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Lecture notes, cheat sheets
History of the economy. Lecture notes: briefly, the most important
Directory / Lecture notes, cheat sheets Table of contents
LECTURE No. 1. The history of economics as a science The term "history" in the scientific sense is used in two aspects: 1) as a science, mastering the laws and causes of the established sequence of certain events; 2) as a movement in time, a series of events changing each other; Subject of economic history (economic history). Economic history as a science studies the development of economic relations, phenomena and processes both in the world economy as a whole and in individual countries. The value of the history of the economy is the study of the internal structure and formation of economic systems. Space and time are constant parameters of history. Representatives of all schools and areas of historical science recognize what has been provided to them. On the central question, there are disagreements between them about the establishing factors of the historical process. As a determining factor, they issue: 1) the role of the personality (heroes); 2) changes in material production; 3) geographical factor; 4) psychological factor, etc.; It should be noted that the influence of the whole variety of factors affects the present historical process. For example, it is impossible to deny the influence of the geographical factor on the process of economic development of different countries. It determines the features of the formation of economic relations. Thus, in the northern geographical regions, the costs of organizing production and ensuring the livelihoods of people significantly exceed similar costs incurred in warmer climatic zones. Methodology of economic history. Methodology - the doctrine of the logical organization, structure, means and methods of activity. The methodology of science is the doctrine of the principles of construction, methods and forms of scientific knowledge. The methodology of economic history contains both the general scientific methods of formal logic and the specific methods of historical science. The former include analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction. To the second - comparative, descriptive and genetic methods. Analysis of the possibilities of the genetic method is of interest. Its use is associated with the selection of a historical gene, from which the market economy begins and the development of which leads to its spread in space and time. Such a gene, according to A. Smith, is the division of labor. It was the division of labor, the isolation of producers and their specialization that made exchange a necessary condition for the life of people in society, served to unite disparate producers of goods into a market economy system. The social division of labor arises not only as a historical prerequisite for the market economy, but also as a consequence of its functioning. Economic history is characterized by two fundamental principles for the construction of scientific knowledge: 1) descriptiveness; 2) leveling. The use of one or another principle by scientists determines the approach to the field of study of the history of economics. The first principle formed the basis of the traditional approach to this science; it prevailed until the early 1960s. The second principle became the basis for the formation of a new approach, which in the West has acquired the name "Cliometrics". Cliometrics is a related historical and economic discipline that assimilates economic history with the help of economic theoretical tools, statistical modeling, quantitative methods of analysis, and the use of hypothetical modeling of alternative versions of the formation of the economy in the past. Cliometrics as a science was formed in the post-war works of Western economists (R. Goldsmith, W. Rostow, K. Arrow, S. Kuznets, R. Fougel, D. North, etc.) as opposed to the traditional descriptive history of the national economy. A significant contribution to its formation was made by Douglas North. North Douglas Cecil (1920) - American economist, one of the founders of the science of Cliometrics. The most significant of the scientist's research was the development of an empirical model of premature American economic history. North's approach was based on the assertion that the structure of a market economy and the processes taking place in it are closely related to the political and social institutions of the country, therefore economic history and economic theories should be combined with institutional changes. North's major works are US Economic Growth: 1790-1860 (1961), The Structure and Movement of Economic History (1981), The Rise of the Western World: A New Economic History (1973). He was the winner of the Nobel Prize in 1983 (together with R. Fougel) in Economics "For the application of economic theory and quantitative methods to the study of historical events." It seems that another gene (from the standpoint of modern views on economic science) can be considered a trend towards a steady increase in the needs of man and society. It is their growth that serves as the main factor in expanded reproduction and technological progress. The contribution of foreign and domestic economists to the history of the economy. Bucher, Karl (1847-1930) German economist, statistician, representative of the new historical school. Bucher divided economic history into three stages: the household (without exchange), the urban economy, combined with the work of artisans on order or for nearby markets, and the national economy, where a nationwide market is formed with numerous intermediaries of exchange. The division of historical epochs was based on the "length of the path" that a product overcomes, rushing from a manufacturing economy to a consuming one. Busch, Johann Georg (1728-1800) German economist and historian of the national economy. He was engaged in the study of the history of trade, credit and insurance business, money circulation. His works are full of factual material, he acted as an empiricist, rejecting the possibility of an abstract theory, and criticized serfdom as an unproductive and immoral form of economic organization. Levasseur, Pierre-Emile (1828-1911) French economist and historian. He studied the economic history of France. Schmoller, Gustav (1838-1917) German economist, founder of the new historical school, he rejected the theoretical nature of political economy, calling for limited collection of statistical and factual material, the study of special issues in the history of the national economy. Hamilton, Earl Jefferson (1889-1946) American economic historian. In 1927-1929. mastered knowledge in Spain, studied the impact of the "price revolution" on the economic development of the country in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries based on archival materials. Based on the annual reports of the Chamber of Commerce in Seville, Hamilton predetermined the amount of imports of precious metals from America to Europe. Making careful calculations, he determined the fluctuations in the average price index from 1500 to 1640. for a number of products. The book "American Treasures and the Price Revolution in Spain 1501-1650." (1934), in which an enormous amount of statistical material has been examined on the movement of prices and wages in Europe under the influence of an influx of cheap American silver and gold, shows the process of primitive accumulation in Europe. Hamilton's subsequent work is devoted to the economic history of Spain 1650-1800. Hildebrand, Bruno (1812-1878) German economist and statistician. The founder of the historical school in political economy. The seminal work "Political Economy of the Present and Future" (1848). In 1863, Mr.. formed the "Yearbook on political economy and statistics." Hildebrand sharply and systematically condemned the classical school and carefully introduced the historical method. Developed by Hildebrand, the periodization of the history of economic development distinguishes three phases: the natural economy of the Middle Ages (which was understood as natural economy), the credit economy and the money economy. Singling out the credit economy in a certain phase, Hildebrand distinguished it from the money economy, by which, since the time of A. Smith, he understood capitalist production. Eucken, Walter (1891-1950) German economist. Eucken believed that all socio-economic forms that have ever existed in the history of human society can, in principle, be reduced to two types: totalitarian, or centrally controlled, and free open market economy, which politically corresponds to a democratic system. Roscher, Wilhelm Georg Friedrich (1817-1894) German economist, founder of the historical school. Fundamental works: "Brief Foundations of the Course of Political Economy from the Point of View of the Historical Method" (1843), "Principles of Political Economy" (1854). In a number of consecutive volumes of his "Principles" Roscher limited himself to applying the history of economic events to the exposition of the classical doctrines of A. Smith and D. Ricardo. Roscher looked at his work as an experience in applying the historical method to political economy. Androsov, Vasily Petrovich (1803-1841) - Russian economist, statistician, public figure, agronomist. Androsov's works "Economic Statistics of Russia" (1827) and "Statistical Note on Moscow" (1832) collected valuable factual material on the economic history of Russia in the first third of the XNUMXth century. Bliokh, Ivan Stanislavovich (1836-1901), economist, statistician and financier. Bliokh is the author of works on the economic history of Russia on the economics of agriculture and industry. His main works: "Economic and statistical work 1875-1900." (1900), "Finances of Russia of the 1882th century" (1890), "Reclamation credit and the state of agriculture in Russia and foreign countries" (1871). "Factory Industry of the Kingdom of Poland 1880-1881" (1877), Strumilin (Strumillo-Petrashkevich), Stanislav Gustavovich (1974-XNUMX) - Russian, Soviet economist and statistician. The main works in the field of statistics, economics, demographic forecasting, economic management, economic history. Under the leadership of Strumilin, the world's first organization of material balances was developed. Kondratyev, Nikolai Dmitrievich (1892-1938) Russian (Soviet) economist. First of all, Kondratiev is known to world economic science as the author of the theory of large cycles of economic conditions. In a number of his works, among which the monograph “The World Economy and Its Conjunctures during and after the War” (1922) and the report “Large Cycles of Economic Conjuncture” (1925) stand out. The scientist put forward the idea of a multiplicity of cycles, building various models of cyclic fluctuations: seasonal (lasting less than a year), short (lasting 3-3,5 years), commercial and industrial (average cycles 7-11 years) and large cycles (lasting 48-55 years), I. Schumpeter gave these large cycles the name “Kondratieff cycles.” Along with theoretical research, Kondratiev took a direct part in drawing up the first Soviet plans. He developed a coherent concept of scientific planning, a meaningful impact on the economy, and in the conditions of the NEP, while maintaining the mechanisms of market balance and market regulation. Already at the end of the 1920s. Kondratiev actually approached the concept of indicative planning, implemented in many Western countries after the Second World War. LECTURE No. 2. The emergence of the economy 1. Age of the economy The history of economics studies the origin and development of various types of economy. Namely types, and not general laws of economic development, since no one has yet been able to discover these general laws of economics. As you know, most peoples have different types of economy, which in a certain sense can be called civilizations. Civilization - this is the level of development of human society, which is characterized by a high orderliness in the organization of its life, as well as the development of art, science, and is accompanied by the creation of a state. It is generally accepted that the economy is as old as the Cro-Magnon man - a modern type of person, that is, about 40 thousand years. But even before the Cro-Magnons, primitive people lived on our planet - Pithecanthropes (about 500 thousand years ago) and Neanderthals (about 200 thousand years ago), who used stone tools. Perhaps for some time Neanderthals coexisted with Cro-Magnons. Judging by the bone remains, they could not be their ancestors. The age of the modern economy is indeed equal to the age of modern man, since the Cro-Magnons, apparently, did not continue the economic life of the Neanderthals, but started "from scratch". Archaeologists have precisely mastered the manufacturing technology of many primitive Cro-Magnon tools. Scientists conducted a number of field experiments, which proved that the first stone, bone and wood technology was more productive than previously thought. The manufacture of a stone ax took not decades, but several hours. With such an ax, a young tree was cut not for hours, but for only 1 minute; the manufacture of a 4-meter dugout boat took not years, but 10 days, etc. In addition, as was previously believed, stone tools were not disposable, but reusable and subject to repair. The results of these experiments show that labor was quite productive in the primitive economy. The interpretation of the origin of cannibalism (eating people) is refuted, as if on the basis of general protein starvation: with the experimentally proven labor productivity of a primitive Cro-Magnon man, such starvation could not take place. In a different way, the question is also solved about the reasons for the appearance of metal technology, while earlier this fact was explained solely by the desire to further increase labor productivity. In fact, the Cro-Magnon people were fully provided with a certain expanded reproduction of the arsenal of stone and wood tools. Consequently, the use of metals could only be caused by the needs of the war. 2. How did different types of economy arise The natural way of life of man as a biological species is the gathering of products of nature. It also chronologically represents the first type of national economy. Tribes are still being found in the rainforests, whose economy has remained at this level (perhaps they had to return to gathering, being driven deep into the jungle by enemies). In any case, for these peoples, gathering ensures the reproduction of life. Most of the primitive communities at different times changed from gathering to one or another type of productive economy. You could choose hunting, nomadic cattle breeding, crop production. Some communities have remained with their first type of producing economy. There are agricultural peoples who have not gone far from their ancestors in terms of crops, production technology and productivity. The main type of economy of some tribes is still driven hunting, for example, African pygmies, and a number of the peoples of Africa and Asia in our time lead a lifestyle of nomadic pastoralists. Other communities have completely or partially changed their economic profile. More often this happened as a result of their forcible inclusion in the large colonial states. For example, under Soviet rule, the Turkmens annexed to Russia ceased to conduct nomadic cattle breeding, and the people in neighboring Afghanistan, the Pashtuns, who were never conquered by anyone, as in the deepest antiquity, continue to be engaged in nomadic cattle breeding. The type of economy and the features of its subsequent development were historically determined mainly by three factors: the natural inclinations of the people (self-consciousness and mentality play an important role), the environment (ecology) and relations with neighbors (geopolitics). 3. Mentality If the conversation turns to the mentality of the Germans, then this implies accuracy, pedantry and diligence. The Chinese, Koreans and Japanese are distinguished by exceptional diligence and discipline. Russians are characterized by breadth of soul, sharpness of mind and unpredictability in behavior. Each nation has its own specific features of the national character, which are called mentality. If the neighbors of this or that people and their habitat can change as a result of migration or other events, then the natural inclinations transmitted genetically are not able to change anything and no one. The results of a comprehensive study of identical twins (with the same genotype, some of them were brought up in different conditions, even in different countries) showed that not only the body, but also the intellect of a person, for example, his propensity to crime, is at least 60% dependent on heredity. Imagine that in the ruling group of some society, a genetic pathology is transmitted in the form of a leveling of the functions of the legal hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for the emotional sphere. This means the loss of emotions such as pity and compassion. After some time, a stable generation of sociopaths (monsters) will appear for whom the picture of the world is reduced to violence. Crime cannot be eliminated completely, since the core of the underworld consists of sociopaths. At the head of a large social group (a whole nation), genetic sociopaths will inevitably subordinate the entire life of society to violence, aggression (like the Assyrian military power, Nazi Germany, etc.). The mentality of the people is influenced to a certain extent by the economic and social conditions of the people's life, although it has a genetic character. Since the economy is created by people and for people, it can be argued that the economy is what people are. There are many examples of this. France has long been known, for example, for the special distribution of a layer of rentiers who do not work and live on interest on loan bonds and other securities. Such income is often small, but it is guaranteed, which corresponds to the French mentality, which is characterized by sober prudence, taking into account the smallest benefits without economic risk. Recently, Russia announced its readiness to pay France its debts on tsarist loans, and the French found themselves in possession of almost half a million tsarist bonds. The Russian people happened to spend the main part of its history in conditions of lack of freedom (under the rule of tsarism, then communism). He failed to create a harmonious, free, developed, market economy. According to some opinions, the Russian mentality is to blame for this, according to others, the psychology of the Russian people was a product of lack of freedom. The mentality of the colonists played a decisive role in the rapid economic development of North America: if mainly warriors moved to South America, then toilers moved to North America. Over time, this continent has become the focus of the most energetic and enterprising people from all over the world. The self-consciousness of the people is held together by the religion they profess. Each religion has its own economic ethics. The Protestant religion, according to which business success, honest enrichment of a person is a sign of his pleasing to God, stimulates believers to the greatest extent to engage in entrepreneurship and trade. The increasing aggressiveness of Islamic fundamentalism in the modern Muslim world shows that Islam and Westernization are incompatible. At the same time, the incredibly rapid development of the modern economy of Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and other countries of Southeast Asia shows that Buddhism and other religions of this region are quite compatible with the Westernization of the national economy. 4. Geopolitics The importance of good relations with neighbors does not have to be convinced. Suffice it to recall how many military conflicts broke out between neighbors in Eurasia alone during the last decade. Armed confrontation in the era of the Cold War of the North Atlantic bloc (NATO), the Warsaw Pact, was also a confrontation between neighbors, but on a planetary scale. Most of the geopolitical conflicts have occurred and are occurring now because of the disputed territories, the struggle for living space. The special value of a territory for a particular country may lie not simply in its agricultural and industrial potential. As it was in the past, but in the fact that the transit of exports or imports of this state passes through it. It is precisely this geopolitical significance for Russia that independent Ukraine and Belarus received after the collapse of the USSR, since pipelines operating and under construction run through their territory, delivering oil and gas to the European market - the basis of Russian exports. The conditions for the future transit of Caspian oil from Azerbaijan to the Black Sea caused tragic geopolitical consequences in the form of a war between the federal government of Russia and the Chechen Republic, through whose territory the finished oil pipeline passes. There is an opinion that the endless wars between neighboring peoples generally result from the instinctive property inherent in primates to attack the weaker ones. And the weak have to defend themselves. War was one of the first types of labor that determined the existence of this or that people. Hence the already mentioned natural priority for the production of weapons. The oldest items of agricultural equipment (axe, spade, club, pole, horn, hook, flail, lash, sickle, etc.) originally had an equally wide military application. Heavy expensive weapons, of course, are available to a minority of the population. For example, in order to transition to a feudal economy with its knightly cavalry, it was necessary to have heavy cavalry weapons in society, which appeared only in the middle of the XNUMXst millennium AD. e. Prior to that, the formation of a feudal economy in Europe was impossible. LECTURE No. 3. Economic civilizations 1. Ancient economic civilizations. Hunter economy Before history, this ancient type of economy has considerable merit. Firstly, it led to the global settlement of mankind (using the example of modern sports achievements, this is easy to understand. It turns out that a person can swim across the Pacific Ocean on oars, and the Atlantic - by swimming), and secondly, it was the first symbiosis of a person with another kind of animal world (domestication of a dog). To hunt large animals, large paddocks were required. Therefore, the weak points of this type of economy were: overfishing, leading to the depletion of wild animals, and the transparency of huge hunting zones for the penetration of neighboring peoples (this gave rise to endless territorial wars). The migrations of peoples were caused by the search for untouched hunting areas, which led to the settlement of all continents. Hunting civilizations in our time have survived only in extreme natural conditions - equatorial tropical forests (Amazon Indians, Congo pygmies), partly in the Arctic tundra, where hunting is combined with reindeer herding. 2. Civilization of nomadic pastoralists These civilizations originated from driven hunting: with their dogs, hunters, getting on the natural routes of seasonal migrations of wild animals, first gradually became passive (similar to some predators - wolves, lions), then active shepherds, leading the selection of animals. Consequently, pastoralists simply took over the exploitation of the soil from animals. The symbiosis of man with a diverse domesticated animal world (especially small and large cattle and horses) gave rise to a peculiar type of steppe economy, built on controlled regular migrations of livestock to places where there is grass, from those places where it has already been eaten away. Not everything is clear in the essence of the nomadic economy, in particular, the nature of ownership of livestock and grazing land. Whatever the property, meat and dairy food, polygamy (polygamy), the power of the patriarchs (with a low value of the human person) necessarily prevailed in this type of economy. Due to its mobility, the pastoral type of economy (all people migrate with livestock) has had a huge impact on the economic development of the whole world. Nomadic pastoral peoples concentrated on the expanses of the Great Steppe - a vast plain stretching in Eurasia from the Carpathians to the Tunguska taiga. The economy of the Turkic, Iranian, Finno-Ugric peoples was formed here. Some of these peoples made great migrations - up to the Mediterranean, Black Sea and even the Atlantic coasts, which caused important changes in the socio-economic life of entire continents. Migration of the Pechenegs, Polovtsians and other Turkic-speaking peoples of the Great Steppe to the Northern Black Sea region in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries. and their pressure on Kievan Rus led to the transfer of the center of the state of the Eastern Slavs from the Dnieper region to Vladimir-Suzdal Rus, and the invasion of the Mongols in the XIII century. - to the transformation of Rus' into a semi-colony of the Tatar-Mongolian state of the Golden Horde. The most grandiose historical and economic consequences had the migration of the Turks to Asia Minor, where they settled, and, having formed their own state, in the XIV-XVI centuries. gradually subjugated the Balkan, Middle East, North African and Azov-Black Sea regions. The Turkish (Ottoman) Empire became an obstacle in the Mediterranean trade of Europe with the countries of the East and stimulated the search for other ways, which in the XV century. led to the opening of the sea route to India, America and the creation of a world economy. 3. Mountain civilizations In the high mountains, covering a significant part of the earth's essence, the resettlement of people, and hence the management of the economy, was only possible along the slopes of the gorges. Although the economy of the highlanders includes ordinary cattle breeding and agriculture, it has one feature that makes it a separate type of economy. This feature is the inevitable mass exodus of young people due to agrarian overpopulation as a result of a shortage of pasture and arable land. In our time, flat roofs of residential buildings are often used for arable land, and an increase in the number of livestock beyond certain limits entails the complete disappearance of fodder grasses in mountain meadows and their overgrowth with herbs that are inedible for livestock. For many centuries, the departure of mountain youth was exclusively in the nature of military recruitment of young men from Scotland, Switzerland, and the North Caucasus. They consisted of the guards of a number of states (England, Egypt, etc.). With the development of the factory industry and railways in Europe, the military employment of urban youth gave way to economic employment (Western Ukrainian, Caucasian and other construction artels are widely known). And at present, be that as it may, the local economy is still not able to occupy the entire population of the mountain gorges, which causes their seasonal work, creates a number of political and economic problems both at home and in the places where the waste is directed. 4. River civilizations The remaining types of ancient civilizations are based mainly on crop production (the symbiosis of man with plants), as ancient as driven hunting. One of the most ancient types of crop production has developed in the valleys of the great rivers of the East - the Tigris and Euphrates, the Huang He, the Nile, the Amu Darya, etc., as well as in Central and South America). Here the modes of agriculture were completely dependent on the hydro-regime. Therefore, the main condition for the production of agricultural crops and, consequently, the very existence of people, was the artificial regulation of the regime of rivers with the help of canals and dams for watering (hydromelioration) of exceptionally fertile soil. In a hot climate, this provided in normal years (without natural disasters) fairly high yields of vegetables, fruits, and cereals. People regulated the rivers, but their whole life, in turn, was regulated by the rivers. An irrigational economy without a command and distribution system, without a central control and accounting body, could not support the hydro-reclamation network along the great rivers. Since manual earthworks were extremely labor-intensive, and material incentives did not work in the conditions of subsistence farming, the management of these works had to be not only centralized, but also deified (the kings were quite officially considered living gods). Of great importance in the management of the economy of priests and bureaucracy, performing the functions of accounting and control. The state, as the manager of irrigation works and the distributor of water, was the supreme owner of all irrigated lands, which it disposed of through royal (state) or temple farms. Peasant communities had the right of hereditary use for payment in kind, the size was established not by the granary, but by the biological crop (determined before the start of the harvest by officials). So, in the irrigation systems, the direct producer of material goods was the peasant, legally free, but obliged to the state by labor service. For economic reasons, the production labor of slaves could not be used: there was not only a shortage, but there was an excess of labor resources (among the working-age population). During the period of flooding of the rivers, when agricultural work ceased, these surplus labor resources had to be taken. Therefore, the ancient Eastern states could build grandiose structures with the help of hard-working peasants of the Egyptian pyramids, the Tower of Babel, the Great Wall of China, etc. In ancient times, such structures were classified as "wonders of the world." They still amaze the imagination. A huge number of servants in the houses of kings and nobility, multinational harems - all this once again emphasized the prestige of despotism, its unlimited power. Therefore, the position of the slaves was not very different from the position of the free population: in fact, all were slaves of the state. In addition to military affairs, hydraulic engineering was also developed above the average level, especially supply to the upper fields. The ancient Egyptian "crane" (gdaduf) could lift almost 1 tons of water to a height of 6 m within 2 hour (in the absence of pumping equipment, the effect is very significant). However, the technology for building unique giant buildings was primitive. For example, Egypt knew the wheels, but they were not used in the construction of the pyramids. Even such a simple lifting mechanism as a block was not used. The construction of the Pyramid of Cheops (the tallest building in the world before the Eiffel Tower) lasted 20 years. A high level of organization compensated for primitive technology, guaranteeing a stable reproduction of life. The conquest of irrigation systems led to disruption of the rhythm of economic life. Irrigation systems of Mesopotamia, China, Egypt, Western Asia were repeatedly subjected to foreign conquests, came at a loss, but each time they revived, because without irrigation there could be no life. The simplest way was to combine the ancient Eastern system with the collective farm system established by the Soviet authorities, but the collective farms, by exorbitant irrigation of the land for cotton, depleted the waters of the Amu Darya, they did not have time to reach the Aral Sea, which began to dry up. LECTURE No. 4. Spheres of the economy 1. Slave economy This type of economy is based on the industrial labor of foreign slaves captured in the war. The ancient (Greek, Roman) economy was formed on a small scale of Mediterranean (island or coastal) city-states (policies). Individual policies differed from each other in terms of ecology and the nature of the economy: some gravitated towards industry, others towards agriculture. The formation of a slave-owning economy everywhere began with the creation of military organizations. Small states did not have the means to hire warriors. Therefore, everyone had to serve at his own expense - in the kind of troops in which his financial situation allowed - in the infantry (middle-class people), cavalry, equip ships (the richest people), and poor citizens were armed with stones or darts. Only a warrior was considered a citizen of the policy and had the right to a piece of land. The basic rule of the slave-owning economy is connected with the military type of reproduction of labor power: to achieve the maximum productivity of the slave in the shortest possible time, and then replace it with new military booty, since the maintenance of the children of slaves would be an extra cost. Technological progress occurred only in the military-industrial complex or where it was impossible to use the cheap labor of slaves (when the slaves rose in price, a reaping machine appeared in the fields in some places, even a mechanized threshing machine - a wagon with teeth that knocked grain out of ears). The vast majority of the metal went to the creation of weapons. Complex throwing mechanisms appeared. The subject of special concern of the ancient states - the navy - was extremely expensive. Rome and Athens had the largest military fleets, but even small Mediterranean policies had dozens of triremes - two-masted, three-deck, sailing and rowing ships. 2. The economy of the Athenian policy This economy, characterized by small agricultural areas, but a fairly high population density, is a type of industrial slave economy. Athens did not have enough of its own bread, and in exchange for grain imports, they exported non-food products. Small slave-owning craft workshops produced the bulk of goods in the composition of 3-12 slaves, in the absence of a division of labor. In the VI century. BC e. Athens became the main center of handicraft production in the ancient world (the main industries: the processing of ceramics and metals, the demand for which was determined by aesthetic qualities - the harmony of forms, lacquer surface treatment, the secrets of which have not yet been disclosed). In the middle of the XNUMXth century Athenian imports become the largest trading harbor in the Mediterranean - bread and slaves, as well as leather, cattle, fish, wool, canvas, hemp, ship timber, etc. Grain imports were the weakest point of the Athenian economy. Panic in the market caused even a slight delay in the import of bread. Therefore, the state regulated the prices for import and export - wine, copper, marble, lead, wool, olive oil, metal products, ceramics, etc. The slave trade played an equally important role - large sales of prisoners of war, and in between wars - people captured by pirates or sold kings of small states and tribal leaders in Asia Minor, Syria, the Balkans. With the expansion of foreign trade in Athens, non-cash payments appeared (rewriting from account to account), and money changers - meals - turned into banks that accepted deposits and made payments for goods purchased by depositors. Money accumulated in banks was provided on credit to merchants. BIV-III centuries BC e., when, due to the decline in military power caused by the difficult struggle for hegemony among the Greek states, the number of slaves employed in industry began to decline sharply, Athens, like other policies of ancient Greece, became easy prey for foreign conquerors. 3. Roman slave economy In ancient Italy, a complete type of privately owned agriculture was created, serviced by the labor of slaves. In antiquity, communal slave-owning farms also existed. They arose as a result of the complete conquest of one kindred tribe by another, for example, for example, the Achaean Greeks (victors of the Trojans) by the Dorian Greeks. The men spent the day together - in the barracks, with common meals and tireless combat training. With the help of massacres (cryptia), the Spartans regulated the number of helots (slaves). The famous Spartan lifestyle produced a type of professional soldier unsurpassed in history, but did not create the high spiritual culture that Ancient Greece became famous for. Free peasants, who formed the basis of the phalanx, secured the hegemony of Rome with their blood. It turned out that this doomed them to ruin and ousting from production. The cheap labor of slaves could not compete with the labor of small peasant farms. The peasants left their land plots, went to Rome and other cities and became proletarians, living off the state, providing them with free bread and circuses (circus fights of gladiator slaves). Slave owners added peasant lands to their possessions. This is how latifundia arose - vast plantations serviced by the labor of slaves who lived in barracks. The social organization of many latifundia changed, gradually they completely abandoned the use of slave labor, and the plantations began to be divided into small plots (parcels), which were leased to slaves or free peasants, called columns. In the bowels of the slave-owning economy, an estate (Malthus) arose, serviced by the labor of dependent landowners - the forerunners of medieval serfs. A dependent peasantry was emerging as a component of the feudal economic structure. The ancient economic system finally perished with the collapse of the Roman state. In the XVI-XVII centuries. in the American colonies of European countries, a plantation economy reappeared, serviced by the labor of slaves exported from Africa. This type of economy differed from the ancient one in the large role played by the family reproduction of slaves. 4. Asian mode of production and ancient slavery The premature history of mankind was associated with the transfer from the appropriating economy (fishing, hunting and gathering) to agriculture and cattle breeding, this became the basis for the formation of a manufacturing economy, the main results of which are the emergence of new forms of housing and the transition to a strong settled way of life. The most common line of transition to a producing economy was the line of the addition of an agricultural and pastoral economy on the basis of a highly developed economy of gatherers and hunters. In its two versions - primarily agricultural and primarily cattle-breeding - this line was most characteristic of Western Asia, which seized the territory of modern Syria, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean. In these regions, many species of plants and wild animals were concentrated, which could serve as the source material for domestication. In addition, Asia is rightfully considered the birthplace of most cultivated plants and domesticated animals, on the cultivation of which the economy of a significant part of Eurasia, including in our state, was based in antiquity and is now based. The established mode of production in Asian countries was characterized by the following features: 1) state or state-communal ownership of land; 2) the presence of a strong unifying principle: a) despotic (when the community is led by the head of the family's tribe); b) democratic (when the power in the community belongs to the fathers of families); 3) formal freedom of community members. The emergence and existence of community relationships were largely due to the fact that the construction and use of irrigation canals (irrigation systems) was possible only as a result of joint efforts. Due to this circumstance, not a single builder could claim any part of the constructed irrigation system, due to which this system itself could be exclusively state (communal) property. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that in an arid climate, not everyone has value, but only such a land plot that can receive the necessary moisture. The second circumstance further strengthened the position of the owners of irrigation systems, gave them a virtually unlimited right to involve free community members in the performance of labor service. Thus, in the Asiatic (at least predominant) form, there was no property of an individual, but only his possession, while the real, real owner was the community. If the Asian mode of production assumed land area as such as its basis, then the basis of the ancient form was the city as a created place of settlement (center) of landowners (land owners), while arable land was the territory of the city, and the peasant was a city dweller (i.e. citizen of this state) only by virtue of the fact that he was the owner of part of the arable land. Thus, among the ancient peoples, of which the Romans are a classic example (with them this is manifested in the purest form), state landed property simultaneously acted in two qualities - state landed and private landed property. In its socio-economic essence, slavery is the labor of some people (slaves) for others, combined with the personal belonging of the working slave owner - the one who appropriates the product of his labor. Slavery, being predominantly an intensive model of economic development, is based on an increase in the amount of product produced by increasing the number of workers (slaves). The productive forces of ancient slavery, according to Varro, are three types of tools: speaking (slaves), mooing (bulls) and dumb (agricultural implements), while the slave was the main productive force of the ancient economic system. According to Columella, "a pile based on slavery brought the greatest harm: the slaves plowed the land badly, stole grain, and when laying the crop for storage, they incorrectly reflected its amount in the accounts." Cheap labor also could not stimulate the introduction of technical improvements. All this taken together (the low quality of the labor force and technical stagnation) ultimately contributed to the massive ruin of landowners, the withering away of the economic system, in which the basis of production relations is the ownership of the slave owner to all elements of production, including the slave worker. History identifies 3 stages in the development of ancient slavery: 1) folding - from the XII-VIII centuries. BC e. (China during the Zhou kingdom) and IX-VIII centuries. BC e. (Greece of the "Homeric era") until the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. (Italy); 2) approval and development - from the VIII-III centuries. BC e. (China during the slaveholding kingdoms of the Chunqiu-Zhangguo period), V-IV centuries. BC e. (Greece of the era of policies in their heyday) to the III-I centuries. BC e. (Italy during the late Roman Republic); 3) decay - from the II century. BC e. (Han Empire in the East) until the XNUMXth century. n. e. (Roman Empire in the West). A distinctive economic feature of the first stage is the growth of production due to the expanding use of slave labor. The second stage is connected with the achievement of the maximum resource efficiency of the labor of slaves; this is the stage of the flourishing of city-states, reduced to one center (“polis” in Greece, “go” in China, “civitas” in Italy), this is the stage of strengthening property and acquiring a double content by it (as mentioned above). The third stage of ancient slavery is the stage of discrepancy between the possibilities of forced labor and the ever-increasing social needs, in connection with which the slave-owning society comes to the solution of two interrelated problems: 1) a change in the status of the labor force, its emancipation (which objectively leads to the emergence of feudal relations); 2) equipping labor with more efficient devices (equipment) and methods (technology), which is a necessary condition for commodity production. It was at this stage in the Roman Empire that feudal relations originated (from the Latin feudum - feud, possession) in the form of a colony - a form of relations between small rural producers (colons) and large landowners, in which the tenant of the land plot pays rent in kind or money and perform natural duties. Thus, the decomposition of ancient slavery in the Roman Empire was accompanied by a change in the social status of the slave: this process went, for example, in the direction from the column to the villan - a peasant who was in land dependence on the feudal lord (while maintaining personal freedom). LECTURE No. 5. Feudal economy 1. Feudal economy. general characteristics The feudal system of economy, in contrast to the slave system, was almost universal for Eurasia: most of the peoples of this continent passed through the system of feudalism or are still at its various stages. The direct producer under feudalism was a cross between a slave and a free farmer: he, like a slave, is not free, but, like a farmer, he has his own farm. Commutation - the transition to cash rent, when the peasant himself sold the products of his farm on the market. Under these conditions, not only moral stimulation of labor was required, but also coercion. Monotheistic religion (monotheism) provides a moral stimulus, in various forms it dominates almost everywhere under feudalism. The feudal economy was built on a stricter functional division of labor than the slave economy, where the peasant was also a warrior. Military affairs here were the monopoly of the feudal lord, and labor was the monopoly of the peasant. Prayer was the monopoly of the clergy. This division of labor was formalized in society in the form of the coexistence of three estates: the clergy, the nobility and the peasantry (later the townspeople joined this estate). Already from birth, a person was considered noble (feudal lord) or vile (that is, bearing duties - this is a peasant). Feudalism was able to ensure economic progress. Feudalism as a system was established among peoples both who were part of the slave-owning Roman Empire and those who had never known a slave-owning economy. By the 8th century. A stirrup appeared in Europe, which connected the rider and horse into a single combat shock unit. Before the advent of artillery (XIV century), the main branch of the army was heavy cavalry. In the 15th-18th centuries, the appearance of artillery guns made knightly armor an anachronism like the weapons of Don Quixote, and the feudal militia was replaced by a regular, massive army consisting of mercenary soldiers. State duties and tributes were turned into feudal rent mainly through the creation of a service army, when soldiers serve not for natural, but for land rations. The Church officially predicted a catastrophe in 1000 (in Rus' - 1492). The mass catastrophic consciousness of people (eschatology - the expectation of the end of the world) in practice helped to form the feudal economy. 2. The feudal economy of France Often France is called the classical country of feudalism, but this applies not so much to the economy as to the state system. The state was ruled by a king who was considered a vassal of God. The largest feudal lords - counts and dukes were royal vassals, medium and small feudal lords were considered their vassals, the owners of estates were knights. The vassal was subordinate only to his immediate overlord (according to the principle "the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal"). The Hundred Years' War hastened the liberation of French peasants from feudal dependence. By the XIV century. the main zones of agricultural specialization began to stand out: Southern France - the base of winemaking, Northern and Central France - the main granary, etc. At this time, the economic superiority of Northern France manifested itself, which was expressed in the approval of the three-field system. However, the main reason was not so much economic in nature - it was Southern France that mainly served as a theater of war. 3. The feudal economy of England The first feature of the feudal economy of this country was the greater centralization of government than in France. The reason for this was the conquest (1066) of the country by feudal lords gathered from all over France under the leadership of the dukes of Normandy, who occupied the English throne. Unlike continental feudal lords, the owners of English estates were not vassals of large feudal lords - earls and dukes, but directly to the king. Another feature concerned the technological base of the English estate. Sheep breeding flourished there, a large amount of raw wool was produced due to the coastal ecology. Wool served as an important industrial raw material and improved the life of English peasants (mattresses, clothing, etc.). The demand for raw wool came from the cities of Flanders (modern Belgium) - the main center for the production of woolen fabrics in medieval Europe. The English kings in every possible way interfered with the attempts of the kings of France to extend their power to Flanders (this is basically the reason for the beginning of the Hundred Years Anglo-French War). The wool trade, which was conducted not only by the feudal lords, but also by peasants, undermined the serf economy: by the end of the XNUMXth century. quitrents in kind and corvée are increasingly being replaced by cash rent, and the labor of serfs is being replaced by wage labor. Small and medium-sized feudal lords began to turn into large farmers, whose center of interest was not in the war, but in the export of wool. This process was delayed by feudal reaction in the middle of the XNUMXth century: after the plague, which claimed at least a third of the population of England, the owners of monors (lords) began to return to the corvee, wanting to secure working hands for themselves. After the uprising in the English countryside, there comes an almost complete commutation, and then the redemption of feudal duties by the peasants. In the XV century. practically all English peasants became free: copyholders, obliged to pay cash rent for their land plots, or freeholders - completely free holders of land. In the XV century. there is a new nobility - the gentry, who run their household exclusively on hired labor. Although feudal dependence was already over for the English peasant, there was a danger that with the growing demand for wool, the gentry, in order to expand pastures, would lay claim to the lands of copyholders. It happened in the XNUMXth century. 4. German Feudal Economy The feudal economy of Germany is characterized by: 1) later formation of the feudal system of economy than in England and France; 2) it included Slavic, French, Italian regions, which were not a national complex; 3) separate parts of the country were separated economically from each other; 4) a single state did not take shape; 5) the seizure of the lands of the Western Slavs living along the Laba (Elbe) River, the movement of German feudal lords to the East, gave a significant increase in sown areas. East of Alba, an internal peasant colonization of territories unfolded (with minimal dependence on feudal lords on preferential terms). But in the fifteenth century began a massive export of grain to Holland and England through the Baltic ports. And the East German feudal lords were able to take matters into their own hands. They carried out the complete enslavement of the peasants (privileged colonists), created master plows, driving the new serfs off the land and transferring them to corvee. In the XVI century. this phenomenon has become widespread. Serfdom later, associated with the distant export of the master's bread, established itself in a number of countries in Eastern Europe. The concept of "land beyond the Elbe" became a symbol of late feudalism. A sharp deterioration in the legal and financial situation affected the peasants throughout the country, which caused the Great Peasant War in 1525 - the uprising of the entire German people. The most severe forms of serfdom reigned throughout Germany after the suppression of the great uprising. 5. The feudal economy of Russia In Russia, the formation of the feudal economy occurred much later. In the Muscovite state, a service army appeared only in the XNUMXth century. and consisted of landowners (nobles) who owned the estate and came to the service every summer, while they served at their own expense - armed, equestrian and with auxiliary personnel, and in the fall they went home. After the death of a serviceman, the estate was transferred to his sons. A local system developed in the country: according to the Council Code of 1649, the peasants were attached indefinitely to the estates on whose territory they lived. Russian peasants thus became serfs at a time when their counterparts in Western Europe were already largely free. Socio-economic backwardness of the country has developed, which throughout its history has become a catching up civilization. Westernization - the pursuit of the West - took vague forms, but the higher its pace, the more painful it was for the country and its people. In the XV-XVI centuries. the main type of armed forces in Rus' was the noble cavalry, with the help of which the Moscow principality solved a number of important geopolitical tasks - the collection of all Russian lands, the liberation from the Tatar-Mongol yoke, the creation of the Russian colonial empire in Eurasia - the conquest and colonization of the Kazan, Siberian and Astrakhan khanates, the accession the peoples of the Volga region, the mastery of the Volga along its entire length, the colonization of the Black Earth Center, etc. All this was paid for at the cost of peasant freedom. Without a regular mass, well-armed army, it turned out to be impossible to solve geopolitical problems in the West (access to the sea through the Baltic) by the forces of the noble cavalry militia. On the basis of the feudal serf economy, such an army was created at the very beginning of the XNUMXth century. 6. Japan's feudal economy The economy of feudal Japan was characterized by the following features: 1) the absence of serfdom due to the innumerable feudal lords (samurai in the middle of the 6,7th century accounted for XNUMX% of the population) and the absence of domains; 2) the use of natural (rice) dues, and not labor rent; 3) hereditary use by peasants of land belonging to the feudal lord; 4) absolute autarky (closed national and regional economy, isolated from the economy of other countries and other regions of the country). In 1854, the United States, threatening Japan with military force, achieved the signing of an agreement with it, allowing the Americans to supply goods to the Japanese market, using two Japanese ports for these purposes. This was the core of American expansion, which ended with the displacement of products from the domestic market of Japanese artisans, the transformation of the country into a semi-colony, which became a raw material supplement not only for the United States, but also for Russia, England, and France, which signed agreements with Japan similar to the American-Japanese. The result of these modifications was the growth of the class struggle, culminating in the civil war, as well as the subsequent bourgeois transformations. 7. Economics of the feudal city In Europe, there was a deep agrarianization of life after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Cities were deserted or turned into villages, and handicrafts joined agriculture. A certain excess of products in the countryside was created due to the productivity of agriculture, therefore, it became possible to single out a group of people who were engaged exclusively in handicraft activities and exchanged their products for agricultural products. In addition, the demand for handicrafts increased. Gradually, the volume, technical level and sectoral specialization of handicraft production ceased to correspond to its position as an appendage to agriculture. Local, rural artisans turned into professionals and began to work for an ever wider order. For this, the boundaries of the feudal estates were already cramped. The optimal place for production activities was to provide an unhindered meeting of customers and buyers with the executor of orders, as well as water supply. It is not for nothing that all major cities stand on lakes and rivers, and their names contain the word "bridge" (Pontoise, Cambridge, Bruges, etc.), "fortress" (Lancaster, Manchester, Strasbourg, etc.). Usually new cities arose where there were bridges and walls. The market provided the city with the economic management of the feudal village: it set the prices at which goods were exchanged. The feudal estate was forced to adapt to the urban market. The main branch of the urban economy - handicraft - received a non-economic guild organization. The handicraft production of this or that city, as a rule, satisfied the demand of the local market for most industrial goods, however, some industries gained pan-European importance. This is the production of woolen fabrics (Northern Italy, Flanders), ships (Mediterranean ports), colored glass (Venice) and metalworking, mainly the production of weapons (Solinger, Milan, etc.). LECTURE No. 6. World trade 1. Trade and credit On the organization of trade, as well as crafts, feudalism left its mark in the form of closed associations - guilds that united the merchants of a given city who traded in a certain product (cloth, bread) with the aim of monopoly in the local market. The composition of goods and the rules of trade circulation were regulated by the guilds, leaving the merchant with relatively little freedom of choice. In Europe, large international wholesale trade served mainly two types of needs: 1) in the exchange of basic food and industrial goods between European countries; 2) in luxury goods and spices of the East. Therefore, there were two main streams of European trade. The first stream is through the Mediterranean Sea. Import - luxury goods, spices, silk and paper fabrics, etc. Export - linen, wool, metal products (but mainly gold and silver cash). The balance is passive. This was due to the steady demand for oriental goods. Spices (especially pepper) played the role of aseptic and even preservatives as seasonings for dishes and drinks; pepper often replaced money in various payments; saffron and other plants were used as dyes. Cotton fabrics, brocade, silk, velvet, incense, incense, colored glass - all this raised the prestige of noble people. Italian merchants transported oriental goods to Europe for wholesale. The product through a series of subsequent resales reached the retail European consumer. Naturally, each time the price "wound up", and the end buyer already overpaid fabulously. The second main trade flow passed through the Baltic and North Seas. By the XIV century. the economy of the Nordic countries was already able to put on the market a significant amount of valuable and transportable goods (hemp, flax, lard, oil, cloth, etc.). In the middle of the XIV century. to regulate and protect trade in the northern region, Hansa was created - an international merchant guild, which included up to 150 trading northern European cities. The Hansa was a military-political union (equipment and protection of trading expeditions, monopolies and privileges, trading posts, etc.), and not an economic association. On the basis of the money-changing business in the feudal economy, as it used to be in ancient times, credit naturally developed. In the conditions of a criminal situation on the roads (feudal robbery) and portable paper money, the practice of cashless transfer arose. Naturally, money changers took over the translation function. The money changer's receipt (bill) began to play the role of cash, according to which its agent in a certain place gave out to this or that person an amount equal to the previously deposited one. The money-changing offices began to be called banks (in Italian, "bank" - "bench", where street money changers usually were), and their owners - bankers. Banks accumulated amounts that they lent at very high interest rates. However, only in the most minimal degree did credit fall into the production sphere. The gospel prohibition for Christians to receive offspring from the inanimate led to the fact that banking and usury in general were largely concentrated in the hands of the Jews. This circumstance affected the situation of the Jewish population of Europe. The Jews were surrounded by hatred and contempt - the refugees from Palestine, who stubbornly maintained faith in their god, received an economic justification - the possibility of obtaining a loan was very tempting for Europeans, and the complete lack of rights of Jewish creditors was often interpreted as the need to repay the debt. The presence of a certain Jewish stratum among bankers is widely used in our time in anti-Semitic propaganda. 2. The birth of capitalism The commercial and usurious capital of Florence (the famous Medici firm) credited the city's woolen industry. The Florentine cloth wholesalers had large funds and were able to buy raw wool in England and sell finished fabrics in distant markets. All preparatory operations (washing and combing of wool, cleaning, including weaving) were carried out by hired workers for daily wages, spinning - by village homeworkers, to whom buyers sent wool. And the craftsmen and dyers who finished the cloth were craftsmen, they worked in their workshops to order. The existence of a capitalist enterprise under the guise of a guild craft is associated with the presence of special economic conditions - such as long-distance imported raw materials, uninterrupted credit and a wide market for sales and labor. The first capitalist industrial production in history was created by the commercial and usurious capital of Northern Italy. 3. Genesis of the capitalist economy in the countries of the first echelon (Holland, England, France, USA) Holland The geopolitical situation contributed to the fact that in the middle of the XVII century. Holland became the center of world trade, which the Dutch bankers successfully took advantage of by lowering interest rates on loans and thereby increasing the inflow of financial capital into the state. As a rule, attracted funds were directed to only one area of economic activity - shipbuilding, which has a long turnover period (and hence return) of funds. This led to an increase in taxes, duties, fees, etc. Firstly, this caused an increase in prices, and, secondly, it turned into a deterioration in market conditions. By the end XVII in. Holland, having lost world leadership both in banking and in trade, nevertheless became the largest maritime power in the world (75% of the European fleet "walked" under the Dutch flag). England The initial accumulation of capital in England was associated with an increase in demand for wool, which contributed to the breeding of sheep and the development of cloth making: in this area of economic activity by the end of the XNUMXth century. about half of the country's population (mostly rural) worked. A large source of income for England was also the slave trade, the monopoly on which England achieved at the beginning XVIII in. Another source of initial capital was the attraction of funds from their own population, which had similar consequences to Holland: rising prices, an increase in customs duties, which in England was also associated with obvious protectionism. Having won a series of victories over Spain, Holland and France, England became a superpower, the world's largest colonial empire, which provided additional financial, material and labor resources. The demand for cloth caused not only a social, but also an industrial revolution in England, which covered almost all industries. The main inventions that appeared in England during the industrial revolution or that quickly found application in its industry were: the tulle machine (1783); steam engine, puddling oven (1784); power loom (1785); lathe (1798); planing machine (1802); locomotive (1814); railway (1824). Thus, as a result of the industrial revolution in England, the most modern metallurgy and mechanical engineering for that time developed. France The initial accumulation of capital in France was provided by the same main sources as in Holland and England, namely: banking (the main direction), foreign trade (France was the largest exporter after England, which was facilitated by the establishment of mutually favored regimes with almost all European countries other than England), colonization. All this allowed France in the 1830-1840s. to create a modern light industry for that time (mainly textile production), and in subsequent years - to carry out railway construction and create all branches of heavy industry. The Industrial Revolution was completed by the early 1860s, and by 1870 France had the largest metallurgical plants in Europe, 18 thousand km of railway network, 25 thousand steam engines, about 5 million people employed in industry. USA The financial and material conditions for the industrial revolution in the United States were created not only by the money of immigrants from Europe, but also by the talent of American engineers that has no analogues in the world (Slater's weaving machine, a simple emigrant worker; Singer's sewing machine; Fulton's steamer; Morse telegraph; McCormick's reaping machine etc.), which laid down the tradition of continuous rationalization for many years. The third feature of the industrial revolution in the United States is the outstripping pace of development of market infrastructure: for example, over 20 years (1830-1850), the total length of railways (which connected ore, coal mines and metallurgical industries into a single system) increased 300 times, which became the basis for the development of its own mechanical engineering, which by 1870 had taken the first place in the world both in terms of production volumes and the quality characteristics of the equipment produced. Of fundamental importance was the implementation of the capitalist agricultural reform, the main milestones of which were: the Homestead Act (1862) and the abolition of slavery (1863), which was the beginning of the development of agricultural production based on the cash labor of farmers. 4. Economic consequences of the collapse of the colonial system Colonialism existed as a system from the beginning of the XNUMXth century. until the second half of the XNUMXth century. The export of capital to the colonial countries and the growth of local industry inevitably gave rise to liberation movements. The First World War eliminated the prevailing in the XIX century. the German colonial empire, and the Second undermined the old empires - English, Dutch, French. In December 1960, the UN adopted the Declaration on the Presentation of Independence to All Colonial Nations. In place of the colonial world, a huge "third world" arose, embracing many new and old aligned states of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania. Dependence on foreign trade led to the preservation of power in backward countries in the hands of compradors - sellers and resellers of imported goods with an endless series of coups d'etat, replacing various military comprador groups at the helm. The standard of living of the majority of the population of the former colonies has changed little since independence. In a number of states in the 1970-1990s. "Third World" economic liberalization of the Western type began to gain more and more strength. Economic reforms made it possible to transfer the management of the economy into the hands of private companies, to create competition. The collapse of the colonial system had a serious impact on the economy of the former metropolises and developed countries in general. First of all, the national composition of the population of Western European countries has changed due to the very intensive immigration of residents of the former colonies, driven by poverty and the population, or simply wishing to take advantage of the fruits of a well-equipped Western way of life. The inexhaustible flow of immigrants from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Algeria and other countries to England, Holland, France, Belgium, and Scandinavian countries gives rise to serious economic problems, mainly in the field of employment. The former metropolises embarked on the path of constant self-sufficiency in food and raw materials. The Western European states began to speed up the development of their natural resources (in France, for example, they discovered uranium, natural gas, expanded the development of bauxite, iron ore, oil, etc.). Investments have increased in the extractive industries of the former European settlement colonies, which have long since become economically developed independent states - Australia, Canada, South Africa and others. There was a serious intensification of agriculture in Western Europe. As a result, the share of former colonies in international trade did not rise, as expected, but fell. 5. Common Market and European Union In the context of the beginning of the collapse of the colonial system, European countries returned to free trade, but at a higher level. Contracting countries have voluntarily delegated a certain part of their sovereignty to the governing body elected. That's what integration was all about. In the early 1950s France, Italy, the Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg established the European Steel and Coal Community in a special agreement on the basis of French and West German reserves of metal and fuel. The next step was the creation of a customs union, which provided for the free movement of goods, persons, capital and services within the member states of the European Community, as well as common customs tariffs in trade with states that were not part of the community. In Rome in 1957, the corresponding treaty was signed by the same six states. Thus, the first common market in the history of the economy was created (at the same time, the European association of the nuclear industry, Euratom, also arose). The creation of a common market required complex and lengthy work to harmonize national legislation, a crisis repeatedly arose, it was difficult to find a combination of the interests of the former monopolies in their former colonies with the integration of the economy in the common market. On the basis of integration, this problem was gradually resolved. Thus, the collapse of the colonial system pushed Europe not to decline, but to a serious economic and political upsurge. European integration gave impetus to American integration: the preparation and creation of a common market for North America - the United States, Mexico and Canada - was officially announced. 6. Development of the Western economy in the second half of the XNUMXth century The post-war restoration of the national economy of the developed European countries, which took 5-6 years, was greatly facilitated by American economic assistance under the Marshall Plan. According to this plan in 1948-1951. Some 77 billion dollars (partly on loan, partly as subsidies) were supplied to 17 countries in Europe by American allowances, raw materials, clothing, industrial equipment, spare parts and other goods. The local currency proceeds from the sale in the domestic markets of consumer American countries contributed to the reduction of inflation, turned into investments for the domestic heavy industry. The Marshall Plan had a beneficial effect on both the European and American economies. For 1947-1950. the volume of production of the main industries in Western Europe increased by more than half, and for such types as mineral fertilizers, cement, steel, vehicles, oil products - from 65 to 200%, all this meant the rapid development of agriculture, construction, communications. Foreign trade revived: for 1948-1952. exports from Western Europe have increased by half, and from Canada and the United States - even more. For 1950-1980 energy, and with it the entire economic complex of the West, made a new take-off: per capita electricity production in England in 1990 amounted to 5543, in France - 7442, in Germany - 7213, in Japan - 6478, in the USA - 12659 kW / h. These data indicate that there was a technological modernization of France, England and Japan. Predictions made at the beginning of the XNUMXth century that due to the uneven economic development of countries, imperialist wars are inevitable, have not been confirmed. The prediction about the complete monopolization of the economy and the elimination of free competition was not confirmed either. Along with the largest, including supranational corporations, hundreds of thousands of medium and small firms and enterprises successfully function in the national economy of the West. There is an opinion that the current stage of economic development can be considered "post-industrialization", in which the economic role of the transition from production to services, education, science is solved: economic management - from businessmen - to scientists and professionals. The technical and economic development and location of the modern economy is the subject of study for such disciplines as economic geography and world economics. LECTURE No. 7. World market 1. Great geographical discoveries At the end of the XV - beginning of the XVI centuries. with the help of ocean expeditions (great geographical discoveries), direct stable economic ties were first established between Europe and other parts of the world. In a short time, huge material resources from Asia, America, and Africa, hitherto unseen in history, were poured into the economies of European states. The great voyages were caused by a crisis in Mediterranean trade due to the conquest of the South Mediterranean and Azov-Black Sea basins by Turkey, which prompted Europeans to seek a way out in establishing direct ties with the East. A political factor also played a role - the completion of the state unification of a number of Western European countries. This was especially true of Spain, whose unification coincided with the end of the centuries-old war to reconquer the country from the Arabs who had once taken possession of it. The Spanish economy was too underdeveloped for the feudal lords to become large farmers, as in England. The Spanish crown sent dangerous energy inside the country of unemployed feudal lords to conquer lands across the ocean, this led to the primacy of Spain in the discovery and development of South and Central America. Of great importance was the progress of European science and technology, especially shipbuilding and navigation. In the XV century. the first type of ocean-going vessel was created - a caravel with three working masts and a tiered arrangement of rectangular sails. This made it possible to go in any direction of the wind in the desired course. The successes of navigational science consisted in the improvement of the compass, which in the XNUMXth century. acquired its modern look: a magnetic needle on the tip of a needle under a glass cap. In order to independently carry out the choice of goals or means, being far from the homeland, it was necessary for the emergence of self-acting personalities in European countries. During one and a half thousand years of its existence, feudalism, thanks to its inherent choice of behavior, has brought up the skills of self-action of people. This, at the decisive moments of the first ocean voyages, gave rise to the necessary initiative, flexibility, and energy. 2. World market By the end of the XVI century. the surface of the globe has increased 6 times. Trade has become global. Due to new products (tobacco, cocoa, tea, coffee, etc.), not only the territorial sphere of circulation, but also the trade assortment expanded, the turnover of well-known, but previously rare rice and sugar, and especially Asian spices, increased sharply. The struggle for mastery of new markets led to the creation of monopoly trade associations in the countries. Their most powerful were the English and Dutch East India companies, which fought among themselves for the Indian market by the same methods as Genoa and Venice before geographical discoveries (piracy, wars, etc.). The technique of trading has also changed. To inspect only samples of goods, a special place was required, and in the XNUMXth century. The Antwerp Stock Exchange is founded. Gradually, the role of the center of world trade and credit passes to Amsterdam, and then to London. 3. Reformist way of transition to a market economy in Germany Unlike the countries of the first echelon, Germany moved to a market economy as a result of lengthy reforms that did not hurt the interests of the Junker nobility. The beginning of the reforms was laid by the edict of October 9, 1807, which declared the peasants of Prussia personally free; then similar acts followed in 1809 (Bavaria), 1911 (Hesse), 1817 (Württemberg), 1848-1853. (Austria). A number of feudal duties disappeared along with personal dependence, and with the legislative acts of the Prussian government (1807-1921) the redemption of the feudal duties of the peasants began, the peasants left the communities, the division of communal land. All this created the prerequisites for the concentration of land in the hands of wealthy peasants. In 1832-1850. west of the Elbe and in Australia, 12 land-rent banks were created, which until 1913 subsidized operations for the redemption of peasant duties and land. In Germany, the capitalist reorganization of agriculture was called the "Prussian-Junker path", which is characterized by the slow development of feudal landowner economy into bourgeois economy. 4. Reformist way of transition to the market economy of Russia Russia's transition to a market economy began with the abolition of serfdom (February 1861), followed by reforms: university (1869); zemstvo, school, judicial (1864); press reform (4865); urban (1870); military (1874). The transition to new socio-economic relations in society, thus, assumed the implementation of a set of interrelated measures that affect all spheres of public life and are aimed not only at the liberation of the peasantry, but also at reforming the statehood (establishing a parliamentary form of government). It was not possible to complete the reforms in full, but nevertheless Russia entered a period of dynamic industrial development, the pace for the 50 years preceding the First World War was 80% higher than the rate of development of Germany and more than 4 times higher than the rate of industrial development of France. LECTURE No. 8. The beginning of colonialism, the birth of capitalism and industry 1. Beginning of colonialism Favorable for Europeans, geographical discoveries turned into a real hell for the indigenous population of open lands. Colonialism has become a method of functioning of the world economy. The main means of colonialism of the XVI century. there was an unequal exchange (if direct robbery could not be applied). The monopoly right to supply African slaves to Spanish America (asiento) was contested by Portugal, England, and Holland. The slave trade was essentially a method of re-exploiting the vast Spanish colonies. But this was not the only method. Holland, England and France have widely deployed piracy. Gradually, the main principle of the colonial economy of European countries was established: the export of cheap raw materials and food, the import of manufactured goods, and then capital (using cheap colonial labor). Compradors - local merchants selling and reselling export-import goods, became the main force in the colonies. 2. The birth of capitalism in Western Europe At that time, very serious technical and economic changes were taking place in Europe. The demand for bread, woolen fabrics and metal increased sharply, mainly due to the fundamental changes in the military organization that followed the use of firearms and the creation of massive standing armies in Western Europe. Water-driven forging hammers, the simplest types of turning, drilling, and grinding machines, etc., began to be used in metalworking. The mining industry was equipped with sump pumps and hoists, mining increased, and mines deepened. With the use of new technologies served by hired labor, the volume of production was determined not by shop rules, but only by the demand for manufactured products. This required two conditions: 1) so that future entrepreneurs will accumulate enough money to buy equipment, hire workers and build buildings; 2) that the workers should be free and not have their own economy, that is, they should be hired by enterprises under purely economic compulsion. 3. The primitive accumulation of capital in England The accumulation of money required frugality from entrepreneurs. The freedom of future workers was often achieved through violence - the expulsion of peasants from the land, from the means of production. By the 3th century England was a small, typical agricultural country with a population of 3,5-4 million people (XNUMX times less than in France). The merchant fleet was much inferior to the Dutch, and the urban workshop industry was less developed than on the continent. It was the XNUMXth century. marked the beginning of a sharp economic recovery, thanks to which, three centuries later, England became the industrial hegemon of the world. This is primarily due to the powerful development of cloth factories. Since the XNUMXth century the production of cloth and woolen fabrics is developing within the country, in contrast to the fact that in the XIII-XIV centuries. English raw wool was exported to the continent for processing. Sheep breeding became extremely profitable, and the demand for wool increased. It was necessary to free the land from small peasant farms in order to expand pastures, enclosing new possessions with ditches, fences, and palisades. The state borrowed money from English merchants at high interest rates, as it was constantly in need of funds for the war. Taxpayers paid the public debt, but merchants who opened enterprises with these funds received interest. In addition, in the XVI-XVII centuries. England introduced high duties on the import of finished goods. Such protectionism allowed entrepreneurs to keep high prices for their goods. As a result, in England by the end of the XVIII century. accumulated enormous wealth for those times - about one million pounds of precious metals. 4. Origin of industry in Russia In the XNUMXth century in Russia there was a "sluggish" westernization of the armed forces and life. When at the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries. a regular navy and land army were created, the state organized the first military-industrial complex for service, consisting of a number of manufactories (shipbuilding, canvas production, metallurgy and metalworking, etc.). Recruits, serfs handed over by rural communities and landowners served in the army and navy, and assigned or serf (possession) workers worked at enterprises. In other words, Westernization took place in an unfree social environment. The MIC (military-industrial complex) based on non-free industry could not overcome its technical backwardness. Having brought many great victories to Russia, it turned out to be powerless in the Crimean War, where the metal steam fleet of the West and rifled weapons and smooth-bore weapons and the wooden sailing fleet of Russia collided. Why did Russia not re-equip its army in the first half of the XNUMXth century? It was a matter of psychological intoxication with the position of a superpower, but most importantly - in the serf economy, the restructuring of which the Russian elite did not want. 5. The Industrial Revolution in England At the end of the XVII century. in England, after the revolution, a bourgeois-democratic political system was established, which exists in our time. England itself, which won the struggle for supremacy on the seas in the XNUMXth century. Spain, in the XNUMXth century Holland, XNUMXth century France has become a world superpower. The discrepancy between manual technology and the increased demand for cotton fabrics was resolved by the introduction of machines. First, the cotton spinning process was mechanized. Since there was more yarn, a mechanical loom was urgently needed, which was invented by E. Cartwright in 1785. After the mechanization of spinning and weaving, there was a need to create a universal engine that does not depend on the forces of nature. Such an engine was a steam engine created by J. Watt in 1784. In the same year, the first spinning steam factory was built. The use of machines caused a sharp increase in demand for metal. In 1784, Kort invented a puddling furnace, which, with the help of mineral fuel, produced steel from cast iron, and the rolling rolls invented by him made it possible to obtain metal products of the desired configuration. Thanks to these inventions, labor productivity has increased 15 times. The progress of metallurgy contributed to the rapid development of the English coal industry. Railroad tracks (trams) appeared in the mines for horse-drawn coal transportation. The combination of the steam engine and rails gave the railroad. The first locomotive was created by J. Stephenson in 1814, and the railway - in 1824. One of the last problems of the industrial revolution was the factory construction of the machines themselves: a new branch of industry arose - mechanical engineering. This was facilitated by the creation of the main type of metal-cutting machine tools - planing (Bram, 1802 and G. Modeme, 1798). The creation of factory engineering completed a revolution in the technological sphere of the English economy. The most vulnerable point of the English economy was dependence on grain imports. According to the "corn" laws of 1815, the importation of grain into the country was allowed, if only the domestic price exceeded 82 shillings per quarter. The Corn Laws, hated by the English people, were repealed in 1846. The abolition of the Corn Laws formed the basis of a new world economic policy of unlimited freedom of trade, which became the foundation of European economic integration 100 years later. Freedom of trade helped England to take a dominant position in world industry, credit, maritime transport, trade. When in 1850 the total turnover of world trade was 14,5 billion marks, for a long time the British Empire accounted for 5,24 billion marks, and in 1870 this share was already 14 billion marks out of a total of 37,5 billion marks (the total share of Germany, the USA, and France during this time increased from 4,9 to 12,0 billion marks). The Bank of England is gradually becoming a “bank of banks,” lending not only to trade and industry, but to the entire credit system of the country and even the world. 6. Features of capitalism in France The completion of the industrial revolution took place in France in the 1860s, much later than in England. The industrial revolution was not promoted by the foreign policy of France. The continental blockade of England, carried out by Napoleon, had severe economic consequences for French industry. The end of the industrial revolution in France took place already in 1850-1860. The empire of Napoleon III, which pursued an active foreign policy, widely provided special credit for the development of heavy industry. From 1850 to 1870 the number of steam engines in French industry increased from 5 to 25 thousand, iron production - from 0,4 million tons to 1,2 million tons, coal mining - from 4,4 to 13,2 million tons, railway network - from 3 to 18 thousand km. At the World Exhibition in London in 1851, French technology took second place after English. Until the end of the XIX century. France's foreign trade (the basis of exports is wine, furniture, silks, leather, paints, perfumes and jewelry, all of which had no equal in quality on the world market) was second only to England in terms of turnover. By the end of the XIX century. In terms of the pace of industrial development, France lagged behind not only England, but also the USA and Germany. French capital responded to the deterioration of its positions in the industrial world by increasing activity in the sphere of loans and international credits. 7. The rise of capitalism in Germany In Germany, only in the second half of the XIX century. the capitalist machine of industry was created. The main reason for Germany's lagging behind was the longer than in other states of Western Europe, the lack of a single state and the dominance of feudalism. In Germany, the transition from the feudal to the bourgeois social order proceeded much more slowly than in France and England. State reforms did not abolish either the land ownership of the feudal nobility (junkers) or the feudal monarchy. Lacking powerful convenient ports, Germany was actually isolated from sea trade routes. Located in the center of Europe, in the first half of the 1830th century, as an agrarian country, it played the role of a major appendage of the industrial capitalist countries - Holland, England and even France. The introduction of the first steam engines in German industry began only in 1840-XNUMX, but the industrial revolution was still out of the question. The truly industrialization of Germany unfolded only in the 1860s: the total power of steam engines increased by almost 3 times; according to this indicator, Germany was inferior to England, but overtook France. Unlike French industry, which depended on the supply of British machinery, the mechanization of German industry took place on the basis of its own mechanical engineering. By that time, the largest machine-building enterprises began to work. The intensified development of heavy industry was seriously stimulated by the preparation of the armed forces of Prussia, the most powerful German state, for the struggle for the subjugation of all Germany and for war with France. In this regard, the strongest military-industrial complex in Europe was created, where the Krupp artillery factories played a special role. Industrialization was followed by a restructuring of German foreign trade. Only in the 1850s. the volume of German exports increased by more than 2,5 times, and imports - by 2 times. In German exports, instead of agricultural products, finished industrial goods began to prevail: cotton and woolen fabrics, metal products, ready-made clothing, leather goods, sugar, etc., while in imports, on the contrary, agricultural products and raw materials, metal ores, etc. Already in the second half of the XIX century. from an agrarian appendage of industrial England, Germany turned into its competitor. Agrochemistry and machinery replaced the serfs. Germany came out on top in the world in the collection of sugar beets and potatoes and the development of food industries - sugar, alcohol and starch. Having retained its economic potential, the Junkers also retained their dominant positions in the political system of the German monarchy (officer corps, state apparatus, etc.). German capitalism was openly militaristic, clearly aggressive. 8. The beginning of capitalism in the USA The territory of the North American mainland in the XVII century. became an English colony. The bulk of emigrants from North America were workers who fled from the arbitrariness of the authorities and religious persecution. A peculiar complex developed in the coastal regions, where the production of alcoholic beverages flourished, especially rum from molasses from the West Indies. American merchants exported rum to Africa to drink Negro leaders, who sold their subjects to them for next to nothing. They were taken to America and resold to planters. With the proceeds, molasses was again bought in the West Indies. So, without empty flights, the trading "triangle" functioned - molasses, rum, slaves. Railroads played an important role in the industrial revolution in the United States. For 20 years, from 1830 to 1850, there was more than a 300-fold increase in the railway network. In 1807, a steamboat was already sailing on the Hudson River. One of the features of the industrial revolution in the United States was the active participation of domestic engineering (the main inventions of the mid-XNUMXth century - the Colt revolver, the Singer sewing machine, the rotary printing machine, the Morse electromagnetic telegraph - changed people's lives in many ways), as well as the rapid development of agricultural engineering, caused by the needs of free farming. After the Civil War, American industry, having received a capacious domestic market, made a very big step forward. By the 1870s US industry came in second place in the world (after England). Not a single country has yet known such a rapid pace of industrial development, which the United States showed after the Civil War, and, above all, in the field of mechanical engineering. After the Vienna World Exhibition in 1873, it became clear to the world that the United States was already superior to England in industrial and technical rivalry. In 1880, the value of the gross industrial output of the United States was 2,5 times higher than the value of the agricultural industry. 9. Industrial capitalism in Japan In Japan, the result of the Meiji revolution was the creation of a bourgeois-landlord state, interested in implementing economic transformations in the country. The new system of government demonstrated the highest efficiency of functioning, which manifested itself: 1) in solving internal political issues (a combination of elected legislative and feudal-estate executive authorities), the consolidation of all segments of the population; 2) in the state construction of metallurgical and machine-building industries, equipping them with modern equipment (purchased abroad); 3) in uniting the backward and economically fragmented regions of the country; 4) in the use of the national patriotic tradition; 5) in the creation of training (also abroad) of national engineering personnel; 6) in creating an effective economic mechanism for leasing state property. The Japanese capitalists, having created a modern industry, preserved many traditions of Japanese feudalism, which did not know serfdom and controlled the methods of paternalism - a patronizing attitude towards its subjects. Such relations were transferred to industrial enterprises and found expression in the training of employees of enterprises in company schools and even universities, in the provision of discounts for employees in branded residential buildings and shops. All this ensured the lifetime employment of workers and their special devotion to the employer. This social method still plays an important role in the rapid economic development of Japan. 10. Main trends in the development of the world capitalist economy at the turn of the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries Late XIX - early XX centuries. - this is the period of the second scientific and technological revolution, marked by such achievements as the emergence of a steam turbine and an internal combustion engine, the industrial use of electric current, the industrial processing of oil, the birth of aviation, the emergence of pipeline transport, the industrial production of new inorganic materials, the automotive industry, etc., all this caused structural changes in the economy of all industrialized countries, which manifested itself in certain trends in the development of the world capitalist economy. 1. Capitalism has demonstrated its susceptibility to the latest scientific and technological achievements, this has found expression in the dynamic development and creation of new industries: for example, in just 8 years, Henry Ford managed to go from creating to industrial production of 4000 cars a year. 2. In all capitalist countries, a tendency to enlargement was revealed (as a result of the unification of financial and industrial capital), industrial and financial monopolies were formed on this basis. 3. A tendency has been revealed to militarize the economy, which is associated with the creation of new types and models of weapons (automatic firearms, aircraft, tanks, chemical weapons, large-caliber guns, etc.) and the predominant development of industries working "for war". 4. As a result of changes in the world industrial production of England, the share (decreased by 2,6 times), France (decreased by 2 times) and the United States (increased by 2,1 times), the center of the world economy shifted from Europe to North America. 5. In the field of industrial production, European countries compensated for the loss of leadership by expanding their colonial possessions over the period from 1880 to 1899. the size of which England increased from 7,7 to 9,3 million square meters. miles (by 20,8%), and France - from 0,7 to 3,7 million square meters. miles (5,3 times). LECTURE No. 9. State socialism. Pricing 1. Emergence, development, crisis of the economic system of state socialism in the USSR and in the countries of Eastern Europe The system of state socialism as a form of economic management is based on: 1) powerful centralized regulation penetrating all spheres of public life: social, material, spiritual, political; 2) public ownership of the means of production. Reliance on communist ideology in the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe was a feature of socialism, the main idea of which is the idea of progress in human well-being. The Soviet leadership, mistakenly believing that communism, like a house, can be built by some predetermined date, nevertheless, developed methods and means to ensure stable high growth rates, while planning was "the best socialist form of struggle for pace," covering all types of activities of enterprises without exception, and the management of scientific and technological progress, with its planning, was carried out through state regulation of prices for all products manufactured by commodity producers. Thus, the core basis of the mechanism for managing the national economic complex both in the USSR (1920-1980s) and in the countries of Eastern Europe (1940s-1980s). 2. "Directive planning" in the system of state socialism At the 1927th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in 1988, JV Stalin gave the following definition of the status of the state plan: plans-directives are obligatory for the governing bodies, and they determine the direction of our economic development on the future scale of the whole country. A quarter of a century later, N. M. Yuryev gave the following description of the system of "directive planning", which retained its form until XNUMX. 1. In the first half of the current year, enterprises submit and develop to their departments (ministries, departments) the so-called application plans for the coming year, for which the main departments either provide the enterprises with the opportunity "to preliminarily outline the tasks facing them in the planning year", or they send enterprises control figures for budget appropriations, as well as tasks for the most important nomenclature (products ordered by the government and their own ministry). 2. Until September 1 of the current year, the application plans of the ministries are submitted to the State Planning Committee of the USSR, which considers and mutually links the draft plans in monetary and in-kind terms in the following sections: material and technical supply; production; development of new technology; capital construction; finance; after which, already in the form of an assignment to the ministries, it is submitted for approval to the Council of Ministers. 3. Tasks approved by the Council of Ministers for the development of plans a few months before the beginning of the year are brought to the attention of ministries, departments, departments, enterprises, after which the stage of development and approval of economic and social development plans for the year begins, culminating in the adoption of the plan and the state budget for Sessions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In accordance with the established procedure, only after the approval of the plan, it acquired the force of law and, as a directive, was brought to the attention of ministries, enterprises and departments. In this sense, Stalin was absolutely right: these plans were not conjecture plans, but directives that were twice agreed upon at all levels of management of the national economic complex of the country. 3. Price revolution. Pricing "from what has been achieved" as a mechanism for managing the progress of society Geographical discoveries in Europe responded, first of all, with inflation, a huge amount of gold and silver was exported from open lands, mined by cheap forced labor of the native population. During the 155th century prices have tripled. Naive people of the 30th century. this inflation, first confronted with this phenomenon, was nicknamed the "price revolution". In England in the XNUMXth century the prices of goods rose on average by XNUMX%, while the wages of hired workers only by XNUMX%. The nascent bourgeoisie gained a lot from the "price revolution": manufactured products became more expensive, while labor became cheaper. The price revolution turned out to be beneficial for the dependent peasantry, too, since with the fall in the purchasing power of money, the amount of quitrents decreased, and the prices of peasant agricultural products rose fabulously. As a result of the rise in prices, the feudal lords seriously lost - the amount of their cash rent was fixed, and life became much more expensive. Thus, the main socio-economic results of the great inflation of the XVI century. consisted in the general lowering of the social position of the feudal lords and the same rise of the capitalists. Thus, the "price revolution" played an important role in the formation of the capitalist economy. One of the most important "directive" indicators was profit, the distribution of which could be planned only if there were known prices for manufactured products, as well as prices (tariffs) for all cost-generating factors: materials, raw materials, energy resources, labor, etc. Various methods of developing prices for pricing provided instructions. However, all these methods were focused on: 1) profitability standards; 2) known levels of costs; 3) terms of application of prices. Each ministry (department, administration) had temporary and permanent price lists for products manufactured by all enterprises of this ministry, while list prices for new products were formed on the basis of so-called "weighted average" calculations. Being obliged, firstly, to produce the products necessary for the country (according to the directives received), and, secondly, to use constant or temporary prices that are uniform for all commodity producers in the country (according to pricing instructions), one or another enterprise could already at the planning stage unprofitable. Despite the fact that the unprofitability of planned enterprises was always covered by the superprofits of others, this fact was never a source of pride for departments and ministries that took the most active measures to eliminate unprofitability: they either redistributed output in favor of efficiently operating industries, or directively demanded the introduction of technical improvements. And yet, the mechanism for implementing program settings for improving human well-being was not tasks for the introduction of new technology, but a mechanism for developing and adjusting prices. A feature of the use of permanent and temporary prices was the absence of any restrictions on the actual profitability. A special group of prices consisted of one-time prices, which were set by agreement between customers and suppliers, for a small consignment of goods that does not repeat for two adjacent years and is not supplied simultaneously to two or more consumers. In this case, the excess of the normative profitability was considered as overpricing, for which economic sanctions were applied to the violator in the form of the withdrawal of the entire amount of the overstatement to the budget, as well as the payment of a fine in the same amount. The lower limit of profitability was set at 10%. 4. Main macroeconomic indicators of the period of stagnation At the very beginning of “perestroika,” a lot of words were said about the so-called “stagnation” in the economy. These political statements did not correspond to reality: manufacturing national income in 1970 amounted to 289,9 billion rubles, in 1980 - 462,2 billion rubles, in 1985 - 578,5 billion rubles, from what follows is that: 1) average annual increase in national income for the period from 1970 to 1980. amounted to (462,2 - 289,9 = 172,3) / 10 = 17,2 billion rubles, and the average annual growth rate for the same period ((462,2 / 289,9) x 100-100) / 10 = 5,9%; 2) average annual increase in national income for the period from 1980 to 1985. amounted to (578,5 - 462,2) / 5 = 23,3 billion rubles, and the average annual growth rate for the same period ((578,5: 462,2) x 100-100): 5 = 5%; We also note that the USSR economy had these indicators against the background of practically unchanged prices. Over a quarter of a century, industrial production in the USSR increased by 14 times, while in the USA over the same period - by 3,3 times, in England - by 2 times, in Germany - by 4,9 times, in France - by 3,9, XNUMX times. Growth is increasing, while growth rates are falling - this general pattern of evolutionary developing economic systems, which is also true in relation to the USSR, refutes the thesis of "stagnation". 5. The crisis of communist ideology and the social cost of perestroika The reason for the objective need to reform the system can only be found along the path from politics to economics and further to communist ideology, that is, in 1985 it would be more correct to talk about the crisis experienced by scientific communism. It is not difficult to explain the "stagnation" of thought: after 1956, when Stalin's personality cult was debunked, the party could not have leaders. If, however, we take into account the fact that during the entire Stalinist period the development of communist thought proceeded from the leader to the people, and exclusively "collective creativity" was supposed to be a "struggle against the cult of personality", the reason for the many years of stagnation of communist theory will become clear as the science of progress in the name of person. The beginning of the third scientific and technological revolution required a scientific understanding of many years of experience in socialist construction: the time for "great leaps", the time for revolutionary upheavals had passed, the era of continuous, evolutionary development had begun, and the communist ideology, as the dominant one in society, was obliged to provide a system of new knowledge about the transition from old to new in all spheres of public life. Despite the fact that the founders of scientific communism repeatedly considered the issue of replacing the old with the new. The social price of "perestroika" turned out to be too high: only during 1990-1992. Bulgaria's gross national product has almost halved, in Romania - by 1/3, in Poland - by 1/5. In all countries, including Russia, in the first years of "market reforms" unemployment arose and began to progress (from 5% of the working population in Czechoslovakia and 14% in Poland), poverty worsened, and the population was stratified into poor and rich. 6. Shifts in the structure of the economy of the leading capitalist states In the years after the war (especially in the 1970s), changes began to take shape in the structure of the economy of the industrialized countries of the world, which were caused by the third scientific and technological revolution. It was during these years that the sectoral, reproductive and technological structures of capital changed significantly (more than 70% of capital investments were directed to the replacement of fixed capital, its rationalization and modernization). Changes in the technological structure of capital caused intra-industry and inter-industry shifts in the economy. The general directions of these changes are: 1) a decrease in the share of agriculture and the manufacturing industry; 2) an increase in the share of construction, communications, banking and finance, healthcare, consumer services, and transport. Table 1 presents data on the actual as well as projected structures of the Japanese economy, which illustrate these trends, namely: a) the increase in the share of infrastructure over 30 years will be 6,9%, and the sphere of intellectual services - 7%; b) the share of material production for the same period will decrease by 13,9%; c) the growth rate of the share of infrastructure - 27,5%; d) the rate of decline in the share of material production will be 24,1%; e) the growth rate of the share of the intellectual services sector - 40,7%. Thus, using the example of Japan, we can rank structural changes as follows: 1) infrastructure; 2) the sphere of intellectual services (as the most dynamically developing); 3) material production. The relations considered are the most general. Common to all countries are structural changes in the direction of science-intensive and resource-saving technologies, automation of production and management processes. Table 1. Structure of the Japanese economy by value of products (in %)
7. Various models of a mixed economy A mixed economy is a way of organizing national economic activity in which: 1) the planned economy uses certain market mechanisms; 2) the market economy introduces regulation through planning. Thus, modern economic systems can be either purely market, or purely planned, or mixed. The experience of five post-war decades has shown that all economic systems, moving towards a mixed economy, tend to assume a stable state. This applies to both China and all developed capitalist countries, from the socialist countries that have begun to move towards market transformations, and the countries of Eastern Europe, and Russia, in which the transition to a market model turned out to be the most painful and unreasonably difficult in terms of its socio-economic consequences. Each country chooses its own path of development - one that best suits the nature of the economic tasks being solved. The economies of the countries that are among the world leaders are mixed, with the highest share of the public sector in the economy of Sweden (over 60%), which is much higher than in modern Russia. The Swedish model is based on a system of state regulation of prices, including, most importantly, wages. This principle is called the principle of equal pay for equal work, which: 1) does not encourage employees to change jobs; 2) does not allow unscrupulous business executives to transfer the income of their employees into the shadows, 3) contributes to the formation of the revenue part of the budget on a stable basis; 4) creates economic prerequisites for culling unprofitable industries; 5) removes social tension in society, practically minimizing the influence of trade unions (the main economic direction of their activity disappears). State regulation in the form of planning has been developed in countries such as France (the functions of planning and forecasting in this country are assigned to the Ministry of Planning and Finance), Japan (where the Economic Planning Department has been established), Spain (Ministry of Economy and Finance) and others. Born in the USSR and allowing it to implement such grandiose projects as the GOELRO plan, the space exploration program, the nuclear energy development program and others, they actively use the program-target method of planning. In all these countries: 1) the state budget of the country is developed and its execution is controlled; 2) appropriate recommendations are developed to the government and a forecast of market conditions is carried out (for the near future, as well as the next 5-10 years); 3) volumes and structure of the state order are formed; 4) prices are considered and approved, and an appropriate procedure for approving prices for the products of monopoly enterprises, as well as socially significant products, is established; 5) state target programs are being developed. In the industrialized countries of the world, planning is concentrated on solving the most important tasks, taking into account the real situation in the country's economy, and is not total. In Denmark, for example, the markets for mass goods are completely controlled by foreign capital (this applies to such industries as engineering, metallurgy, oil refining), and therefore the main principle of the activity of Danish firms is to strive to capture a significant part of the narrow market for certain products, and not to try win a small share in a large market. The marketing strategy of domestic firms is also consistent with the content of state economic programs, which consider not all, but exclusively niche areas of production. In the planning practice of industrialized countries, the most valuable thing is to take into account the long-term cycles of development of the world economy. In the 1920s The theory of cyclical development was born in the USSR, but in modern Russia it is not used, but at the same time it enjoys state support in almost all industrialized countries of the world. LECTURE No. 10. Monopolization 1. Monopolization of the economy In all branches of industry, a great anarchy was created by the emergence of a huge number of capitalist enterprises. A special role was played by private railways, which, with an increase or decrease in tariffs, as well as changes in the location of the railway network, had a very serious impact on production. Enterprises began to group against competitors, attracting railways to the agreement, and then banks to finance ongoing activities. Gradually, agreements began to cover industrial areas and entire industries. This is how industrial monopolies arose. One of the first monopolies was the oil trust "Standard Oil", which was created in 1872 in the USA by J. Rockefeller on the basis of an agreement between several merged oil companies and railways regarding tariffs for the transportation of oil. It happened during a period of major decline in production. Therefore, without difficulty, Rockefeller managed to buy up most of the production capacity of the American oil refining industry. When the Standard Oil trust began to take over other enterprises, it accounted for no more than 10-20%, and a few years later - already 90% of the still uncomplicated oil refining (for kerosene for lighting) in the country. Similar phenomena began to occur in some other industries: homogeneous enterprises or companies, most often under the threat of bankruptcy or pressure from the strongest among them, united in trusts, losing commercial, industrial, and often legal independence - all this was concentrated in the board of the trust or parent company. Enterprises of the same industry entered into an agreement - a cartel, while maintaining legal and industrial independence, regulating the volume of production, sales of products, hiring labor, terms of sale, prices, etc. If enterprises lost only commercial independence, then a single sales and supply office (syndicate) was formed , which regulated the purchase of raw materials and the sale of finished products (this type of monopoly prevailed in Russia). Finally, monopolies arose in the form of concerns, uniting companies of various branches of production, banks, trade, etc. under a single control. In the concerns, there was a fused industrial-commercial-banking capital, which received the name of financial capital. The economic role of the state has increased dramatically, which gives grounds to speak of state-monopoly capitalism as a certain type of economic development in a number of countries. The death of small and medium-sized businesses in the XX century. did not happen, since small and medium-sized production and exchange can coexist with the largest corporations: they are indispensable in meeting the basic daily needs of a person. The movement of the economy has dramatically changed its pace. In the late XIX - early XX centuries. The highest rates of economic development were shown by the young capitalist states - the USA and Germany, which took the first and second places in the world in terms of the level of production development and left France and England behind (Table 2). Table 2. Share of a number of countries in world industrial production (%)
At the turn of the century, the center of the world economy shifted from Europe to North America. 2. Making the USA the first industrialized country in the world At the end of XIX - beginning of XX centuries. the base of rapid industrial growth in the United States (ensuring complete freedom of economic activity as a result of the civil war, large raw material resources, the absence of obsolete equipment, etc.) was supplemented by a huge influx of labor. Before World War I, 2/3 of the US gross national product came from industry and construction (mainly railroads). By the 1902th century Four transcontinental railway lines had already been built. In the structure of industrial production itself, shifts manifested themselves, first of all, in higher rates of development of heavy industry. At the beginning of the 23th century. in America - for the first time in the history of world economic development - the share of heavy industry in total industrial output was exceeded (other countries achieved this only before the Second World War). But the structure of heavy industry also changed quite seriously - new industries brought to life by scientific and technological progress appeared and began to develop rapidly - automobile, oil, aluminum, rubber, electrical engineering, etc. The first two played a special role. With the spread of electricity, the lighting function of kerosene was greatly reduced, but the demand for petroleum products increased: the growing demand for gasoline more than compensated for the decline in kerosene production. The reason was the rapid growth of the automobile industry: in 6, when only 1 thousand cars were on American roads, gasoline sales amounted to only about 0,11 million barrels (1912 barrel - 1 tons). And already in 20,3, when the American vehicle fleet exceeded 2 million cars, the demand for gasoline amounted to XNUMX million barrels; after another XNUMX years, more gasoline was sold in the country than kerosene. The automobile, like no other technical device, changed not only the life of the American population, making it extremely mobile, but also decisively influenced the structure of industry, securing the leading place for oil refining (vehicle fleet infrastructure) (regardless of where crude oil is extracted and where it comes from). ). The development of mass serial production in American industry has led to the emergence of modern methods of rational organization of production, primarily the flow method - production moves from raw materials to finished products, never turning back. In this case, the assembly of components and assemblies on the conveyor plays a special role. The most typical form of monopolization in the United States has become the trusting of enterprises, which brings tangible benefits. Thanks to its monopoly position in the oil industry, Standard Oil's income over the first 20 years of its existence increased from 8 to 57,5 million dollars. In the 1880-1890s. The largest trusts appeared in the electrical, lead textile, rubber, and leather industries. As well as tobacco, sugar and other industries, transport and communications. A particularly important association was the Steel Trust created by J. Morgan in 1901, which monopolized 43% of iron production and 66% of steel production in the United States. At the beginning of the 800th century. in the USA there were more than 5 trusts, uniting over 7 thousand enterprises with a capital of over XNUMX billion dollars. Two financial-industrial groups received the greatest importance: Morgan and Rockefeller. The first, formed by the method of banking investments in industry, controlled the Steel Trust, General Electric, the International Carvester agricultural engineering association, the American Telegraph and Telephone Company, etc. Under a law passed by the US Congress (1890), any association in the form of a trust or in any other form, aimed at restricting production and trade, was declared illegal. Naturally, the monopolies put up fierce resistance, and often workers' associations—trade unions—were subjected to prosecution instead of trusts. Nevertheless, a number of particularly large monopolies, including Standard Oil, were forced to split into several smaller associations. 3. Germany is the second industrial power in the world The most important factor in the economic recovery was the completion of the state unification of the entire country through the formation of the German Empire under the auspices of Prussia. Instead of a feudal-fragmented country, a great power emerged with a population of more than 40 million. This was preceded by the victory in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and the subsequent robbery of France: the annexation of Alsace and Lorraine, a large iron ore basin. And also an indemnity of 5 billion francs. The combination of the iron ore of Alsace and Lorraine with the coal of the Rhineland made it possible to create a powerful fuel and metallurgical base for German industry, and French billions became an important source of investment in industry. State orders for armaments played a significant role. Intensive railway construction also led to the growth of heavy industry (the length of the railway network increased by more than 1870 times in 1910-33). In the last third of the XIX century. industry began to play a major role in the country's economic system. At the beginning of the XX century. 43% of the population was already employed there against 29% employed in agriculture. In the 1860-1870s. Germany overtook France in industrial production, and at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. England was left behind. Light and food industries developed much more slowly than heavy industry. In these sectors, Germany lagged behind not only England and the USA, but also France in some types of products, mainly due to lower effective demand in the domestic market (unlike France, few tourists visited Germany). The process of monopolization in Germany took place mainly not on the basis of trusts, as in America, but on the basis of cartels and syndicates - agreements between firms on product prices, sources of raw materials, markets, etc. Before the First World War, about 600 monopoly organizations. The volume of German foreign trade for 1870-1913. grew by about three times. The value of finished goods accounted for more than 70% of German exports; German products - 50% of the world export of electrical goods. High incomes allowed the German bourgeoisie to significantly raise the wages of skilled workers (approximately 5 million people) At the beginning of the 1800th century. the average annual salary of a skilled German worker (approximately 53 marks) was 2% of the annual income of the average entrepreneur (5-45 hired workers) and 25% of the income of the average official, and the salary of the workers of the control apparatus in production (the “labor aristocracy”) was inferior to the income of the small entrepreneur and for the average official by only 30-XNUMX%. By the beginning of the XNUMXth century. The West, due to the rapid development of production, became noticeably richer, so labor became more expensive. As a result, the most radical Russian Marxists created a theory of a revolutionary breakthrough of the capitalist system not in the most developed countries, as the founders of Marxism believed, but in the weakest link of this chain - Russia. Unlike Western countries, the labor force in Russia was still relatively cheap. After the First World War, this theory was put into practice by the Bolshevik Party in Russia, which brought untold disaster to the country. 4. Loss of industrial championship by England If in 1870 England produced about half of the three main types of industrial products on the then world market - iron, coal and cotton fabrics, then in 1913 it provided only 22% of the world coal production, smelted 13% of the world's iron, consumed 23% of the world's cotton . World trade policy has changed: more and more countries began to move away from the policy of free trade and returned to protectionism, protecting their industry from the competition of British goods. The branches of heavy industry, new to England, developed at the fastest pace - electrical, steel, chemical, overtaking traditional industries. For example, for 1870-1913. pig iron production increased by 1,7 times, while steel smelting - by 38 (but in the USA and Germany steel smelting has already caught up with pig iron, and in England this production was still significantly inferior). The only traditional branch of heavy industry, which was both re-equipped and showed steady growth rates, was shipbuilding. British capitalism was based on the colonial empire. The English colonies compensated British capital for the shortcomings of industrial development. In exporting capital, England left America and Germany far behind. Due to large imports of raw materials and foodstuffs, England's foreign trade balance was constantly passive, but the balance of payments, including all types of settlements with other parties, was invariably active, thanks to increasing "invisible income" (interest on capital, freight, maritime trade insurance, etc.). d.). England, preparing for the inevitable clash with Germany, at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. began to implement a huge program of naval construction (on the principle of two ships for every new German one), which took up to half of the state budget expenditures. 5. The economic backwardness of France For France at the turn of the XIX and XX centuries. German and American rates of industrial development were unattainable - the narrowness of the raw material base affected. For 1870-1913 the volume of American industrial production increased 13 times, German - almost 7 times, and French - only 3 times. At the end of the 11th century. The leading sector of the French economy, agriculture, entered a period of chronic crisis. Having the opportunity, rare for that time, to fully satisfy its needs for bread, France ranked only 280th in Europe in terms of agricultural productivity. Surpassing Germany in sown areas by 1913 thousand hectares, France harvested 25 million quintals less grain in 1. In terms of the number of livestock per XNUMX hectare of land, France was inferior to Germany, England, Belgium, Denmark and other countries. The concentration of French industry was much slower than in the USA, Germany and England, but the rate of concentration and centralization of banks in France exceeded those in other countries. French finance capital was built around banks, not industrial monopolies. The French bank became its main center. The 200 largest shareholders of a French bank made up the elite of the country's financial oligarchy. The French bank presented a unique case of the concentration of financial capital on a national scale (there were two largest groups in the USA - Morgan and Rockefeller). By the end of the XIX century. the center of interests of the French financial capital was the ship-usurious activity abroad. For 1880-1913 in France, industrial production approximately tripled, and the export of French capital more than quadrupled. Although it was England, not France, who exported the most capital, it was she who played the role of world usurer. English capital represented mainly industrial investments, while French capital represented loans to foreign states. Although France in the XIX - early XX centuries. took possession of large colonies in Africa, Southeast Asia, Oceania and created an empire 3 times larger than the metropolis in territory, French finance capital, cashing in mainly on the exploitation of debtor countries, was not interested in the production use of the colonies. Therefore, the colonies in the economy of France played a much smaller role than in the economy of England. Usury was the main source of income, and France, whose economic potential was much inferior to Germany, maintained an army almost equal in number to the German one. 6. Strengthening of monopolies due to the downsizing of medium-sized enterprises One of the global problems of economic theory is the problem of the minimum effective size of an enterprise. According to economic theory, positive and negative effects of growth in the scale of production are considered, referring to the first of them: 1) specialization of labor; 2) specialization of managerial personnel; 3) efficient use of capital; 4) the possibility of producing by-products, and secondly, a temporary decrease in the effectiveness of managerial control. New orders brought additional profit, which self-supporting enterprises directed to the development of not only technical bases, but also social infrastructure - the construction of sports grounds, recreation centers, children's health camps, and sanatoriums. As a result, successful enterprises, the number of which was constantly growing (for example, in industry - 84% in 1980 and 91% in 1988; construction and installation organizations - 69% and 92%; state farms - 44% and 94%, respectively; communications enterprises - 90% and 97%; consumer services enterprises - 73% and 83%; supply and consumer services enterprises - 74% and 79% became even more powerful and more modern). Late 1980s - early 1990s were marked by the desire to increase the quality of commodity producers and the elimination of monopolies. To a greater extent, it is naive - the economic idea of competition has turned into the practice of creating small enterprises, which in itself would be good if it were not done at the expense of downsizing of medium enterprises; and this was a mistake far greater in scope and social consequences than the amalgamation of individual commodity producers into collective farms instead of the creation of industrial agricultural enterprises along with small ones. Medium-sized enterprises have become "building blocks" not only for the creation of small enterprises, but also for the further strengthening of monopolies. So, only in 1995, three leading enterprises of the industry increased their share in the total industrial output of the industry: 1) in the electric power industry - 1,67 times (from 9,6% in 1994 to 16,0% in 1995); 2) in the forestry, woodworking and pulp and paper industries - by 1,53 times (from 8,8% to 13,5%); 3) in the chemical industry - by 1,21 times (from 9,8% to 11,9%); 4) in light industry - by 1,23 times (from 3,1% to 3,8%); 5) in the fuel industry - by 1,12 times (from 13,3% to 14,9%); 6) in mechanical engineering and metalworking - by 1,15 times (from 13,0% to 15,0%); 7) in ferrous metallurgy - by 1,06 times (from 30,8% to 32,5%); 8) in non-ferrous metallurgy - by 1,06 times (from 31,6% to 31,8%). Only in two sectors (the building materials industry and the food industry) did the share of the top three enterprises decrease, while in the building materials industry the share of enterprises' revenge remained unchanged (5,7%), which less than once confirms the inconsistency of the idea of demonopolization of the Russian economy. 7. Dismantling: a socially oriented model of taxation One of the axioms of market theory says: for enterprises (organizations, individual entrepreneurs, institutions, etc.) taxes are additional costs; therefore, from the point of view of the enterprise, such a taxation system is optimal, which allows satisfying all its reasonable needs, that is, it makes it possible to develop technically, solve social issues, etc. If the taxation system does not satisfy this requirement, then the enterprise either ceases its activities or transfers a part of its business into the shadows. From the government's point of view, such a taxation system is optimal, which allows you to have a deficit-free budget. The taxation system, which simultaneously satisfies both the interests of the state budget and enterprises, is socially oriented. The mechanism for setting the rate and distributing profits was as follows. Enterprises independently calculated the amount of profit left at their disposal for all purposes provided for by law: 1) replenishment of working capital; 2) capital investments, technical and organizational development; 3) repayment of long-term loans in banks and payment of interest on the loan; 4) maintenance of social infrastructure; 5) financial incentives. The remaining part of the profit was to be transferred to the budget in the form of the sum of two components: payment for funds and the so-called "free balance of profit." The free balance of profit was far from "free": it is a "directive" indicator, that is, it was subject to mandatory implementation, like the payment for funds. The excess profit was deducted to the enterprise (according to increased standards), and the balances were transferred to the budget. Today in Russia there are more than 50 taxes, targeted fees and deductions, each of which solves only one specific task, as evidenced by their names: a targeted fee for the maintenance of law enforcement agencies; contribution to the pension fund; tax on the maintenance of the housing stock and objects of the social and cultural sphere; road user tax; advertising tax; vehicle owner tax; tax on the purchase of motor vehicles, etc. It is obvious that the whole diversity of life cannot be squeezed into the framework of not only 50 taxes, but 500 taxes. This explains why taxes are getting bigger and bigger. But this does not answer the question of how, having different taxable bases and rates, it is possible to pre-calculate taxes as costs, that is, to make sure that the amount of costs and taxes under no circumstances exceeds the funds earned by the enterprise. So far this problem has not been resolved. LECTURE No. 11. Russian Economy 1. General characteristics of the Russian economy The economy of modern Russia is mixed and is developing in the direction of strengthening the market principle. It can be said that at present it is still an economy of transition, when planned regulation has already been destroyed, and market regulators have not yet been created. There are several opinions about the failure of reforms in Russia, the most significant of which are the following: 1) Reformed reform (reforms were not properly prepared, were not planned (or at least reliably predicted) the main socio-economic indicators of the transition period); 2) patriotic reform (reforms in the form in which they are being implemented are imposed on Russia by the International Monetary Fund with the aim of enslaving Russia, genocide of Russians, turning our country into a raw material appendage of the West); 3) patriarchal reform (at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, the Russian people rejected both NEP-man capitalism and the classical capitalism of the Guchkovs and Milyukovs; they did not accept socialism, in which they, the great Russian people, were turned into a faceless mass of average workers and employees). The Russian people will not accept any new formations if they contradict: 1) collectivist Russian tradition; 2) the breadth of the Russian character; 3) rich Russian culture and spirituality, dating back to Orthodoxy. Be that as it may, but for the period from 01.01.1991/01.01.1999/XNUMX to XNUMX/XNUMX/XNUMX: 1) Russia’s gross national product decreased by more than 2 times; 2) against the backdrop of an unprecedented rise in prices in the history of the country (by 11 times), the minimum wage increased by a total of 591 times; 3) over 60% of the income of Russians went into the "shadow", that is, they began to be paid in "black cash"; 4) the revenue part of the budget has sharply decreased, and the financing of expenditures on education, culture, science, social needs, defense is carried out untimely and not in full. The true causes of the problems that economic Russia is currently experiencing are not as obvious as it might seem. However, you can point to those that: 1) are interconnected; 2) lie in the field of economics; 3) are closely related to the block of social issues; 4) do not satisfy V. Pareto's optimality criterion. 2. Capitalist restructuring of Russia After the defeat in the Crimean War (1853-1855), a restructuring of the national economy took place in Russia on a capitalist basis. It began with the abolition of serfdom (February 1861), which opened up a whole system of transformations in the legal, military (universal military service), judicial, administrative and other areas. However, the reforms were not completed: the country did not receive a parliamentary system, and the peasantry did not receive land. Russia, which completed the industrial revolution after the reform, showed rather high rates of industrial development: for 1860-1913. industrial production increased 12,5 times (in Germany - 7 times, in France - 3 times). But, given the size of the country, this rise could not be decisive for overcoming the backlog. The technical and socio-economic backwardness of the country could not be overcome by peaceful means: the autocracy and the feudal nobility stubbornly refused to leave the stage, seeking salvation in external adventures. Free capital has not formed in the country, the bourgeoisie is firmly tied to tsarism by profitable military orders, customs protectionism, which protected it from foreign competition, and also by a police regime that provides cheap labor. The agrarian reform showed that the optimal solution to the socio-economic problems of Russia while maintaining tsarism and noble landownership is no more realistic than "fried ice". 3. Economic consequences of the First World War (1914-1918) By the beginning of the XX century. the struggle of the capitalist powers for markets and sources of raw materials has become extremely acute. In 1914, a war broke out between two imperialist blockades (the Entente: France, England, Russia, etc., on the one hand; the Triple Alliance: Germany, Turkey, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, on the other hand). This war is a world table: out of 56, 34 sovereign states that existed on the planet at that time took part in it. In Europe, the workers theoretically had enough strength to avert war with an all-Russian political strike. The World War presented unprecedented demands on the economy. She absorbed 1/3 of the material values of mankind. The military expenditures of the belligerent states increased by more than 20 times, exceeding by 12 times the available gold reserves. The front absorbed over 50% of industrial output. First of all, the production of machine guns that dominated the field at that time increased sharply - up to 850 thousand pieces. In countries that lost a terrible war, a restructuring of the socio-economic and political system naturally took place. The Austro-Hungarian and Turkish empires collapsed. The revolutions in Russia (February 1917) and Germany (November 1918) put an end to the power of the feudal lords and the monarchy. The German bourgeoisie managed to keep power in its hands, but the Russian bourgeoisie could not do this and was destroyed by the totalitarian Bolshevik regime established by the October Revolution. If mobilization in Russia did not ultimately allow the European proletariat to prevent a world war, then the defeat of the country and its exit from the war led to the emergence of a socialist system in the world and a split into hostile socio-economic systems. This was the most severe consequence of the First World War for mankind. 4. Major economic changes in the interwar period (1919-1939) The socio-economic and political development of mankind after the October Revolution of 1917 passed under the sign of confrontation and struggle (both bloodless and bloody) between the socialist and capitalist systems. The confrontation between the systems gave rise to two main trends in the economic policy of the capitalist countries: democratic, built on the containment of socialism, the search for a compromise, and at the same time raising real wages and social protection of workers, and totalitarian (it is very close to socialism), which is aimed at military the crushing of socialism, the totalitarian Soviet Union - the successor of the Russian Empire - is its center. The first trend was characteristic of the USA, France, England and other bourgeois-democratic countries of the West, the second - for Japan, Italy and especially Germany, where in the early 1930s. gg. defeated the national socialist (fascist) regime based on racial ideology. In terms of the rate of scientific and technological progress and labor productivity, US industry has far surpassed all other countries. The engineering industry, which annually produced millions of cars, created in the country a huge market for metal, oil, glass, rubber and other materials, as well as a powerful infrastructure in the form of gas stations, car service enterprises, and provoked unprecedented highway construction. The economic crisis has gripped all the major capitalist countries. Germany suffered the most. If in England for 1929-1932. industrial production fell by 18%, then in Germany - by 29%. In the country in 1932, there were 7 million unemployed - almost 11% of the population. In the USA - large loans and subsidies to dying enterprises, stimulation of private investment by tax breaks, even provoking inflation by issuing unsecured dollars in order to revive demand, public works (especially road construction) for the unemployed, etc.; in Germany - direct state management of the economy (the owner of the enterprise was appointed by his "Fuhrer") and the complete militarization of production. With the help of active state intervention, Germany, the USA and other capitalist countries got out of the crisis. The elimination of unemployment contributed to the rallying of the German people around the National Socialist Party and stimulated the accelerated preparation of the Second World War, which was unleashed by Germany in 1939. 5. Economic content of the Cold War The confrontation of the systems outwardly had a peaceful, ideological form ("cold war"), although certain "reconnaissance in force" were undertaken - the most significant: on the socialist side - the war in Korea (1950-1953), the installation of missiles with atomic warheads in Cuba (1962), the war in Afghanistan (1979-1989), and with the capitalist war in Vietnam in the 1960s. The essence of the Cold War was an unprecedented competition in the production of modern weapons between the Western (North Atlantic Treaty) and Eastern (Warsaw Treaty) military alliances. The race of new arms embraced all types of troops - air, land, sea. The main result was the creation of a new type of strategic weapon: thermonuclear (hydrogen) bombs (1955), which repeatedly exceed the destructive power of atomic charges, and their carriers - ballistic intercontinental missiles (1957 - the first launch of an Earth satellite into space by a rocket) - as stationary (in mines), and mobile (on nuclear submarines). In the mid 1980s. The arms race, and with it the Cold War, ended with the victory of the Western bloc led by the United States, which dealt the Soviet Union two hardest bloodless blows. The first blow - the installation in Europe of American tactical missiles of increased power (flight time to Moscow - only 5 million) - the USSR parried with a system of nuclear submarines located on the ocean "rookeries" around the North American continent with ballistic missiles aimed at the main centers of America. On the second blow - the American strategic defense initiative ("Star Wars") - the development of an irresistible laser shield, according to the idea, for ballistic missiles, the Soviet economy, exhausted by overwhelming military production, turned out to be powerless to respond. It was tantamount to defeat. In 1991, the Soviet Union, due to its extremely inefficient working economy, collapsed (a detailed analysis in the life of the "Kingdom of Money") and the power of the Soviets ceased to exist. 6. Not Planning In 1987, “directive planning” was abolished, and with it the planned start of work in general (for example, disciplines in one way or another connected with planning were excluded from the curricula of universities; the planning and economic departments of enterprises and organizations were disbanded or transformed at best into analysis and forecasting departments). The very word "plan" has become outdated, little used. The Plenum defined a fundamental restructuring of the entire planning system as the most important organic part of the economic management reform. Paragraph 7 of the same resolution specified this decision: 1) "to abandon, starting from the thirteenth five-year plan, the established practice of the annual development and approval of state annual plans for the economic and social development of the USSR"; 2) grant enterprises the rights to independently: a) plan for the coming year the output of products, the performance of works and services, as well as other indicators of social and economic development; b) resolve issues of material and technical provision of resources for contract construction and installation works. Formally, the decree retained the institution of 5-year plans, however, if we take into account the rather democratic nature of the entire system of long-term planning in the USSR, it becomes clear that the formal preservation of 5-year plans did not solve anything: the planned one was replaced by an unplanned start. 7. Refusal to manage material resources The planning system included a fairly developed subsystem for managing material resources, the significance of which was determined by the fact that the share of material costs in the structure of the cost of industrial products traditionally accounted for the lion's share (in 1988, for example, 72,5%), and therefore material resources had a very high degree of regulation. As part of the social and economic development plan for the year, the enterprise developed a logistics plan (LTO plan), which listed all the materials necessary for the enterprise, indicated the need for each of them; the sources of satisfaction of this need are identified. Naturally, before drawing up the MTO plan, it was necessary: 1) form a portfolio of orders; 2) determine the own needs of the enterprise (what fixed assets to purchase, where and what to build, what fixed assets to repair, etc.); 3) develop (adjust) the consumption rates of materials for marketable products, as well as estimates for work for their own needs; 4) know their own capabilities to meet the needs: the balance of materials at the beginning of the year; savings in materials due to lower consumption rates; the possibility of acquiring certain materials in a decentralized manner; 5) have the information necessary for the development of estimates for water consumption, electricity, heating, the number of employees; cubic capacity of heated premises; operating modes of technological equipment, etc. The MTO plans of enterprises, brought together, determined the needs of some ministries and set "directive" tasks for others. This is how plans for centralized supplies were formed until 1988. 8. Abolition of the principle of "equal pay for equal work" Until 1988, the Soviet economy professed the principle of remuneration, which, in relation to the "Swedish" model, is called the "Socialist principle of equal pay for equal work." The abolition of the principle of "equal pay for equal work" occurred due to the fact that with the abolition of the institution of planning, directive wage regulators were abolished. The first of these regulators, the "normative ratio of wage growth and labor productivity" was focused on the final results of the enterprise's work, and established how much money could be directed to the wages of a given number of its employees with a given volume of output produced by them. The second indicator, "the standard for remuneration of employees of the administrative apparatus," divided all the money allocated for remuneration into two parts: wages for workers and wages for employees of the administrative apparatus (for example, with a standard of 0,18 out of every 100 rubles of the general fund wages, the satisfaction apparatus could claim only 18 rubles). The results of the abolition of the principle of equal pay for equal work were not long in coming: already in 1988, for the first time in the entire Soviet history of industry, wage growth rates began to outpace labor productivity growth rates. This was not only a prerequisite for the stratification of society into rich and poor (today 2% of Russians die of starvation, while 60% of all savings belong to 2% of the country's population), but also the main cause of inflation (due to the growth in the volume of money supply not supported by goods) . 9. Reducing the revenue side of the budget In 1988, the structure of costs for the production of industrial products was as follows: depreciation - 10,8%; material costs - 72,5%; wages and social insurance contributions - 13,8%; other costs - 2,9%. In 1988, 10,8% of costs amounted to 45 billion rubles in the RSFSR, or 72 billion US dollars. These funds were used exclusively for their intended purpose: 1) for major repairs - according to pre-approved project-by-project estimates and within the limits of the amounts allocated for this (for example, in 1988 in industry - 20,9 billion rubles); 2) for full restoration - in accordance with the submitted applications and plans for organizational and technical development. The rest was seized by the state from enterprises and then redistributed. As before, depreciation is charged: 2 million 760 thousand chief accountants still make huge depreciation charges, which do not go to the budget, but are included in the cost price, thereby reducing the taxable profit of enterprises. 10. The economic system of socialism in the USSR The economy of socialism arose in Russia as a result of an almost bloodless coup d'état carried out by the Bolshevik Party in October 1917. In fact, without meeting resistance, the Bolsheviks turned the coup d'etat into a social revolution - they proclaimed a power that was totalitarian in nature. Soviets, decreed the forcible liquidation of landlord landownership and the equalizing division of landowner land among the peasants (which could not be resolved for centuries, happened literally in an instant! Until the next summer of 1918, landowner land had already been divided), dispersed the Constituent Assembly freely elected by the people, in which they majority, confiscated the capital of private banks, monopolized foreign trade, nationalized large-scale industry and partial railways, introduced the forcible seizure of part of the food from the peasants. The five-year national economic plans served as the embodiment of this tough strategic line. The vast majority of them were obviously unfeasible, nevertheless, all five-year plans were officially declared completed ahead of schedule. Seven decades later, after liberation from serfdom, Russian peasants again became serfs. The collectivization of agriculture was the resource base for the modernization of industry. During the years of the first five-year plan alone, 1500 new industrial enterprises were put into operation, the fleet of metalworking machines was renewed by half, the average annual increase in production reached almost 20%, the first 5 tanks and hundreds of combat aircraft were produced. As a result of the first two five-year plans, the USSR became the second industrial power in the world and the first in Europe, overtaking Germany, England and France in terms of total industrial output. 11. Total militarization of the economy of the USSR The main feature of the Soviet socialist economy was total militarization, the complete subordination of the country's economy to the production of weapons. At all times, the production of military equipment enjoyed priority, according to the data, the case was truly unique - literally all sectors of the economy worked for the war; weapons and equipment accounted for 70-80% of the gross industrial output. In 1970, at the height of the arms race, the Soviet Union produced per capita 479 kg of steel and 3000 kWh of electricity, and America - 630 kg and 7700 kWh, but parity prevailed in armaments between the USSR and the USA. Inhumane laws were adopted, according to which military personnel who were captured were considered traitors to their homeland, and their families were subject to expulsion. Total distrust resulted in total suspicion, and further - in the total destruction of all suspects. The total militarization of the economy gave rise to a crisis of consumption specific to socialism: a stable lag of supply behind payment - capable demand. Militarization explained in the people's minds the inevitability of a shortage of goods, as a people's sacrifice in the name of defending the country from enemies. For the broad masses, the idea of external danger explained the meaning of Soviet life. It is believed that about 20% of GDP is produced outside the official economy. The criminal economy also includes underground banks that accumulate income from racketeering, prostitution, theft, gambling; they lend, under the protection of armed gangs, small businesses in cash ("black cash") at huge (up to 40) percent. For 1992-1996 GDP decreased by 28% - more than during the Civil (23%) and World War II (21%) wars. The country lives by exporting gas and oil, timber, metals of the latest weapons and importing consumer goods. The industry in general is not profitable. The biggest income comes from: trading (especially currency, real estate), banking, civil service (extortions), stock brokerage and simple theft. Thus, the harmonious development of the national economy of the new Russia and the improvement of the living standards of the people depend, first of all, on the solution of three closely related problems - the elimination of criminal business, the establishment of civilized market economic relations and a full-fledged investment process. LECTURE No. 12. Formation and development of a market economy of free competition As a result of the industrial revolution and the initial capital, a market economy formed on free competition, or pure capitalism, has developed. Competition is a competition between commodity producers for the most profitable areas of capital investment, sales markets, and sources of raw materials. Competition is an extremely effective mechanism for the spontaneous regulation of the proportions of social production. Distinguish price competition, mainly formed on non-price competition by lowering prices, based on improving the quality of products and the conditions for its sale. Capitalism - in the theory of Marxism, this is a social system in which the main means of production are the property of the capitalist class (bourgeoisie), which exploits the class of hired workers (the proletariat), the distribution of the goods produced is embodied in reality, mainly through the market. Other scientific theories give a different description of capitalism (for example, as a system of open competition and free enterprise). Recently, Marxist terminology has ceased to be prevalent under capitalism, and began to understand a social, political, and economic system in which property, including capital assets, is disposed of and owned by private individuals, and labor is bought for wages, the distribution of resources is translated into reality through the mechanism free prices. The degree to which the market mechanism is used determines the various forms of capitalism. Signs of the market: a significant number of sellers and buyers; unlimited number of market participants; free entry and exit from it; homogeneity of similar products on the market; free prices; lack of pressure, coercion from some participants in relation to others. Distinctive features of the market capitalist economy system: 1) independent regulation of the economy based on the free market; 2) the overwhelming spread of sole private ownership of economic resources; 3) commodity configuration of the economy. A commodity economy is a type of economy that produces products for sale. The evolution of the capitalist system led to the second industrial revolution, which unfolded in the last third of the XNUMXth century. Main achievements in the industry: 1) W. Siemens (Germany) - the invention of the dynamo (1867); 2) T. Edison (USA) - the invention of the generator (1891); 3) created electric motors; 4) the electric railway was invented; 5) transmission of electricity over a distance has been mastered; 6) the incandescent lamp was invented; 7) the telegraph was invented; 8) a new steam engine was invented - a turbine; 9) the internal combustion engine was invented; 10) the automobile was invented (1883-1885). The application of the latest technical discoveries and the emergence of new branches of production determined the concentration and enlargement of production, the emergence of monopolies. Capitalism has passed into the next stage of its formation, which is usually called imperialism. The monopolies have concentrated in their own hands the production of the greater part of the world social product and secured for themselves the receipt of high monopoly profits. During this period, the leading capitalist countries completed the economic and territorial division of the world, which led to the formation of the colonial system. The contradictions of the capitalist economy led to severe upheavals - the First World War and the revolution in Russia, the Great Depression and the Second World War. This, in turn, led to a change in the economic significance of the state. There has been a shift in the social aspects of economic development in the direction of strengthening the social protection of workers. All this confirms the greater adaptability of the capitalist market system in comparison with other forms of management. The new role of the state in the economy was substantiated by John. M. Keynes and tested during the implementation of the "new course" of US President F. Roosevelt. Keynes, John Maynard (1883-1946), English economist, one of the founders of macroeconomic analysis. Keynes owns the fundamental two-volume work Treatise on Money (1930), the book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936). A feature of the Keynes method is the emphasis on macroeconomic (aggregate, aggregate) indicators - income, investment flows, savings and accumulation, consumption and production on a society-wide scale. Keynes's economic program contains: an all-round increase in government spending, the expansion of public works, cyclical and inflationary tax policies, cyclical balancing of the budget, limiting wage growth, and regulating employment. After the Second World War, the environmental conditions for the functioning of economic systems have changed significantly, both at the micro and macro levels. The development and formation of the military-industrial complex significantly stimulated the development of production and technology. After the restoration of national economies, the consequences of the scientific and technological revolution begin to appear. Science becomes a productive force. Management acquires the character of an economic phenomenon and science. One of the main issues of economic policy is the problem of balancing the national economy with the active participation of the state. During this period, Western economists are carefully studying the Soviet economic model, making unsuccessful attempts to integrate the positive features of economic efficiency and the socialist economic model of the market mechanism. As a result, neo-Keynesian (in most countries), illiberal (social market economy in Germany), social democratic (in Sweden) models of the national economy are being formed. After the Second World War, integration trends in the world economy intensified. The world's leading economic centers have taken shape - Western and Central Europe, North America, and Japan. The most important event in the economic life of Europe was the creation of the European Community and the introduction of a single currency for its members. Economic integration - involves the rapprochement and mutual adaptation of individual national economies. It is ensured by the interweaving and concentration of capital, the implementation of a coordinated interstate economic policy. Main types of integration associations: 1) a customs union, when the free movement of services and goods within the group complements the single customs tariff in relation to third countries; 2) a free trade zone, when the participating countries limit themselves to the abolition of customs barriers in mutual trade; 3) a common market, when barriers between countries in mutual trade are eliminated, for the movement of labor and capital; 4) an economic union, which, in addition to all the above measures, involves the implementation of a common economic policy by the participating states. The European Community (EU) is an integration grouping that includes 12 Western European states: Belgium, Great Britain, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, France, and Germany. It was formed from three communities (European Economic Community (EEC), European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), European Steel and Coal Community (ECSC)) created in the 1950s. and since 1967 having common governing bodies and a single budget. At the end of the 1960s. a customs union was created: a single customs tariff was introduced in relation to third countries; Customs duties have been abolished and quantitative restrictions in mutual trade have been lifted; a unified foreign trade policy is being pursued; a joint regional policy is being pursued to develop backward and depressed areas; the European Monetary System is in effect; joint scientific and technical programs are being implemented, etc. In 1985, the Single European Act was adopted (entered into force in 1987), according to which, by the end of 1992, the process of creating a single internal market for goods, capital, services, and labor must be completed. A promising task is the formation of a political association in the form of a confederal or federal type. Various committees operate on the basis of the EU, for example, the General Committee for Agricultural Cooperation, the Federation of Farmers' Unions, the Committee of Permanent Representatives, etc. The governing body of the EU is the Council of Ministers; administrative - EU Commission; the European Court of Justice and the European Parliament of 518 parliamentarians, which is an advisory and recommendatory body (with the exception of the budget, which is approved by the European Parliament), operates. During this period, the formation of the market system moved to a new stage. State regulation of economic relations as the main goal has chosen to support the competition system. The enormous strength of the market-organized economic system combined with the enormous strength of the state. The economy finally became the sphere of state policy. There have been qualitative changes in the social structure of society in industrialized countries. The rapprochement of various strata of society followed the path of the formation of a mass stratum of proprietors. The middle class began to acquire great significance in economic life. At the same time, many problems of the world economy remain unresolved. First of all, this is the problem of the debt of the third world countries, the problem of eliminating hunger; the problem of unequal exchange between them and industrialized countries, etc. Economy of a centrally controlled type In the USSR and other socialist countries, the improvement of the centrally controlled economy continued. Based on the extensive growth of the Soviet economy, in a period of dynamic development, predetermined positive consequences were achieved. In the shortest possible time, the resumption of the national economy after the first and second world wars was carried out, the mechanization of agriculture was carried out, defense production and heavy industry were formed (this made it possible to withstand and win the Great Patriotic War), the electrification of the country, etc. Today we can state that by the end of the 1960s. this mechanism has reached the pinnacle of development. This model lost its momentum and began to stagnate. Stagnation: 1) a period of zero, extremely low or negative economic growth (taking into account inflation); 2) a period of low activity in the market. The economy of the type under consideration was characterized by contradictions (as well as any social system). But political scientists and activists tried to ignore them. The founding forces in the social sciences were focused on proving the benefits of this system. As a result, the contradictions continued to grow and led to a change in the vector of social and economic formation of society. The main contradiction in the sphere of economic life of the socialist countries by the end of the 1960s. there was a contradiction between the level of formation of the social activity of the productive forces and the unnecessarily (at this point in time) centralized system for managing industrial relations. As a result of the state's lack of demand for creative potential, the able-bodied population has lost incentives to improve labor efficiency. On the other hand, the economy began to experience overstrain, which is caused by a prolonged arms race. All this led to the formation of a chronically deficit economy. A deficit economy is a form of a planned state economy in which emphasis is placed on the regulation of material flows without being closely linked to prices, finances, and loans. In such an economy, a conditional shortage of most goods is formed. Under these conditions, the dissatisfaction of the peoples of the USSR and individual national republics with the established socio-economic relations, the relationship between the center and the republics, increased. That is why, at the very first attempt to decentralize the entire system, the USSR collapsed as a state. As a result, the world community once again embarked on the only path of economic development within the framework of a market-type economic model. LECTURE No. 13. Formation and development of the credit system of Russia in the XVIII-XIX centuries 1. Credit institutions of Russia before the XNUMXth century In the XNUMXth century, there were the first attempts at state credit establishment in Russia. The beginning of these attempts dates back to the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna. In 1733, by her decree, she ordered loans to be opened from the Mint. But still, the credit operations of the Mint were not very significant and were soon completed. More significant attempts were put into action under Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, who was the daughter of Peter I, her reign lasted 20 years (1741-1761). On May 13, 1754, by decree of the Empress, State Loan Banks (Noble Banks) were formed for the nobility in St. Petersburg and Moscow under the Senate and the Senate office. The same decree provides for the organization of the Merchants' Bank at the College of Commerce in St. Petersburg. Noble banks issued loans for a period of 1 year at the rate of 6% per annum secured by collateral: 1) gold, silver, diamond things and pearls - in the amount of 1/3 of the cost; 2) the amount of loans should not exceed 3 real estates, villages and villages with people and with all land, assuming 50 rubles each. per 50 people. In addition to loans under named pledges, personal loans were also allowed with the guarantee of "noble, living years and reliable people", after which the unredeemed estate had to be sold at auction. Initially, the authorized capital of the Noble Banks was 740 thousand rubles. During the reign of Catherine II, the capital was increased to 6 million rubles. The merchant's bank issued loans to Russian merchants who traded at the St. Petersburg port from 6% per annum, secured by goods for a period of 1-6 months. A year later, the terms of the loans were increased to 1 year, and in 1764 it was allowed to issue loans to merchants without collateral for goods - secured by the guarantee of the magistrates and the town hall. The activities of the first credit institutions, both noble and merchant, were not very successful. These institutions did not justify the hopes of the Russian government. The treasury capital issued by the bank for circulation was distributed to a relatively small circle of people who had money left; there were many overdue loans, the landowners for the most part did not even pay interest; the sale of overdue pledges signed by law was not actually applied; there was no proper accounting; the reports submitted to the Empress were very approximate; abuses have also been identified. As a result, in 1785, the Moscow and St. Petersburg noble banks were closed, and their affairs were transferred to the newly created State Loan Bank. In 1782 the Merchants' Bank was closed. At this time, the government sent its forces to collect funds to facilitate the circulation of copper money. On July 21, 1758, a decree was issued on the establishment of independent banks in St. Petersburg and Moscow under the general name "Bank offices of bill production for the circulation of copper money." These institutions are known as the "Copper Bank". Banks were required to: 1) have continuous relationships with state institutions in St. Petersburg and Moscow in order to be aware of how much and when they should receive money from other cities; the money came to the bank as a result of a bill of exchange; 2) accept state and private capital; 3) to keep the main ledger, which took into account the issuance and contributions; 4) to provide money on bills of exchange to merchants, landowners, breeders and manufacturers. The Copper Bank, compared with the Merchant's Bank, made a significant breakthrough; at this time, transfer operations (transfers) and current accounts are born. Under Empress Catherine II (1729-1796), who ruled for 34 years, the government's efforts in organizing credit were directed mainly to the formation of land and pawn loans. In 1772, for these purposes, new credit institutions were opened in the capitals, such as Saving and Loan treasuries. Safe treasuries, which were established at orphanages in St. Petersburg and Moscow, accepted deposits for incremental interest for various periods and on demand and issued loans secured by real estate for a period of 1 to 8 years. Profits from these operations went to the maintenance of orphanages. Loan treasuries in St. Petersburg and Moscow issued loans secured by silver, gold, diamond things and watches, at 6% per annum, for a period of 3 to 12 months. A distinctive feature is that the Loan treasuries did not have their own capital and did not accept any deposits, and the capital of the Safe Treasury was the source for issuing loans. For these borrowings, the Loan Treasury paid 5% of the profits to the Saving Treasury. In 1755 Orders of Public Charity were established in all provincial towns. In fact, these Orders had the character of long-term mortgage institutions. Unlike the Saved Treasuries, they could issue loans secured by real estates only in the province in which they themselves were located. Established lending institutions were still not able to meet the entire need for long-term loans. In this regard, in 1786, the State Loan Bank was established to develop the sphere of noble agriculture. Loans were secured by: 1) inhabited mining estates; 2) landowners' inhabited estates; 3) houses of factory and stone buildings in St. Petersburg. Loans were issued to the nobility for a period of 20 years out of 8%, and to cities - for 22 years out of 7%. In 1797, an attempt was made to form a land loan on a new basis. Decree December 18, 1797 was established for the nobility Auxiliary Bank on the following important grounds: 1) loans are issued for 25 years, but not in money, but in special bank notes, secured by 2 real estates, in the amount of 40-75 rubles. per peasant soul and depending on the class of provinces; 2) the borrower pays 6% and repayment according to this calculation for not paying the installment on time, the estate is taken into custody; 3) bank notes issued to the borrower are necessarily accepted both by private individuals and the treasury at a nominal price and generate an income of 5%. Practice has shown that bank notes have not been able to gain confidence in themselves as independent, actually secured credit obligations. In this regard, during the entire reign of Catherine II, the government was concerned about the arrangement of a land loan, but nothing was done to organize a commercial loan. 2. Credit institutions in the reign of Alexander I Alexander I was born on December 12, 1777, died on November 19, 1825. He ascended the throne on March 12, 1801 at the age of 24 and ruled for 24 years. In the first half of the reign of Alexander I, the government, absorbed by military events (Napoleon's invasion of Russia), could not begin to transform state credit institutions in accordance with the increased needs of domestic industry and trade and the needs of land ownership. In this regard, the measures taken by the government in this area were of a partial nature of changes and improvements. One of these measures was the opening in 1806 of new registration offices in Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Feodosia and Taganrog. But in 1817 these offices in Moscow and Arkhangelsk were reorganized into offices of the State Commercial Bank. On a broader basis, the State Commercial Bank was established in 1817, and under Alexander II in 1860 it was replaced by the current State Bank. The State Commercial Bank in its organization was an institution that met the requirements of commercial and industrial credit, as a result of which its activities developed rapidly, especially when provincial offices were opened in a number of provinces. The system of land credit institutions, represented by the Loan Bank, the Safe Treasury and the Orders of Public Charity, operated on the same basis. In connection with the Patriotic War of 1812, the activities of the Loan Bank were suspended, since its capital was directed to reinforce the funds of the State Treasury. The issuance of new loans secured by immovable estates from the Loan Bank resumed in 1822, but in small amounts and on special orders from the Highest. It was only in 1824 that a manifesto was adopted on the opening of the Zemsky Bank on the basis of a new regulation, which detailed the conditions and terms for issuing loans. The new position of the Zemsky Bank caused a significant impact on the expansion of the operations of this bank. As for the public and private initiative in the field of credit, as before, and in the reign of Alexander I, it was almost completely absent, not counting the emergence of two urban public banks and one rural one. These banks arose as a result of the initiative of individuals, who had in mind mainly charitable purposes. 3. Credit institutions in the reign of Nicholas I Nicholas I (1796-1855) reigned on the throne for 30 years - from December 14, 1825 Nicholas I, brother of Alexander I, who was childless and had no heirs. The system of state credit institutions during the reign of Nicholas I did not undergo significant changes. The activities of these institutions developed while Count Kankrin was at the head of the Ministry of Finance. The credit policy of the Ministry of Finance was to compress the amount of credit, to reduce the turnover of banking activities and to suppress any private initiative in banking. The Count believed that private banks were generally harmful. Such a policy also left its mark on the second half of the reign of Nicholas I. Complete stagnation in the development of old credit institutions led to their liquidation, since they were not prepared for new conditions under the reign of Alexander II. Under Nicholas I, a lot of legalizations were issued in the credit area, but they did not contribute anything significant to the activities of the Commercial and Loan Banks, Safe Treasuries and Orders of Public Contempt. In 1828, the Polish Bank was formed, which is considered a new major single banking institution. Under the reign of Nicholas I, the activities of Savings Banks for accepting small deposits began to develop. The first savings banks were formed in 1842 under the Preservation Treasuries in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and then under some Orders of Public Charity. Cashiers accepted deposits from 50 kopecks. up to 50 rubles at the same time. The total amount of deposits for one book should not exceed 300 rubles. Cash desks paid 4% per annum on deposits. The activities of cash desks developed very poorly even in the capitals, and there were very few cash desks outside the capitals. In 1853, there were only 37 cash desks under Orders. The total amount of deposits in Sberbank was extremely insignificant and did not have any noticeable impact on the working capital of credit institutions. The development of private credit institutions encountered insurmountable obstacles in the credit policy of Count Kankrin and his entourage. To such external obstacles were added the general features of the economic system of Russia at that time: the predominance of subsistence farming, serfdom, the weak development of factory activities, the lack of good roads - all these moments fettered private initiative in banking. For 20 years of managing the Ministry of Finance, Count Kankrin agreed to open only one city bank (Verkhotursky Popov Bank in 1836), and even then in connection with the personal desire of the Emperor and the charitable purpose of the bank. Only after the resignation of Count Kankrin, city banks began to appear little by little in various provinces of Russia - in 1843-1849. 15 city banks were opened. So, during the reign of Nicholas I, the system of public and especially private credit institutions developed very slowly and did not undergo significant changes. 4. Credit institutions in the reign of Alexander II Alexander II - son of Nicholas I, ruled in the period 1855-1881. Killed by terrorists. Under Alexander II, serfdom was abolished in 1861. Alexander II went down in history as a liberator of the peasants. In the first years of the new reign, a strong influx of private deposits was found in state credit institutions. Over two years, from January 1, 1855 to mid-1857, the total amount of deposits increased from 873 million rubles to 1276 million rubles. This rapid growth of deposits is explained, on the one hand, by large issues of credit notes on the occasion of the Crimean War (1853-1886), and on the other hand, by the fact that as a result of the general commercial and industrial stagnation, private capital did not find profitable premises and most of them went to state banks. The high accumulation of capital in the conditions of a weak credit system could not but create a very difficult situation for this system. Weaknesses in the creation of state credit institutions led, ultimately, to the need to eliminate the old credit system. The credit system has been reformed. By decree of July 20, 1857, measures were taken to weaken the accumulation of deposits in state banks, and give them a different direction. In particular, it was necessary to allocate part of the capital for the purchase of bonds and shares of the Main Society of Russian Railways (which was achieved). The decree provided for lowering the interest on private deposits and reducing interest payments on debt to credit institutions of the state treasury. The results of the decree of July 20, 1857, nevertheless, did not live up to expectations and established the complete unsuitability of the old credit institutions with the onset of new conditions in the economy. The era after the Crimean War was not like 1830, when Count Kankrin managed to reduce the deposit interest from 5 to 4 without any significant fluctuations in the size of the deposit transaction. What caused the necessary radical transformation of the entire system of state credit institutions? There were several reasons, and all of them were of very significant importance, due to the change in the economic life of Russia. First of all, from the second half of 1857, industrial life began to develop, and the previous stagnation was replaced by feverish entrepreneurial, mainly joint-stock activity. This led to the fact that deposits began to flow out of banks with unimaginable speed. The total amount of deposits compared to 1857 decreased from 1276 million rubles. up to 900 million rubles in 1859, and cash in the cash register with 140 million rubles. up to 20 million rubles The situation of state credit institutions became critical; they were threatened with bankruptcy. The need to transform credit institutions was caused by the forthcoming peasant reform. The following measures have been taken: 1) the finance committee tried to make it as difficult as possible to make loans for real estate. But this move did not stop the outflow of deposits; 2) credit institutions were allocated 77 million rubles from the state treasury to bolster their cash registers. But this amount turned out to be small to fully satisfy the needs of credit institutions; 3) an attempt was made to consolidate a certain share of deposits with the help of an internal loan. On March 13, 1859, a subscription to 4% continuously profitable tickets was organized. Still, the subscription did not produce significant results - by January 1, 1960, the subscription reached 22,8 million rubles, while the liability of state credit institutions amounted to 900 million rubles; 4) to strengthen the cash registers of state-owned banks, an external debt of 20 million pounds sterling was concluded on March 1859, 12 (London and Berlin); 5) By a decree of April 16, 1859, the issuance of loans for populated estates is suspended. New rules were drawn up for these loans according to the amount of land convenient, and not according to the number of souls in the inhabited estate. The Committee of Finance, in the circumstances, considered it necessary to take the following measures (published July 10, 1859): 1) liquidate existing credit institutions and stop issuing loans from them; 2) not to accept deposits to the Safe Treasuries and orders and subordinate them to the Ministry of Finance; 3) accept demand deposits in the Commercial Bank only until January 1, 1860. Calculate interest on deposits instead of 3% in the amount of 2% and create a commission to develop a project for the establishment of zemstvo (i.e., land) banks. The commission, having completed its work by January 30, 1860, came to the following conclusions: it is necessary to abandon the state system of land credit and leave the establishment of zemstvo banks to private initiative. The "works" published by the commission included significant materials on the study of existing forms of land credit, and published a draft regulation on zemstvo credit societies with detailed explanations. But this project was never submitted for legislative approval. Consequently, the first attempt at "general" banking legislation was not successful. I had to limit myself to the transformation of individual institutions. Before proceeding with the creation of new credit institutions, it was necessary to find funds to liquidate the obligations of the abolished state banks. To achieve this goal, on September 1, 1859, a regulation was issued on 5% bank notes issued in exchange for deposit certificates of state-owned credit institutions. Only individuals could purchase 5% tickets, and government offices, noble, urban and rural societies, as well as monasteries, churches and other charitable institutions could not turn their deposits into 5% bank notes, and they could only be content with 4 % continuously profitable tickets. And, despite this, the issue of 5% bank notes was a great success; in total, tickets worth 277,5 million rubles were issued. (compared to the fact that the subscription to continuously profitable tickets was only 22,8 million rubles). Having carried out preparatory measures, it became possible to begin the final transformation of credit institutions. The loan bank was abolished on May 31, 1860, and its affairs were transferred to the St. Petersburg Safe Treasury. The Safe Treasury and the Orders were entrusted with the termination of banking operations and the limitation of their activities by making settlements with former borrowers and transferring the amounts received from them to the newly established on May 31, 1860. The state bank to which the affairs of the State Commercial Bank were transferred. All deposits that were made in the old credit institutions were also transferred to the state bank, which was supposed to carry out settlements with depositors. According to the charter of May 31, 1860, the organization of the State Bank was presented in general terms, in the following form. The bank is established to increase trade turnover and stabilize the monetary and credit system. Own capital was determined at 15 million rubles, and it was allowed to increase it by transferring funds from reserve capital (up to 3 million rubles through annual deductions from profits). The Bank is administered by the Minister of Finance and supervised by the Council of State Credit Institutions. The affairs of the bank are managed directly by the board and the bank manager. The Board of the bank includes the manager, his associates, six directors and three deputies from the Council of State Establishments. Local institutions of the State Bank were of two types: Offices, the establishment of which was a special Highest command, and Branches opened by direct order of the Ministry of Finance. Offices and Branches were directly subordinate to the Board of the State Bank. Initially, 7 offices were established and 47 permanent branches of the State Bank were opened (in the period 1862-1863). Subsequently, after the establishment of the State Bank, private credit institutions began to be organized in the form of societies of borrowers associated with mutual responsibility and in the form of joint stock. The first, based on reciprocity, private lending institution was the St. Petersburg City Credit Society - for issuing loans secured by city real estate. The Kherson Loan Bank was the second such private institution for a long-term loan. The bank was created to provide landowners of the Kherson province with funds to obtain a loan secured by landed property. However, in Russia, credit companies on the model of the Kherson loan bank have not received significant development. After the abolition of serfdom, it was necessary to put agriculture on a new footing. This required a more extensive organization of long-term credit. The solution of this problem was entrusted to the Mutual Land Credit Society, which arose in 1866. The society was created to issue loans secured by landed property. Almost simultaneously with the establishment of long-term credit, institutions for short-term credit began to emerge, also on the basis of reciprocity. During the reign of Alexander II, the development of joint-stock banks began, both for short-term commercial credit and long-term land. In 1864, the charter of the first joint-stock commercial bank was approved. This was the St. Petersburg Private Commercial Bank. The first joint-stock land bank was the Kharkov Land Bank (1871), which served borrowers from 5 provinces. Joint-stock banks quickly became in Russia the most favored form of both commercial and land credit. For one first decade 1864-1873. 31 joint-stock commercial banks were established, and within 3 years (1871-1873) 11 joint-stock land banks emerged. On October 16, 1862, a new Charter of savings banks was issued. According to this Charter, savings banks are under the jurisdiction of the State Bank and are established under the City Dumas or County Treasuries. However, until the mid-1880s. Savings banks in Russia are not widespread. By January 1, 1881, there were only 67 cash desks with 96 depositors and 594 million rubles in deposits. These are the fundamental points of credit activity during the reign of Alexander P. 5. Credit institutions in the reign of Alexander III Alexander III, son of Alexander II, ruled 1881-1894. In the reign of Alexander III, Russia entered the top five most developed countries in the world. The Trans-Siberian Railway was built to the Pacific Ocean. Legislative activity under this board in the field of credit institutions was very diverse. Existing credit institutions have undergone major changes, new state-owned credit institutions have emerged. With regard to public and private credit institutions, measures have been taken to ensure that the activities of these institutions correspond to the economic needs of the country. The following transformation of the State Bank can be noted. According to the charter of 1860, the State Bank had to solve two main tasks: strengthening trade turnover and stabilizing the monetary and credit system. These tasks were poorly solved by the State Bank. The main reason for this situation was the lack of funds. Therefore, even during the reign of Alexander II, measures were taken to develop the commercial activities of the bank, on the one hand, by increasing its operations and the circle of persons admitted to them, and on the other, by providing it with the necessary working capital for this and, mainly, by reimbursement of the amounts spent on the needs of the treasury in the past from its funds. On January 1, 1881, it was ordered to stop borrowing money for the needs of the treasury from the State Bank, taking measures to increase the funds of the State Bank so that it would be able to make both payments by order of the state treasury and loans for the development of industry and trade. Without resorting to issuance, i.e., the further issuance of credit notes, and so that the number of credit notes already issued could be reduced. On June 4, 1893, the Highest Desire was adopted on temporary measures to ensure the activities of the Governor of the State Bank and the Board of the Bank, which will help facilitate the management of the State Bank by direct management of the current affairs and operations of the bank in St. Petersburg. The management of current affairs and operations was entrusted to a special person, with the same rights given to him as to the Managers of the bank's offices; to leave under the jurisdiction of the Governor of the State Bank and the Board of the Bank the general management of the affairs of the State Bank in St. Petersburg and its provincial institutions, as well as the direct management of special operations that do not belong to the department of offices - this is the management of the metal fund and the fund of credit notes, the disposal of a portfolio of interest-bearing securities, special operations with foreign countries and others. The Minister of Finance was given the right, in an instructional manner, to determine the range of cases that are subject to temporary withdrawal from the direct knowledge of the Governor of the State Bank, the "Board of the Bank." The Charter of the State Bank of 1860 was not subjected to a thorough revision. Only changes and additions were made in some details of a secondary nature. Experience testified that the Charter and the activities of the State Bank based on it did not fully meet the conditions of modern banking policy and the country's economic conditions that have changed over 35 years. Therefore, Minister of Finance S. Yu. Witte (later chairman of the Council of Ministers in the reign of Nicholas II) considered it urgent to rework the Charter of the State Bank. On September 21, 1892, a special commission was formed to revise the Charter of the State Bank, chaired by the Minister of Finance. The commission created a draft of a new charter for the State Bank. It was submitted by the Minister of Finance for legislative discussion (to the State Council). The State Council, having considered the draft charter and changed some points, decided to submit the draft charter of the State Bank and the list of positions of this bank to the Emperor for approval. The approval was carried out on June 6, 1884. On the basis of the new charter of the State Bank, from September 1, 1884, a Central Administration was established, headed by the Council and the Governor of the Bank. Composition of the Central Administration: 1) bank manager; 2) the department of credit notes, which was in charge of the issuance of tickets into circulation, the exchange and destruction of tickets (withdrawn from circulation); for storage of change capital of tickets and metal fund; 3) the Judicial Department, which monitors the collection of overdue debts to the Bank and the collateral and mortgages left by the Bank. The department was in charge of drafting contracts and other civil acts and documents; 4) the central accounting department, in which general accounting for the Bank is carried out; accounting prepares periodic balance sheets and trade reports; 5) inspection - to supervise the operations of local institutions of the Bank and to carry out audits of these institutions; 6) office - for the census and office work on administrative issues; 7) management of savings banks. These institutions existed before, and the Judicial Department was created for the first time. In 1885 local institutions of the State Bank were formed. Initially, it was assumed that the local institutions of the State Bank would include offices, branches and agencies. But in the future, fearing excessive decentralization of management, the State Bank decided not to establish agencies. By the end of the reign of Alexander III, there were 94 branches and 10 offices. The offices were formed in the largest commercial and industrial centers and were directly subordinate to the Central Administration of the State Bank. In order to manage reporting in each office, a certain number of branches was formed. According to the charter of 1894, the main capital of the State Bank was established in the amount of 50 million rubles, and the reserve (reserve) capital was 5 million rubles. The State Bank carried out the following operations: opening credits on special current accounts; accounting of bills; issuance of loans for various needs; purchase and sale of interest-bearing securities at their own expense; buying and selling foreign drafts; acceptance of deposits - term and termless; settlement between railways; transfer of amounts between points where there are institutions of the State Bank. Since 1881, the government has focused its attention on the development of the savings business. The percentage on deposits was increased from 3 to 4. New savings banks are constantly opening. By January 1, 1889, the number of savings banks was 622, the amount of deposits of which was about 93 million rubles. for 523736 passbooks. By January 1, 1881, there were only 76 savings banks in Russia, deposits were accepted in the amount of about 9 million rubles, and 104072 savings books were issued. From this it is clear that the savings business has achieved noticeable development in 8 years. City savings banks were opened, as well as savings banks at factories and factories, at postal and telegraph agencies, at customs. On May 20, 1881, the emperor approved the regulation on the Peasant Land Bank, which was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance. This bank issued loans for the purchase of land. In 1883, the bank's institutions were established in 11 local branches, and by 1894, 43 branches had already opened. In the period from 1883 to 1894, peasants purchased for 98,4 million rubles. with the assistance of the Bank, 2228 thousand acres of land. The regulation on the State Noble Land Bank was approved on June 3, 1885. The bank was created to issue loans to hereditary nobles on the security of their land. The Bank's actions were extended to European Russia, with the exception of Finland, the Baltic provinces and the provinces of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1890, in the interests of the Georgian nobility, the position of the Bank was extended to the Transcaucasian region. Published by the Law of April 5, 1883, amendments and additions are made to the existing rules on the opening of new joint-stock commercial banks and acted under the control of the government. By 1895, the activities of joint-stock commercial banks in Russia had expanded significantly. At that time there were 34 joint-stock commercial banks. Banks' fixed capital increased by more than 35 million rubles, reserve capital - by 25 million rubles, and the amount of deposits increased by 100 million rubles. Public city banks continued to operate in large numbers. In 1883, their activities were streamlined by a new regulation. Banks were audited. According to its results, appropriate measures were taken. As a result of the complete disruption of the activities of banks, there was their massive closure (1883-1894, 44 banks ceased their activities). Thus, the period of the reign of Alexander III was marked by very active and versatile government activities in the field of improving the credit system of the Russian state: a new Charter of the State Bank was issued, new State banks were opened - Krestyansky and Dvoryansky, peripheral banking institutions were created, the number of savings banks grew, city pawnshops were established , streamlined the activities of public city banks. 6. Credit institutions in the reign of Nicholas II Nicholas II, son of Alexander II, was the last tsar of Russia, he was on the throne in 1894-1917. Two wars fell on the reign of Nicholas II - the Russo-Japanese and the First World War. During the reign of Nicholas II, the activity of the State Bank was constantly developing. The Ministry of Finance in 1897 adopted a new order on the accounting operation of the State Bank. The Gosbank made efforts to ensure that the bank's institutions were accessible both to capitalists and to medium and small merchants. To this end, an operation was introduced to provide loans to handicraftsmen and artisans. Another form of development of small credit was lending by the State Bank to savings and loan associations and new small credit institutions - credit associations. On October 1, 1902, the number of credit partnerships was 157, with the amount of fixed capital of 257,9 thousand rubles. When organizing an accounting operation, it was necessary to carefully approach the issuance of loans. The bill accounting case required a reduction in the accounting period and a phased release of the Bank's portfolio from non-tradable bills. The State Bank, in addition to commercial operations, continued to carry out mass operations at the expense of the treasury and other state institutions. Such operations include: the issuance of credit notes, the sale of new government loans, the conversion of private and government interest-bearing papers, current accounts of the state treasury, and others. The significant development of the savings business during the reign of Alexander III led to the need for the entire revision of legislative decrees. For this purpose, the charter of savings banks was revised, and on June 1, 1895, a new charter of savings banks was issued. The main differences between the new charter and the previous one: 1) savings banks are given the name of the state ones; 2) a special department has been created, with precisely defined competence for managing cash desks, which is part of the central administration of the State Bank; 3) certain rules have been established on the size of savings banks, expenses, their reserve capital, reporting and control; 4) the expansion of the savings bank network was facilitated by the power of the Minister of Finance without legislative approval; 5) contributors enjoy many significant amenities that were not provided before. Namely, information about accounts on deposits is not disclosed; previously existing restrictions on the amount of contributions at a time have been cancelled; it was possible to make contributions at any cash desk of the Empire using existing books; the rights of legal entities and minors have been increased; the latter could independently make deposits and dispose of them on a common basis; the contributor now had the right, in the event of death, to make testamentary dispositions when making contributions. Cash desks are obligated to convert a share of deposits by their order into interest-bearing papers when the amount of deposits reaches the limit established by the Charter (3000 rubles for legal entities and 1000 rubles for individual depositors), and if the depositor does not make an application for a reduction in the deposit, suspend the payment of interest on deposits; ensure for depositors the purchase of interest-bearing papers through the cash desk at the expense of deposits. In connection with the changes in the Charter, measures were taken to expand the network of savings banks and facilitate their use. For example, school savings banks were formed (after the introduction of savings marks for the smallest deposits at a price of 1,5 and 10 kopecks) to form the habit of saving among the population. In 1901, a new transformation was carried out in the management of savings banks to provide independence in managing the savings business. According to the new law of June 4, 1901, savings banks are managed by their managers, who are under the general supervision of the Governor of the State Bank. In Russia, by the beginning of 1902, the general state of the savings business was as follows: a total of 5629 savings banks were opened, the number of depositors in these banks was 3936 thousand, the amount of deposits was about 832 million rubles. Compared to 1892, there were 2326 savings banks and 999 thousand depositors, with a total amount of deposits of 200 million rubles. During the reign of Nicholas II, the concentration and centralization of banks was carried out, which was unusual for previous years. The system of local banks in the province is beginning to lose ground. An important place is occupied by the activities of large banks, and the capital and cities of trade and industry become the centers of government of these banks. At the same time, many provincial banks are disappearing. Early XNUMXth century became the period of their extinction. The reason for the disappearance of banks was strong competition from large banks that opened their branches in those cities where there were provincial ones; most of them closed, some became branches of large banks. Along with the process of centralization of banking in St. Petersburg, a process of concentration is unfolding, that is, the merger of two or more banks into one. The concentration period is 1903-1914. In Russia, joint-stock commercial banks, in a relatively short period of their existence, have grown into gigantic institutions that have taken over the entire industry and trade of the country. Despite the crises, they saw a significant increase in capital, deposits, network of branches and active operations. Due to the concentration of banks, their number from 34 in 1885 reached 46 by the beginning of 1914, i.e., increased by only 35%. And bank capitals from 120,1 million rubles. increased to a huge number - 836,3 million rubles, i.e. by almost 700%. The number of departments increased significantly, from 39 in 1885 to 822 by 1914 and thus increased by 21 times. At this time, there is also a sharp increase in the influx of foreign capital into banks, which obviously contributes to the growth of the power of banks and, due to the increase in active operations, increasingly connects them with the country's industry. From 1885 to January 1, 1914, the value of deposits increased almost 12 times and in the same number of active operations. After some time, the area of influence on the national economy is divided between the banks. The main organizations are divided among several small groups of individuals concentrated around large banks. The formation of a large financial bourgeoisie is taking place, in whose hands is the management of the national economy. By 1913 there were 19 large joint-stock commercial banks in Russia. They can be divided into two groups: 1) with foreign capital; 2) working only on Russian capital. According to reports for the end of 1913, the first banks had 11 banks with assets of 3054,2 million rubles. These banks included 4 banks with German influence, 5 with French influence and 2 with English influence. The significant influence of foreign capital extends to St. Petersburg banks. There were 8 banks belonging to the second group, with assets of 855,3 million rubles. They belonged to Moscow banks, the composition of their assets accounted for the funds of Russian capitalists. Thus, during the reign of Nicholas II, the concentration of commercial banks in Russia was carried out outside of Russia, mainly in the West. During the World War 1914-1917. significantly increased the influx of deposits in commercial banks. This is due to Russia's transition from the beginning of the war to a system of paper money circulation, as a result of which there was a huge surplus of paper money in the country, which went mainly to commercial banks. Commercial banks during 1915-1916 further strengthen their participation in industrial enterprises through the sale of new shares and other means. In 1916 and early 1917, there was a strong stock market boom and speculation in values, mainly in gold and gold coins. At the beginning of the war, the outflow of funds from joint-stock commercial banks, in connection with the mobilization into the army, served as their appeal to the State Bank for an increase in loans. The State Bank went forward and for the most part satisfied the requests of joint-stock commercial banks. Then, after the first months of the outflow, there was again a surge of funds in commercial banks. For the period of late 1915 - early 1917. Commercial Banks gradually paid off their debts to the State Bank and, in addition, during the war they lent over 2 billion to the treasury. By January 1, 1917, before the October Revolution, there were 52 joint-stock commercial banks in Russia; of these, 15 are Petrograd, 7 are Moscow and 30 are provincial. Foreign capital took a huge part in the development of Russian Commercial Banks. All foreign share and bond capital invested in our credit, trade and industrial enterprises by January 1, 1917 amounted to about 2242,97 million rubles. Our commercial banks accounted for 232,71 million rubles, i.e. 10,5% of the total amount of foreign capital (exclusively as share capital). Comparing the total amount of foreign capital with the total amount of fixed capital of our commercial banks (883,5 million rubles), we note that foreign capital as of January 1, 1917 amounted to 26,3%. In terms of national capital, France ranked first - 48%, and the remaining 5 states were located in the following order: Germany - 35%, England - 10,8%, Holland - 3,9%, Belgium - 2%, Austria - 0,5 %. We conclude our review of the history of the formation and development of the Russian credit system in the period from the 200th century to the XNUMXth century. until the beginning of the XNUMXth century. From the foregoing, we can undoubtedly conclude that over the course of XNUMX years, an effective credit system in Russia was created, which was constantly improved depending on the economic conditions in the country. The created credit system at the final stage began to play a dominant role in the national economy, directing all the country's production. LECTURE No. 14. Modern entrepreneur: experience of the West and our problems 1. The evolution of Russian entrepreneurship after October 1917 In the history of Russia in the last decades of the XX century. three main stages can be distinguished: 1) the period of war communism; 2) the time of the new economic policy; 3) several decades of the command-administrative economy. Let us briefly consider each of these stages in the system of evolution of Russian entrepreneurship. The period of "war communism" After the October Revolution, the decrees of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars nationalized organizations of large, medium and partly small industry, transport, and trade in several ways over the course of about three years. All banking and credit institutions, stock and commodity exchanges have been liquidated. According to the All-Russian Census of Industrial Establishments, in 1920 in Russia there were about 405 thousand enterprises of large, medium-sized factories and small craft industries. Of the total number of these institutions, only about 350 thousand actually operated, employing 6 million 2 thousand people, and the remaining institutions were inactive. The vast majority of operating enterprises (approximately 70% of their total number) belonged to the category that did not involve hired labor, the average number of employed persons per such establishment was less than two people, i.e., small enterprises of the handicraft type prevailed. According to the census, there were about 31 thousand enterprises of large and medium industry with at least 7,3 workers. But more than half (51,3%) of all people employed in industry worked for them. At that time, virtually all enterprises were state property. According to the censuses provided, 11,6% of the affected enterprises were owned by the state, but 64% of all those employed in industry worked for them. With a few exceptions, all large-scale industry was nationalized, which in 1920 provided 72% of the total output of Russian industry. By a decree of October 29, 1920, all private enterprises with more than five workers with a mechanical engine and more than ten people without an engine were proclaimed nationalized. Consequently, the freedom of economic activity and the abolition of private property were set in motion, which led to the elimination of private enterprise in trade and industry. The material situation of the workers worsened. The wages of workers in the era of "war communism" were paid in kind. Typical was the basic monthly ration, consisting of: 1) bread - 30 pounds (a pound is equal to 400 grams); 2) meat, fish; 3) fats - 1/2%; 4) sugar - 1/2%; 5) salt - 1%; 6) vegetables - 20%; 7) coffee - 1/4%; 8) soap - 1/4%; 9) matches - 2 boxes. The confiscation of all landowners' possessions and a significant share of the land that belonged to the kulaks was carried out. The number of wealthy peasants, who constantly used hired labor, decreased sharply. Approximately 2 times reduced their property, especially the number of pigs, cattle, sheep. The lands of the landlords and parts of the protective families were transferred to the peasants, which meant the "average" of the Russian countryside. However, the middle peasants did not have the opportunity to manage freely in the new conditions. In the context of a fierce struggle and a civil war against the counter-revolution, a decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of May 13, 1918 established a surplus appraisal, which meant the establishment of the country's food dictatorship. Each owner of grain, who had a quantitative surplus necessary for personal consumption and crops (respectively, according to established norms), was required to report this within a week in order to deliver it to the state at fixed prices. Thus, in the course of the ongoing surplus appropriation for consumption by the army and the city, agricultural products were withdrawn almost completely. In addition to bread, the Soviet government exercised a state monopoly on other products - tea, salt, sugar, as well as on fabrics, lighting materials, mineral fuel, etc. In addition, it is necessary to carry out state procurement and state distribution of many non-monopolized products and goods - meat, fish , potatoes, fats and others. Thus, after the liquidation of private enterprise, state commodity-money relations were almost completely eliminated. The difficulties that arose as a result of the difficult agreements of the civil war and foreign military intervention were exacerbated by the pernicious economic policy of the state power. Cast iron production in 1920 compared to 1918 decreased by almost 4,5 times, steel production - by 2,5 times, rolled products - by 2 times. The shortage of workers, agricultural implements and seed stock led in 1920 to a reduction in sown areas by 25% compared to 1916, and the gross harvest of agricultural products decreased by 1913-40% compared to 45. All this became one of the main reasons for the famine in 1921. It killed about 20% of the population and led to the death of about 5 million people. The country was in devastation caused by the civil and imperialist wars. The deterioration of the economic situation in 1921 gave rise to an acute political and economic crisis in the country. The peasants were dissatisfied with the continued surplus appropriation, but it was supported by a large proportion of the working class. A wave of peasant uprisings swept almost the entire country. For the leadership of the country, the need for a radical change in the economic course, the rejection of the policy of "war communism" became obvious. Economic reforms of the NEP When studying the New Economic Policy, it is necessary to avoid simplistic ideas about the NEP, it is necessary to focus exclusively on certain individual aspects of this policy. The NEP is a system of successive measures to get the country out of the crisis, which were dictated by objective circumstances and which gradually took shape in the desire to plan a program for building socialism by cumulative economic methods. The NEP expressed an understanding of the need for a "major change in the whole point of view" on socialism. The formation of a new concept of socialism took place gradually. It was not completely completed either by V. I. Lenin, or by his closest associates in this matter, N. I. Bukharin and A. I. Rykov, it poured gradually. From this point of view, the correct understanding of the meaning of the term is based on the "new economic policy", a new one, that is, replacing the old, military-communist one, and putting economic management methods in the foreground. The NEP ends when, instead of economic, the absolute dominance of emergency, administrative, and violent methods is established. The fundamental direction of the NEP was to stimulate commodity-money relations, entrepreneurship, economic initiative, and the material interest of every enterprise and every worker. In the spring of 1921, specific steps were taken to introduce economic incentives into the national economy in the implementation of the conclusions of the X Congress of the RCP (b) in a new change in the exchange of goods for food matters of a different economic turnover, taxes in kind were 30-50% lower than the size of the surplus appropriation, they were calculated from the sowing area and announced in advance to the peasants. In 1923-1924. at the request of the peasants, it was allowed to pay a tax in kind in products and money. The legalization of market relations gave rise to the restructuring of the entire economic mechanism. In 1921-1924. reforms are being carried out in the management of trade, industry, cooperation, monetary and credit and financial reforms, etc. In the course of the restructuring of the state industry management system, 16 departments were organized instead of the fifty former branch central boards and centers of the Supreme Council of National Economy. The number of employees was reduced from 300 thousand to 91 thousand people. The apparatus of other people's commissariats was reduced. The GOELRO commission and a number of people's commissariats were liquidated. Gosplan became the central body for long-term state planning. After the end of hostilities, the strength of the Red Army was reduced from 5 million to 562 thousand people. In 1924, a monetary reform was carried out, which was of great economic and political importance. In the national economy, the chervonets, partially convertible and quite stable, received a solid monetary unit. With the help of this unit, it was possible to enter foreign exchange trading operations both within the country and abroad. During the transition to the NEP, restrictions on private entrepreneurial activity were lifted. In July 1921, simple partnerships were allowed by law; from February 1, 1922, there was a registered Charter of the first Joint-Stock Company "Kozhsyrye". Following the simple partnerships of IAO, other configurations of associations were recognized - general partnerships and partnerships with limited liability. To attract foreign capital, the Soviet state corporatized its own enterprises, which, in turn, provided such enterprises with the opportunity to work on a cost-benefit basis. By the end of 1924, there were 40 state joint-stock companies, 47 mixed joint-stock companies, 12 of them with the participation of foreign capital. A relatively small number of joint-stock companies is established relatively due to the resolution of the STO of August 1, 1922. The minimum value of the authorized capital of a joint-stock company was fixed at a very high level - 100 thousand gold rubles. And during the NEP period, rent is relatively widespread in the sphere of industrial activity. As of September 1, 1922, 3800 establishments were leased out, employing a total of 680 workers. About half of them were rented by individuals. During this period, private enterprises provided about 1/5 of Russia's industrial production. If the state in the 1920s. retained its dominant position in the field of wholesale trade (it accounted for 70-80% of the turnover), and in the field of wholesale and retail trade, at least half of the volume of purchase and sale was related to private capital. In retail trade, private capital controlled in 1923 83% of the total volume of activity. One of the authors of the New Economic Policy and its most consistent supporter, AI Rykov, emphasized that in the field of trade private capital can play a useful and important role and make it impossible to reproduce sales crises. At the same time, the fairs are being restored. Thus, the turnover of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair in 1923 reached 75% of the 1917 level and 50% of the 1913 level. The new economic policy promoted the resumption of agriculture. In 1923, the sown area increased to 91,7 million hectares, which amounted to 99,3% of the level of 1913. The gross grain harvest in 1925 exceeded the average annual harvest for the five-year period 20,7-1909 by almost 1913%. By 1927, on the whole, the pre-war level had also been reached in animal husbandry. In the 1920s In the countryside, middle peasant farms predominated (over 60%), there were 3-4% of kulaks, 22-26% of poor people, and 10-11% of farm laborers. The total number of peasant farms for 1922-1926. due to the division of land, it increased by 2,6 million - 13% compared to the level of 1913. During the years of the NEP, a number of codes were developed: Civil, Criminal, Labor, Land, etc. On the basis of the Civil Code, any citizen who has reached the age of 16 could obtain a license to trade in shops, public places, markets, bazaars with any products or objects, to open consumer services, shops, cafes, restaurants. For rent of buildings and premises, production equipment, means of transport. The main reason for owning a license was the timely payment of taxes, the provision of all accounts and documentary reporting at the first request of the authorities, non-participation in illegal financial, trade and other transactions. Similar rights and obligations are established for cooperative firms. The Land Code recognized all available forms of land use: community, artel, farms and cuts, or combinations thereof. The freedom of choice was given to the peasants. The preservation of the community with periodic redistribution of land was not encouraged, but it was not forbidden either. The peasant had the right to freely leave the community and, as a user, retain the allotment. Land was allowed to be leased for a period not exceeding 2 years. It was also forbidden to buy and sell allotments. It was also allowed to use hired labor, but with the condition that hired workers work equally as family members. One of the directions of the NEP was the reconstruction of the exchange business. According to experts, in a mixed economy, stock exchanges stimulated trade turnover and contributed to its discipline by establishing equilibrium prices. Commodity exchanges were first restored, and they gained maximum development. By the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of October 20, 1922, stock exchanges were organized to carry out transactions with securities. As of October 1, 1926, there were 114 exchanges operating in the country. Their members at the beginning were 8 commercial and industrial firms and individuals, 514% were cooperative and state organizations, 67% - private entrepreneurs. Exchanges became significant centers of commercial initiative, although their operations were mainly connected with the movement of real capital, and the organization of free trading was just beginning. The implementation of the NEP contributed to the rise of the country's productive forces and the improvement of the approval of the peasants, workers and representatives of all other strata of Russian society at that time. Even at the beginning of the transition to the NEP, it was announced that it was being established firmly and for a long time. But Stalinism stopped the democratic tendencies that are characteristic of the NEP period. Let us consider in more detail the evolution of the credit system of Soviet Russia during the period of war communism and under the new economic policy. 2. The state of the credit system in the period preceding the latest economic policy As a result of the World War 1914-1917. and subsequent revolutionary events, the money economy in Russia was greatly upset as a result of the issuance of a large number of paper banknotes into circulation. The spoiled money economy, filled with paper money, was inherited by the October Revolution. The first years after the October Revolution passed in halts, when money circulation reached the extreme point of disorder, it could not be left like that. Life demanded one or another solution of the monetary issue in order to establish its economy on the new principles of Soviet Russia. It was necessary to find a solution to a fundamental question, from this it follows that in the future to follow the path of the monetary economy, or else, to leave the monetary system and move on to other principles. The monetary system, in the latter case, was subject to complete elimination. It was necessary to proceed with the speedy correction and restoration of the monetary system, provided that the monetary economy was preserved. How did the Soviet government start reforming the credit system? One of the first acts of Soviet power was the Decree of December 14, 1917 on the nationalization of banks. Joint-stock commercial banks were merged with the State Bank, later renamed the People's Bank of the RSFSR. The nationalization of banks meant the complete liquidation of commercial banks. Also, along with the decree of January 19, 1920, the People's Bank itself was liquidated and turned into the Central Budgetary and Appraisal Department. This is how commercial banks ended their existence, which to a large extent contributed to the rise of the productive forces of Russia. For two years after the nationalization in Russia there were no banking institutions, credit and banks (1919-1921). At the same time, the Soviet government firmly adhered to the position of the rapid extermination of money and its rapid replacement as a measure of value by a special labor unit in the State economy. However, this was not implemented. 3. The transition to the "new economic policy" and its impact on the formation of the Russian credit system In 1921, there was a turning point in the direction of changes in the economic policy of the Soviet government. By the end of the year, a "new economic policy" was announced, which meant a transition to free markets and the dominance of the money economy. How did the transition to the NEP affect the market system of Soviet Russia in the first years of its existence? To answer this question, let us consider certain actions of the central government in the sphere of the Russian credit system. One of the acts of the new government during the implementation of the NEP was a decree, which refers to the establishment of the State Bank of the Russian Republic. This act took effect on November 16, 1921. To create fixed capital, 2 billion rubles were transferred to the State Bank. from the people's treasury. The Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee was instructed to approve the regulations on the State Bank within a week. The foundation of the monetary economy of Soviet Russia was laid with the establishment of the State Bank. At the same time, the nationalized industry, which before the transition to the NEP was based on the budgetary supply of the state, was being transformed on new principles, switching to economic accounting. The new economic policy allowed for a free market, as well as the leasing of nationalized enterprises to private individuals. As a result of the measures taken, the ground was prepared for the development of credit relations in the country. The State Bank existed alone during 1921-1922. mainly by financing state industry with government reinforcements. The State Bank arose at the beginning of the credit monopoly. And in December 1921 and in the spring of 1922, the XI Party Congress and sessions of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee decided that the State Bank would remain the center of the credit system, but there would also be the possibility of the existence of other credit institutions. The work of the State Bank in an environment of continuously falling currency was extremely difficult and could not produce significant results until it was granted the issuing right by a government decree of October 11, 1922. However, in the first year of its existence, the State Bank achieved quite satisfactory results for that time: it brought its balance sheet to 588,3 million rubles. model 1923 and opened about 130 of its institutions throughout the republic. The decree on the issue of banknotes on October 11, 1922, with their subsequent actual introduction into circulation, made it possible to consider the situation in the operations of credit institutions as stable and bank currency as a sufficient measure of values. This moment can be considered as the beginning of the emergence and formation of joint-stock commercial banks in Soviet Russia. Until the spring of 1923, they had not yet spread very widely in the turnover of the national economy and were mainly concentrated in the cash desks of the State Bank. Beginning in the spring of 1923, banknotes became more and more common instrument of circulation, and by the end of 1923 they were finally introduced into the economic and monetary circulation, by this time reaching a significant predominance in the number of banknotes, accounting for 4/5 of the entire paper money supply. On April 23, 1922, at the initiative of former bank employees, the South-Eastern Commercial Bank appeared in Rostov-on-Don. This Commercial Bank was the first in Soviet Russia. It was created with both public and private capital. 50% of its main capital was contributed by the State Bank. At the end of 1922, a number of banks appeared. For example, in November 1922, the Russian Commercial and Industrial Bank was established, which at the end of 1923 took first place in the system of Russian credit institutions in terms of its turnover after the State Bank. The Russian Trade and Industrial Bank was formed by Russian state-owned industry on a joint-stock basis with the funds of this industry. The main tasks of the bank were the following: 1) mobilization of free industrial capital; 2) promoting the development of industry and the formation of proper regulation and financing of the activities of state enterprises; 3) attraction of small private and foreign capital. The bank's charter was approved by the Council of Labor and Defense on September 1, 1922. According to the charter, the bank's fixed capital was determined in gold at 5 million rubles, which were divided into 50 thousand shares, 100 rubles each. each. At the beginning of its activities, the Bank achieved very favorable results. Based on this success of the bank, the STO adopted a resolution on August 3, 1923, on the basis of which the capital of Prombank was increased by 3,5 million rubles. gold at the expense of the treasury. One of the most significant achievements of the bank was the widespread attraction of funds for deposits from the free money market. As of December 1, 1922, deposits amounted to 71 thousand chervonets, and by October 1923 they increased to 3183,4 chervonets. In the field of developing the network of its branches, Prombank completed a grandiose work. As of October 1, during the first year, they opened 38 branches and offices throughout the republic. On February 1, 1924, the number of branches reached 45. A network of branches was opened exclusively at the expense of local funds. Prombank has established direct correspondent accounts in all major European locations. On October 1, 1923, their number was 38. In June 1923, the charter of the bank was slightly changed. The main changes in the Charter of the Bank: 1) the bank’s fixed capital was increased to 15 million rubles; 2) the bank had the right to open its branches without the prior permission of Narkomfin, but with the obligatory registration of branches with the NCF; 3) the bank has been granted the right to buy and sell goods at its own expense; 4) the bank was allowed to participate as a founder of commercial and industrial companies. Previously, Gosplan believed that state credit institutions should shun commercial and industrial (trusts, syndicates and mixed companies) enterprises; 5) the bank was given the right to issue both registered and bearer shares, but with the condition that the total number of these shares does not exceed 25% of the total number of issued shares, in order to participate in private capital; 6) short-term lending expanded from 3 to 6 months; 7) the bank was given the name “Russian Commercial and Industrial Bank”, replacing the previous “Industrial Bank”. In a short time, the bank mastered its activities in the state industry and took a leading position in the national economy. Next after the Russian Commercial and Industrial Bank, the Russian Commercial Bank arises in Moscow, which began to carry out its operations on December 12, 1922; On October 19, 1922, its Charter was approved by the STO. The first paragraph of the Charter stated that the Bank was opened "to promote trade and industry of the RSFSR and allied republics and to develop their commercial turnover abroad." These properties of the Charter were established as the tasks of banking activity and as a place in the Soviet construction, which he planned to take. This bank, unlike those considered, was created exclusively on the basis of private foreign capital. The founders of the bank were Snrnska Ekonomie Aktiedodapet represented by the Swedish citizen Olaf Ashbert. According to the charter, the bank's fixed capital was determined in gold at 10 million rubles, or 5146000 US dollars. The shareholders' capital is divided into 100 thousand shares of 100 rubles each. each. This capital is 10 billion rubles. contributed entirely in foreign currency. It is impossible not to notice that the activities of a foreign bank were allowed throughout the territory of Soviet Russia, which was determined by certain guarantees and compensations in favor of Soviet Russia. The most significant of these were the following: 1) upon approval of the Charter (i.e. after October 19, 1922), the Founder of the Bank contributes 5% of the amount of the fixed capital to the Treasury income, i.e. 500 gold; 2) 10% of fully paid shares are transferred free of charge to the founders in the ownership of the State Bank; 3) to ensure the clientele for the bank's passive operations, the State Bank must necessarily have cash or government interest-bearing securities of the country with a stable currency in the form of gold, an amount of 10% of the liability, but not less than 25% of the bank's fixed capital; 4) the bank was also obliged, on the basis of the statement of the Gosbank Board, to sell to it at the exchange rate of the day up to 50% of free foreign currency, which was at its disposal at the time of the statement of the State Bank. The charter allowed all bank operations to be carried out in the amount of the operations of the State Bank and on those grounds, with the exception of issue transactions. For a short period of time, the bank has established contacts with many credit institutions in America and Europe. About a hundred banking institutions were its correspondents. The bank's commercial performance has been very positive in its first year of existence. Net profit for 9 months of the reporting period amounted to 139636,394 chervonets or 13,96% of the bank's fixed capital. In addition to the three Joint Stock Commercial Banks of Central Russia described, during the NEP period, commercial banks also appeared on the outskirts. So, in Chita on April 26, 1922, one of the first was the Far East Commercial Bank. The operating conditions of this bank were special and differed sharply from the operating conditions of the Banks of Central Russia, since the Far East at that time had a hard currency. Political and subsequently economic unification of the Far East with the rest of Russia. This led to the unification of the monetary systems, which was carried out very successfully due to the emergence of a healthy and rapid growth of the chervonets as a hard Soviet currency, as well as through an orientation towards Russian markets and a decisive change in the economic relations of the Far East towards rapprochement with European Russia. Chervonets received a quite favorable reception and could be freely exchanged at the gold parity on the free market, while silver remained the unit of exchange for small settlements. It was on the basis of hard currency that the Far East Commercial Bank arose in the spring of 1922. The bank's main share capital as of July 1, 1923 amounted to 2 million rubles in gold. The results of the first operating year turned out to be very successful. The amount of profit was 26,5 thousand gold chervonets, and 20% of the profit was spent on the calculation of dividends. Gradually, the Far East Bank developed a network of branches in the Far East. By the end of 1923 Dalbank had 9 offices, agencies and branches. As of January 1, 1923, the bank's balance was 489,9 thousand chervonets, and by November 1, 1923, the balance had reached 1 chervonets, i.e., it had grown 974 times in less than 612 year. This is a very good indicator of the bank's performance. Communal-type banks were one of the types of joint-stock banks. Their fundamental tasks were aimed at serving public utilities. Almost all communal banks were founded in early 1923. They were established on a joint stock basis, and local executive committees were the founders of banks that had at least 50% of the shares, the rest of the shares belonged to the cooperatives and local industry. According to the Charter, the fundamental capital of Communal Banks was determined from 500 thousand rubles. up to 2,5 million rubles gold. The communal banks were local type banks. Their main operations: 1) providing a loan for the expansion and restoration of the living space of your city and province; 2) organization of a loan for the needs of the local public utilities; 3) serving the needs of local industry and trade. By October 1, 1923, there were 5 Communal Banks in Central Russia and 2 banks in Ukraine. In total, the number of branches of Joint Stock Commercial Banks, including Communal Banks, as of October 1, 1923, reached about 60 throughout the Republic and the Far East, with most of the branches being in the hands of the Russian Commercial and Industrial Bank (38 offices and branches) and the Far Eastern Commercial Bank. bank (9 branches). Summing up the result, we see that in 1921-1923. The Soviet credit and banking system was created. In addition to the State Bank, which was the only issuing bank in the country, the Electric Bank was established to lend to electrification, the Commercial and Industrial Bank (Prombank) to finance industry, the Russian Commercial Bank (Vneshtorgbank - 1924) to finance foreign trade, the Central Agricultural Bank (Selkhozbank). Central Bank for Public Utilities and Housing Construction (Tsekobank). These banks implement short-term and long-term lending, distribute loans in the area of attracted resources and other banking operations. The developing national economy of Soviet Russia was interested in a stable monetary system, otherwise, without a stable monetary system, it would be impossible to accumulate capital on a large scale, to develop trade and credit relations. Producers of goods need a stable monetary system. They must be sure that the money they receive from the sale of their goods will not be depreciated. What was the monetary system of Russia in the early 1920s? The monetary system of Russia before the February Revolution, despite the overstated percentage of backing banknotes with gold, was unstable as a result of the general backwardness of the country's economy, large monetary debts and a significant state budget deficit. During the First World War, the exchange of banknotes for gold was prohibited and the issue of credit notes was provided to finance government military spending. Subsequently, bank notes actually turned into paper money. A situation of protracted inflation arose in Russia, which had negative consequences for the national economy and was a heavy burden for workers. The Provisional Government made even greater use of the issue of money. The volume of money in circulation in October 1917, compared with the pre-war period, increased by more than 9 times. By this time, the prices for bread had increased by 1914 times compared with 16, granulated sugar - by 27 times, for potatoes - by 20 times, for meat - by 5 times. During the October Revolution, the ruble was only 6 pre-war kopecks. In addition to bank notes and kerenok, various money surrogates were in circulation. In 1920, over 2 types of banknotes were in circulation on the territory of the former Russian Empire. The state budget deficit in 1920 amounted to 1055 billion rubles. everything indicated that the collapse of the monetary system had practically begun in Russia. The country faced the threat of financial collapse. There was a high need to create a stable monetary system, acclimatized to the conditions of a market economy. Without a stable monetary system, it was impossible to move on to the development of commodity-money relations, to the policy of monetary circulation and state regulation of the market. In 1922, the government of Soviet Russia began to carry out a monetary reform. At the end of 1922, a stable currency, the chervonets, was put into circulation. The backing of the chervonets was gold and other easily marketable valuables and goods. One chervonets was equal to 10 pre-revolutionary gold rubles. It was a stable currency and was easily introduced into economic circulation. The reform of the monetary system was carried out in 2 stages. At the first stage, in 1922, the ruble stabilized with the help of the issue of state banknotes of the RSFSR of the 1922 model - Soviet signs. The new first ruble was equal to 10 former rubles. New Soviet signs were issued in 000, their ruble was equal to 1923 of the former rubles. and 1 rubles. sample 000 At the second stage of this reform, in February 1924, treasury notes in 1, 3 and 5 rubles were issued. gold. In addition, copper and silver coins were minted. The issue of old Sovznak marks was discontinued. The main part of the reform was the need to exchange Sovznak for new money in the ratio of 1 ruble. 1924 - 50 rubles. Sovznakov 000 or 1923 billion rubles. before the denomination of 50. The exchange was completed by June 1923. When implementing the reform, it was possible to reduce the budget deficit, and from October 1924, the issuance of banknotes to cover the budget deficit was prohibited by law. The period of the administrative-command economy For more than half a century, Russia lived in the conditions of an administrative-command economy. The main features created in the 1930s. system were the total nationalization of the economy, the general bureaucratization of public life, the suppression of democracy and mass repression. If V. I. Lenin considered the socialization of production with a constant connection between self-government and the power of the peoples as a deep development of commodity-money relations and the market, then the stage of growing nationalization was accompanied by the trampling of all these forms that limit the alienation of man from politics and the means of production. The administrative-bureaucratic system turned into a kind of self-sufficient, putting power over society. The establishment of an absolute monopoly of state property has limited the socio-economic foundations of individual freedom. The composition of the new course included the complete elimination of the remnants of private enterprise that operated even under the harsh conditions of "war communism", and especially those that were reanimated in the 1920s. The number of individual peasants and non-cooperative handicraftsmen, who accounted for 3/4 of the country's population, decreased to 2,6% in 1939, 0,3% in 1959 and was reduced to zero in 1970. Bourgeoisie, landlords, merchants and kulaks, which accounted for 1913% of the population in 16,3, accounted for 1928% in 4,6, and were completely absent in 1939. The property of private entrepreneurs, not taking into account the personal subsidiary farming of collective farmers, employees and workers, was equal in 1924 to 65% of the value of the country's fixed assets, and in 1937 - only 1%. The share of the socialist economy in industrial output increased from 76,3% in 1924 to 99,8% in 1937 and 100% in 1976. In gross agricultural output, from 1,5% to 98,5% and 100%, respectively. %; trade enterprises in retail trade (also public catering) - from 47,3% in 1924 to 100% in 1937. The "shadow economy" has received tremendous development. The official elimination of private enterprise has become an objective fact. The transfer of private property into the hands of the state was carried out, which accounted for 2/3 of the value of fixed production assets. The rapid growth of state entrepreneurship has acutely raised the problem of personnel management. 30s became a period of rapid changes in the structure of the country's economy. As a result of growing industrialization, more than 8 thousand large industrial enterprises appeared. The total number of workers and employees increased from 10,8 million in 1928 to 31,2 million in 1940, including industrial workers - 3,1 to 8,2 million; in construction - from 0,6 to 1,9 million, in state farms and other state agricultural enterprises - from 0,3 to 1,5 million people. The number of managers among workers in industry increased sharply. This process is evidenced by data on the increase in engineering and technical workers from 119 thousand in 1928 to 932 thousand in 1940 and employees in industry - from 236 to 768 thousand, respectively. According to official data, at the beginning of 1941, the total number of “managerial workers and specialists” of Soviet industry amounted to 5,89 thousand people, including 1,38 thousand working in factory departments, and the rest in workshops. According to historians, a "class of superiors" appears. Of particular importance for its development was the introduction from the end of 1929 of the method of a single beginning at enterprises and other structural divisions of Soviet society. A new type of leader is being created, capable of achieving results at any cost, even with the use of violent methods and brute coercion. Formed in the 1930s. the collectivization of agriculture did not have anything in common with cooperatives, since two basic requirements for cooperatives were not met: the economic independence of the participants and the voluntary nature, which both Lenin and the practitioners and theorists of the cooperative movement spoke about. It should also be emphasized that the agricultural cooperation that existed in pre-revolutionary Russia was almost completely eliminated, and its participants and theoreticians were repressed. As a result of the formation of the activities of the command-administrative system, the conformist state entrepreneur, who depended on the orders of the higher leadership, caused significant damage to the organization of the country's productive forces. A system of party-state nomenclature of personnel appeared, replacing the pre-revolutionary "Table of Ranks". Once in the nomenclature, the majority of state entrepreneurs, in order to stay in it, did everything in their power (righteous and unrighteous). Thanks to the efforts of several generations of the Russian people, their self-sacrifice and heroism, despite the difficult material conditions and repressions, the basis of a developed industrial economy was born, which allowed us to defeat fascism, and then restore the destroyed national economy. Most of the economic cadres, former peasants and workers, spent all their strength on the implementation of the tasks assigned to them, and also believed in the ideals of a socialist society. For many of them, the conditions that prevailed in the command-administrative system were a personal tragedy. The reign of the bureaucratic oligarchy eventually led our society to a crisis. To overcome the crisis, it was necessary to restructure all spheres of public life, which created the conditions for the modern development of Soviet entrepreneurship. But before proceeding to the characterization of this stage, it is useful to get acquainted with the experience that has been accumulated by Western entrepreneurs. 4. Experience in the development of Western entrepreneurship In the 1970s-1990s. Significant changes have taken place in the life of society. According to experts, these changes are characterized by three directions: 1) changes in the era itself; 2) shifts taking place in the economic environment; 3) the emergence of new social structures and new features of the management of society associated with them. During this period, the global process of internationalization of economic life is growing, contributing to the strengthening of specialization, the international division of labor, the acceleration of economic development, and the improvement of the quality of life. There are new needs and ways to meet them. At the same time, this process carries with it the danger of a great leveling, of averaging life principles. Such contradictions are very sharply manifested in the field of culture. Therefore, along with internationalization, our world is represented by national movements in both developing and developed countries of the world. In our country, the national problem has led to the final collapse of the "imperial" system, and not today threatens the unity of Russia. Enterprises experiencing the impact of growing internationalization also carry methods for solving these acute problems. According to the experience of the West, it is enterprises that are the basis of the developing single economic space. In them, humanity can find an effective way to solve many global issues of our time. Another factor that radically changes the general appearance of the world and, above all, the economic environment, is the scientific and technological revolution (STR). Breakthroughs in technology and production methods belong to the economic history of mankind. In modern conditions, they are rapidly accelerating and bringing qualitative changes to the Western economy. At the moment, a transition is being made from an industrial society, which arose during the upheavals of the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, to a new information type of society. In this regard, the relationship between the production of a product and knowledge, the role of various phases of social reproduction, the nature of labor, the structure of production, its management, and much more are changing significantly. An example of the scientific and technological revolution phenomena that lead to significant modifications of the socio-economic foundation of modern society in the West can be an intensive outflow of workers to the service sector from the branches of material production. Thus, in Sweden, Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, the number of service sector workers in the total population by the end of the 1980s reached exceeded 60%, in the USA - 72%. The trend of transition to the service sector continued in the 90s. and obviously will continue in the future. For example, in the USA it was expected that by 2000 the share of workers in the industrial sector of the economy would decrease to 11%, and by 2030 - to 3%. In France, in 2000, the total number of the economically active population will be in the service sector with about 73% of workers. Another fact related to scientific and technological revolution is the strengthening of the role of enterprises, which contributes to a change in their structure, creates the need for the emergence of a new type of entrepreneur who is guided by the modern needs of society, has new knowledge and meets the requirements that society currently imposes on participants in the economic process. Under the influence of the globalization taking place in the world, as well as the shifts generated by the scientific and technological revolution, the socialization of Western society is developing. The share of value produced in the economy is redistributed through various mechanisms to the needs of society as a whole or for certain categories of the population. This trend is clearly visible at the enterprise level. Today, it is not enough for an enterprise to have only a well-organized financial, technological and investment policy. In modern conditions, without social policy, no enterprise can successfully exist and function. Experience shows that the absence of a social policy has a detrimental effect on the enterprise. The scientific and technological revolution has opened up many new opportunities for business ventures, but at the same time, the struggle of competitors is intensifying, the cultural environment is changing due to the growth in the level of education and training of personnel, new professions appear, and the qualitative evolution of values in modern society. The main changes that occur in the Western business movement under the influence of the following factors. 1. Chief among the many changes is a kind of boom in entrepreneurship that has been going on for several decades. The current wave of entrepreneurship, primarily in the United States, has spread to Western Europe, Japan, and other newly industrialized countries. This suggests that this trend is based not only on the features inherent in one country, but on a set of objective factors in the development of the economy of a civilized society. An example would be such countries as the USA, Italy, Germany, France and some others. In the USA, out of 18 million registered enterprises of all types (with the exception of agricultural ones), over 13 million were formed in recent decades. In the United States, over the past decade, 600 thousand new organizations emerged every year, of which approximately 2/3 actually carried out significant operations. In France, in 1952, the number of enterprises operating in construction, industry and public works was 554,4 thousand, and 20 years later it increased to 1461,1 thousand. Approximately the same dynamics has been in recent years in England, Italy, Germany and other countries. The main indicator of the increase in the entrepreneurial movement is the growth in the number of millionaires. For example, in the 1990s there were over 2 million millionaires in the United States. 2. 1970-1990s were a time of rapid growth and an increase in the power of large industrial associations with subsidiaries abroad. In the 1990s according to the UN, there were more than 13 thousand transnational corporations (TNCs). Currently, they play an important role in most industrial sectors of production. In the early 1990s the share of TNC enterprises accounted for about half of the value of the GNP of the West. They produce about 50% of merchandise exports and 90% of capital exports of Western countries. In the 1980s TNCs continued to expand the scope of their activities, conquering new sectors of the world economy - insurance and banking operations, other sectors of the credit system, the service sector, and tourism. Large TNCs arose not only in the West and Japan, but also in countries such as Australia, Canada, the Republic of Korea and other "newly industrialized countries". All these countries are rapidly forming a network of their branches around the world (also in Russia). 3. In the early 1980s. a new organizational structure is being developed, the basis of which is industrial banks and concerns. The amount of capital that is controlled by the leading industrial and financial groups (the "leading core" of today's Western economy) is growing. 4. Medium and small enterprises, which in the past often in favor of the ideological scheme of the predominance of monopolies - were declared liquidated, in life they showed stability and vitality. Instead of the expected disappearance of small firms as a result of the growth of TNCs in the West and integration processes, there is a huge entrepreneurial boom. But its basis represents the renaissance of small and medium-sized businesses. Most medium and small firms in all Western countries are sole proprietorships. They are owned by individual individual entrepreneurs or their families. In the United States, of the 18 million firms, 99% are small businesses. According to American statistics, it includes companies with a total number of workers up to 500 people, including small businesses with up to 20 employees. The criteria used in different countries for medium and small enterprises differ from each other. For example, in England, firms with less than 200 employees are small, and in construction firms - no more than 25 employees. A significant indicator of the importance of medium and small family businesses is its role in the national economy. Therefore, about 40% of US GNP is the share of small businesses. In Germany, with 2,1 million operating small and medium-sized firms, which account for 2/3 of GDP, they employ 2/3 of all workers in the country's economy. As of January 1, 1987, according to official data in France, 52,4% of all workers in industry worked in medium and small enterprises, 81,4% of those employed in agriculture and construction, 78,2% in trade, 28,6% - in transport, 13,7% - in the financial services sector. In total, about 11,5 million people worked in medium and small French firms. The share of their investments was 48%, in trade turnover - 60,2%, in exports - 49,6%. Naturally, the question arises: why, despite the increase in giant transnational firms, does small and medium-sized entrepreneurship remain so important? And, of course, there are several "secrets". Experts believe that the most significant role is played by the "creative concept", which was the basis of the family business and, in general, small business. It will become a "long-liver", according to experts, if small enterprises ensure the production of high quality products. Another "secret" is respect for people - both on the part of the personnel of the enterprise and on the part of consumers of its products. According to entrepreneurs, the key to success is a constant dialogue with people, studying needs, striving to satisfy them as much as possible. The broad development of specialization is of great importance. On the basis of specialization, small business finds its "niche" in the market. In all countries, small business to some extent limits the severity of the problem of unemployment. And this is the main element of the experience of the West, which must be used. For example, only in the USA for the period of the 1980s - early 1990s. enterprises with fewer than 20 workers created 60% of new jobs, mainly in the service sector. During this time, small firms provided jobs for 25 million people, while large corporations reduced the number of workers by almost 3 million people. An indispensable condition for specialization is the technical modernization of small enterprises. Small business acts as a pioneer in the implementation of the development of a new technology - "information technology". Western experience shows that small business is a very effective economic form of management, as well as verification of the effective development of any innovation. Greater flexibility, speed of reaction to changing market conditions, lack of firm regulation of scientific research and production work, extensive opportunities for personal initiative and reasonable risk - these, according to experts, are the cumulative methods for the success of small businesses. Thus, a small business entrepreneur is a kind of symbol of all entrepreneurship, which in the West has received special significance in all spheres of the life of the social economy. In the West, they perfectly understand the future development of society, which depends largely on the training of personnel for medium and small firms. Much attention has been paid to this in recent years. Hundreds of special centers and schools have been set up to train entrepreneurial cadres. A variety of educational and scientific literature is published. Consider some types of enterprises and the legal structure of Western countries. In the business law of the West, there are two fundamental groups of enterprises - partnerships and sole proprietorships. Each of them has specific different legal forms. So, individual enterprises often exist in the form of "simple societies". In principle, these are transitional forms of the type of partner enterprises. There are two main groups of partner enterprises: capital associations (companies) and associations of persons (partnerships). Cooperative enterprises are usually distinguished into a separate group, which have become widespread in a number of Western countries. In the West, according to the legal structure, enterprises are divided into cooperative, sole ("simple societies") and partnerships (partnerships and companies). In the West, in any business, the primary firm is considered to be individual enterprises. They include the majority of existing enterprises. For example, in the USA in the early 1990s. Of the 18 million registered agricultural enterprises, 10 million were sole proprietorships and 4,5 million were corporations and partnership firms using hired labor. The pure form of a partnership (association of persons) has various legal forms. Both in pre-revolutionary Russia and in modern Western Europe, limited partnerships and the opening of commercial and general partnerships are very common. In open trading and general partnerships, their members bear unlimited, joint and several and personal liability, that is, they are liable with all their personal property, covering the debts of the partnership. When persons join an already existing society, they are also, along with the old members of the society, liable for all obligations, even for those that arose before their entry into the society. In the event of withdrawal of one of the members of the company, he is assigned unlimited liability for all debts that arose during his membership in the company for a period of five subsequent years. This practice exists in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and a number of other countries. Limited partnerships have a different principle of responsibility. They share responsibility between two member groups. A certain part of them, as in an open commercial partnership, is liable for the debts of the company with all its property. And the second part is responsible only within the framework of its contribution to the authorized capital. In connection with the emergence of new forms of business organization in the XX century. part of the limited partnerships began to turn into joint-stock companies. In the XX century. (especially in recent decades) among such new forms in the countries of Western Europe, two forms are very characteristic - joint-stock companies and limited liability companies. A cooperative, which was singled out in the West as a separate group, is usually understood as the activity of a society, which is mainly aimed not at making a profit, but at assisting and assisting members of the society. In practice, most Western cooperatives today have become large, highly profitable enterprises that play a major role in a number of sectors of the national economy. A variety of organizational and legal and forms of enterprises speak of the pluralism of Western entrepreneurship. In the same period, such pluralism includes the pluralism of forms of ownership. Now the following forms of ownership actually exist: state, collective (group, including cooperative) and partial. An important and leading place is occupied by the form of private property. This is evidenced by the important role of individual enterprises. It can be said to be a classical form of private property. The area of private property also includes some associations of persons and many companies, for example, limited liability companies. A significant number of joint-stock companies should be attributed to the form of group, collective ownership. It includes a number of cooperatives, as well as most of the enterprises owned by municipalities. From time immemorial, state property has played an important role in the significant life of the West. However, significant changes have recently been made in this area related to the privatization of the Western economy - a part of the public sector is decreasing. In the same period, the role of the state as a means of creating favorable conditions for business began to grow. In the West, the state acts as an investor, coordinator of all economic activity, organizer of scientific research. Let us dwell on the characteristics of certain features of the Western entrepreneur. Taking them into account is important when creating a new Russian business. In the face of increasing competition for entrepreneurs as managers and organizers of production, the importance of managing "human reforms" is growing. Western entrepreneurs are forming a "new global strategy", the purpose of which is to increase the material and moral interest of the employee, to involve him in active participation in production management, to increase motivation for work and the degree of satisfaction with its results. In this area, the experience of Japanese entrepreneurs has gained great fame. In recent years, the main place in the activities of many companies in Japan belongs to a specific system of organizing the work of workers called "quality control circles". At the end of 1962, the first such circles were created at enterprises and large engineering companies. A circle is a group usually consisting of 8-10 people who work directly at the workplace. The main tasks of the circle are to educate members of the society, to search, study and solve practical problems. The circle is created on the basis of the principle of complete voluntariness. A group of people in circles, working together with managers and specialists, participate in solving production problems, in practice, implementing participatory management. The promotion of quality circles lies in the real embodiment of the slogan widely used in Japan today: "every busy person is a manager." It can be said with confidence that over the past two decades, a sharp expansion of Japan's position in the world market has been achieved to a greater extent through the active use of quality circles, indicating an acceleration in the development of production, the development and practical implementation of progressive innovative technologies, an increase in labor productivity, and an increase in the quality of products. products. The material and moral interest of production participants in the results of their activities has increased. Significant forms in Finland have acquired the policy of managing entrepreneurs "human resources". The slogan of the patronage of the country has become: "anthropocentric market economy", that is, a market economy, where the central place is occupied by a person. Today, the main thing for representatives of the Finnish patronage is the achievement of "mastering the human factor", since in modern conditions entrepreneurial activity is based more on capital located in the human brain than in traditional capital. Therefore, employees are attracted to the maximum participation in the activities of firms, putting forward their ideas, and the management of firms - to create incentives and rewards, maintain spiritual growth and the relationship "man-man" instead of the relationship "man-machine". Marketing today is a popular business activity in the West. "The interests of the client are above all" - this is one of the main axioms of Western business management. However, consumer orientation does not appear by itself, even in market conditions. It will be a really operating principle only against the background of a well-thought-out business strategy, implementing organizational and managerial methods and concepts. Their total number is marketing, which is the key problem of Western entrepreneurship. Customer satisfaction is the key to success. Otherwise, the company is waiting for bankruptcy. In the conditions of the market economy, only the manufacturer survives, which can prolong the needs of the consumer. Therefore, the basis of marketing is the study of people's needs, their evolution, ways to meet new needs, patterns of formation, development of certain programs for production and commercial activities. Business ethics is based on honesty and integrity in business dealings. The state contributes to the establishment of these principles. For example, in the USA there were laws and some acts regulating relations between citizens and entrepreneurs. Enterprises and their associations play an important role in the development and implementation of ethical standards. Many businesses develop their own codes of ethics. The so-called "lawsuit" or industry codes have been developed and operate, on the basis of which industry firms follow the same ethical standards. Western business also has disadvantages. Over the past 10-20 years, corruption has been growing, both in the public and in the private business world. In Western countries, a corruption struggle is being waged, with the active participation of entrepreneurs and their organizations. Studying the history of Russian entrepreneurship, such a feature was revealed as intensive participation in various charitable activities, which has become a tradition of entrepreneurs in Russia. This tradition is also observed among Western entrepreneurs. For example, in France there is a nationwide Association for the Development of Patronage of Industrialists and Businessmen. Its expenditures on supporting culture in 1985 were more than 350 million francs. Patronage is also widespread in the United States. In 1989, based on printed estimates, philanthropic giving in the United States exceeded $4,75 billion, which exceeds the total 1989 expenditures of all other Western countries. There is probably not a single university in the United States that is not financed by some wealthy entrepreneur in one form or another. For British entrepreneurs, according to English authors, the main direction of sponsorship is sports. It accounts for 90% of all philanthropic gifts. Consider the national specifics of Western entrepreneurship in four countries - the United States, Japan, the Netherlands and France. In the United States, the features of entrepreneurship are clearly traced, where it has reached certain "classical" parameters. The US experience has spread to other countries of the world. The entrepreneurial status of the United States, public perceptions of it, evaluation of its actions are the high prestige of business, respect for it is the absolute authority of an active and active person who knows how to earn. A businessman in the USA is a profitable and prestigious profession, desired by most newborns. To achieve economic success, to have a fortune, to strengthen one's independence and self-reliance - such is the summary of the "American dream" that inspired American entrepreneurs. The cult of wealth has become extremely widespread in the country. In France, the socio-psychological atmosphere has significant differences from the American one. French entrepreneurs are just as eager to get big money as the Americans, but they do not advertise their activities, they do not turn it into a so-called cult of wealth. The limiting feature is the idea of the honor of the class. Entrepreneurs in the Netherlands have their own business philosophy. In the firms of this country, as in the Dutch society, the very principle of any formal or informal pressure is unacceptable. The prestige of enterprises, their methods of action are based on the rules of consensus between all participants in the process of the economy and social life. The society welcomes an objective, attentive, respectful attitude to the agreements received. It does not apply sanctions that are subject to violators of agreements in the United States. In Japan, according to experts, there are significant differences from the American or West German experience. Europe is characterized by individualism, "consumerism" and parliamentary democracy. The strategies in economics here are "the will of the consumer" and "the right to profit of the entrepreneur." And in Japan, the actions of their entrepreneurs are carried out not with the help of a race for personal enrichment, but with the help of calls to fight against the "danger for the Japanese nation" or the slogan of the unity of everything Japanese, the glorification of discipline, "a sense of hierarchy." Since ancient times, man in Japan has not been endowed with sovereign rights. The main principle was the awareness of each person of his place in the cell of society - the family, production, firm, state. Collective interests have always been put and are put above personal ones. But at the same time, the collective, the firm, production, the state take a very active part in the life of each individual human individual. In this regard, Japanese management is aimed at maximizing the development of a person's abilities, at their effective use, at motivating the needs of staff to continuously learn and at encouraging desires to apply the acquired knowledge in production practice. When characterizing the methods and tactics of Japanese entrepreneurs, let's pay attention to such a phenomenon as a kind of "Toyotization of the West." Toyota is a large company in Japan that successfully competes in the US domestic market with American automobile giants. "Toyotization" in the narrow sense means the use of a brigade organization of labor, which increases the responsibility of each worker and his joint efficiency, the introduction of an impeccable, rigid and accurate system of supplying the enterprise with everything necessary and marketing its products, which makes warehousing redundant, and also dramatically reduces the loss of all production. through the personal efforts of its members. "Toyotization" in a broad sense is a set of means and activities of all Japanese firms, the use of which leads to the "Japanization" of the world. There are many examples of the expansion of entrepreneurs in Japan. There are examples of a different nature, which it is useful to pay attention to Russian entrepreneurs. The first example is related to the studies of Japanese entrepreneurs. Today's Japanese are the most diligent and active students in American business schools. Among foreign students, they have taken a leading place in all business schools in the United States. For the five years 1988-1992. The number of Japanese citizens who received the title of business master after graduating from business school has tripled. The main goal of studying in the USA is the ability to know your competitor well. The second example is the charity activities of Japanese entrepreneurs, which have experienced rapid growth in recent years. In 1989, the corresponding expenses of Japanese firms reached about 1 billion dollars. In 1990, the “one percent” club was created, i.e., companies that, before taxes, devote at least 1% of their profits to philanthropic expenses. At Toyota, 1% was equal to 1991 million dollars in 540. Now, not only the United States and Japan, but even countries such as Germany, pay great attention to the professional training of entrepreneurs, technical staff and workers, the deep introduction of modern management and market segmentation research with the help of marketing. In recent decades, qualitative changes have taken place in the development of Western entrepreneurship - this is the growth in the importance of entrepreneurship in solving the most significant problems of their countries. Thus, Russian entrepreneurship, which has just begun its emergence in the new socio-economic conditions, has a lot to learn from its Western counterparts in entrepreneurial activity. 5. Entrepreneurship in Russia The current stage in Russian entrepreneurship begins with the restructuring of Russian society, which has been carried out since the mid-1980s. and has been going on for more than 12 years, which have a truly fateful character for Russian entrepreneurship. During this period, especially in the early 1990s, fundamental changes took place in society in relation to entrepreneurial activity and private property. The ban on private property has been going on for about 70 years. After that, for the first time, the state recognizes its equal rights with all other forms of ownership and declares freedom of entrepreneurial activity. A number of significant legislative acts are being implemented, which are the basis of a new mixed economy with a characteristic pluralism of forms of ownership and organizational structures. A rapid process of their development begins. In the early 1990s The Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Russian Federation adopted dozens of the latest resolutions and laws affecting business issues. In December 1990, the law "Peculiarities in the RSFSR" was adopted, according to which for the first time private property was recognized as equal in rights along with municipal, state and property of public associations. The law allows the "fold" of property and the creation of business associations: "an entrepreneur may carry out any type of economic activity, if they are not prohibited by legislative acts of the USSR." During 1991, a number of other important laws were adopted, which determined not only the general rights of entrepreneurs, but also certain ways of forming entrepreneurship in Russia. For example, the law "On Privatization of State and Municipal Enterprises in the RSFSR" established the organizational and legal basis for changing the ownership of the means of production in order to create a socially oriented, efficient market economy. In 1992, on the basis of the law, a state privatization program was established, which contained tasks for the current year and forecasts for the next two years. Laws "On Foreign Investments in the RSFSR", "On Restriction of Monopoly Activity", "On Enterprises and Entrepreneurial Activity" and many others have also been adopted. Based on this, a legal environment was created for the manifestation of one's own initiative and the growth of entrepreneurial activity. Transformations in the legal sphere have increased activity in the field of creating joint-stock companies and other types of enterprises. By May 1991, 700 limited liability companies and joint-stock companies (477 LLCs and 223 JSCs) were entered into the State Register of Countries. The number of private commercial banks at the end of 1991 was over 1300. Until recently, there were many fierce disputes on the issue of stock exchanges. A significant proportion of society categorically rejected their need, not even allowing the thought of the possibilities of organizing exchanges. In 1990, revolutionary changes took place in this area. The question of stock exchanges has crossed the boundaries of theoretical discussions and has gained significance in practice. The country's first Moscow Commodity Exchange (MTB) was registered on May 19, 1990. MTB is a market where goods are wholesaled according to standards and samples. On commodity exchanges, only mass transactions for the purchase and sale of homogeneous goods, such as sugar, grain, metal, cotton, etc., are carried out. This is based on the fact that the seller can enter the exchange without real goods, and the buyer without cash. A couple of months later, the Moscow Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange (MTSB) was formed. In November 1990, the organization of two stock exchanges in Moscow was announced - the Moscow International Stock Exchange (MISE) and the Moscow Central Stock Exchange (MTSEX). The stock exchange is a market for securities (stocks and bonds) that are objects of sale and purchase at the rate of prices registered on the stock exchange. On November 29, 1991, the number of exchanges was 520, and in April 1992, the newspapers spoke of 800 exchanges within the former Union. In Moscow alone, by that time there were 80 stock exchanges. However, the created exchanges were far from being exchanges in their classical form. A long work was needed to improve the activities and organization of exchanges. In January 1992, the initial step towards a market economy was taken - for most goods and services, prices were released, and the centralized fund system that distributed resources was basically abolished. The solution to this problem was the simultaneous implementation of the privatization of state property in trade, industry, the service sector, etc. The release of prices, provided that the marginal monopolization of production was maintained, eventually led to a rapid increase in all prices without exception: by the end of 1992, by about 100-150 times compared with an increase in average wages by 10-15 times. Since, in practice, price liberalization has been far removed from privatization, the majority of citizens whose meager savings were actually confiscated by the state were also excluded from the course of privatization. As compensation, they received free vouchers (privatization checks), which from the spring of 1993 could be invested in the shares of certain enterprises. At that time, the authorities in the country sharply increased the uncontrolled buying of vouchers from the population, the prices of which were 2 or more times lower than the official value of 10 thousand rubles, by wealthy people, foreigners, private banks, mafia groups. In January 1991, an agrarian reform was carried out. The reform provided for the full recognition of private ownership of land, including the right to sell and buy it; changing the system of procurement of agricultural products; reorganization of the collective-farm-state-farm system with the need to liquidate unprofitable farms; measures for state support of peasant farms (farmers), processing of agricultural products, creation of an agroservice system. In the future, for the coming years, there was an increase in peasant farms by more than 15 times, i.e., so that their number would reach half a million. In reality, the reforms in agriculture were carried out. By 1996, there were about 300 farms operating in Russia (according to the plan, there were 500), some of them are being formed again, others are being liquidated (in 1995, out of 36 established farms, 26,8 were closed). Occupying more than 1994% of the land in 5, farms harvested only 5,1% of grain, 3,5% of sugar beets, 1,5% of meat, 1,5% of milk, 1,5% of meat. Moreover, many thousands farms were overgrown with weeds and not cultivated at all. The declared slogan "The farmer will feed the country" did not come true either. Russia, having great potential in food production, during the course of reforms turned into an “International beggar”. In Russia, in recent years, food consumption per capita has decreased by almost a third and has fallen to the level of the starving countries of the world. During the stagnation, Russia was in 7th place in the world in terms of this indicator, and now it is in 39th place. In the course of government acts, the creation of small farms was awakened, to the exit of peasants from state farms and collective farms to carry out production in other organizational and legal structures. The farming movement had the right to a full-fledged organization in the agro-industrial complex. Nevertheless, the government, before embarking on the implementation of an agrarian reform, should take into account the fact that the organization of farms is a very expensive undertaking and practically impossible for a weakened state. In order for the farming movement to be successful in its development, it was necessary to do a lot and expensive preliminary work: for future farms, create a specialized fleet of agricultural machines, as well as departments that will provide farmers with seeds, fuel, fertilizers, chemicals at affordable prices. Problems such as the training of farmers in schools and in special courses and farm marketing organizations have not been resolved. Neither the state nor the owners of the created farms had the necessary capital for the success of managing in the new economic conditions. This was the main reason for the failure of the farming of the agro-industrial complex. Thirty years of influence was exerted by the coercive-administrative, undemocratic nature of the transformations that are carried out by the government without taking into account the opinion of the agro-industrial workers themselves. After all, "from above" the state farms and collective farms were instructed, regardless of their wishes, within a year (before January 1, 1993) to acquire a new organizational and legal form. Those responsible for violating the terms of the reorganization could be held accountable. Such actions of the authorities in relation to workers were very much similar to the infamous firm for the implementation of complete collectivization in the 1930s. The difference is that at that time all collectivization was carried out under the slogan of the liquidation of the kulaks as a class, and today - farming under the slogan of the liquidation of state farms and collective farms, "invented" by the Bolshevik government. It should be noted that if 60 years ago small peasant farms united in large collectives, now the opposite phenomenon is taking place - state farms and collective farms, as large farms, should be liquidated, and hundreds of thousands of small peasant farms are planned to be formed on their basis. Privatization in Russia began in 1991, when the law "On the Privatization of State and Municipal Enterprises in the RSFSR" was adopted. The privatization carried out in Russia, in most cases, was in fact only a form for the formation of joint-stock companies, hiding the corporate system of property relations, when banks, the state apparatus and the administration of companies actually became the undivided owners of the former state property. If the labor collective received a certain part of the shares, then they were either "voiceless" or covered up the lack of rights of the labor collective, because the company of collective ownership of shares did not hide the real economic content of the collective appropriation of the means of production. Speaking about the formal side of the matter, having proclaimed in the Law on Privatization (1991) the formation of enterprises with different forms of ownership, in the state privatization program in 1992 the Russian government provided for the formation of only open joint-stock companies on the basis of state enterprises. The reason for this decision was, firstly, the creation of a closed joint-stock company, which leads to the creation of collective property, which was obviously inefficient, and, secondly, the joint-stock company does not leave any shares in state ownership for "people's privatization" with the help of vouchers. These privatization approaches represent a departure from the widely declared adherence to the economic principles of "civilized countries". In reality, in the course of the privatization of the largest state corporations in France and England, it was open joint-stock companies that were created. It was this economic form that was intended for this kind of super-large economic structures. For the bulk of enterprises, they are closed joint-stock companies or limited liability partnerships. For example, in the USA, among American corporations, the share of closed joint-stock companies reaches 99,6-99,7%. Thus, the hasty-compulsory nature of corporatization provides only a change in the organizational and legal form of organizations, adding almost nothing to the incentives for labor or entrepreneurial activity. Three options for benefits were established for labor collectives in the process of corporatization of state enterprises. The options were formed in such a way that there was no concentration of a controlling stake in the hands of the labor collective. During corporatization, none of the options for benefits created principles for transferring organizations to collective ownership. The chosen forms and results of privatization indicate that the privatization program provided not so much favorable conditions for private business as a cheap and quick redistribution of state property with dubious characteristics. Partnership doubtfulness is manifested in the fact that the capital of state enterprises is not subject to sale, but is artificially distributed at conditional and very low prices; even in the case of an auction by an enterprise, if their initial valuation is also artificial; equal standard conditions are not provided for persons participating in the redistribution of non-state property; the conditions for the formation of the stock market are those that ensure the reduction of the shares of most organizations to small values. An alternative to "nomenklatura" privatization is, as a rule, declassification, the so-called "people's privatization". In practice, it was carried out on an extremely small scale, as a result of which each citizen acquired a certain part of state property with the help of a voucher, which, according to the government, was supposed to create equal initial opportunities for denationalization, the acquisition of state property for all members of society. In reality, in Russia, as a result of "voucherization", the acquisition of the former production assets of the state was organized for the most part by those who had real liquid funds, i.e. those who could make the necessary expenses at any moment. Such forces could be either new commercial structures, or shadow foreign capital, or former state structures. And ordinary citizens were removed from state property, which they created with their labor in the past. In Russia, more than a third of enterprises were privatized by 1991, they were on an independent balance sheet and had the rights of a legal entity. In the field of small business, more than half of the objects were privatized. Privatization did not lead to an improvement in the economic situation - the country was still in a deep economic crisis. It follows from this that the privatization of state property: 1) did not serve to improve the state of affairs either in industry or in agriculture (the decline in production lasted for more than 5 years); 2) has not created significant alternatives for the purpose of overcoming the decline in the real incomes of citizens; 3) caused a decrease in the already low motivation of work among the majority of citizens (the exception was those employed in a narrow area of commercial activity, the advantage of intermediary activity), since many workers remained alienated from property; 4) privatization greatly accelerated the social inequality of the population, the threat of mass unemployment grew; contributed to the lumpenization of a certain proportion of the population, its impoverishment (in the Russian Federation in 1995, 1/3 of the total population was at a level below the subsistence level). According to some experts, with whom it is difficult to disagree, in Russia, the creation of a market system was not necessary for the rapid and massive privatization, it was necessary to ensure the freedom to create private entrepreneurship and the commercialization of state enterprises. This would be quite enough to create full-fledged market economy entities that would be more efficient than hastily privatized state enterprises. Still, neither commercialization nor privatization in the conditions of simultaneous price liberalization is able to provide a full-fledged strategy of market behavior. All this suggests that in order to get out of a long crisis, we must urgently abandon the strengthening of market relations and reforms. No, in fact, the reforms should really improve public welfare. In the meantime, criminal structures and the so-called "new Russians" are profiting from the reforms. Author: Shcherbina L.V.
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