Today, almost every person daily encounters the concept of "reform". This already familiar word sounds from the mouths of politicians, radio and TV presenters, and also constantly appears in books, the media and other sources. What does this concept mean and what are its types?
The essence of the concept
The word "reform" comes from the Latin "reformare", which means "to transform". This concept denotes a change or transformation of any social process or object, a sphere of public life. Depending on the nature of the influence on historical development.
Depending on the areas covered by the changes, separate the different types of reforms. In general, this phenomenon in any of its forms and manifestations is a necessary process for the development of society and the state, even if its consequences are negative. It should also be noted that reform is, as a rule, a process taking place within a particular country, its political, social or economic structure.
Trace in history
By their influence on the movehistory and development of the country distinguish the following types of reforms:
Progressive - these changes entail improvement, improvement of any area of life or the whole system. For example, the abolition of serfdom led to a significant improvement in the lives of the broad masses of the population. Progressive reforms have a positive impact on the development of the economy, living standards or social security, as well as other indicators, depending on the scope of their implementation
Regressive - transformations that entail a deterioration in the functioning of systems and structures, a decrease in living standards or other negative consequences in society. For example, the introduction of a high tax rate may lead to a reduction in production, the transition of the economy to the so-called "shadow activity", and a deterioration in the standard of living of the population
Regressive reforms can develop into popular unrest, riots, strikes. But, despite all their negative consequences, such measures are sometimes forced and subsequently give a positive result. For example, an increase in fees or taxes in order to increase the social protection of the population will initially cause a lot of popular indignation, but when the system is fully operational and the people feel the positive aspects of the changes, the unrest will stop and the upgrades will positively affect the standard of living of citizens.
Directions
The types of reforms in terms of their scope are very extensive. Political ones are aimed at changes in a specific area. For example,transformation of the electoral system or the structure of government of the country. Economic ones entail changes in the economic activity of the country or foreign economic relations. Social events are held with the aim of making changes in the life of the broad masses.
These are generalized concepts that can include many more specific transformations. Here are some examples:
Constitutional reform is an amendment to the most important document of the country, which provides for changes in the structure of power or the basic principles of its activities. Refers to the political sphere
- Agrarian reform - transformations in the country's agricultural activities. It may involve state support for this sector of the economy, or vice versa, tightening of requirements and rules. Refers to the economic sphere.
- Educational reform - changes in the education system. It may concern both the higher structures of the system management (principles of work of the Ministry of Education) and specific areas (children's preschool institutions, schools, universities, colleges, etc.). Refers to the social sphere.
A vivid example from Russian history
Khrushchev's economic reforms carried out in the 50-60s of the last century had a huge impact on the further development of both the country as a whole and its individual regions. The most important innovation was the division of the entire territory into economic administrative regions with their own local governments, endowed with fairly broadpowers.
The crushing of Stalin's personality cult can also be attributed to important changes, which gave impetus to a new look at our country and the whole world as a whole, and also aroused considerable interest in the world community.
But this was only the beginning of changes, followed by other equally significant ones. For example, the agrarian reform was aimed at developing new lands and territories, processing them and adapting them to the needs of agriculture. These actions gave their important results: an increase in yields, the development of industries related to the agricultural complex, etc.
Khrushchev's economic reforms covered both the development of scientific potential, and the expansion of the country's production capacities, and much, much more. They left a very significant mark and significantly raised the standard of living of citizens, although they had not only positive consequences.
Foreign examples
There are dozens of types of social reforms, and there are also a huge number of examples of their implementation. Some of the most striking changes in recent history are those carried out in Georgia.
In a relatively short period of time, the state apparatus was reduced, procedures for registering and doing business were simplified, social security and he althcare systems were completely rebuilt. As a result of these reforms, Georgia has shown excellent performance in the fight against corruption, showed the growth of the economy and a significant improvement in the standard of living of the population.
Specialview
To improve the system, stabilize the exchange rate or during transitional periods during the introduction of other changes by the state, such an event as a monetary reform is often used. This tool can be used to curb inflation and overcome the negative effects of the economic downturn.
The most understandable and familiar examples of monetary reform to the general public are denomination (consolidation of monetary units without changing their name), nullification (complete "reset of the system" - the introduction of a new monetary unit to replace the old one) and devaluation (depreciation of the domestic currency against monetary units of other countries).
Next step
Summing up, it is worth noting the important point that almost all types of reforms, if their consequences have a negative impact on people's lives, inevitably lead to a more decisive and rapid implementation of change. This phenomenon is called revolution. Since such changes are initiated not by the state, but by the people, and often do not have clear goals, but are only the result of a protest, their consequences can be unpredictable.
