In theory social control special attention deserves the concept of E. Ross on the directed influence of society on the behavior of the individual in order to achieve the necessary social order. R. Merton, P. Self, T. Holf and K. Ritzler developed it in the direction of manipulating people's moods, consciousness, and behavior.

10. 1.1 . Public opinion survey

Social control is impossible without studying the moods and opinions prevailing in society, especially in relation to various kinds of actions of the authorities. Public opinion surveys to influence public consciousness and mood were carried out in the 20th century. in countries with different political regimes. Only the forms of organizing the knowledge of public opinion were different depending on the type of society.

In liberal democratic societies preference is given to sociological methods and forms. In the United States, nationwide polls began to be conducted in 1935 by the American Institute of Public Opinion - the Gallup Institute. For 70 years, this institute has been recording weekly public opinion in the country on political, economic and social problems. Since 1963, the Harris Service has been operating in the United States, which also studies public opinion. The results of its polls are published twice a week by more than 250 American newspapers. In the last decade, new “sociological” firms have emerged. In the early 1980s, leading newspapers and television companies began to engage in sociological surveys. Polls have long been an integral part of public opinion in the United States. political life, they are actively used by the executive and legislative branches.

True, Americans have complex feelings about opinion polls. If earlier they were unconditionally trusted, then after 1948 the trust was undermined. The reason lies in the fact that sociologists failed to predict the outcome of the presidential election. Then Truman became president, although few people believed in it. Even the most sophisticated sociological methods do not always give an accurate picture of how people relate to the authorities and the problems of their own and the country. As for the politicians themselves, as the American professor M. Lerner writes, it often turns out that references to public opinion are just a screen, and behind it are the interests of a small minority, the fierce hatred of the majority, or some idea that has quite a lot of adherents. But one way or another, these are signs of a certain political culture, which is characterized by the growing mechanistic nature of the American political process, which is based on the management of a political election campaign from a single center, control of the mood of voters, and the attitude towards the voter as a statistical unit in a giant television and radio audience.

In the countries of traditional liberal democracy, along with sociological services, special services are also used to study public opinion, which are guided by undercover forms of collecting information. So, for example, the French police intelligence service (RG) is charged with the task of constantly informing the highest echelon of power about the mood of the public. RG has its agents and informants in all departments of France. Every day they send reports to the center, which analyzes and prepares them. short reviews for the Minister of the Interior, the Head of Government and the President of the country. RG is interested in the attitude of the French towards various government measures and reforms. The intelligence service is obliged to study new phenomena, including social ones. Employees of this service perform the functions of sociologists, seeking to deeply analyze the situation in society. They monitor the situation in explosive suburbs, in Islamic organizations operating in France, in sects, charitable organizations, which are sometimes used for money laundering. The mood of compatriots in different departments of the country helps to analyze the corresponding computer program.

In societies with totalitarian regimes, the main method of studying public sentiment is undercover. In the Soviet Union in March 1931 in the central and local offices of the OGPU

secret political departments were created, one of the main tasks of which was to collect information about political sentiments in all segments of the population. Based on the generalization of this information, messages, summaries, and reports were prepared for the party organs on practically all problems of the life of society.

Information about the mood in society in the 1930s-1940s, under the conditions of Stalinist totalitarianism, obtained by the undercover method, was not only taken into account when making socio-political and economic decisions, but also formed the basis of most political processes - from the Shakhty case (1928) to Doctors' Cases (1951). Behind the mass repressions of those years were their own informants.

In the 1960s-1980s, the governing bodies of the USSR, primarily the Central Committee of the CPSU, also received information about the political mood in society from the State Security Committee. But along with it, data from sociological studies were already used, which were actively developed in the 1960s, as well as data from the analysis of people's letters to the media and governing bodies. Of course, due to the imperfection of sociological surveys, their lagging behind the world level of propaganda orientation, the information of the KGB and its analytical services remained the most authoritative, but not always objective.

General N. S. Leonov, who headed the KGB Analytical Department in January 1991, noted that the KGB did not have any single data bank on domestic political and socio-economic issues. In fact, starting from the mid-1970s, the country's leadership, primarily the Politburo and the General Secretary, neglected accurate and comprehensive information about the state of the economy and political moods in society. The unwillingness to see the objective situation in the country affected the attitude towards information in general: no one in the power structures wanted the introduction of modern information systems, since they require the introduction of accurate, verified, clearly formulated information into data banks.

The most common form of public opinion research is sociological surveys and interviews as a type of survey. They are carried out by phone, at work, at the place of residence. Expert polls consist of polls of opinion leaders, as well as target and polar groups. Opinion leaders include politicians, journalists, cultural figures and de-

smart people. Target groups bring together respondents from certain socio-demographic groups. There are also so-called polar groups, which consist of respondents representing the extreme social groups of society. They can be the unemployed and the business elite.

Survey results can be interpreted from different points of view, they have the property of ambiguity. The process of interpretation itself depends on the working hypothesis, and the analysis of the data obtained is reduced to testing this hypothesis. The result of the study is a report in which sociological data, presented in the form of indicators, confirm or refute the main hypothesis of the study.

A prerequisite for obtaining reliable data on the results sociological survey- Correctly drawn sample. In an effort to adjust to the interests of the customer, sociologists can explicitly or implicitly "correct" the sample of respondents, which often happens. And then, with the formal observance of the remaining procedures, the result is shifted in the right direction. Professional sociologists tell how this is done: in a typical study, a certain number of people, as a rule, refuse to participate in it, so one social group is represented more than another. So this shift in a certain direction occurs. If the organizers want to raise the rating of communists, they increase the proportion of pensioners in the sample, and if they want to raise the rating of liberals, then they poll the middle class. For example, for a high rating of the United Russia party, it is enough for sociologists to cut off the traditionally communist rural population, and for the “promotion” of some “dwarf” party, they only need to include it in the overall rating of parties, even if it has a minimum percentage of supporters.

Social norms, deviant behavior, social control

social norms- these are the rules of conduct that regulate the relationship between people and their associations.

The main types of social norms:

1. Rules of law are generally binding, formally defined rules of conduct that are established or sanctioned, and also protected by the state.

2. Norms of morality (morality) - the rules of behavior that have developed in society, express people's ideas about good and evil, justice and injustice, duty, honor, dignity. The action of these norms is ensured by internal conviction, public opinion, measures of public influence.

3. The norms of customs are the rules of behavior that, having developed in society as a result of their repeated repetition, are fulfilled by force of habit.

4. The norms of public organizations (corporate norms) are the rules of conduct that are independently established by public organizations, enshrined in their charters (regulations, etc.), operate within them and are also protected from violations by them through certain measures of public influence.

In addition to these, among social norms there are:

religious norms;

political norms;

aesthetic standards;

organizational norms;

cultural norms, etc.

Deviant (deviant) behavior- social behavior that does not correspond to the existing norm or set of norms accepted by a significant part of the people in a group or community. The main forms of deviant behavior are: drunkenness; addiction; crime; prostitution; suicide. Distinguish between primary and secondary deviation. With primary deviation, the individual from time to time violates some social norms. However, those around him do not attach much importance to this, and he himself does not consider himself a deviant. Secondary deviation is characterized by the fact that a person is labeled a “deviant” and begins to be treated differently from ordinary people. Deviant behavior can be both collective and individual. Moreover, individual deviation in some cases is transformed into a collective one. The spread of the latter is usually associated with the influence of the criminal subculture, the carriers of which are the de-classified strata of society. Categories of the population, more than others predisposed to commit deviant acts, are called risk groups. Such groups, in particular, include certain segments of the youth.

social control- a mechanism for regulating relations between the individual and society in order to strengthen order and stability in society. Social control includes two main elements: social norms and sanctions (reaction to deviant behavior)

Types of sanctions

Formal:

Negative - punishment for breaking the law or violating the administrative order: fines, imprisonment, etc.

Positive - encouragement of a person's activity or act by official organizations: awards, certificates of professional, academic success, etc.

Informal:

Negative - condemnation of a person for an act by society: offensive tone, swearing or reprimand, defiant ignoring of a person, etc.

Positive - gratitude and approval of unofficial persons - friends, acquaintances, colleagues: praise, approving smile, etc., etc.

two main forms of social control.

Internal (self-control) (A form of social control in which the individual independently regulates his behavior, coordinating it with generally accepted norms)

External (A set of institutions and mechanisms that guarantee compliance with generally accepted norms of behavior and laws)

Informal (intra-group howling) - based on approval or condemnation from a group of relatives, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, as well as from public opinion, which is expressed through traditions and customs or through the media

Formal (institutional) - based on the support of existing social institutions (army, court, education, etc.)

In the process of socialization, norms are assimilated so firmly that people, violating them, experience a feeling of awkwardness or guilt, pangs of conscience. Conscience is a manifestation of internal control.

Generally accepted norms, being rational prescriptions, remain in the sphere of consciousness, below which is the sphere of the subconscious, or unconscious, consisting of elemental impulses. Self-control means containment of the natural elements, it is based on volitional effort.

The more self-control developed among members of a society, the less that society has to resort to external control. And vice versa, the less self-control people have, the more often the institutions of social control come into action, in particular the army, the court, the state. The weaker the self-control, the tighter the external control must be. However, strict external control, petty guardianship of citizens hinder the development of self-consciousness and expression of will, muffle internal volitional efforts.

Depending on the sanctions applied, the methods of control are:

• direct rigid; the instrument is political repression;
• indirect rigid; the instrument is the economic sanctions of the international community;
• Straight soft the instrument is the operation of the constitution and the criminal code;
• indirect soft; the tool is the media.

Organizations control:

• general (if the manager gives a subordinate a task and does not control the progress of its implementation);
• detailed (if the manager intervenes in every action, corrects, etc.); such control is also called supervision.

The American sociologist of Austrian origin P. Berger proposed the concept of social control, the essence of which is as follows (Fig. 1). A person stands in the center of divergent concentric circles representing different types, types and forms of social control. Each circle is new system control.

Circle 1 - external - the political and legal system, represented by a powerful apparatus of the state. In addition to our will, the state: levies taxes; calls for military service; makes you obey your rules and regulations; if he deems it necessary, he will deprive him of his liberty and even his life.

Circle 2 - morality, customs and mores. Everyone is watching our morality: the morality police can put us in jail; parents, relatives - use informal sanctions such as condemnation; friends - will not forgive betrayal or meanness and may part with you.

Circle 3 is a professional system. At work, a person is constrained: by a mass of restrictions, instructions, professional duties, business obligations that have a controlling effect. Immorality is punished by dismissal from work, eccentricity by the loss of chances to find a new job.

Rice. one.

The control professional system is of great importance, since the profession and position decide what an individual can and cannot do in non-productive life, which organizations will accept him as a member, what his circle of acquaintances will be, in which area he will allow himself to live, etc.

Circle 4 -- social environment, namely: distant and close, unfamiliar and familiar people. The environment makes its own demands on a person, unwritten laws, for example: the manner of dressing and speaking, aesthetic tastes, political and religious beliefs, even the manner of behaving at the table (an ill-mannered person will not be invited to visit or those who appreciate good manners will refuse from the house).

Circle 5 - closest to the individual - private life. The circle of family and personal friends also forms a system of social control. Social pressure on the individual does not weaken here, but, on the contrary, increases. It is in this circle that the individual establishes the most important social bonds. Disapproval, loss of prestige, ridicule or contempt in the circle of loved ones have a much greater psychological weight than the same sanctions emanating from strangers or strangers.

The core of private life is the intimate relationship between husband and wife. It is in intimate relationships that a person seeks support for the most important feelings that make up the Self-image. To stake these ties is to risk losing oneself.

Thus, a person must: yield, obey, please, by virtue of his position, everyone - from the federal tax service to his own wife (husband). Society, with all its bulk, suppresses the individual. It is impossible to live in society and be free from it.

“Any society exists and develops,” writes A.M. Yakovlev, - reproducing ... the socially conditioned standards of behavior that prevail in it, corresponding to the requirements of law and the prevailing morality, ensuring their implementation with various sanctions (moral, legal and other). The purpose of such control is to minimize deviations from prevailing norms.

However, the subjects of social control are initially in a more favorable position relative to their respective objects, since they have incomparably greater resource, organizational and information capabilities. In turn, the objects of social relations are separated from resources, disorganized and information dependent. Therefore, speaking about the balance of interests of participants in social relations, it is impossible to talk about their equivalence.

Based on the principle of nonequivalence of oppositely directed interests of participants in social relations, we can only talk about their dynamic balance, taking into account the results of exercising social control over the object. social management. Such an equilibrium implies the presence of a certain weighted average indicator corresponding to the state of stability of social relations (see Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Implementation of the interests of participants in social relations in the process of social management

The deviation of the indicator of the weighted average state from the indicator of the average state characterizes the effectiveness of the controlling influence of the subject of social management. The reason for this deviation is the decrease in the competitiveness of the subject of social control in the implementation of their interests as a result of the implementation of social control. The dynamic balance of social relations, characterized by a weighted average, is such a balance of forces of their participants, which corresponds to the potential for interaction within these relations.

Problems of social control arise when the weighted average indicator shifts in one direction or another due to the predominance of the activity of one of the participants in social relations, leading to a violation of the existing balance of social interests. If the balance of power in the implementation of social interests changes in favor of the subject of social control, this entails a deterioration in the position of the object of social control and an increase in its social discontent. If the balance of power changes in favor of the object of social control, this entails a deterioration in the position of the subject of social control and a reduction in its social advantages.

Violation of the balance of interests, achieved as a result of the exercise of social control over the object of this control, leads to a change in the social opportunities and needs of participants in social relations. The problems of the subjects that arise in the course of a violation of the balance of interests are solved through the strengthening of social control, or by complicating social control. In any case, the solution of these problems lies in the mainstream of the desire of the subjects of social control to maintain the status quo.

To resolve emerging problems, the subject of social control uses various methods social control, which are ways of social management and regulation to achieve the goals. Their content is determined by the specifics of the tasks being solved. All methods of social control imply outside interference in the activities of the object of social control in order to correct it in the right direction.

There is a direct relationship between the types of social control and the essence of the methods used. This dependence is explained by the use by the subjects of social control of the most available opportunities in the process of social control, which leads to the unification of the methods used. As a result, a regular relationship can be traced between the types, forms and methods of social control.

The basis of resource control is the use of resource capabilities and needs of participants in social relations as an instrument of social control. Methods of resource control can be classified according to two grounds for satisfying the basic needs of objects of social control:

1) the actual resources used directly (providing or withdrawing resources), as well as as a symbiosis of several methods of social control (for example, granting or alienating the rights to use, own or dispose of resources);

2) cash, used as a general equivalent in economic control (provision or withdrawal of funds), as well as as a result of a symbiosis of several methods of social control (for example, the granting or alienation of the rights to use, possess or dispose of funds) .

Methods of resource control are equally effective in relation to all types of objects of social control. So, methods of withdrawal and appropriation of social resources by subjects of social control with the subsequent redistribution of part of the withdrawn in the form of social payments are applicable to society.

The withdrawal of public resources makes it possible to reduce the resource independence of society and increase the level of social control. The appropriation of public resources creates a resource basis for the activity of social institutions and serves to satisfy the social needs of institutional elites. The redistribution of public resources is carried out to meet minimum requirements society and ensure its dependence on the subjects of social control.

The main methods of control over the administrative apparatus are the regulation of wages, the provision of special benefits, bonuses and social security in old age.

Social practice shows that the activities of the administrative apparatus of social institutions at the state and municipal levels of government are paid much higher than the activities of employees of other functional units (teachers, doctors, policemen, etc.). A similar situation is observed at the level corporate governance, where the management personnel of the largest companies receive wages incomparable with the wages of ordinary workers. A member of the administrative apparatus “is paid a colossal salary because the position he occupies gives him the opportunity to inflict enormous damage on large proprietors,” writes F. Landberg. - ... A major shareholder, among other things, wants the company's management to identify themselves with him, his interests - with his interests.

With regard to elite communities, the most effective methods are elite assimilation with such inclusion in the structure of social institutions that guarantees members of elite communities enough level realization of their individual interests.

The allocation of isolated resource sources with the possibility of social institutionalization makes it possible to eliminate the natural conflict of social interests and ensure what V. Pareto called "elite circulation". The consequence of this is the situation when members of the social elites of the level government controlled easily move into the corporate elites and vice versa. “This is superbusiness,” notes F. Landberg, “where the line of demarcation between domestic government and top business has become so obliterated that it has become indistinguishable. Here we are not talking about the conclusion of ordinary transactions, but about concessions, protectorates and spheres of influence.

The main methods of control in relation to social institutions are activity budgeting, treasury control, a clear definition by the subject of social control of the circle of resource powers.

The resource control of social institutions is of a formal nature and is aimed at forming the boundary framework for the activities of social institutions. At the same time, behind the activities of social institutions, regardless of what type they belong to (state or municipal government, corporate, global, etc.), there are always the interests of the social elites and the administrative apparatus that lead them.

In all cases, “managers have more freedom of action,” writes J.Yu. Stiglitz, which allows them to pursue their own interests, often to the detriment of the public. Therefore, it is possible to talk about the implementation of resource control by social institutions only in relation to the area where this activity does not affect the interests of the relevant social elites and the administrative apparatus. top level social management.

In turn, organizational control is based on the use of organizational capabilities of subjects and agents of social control. Methods of organizational social control can be classified depending on the method of influencing the objects of social control:

1) direct organization - carried out by clearly regulating the activities of the object of social control in a certain situation (for example, in the performance of official duties);

2) framework organization - carried out by the normative establishment of the boundary framework for the activities of objects of social control in a given situation (for example, when determining official powers).

Unlike resource relations, organizational relations are a more multifaceted phenomenon of social reality. Organizational control implies the existence of several areas of social regulation, represented by various types of social control with their inherent specific methods.

The first type of organizational social control is managerial control, which is based on the use of the possibilities of social regulation and control available to the subjects of social management. Methods of managerial control are equally effective in relation to those types of objects of social control, the activities of which are subject to the social powers of subjects of social control.

Methods of normative regulation of the process of social relations on the part of the subject of social control exercise control over society.

Formalization of interaction with the object of managerial control (society) ensures the depersonalization of social control, helping to increase the public legitimacy of the administrative apparatus of social institutions. The object of social control does not deal with a specific performer, but with a regulatory document that regulates them. social interaction. As a result, the normative act acquires in the mind of the object of social control subjective features that reflect the parameters of the social environment.

The administrative apparatus is controlled by methods of normative regulation of the process of fulfilling functional duties.

The formalization of the process of fulfilling functional duties is designed to minimize the independence of the administrative apparatus and ensure maximum unification of its activities. The administrative apparatus acts as an impersonal mechanism that ensures the implementation of the relevant regulations governing social relations. Therefore, the result of social control over it is the replacement of the individual principle in the behavior of employees by managerial functions.

Integration into the structure of institutionalized social elites with the allocation of areas for the implementation of elite interests, supported by organizational capabilities, the main methods of managerial control over elite communities.

The methods of managerial control of elite communities are of an informal nature, since these communities themselves are ethnic or ethno-social formations. Their activity is carried out outside the sphere of formalized social control, at the elite level of interpersonal organization. However, they can be institutionalized in the form of social institutions and pose a potential threat to the monopoly position in society of social elites. Therefore, in relation to elite communities, the strategy of organizational inclusion in the structure of social management is applied.

Social institutions of the regional and municipal government are controlled by the methods of normative consolidation of organizational dependence, limitation of managerial independence and delegation of authority.

Social control over the activities of institutions of regional and municipal government is carried out by normative methods during their creation or reorganization. The very existence of these institutions is due to their formal dependence on the subject of social control, which makes the use of normative methods particularly effective.

Methods of managerial control over economic institutions are based on methods of economic regulation (concessions, rent, taxes, etc.), as well as methods of direct managerial influence (control checks, product certification, contractual relations, etc.). Social control over the activities of economic institutions pursuing their own economic interests is carried out by methods that ensure the realization of the interests of the subjects of social control. Since economic institutions allow the maximum identification of institutional interests with the interests of economic elites, social control is carried out simultaneously in two directions: formally, economic institutions are controlled, and informally, economic elites.

Legal control, as a kind of organizational social control, is based on the use of generally binding norms of social law, provided by the mechanism of social coercion. Methods of legal control are effective for all subjects of social management, with the exception of social control over elite communities, whose activities go beyond legal regulation.

Methods of legal regulation (normative acts) and methods of social coercion (the penitentiary system, courts, etc.) exercise legal control over society.

The formalization of social relations with legal control over society reaches its climax. The role of a self-sufficient subject of social control is played by regulatory documents (laws and by-laws), the implementation of which is ensured through the activities of agents of legal control (courts, prosecutors, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, etc.). There is no real, permanent, subject of legal control in these relations.

This method of social control makes it possible to ensure the legitimacy and inviolability of the legal system, regardless of social action agents of social control. In the event of discredit in the eyes of society, the agents of social control lose social legitimacy and social status, and the legal system remains unchanged.

The administrative apparatus is controlled by the methods of internal rule-making within the framework of the activities of social institutions. The peculiarity of legal control over the administrative apparatus is that the object of social control is not specific members of society, but bearers of specific functional duties. Thus, not only subjects, but also objects of social control are formalized.

Social institutions are controlled by the methods of legal regulation of the fundamentals and directions social activities.

Legal control formalizes the principles of creation and conditions for the functioning of social institutions, determines their rights and obligations as participants in social relations, and also establishes the procedure for exercising social control over their activities. Legal control over the activities of social institutions is usually regulatory in nature and does not provide for the application of social regulation measures to them, since this is tantamount to discrediting the social management system as a whole.

A characteristic feature of legal control is the gradual weakening of legal "pressure" on the objects of social control as their social role and significance increase. Society experiences the maximum impact as the least organized object of legal control. Social institutions, including their elites and administrative apparatus, experience minimal impact.

Political control, as a kind of organizational social control, is formally based on the regulation of participation in political activities, both objects of political control and its subjects. At the same time, informal social control is carried out through the creation (financing and organizational support) of puppet political formations(parties and movements). The use of methods of political control is limited to the sphere of political relations.

By methods based on the proposal of socially demanded programs of political parties, the political control of society is carried out.

The political proposal of the subject of social control must correspond to the political demand of its object. Therefore, the society is offered such political programs that allow to provide public support for existing social relations. “Under all conditions,” wrote F. Nietzsche, “it is necessary to deliver to her<толпе – Е.К.>something that she is very pleased with, or first drive into her head that this or that would be pleasant, and then give it to her.

In relation to society, political parties play the role of agents of social control, and their social activities are declarative. As a result, social regulation is provided political activity society and the activity of possible competitors of the subject of social management (the ruling elite) is neutralized.

Elite communities are controlled by methods of providing opportunities for political self-realization and inclusion in the established system of social management.

The political elite is formed by recruiting members of social and ethnic elites into it, focused on the implementation of social interests and ensuring social stability. Applicants who do not meet the requirements of the subject of social control (the ruling elite) are not allowed to participate in political life. As a result, the political activity of elite communities is determined by the conditions of political control.

A feature of political control is its focus not on achieving the declared goals of political agents of social control (parties and movements), but on ensuring social stability or mobilizing public sentiment. In any case, society and social formations act as an unorganized environment, which is directed by the organizing influence of the subject (agent) of political control.

As a kind of organizational social control, performance social functions based on ensuring the legitimacy of social control through the satisfaction of minimum standards of society. The methods inherent in this type of social control are applicable both to society and to socialized communities (for example, to the administrative apparatus or to privileged categories of citizens).

The main methods of control over society basically contain the regulation of the procedure for assigning social status by the subject of social control.

The controlling impact on society in the performance of social functions is carried out through the formalization of benefits and privileges provided to the bearers of the corresponding social status (disabled person, pensioner, labor veteran, etc.). In addition to social security, this approach ensures the social dependence of the objects of social control, as well as their interest in maintaining social status and social relations guaranteeing it.

The administrative apparatus is controlled by methods of granting additional benefits and privileges, as well as by a simplified procedure for assigning a privileged social status.

The provision of additional benefits and privileges to employees of the administrative apparatus of social institutions is conditioned by their performance of the functions of an agent of social control. This method increases the attractiveness of administrative activity and removes the status contradiction between the agent and the object of social control.

It should be noted that the most important factor in any kind of organizational control is its public legitimacy. The object of social control must perceive social relations as the only possible, natural relations in society. As F.A. Hayek: "Natural order is extremely useful, often absolutely necessary for the achievement of social goals". Therefore, it is possible to talk about organizational social control only when the objects of social control do not have and do not see more attractive alternative ways social behavior.

Information control is based on the use of information capabilities of subjects and agents of social control. Methods of information control can be classified depending on its focus:

1) determining social behavior - involve the formation of personal and professional skills in the objects of social control (members of society), allowing them to perform appropriate social roles within the framework of social relations;

2) defining individual consciousness - they involve the formation of worldview positions among the objects of social control (members of society), ensuring the social legitimacy of social relations.

Unlike organizational control, the informational type of social control is designed to influence not only external manifestations behavior of objects of social control, how much on the internal psychological motives that determine this behavior. At the same time, the conscious behavior of its objects serves as a criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of information control. Methods of information control vary depending on its varieties.

Religious control, as a kind of informational social control, is based on the use of religious dogmas and beliefs to form the desired behavior patterns for objects of social control. Since, as B. Russell argued, "the basis of religion is the feeling of human dependence", then the methods of religious control are especially effective in societies in which religious traditions are strong.

Society is controlled by the methods of consecrating the existing social relations and forming the image of the God-chosen (God-pleasing) social elite.

Support by religious institutions for the activities of subjects of social control is designed to bring their legitimacy in the eyes of the object of social control (society) from the level of conscious acceptance to the level of metaphysical faith. Religious control involves the use religious traditions to strengthen social relations and strengthen the public authority of social elites. As a result, religious control moves from the sphere of ethnic control to the sphere of social control.

Elite (ethnic) communities are controlled by methods that imply, along with the acquisition of social legitimacy, the acquisition of religious legitimacy.

Religious control grants the subject of social control additional opportunity informal influence on the behavior of socially dangerous elite communities. The presence or absence of religious support has a significant impact on society's perception of the elite claiming power as a potential or real subject of social control. As a result, religious institutions assume the social role of an informal subject (agent) of social control of elite communities.

Control over religious institutions is carried out by methods of organizational and resource control in order to use them as agents of social control.

The subjects of social control provide organizational and resource support to religious institutions (as well as religious elites) that contribute to increasing the legitimacy of social relations. They view religious institutions as agents of social control and, in this capacity, provide them with maximum social opportunities and powers for institutional development. As a result, religious institutions that have social support from subjects of social control also have an incomparably greater potential for the development of their activities than other religious institutions.

Sociocultural control, as a kind of informational social control, is based on the use of social traditions and material values ​​to identify social and ethnic relations. Methods of socio-cultural control are especially effective in relation to societies with strong ethno-cultural traditions.

Society is controlled by implementation methods social values in the field of cultural activity. Social control over society through culture is designed to ensure its acceptance of social relations at the level of cultural traditions and customs. It implies the formation of an institutionalized infrastructure that carries out information impact by means of culture. As a result, social values ​​and behavior patterns are identified by objects of social control with cultural traditions, acquiring signs of ethnic values ​​and behavior patterns.

The methods of forming intra-institutional (corporate) culture control the administrative apparatus.

Sociocultural control of the administrative apparatus implies filling the ethnic relations that naturally arise in it with social content. As prototypes of the formation corporate culture family and community relations are used. As a result, the acceptance of social values ​​by the employees of the administrative apparatus, mediated by the socio-cultural influence, is accompanied by the identification of their activities with the activities of the social institution.

Methods of sociocultural control of elite communities are based on the methods of institutionalization and delegation of social powers to perform the functions of an agent of social control.

Sociocultural control provides the object of social control with a wide range of opportunities for self-realization as agents of social control, supported by the resource and organizational potential of the subjects of social control. These opportunities have no analogues outside of social relations and allow cultural elites to be institutionalized within the framework of functional activities. As a result, socio-cultural institutions fall into a rigid dependence on the subjects of social control, organizing and directing their activities in relation to the objects of social control.

Educational control, as a kind of informational social control, is based on the unification educational standards with the obligatory inclusion of a social component in them. Since "the education system first of all forms the consciousness of people", insofar as the methods of educational control are most effective in relation to the objects of social control, whose worldview and social positions are in the process of formation.

This type of information control is designed to combine two components that are difficult to combine: the inculcation of real skills of professional activity and illusory ideas about the essence of social control. “It is not the opinions of people that should be subject to control,” noted A.N. Whitehead - but the nature of their training and the level of their abilities. ... the unity of this activity requires objective information about the place occupied in this activity by individuals, and about what kind of freedom of action can be allowed to them without fear.

The educational control of society is based on methods of teaching the skills of social activity and fostering loyalty to the subject of social control and the social values ​​personified by him.

Educational control over society provides for the addition of skills of professional activity with the skills of participation in social relations, and the education of a person - the education of social loyalty. It implies social control and regulation of educational activities in order to combine it with the process of information impact on the object of social control. As A. Gramsci noted, “in primary schools two elements were put in the basis of the upbringing and education of children: initial information from the field natural sciences and the first concepts of the rights and duties of a citizen. As a result, there is a combination of educational and controlling influence on the formation of the worldview and social positions of the object of social control.

The administrative apparatus is controlled by methods of special skills training administrative activities and education of corporate stereotypes of consciousness.

Educational control of the administrative apparatus provides for the receipt by its employees of the highest level of special education, focused on the performance of social functions. To form the need for employees of the administrative apparatus to receive special education, it is linked to the social status and career growth of objects of social control. As a result, another highly specialized branch of educational control is being created.

The control of elite communities is carried out by methods of social recognition of the individual status of educational elites and the delegation of social powers to them in the field of educational control.

Formally, educational elites are formed in the scientific environment, embodying activities related to the social and human sciences (philosophy, pedagogy, history, etc.). In fact, these elites play the role of independent agents of social control, engaged in the scientific substantiation and promotion of social relations. The educational activity of agents of social control is provided by the appropriate social status, institutional capabilities and material resources on the part of the subjects of social control.

Ideological control, as a kind of informational social control, is based on the introduction into the public consciousness of views and ideas that express the interests of the subject of social control. Methods of ideological control are especially effective in cases where the above methods of information control do not work (during the formation of social relations).

Society is controlled by methods based on the mythologization of social reality and the formation of an illusory worldview.

Wide use information technologies(first of all - the media) allows you to maximize the scope of application of methods of ideological control. The combination of these methods serves as the basis for the so-called. "social technologies" of social regulation. Ideological control over society consists in replacing the conscious perception of social reality with mythologized models of social relations.

Elite communities are controlled by methods of institutionalization and delegation of social powers to perform the functions of an agent of social control. This is due, according to P. Berger and T. Lukman, to the fact that “the more behavior is institutionalized, the more predictable, and therefore controllable it becomes” .

Ideological control is carried out by providing the relevant elites with the possibility of self-realization in the process of professional activity. At the same time, the social infrastructure that provides the resource and organizational content of their activities is under the social control of the subjects of social control.

The social status and capabilities of agents of social control are determined depending on the effectiveness of their social activities as a conductor of ideological control. As a result, institutionalized agents of ideological control are the executors of the social order initiated by the subject of social control.

It should be noted that the most important factor of any kind of information control is its demand by society. “As soon as some new dogma has established itself in the soul of the crowd<общества – Е.К.>, - writes G. Lebon, - he immediately becomes the inspiration for all her institutions, her art and her behavior. … People only dream of its application in life for a long time, but philosophers, artists and writers are engaged in its explanation, reproducing it in various forms» .

In general, the development of social management is a continuous improvement in the methods of social control, allowing the social minority (elite) to accumulate the efforts of the social majority (objects of social control). It seems possible to speak about the presence of competitive development of methods of social control in the process of interaction and mutual penetration of social elites.

For more details, see: Voronin Yu.M. State financial control: issues of theory and practice. - M.: Financial control, 2005. - S. 25-26.

Methods of social control.

To determine the essence of social control, it is useful to consider how it is implemented in a group or society.

Social control through socialization. E. Fromm noted that a society only functions effectively when "its members achieve a type of behavior in which they want to act as they should act as members of this society. They must be willing to do what is objectively necessary for society" .

People in any society are controlled mainly through socialization in such a way that they perform their roles unconsciously, naturally, by virtue of customs, habits and preferences. How can women be forced to take on difficult and thankless domestic work? Only by socializing them in such a way that they want to have a husband, children and household and felt miserable without them. How to force a person with free will to obey the laws and moral norms that restrict his freedom, often difficult for him? Only by cultivating in him those feelings, desires and aspirations that will lead to the desire to streamline his life and obey the laws of society in order to feel confusion and irritation if these laws are violated. Most of the social roles people play unsuccessfully, not because they are unable to fulfill certain role requirements, but because they either do not accept the content of the roles, or do not want to fulfill them.

Thus, socialization, shaping our habits, desires and customs, is one of the main factors of social control and establishing order in society. It alleviates the difficulties in making decisions by suggesting how to dress, how to behave, how to act in one or another life situation. At the same time, any decision that runs counter to the one that is accepted and assimilated in the course of socialization seems to us inappropriate, unfamiliar and dangerous. It is in this way that a significant part of the internal control of the individual over his behavior is carried out.

Social control through group pressure. A person cannot participate in public life based only on internal control. His behavior is also marked by involvement in social life, which is expressed in the fact that the individual is a member of many primary groups (family, production team, class, student group, etc.). Each of the primary groups has an established system of customs, mores and institutional norms that are specific both to this group and to society as a whole.

Thus, the possibility of exercising group social control is due to the inclusion of each individual in the primary social group. A necessary condition for such inclusion is the fact that the individual must share a certain minimum of the cultural norms accepted by this group, which constitute a formal or informal code of conduct. Every deviation from this order immediately leads to a condemnation of the behavior by the group. Depending on the importance of the violated norm, a wide range of condemnation and sanctions on the part of the group is possible - from simple remarks to expulsion from this primary group. Variations in group behavior resulting from group pressure can be seen in the example of the production team. Each member of the team must adhere to certain standards of behavior not only at work, but also after work. And if, say, disobedience to the foreman can lead to harsh remarks from the workers for the violator, then absenteeism and drunkenness often end in his boycott and rejection from the brigade, as they inflict material damage to each member of the team. As we can see, social control in this case ends with the application of informal sanctions against the individual who violates the norms.

The effectiveness and timeliness of the application of social control is far from always the same in all primary collectives. Group pressure on an individual who violates the norms depends on many factors, and, above all, on the status of this individual. To persons with high and low statuses in the group, absolutely different ways group pressure. A person with a high status in the primary group or group leader has as one of his main duties the change of old and the creation of new cultural patterns, new ways of interaction. For this, the leader receives a credit of trust and can deviate from group norms to one degree or another. Moreover, in order not to lose his status as a leader, he should not be completely identical to the members of the group. However, when deviating from group norms, each leader has a line that he cannot cross. Beyond this limit, he begins to experience the effect of group social control on the part of the rest of the group members and his leadership influence ends.

The degree and type of group pressure also depend on the characteristics of the primary group. If, for example, group cohesion is high, group loyalty to the group's cultural patterns also becomes high, and, naturally, the degree of social group control increases. The group pressure of loyal group members (i.e. group members committed to group values) is stronger than members of a disengaged group. For example, a group spending together only free time and therefore disunited, it is much more difficult to exercise intra-group social control than a group that performs regular joint actions, for example, in a brigade or family.

Social control through coercion. Many primitive, or traditional, societies successfully control the behavior of individuals through moral norms and, therefore, through informal group control of the primary group; formal laws or punishments are not required in such societies. But in large, complex human populations, where many cultural complexes are intertwined, formal controls, laws, and punishment systems are constantly evolving and becoming mandatory. If the individual may well get lost in the crowd, informal control becomes ineffective and there is a need for formal control.

For example, in a tribal clan of two to three dozen relatives, a system of formal control for sharing food. Each member of the clan takes as much food as he needs and contributes as much food as he can to the common fund. Something similar was observed in the distribution of products in small peasant communities in Russia. However, in villages with a few hundred inhabitants, such a distribution is no longer possible, since it is very difficult to keep track of receipts and expenditures informally, on the basis of mere observation. The laziness and greed of individual individuals make such a system of distribution impossible.

Thus, in the presence of a high population of a complex culture, the so-called secondary group control begins to be applied - laws, various violent regulators, formalized procedures. When an individual is unwilling to follow these regulations, the group or society resorts to coercion to force him to act like everyone else. Modern societies have rigorously developed rules, or a system of control through coercion, which is a set of effective sanctions applied in accordance with various types deviations from the norm.

Any society for self-preservation establishes certain norms, rules of conduct and appropriate control over their implementation.

There are three main forms of control:

o insulation- excommunication from society of hardened criminals, up to the death penalty;

o isolation- restriction of contacts, incomplete isolation, for example, a colony, a mental hospital;

o rehabilitation- preparation for the return to normal life. Rehabilitation of alcoholics, drug addicts, juvenile delinquents.

Control can be formal or informal.

Informal control- this is the unofficial social pressure of others, the press. Possible punishment through criticism, ostracism; threat of physical violence.

System formal control- organizations created to protect order. We call them law enforcement. They have varying degrees of rigidity: the tax inspectorate and the tax police, the police and riot police, courts, prisons, correctional labor colonies. Any society creates norms, rules, laws. For example, biblical commandments, rules traffic, criminal law, etc.

Any society cannot function normally without a developed system norms and rules which prescribe the fulfillment by each person of the requirements and duties necessary for society. People in almost any society are controlled primarily by socialization in such a way that they fulfill most of their social roles unconsciously, naturally, due to habits, customs, traditions and preferences.

How can you force modern woman take on thankless housework? Only by raising her, socializing her in such a way that she would want and strive to have children, a husband, her hearth and feel unhappy without them. How to force a person with free will to obey the laws and moral norms that limit his freedom? Only by cultivating, educating in him from childhood those feelings and aspirations that lead him to the desire to streamline his life and obey the laws of society. People perform most of their social roles not entirely successfully, not because they are not capable, but because they either do not accept the content of these roles or do not want to fulfill them.

But in this case it is more about the internal social control. There is also an external group social control over human behavior. Each person is included in a variety of social groups: family, educational or production team, neighborhood community, circle of friends and comrades in common hobbies, etc. A necessary condition for the inclusion of an individual in a particular social group is that a person observes certain cultural norms adopted by this group, constituting a kind of code of conduct. Depending on the importance of the violated norm, various sanctions to the offender, up to expulsion from the group.

AT modern society Of course, for social control, the rules and norms established at the level of primary social groups are not enough. On the scale of the whole society, a system of laws and punishments for violation of established requirements and rules of conduct is formed, group social control is applied on behalf of the whole society by state authorities. When an individual is unwilling to follow the requirements of the laws, society resorts to coercion.

The rules vary in severity, and any violation of them entails different penalties. There are norms-rules and norms-expectations. Casual sex violates norms-expectations and is not approved by public opinion (Lovelace, Don Juan - public ostracism, rape - severe criminal punishment). norms-expectations governed by public opinion, morality, norms-rules- laws, law enforcement agencies. Hence the corresponding punishments. The norm-expectation can turn into the norm-rule and vice versa.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that a crime to a certain extent serves as an indicator of the imperfection of norms and often prepares the ground for the formation of new norms of morality and law. Thus, in sociology, deviance appears as social phenomenon, which is studied using special sociological methods.