The State as an Indicator of Human Development (With Reference to Neuroscience)

Abstract

The paper is transdisciplinary in nature: it is written at the junction of the theory of the state and neurobiology. The purpose of the paper is to establish a correlation between the evolution of human consciousness and changes in statehood. According to the type of neurobiological processes, people are divided into 4 categories: visual, auditory, kinesthetic and digital. If we group these psychotypes, then the neurobiological characteristic of society will appear as a changing constant of two types of thinking: irrational and rational. The global trend in their ratio is as follows: there is a gradual increase in rational thinking. However, the pace of development of countries varies, and to measure the level of development, the UN uses the Human Development Index (HDI), based on economic and social indicators. The author suggests supplementing the HDI with a political component: a characteristic of statehood, since ignoring this gives an incomplete picture of human development. The main parameters of the state are its type and essence. According to the type of state, they are divided into agrarian, industrial and informational. It is concluded that if in an agrarian state the proportion of people with rational thinking is extremely small, then in an industrial state their number increases, but not enough to make the government controlled by society. In an information state, the government becomes controlled by the people precisely because of the presence of a critical mass of sane people. The essence of the state — its volitional component — has a dual nature: it expresses the interests of society and the ruling elite. This balance again depends ultimately on the level of public consciousness. The pattern here is as follows: at the early stages of the development of society, the state mainly expresses the interests of the ruling elite. Then the share of general social interests gradually increases. At later stages of the development of the state, general social interests begin to dominate in law. Ultimately, the state turns into a «servant» of society, and civil servants, including senior officials, become managers of public administration.