Human civilization has a great many achievements of a different nature. Among them is a market that can effectively regulate economic conflicts. The life of society cannot be imagined without market relations. The economic aspect of social life is one of the most important. However, society tends to periodically enter into various kinds of conflict situations, among which economic ones occupy not the last place.
Conflict economics
Acting in their own interests, people continuously adapt to changes in society, have the opportunity to choose, interact with each other. As a result, economic conflicts may arise in the sphere of consumption and production. Therefore, economic theory offers certain methods for resolving this type of conflict.
According to economic science, which establishes links between the needs of people in society, economichuman activity tends to rationalism. People for the most part seek to balance their needs with income and ways to achieve them. This suggests that there is always room for favorable regulation of situations that cause economic conflicts of various types.
Types
The concept of conflict implies the confrontation of the subjects of society with unequal essential goods of life, opportunities to ensure well-being, comfort in certain sectors of society.
The following types of economic conflicts are distinguished:
- participants in domestic and family conflicts (husband, wife, children, etc.);
- workers and employer;
- enterprises and the power structure that regulates activities
- entrepreneurs;
- rent-seeking (privileges and licenses);
- cartel members;
- different social classes and economic conflicts arising between them due to social problems;
- the state and social strata of the population that are on state support: pensioners, low-income people, the disabled, students, the unemployed and parents raising small children who have no income;
- professional categories of citizens with the goal of redistributing resources in their own interests;
- plaintiffs in court and defendants in a lawsuit;
- federal center and regions due to resource problems;
- political organizations entering into economic conflicts because of differences;
- countries defending economic interests.
Component and functions
Most of the economic conflict has an objective component. The state is the main regulator of economic relations and performs a public function. He has at his disposal a powerful administrative, tax, customs and other tools of the public law industry. Society is the bearer of public interests and the subject of economic relations.
Functions of economic conflict - the impact of the conflict or its results on opponents, their relationships and on the social and material environment.
How do socio-economic conflicts develop?
The main reason for the occurrence of such situations is the contradictory nature of economic interests. Before it breaks out and is fully resolved, the conflict goes through stages of development:
- contradictions are formed among the parties;
- potential conflict turns into real;
- conflict actions arise;
- release stress and resolve the situation.
It is often said that the cause of economic disputes is mercantilism, i.e. the search for sources of we alth and its growth through introduction.
What are the costs of socio-economic conflicts?
As a rule, economic disputes involve costs:
- transactional for courts, organization of contracts, etc.;
- losses atforce majeure, etc.;
- costs of conflict resolution itself, and the longer it lasts, the higher they are.
You can talk about a situation that leads to the development of economic conflicts when there are:
- feedback violation;
- lack of control over agreements;
- absence of legislation describing the responsibility of the parties for violation of deadlines or failure to fulfill the tasks and agreed obligations;
- the presence of bills that have entered into force, but in fact do not work.
The essence and reasons
All conflicts in the economic sphere can be divided by form into open and closed, and by type of interaction - face-to-face, when there is direct interaction, and absentee, if there is the presence of third parties from any side.
The concept expressing the essence of economic conflicts arose in the middle of the nineteenth century in German terminology and denoted a clash of interests, serious disagreements, opposing views, contradictions between subjects with established objective conditions. The first meaning of the German word is "to collide together".
Conflict is a conscious confrontation between the parties drawn into it. In the economic sphere, it arises from the use and appropriation of material, financial resources, organization, management, disposal of goods and their distribution.
All causes of socio-economic conflicts are rooted in a conflict of economic interests. This is not only the level of people and enterprises, it can be different groups of people with the opposite direction of economic thought.
Objects and subjects
The objects of science that study economic conflicts are money, production facilities, production factors (labor, land, information resources, capital), stocks, real estate, bonds, patents, copyright, credit products, etc..
Subjects in economic conflictology will be legal entities, individuals, government agencies, governments. The subject is: the processes accompanying the conflict and methods of settlement. Conflicts in the economy can arise at micro-, meso-, macro- and mega-economic levels.
The impact of globalization and the knowledge factor
Today there is a lot of talk about globalization, about the impending threat of polarization of the world, where the gap between rich and poor is constantly widening. In this regard, international economic conflicts are inevitable, which are fraught with armed clashes. In order to avoid catastrophic consequences, it is necessary to observe international law, develop international trade, and build civilizational relations. Only in this case is it possible to increase the welfare of countries, regardless of their initial level of development and monetary balance.
To unleash an economic conflict between different states, it is necessary to use expensive means of economic policy. Therefore, it is more advantageous not to enter into a confrontation, butdevelop trade relations. The processes of globalization accelerate the development of STP (scientific and technological progress), which leads to the emergence of new means for coordinating solutions to global problems and the sustainability of the world economy.
Economic confrontation between states has been present at all times in the development of human society. The modern development of globalization aims to remove the very causes of economic conflicts, which can lead to open confrontations and the outbreak of war. However, countries have been and will continue to fight for sales markets, factors of production, and the factor of knowledge production, which leads to the development of the knowledge economy, has recently been considered especially important.
Knowledge is a factor of economic power necessary for the growth of production. If the monopoly is maintained, the early discoverers of the knowledge economy will be able to make super profits. As a result, there is control over high technologies and their export. This, first of all, concerns the advanced countries, which pay increased attention to the protection of intellectual property. But because of liberalism in relation to copyright, conflicts arise in the economic sphere of knowledge. Accordingly, the struggle for knowledge and the establishment of one or another order regarding its dissemination is an important factor in international conflicts.
As the world's population grows, conflicts intensify. The struggle for resources is carried out to obtain the right to use them in order to limit the capabilities of the enemy. This is especially true for energy sources. It is no secret that the power of states is increasing,still considered developing: China, India and others. As their power increases, conflicts will escalate. This is especially true in the area of investment.
The causes of economic and political conflicts at the international level can be global demographic and environmental problems, the solution of which requires high costs and concerted action in the world community. However, there are controversial questions about the culprit of the problem and the distribution of the burden of costs to solve it. Today the main conflict issue is globalization itself. There are heated debates between opponents and supporters of globalization. At the level of international relations, this is a conflict between countries that benefit from global processes and those that do not.
Overcoming problems
On the issue of overcoming economic backwardness and the impact of globalization itself on these processes, there are conflicting opinions. Opponents believe that global changes are beneficial only to developed and influential countries, expanding their influence at the expense of underdeveloped states, which will eventually remain disadvantaged, which will lead to economic conflicts. There are examples of such confrontations today. The situation in the world is so tense that it is extremely difficult to talk about the general growing well-being. The impoverishment of some and, conversely, the overshooting of the we alth of others - this is the result of today's international economic policy of many states. Only time will tell who was right - supportersor opponents of globalization. But so far, it seems that the opponents of the world community have an advantage in arguments.
Economic conflicts are different in their manifestation. Examples are: economic blockades, competition, embargoes, strikes of various types, etc. You also need to understand that any consolidation of the social mass is accompanied by population growth and causes the problem of division of labor.
The ideas of a new international economic order, the demands of developing countries regarding the world currency and international trade relations, formed the basis of the program to establish a new world order in the economy and in the whole world community. However, the proclaimed principles of the free market and equality of opportunity do not work in reality and often turn against a weak partner. In addition, the current system is unable to solve the global problems of modern society.
Developing countries want to have greater access to the industrial markets of developed countries. They want to really control the activities of transnational corporations, expand the possibilities for the development of advanced technologies, eliminate economic pressure, become active participants in leading organizations in the international arena and, together with developed countries, control international trade. The assistance provided by developed countries, strong on the world stage, is based on certain conditions and is of a related nature. And countries in need want this help to be unconditional.
As a result, all changes in the economicsystems on an international platform are so far implemented without mutual benefit. Many states are left alone with their problems and act on the principle of "saving the drowning man is the work of the drowning man himself." Such a concept is contrary to all the principles of the world community.
Polarization and safety
The security of the international system is the way to resolve the economic conflict, when equality and mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic sphere is achieved. Collective economic security will be effective when it can meet the interests of all participants in international relations - the weakest and the strongest. This suggests that economic partners with a less developed level of development will insist on the redistribution of income, the creation of favorable conditions for trade and the provision of benefits. Is it fully possible?
The polarization of the world to "East-West" or "North-South" is becoming too obvious. The availability of information in this light plays an essential role. Each side of the conflict situation always has not only positive features, but also negative ones. There are mutually exclusive interpretations. The increase in the scale of the conflict is influenced by the identity of each people, the difference in cultural and spiritual values. And in the context of global informatization, a significant difference, one might say, a whole gulf between the well-being of various nationalities and strata of the population has become even more evident. In addition, she constantly reminds of herself. All this cannotnot lead to an increase in tension and the development of economic conflicts of varying degrees of complexity.
From the point of view of neoclassical and classical economics, the contradiction that arises among economic interests is a temporary phenomenon. Such inconsistencies will disappear. Long-term plans will lead to the resolution of contradictions, to the emergence of a harmony of interests. The main thing in this matter is following the principles of a free economic policy and observing individual interests. The public interest must be a consequence of the observance of individual interests. Therefore, the task of states on the way to resolving economic contradictions is to create conditions for the development of a free economy, without interfering in the economic processes themselves.
From the position of economic liberalism, the world economy is a huge workshop where all participants in the process of creating we alth compete, the result of aggregate labor in all spheres of production, various professions and types of labor. This is a multi-level social phenomenon, where the true source of we alth can be the division of labor, which facilitates the production process and gives a high result.
