The paper is devoted to the general theoretical analysis of the social dimension of public financial activity. The paper analyzes such fundamental categories for financial law as finance and financial activity. The paper criticizes the liberal approach to economic management, which involves minimizing the role of the state. According to the author, over time it becomes more and more obvious that the "invisible hand of the market" cannot ensure normal functioning of the economy in the public interest. Private finance serves only private interests. Medicine, education, culture are areas that, as a rule, cannot bring significant profits to entrepreneurs. A social character is inherent in modern public financial activity, which largely characterizes the current stage of development of financial law as a whole. In this regard, the author highlights a fundamental role of public financial activity in the development of the social sphere in the Russian Federation.