Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis attributes the driving force of social development to the rooting in man of a consciously manifested the thrust towards God: "So this heavenly hail, while he is in earthly wandering, calls on citizens from all nations and recruits a itinerant society in all languages, without regard for the fact that there are various in rights, laws and institutions by which the world of the earth is established or maintained; nothing of the latter. not abolishing or destroying, but, on the contrary, saving everything, that, although is different for other peoples, but is directed to the same goal of the earthly world, unless it hinders the religion that teaches to honoring of one supreme and true God "[7. About a God's hail. XIX, 17].
The thrust to God means first of all the aspiration of the person to get closer to perfection, but, as we know, good intentions can lead away in the opposite direction up to such limit where opportunities for development disappear completely. Almost all religious sects and such large confession as Muslim are an example of it.
Pitirim Sorokin believes the accumulation of base of scientific knowledge is the main source of development, as a result of which the contradictory variety of real-life sociocultural systems will be transformed to a certain integrated sociocultural layer [8].
Scientific knowledge in itself is dead – it is necessary to manage to apply it in a timely manner in time without manifestation of negative results, otherwise – instead of transformation of systems in the progressive direction will happen regress, that was being happened incalculable number of times, and which threatens especially now from "achievements" of genetics.
Gabriel Tarde notes that the driving force behind the development of society is the creative mind in the form of rationalization of tools of work and life, including the inventive. The last Tard considers as an adaptation mechanism, without which it is difficult for a person to apply himself to changing environmental conditions.
The new arises as a result of the activity of a few gifted individuals. Then the process of imitation begins. In particular, according to the Tarde, the assertion of the basic social institutions was due to the inability of ordinary people to invent, and they began to imitate the innovators [9].