Philosophy of economics in the system of social sciences. Applied philosophy. Philosophical and economic way of thinking

Due to the objective circumstances of Russia's development, issues of economics and economic life have moved to the center of public consciousness, many social sciences and philosophy. This is understandable; perestroika and reforms entered people’s consciousness in the form of economic terminology and ideology. But that's not the only reason. Economy is the most important system of life support for society and human development.

At the beginning of our century, the Russian philosopher S.N. Bulgakov in his book “Philosophy of Economics” depicted economics as a way of society’s struggle for life with the spontaneous forces of nature. Economy is a person’s actual relationship to the world, and not only an active, but also an ideal-projective relationship. The economic attitude towards the world has not only practical, but philosophical significance.

Understanding the economy and how it functions is essentially understanding the social world, its deep laws and hidden meanings. Knowledge of economics serves as a means of studying politics, ideology, social behavior of people, and often touches upon moral problems (our marketers proclaimed “everything that is effective is moral”). It is necessary to take a philosophical approach to the views and theories of economists, since they offer not only models of the economy, but also models of the life of society, social goals and ideals, such as K. Marx and F. von Hayek.

Philosophy of Economics is a philosophical understanding of ideological and scientific foundations, knowledge about economics, the economic system as a whole, everything that has to do with economics, its place in the world of nature, society and human culture. The slogan “the economy should be approached only by economic standards” is false. Economics continues politics and ideology. Economic doctrines are reflections of philosophical theories, social and spiritual principles and are not autonomous, self-sufficient disciplines.

American professor Paul Samuelson characterizes economics with five characteristics. Economy is: 1) the use by people of productive resources (such as labor, goods of production value, for example, machines, technical knowledge) for the production of various goods and their distribution among members of society for the purpose of consumption; 2) activities related to exchange and monetary transactions; 3) the daily business activities of people, their means of livelihood and the use of these means; 4) establishment and implementation of consumption and production; 5) wealth.

Every definition has flaws, including this one. It does not capture such an important feature of the economy as “management”. “Economy” translated from Greek is “household management.” The systemic nature of the economy is also not visible.

The economic system is a system of organizing all elements of the social economy. It functions due to the method of production, the institution of property, the economic mechanism, labor, the monetary system, etc. To manage is to productively organize the interaction between material productive forces and the living labor of people (labor is the energy-intensive expedient interaction of a person with the means of production and the environment environment). The method of production is the unity of productive forces (material and personal factors) and production relations - the relations of people in the production process, economic activity in general. In the economic system, in addition to individual economic entities (enterprises, associations, firms), it is also necessary to distinguish the overall economic entity - society itself as an economic entity. The activities of society as an economic entity are determined by the political system.

The basis for the effective operation of an economic system is the economic mechanism - a system with material resources and human connections, “thinking” and “deciding”. It is this mechanism that ensures the connection of economic entities, the consolidation and development of the entire economic life of society. The economic mechanism has management features; it is one of the means of managing society. The quality of work of an economic mechanism depends on the culture of people - social culture (social, economic relations) and personal culture (from knowledge, ideas, qualities, ideals, abilities, etc.). The economic mechanism is the world of culture. For the mechanisms of a market economy to work, a culture of market relations is needed. In the West, it has been formed for centuries.

The market is a fairly effective form of management that arose in connection with the division of labor, the product of exchange and the development of productive forces. He is the regulator of a nonequilibrium self-organizing economic system with all the signs of feedback. There are a number of economic and political factors that ensure a civilized market: 1) a stable, unified financial system; 2) adequate supply of banknotes with goods; 3) infrastructure necessary for the market; 4) political stability in the country; 5) legal economics.

But in a real developed economy, market mechanisms should not be opposed to planned ones. The plan and the market are two ways of managing the economy and are quite compatible. Market mechanisms cannot provide for the costs of defense, science, the construction of an energy system, transport highways, etc. The development of these areas of economic activity is associated with planning. As a rule, a market economy is characterized by a high level of unemployment, inflation, payment for most services, and an imaginary movement of securities. There is also a myth about the benefits of competition. Competition is permissible only in the production of similar products, so to speak, in a separate industry. Inter-industry competition can destroy the national economy.

The philosophy of economics must understand why, how and on what basis certain economic reforms and economic theories are proposed to the world. The importance of economic philosophy is great precisely during critical periods of the economic and social life of society.

The problem of establishing a viable economy in Russia is not only an economic and political problem, but also a worldview. Economic theories are based on one or another understanding of society, man, and the motives of human behavior in the socio-economic sphere. Economists (A. Smith, K. Marx, J. Keynes, F. Hayek, etc.) assume their understanding of economic life. But where is the truth? People often talk about economic doctrines, but almost no one talks about the first principles of economic theory. Their analysis is important for the philosophy of economics.

Over the two centuries of the existence of economic science, several leading directions or trends can be distinguished: 1) classical economic liberalism (A. Smith and others). 2) Marx's economic doctrine. 3) Keynes doctrine, Keynesianism. 4) “political economy of socialism”, 5) “economics”.

Let us dwell on the philosophical and ideological prerequisites of these economic teachings. Representatives of the classical political economy of liberalism (A. Smith, D. Ricardo, etc.) adhered to a rationalistic philosophy, trying to derive the laws of society from the nature of the “economic man” who enters into economic relations with others. They were limited to the idea of a person as an autonomous egoist individual pursuing his own personal interests. They thought of society as a summation of economic interests. An economic entity is not connected with society by ties of tradition, culture, or national heritage. These economists drew their views from the philosophical views of J. Locke and Mandeville, who extended the mechanical metaphor of the “clock” to society.

Economic doctrine of K. Marx. K. Marx showed that production is of a social nature and the starting point of political economy should be society, and not the individual. Where liberal economists saw only the relationship between things, K. Marx saw the relationship between human producers. A commodity, capital, is the embodiment of certain social relations. Commodity fetishism, a characteristic feature of classical liberal economic theory, was criticized in the teachings of K. Marx.

The doctrine of J.M. Keynes. The English economist J.M. Keynes created the theory of regulation of the capitalist economy (under the influence of the economic crisis of 1929–33 in the USA and other countries). He focuses on the analysis of macroeconomic variables (national income, capital investment, employment, consumption, savings, etc.). The subject of Keynes's research is quantitative patterns in the relationships between these quantities. The main goal of Keynes' economic theory is to maintain "effective demand" and "full employment."

Despite all the differences in the analyzed doctrines (liberalism, Marxism, Keynesianism), they tend to operate with socio-economic abstractions and have a mechanical attitude towards the economic person and society.

Economics. Liberal economists and economics theorists often claim that they stand outside of any ideology or philosophy, that they are interested in purely economic aspects. But that's not true. Liberal economic theories, devoid of national references, are better exportable. Modern Western society professes the ideas of economic liberalism, but taking into account the concepts of Marx and Keynes. Under the guise of liberal ideas, the idea of a single and homogeneous economic space, devoid of national and state borders, is not only promoted, but also affirmed. Economics, like economic theories, are part of the global confrontation, semantic wars on our planet. Behind economic theories there are various philosophical and ideological positions, social and spiritual principles.

Security questions

1. What is the philosophy of economics?

2. What is the structure and system of the economy?

3. What is the essence of the market and market relations?

4. Give a philosophical analysis of economic theories.

Introduction

Modern philosophy of economics is developing in several directions: philosophy of economy, philosophy of property, philosophy of goods and money, philosophy of economic policy, economic ethics. A major role is also played by the philosophical and methodological analysis of the fundamentals of economics, as well as categorical analysis. For example, the well-known problem “cost - price” is adequately revealed only when philosophical reflection is added to economic research. This approach is especially relevant in relation to some modern problems of economic theory (the problem of factors, the theory of public choice, analysis of human capital, etc.).

The relevance of the topic lies in the fact that the innovative nature of the modern economy also requires an appropriate education system, focusing students not on mechanical memorization of a large amount of information and its reproduction, but on the development of creative thinking. Philosophy, with its ideological, cognitive, methodological and heuristic functions, contributes to the formation of an economist's search thinking, innovative and adaptive potential. It is impossible for an economist and economic science to do without philosophy.

The purpose of the abstract work is to form a basic philosophical and economic foundation, to become familiar with the main problems at the intersection of philosophy and economics.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

1. study the philosophy of economics and economic science;

2. analyze a retrospective of the philosophy of economics;

3. highlight the main approaches to the topic being studied;

4. characterize the views of philosophers and scientists regarding this topic;

5. highlight the philosophical problems of the economic life of society.

Philosophy of economics and economic science

The philosophy of economics is fundamental ideas about the essence of the economic sphere of society’s existence and its relationship with other spheres of such existence. The goal of the philosophy of economics is such a view of the economic sphere of existence, which would not be carried out from within the economic system itself, but would rise above it, would consider it from the point of view of the fullness of human existence and absolute values.

The philosophy of economics and economic science includes:

· economic ontology;

· economic epistemology;

· economic axiology;

· economic praxeology;

· economic phenomenology.

Economic ontology addresses the problem of the economic essence of human existence, which is revealed through the category of law. Economic ontology in economic science is formed if and only if philosophical and economic reflection appeals to the category of law.

The views of Yu. M. Osipov and V. L. Inozemtsov are known, in which economics is associated only with a commodity-market economy. Following K. Marx, they distinguish three main formation cycles: pre-economic, economic and post-economic. Yu. M. Osipov identifies the economic formation with the concept of economic civilization he introduced.

1. economics and cost;

2. economics and cost management;

3. economics and market economy;

4. economics and competitive management.

“Every economic system is necessarily a market system,” notes Yu. M. Osipov. At the same time, he immediately makes a reservation that this characteristic is relative and is not fundamental, giving priority to the cost characterization of the economy.

At the same time, based on the ecological logic of the development of human civilization, Yu. M. Osipov raises the question of the decline of economic civilization and the beginning formation of post-economic civilization, which he associates with technologization and informatization of the economy, with the formation of a technological-information society.

Therefore, according to Yu. M. Osipov, economics is a special case of economics, namely a value-based economy.

S.G. Kara-Murza argues in a slightly different logic, appealing to the Aristotelian dichotomy of the economy. Here other types of identities appear (according to Aristotle):

1. economics and housekeeping, which does not necessarily involve the movement of money;

2. economics and chrymastics aimed at accumulating wealth.

At the same time, he shows that political economy appeared and developed as the science of economics in the second sense.

In the context of the philosophy of economics and economic science, the identity between economics and management is established. In this context, the attribute “economic” and the attribute “management” are synonymous.

In other words, economic ontology is a social ontology, revealed through the relations of economic management and environmental management. She studies the economic Existence of man and society (as a collective man), which is revealed as the reproduction of life support systems based on the use of nature (energy-material and information interaction of man and society with the outside world, the universe). The discussion about the universality of economic laws and, accordingly, the universality of political economy for more than 200 years, implicitly reproducing the dialectic of the universal, general, particular and individual in the context of economic ontology, has not lost its relevance. On the contrary, it is the most important point of economic ontology.

Economic epistemology is designed to reveal the features of the methodology of cognition of economic reality (economic existence). In this section of the philosophy of economics and economic science, there is a clarification of the epistemological tools in economics, the principles of economic knowledge (for example, the principle of the unity of historical and logical in knowledge, the principle of monism, the principle of interaction of dialectical and formal logics, etc.), features of the application of the dialectical method, categories of contradiction, etc. The “Revolution of Non-Classicality” raised the problem of the Observer, including in the context of the philosophy of economic science the question of the principle of the Great Anthropo-Economic Supplement, as the most important principle of Non-Classical Economics (Non-Classical Economics).

Economic epistemology not only radiates forms of economic knowledge, the foundations of economic discourse, and the peculiarities of economic thinking, but also performs the function of criticizing the foundations of economic reflection in the theoretical systems of representatives of certain scientific economic schools.

Economic axiology studies economic values, problems of social and pragmatic utility, and reflection of economic interests in economic-value relations. Economic values include cost, use value, utility, efficiency and others. Economic existence is permeated with value relations. It is axiologized being.

This feature of economic existence leads to attempts to reduce it only to values, for example, to the existence of value. An example is the program for constructing a new economic theory proposed by Yu. M. Osipov. In this program, the foundation of the new economic science should be value (which is transcendental and only transcendental). Value is the economic value that regulates exchange relations. It appears along with exchange relations. Therefore, as a value, it is an attribute of a thing or product, and in no case is it a thing or product. This attribute gives them a systemic-social quality; it refracts through itself the entire set of relationships in the economic system. Therefore, the phrase “value has no real substance”, used by Yu. M. Osipov in his arguments, does not need comment. It is not a “material substance” because it is a value, an economic value or, what is the same, a value manifested in economic relations.

Economic axiology at the end of the twentieth century is associated with the “economics of quality”, with the qualimetry of economic systems, with the theory of efficiency calculation as a measure of the quality of economic systems and processes, with the qualimetry of life and other areas of the axiology of quality.

Economic praxeology is a philosophical direction that studies pragmatics in the system of economic relations. It reveals the status and features of procedural knowledge in economics. The problems of economic praxeology reflect not only the sources of problems in a particular economy, the forms of their solution, but also their place in interaction with modes of economic existence, reflecting deeper, essential processes of socio-economic development.

In economic praxeology, the problems of lower-rank economic theories related to organizational forms, regional specifics, organizational design, scientific organization of labor, its stimulation, etc. come to the fore.

Economic phenomenology is a philosophical reflection on the peculiarities of the organization of modern economic knowledge. For many Western economic schools, including “economics” as a certain paradigm for the organization of economic knowledge, the cult of phenomenology has become characteristic. V.V. Radaev notes in the article “On the development and role of theory in a transition economy” that the role of mathematical formalism in economics has increased to the detriment of the substantive-historical side of economic analysis. Neglect of the historical-genetic aspect of economic theory is a characteristic feature of phenomenologism. Its origin is associated with the dominance of positivist and neopositivist schemes of knowledge in “Western economic schools of thought” with their rejection of “historicism” (K. Popper), dialectics and the absolutization of the formal logics of scientific discourse.

The cult of phenomenology in economic science of the liberal and neoliberal directions is a reflection of the “cowardice” of Western economic science, which is associated with the fear of revealing the real, ontological logic of human development, since this logic carries a death sentence not only to capitalism and neo-capitalism, but to the entire market form of organization of the human economy .

Philosophical problems of economic life of society

philosophy economics knowledge liberal

Modern philosophy considers many problems of the economic life of society, understanding by it the relations of property, distribution, exchange and consumption. Philosophical approaches to the economic life of society try to identify what are the sources of development of economic life, what is the relationship between objective and subjective aspects in economic processes, how the economic interests of various social groups coexist in society, what is the relationship between reforms and revolutions in the economic life of society, etc.

Perhaps one of the most discussed problems in modern socio-philosophical thought in Russia is the question of the role of the mode of production in the life of society. The reason is that the law of the determining role of material production in the life of society, discovered by K. Marx in the middle of the last century, in the era of the ascending development of capitalism, was recognized in Marxist-Leninist social science as a truth beyond doubt. There are still many supporters of this point of view. Indeed, at the level of everyday practical consciousness, we understand perfectly well that even in order to study, we must, at a minimum, first satisfy primary needs - first of all material ones (housing, food, clothing), and then we will need textbooks, pens, notebooks and much more, by the way, also appeared thanks to material production. But let's consider this problem at a scientific-theoretical level.

So, many thinkers consider the method of material production to be the basis for the existence and development of the entire society, putting forward quite compelling arguments:

1. without the constant reproduction of material goods, the existence of society is impossible;

2. the method of production, the existing division of labor, property relations determine the emergence and development of classes and social groups, layers of society, its social structure;

3. the method of production largely determines the development of the political life of society;

4. in the production process, the necessary material conditions for the development of the spiritual life of society are created;

5. material production supports human activity in any area of his life and activity.

In the mid-nineteenth century, in the preface to “A Critique of Political Economy,” K. Marx wrote: “The method of production of material life determines the social, political and spiritual processes of life in general.” This is how he formulated the essence of the law of the determining role of material production in the life of society.

K. Marx identified the productive forces of labor and the general productive forces. A person who works is a direct subject of labor. First of all, a person acts as a workforce with physical and intellectual abilities, professional knowledge and a certain level of cultural development. However, such an interpretation of K. Marx’s legacy in old textbooks is quite schematic. Great expert on Marxism V.S. Barulin summarizes K. Marx’s theoretical constructs about the productive forces: “K. Marx included in the quality of man as a productive force all the richness of his development as a social subject, as an individual.”

The general productive forces are characterized by two points:

1. these are forces whose effect is produced by the cooperation of all social labor;

2. these are forces associated with the level of spiritual culture of society.

Production relations characterize the economic relations in which classes and social groups find themselves regarding the ownership, exchange, distribution and consumption of produced material and spiritual goods. They can be defined as follows: production relations are a set of material and economic relations between people that develop in the process of production and the movement of a social product from producer to consumer.

The development of material production begins with the development of productive forces, in which the instruments of labor develop at the fastest pace. According to Marxists, productive forces always determine certain social relations of production, since people cannot carry out the production process without uniting in some way. Consequently, any change in the productive forces must lead to a change in production relations.

Modern social philosophy recognizes the importance of material production, but considers it only one of many equally important spheres of social life, without which it is also impossible to imagine society. One of the most famous sociologists of the second half of the twentieth century, R. Aron, proposed his approach to analyzing the legacy of K. Marx in this matter. His view is all the more interesting because R. Aron is considered the greatest expert on Marxism and its critic. “In the context of Marx’s approach to capitalism and history, great importance is attached to the combination of the concepts of productive forces, relations of production, class struggle, class consciousness, and in addition, base and superstructure. These concepts can be used in any sociological analysis. I myself, when I try to analyze Soviet or American society, readily start with the economy and even with the state of the productive forces, in order to then move on to production relations, and then to social relations. It is permissible to use these concepts critically and methodologically to understand and explain modern, and perhaps even any other, society.”

Why is this approach possible? R. Aron believes that the Marxist teaching about society is ambiguous. The ambiguity is manifested in the fact that two interpretations of K. Marx's ideas are possible - flexible, critical and orthodox. The French scientist showed a number of examples of this approach. Table 1 lists some of them.

Table 1 - Ideas of K. Marx and their possible interpretation

Ideas of K. Marx	Flexible, critical interpretation	Orthodox interpretation
1. The social system is determined by some main characteristics - the state of the productive forces, the form of ownership and relations between workers	The productive forces developed under different conditions - under private property and under public property; where the productive forces were more developed, revolutions did not occur.	The end of Western society due to the idea of self-destruction of the Western system due to internal contradictions.
2. Contradictions between productive forces and production relations	The development of productive forces requires new forms of production relations, but these new forms may not contradict traditional property rights. There is no theoretical contradiction between productive forces and production relations.	At a certain level of development of productive forces, personal right to property will become an obstacle to the progress of productive forces
3. Analysis of the basis and superstructure	The basis should be called the economy, in particular, the productive forces, i.e., the technical equipment of society together with the organization of labor. But the technical level of civilization cannot be separated from the level of scientific knowledge. But it belongs to the superstructure	The basis, the relations of production, determine the superstructure that must correspond to it.

By “orthodox” we mean the conclusions made by those followers of Marxist teaching who did not want to approach its content creatively, although the question of the need to revise a number of provisions of classical Marxism was raised back in the mid-90s of the nineteenth century. Marxism reflected the state of society in the second third of the last century and was based on the science of that era. In those years, many social processes that appeared already at the beginning of this century were out of the question, and the development of capitalism fit perfectly into logical Marxist schemes. However, one should not completely reject Marxism on the grounds that it is supposedly “outdated,” since many of Marx’s ideas can be creatively used as methodological approaches to the study of modern society.

If the question of the role of material production in the life of society has become the object of debate only in recent decades, then the philosophical problems of property have caused the most heated debate for many centuries. The main controversial questions were, firstly, what is the role of property in the development of human civilization and culture, and, secondly, is property good or evil?

Forms of ownership may vary. The main ones are public and private property. Since the time of Plato, there has been a debate in philosophy about which form of ownership is better. Let us present two characteristic opinions reflecting the positions of the opposing camps into which thinkers are divided in relation to property.

Aristotle: “In every state there are three parts: the very wealthy, the extremely poor, and the third, standing in the middle between the two. Since, according to the generally accepted opinion, moderation and the middle are the best, then, obviously, average wealth is the best of all goods. If it is present, it is easiest to obey the arguments of reason... The state most of all strives to ensure that everyone in it is equal and the same, and this is characteristic primarily of average people... They do not strive for other people's good, like the poor, and others do not encroach on what belongs to them, just as the poor strive for the property of the rich. And since no one is against them and they are not malicious against anyone, then their lives proceed in safety.”

Jean Meslier: “The delusion that is widespread and legalized almost everywhere is that people appropriate earthly goods and wealth as private property, instead of, as they should, owning and using them all on the basis of equality... Thanks to this, everyone tries by any means, good or bad, to possess as much wealth as possible, because greed is insatiable, and it, as is known, is the source of all evil... As a result of this, the strongest, the most cunning, the most dexterous, and often even the worst and most unworthy turn out to be endowed with the best earthly blessings and everyday comforts.”

The cited philosophers are separated not only by two millennia, but also by opposite attitudes towards property. For Aristotle, property (but not excessive, but moderate, reasonable) is an attribute of the layer that we today call the “middle class.” The middle class, which now makes up 80% of the population in developed countries, is the main support of the state and the guarantor of its well-being. Aristotle recognizes that those who do not have property, as well as those who have it excessively, are prone to illegal actions, therefore both of them cannot contribute to maintaining the stability of the state. Meslier, on the contrary, believes that property in any form is evil.

Most philosophers were supporters of private property. Soviet philosophy inherited the traditions of K. Marx and F. Engels, following the representatives of utopian communism, who uncompromisingly denied private property. This played a fatal role for Russian philosophy: the problem of property was simply not raised during the Soviet period of its history.

Conclusion

Philosophy of economics is a consideration of economics from a philosophical point of view, a study of the values of the economic factor in connection with culture in general, as well as the connections between general ideological principles and economic theories of any era.

The philosophy of economics has its own subject of study. It acts as a special type of philosophical and economic theorizing. Based on general philosophical principles and principles, economic philosophy is aimed at considering the foundations of economic existence as one of the most important areas of human life and society.

The focus of the philosophy of economics is the nature of economic life, the essence of economic phenomena and processes. The philosophy of economics is intended to give an idea of the most important aspects of the economy, where the necessary material conditions of human existence are reproduced.

The philosophy of economics considers the key role of humans in the development and functioning of the economy. The analysis of economic realities is carried out on the basis of the application of philosophical methodology. Along with other approaches, including mathematical ones, the philosophical method considers the economy as a multidimensional and contradictory system. However, it is philosophy that sets the general guidelines for cognitive activity. In this sense, it acts as a general methodology of economic knowledge. Philosophical methodology develops theoretical means of the most complete reflection of the continuously changing economic reality, and the development of dialectical-logical principles of knowledge is carried out in close unity with a generalization of the latest achievements of specific economic sciences. And, ultimately, all this gives practical significance to the methodological function of the philosophy of economics.

List of additional literature

1. Blaug, M. Economic thought in retrospect/M. Blaug.-M.-1994.

2. Borisov E.F. Economic theory: Textbook. - M.: TK Welby, Prospekt Publishing House, 2005. - 544 p.

3. Bulgakov, S.N. Philosophy of Economics/S.N. Bulgakov. - M. - 1990.

4. Igoshin N.V. Economics: Textbook. - M.: UNITY-DANA, 2004. - 607 p.

5. Kashpin, M.S. Philosophical problems of the economic life of society / M.S. Kashpin //Problems of modern economics.- 2008.- N 4(24)

6. Orekhov, A.M. Social philosophy of property: on the way to a new paradigm/A.M. Orekhov.- M.-2000.

7. Osipova, Yu.M. Theoretical economy: reality, virtuality and myth-making / Ed. Yu. M. Osipova, E. S. Zotova. - M.: Economy. Faculty of Moscow State University, TEIS, 2000. - 319 p.

8. Osipova, Yu.M. Economic theory on the threshold of the 21st century / Ed. Yu. M. Osipova, V. T. Pulyaeva. - St. Petersburg: Petropolis, 1996. - 416 p.

Philosophy of Economics is a branch of philosophical science that examines economic processes from a philosophical point of view.

Object of economic philosophy

Object of philosophy of economics- this is the economic existence of society, which is the fundamental basis of the activity of each of its spheres.

The direct object of science helps us to highlight its subject, which lies in knowledge about the productive economic potential. A highly complex economic system capable of self-organization is considered here as the main meaning of economic existence.

The criteria for material and universal goods are also explored., the possibilities of their emergence and development, relationships with morality, humanistic guidelines and social goals.

The study of objects of philosophical economics involves a careful consideration of the activities of various models of economic activity, highlighting their many-sided benefits, advantages and disadvantages.

Naturally, specifying the object of economic philosophy helps to highlight the subject, functions and tasks of the philosophy of economics, and notes all the features that modern economics has.

Specifics of modern economics

In particular, this includes a philosophical consideration of the economic economy, commodity and monetary relations, consumer choice, the essence of bureaucracy, and economic ethics. We can talk about focusing this discipline on the issues of value. Its disclosure requires mandatory philosophical understanding.

According to social thinkers, modern society can be characterized by the highest manifestations of economism. As the capitalist economy continues to develop, those values that are not associated with financial benefit become meaningless and meaningless.

The modern development of capitalist relations is marked by a significant market impact, despite the fact that the processes of buying and selling, financial gain and monetary profit come first. The role of spiritual values continues to be lost. At the same time, one should not consider such lack of spirituality as some kind of deviation or disorganized structure.

In essence, lack of spirituality represents the essence of economic society, expressing a person’s consumer attitude towards the world around him. At the same time, one of the tasks of philosophy is to reduce such spiritual regression while maintaining basic economic concepts and principles.

Be that as it may, morality and morality are necessary conditions for successful economic transformation and such ethical foundations should be used as a starting point.

Stage of economic selfishness

Today, a large-scale economic society has been formed in which homo economicus lives, which is a special human type that is fully consistent with such a society. The dominant life form has become human egoism, which is organized at the social level.

A characteristic of this stage is the gradual transition of concepts such as calculations, purchase and sale processes from material areas to other areas of life. This clearly indicates the beginning of the total commercialization of society and even personal human life.

An important role in such processes is played by the media, which is considered a fairly important social institution that influences many types of human activity. The emergence and subsequent development of technological civilization goes in parallel with the recognition of technical means as an absolute value. In order for such a system to function at the proper level, it is no longer necessary to have an economic individual, but a technological one.

The obvious negative side of this phenomenon is associated with:

Lack of humanistic quality indicators of live communication;
Lack of social solidarity.

It turns out that the accumulated early spiritual wealth, some cultural values and even personal principles can be reduced to nothing.

Religion as a way out

It is interesting that until now, considerable importance in theoretical discussions about the possibilities of improving human society is given to religious factors. It turns out that, according to many social theorists, faith in a higher power (God) may be the main condition for the preservation of spiritual culture in modern man.

If you do not take care of such preservation, this can lead to conflict situations between today's people who perceive the world and other people as a tool to achieve their own benefit. Perhaps one of the unconditional solutions may be the recognition of something or someone existing above human nature and essence and ruling over human destinies.

This is where today's milestones in the development of the philosophy of economics can lead in connection with the development of economic relations and their expansion beyond the boundaries of the economic discipline. That is why it is so important to know basic economic concepts not only for those who specialize in any of the economic sciences. After studying, you must be able to consider these same concepts from a philosophical perspective.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF UKRAINE

Kharkov National Economic University

Department of Philosophy and Political Science

ABSTRACT

on the topic:« Philosophy of Economics"

Completed:

3rd year student, 8th group

Faculty of EI

Sokolsky E. V.

Supervisor:

Karpenko E. I.

Kharkov 2009

PLAN

1. Introduction: philosophy as a science 3

2. The essence and problem area of the philosophy of economics 5

4. The essence and features of social production 10

5. Philosophy of money 15

6. Conclusion 19

7. Used literature 20

1. Introduction: philosophy as a science

Traditionally, philosophy is defined as the study of the root causes and beginnings of everything conceivable - the universal principles within which both being and thinking, both the comprehended cosmos and the spirit that comprehends it, exist and change. The thinkable in traditional philosophy acts as being - one of the main philosophical categories. Existence includes not only actually occurring processes, but also intelligible possibilities. Since the conceivable is vast in its particulars, philosophers mainly concentrate their attention on the root causes, extremely general concepts and categories. In different eras and for different philosophical movements, these categories are different (therefore, Hegel defined philosophy as “the contemporary era, comprehended in thinking”).

Philosophy includes such various disciplines as logic, metaphysics, ontology, epistemology, aesthetics, ethics, etc., in which questions such as, for example, “Does God exist?”, “Is objective knowledge possible?”, “ What makes an action right or wrong? The fundamental method of philosophy is the construction of inferences that evaluate certain arguments regarding such issues. Meanwhile, there are no exact boundaries or unified methodology of philosophy. There are also disputes over what is considered philosophy, and the very definition of philosophy differs in numerous philosophical schools.

The term “philosophy” itself has always had the reputation of being difficult to define due to the sometimes fundamental gap between philosophical disciplines and the ideas used in philosophy.

Hegel defined philosophy as the science of thinking, which aims to comprehend truth through the development of concepts on the basis of developed “subjective thinking” and a method that is “able to curb thought, lead it to the subject and hold it in it.” In Marxism-Leninism, several interrelated definitions were given: philosophy is “a form of social consciousness; the doctrine of the general principles of being and knowledge, of the relationship between man and the world; the science of the universal laws of development of nature, society and thinking.” Heidegger, in the first lecture of his course “Basic Concepts of Metaphysics,” having consistently examined the relationship of philosophy with science, worldview preaching, art and religion, proposed, when defining philosophy in essence, to start not from them, but from the statement of the German poet Novalis: “Philosophy is, in fact, nostalgia , the craving to be at home everywhere.” Thus, in fact, recognizing not only the possibility, but in this case also the necessity of using an “outside view” (poetry) for philosophy.

Modern Western sources give much more careful definitions, for example: “philosophy is the study of the most fundamental and general concepts and principles relating to thinking, action and reality.”

Finally, there is the modern “postmodern” or “practical” understanding of philosophy, according to which philosophy is what people who call themselves philosophers do, a certain type of activity and its result. This understanding of philosophy is criticized as insufficient.

Philosophy is closely intertwined with other sciences and disciplines. It applies to many areas of life, such as religion, art. In this essay we will look at economics from the perspective of philosophy.

2. The essence and problem area of the philosophy of economics

Every person is daily involved in the sphere of economic life, economic phenomena, because he buys and sells, receives income and pays taxes, manages and is subject to management decisions, saves, produces and consumes. Economic activity, work is the destiny of humanity. It not only creates material well-being, satisfies basic needs, but also develops creative powers, abilities, the inner world of a person, and provides him with special directions.

The essence of economic processes and problems in the strictly human dimension, in the context of the most diverse forms of life activity of society and individuals, is considered by the philosophy of economics.

Philosophy of Economics- the sphere of philosophical knowledge about the essence of human economic existence in the multi-vector field of society and the humanistic aspect.

Self-realization of a person overcomes the boundaries of the functional structure of the economic process and creates the prerequisites for new forms of unification of the activities of social individuals. In this context, self-realization of a person is the main impulse and motive that overcomes a given dimension of the economy and contributes to the evolution of all social forms.

Self-realization as a subjective orientation is a special spiritual and creative process that ensures the constant filling of the economic sphere with human forces. It is a kind of energetic and creative source of the economic process, the development of human abilities that ensure human economic activity.

The philosophy of economics views the economic management system as a multidimensional, contradictory, voluminous world (the world of society and nature), which is in constant movement and development. The specificity of philosophical knowledge helps to rise above the external, everyday analysis of surface phenomena and their properties, to penetrate into the essence of deep economic processes that cannot be comprehended either by experience or practice, since they go beyond the limits of rational comprehension, but are existential and, under certain circumstances, quite tangible. Thanks to this, the philosophy of economics is able to reveal an economic reality that is richer in meaning and essence.

By determining the social interdependence of different types of distribution and cooperation of human activity, the prospects for its changes, the philosophy of economics solves methodological and ideological problems. It not only sets a coordinate system, but also solves the most complex fragments of the overall picture of economic reality, identifies the necessary guidelines, thanks to which the human personality carries out a long-term modeling of its own life behavior, creates the necessary and diverse conditions for its existence and development.

The fact of economic activity in a philosophical interpretation is comprehended in all its depth, deprived of a purely objective meaning and revealed in the sphere of the spirit. The spiritual sphere of economic management covers moods, experiences, assessments, attitudes, worldviews, from which a philosophical interpretation, comprehension, and ideological justification of economic problems is formed. Together they form the so-called philosophy of business management, in which the economy arises in a universal, universal form. The identical reality of economics is the most complete form of economics, which only the philosophy of economics can comprehend. Revealing the universality of the economy, its universal form through its existence in the world and the infinity of its connections with it, the philosophy of economics does not mechanically transfer philosophical concepts, categories to the economic sphere or the results of economic monitoring to other spheres of public life, but comprehensively takes into account the scope and specificity of its own functioning.

At the same time, the philosophy of economics provides a philosophical understanding of the content of many basic economic categories (“economy”, “economy”, “production”, “work”, “money”, “economic man”, “freedom”, “need”, etc.) , which, in their essence and meaning, go beyond the sphere of economics. Knowledge of their content ensures the formation of general ideas about the nature of economic activity, outlines its place and role in spiritual existence, morality, and the human life world.

The term “economy” functions in two meanings: 1) economy, a set of means, objects, processes that people use to satisfy their needs by creating the necessary goods, conditions and means of subsistence through work; 2) the science of farming and the means of running it, of relationships between people in the process of production and consumption, exchange of goods and services. It comes from the Greek word “oikonomia” (housing, law), which meant the rules of housekeeping, in particular the ability of the head of the family to manage his wife, children, slaves, and property.

Aristotle most fully outlined the basic principles of oikonomy, for the first time exploring such phenomena as the division of labor, exchange, money, value, etc. His concept determined the nature of economic knowledge for a long time. He defended the idea of self-sufficiency (naturalness) of the economy. The polis as a harmonious association of households in his teaching arises not only as a main economic factor, but also as a means of ensuring moral improvement and self-realization of its citizens. He called such a farm natural. At the same time, Aristotle also noticed the fact of production of products for exchange (market), which, in his opinion, is unnatural, since market forms are aimed not at self-sufficiency and the satisfaction of natural needs, but at exchange value and the accumulation of money. And this inflames the desires and passions of people, causes the destruction of the basic principle of life (abstinence, moderation), makes people insatiable, since the volume of monetary wealth, other than the possession of products necessary for life, has no natural growth limit. Aristotle called the form of economic activity aimed at accumulating money "chrematistics", which, in his opinion, leads to disturbances in the harmony of relations in the household-polis-cosmos system.

The idea of economic self-sufficiency and smart measures in the pursuit of material well-being dominated in the minds of people in pre-capitalist society. With the development of capitalist forms of management, a new type of economic thinking has emerged, for which money is the main tool for representing and analyzing wealth, and the cycle of wealth itself is determined by the inflow and outflow of money. The first scientific form of economic knowledge - political economy - enters the arena of social life.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF UKRAINE

Kharkov National Economic University

Department of Philosophy and Political Science