p Society as a distinct entity is .a part of nature. It is inseparable from the rest of nature and constantly interacts with it. That part of nature, with which society interacts most closely and influences and is in turn influenced by, is called geographical environment, and includes climate, soil, rivers and seas, vegetable and animal life, relief and minerals.

p The geographical environment is a necessary condition for man’s productive activity. Without interaction with nature no labour, no productive activity is conceivable. In the struggle against nature man gains his means of subsistence.

p The geographical environment can exert a dual influence on the development of society. Favourable natural conditions (mineral resources, forest, rivers, a good climate, etc.) promote society’s development. On the other hand, unfavourable natural conditions adversely affect social development. The absence of minerals, for example, impedes industrial development; an arid climate hinders the progress of agriculture, etc.

p Acting on the importance of the geographical environment in social development, proponents of the geographical trend in sociology overestimate its role and claim that social development is determined either by the environment as a whole or by some of its elements—the climate, rivers, etc.

p It is clear that the geographical trend is scientifically untenable. It does not and cannot explain the causes of social development, or why, for instance, two countries which are developing in approximately the same geographical conditions stand at different levels of economic and political organisation.

p The geographical trend does not take into account that, while being subject to the influence of nature, society on its part actively acts upon nature, and that as it transforms and makes nature serve its interests, society accelerates and modifies certain natural processes. The extent to which society acts upon the geographical environment in the final analysis depends on the level of development of production, science and technology. The socialist system, where society for the first time in history can consciously and in a planned way transform nature in the interests of the working man, creates particularly favourable conditions for acting upon nature.

It follows that the geographical environment is not the determining factor in society’s development, although it is a necessary condition of social life. It is only capable of facilitating or retarding society’s development.