The thesis is devoted to the formation of theoretical and methodological principles of determining the influence of science on the socio-economic development of society and providing practical recommendations on the state economic policy in order to ensure its progressive orientation in Ukraine using the potential of science. The expediency of understanding science as a separate subsystem of a holistic social system along with economic, social, socio-cultural, ecological and political- legal systems has been proved. It is determined that science is a system of social relations between the entities of scientific cognition of reality about the production, distribution and practical application of new knowledge about the objective laws of the functioning and development of society in order to change the environment in accordance with the needs and interests of mankind. It is substantiated that science as a phenomenon of the spiritual sphere of activity of people through its specific forms belongs to each subsystem of society, influences their functioning, while receiving a reciprocal impulse to its own changes. Thanks to such systemic interaction, society undergoes transformations that facilitate its more qualitative development. Scientific ideas about the functions of science in the socio-economic system are refined, which involves expanding their circle by distinguishing the intensification function, the functions of saving labor, increasing free time, ensuring self-realization and freedom, democratization and transparency, mitigating global problems and accelerating progressive development. It is proved that the above-mentioned functions of science, along with rationalistic, educational-cultural, logical- methodological, managerial-regulatory, and the function of social force, switch the society into development mode, while epistemological, worldview, prognostic and ideological-and-succession functions of science provide the maintenance of society in a stationary state (operation mode). The understanding of the essence of social development is specified through actualization of its progressive side. It has been shown that since development is a complex, multifaceted, non-linear and contradictory phenomenon that encompasses economic growth (the creation of material conditions for the further movement of the system), is implemented in evolutionary and revolutionary forms and is guided by the trajectories of progress and/or regression, it is important to distinguish a separate concept of "progressive socio-economic development" within the limits of the existing upward category that is broad in sense - "socio-economic development". The former is defined as the process of irreversible, purposeful, qualitative, logical and multifactorial progressive changes in all spheres of economic life, manifested in raising the level of meeting the material and spiritual needs of society as a whole and of an individual, future generations, in particular the degree of realization of power, capabilities and individual traits of a person, as well as the harmonization of relations within the system "man - nature - society - future generations". It is substantiated that science as a factor of social development destroys permanence; it changes the natural, economic, political, legal, social and socio- cultural environment of human existence, which causes ambiguous consequences in terms of progressive development of society. It is established that the velocity and vector of the process of development depends on conscious management, the inertia of the institutional structure, the quality of information transmission channels, which, in turn, are related to the influence of science. It is substantiated that for different countries the achievement of the goals of progressive socio-economic development depends on the strength of the relationship between science and subsystems of society. The theoretical and methodical approach to the quantitative assessment of the impact of science on the socio-economic development of society is improved, which implies the use of the proposed indicators of "integral index of science" and "integral index of development" and the establishment of correlation links between them. The theoretical approach to the substantiation of the principles of the state economic policy in promoting the development of society through progress has been developed. It is proved that the degree of influence of science on social development depends on the civilization stage of a certain country. The strong dependence of the level of development of society on science is established only for post-Soviet countries, which is connected with the specifics of them being at the transformational stage. The directions of state influence on the structural elements of society are defined in order to ensure the progressive socio-economic development of Ukraine.
