the natural environment, the growth of the variety of forms of its transformation, not only put on the agenda the study of the necessary harmonious relationships within the “society-nature” system, but put forward as the most urgent problem of preserving the natural world. Unjustified, excessive optimism, with which not only practitioners, but also theorists approach the formation of the human environment without taking into account all its complexity, leads to previously unknown fundamental changes in nature, negatively affecting both its value in general and aesthetic values.
Society, being a part of the global system, has a significant impact on the quality side of the system as a whole. Today it is important to be aware of the inseparable connection between nature and society, which is mutual. Here it is appropriate to recall the words of A.I. Herzen that "nature cannot contradict a person if a person does not contradict her laws." On the one hand, the natural environment, geographical and climatic features have a significant impact on social development. These factors can accelerate or slow down the pace of development of countries and peoples, and influence the social development of labor.
On the other hand, society affects the natural environment of man. The history of mankind testifies both to the beneficial effect of human activity on the natural habitat, and its detrimental consequences.
The growth in the scale of human economic activity, the rapid development of the scientific and technological revolution have increased the negative impact on nature, led to a violation of the ecological balance on the planet.
Industrial production is the basis for economic development and, consequently, for raising the socio-economic standard of living in society. However, industrial development all over the world proceeded without due consideration of the exhaustibility of many types of non-renewable resources and understanding of the fact that the restorative environment-forming abilities of nature are not unlimited. Not much time has passed, which separates us from the first five-year plans (30s) and the post-war reconstruction of the economy (50s), when public consciousness was dominated by the ecstasy of industrialization. Clubs of thick black smoke over factory chimneys or a tractor felling trees were perceived as symbols of technical and social progress.
Scientific and technological progress has brought a lot of positive things to people's lives: the human mind has discovered new types of energy, working conditions have improved, and its productivity has increased in heavy and labor-intensive sectors of the extractive industry (mining, forestry, ocean fishing, etc.), the pace of construction has increased, agricultural productivity, highly efficient technologies were invented, new materials, medical preparations appeared, infant mortality decreased and life expectancy increased, the speed of obtaining and processing information increased, and much more.
A significant part of the fundamentally new technical and technological solutions of the last decades of the 20th century was born in the course of an arms race that was fantastic in scale. However, today the threat to survival for most states is not associated with the aggression of a potential adversary, but with the state of the environment, which is rapidly degrading under the onslaught of human activity.
Despite the efforts and huge costs aimed at preventing the negative consequences of anthropogenic impact on nature, the general trend of adverse changes persists.
That the modern ecological crisis is reverse side scientific and technological revolution, confirms the fact that it was not the achievements of scientific and technological progress, which served as the starting point for the announcement of the onset of scientific and technological revolution, that led to the most powerful environmental disasters on our planet.
What did the rapid development of the economy and human activity lead to? Pollution of the entire terrestrial space - the ocean, air and water, the "greenhouse effect", deforestation, the disappearance of many species of plants and animals - these are just some of the main forms of anthropogenic impact on the environment.
Only during the last 4 decades, the same amount of products was produced on Earth as during the entire period of the existence of civilization until 1950.
In the sphere of material production, the consumption of natural resources has increased. In the years after the Second World War, as many minerals were used as in the entire previous history of mankind.
Since the reserves of coal, oil, gas, iron and other minerals are not renewable, they will be exhausted, according to scientists, in a few decades. But even if the resources that are constantly renewed, in fact, are rapidly decreasing. Deforestation on a global scale is 18 times higher than its growth. The area of forests that give oxygen to the Earth is decreasing every year. Forest spaces occupied 15% of the land in 1950, now - 7%; more than 11 million are destroyed every year. hectares of forest. Every year 20 sq. km of tropical rain forests (half of France). The planet may lose its main source of oxygen in the next decade.
The fertile layer of soil, which is vital for people, is degrading - and this is happening everywhere on Earth. While the Earth accumulates one centimeter of black soil in 300 years, and one centimeter of soil dies in 3 years. According to the UN World Commission on Environment and Development, at present, 6 million hectares of cultivated land annually turn into a desert, 20 billion hectares lose their productivity. In addition, the territory of the deserts is expanding: the Sahara annually moves south by 30 miles (48 km).
No less dangerous than the unrestrained exploitation of the Earth's resources is the increased pollution of the planet in recent decades - both the world's oceans and atmospheric air. The world's oceans are constantly being polluted, mainly due to the expansion of oil production in offshore fields. Huge oil slicks are detrimental to ocean life. According to the UN, 30 billion tons of oil products, 50,000 tons of pesticides, and 5,000 tons of mercury enter the world's oceans every year. Millions of tons of phosphorus and lead are also dumped into the ocean; the US alone dumps up to 50 million tons of waste into the ocean. For every square kilometer of ocean space, there are now 17 tons of various harmful waste from land.
A huge amount of water is used in industry. Smelting 1 ton of steel requires 200 m 3 of water. For the production of 1 ton of paper, 100 m 3 is required, for the manufacture of 1 ton of synthetic fiber - from 2500 to 5000 m 3.
Fresh water has become the most vulnerable part of nature. Wastewater, pesticides, fertilizers, mercury, arsenic, lead and much more end up in rivers and lakes in large quantities. The Danube, Volga, Rhine, Mississippi, Great American Lakes are heavily polluted. The reserves of fresh water on the globe are large, but the demand for them in industry, agriculture, housing and communal services is growing at an enormous pace. In modern houses with all amenities, water consumption is much higher than in houses without running water. Intensive water extraction leads (especially in large cities, where dense buildings prevent natural flow and, consequently, the natural replenishment of the most valuable upper groundwater horizons for humans) to a decrease in the level and gradual depletion of reserves. Groundwater shortage is felt in many parts of the world, for example, in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland. The same situation in some regions of Russia and may spread to others. According to experts, in some areas of the Earth, 80% of all diseases are caused by poor-quality water, which people are forced to consume.
It is known that a person can live without food for five weeks, without water - five days, without air - five minutes. Meanwhile, air pollution has long exceeded the permissible limits. Dust content and carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere of a number of large cities have increased tenfold compared to the beginning of the 20th century.
Automobile transport, power plants, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, oil and gas processing, chemical and timber industries significantly pollute the atmosphere.
As a result of the combustion of various fuels, about 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere every year. The content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is gradually increasing and has increased by more than 10% over the past 100 years. Carbon dioxide prevents thermal radiation into outer space, creating the so-called "greenhouse effect", which leads to climate warming. According to climatologists, it will be 2-5 degrees by the middle of the century.
Emissions of gas into the atmosphere have already destroyed 9% of the ozone layer, the main protector of the earth from ultraviolet rays. The "ozone hole" covers an area equal to the territory of the United States.
Combustion of fuel during the operation of coal-fired thermal power plants, industrial enterprises is accompanied by the formation of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides; reacting with water vapor, they form sulfuric and nitric acids. As a result, precipitation falls in some regions, the acidity of which is 10-1000 times higher than normal. On the territory of Russia in 1996. more than 4 million tons of sulfur and 1.25 million tons of nitrate nitrogen fell together with precipitation. A particularly alarming situation has developed in the Central and Central Chernozem regions, as well as in the Kemerovo region and the Altai Territory, in Norilsk. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, with acid rain, up to 1500 kg of sulfur per 1 km 2 falls on the ground per year. The acidity of precipitation is noticeably lower in the coastal zone of the northern, western and eastern Siberian seas. The most favorable region in this respect is the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
Acid rain causes forest degradation. Getting on the leaves and needles of trees, acids break the protective wax cover, making plants more vulnerable to insects, fungi and other pathogens.
A large number of harmful substances enter the atmosphere with the exhaust gases of cars, and their share in air pollution is constantly growing; in Russia - more than 30%, and in the USA - more than 60% of the total emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere.
Household waste has become a serious problem: solid waste, plastic bags, synthetic detergents, etc.
The clean air filled with the aroma of plants disappears around the cities, the rivers turn into sewers. Piles of cans, broken glass and other rubbish, landfills along the roads, cluttered territories, crippled nature - this is the result of the long domination of the industrial world.
Scientific and technological progress and ecological alternative.
The main thing, however, is not in the completeness of the list of problems, but in understanding the causes of their occurrence, nature and, most importantly, in identifying effective ways and means of solving them.
Historical experience has shown that economic activity, driven only by private interest, had a destructive impact on nature. In our country, the interests of society, which can develop normally only in a healthy natural environment, were in conflict with the interests of departments pursuing their own, narrowly selfish goals. Experience has also shown that society is able to limit the negative impact of private interests, it can find reasonable ways to regulate the relationship between production and nature.
The true prospect of a way out of the ecological crisis is in changing the production activity of a person, his way of life, his consciousness. Scientific and technological progress creates not only “overloads” for nature; in the most advanced technologies, it provides a means to prevent negative impacts, creates opportunities for environmentally friendly production. Today, not only an urgent need has appeared, but also real prerequisites for changing the essence of technological civilization, giving it an environmental character.
One of the directions of such development is the creation of non-waste industries. Using the achievements of science, the technological process can be organized so that production waste does not pollute the environment, but re-enters the production cycle as a secondary raw material. Nature itself provides an example: the carbon dioxide emitted by animals is absorbed by plants, which release the oxygen that animals need.
Waste-free is a production in which all the raw materials are ultimately converted into a particular product. If we take into account that modern industry converts 98% of the feedstock into waste, then the need for the task of creating waste-free production becomes clear.
Calculations show that 80% of the waste from the heat and power, mining, and coke industries are suitable for use. At the same time, the products obtained from them are often superior in quality to products made from primary raw materials. For example, ash from thermal power plants, used as an additive in the production of aerated concrete, approximately doubles the strength of building panels and blocks. Of great importance is the development of nature restoration industries (forestry, water, fisheries), the development and implementation of material-saving and energy-saving technologies.
Some alternative (in relation to thermal, nuclear and hydroelectric power plants) energy sources are also environmentally friendly. It is necessary to quickly search for ways of practical use of the energy of the Sun, wind, tides, geothermal sources.
The ecological situation makes it necessary to assess the consequences of any activity related to interference with the natural environment. An environmental review of all technical projects is required.
Modern science considers both the individual and humanity as a whole, and the environment as a single system.
Scientific and technological progress (NTP)- this is a process of interconnected, progressive development of science and technology, due to the needs of material production, the growth and complexity of the needs of society. This process began to be discussed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. in connection with the strengthening of the relationship between the development of large-scale machine production and science and technology. This interrelation gave rise to the contradictions of the NTP. The contradictions immediately affected both the technical and the social side of social development. Therefore, in economic science, the contradictions of scientific and technological progress are usually divided into technical and social. The mass production of the same products for many years makes it possible to create expensive automatic machine systems. This is due to the fact that over the long service life of the equipment, all costs are easily recouped. The accelerated pace of scientific and technical progress requires continuous improvement of the production facilities themselves, forcing them to either modernize or completely replace manufactured products. This is where the contradiction in the development of technology manifests itself - the contradiction between the service life and the payback period, or the technical contradiction of scientific and technological progress. The social contradictions of scientific and technical progress are connected with the human factor: on the one hand, technical innovations should facilitate working conditions, and on the other hand, they provoke monotony, monotony, since they are based on automated processes, conveyor production. The resolution of these contradictions is directly related to the increasing requirements for scientific and technological progress. These requirements are embodied in the social order. Social order - a form of expression of the strategic interests of society in the long term in the field of scientific and technical progress.
48. The main directions of scientific and technological progress.
The main directions of scientific and technical progress and the development of science and technology are aimed at solving the most pressing problems facing society, which are to improve living standards, meet growing needs, ensure security and economic growth. Only the policy of increasing the effectiveness of scientific and technical progress, its deeper penetration into the most important areas of human activity and the reasonable use of the achievements of science and technology can solve many problems of modern society.
The main directions of scientific and technical progress - scientific and technological progress- these are such areas of development of science and technology, the implementation of which in practice will provide in the most short term maximum economic and social efficiency.
Distinguish:
nationwide (general),
branch (private) areas of scientific and technical progress.
In economics, it is customary to distinguish between the main directions of scientific and technical progress and the forms of their manifestation.
These include the following areas:
electrification of the national economy;
complex mechanization and automation of production;
chemicalization of production;
introduction of the latest technologies.
49. Economic and social efficiency of scientific and technological progress.
NTP- this is a continuous process of introducing new equipment and technology, organizing production and labor based on the achievements of scientific knowledge.
It is characterized by the following features:
development and widespread use of fundamentally new machines and machine systems,
working in automatic mode;
creation and development of qualitatively new production technologies;
discovery and use of new types and sources of energy;
creation and widespread use of new types of materials with predetermined properties;
wide development of automation of production processes based on the use of machine tools
with numerical control, automatic lines, industrial robots,
flexible production systems;
introduction of new forms of organization of labor and production.
At the present stage, the following features of scientific and technical progress are observed: There is an increase in the technological orientation of scientific and technological progress, its technological component. Progressive technologies are now the main link in scientific and technical progress both in terms of the scale of implementation and in terms of results.
There is an intensification of scientific and technical progress: the volume of scientific knowledge is growing, the qualitative composition of scientific personnel is improving, the cost effectiveness of its implementation is growing, and the effectiveness of scientific and technological progress is increasing.
At the present stage, scientific and technical progress is becoming more and more complex, systemic. This is expressed, first of all, in the fact that scientific and technical progress now covers all sectors of the economy, including the service sector, penetrates into all elements of social production: the material and technical base, the process of organizing production, the process of training personnel and the organization of management. In quantitative terms, complexity is also manifested in the mass introduction of scientific and technological achievements.
An important regularity of scientific and technical progress is the strengthening of its resource-saving orientation. As a result of the introduction of scientific and technological achievements, material, technical and labor resources are saved, and this is an important criterion for the effectiveness of scientific and technological progress.
There is an increase in the social orientation of STP, which is manifested in the increasing impact of STP on the social factors of human life: the conditions of work, study, life.
There is an increasing trend in the development of science and technology to preserve the environment - the greening of scientific and technological progress. This is the development and application of low-waste and waste-free technologies, the introduction of effective methods for the integrated use and processing of natural resources, and the fuller involvement of production and consumption waste in the economic circulation.
To ensure the effective functioning of the economy, it is necessary to pursue a unified state scientific and technical policy. To do this, priority areas for the development of science and technology should be chosen at each stage of planning.
The main directions of scientific and technological progress are electrification, complex mechanization, automation of production and chemicalization of production.
Electrification is the process of widespread introduction of electricity into social production and life. It is the basis for mechanization and automation, as well as chemicalization of production.
Integrated mechanization and automation of production is the process of replacing manual labor with a system of machines, apparatus, and instruments in all areas of production. This process is accompanied by a transition from low to higher forms, that is, from manual labor to partial, small and complex mechanization and further to the highest form of mechanization - automation.
Chemicalization of production- the process of production and application of chemical materials, as well as the introduction of chemical methods and processes into technology.
The priority areas of scientific and technical progress at the present stage are: biotechnology, electronization of the national economy, integrated automation, accelerated development of nuclear energy, creation and implementation of new materials, development of fundamentally new technologies.
NTP allows you to solve the following problems: firstly, it is NTP that is the main means of increasing labor productivity, reducing production costs, increasing output and improving its quality. Secondly, as a result of scientific and technical progress, new efficient machines, materials, and technological processes are created that improve working conditions and reduce the labor intensity of manufacturing products. Thirdly, scientific and technical progress has a strong impact on the organization of production, stimulates the growth of the concentration of production, accelerates the development of its specialization and cooperation. Fourthly, the progress of science and technology ensures the solution of socio-economic problems (employment of the population, lightening of labor, etc.), serves to better satisfy the needs of both society as a whole and each person. Efficiency of scientific and technical progress
The result of the implementation of the achievements of scientific and technological progress is an increase in the efficiency of the functioning of the national economy.
The effectiveness of scientific and technical progress is understood as the ratio of the effect and the costs that caused this effect. The effect is understood as a positive result, which is obtained as a result of the implementation of the achievements of scientific and technical progress.
The effect can be:
economic (reduction in production costs, profit growth, labor productivity growth, and so on);
political (ensuring economic independence, strengthening defense capabilities);
social (improving working conditions, raising the material and cultural level of citizens, and so on);
environmental (reduction of environmental pollution).
When determining economic efficiency in the implementation of the achievements of scientific and technical progress, one-time and current costs are distinguished. One-time costs are capital investments for the creation of new technology. Current costs are costs that are incurred during the entire life of the new equipment.
Distinguish between absolute and comparative economic efficiency. Absolute economic efficiency is defined as the ratio of the economic effect to the total amount of capital investments that caused this effect. For the national economy as a whole, absolute economic efficiency (Ee.ef.n / x) is defined as follows:
Ee.ef.n / x \u003d DD / K
where DD is the annual increase in national income, rubles; K - capital investments that caused this increase, rub.
Comparative economic efficiency.
Calculations of comparative economic efficiency are used when choosing options for capital construction, reconstruction and technical re-equipment of enterprises, technological processes, structures, and so on. Comparison of various options for solving economic and technical problems is carried out using a system of basic and additional indicators.
The modern world has been formed in a number of factors, the main of which is scientific and technological progress (STP). The main features of the modern world are determined by scientific and technical progress. Scientific and technological progress is the basis of modern civilization. He is only 300-350 years old. It was then that industrial civilization arose. STP permeates the entire civilization (activities, people's lives). NTP is a twofold thing: it has both positive and negative features. Positive - improvement of comfort, negative - ecological (comfort leads to an ecological crisis) and cultural (due to the development of means of communication, there is no need for direct contact).
Scientific and technological progress (STP) is a process of constant renewal of all elements of reproduction, the main place in which belongs to the renewal of technology and technology. This question is eternal and constant, as is the eternal and constant work of human thought, designed to facilitate and reduce the cost of human and mental labor to achieve the final result in labor activity.
At the same time, almost half a century of development of the world economy under the conditions of scientific and technological progress makes it possible to single out a number of its specific features, an objective assessment of which can contribute to the practical extraction of the enormous opportunities potentially inherent in scientific and technological progress for economic and social progress. The main features of the NTP include:
- - accelerating the pace of scientific and technological progress;
- - complication and absolute rise in price of new technologies;
- - Significant changes in the structure of employment and qualitative characteristics of the labor force.
The rate of scientific and technical progress means the period from fundamental research or the emergence of a new scientific and technical idea to its implementation in production and obtaining an effective effect.
The acceleration of the pace of scientific and technical progress at its present stage determines the economic behavior of the entrepreneur, forcing him to shorten the terms of new capital construction to the utmost. With their lengthening, a new scientific and technical solution may appear, which may necessitate reconstruction even before the commissioning of a new capital facility.
The scientific and technical achievements of the NTP era are much more effective than the achievements of the previous stage. The acceleration of the pace of scientific and technical progress, the complication and rise in the cost of scientific and technical achievements of scientific and technical progress made high demands on the quality characteristics of the workforce.
The advent of scientific and technical progress presented completely new requirements for the knowledge and skills of workers. The development and use of rapidly changing machinery and technology require a new level of education, qualifications, general professional knowledge and culture in the interests of production.
But, despite the positive features, some global problems of mankind are associated with scientific and technical progress:
- 1) the problem of overpopulation. In the 40s and 50s there was an active invention of new drugs (for example, among them a class of antibiotic drugs), which was the success of a whole spectrum of sciences, from biology to chemistry. Around the same time, new ways of industrially producing vaccines and drugs were proposed, making many drugs cheap and readily available. Thanks to these successes of scientific and technical progress in the field of medicine, such terrible diseases as tetanus, poliomyelitis and anthrax have receded, and the incidence of tuberculosis and leprosy has significantly decreased. After the Second World War, in many countries of Asia and Africa, young independent states began to introduce medical care. Massive cheap vaccinations and the introduction of elementary hygiene rules led to a sharp increase in life expectancy and a decrease in mortality.
- 2) environmental problems associated with an unlimited growth in production and emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere, deforestation and landscape transformation, an increase in the number of cars, active shipping and air travel.
- 3) problems associated with new types of weapons.
In its development, scientific and technical progress manifests itself in two interrelated and interdependent forms - evolutionary and revolutionary.
The evolutionary form of scientific and technical progress is characterized by a gradual, continuous improvement of traditional technical means and technologies, the accumulation of these improvements. Such a process can last quite a long time and provide, especially at its initial stages, significant economic results.
At a certain stage, there is an accumulation of technical improvements. On the one hand, they are no longer effective enough, on the other hand, they create the necessary basis for fundamental, fundamental transformations of the productive forces, which ensures the achievement of a qualitatively new social labor, higher productivity. A revolutionary situation arises. This form of development of scientific and technological progress is called revolutionary. Under the influence of the scientific and technological revolution, qualitative changes are taking place in the material and technical base of production.
Efficiency of NTP:
The result of the implementation of the achievements of scientific and technological progress is an increase in the efficiency of the functioning of the national economy.
The effectiveness of scientific and technical progress is understood as the ratio of the effect and the costs that caused this effect. The effect is understood as a positive result, which is obtained as a result of the implementation of the achievements of scientific and technical progress.
The effect can be:
- economic (reduction of production costs, profit growth, labor productivity growth, and so on);
- political (ensuring economic independence, strengthening defense capabilities);
- social (improving working conditions, raising the material and cultural level of citizens, and so on);
- environmental (reduction of environmental pollution).
To ensure the effective functioning of the economy, it is necessary to pursue a unified state scientific and technical policy. United science and technology policy-- a system of purposeful measures that ensure the comprehensive development of science and technology and the introduction of their results into the economy. This requires a choice of priorities in the development of science and technology and those sectors in which scientific achievements should be implemented in the first place. This is also due to the limited resources of the state to conduct large-scale research in all areas of scientific and technical progress and their implementation in practice. Thus, the state at each stage of its development must determine the main directions of scientific and technical progress, provide conditions for their implementation.
At one time, the following areas of scientific and technological progress were identified as nationwide: electrification of the national economy; complex mechanization and automation of production; chemicalization of production. The most important, or decisive, of all these areas is electrification, since without it other areas of scientific and technological progress are inconceivable. It should be noted that for their time these were well-chosen areas of scientific and technical progress, which played positive role to accelerate, develop and improve production efficiency. They are also important at this stage in the development of social production, so we will dwell on them in more detail.