What is humanity?
Humanity is a property of a person that implies the presence of a number of important moral qualities, such as a kind attitude towards all living beings, respect for others, the ability to empathize and compassion, which is realized in helping and assisting those who need it. Humanity is an acquired quality that is formed in the process of human socialization.
An important feature of humanity lies in its everyday life. That is, a humane person does not wait for the day when it will be possible to accomplish a “heroic feat,” but constantly supports those who need it. Real, not ostentatious humanity is manifested in the little things.
Humanity implies that a person has such qualities as kindness and benevolence, sincerity, modesty, honesty, generosity, attention and respect for others, the ability to sympathize and sacrifice one’s interests for the sake of others. The manifestation of humanity brings joy, and regular manifestation makes the individual stronger and increases self-esteem.
Where do inhuman people come from?
Examples of humanity in everyday life would not be so noticeable if absolutely all members of society showed a humane attitude towards each other. But reports in the media and what can be seen on the street convince us that inhumanity coexists alongside humanity.
Where do inhuman people come from? The answer is simple: from dysfunctional families, where parents do not pay due attention to the formation of worthy citizens.
Inhuman people appear if:
- in childhood they are subjected to cruel methods of education;
- children witness parental scandals;
- the child observes the disrespectful attitude of parents towards each other;
- they are treated rudely by their peers, such children suffer humiliation from them;
- among their comrades they are outcasts;
- in childhood, the child had a traumatic situation, after which he was not provided with psychological support and assistance.
Inhuman people behave in criminal ways. They get into fights, insult others, and may even commit murder. Their usual activities are barbarism, vandalism, and extremism. They behave this way because they feel the imaginary hostility of the world around them. This happens because in childhood they did not develop confidence in safety and protection. That is why a person who is disliked by his parents and who had a difficult childhood shows aggression towards those who are weaker than him. By demonstrating strength, he seeks to protect himself.
Inhumane attitudes can be directed towards others, animals, cultural or natural objects. People who lack philanthropy assert themselves at the expense of others and compensate for the suffering they suffered in childhood. The personality structure of inhuman people consists of such traits as:
- indifference to the problems of other people;
- low level of culture;
- amoral behavior;
- bitterness;
- greed;
- selfishness;
- gloat;
- envy;
- dishonesty;
- tendency to betray;
- lack of compassion;
- vindictiveness;
- mercilessness, cruelty;
- composure;
- emotional callousness;
- aggressiveness;
- selfishness.
In asocial and dysfunctional families, children do not see examples of humanity and humanity, the moral foundations of the individual are not formed. In such a situation, the educational work of a school or any other educational institution turns out to be ineffective, since a teenager who has not experienced tenderness, affection, love and care will not learn to show them.
How does humanity manifest itself?
Any selfless act for the benefit of another person or for the sake of some noble goal is a manifestation of humanity. The desire to selflessly help others highlights the best of human qualities, such as kindness, mercy, empathy and compassion. This is the essence of humanity - not indifference to the fate of others , even if it is a complete stranger.
Almost every person is sure that he has such a virtue as humanity (and if necessary, he can even give examples of good deeds that confirm this). However, humanity is not manifested in individual actions. It manifests itself in the fact that a person intuitively chooses the right actions, because he simply cannot do otherwise.
It is also worth noting that the level of humanity is not determined by the difference between bad and good deeds. You cannot think that bad deeds are covered by good deeds. Of course, everyone makes mistakes, but a humane person will not consciously sacrifice principles for the sake of earning money or satisfying any other needs, justifying himself by the fact that in other matters he always acts nobly.
The word “humanity” is considered a synonym for the word “humanity”. But at the same time, the first word is more associated with one’s own positive qualities, and the second with the ability to forgive others, not to blame or punish them for their offenses.
Humanity is determined not only by the attitude towards other people , but also by the attitude towards plants, animals and the entire world around us.
Sometimes it is here that a line is drawn between humanity and humanity, arguing that humanity is kindness towards people, and humanity is kindness towards all living things. And yet, in modern Russian, these words are considered synonyms, so such a division is not necessary.
Essay on the topic Humanity
They rarely say that something is humane; more often it sounds “inhumane.” Here all adjectives with a negative meaning can be added. It is simply believed that a person (a real Person) is someone very good, kind and fair. The one who conquered the animal nature in himself.
Humanity can be demonstrated in all situations. If you behave kindly, beautifully and correctly, then this is humane.
We need to treat each other humanely, and also the environment. They say that not a single animal behaves as cruelly as humans. That is, it is terrible when a wolf kills a small elk. But this is nature. The wolf does this not for fun, but because he has an instinct, otherwise the wolf himself will die. And the “forest orderly,” of course, will eat the weakest elk. And people can be cruel just for fun. Hunters are killing animals. Don't these people have anything to eat? No, it’s just their hobby... Although hunters are okay, but here are some knackers who torture animals. Such people may have some unforgiven grievances, that is, they are ready to take revenge, but not on their enemies, but on innocent animals. This is just inhumane!
And in war, too, people are often inhumane, torturing, for example, prisoners. No nobility! No mercy towards civilians. But in an emergency situation, the lack of humanity can still be explained, because some terrible animal instincts may turn on. But in everyday life...
I've heard a lot of scary stories. People are now trying to show that everything is fine with them. They smile, but everything is bad in their hearts. They're like teeth! White and hard on the outside, thanks to modern paste, but rotten on the inside, due to health problems. And so the person endures and endures. At work, at home, on the street... He is offended everywhere, but he cannot respond, and the offense accumulates. And here is the last straw - some trifle! And he breaks down. For example, one woman beat another because of a seat on a bus. Such terrible cases happen because of something seemingly trivial.
To be humane means, in my opinion, to try to understand other people, animals... Not yet to be cruel, but to show nobility. Love the world around you, take care of nature. Many good qualities can be added to this concept.
But this is an ideal in the sense that one must strive for it. Still, a person still has instincts and the like. I'm not saying (not at all!) that you can be cruel. But suppressed anger will lead to the worst. You need to play sports. We need to resolve conflicts and talk. And if something annoys you, then don’t be angry with yourself. You just don’t need to hit everyone, but see that there is such an unpleasant feeling and try to correct the situation.
Examples of manifestations of humanity
Friends, let's move a little away from theory and look at specific examples.
One of the clearest examples of humanity is saving animals. Let's watch together these emotional footage of caring people helping an exhausted dog get out of a well:
There is another example of rescuing a dog, where not professional rescuers took part, but ordinary people who joined forces for a good purpose:
An equally striking example of the manifestation of humanity is the following video - the rescue of a wolf from a trap. Although the wolf is a dangerous animal for humans, this did not stop caring people from helping the wolf free itself from the trap:
There are many more similar stories, but even these few examples are enough to understand what humanity is and how important it is.
How is humanity formed?
This happens in the process of socialization - the formation of personality, during which the child learns to interact with other people. The main sources of humanity are education and parental example. The child observes the behavior of adults, notices how they treat each other, him, the people around him, and their pets.
Sometimes parents raise their children very strictly, punishing them for any wrong action, even if no one had previously explained to them that this should not be done. In such situations, the child intuitively senses some kind of injustice, but cannot understand what it is. And this leads to internal conflicts that negatively affect the development of his humanity.
It is also important that the child communicates a lot with peers. This interaction requires his attention, participation, friendliness and other manifestations of humanity. And if he does something wrong, the reaction of other children will force him to correct his behavior. This way his socialization will occur in the most natural way.
Already at preschool age, the child begins to learn the rules of relationships with other people. In this case, the demands of adults play an important role. Children strive to observe them themselves and ensure that others adhere to them. If someone acts contrary to these rules, children may limit their interaction with him or complain to adults, expecting them to confirm the rule and explain to the naughty child that he should not behave that way.
Cartoons are an important source of humanity for children. They describe various everyday situations in which the main characters make mistakes and learn their price, quarrel and make peace, learn to do the right thing and set an example for young viewers.
Humanity is especially actively formed in a child during the “I myself” period. At this time, the child strives for independence and tries, without prompting from adults, to determine which actions are unacceptable and which are desirable. At the same time, he does not always make the right conclusions, but when adults correct him, he remembers the correct model of behavior and sticks to it in the future.
Essay-reasoning about Humanity
The definition of humanity worries many. This interests both teenagers and adults. Philanthropy is an important quality of the human soul. It makes itself felt in childhood and later throughout life. Love for people is formed by their personal example by everyone who surrounds the child from birth.
Humanity, or humanity, is manifested in actions. Only a sincere, sympathetic, empathetic person can rightfully be called humane.
If a person is inclined to show humanity, then he will show it to everyone, both people and animals. Humanity makes people noble and loving towards their neighbors. Based on humanity, we can save lives and give guidance to people who, on purpose or by coincidence, have committed wrong actions.
If all people showed humanity towards others, the world would become kinder and brighter. Inhuman people are like animals who, for their own benefit, can devour those with whom they live in the same territory. The world needs more people who can show humanity and generosity towards other members of society.
In B. Vasiliev’s story, the sons of Maria Tikhonovna died at the front. Everything in the house reminded them of them, so the mother did not want to leave it. The builders who needed to demolish the house, which was scheduled for demolition, simply thought that she was weak-minded and evil. When the workers nevertheless force her to leave the house, she takes with her portraits of her dead children, then the builders guessed everything.
The bulldozer driver immediately changed his attitude towards the woman. The man understands that his mother has experienced great grief. This story shows the humanity of a bulldozer driver towards an unfortunate woman. Humanity was also shown by Semyon Mitrofanovich, who organized the museum, by his sons’ colleagues who handed over the model of the tank, and by fellow villagers where her sons were buried.
The villagers also show humanity. It is customary there to help fire victims who are left without a means of subsistence. Everyone shows sympathy and pity for such people, and shares what they can. Some give food, others clothes, blankets, money. Someone can shelter during the renovation.
There is a profession called volunteer. These are people who freely help people who find themselves in difficult life situations. They go to places of natural disasters and help sick people.
If we analyze other good deeds of people, we can say with confidence that their basis is humanity.
The most important thing is to show humanity in time towards the people around you. And in order for it to really manifest itself on time, you need to constantly develop it in yourself.
Humanity must be shown not only to each other, but also to animals. Especially those who are thrown out onto the street and don’t even have anything to eat. Pets constantly receive not only love, affection, but also delicious food, but animals thrown into the street lose all this.
Humanity in modern society
Each of us has at least once thought about the lack of humanity in the modern world. Sometimes we ourselves need support, sometimes we see how someone else needs it. But there is not always someone who is ready to provide it. One of the reasons for this is that most people misunderstand what humanity is, often turning the concept inside out.
The fact is that in modern society it is common to judge others harshly for their mistakes, forgetting about understanding and forgiveness. As a result, we see people behave cruelly under the guise of fighting for justice and humanity. They happily grab the opportunity to brutally punish the next “villain,” without thinking that the person could simply make a mistake, which he himself probably regrets.
All this has led to the fact that in the modern world the “fight for justice” through bullying and other equally cruel methods has become very popular. Therefore, it is important not to forget that humanity is a humane attitude towards everyone (even those who are really guilty). And it manifests itself not only in the desire to help those in need, but also in the ability to suppress “noble anger” and other animal instincts.
The concept of humanity in the general theory of morality
The concept of humanity, humaneness is one of the moral concepts that are studied by moral theory and ethics. Its essence and content can be revealed most deeply and completely by considering it in the context of other moral concepts, which are categories of ethics as a science, in the system of these categories. First of all, it is necessary to point out the connection between the concept of humanity and the polar concept of collectivity, solidarity, and devotion to the common interests of society. Without recognizing their unity, there can be no correct understanding of the essence of morality. As it should be according to dialectics, they both complement and deny, limit each other, and must be “sublated in a higher synthesis” that gives a more complete truth than each of them separately.
The fact that morality is aimed at achieving two main goals and, accordingly, includes two motives, was noted by such major moral theorists as Aristotle, Bacon, Hobbes, Helvetius, Kant, Hegel. I. Kant's categorical imperative contains two demands: to act according to the universal rule and to treat a person as a goal. Obviously, the goals are the interests of society as a whole, naturally expressed in universal norms, and the interests of each individual. The question of their relationship was already raised by Aristotle, who believed that the good of the polis should be preferred. Kant also puts socially accepted norms of behavior in the first place. As a “synthesis,” he puts forward the idea of the highest good, combining duty and happiness, that is, essentially, the good of society and the good of the individual. If we agree with this, then we cannot unconditionally consider a person to be the highest value. Kant himself characterizes man as the ultimate goal.
The value of man as the object of a moral attitude, an attitude of humanity, can be determined with the help of this Kantian understanding. Kant calls human society, considered morally, a “kingdom of ends.” In general, value is the significance of an object for the subject. If a person is a value, then it turns out that for society he is an object, and society is a subject. But then it turns out to be the goal, and the person is the means. We say that it serves a purpose. There is nothing strange or unusual here. Thus, a machine is a means, but as an object created by a person, it is a goal for him, and he is a means. The concepts of ends and means “swap places.”
Society for people is a form of their life, without which they cannot exist. Therefore, they constantly reproduce and develop it. People themselves are shaped by the social conditions of their lives and are by nature social beings. In this sense, a person is truly a “totality of social relations.” And yet, ultimately, people act as ends for society, and it is for them as a means. Moreover, they are precisely the ultimate goals, while all the goals, the achievement of which is necessary to solve social problems, are ultimately only means. Society must recognize the value of people as ultimate ends and treat them accordingly, respect their rights and do everything possible to promote their interests. This is the essence of humanity, humanity. Humanity is an objective law of the normal relationship of society as a whole and each of its members to all its other members, taken together or separately. If this law is violated in a given social system, people develop a negative attitude towards it, and they change it in one way or another. This means that in society as a system there is an objective need to treat individuals as ultimate goals. This need can be fully manifested only in a socially homogeneous society. We see how it is carried out in a class society, in particular under capitalism, using the example of modern Russia. But to identify general moral laws, we must imagine society in the utmost abstraction as a system of relations between individuals absolutely equal to each other, serving as the ultimate goals for this system.
If the concept of humanity expresses the attitude of society to the individual, to the good of man, then the concept of collectivity is the attitude of the individual to society, to its good. This attitude is one of the main moral laws, which can be called the law of collectivity, duty, and devotion to the interests of society. Why is this law put in first place in their unity (and rightly so)? The fact is that a person is a moral value only in society, as an element of the social system. A norm requiring respect for a person is logically preceded by the fact of the existence of a social norm that enjoys general respect. Consequently, the initial, primary goal of morality can only be the good of society. To this it can be objected that in fact the initial one is individual interest, which motivates a person, like an animal, to live in a community. There are, if not people, then animals of some species (for example, bears, leopards, tigers), living alone and connecting with other individuals only when it becomes necessary for them, “beneficial”. But the fact that they still periodically unite - males with females, and females with cubs, forming families - means that they have social instincts. This is all the more true regarding the herd animals from which people descended, and, of course, regarding the people themselves; the social instincts inherited by them from their animal ancestors are passed on from generation to generation biogenetically, probably become more complex and develop over the course of millions of years, becoming at a certain stage the basis for the formation of moral feelings, norms, principles and ideals, which in their entirety that psychological system called “moral consciousness.” It is clear that this is not only consciousness in the narrow sense of the word, but a complex mental formation, including archetype instincts, intuition, value judgments, etc. This question still requires, it seems, serious research.
Individual interests serve as a prerequisite for the formation of social forms of life and the reason for their preservation, but are not yet elements of moral consciousness, as the theory of “reasonable egoism” believes. The premise and biological basis of morality are not its components. The individual value of a person becomes a moral value only in the system of social relations, where it turns from self-value (if one can speak of such) into value for the community and for its individual members. In order for everyone to treat himself and every other member of society as the ultimate goal, he must first of all treat the common good as the initial and leading goal and value. Combining both of these relations, we can formulate the basic moral attitude (BMO), or the basic moral law (BML): the attitude of the individual to the common good as the initial and leading goal, to the personal good (one’s own and others) - as an end in itself (then exists not only as a means) and an ultimate goal, and to their unity - as the highest goal (and value).
In our country, the formula “man is the highest value”, generated by the liberal ideology currently dominant in Russia, has become widespread. Higher compared to what? Obviously in the public interest? This is as untrue as the fact that the latter are always superior to the personal, who, of course, must obey them. Previously, the opinion was expressed that there should be no subordination, since only harmony between these and other interests is legitimate. But harmony is based on mutual subordination. Let us remember the words of Heraclitus: “Of divergent things, harmony is the most beautiful.” Apparently, it would be correct to assume that certain interests can be supreme only situationally.
For harmony to arise, they must “agree” on something, which means that by “yielding” to each other, they must submit to each other. The priority of the public over the personal is necessary when the community is in serious danger or the occurrence of such a danger in the future is quite likely. In the absence of such a need, there must be mutual agreement of interests. Personal interests can also take priority, for example, when choosing a profession, when being released from work in case of illness, etc. But in general, the highest value can only be unity, the combination of personal and social, their harmonization. This unity is the highest principle of moral expediency. The latter is the essence and criterion of true social expediency. This means that the moral and truly social in human nature essentially coincide. In other words, the moral is the embodiment of human sociality in its universal essential meaning; man, by his general nature, is a moral being. A person is defined as a “reasonable person,” but one cannot be truly rational without being moral. Morality, like rationality, is a species characteristic of a person. Therefore, the moral concept of humanity comes from the concept of man.
There is both good and evil in man. Why does only the good, moral, and humane characterize the general nature of man? Because for a genuine person, corresponding to his general nature, it is characteristic of the subordination of evil to good, of course, not given once and for all, but carried out in the struggle between them. Therefore, in the end, a person is not good and evil, but kind, moral, humane. The secret of this is simple: morality is the same sociality, that is, what connects people; the need for cooperation and mutual assistance, which means the need for communication, harmonization of mutual relations, principles and norms that ensure normal communication.
What has been said applies fully only to society in its abstract, ideal form, that is, to one in which all its members are equal goals, in other words, where social equality takes place. It existed under the primitive communal system, but as a result of its decomposition, the emergence of private ownership of the means of production and the division of society into classes, it was replaced by inequality. However, even in a socially homogeneous society, people are not and cannot be absolutely equal. Does this mean that it is impossible for society to treat its members as having equal goals and values, even under the most socially favorable conditions?
If people are not absolutely equal, then they are unequal. What is the relationship between their equality and inequality? How does their inequality relate to humanity? These questions can be answered by turning to the concept of justice, which is a concretization of the concept of humanity and characterizes the measure of humanity. To determine the latter, it is necessary to take into account inequality between people. Aristotle expressed the essence of justice in the formula: “to equals - equal, to unequals - unequal.” In other words, it consists in the unity of equality and inequality. Doesn't inequality lead to the destruction of equality? Liberalism is characterized by their absolute opposition. For example, in the Far Eastern Development Program of E. T. Gaidar it was argued that there is no equality between people. This is an example of metaphysical, anti-dialectical, erroneous thinking. If all people are designated by the same word “man”, and by the same word “people”, then doesn’t this mean that they are identical and equal to each other in something that makes them human? From this equality, as F. Engels wrote, the demand for social equality follows. For people of the lower classes sooner or later begin to understand that, in essence, they are no worse than the masters, that both physically and mentally all people are in principle equal. And, therefore, it is fair that all people occupy an equal position in society and are not divided into “higher” and “lower”, masters and slaves.
It is obvious that the basis of justice is equality, because those properties that are common to people have fundamental significance for the species “homo sapiens” and make people human. The same thing that distinguishes one person from another does not change the fact that each person belongs to this species. The features that make people different and unequal are divided into two opposing categories: those that do not contradict equality and those that contradict it. Taking into account the former only strengthens equality, and therefore fairness (for example, differences in age, gender, health, etc.). The presence and recognition of the latter (for example, between the rich and the poor, the owners and the dispossessed, the educated and the uneducated) significantly reduce the justice of the social system in which they occur, and over time become intolerant for those who suffer from them and evaluate them as unfair. In the second case, we are, of course, talking about social inequality.
Injustice is inhumanity, a violation of humanity. Where there is no justice, there is no humanity. Private property gives rise to individualism, egoism, and denies the foundations of humanity, collectivity, and morality as such. The leading form of regulation is law, based on the power of the state. If the state is significantly weakened, as happened in our country according to the plan and will of the liberals in the late 80s and especially in the early 90s of the last century, and society turns out to be demoralized as a result of massive liberal-bourgeois propaganda, the social system is destroyed, anarchy arises, many times crime increases - such a society ceases to be humane. What happened in our country during the capitalist counter-revolution shows firsthand that the capitalist system is opposed to the socialist system, even the still very imperfect one, just as the inhumane system is opposed to the humane one. The facts proving the inhumanity of capitalism are well known to all of us, and there is no need to refer to them here.
Liberalism was exported to us as a worthless commodity from a place where it has not been used in practice for a long time. We took it at face value. This is an anti-scientific, anti-social and deeply immoral ideology, the application of which leads society to complete collapse. The cornerstone of the “theory” of liberalism is the understanding of freedom as the arbitrariness of an individual independent in relation to society, guided solely by his own private interest, which consists of the pursuit of profit. The philosophical interpretation of freedom by liberalism is similar to its existentialist interpretation: freedom has no objective basis. Thus, it turns out to be an empty word, its concept is not defined in any way, which means the theoretical impotence and sterility of such “understanding”. The real basis for this interpretation is the apparent complete independence of agents of market transactions in relation to each other, to the state and society as a whole. The individual is declared to be the “highest value,” and his freedom is declared to be a higher value than the value of “order.” The state should not regulate the market; it is regulated by the “invisible hand”, which establishes order there. The initial meaning, therefore, is the freedom of individuals, while “order” turns out to be secondary, derivative. Everything in this “theory” turns out to be turned upside down.
Scientific philosophy provides a deterministic, clear and convincing understanding of freedom, inextricably linking it with necessity. Thus, Aristotle called free an action, the principle of which is contained in the acting person himself (that is, not imposed on him from the outside); According to Spinoza, a free thing is a thing that acts due to the necessity of its own nature; according to Hegel, freedom is a perceived necessity; Engels associated freedom with domination over ourselves and over external nature, based on the knowledge of necessities. Based on these definitions, we can say that freedom is the unhindered fulfillment of one’s own needs, based on independence, of course, relative, from external negative factors and the use of positive factors. If freedom is the implementation of a principle or necessity, then it is not freedom that precedes “order,” but “order,” social conditions, the state, morality and law that precede the freedom of individuals and determine the socio-historical nature of their freedom. As has been said, you cannot live in society and be free from society. By asserting the opposite, liberalism inevitably falls into the wildest anarchism, the realization of which has become our wild capitalism.
The Far Eastern Development Program says: we do not need a strong state, but strong citizens. What is not a manifesto of anarchism! If the inequality of these citizens is recognized, then perhaps we must admit that there are not only strong, but also weak? Are all the highest values? If that’s all, then at least in this very important sense we must recognize universal equality? But what kind of equality can there be: after all, the strong really become “higher values” in relation to the weak, and in relation to the strong, in the absence of a strong state, they will already be “lower values”. For where there is higher, there must be, accordingly, lower. And if every single one of them is “higher,” then where are the “lower” and, in general, “lower”? This is a “smart” concept that was invented and even included in our Constitution.
What rational, reality-corresponding meaning does this concept contain? The fact that in society there is a “higher class”, which arose in our country, as everyone knows, through the illegitimate, in fact, illegal appropriation of the main means of production that belonged to the entire society, that is, by robbing the people, who as a result became the “lower class”. The “upper class,” having usurped state power and the entire legal system, appropriating the lion’s share of the public property, turned the “lower class,” that is, the vast majority of the population, into poor and beggars. Society has ceased to be the true common good for them, and they have ceased to be the ultimate goals for it. They have only one fate left - to degrade, get sick and die, in many cases before reaching 20–30 years of old age.
And this fits very clearly into the concept of liberalism, according to which everyone is for himself and no one is for everyone. It is based on the theory of social Darwinism, which does not even deserve the name “animal”, because in the animal world, in herds, packs, prides, etc., relations of cooperation, mutual assistance, and not mutual struggle predominate. Much can be said about the truly terrible troubles that liberal ideology brought to Russia, the government that took it into service in the destruction of socialism, and at the same time the social order at its very core, in the creation of the wildest capitalism that threatens the preservation of our country and its people . These troubles are already being written openly and spoken about in some cases in the media. But our task is different. We are talking about the injustice of the class system in general, capitalism in particular. Capitalism is an inherently immoral system, fundamentally contrary to the general fundamental, moral nature of man.
Morality, of course, does not disappear with the advent of the era of capitalism. It is formed in children by their parents, preached in religious, political and other communities, its principles are adhered to by many scientists, writers, and artists. But the bourgeois economy, the highest principle of which is the enrichment of private individuals and their achievement of maximum profits, leaves no room for conscience, humanity, and justice. As one journalist wrote, with 300% profit there are no crimes that a capitalist would not commit even under pain of the gallows (these words were quoted by Marx in Capital). And the economy, ultimately, is the determining factor in the life of society. Therefore, private interest and individualism become dominant, incompatible with the basic moral law, with morality in general. Marx wrote about this, pointing out the contrast between the “political economy of morality”, that is, moral principles, and the “morality of political economy” - with the principles of the pursuit of profit, competition, etc. Is it possible to recognize such a system as normal, corresponding to the primordial human aspirations that always carry in self-orientation towards a moral ideal? Of course not! A universal moral ideal is an ideal not only of a moral personality, but also of a moral social system, humane and fair. There is no need to prove that the bourgeois system has nothing in common with this ideal, that it is its direct and absolute negation. Therefore it cannot be durable. And we see that all over the world there is already a slow, difficult, contradictory, but irresistible process of transition from capitalism and the class system in general to socialism - the first phase of communism. Only the Russian “elite”, seized by a thirst for enrichment and armed with the pseudoscientific ideology of liberalism, which shamelessly deceived and continues to deceive the people, managed to turn the country in the opposite direction, to the original capitalism, and in the field of worldview even further - to the past, to the Middle Ages with its dominance of religious consciousness .
The ideologists of liberalism daily and hourly, making full use of the press, radio and especially television, which are completely at their disposal, convince, and, unfortunately, not without results, the society that our current system is “normal” and much more effective than the socialist one. And, apparently, many are still succumbing to their sophistical propaganda. But the truth is just the opposite. The class system, which in the history of the species “Homo sapiens” occupied approximately 1/10 of the time of its existence, and in the history of the human race – about one thousandth, falls out of the norm of sociality. Moreover, it falls outside the norm of the entire history of living nature in the aspect of the development of social forms of life. (Associations of bees, ants and some other types of insects that have “classes” cannot be considered social, because these associations are, as recognized by science, “superorganisms.”) But the main thing is that, as convincingly proven by Marxism and confirmed by factual With the progress of human development, the existence of this system is ending, from which we can conclude that its relatively short existence represents a kind of failure, a step back in the development of sociality in general and human sociality in particular. This failure can be assessed as a “dead loop” into which history entered 6-7, maybe a maximum of 10 thousand years ago and from which, fortunately, it is now emerging. It is difficult to predict how long this transition will take. But we can assume that it will end in the first half of this millennium.
Marxism provides a strictly scientific justification for the pattern of the onset of the era of communism: at one time, labor acquired a private character, individual farming arose, which led to the emergence of private property, classes, the division of society into rich and poor, rulers and slaves, undermined the unity of society and a single morality, relations of humanity and justice; with the development of capitalism, labor again becomes social in nature, which inevitably leads to the replacement of private property with public property, to the abolition of classes, to the revival of the moral unity of society, humanity and justice in relation to each of its members. Marxism is the highest level of development of the ideology of humanism. Some Western philosophers saw Marx's humanism in his early works and only in them, not realizing that all of Marx's teachings had an unconditionally humanistic orientation. In his mature works, Marx shifted the emphasis from the analysis of the essence of man to the study of the social conditions of his existence, for he proceeded from the indisputable position that it is social and especially economic relations that determine the forms of life and the possibilities for the development of people. Having given communism a scientific character, Marx called it real humanism. And one cannot but agree with this, because true humanism does not come down to justifying the special value of man and to general reasoning about it outside of space and time, but requires, and this is the most important thing, the study of ways of the most complete realization of man as a value and practical actions aimed at to pave these paths in reality.
So, people, by their general nature, are social, and therefore moral beings. As a result of this, there is a constant need for true sociality in history, that is, justice and humanity. Humanity and humaneness cannot be separated from sociality, collectivity, from morality in general, the essence of which is unity and harmony of the personal and the social. The ideology and practice of liberalism is based on bourgeois individualism, which fundamentally denies true sociality. Therefore, liberalism is anti-humanism. From his position, humanity is unthinkable and unreal. Humanism is communism, which asserts that the free development of everyone is a condition for the free development of all. And the time will inevitably come when this motto will be realized.
How to develop humanity?
To begin with, it is necessary to correctly understand what humanity is, because as noted above, many people who are sincerely confident that they possess this virtue completely misunderstand what it is. Humanity consists of several qualities, and it can be developed by methodically working on the development of each of them. These are qualities such as:
- Moral. This is a system of personal values, principles and rules of behavior. Morality determines how a person treats others and evaluates their actions, what demands he places on them and on himself. The higher a person’s moral level, the easier it is for him to suppress primitive instincts and selfish desires.
- Strength of will. Humanity involves concrete actions and willful efforts, consciously overcoming weaknesses, making difficult decisions and taking actions for the sake of others. Like morality, willpower helps us fight primitive instincts and desires.
- Striving to make the world a better place. We all consider ourselves good people - that’s how our psyche works. But humanity implies not only a sincere desire to make the world a better place, but also concrete, even small, steps in this direction.
- Understanding other people's motives . Every intentional act, good or bad, has a motive. Our psyche is structured in such a way that it is very easy for us to blame other people, although in similar situations we always come up with excellent excuses for ourselves. Humanity implies the ability to understand the motives that push other people to certain actions.
- An adequate perception of your place in the world. For the development of humanity, it is also important to learn to adequately assess one’s position in the world. Often, an adequate assessment is hampered by egocentrism, which prevents a person from realizing the importance of the feelings and experiences of other people and all living beings.
- Forgiveness. The ability to consciously forgive other people's mistakes is the most important component of humanity. This means that you need to make more efforts to learn this.
- Respect. Every person deserves respect, regardless of his weaknesses, mistakes, level of education, social status and achievements in life. Demonstrative contempt for someone is one of the common manifestations of a lack of humanity.
To develop humanity in yourself, you need to constantly and purposefully work on yourself. This implies, first of all, the development of the qualities and abilities listed above. In addition, it is important to analyze your thoughts and experiences, especially in situations where someone's action has caused anger or contempt for that person. It is important not to forget that humanity implies the ability to forgive and respect everyone, regardless of their actions and social status.