Types and factors of social mobility. Abstract: Social mobility

Horizontal mobility is the transition of an individual from one social group to another, located on the same level (example: moving from an Orthodox to a Catholic religious group, from one citizenship to another). Distinguish between individual mobility - the movement of one person independently of others, and group mobility - the movement occurs collectively. In addition, geographical mobility is distinguished - moving from one place to another while maintaining the same status (example: international and interregional tourism, moving from city to village and back). As a kind of geographical mobility, the concept is distinguished migration- moving from one place to another with a change in status (example: a person moved to the city for permanent residence and changed his profession).

1. Vertical mobility

Vertical mobility is the movement of a person up or down the corporate ladder.

Upward mobility - social uplift, upward movement (For example: promotion).

Downward mobility - social descent, downward movement (For example: demolition).

1. Generational mobility

Intergenerational mobility - a comparative change in social status among different generations (example: the son of a worker becomes president).

Intragenerational mobility (social career) - a change in status within one generation (example: a turner becomes an engineer, then a shop manager, then a factory director). Vertical and horizontal mobility are influenced by gender, age, birth rate, death rate, population density. In general, men and young people are more mobile than women and the elderly. Overpopulated countries are more likely to experience the consequences of emigration (relocation from one country to another for economic, political, personal reasons) than immigration (moving to a region for permanent or temporary residence of citizens from another region). Where the birth rate is high, the population is younger and therefore more mobile, and vice versa.

20. Stratification of modern Russian society

Modern studies of the factors, criteria and patterns of stratification of Russian society make it possible to single out layers and groups that differ both in social status and place in the process of reforming Russian society. According to hypothesis put forward by Academician T.I. Zaslavskaya, Russian society consists of four social strata: upper, middle, basic and lower, as well as a desocialized “social bottom”. The upper stratum includes, first of all, the real ruling stratum, which acts as the main subject of the reforms. It includes elite and sub-elite groups that occupy the most important positions in the system of state administration, in economic and law enforcement agencies. They are united by the fact of being in power and the ability to directly influence the reform processes. The middle layer is the germ of the middle layer in the Western sense of the term. True, the majority of its representatives do not possess either the capital that ensures personal independence, or the level of professionalism that meets the requirements of a post-industrial society, or high social prestige. Moreover, this stratum is still too small and cannot serve as a guarantor of social stability. In the future, a full-fledged middle stratum in Russia will be formed on the basis of social groups that today form the corresponding proto-stratum. These are small entrepreneurs, managers of medium and small enterprises, the middle link of the bureaucracy, senior officers, the most qualified and capable specialists and workers. The basic social stratum covers more than 2/3 of Russian society. Its representatives have an average professional and qualification potential and a relatively limited labor potential. The basic stratum includes the main part of the intelligentsia (specialists), semi-intelligentsia (assistant specialists), technical personnel, workers in the mass professions of trade and service, most of peasantry. Although the social status, mentality, interests and behavior of these groups are different, their role in the transition process is quite similar - it is primarily an adaptation to changing conditions in order to survive and, if possible, maintain the achieved status. The bottom layer closes the main, socialized part of society, its structure and functions seem to be the least clear. Distinctive features of its representatives are low activity potential and inability to adapt to the harsh socio-economic conditions of the transition period. Basically, this layer consists of elderly, poorly educated, not too healthy and strong people, from those who do not have professions, and often a permanent occupation, place of residence, unemployed, refugees and forced migrants from areas of interethnic conflicts. Signs of representatives of this stratum are very low personal and family income, low level of education, unskilled work or lack of permanent work. The social bottom is characterized mainly by isolation from the social institutions of a large society, compensated by inclusion in specific criminal and semi-criminal institutions. From this follows the closure social connections predominantly within the stratum itself, desocialization, loss of the skills of legitimate public life. Representatives of the social bottom are criminals and semi-criminal elements - thieves, bandits, drug dealers, owners of brothels, small and large crooks, hired killers, as well as degraded people - alcoholics, drug addicts, prostitutes, vagrants, homeless people, etc. Other researchers present a picture of the social strata in modern Russia as follows: the economic and political elite (no more than 0.5%); top layer (6.5%); middle layer (21%); other layers (72%). The top layer includes the top of the state bureaucracy, most of the generals, large landowners, heads of industrial corporations, financial institutions, large and successful entrepreneurs. A third of the representatives of this group are not older than 30 years old, the proportion of women is less than a quarter, the proportion of non-Russians is one and a half times higher than the national average. IN last years there is a noticeable aging of this layer, which indicates its closure within its boundaries. The level of education is very high, although not much higher than that of the middle class. Two thirds live in large cities, one third owns their own enterprises and firms, one fifth is engaged in highly paid mental work, 45% are employed, most of them in the public sector. The incomes of this stratum, in contrast to the incomes of the rest, grow faster than prices, i.e. there is further accumulation of wealth. The material position of this stratum is not only higher, it is qualitatively different from that of the others. Thus, the upper stratum has the most powerful economic and energy potential and can be regarded as the new master of Russia, on whom, it would seem, one should pin hopes. However, this stratum is highly criminalized, socially selfish and short-sighted, showing no concern for strengthening and maintaining the current situation. In addition, he is in a defiant confrontation with the rest of society, partnerships with other social groups are difficult. Using their rights and the opportunities that have opened up, the upper layer does not adequately realize the responsibilities and obligations that accompany these rights. For these reasons, there is no reason to associate hopes for Russia's development along the liberal path with this layer. The middle layer is the most promising in this sense. It is developing quite rapidly (in 1993 it was 14%, in 1996 it was already 21%). In social terms, its composition is extremely heterogeneous and includes: the lower business layer - small businesses (44%); qualified specialists - professionals (37%); the middle link of employees (middle bureaucracy, military, workers in the non-productive sphere (19%). The number of all these groups is growing, and the fastest of all are professionals, then businessmen, slower than others - employees. The selected groups occupy the position of higher or lower, therefore it is more correct to consider not their middle strata, but groups of one middle stratum, or, more precisely, groups of the protostratum, since many of its features are only being formed (the borders are still blurred, political integration is weak, self-identification is low). decreased from 23 to 7%.However, the social well-being of this group is subject to the most dramatic fluctuations, especially for employees.At the same time, it is this protolayer that should be considered as a potential source of the formation (probably in two or three decades) of a real middle stratum - a class that is able to gradually become a guarantor of the social stability of society, uniting that part of Russia th society, which has the greatest socially active innovation potential and is more interested in the liberalization of public relations.(Maksimov A. Middle class translated into Russian//Open policy. 1998. May. pp. 58-63.)

21. Personality- a concept developed to display the social nature of man, considering it as a subject of socio-cultural life, defining it as a carrier of an individual principle, self-revealing in the contexts of social relations, communication and objective activity . By “personality” is meant: 1) a human individual as a subject of relations and conscious activity (“person” - in the broad sense of the word) or 2) a stable system of socially significant features that characterize an individual as a member of a particular society or community. Although these two concepts - the person as the integrity of a person (Latin persona) and the personality as his social and psychological appearance (Latin parsonalitas) - are terminologically quite distinguishable, they are sometimes used as synonyms.

22. Sociological theories of personality. Status-role concept of personality.

There are psychodynamic, analytical, humanistic, cognitive, behavioral, activity and dispositive theories of personality.

The founder of the psychodynamic theory of personality, also known as "classical psychoanalysis", is the Austrian scientist Z. Freud. Within the framework of psychodynamic theory, personality is a system of sexual and aggressive motives, on the one hand, and defense mechanisms, on the other, and personality structure is an individually different ratio of individual properties, individual blocks (instances) and defense mechanisms.

The analytical theory of personality is close to the theory of classical psychoanalysis, as it has many common roots with it. The most prominent representative of this approach is the Swiss researcher K. Jung. According to the analytical theory, a personality is a set of innate and realized archetypes, and the personality structure is defined as an individual peculiarity of the correlation of individual properties of archetypes, individual blocks of the unconscious and conscious, as well as extraverted or introverted attitudes of the personality.

Supporters of the humanistic theory of personality in psychology (K. Rogers and A. Maslow) consider innate tendencies towards self-actualization to be the main source of personality development. According to humanistic theory, personality is inner world human "I" as a result of self-actualization, and the structure of personality is the individual ratio of "real I" and "ideal I", as well as the individual level of development of needs for self-actualization.

The cognitive theory of personality is close to the humanistic one, but it has a number of significant differences. The founder of this approach is the American psychologist J. Kelly. In his opinion, the only thing a person wants to know in life is what happened to him and what will happen to him in the future. According to cognitive theory, personality is a system of organized personal constructs in which a person's personal experience is processed (perceived and interpreted). The structure of personality within the framework of this approach is considered as an individually peculiar hierarchy of constructs.

The behavioral theory of personality also has another name - “scientific”, since the main thesis of this theory is that our personality is a product of learning. Within the framework of this approach, personality is a system of social skills and conditioned reflexes, on the one hand, and a system of internal factors: self-efficacy, subjective significance and accessibility, on the other. According to the behavioral theory of personality, personality structure is a complexly organized hierarchy of reflexes or social skills, in which the internal blocks of self-efficacy, subjective significance and accessibility play a leading role.

The activity theory of personality has received the greatest distribution in domestic psychology. Among the researchers who made the greatest contribution to its development, one should name, first of all, S. L. Rubinshtein, K. A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, A. V. Brushlinsky. In the framework of the activity theory, a person is a conscious subject occupying a certain position in society and performing a socially useful public role. The structure of a personality is a complexly organized hierarchy of individual properties, blocks (orientation, abilities, character, self-control) and systemic existential-existential properties of a personality.

Proponents of the dispositional theory of personality consider the factors of gene-environment interaction to be the main source of personality development, with some directions emphasizing mainly influences from genetics, others from the environment. In the framework of the dispositional theory, personality is a complex system of formal dynamic properties (temperament), traits and socially determined properties. The personality structure is an organized hierarchy of individual biologically determined properties that are included in certain ratios and form certain types of temperament and traits, as well as a set of meaningful properties.

Status-role concept of personality.

The role theory of personality describes its social behavior with 2 basic concepts: “social status” and “social role”.

Each person in the social system occupies several positions. Each of these positions, which implies certain rights and obligations, is called a status. A person can have multiple statuses. But more often than not, only one determines his position in society. This status is called the main or integral. It often happens that the main status is due to his position (for example, director, professor). Social status is reflected both in external behavior and appearance (clothes, jargon), and in internal position (in attitudes, values, orientations).

Distinguish between prescribed and acquired statuses. The prescribed status is determined by society, regardless of the efforts and merits of the individual. It is determined by origin, place of birth, family, etc. The acquired (achieved) status is determined by the efforts, abilities of the person himself (for example, a writer, a doctor, an expert, a management consultant, a doctor of science, etc.).

There are also natural and professional-official statuses. The natural status of a person presupposes essential and relatively stable characteristics of a person (man, woman, child, youth, old man, etc.). Professional and official status is the basic status of an individual; for an adult, it is most often the basis of social status. It fixes the social, economic and organizational-production, managerial position (engineer, chief technologist, shop manager, personnel manager, etc.). Two forms of profession status are usually noted: economic and prestigious. The economic component of the social status of a profession (economic status) depends on the level of material remuneration assumed when choosing and implementing a professional path (choosing a profession, professional self-determination). The prestigious component of social status depends on the profession (prestigious status, prestige of the profession).

Social status denotes the specific place that an individual occupies in a given social system. The totality of requirements imposed on the individual by society forms the content of the social role. A social role is a set of actions that a person holding a given status in the social system must perform. Each status usually includes a number of roles.

One of the first attempts to systematize roles was made by T. Parsons. He believed that each role is described by 5 main characteristics:

1. emotional - some roles require emotional restraint, others - looseness

2. method of obtaining - some are prescribed, others are won

3. scale - part of the roles is formulated and strictly limited, the other is blurred

4. normalization - action in strictly established rules, or arbitrarily

5. motivation - for personal gain, for the common good

The social role should be considered in 2 aspects:

Role expectation

Role play.

There is never a complete match between them. But each of them has great importance in the behavior of the individual. Our roles are defined primarily by what others expect of us. These expectations are associated with the status that the person has.

In the normal structure of a social role, 4 elements are usually distinguished:

1. description of the type of behavior corresponding to this role

2. prescription (requirements) associated with this behavior

3. assessment of the performance of the prescribed role

4. Sanctions - the social consequences of a particular action within the framework of the requirements of the social system. Social sanctions by their nature can be moral, implemented directly by the social group through its behavior (contempt), or legal, political, environmental.

It should be noted that any role is not a pure model of behavior. The main link between role expectations and role behavior is the character of the individual, i.e. the behavior of a particular person does not fit into a pure scheme.

Vertical social mobility is a change by the subject (individual, or group) of his social status, in which there is an increase in the level of income, education, prestige and power. More details about social mobility we told in the course "Social science: USE for 100 points" .

Examples of vertical social mobility

There have always been people in society who made a career very quickly, or became multimillionaires. How did they do it? Is vertical social mobility only related to income?

Here is a kind of hit parade of such people.

Natalya Kasperskaya - born in 1966, co-founder of the Kaspersky Lab campaign.

Started my life path Natalya, like all Soviet guys: from entering the institute. She graduated from the Moscow Institute of Electronic Engineering with a degree in Applied Mathematics. Became a salesperson in 1993 software. Then - a manager in the same company. Then she put pressure on her husband - Evgeny Kaspersky - to open her own company - Kaspersky Lab.

She became a co-founder. However, its share was not specified in the company's charter documents. As a result, in 2011, she divorced her husband and resigned as chairman of the board of directors of Kaspersky Lab. Natalya devoted all her time to her company InfoWatch. The company today is a leader in corporate information security.

Well, for example, you don’t like that your employees use their mail during working hours, and not corporate mail. Who knows, maybe they leak information to a competitor? This is where you will need InfoWatch services to ensure the information security of your company.

Thus, Natalia Kasperskayacmade dizzying vertical social mobility in all four dimensions: income (wealth $ 230 million), power (runs his company), prestige (recognized world-class expert in the field of information security), education (higher specialist in mathematics, bachelor in business ).

Pavel Durov - founder of the social network "Vkontakte"

Probably every young programmer wants to change the world beyond recognition - to hack normality. Pavel Durov did it! By the way, read on.

Pavel was born on October 10, 1984 in Leningrad in the family of a Doctor of Philology. I have been programming since the age of 11. That is, his father could afford to give his son a computer to use.

After school, Pavel began to study at the Faculty of Philology, while studying at the Military Faculty with a degree in Psychological Warfare. At the same time he studied at the military department. During his studies, Pavel several times became a scholarship holder of the Presidential and Potanin scholarships.

In the course of his studies, he created several projects to make life easier for students: a project on abstracts, etc. One day, an acquaintance of his came from an internship in the USA and told Pasha about facebook.

The idea has been reworked for Russian realities and in 2006, Student.ru was launched in test mode, which was then renamed Vkontakte. In 2007, 2 million people used the new social network. Offers to buy the Durov project immediately rained down. But all offers were rejected. Only in 2008 Pavel began to monetize the resource. Then there were already 20 million users.

Soon, the personal fortune of Pavel Durov was estimated by Forbes magazine at 7.9 billion rubles (approx. 263 million dollars). In 2012, pressure began from the authorities on the social network Vkontakte because of the Navalny case. As a result, the founder of the social network sold his share of shares (12%) to his friend, and the multimillionaire Pavel Durov himself left for the USA. They say that he has now returned and lives in Russia.

Although hardly. Now Paul is developing his new project Telegram, where you can exchange messages absolutely free, and files [attention!], up to 1 gigabyte. Moreover, the messages are encrypted and, according to Durov, no one can decrypt them, even the developers themselves. By the way, in 2015 it became known that terrorists might use this service. To such attacks on his project, Pavel said that the terrorists would find where to communicate.

Thus, Pavel Durov made a stunning vertical social mobility in all parameters at once: income (increased billions of times), prestige (a cult person in Runet and not only), power (power on the accounts of 70 million users), education (St. Petersburg State University graduated with a red diploma, I still haven’t taken a diploma from the university).

Now there are a lot of opinions on the Web about whether Durov stole the idea of ​​​​Facebook or not. Personally, my position is that of course there are similar elements in the navigation. But personally, I mostly sit in VKontakte. Facebook is complicated, incomprehensible, the constant emails in my inbox are killing me (“Hi, you have a new message”, “Hi, we miss you”, “You have a new notification”). It infuriates me. And you?

Tatyana Bakalchuk is an example of vertical social mobility

Tatyana was an ordinary teacher in English. In 2004, in connection with the birth of a child, she realized that there was simply not enough money for life. She came up with the idea of ​​reselling German clothes at a premium. At first, she and her husband simply ordered clothes from the German Otto and Quelle catalogs, and then resold them at a premium. At first they were acquaintances.

In Soviet terms, Tatyana became a speculator. But today, where not a plus - only speculators. Therefore, we will call Tatyana not a speculator, but a completely original bisneswoomen. Then, apparently, she persuaded her husband to invest in the creation of his own small online German clothing store.

Today, her Wildberries store has a revenue of 7 billion rubles. Forbes magazine estimates Tatyana's fortune at about $330 million.

Thus, Tatyana Bakalchuk, in terms of the nature and speed of social mobility, has become on a par with Pavel Durov: she has a higher education (English teacher), has extremely high capital by Russian standards, has power over her own brand and an online clothing store where millions buy things. visitors, of course, has a high prestige, as it is included in the lists of the magazineForbes.

To be continued…... so as not to miss the continuation!

Start developing problems social mobility was proposed by P. A. Sorokin in the book "Social Stratification and Mobility" (1927). The term gained recognition first in American and then in world sociology.

Under social mobility, understand the transition of an individual (group) from one social position to another. There are two main types of social mobility.

• 1. Horizontal mobility associated with the transition of an individual from one social group to another, located at the same level. At the same time, the secondary ones change and the main indicators of the status position of the individual (prestige, income, education, power) remain unchanged. Such is the nature of moving for residence from one locality to another of the same rank, changing religion or citizenship, moving from one family to another (in case of divorce or remarriage), from one enterprise to another, etc. In all these cases, there are no noticeable changes social position individual in the vertical direction.
• 2. Vertical mobility implies a situation that develops as a result of the movement of an individual (group) from one level of the social hierarchy to another. Vertical mobility can be ascending And descending.

Depending on the factors that caused the social displacement of citizens, there are organized And structural mobility.

Organized mobility connected with the fact that changes in the social position of a person and entire groups of people are directed by the state and various public institutions (parties, church, trade unions, etc.). Such activities may be:

voluntary in the case when it is carried out with the consent of citizens (for example, the practice of sending to study at higher and secondary specialized educational institutions);

forced, if it is carried out under the influence of any circumstances beyond our control (moving from places where there is no work to where it is available; moving from places where there was a natural disaster, man-made disaster);

forced if it is connected with the direction of citizens by a court decision to places of deprivation of liberty.

Structural mobility is determined by changes caused by social transformations (nationalization, industrialization, privatization, etc.) and even by a change in the types of social organization (revolution). These changes result in:

• a) mass movement of people and entire social groups;
• b) changing the principles of social stratification;
• c) reorientation of the directions along which the social movement of people takes place for a long historical period.

Vivid examples illustrating the nature of such processes are the French Revolution of 1789 and the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia. Their result was not only the seizure of power by certain political forces, but also a change in the very type of social structure, the entire social structure society.

The ratio of horizontal and vertical mobility can be quite complex. For example, when moving to live from a village to a city, from a small city to a large one, from a province to a capital, an individual raises his social status, but at the same time, for some other parameters, he can lower it: a lower level of income, housing disorder , lack of demand for the former profession and qualifications, etc.

In the event that territorial movements are combined with a change of status, we are talking about migration(from lat. migratio - movement). Migration can be external(between different countries) and internal(between regions of the same country). There are also emigration, i.e. departure of citizens from the country, and immigration, i.e. entry of foreigners into the country. Both types involve the movement of citizens for long periods or even permanently. There are various migration forms: economic, political, migration of war victims and natural Disasters etc.

Mass migrations also took place in the past (the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars into Russia, the Crusades, the colonization of the New World, etc.). However, only in late XIX century, when migration flows became stable, the main directions of movement were identified. In addition, the following has been established:

• 1. Migration is carried out from south to north and from east to west.
• 2. Millions of migrants seek to leave countries and territories plunged into the sphere of hostilities, ethnic and religious conflicts, natural disasters (droughts, floods, earthquakes, etc.).
• 3. The final destinations of migration are Western countries with stable economies and developed democracies (North America, Western Europe, Australia).

Russia in the 20th century experienced three waves of emigration.

At the same time, Russia itself has become a place where, according to various sources, from 5 to 15 million illegal immigrants live, of which more than a million and a half are citizens of the PRC.

The processes of social mobility (mobility) are present in any society. Another thing is that its scales and distances can be different. Both upward and downward mobility is equally near and far.

The more open a particular society, the more people are able to move up the social ladder, making, in particular, an upward movement up to the highest positions. One of the important moments of American social mythology is the idea of ​​the so-called societies of equal opportunity, where anyone can become a millionaire or the President of the United States. The example of Bill Gates, the founder and head of Microsoft, suggests that this myth has a real basis.

The closeness of a traditional society (caste, class) limits the prospects of people, reducing long-distance mobility to almost zero. Social mobility here serves the purpose of reproducing the dominant model of stratification. Thus, in India, movements are traditionally limited by the caste to which an individual belongs, and mobility has rigidly set parameters (in a totalitarian society, an ideological moment is also added).

Most models of social organization of the past and present equally demonstrate the characteristics of openness and closeness. For example, the class division of Russian society in the 18th - early 20th centuries was combined with the Law on Order signed by Peter I. public service(1722), better known as the "Table of Ranks". He legitimized the very possibility of a person acquiring a higher status in accordance with personal merits. Thanks to this law, the Russian state received hundreds and thousands of gifted administrators, statesmen, military leaders, etc.

In addition to upward and downward mobility, intergenerational and intragenerational mobility are distinguished.

Intergenerational mobility indicates the ratio of the positions achieved by children with the positions occupied by their parents. By comparing indicators that characterize the social position of different generations (fathers and sons, mothers and daughters), sociology gains an idea of ​​the nature and direction of changes in society.

Intragenerational mobility characterizes the ratio of positions occupied by the same individual at different moments of his life, during which he can repeatedly acquire or lose certain statuses, occupying a more privileged position in some, losing it in others, making ascents or descents.

Factors of social mobility. Vertical mobility in society is possible due to the presence of special channels of social mobility. P. A. Sorokin, who first described their action, speaks of them as “certain “membranes”, “holes”, “stairs”, “elevators” or “paths”, along which individuals are allowed to move up or down from one layer to another". All these formulations are rooted in the sociological literature and are used to explain the factors by which some individuals and entire groups rise up, while others fall down at the same time.

Mobility channels traditionally include the institutions of education, property, marriage, the army, etc. professional activity or for a relevant position. Profitable investment in the purchase land plot may eventually lead to a significant increase in its value or the discovery of some valuable natural resource (oil, gas, etc.) on it, which will give its owner the status of a wealthy person.

As P. A. Sorokin notes, mobility channels also act as a "sieve", "filters" through which society "tests and sifts, selects and distributes its individuals among various social strata and positions." They provide a process social selection(selection), different ways restricting access to the upper floors of the hierarchy. The latter is connected with the interests of those who have already reached a privileged position, i.e. upper class. Western sociologists argue that "existing systems of classification do not define this group at all." Meanwhile, it exists and has its own features:

• 1) hereditary wealth, transmitted and increased from generation to generation. This sign unites the owners of "old" money, the legitimacy of which no one doubts. The basis of capital, as a rule, is a family business;
• 2) similar educational experience and level of culture. For example, in the UK, 73% of directors big companies, 83% of executives financial institutions and 80% of judges attended privileged schools, although only 8.2% of British schoolchildren study in them;
• 3) maintaining established since the time of study personal contacts that apply to the sphere of business relations, business and politics, public service;
• 4) high percent intra-class marriages, what is called homogamy(from the Greek homos - equal and gamos - marriage), as a result of which the internal cohesion of the group is enhanced.

These features characterize the constant component of this group, called the establishment(English, establishment - the ruling elite). At the same time, a layer of people stands out who have penetrated into top class making his own career. Of course, the upper class needs to be replenished with fresh forces, those who, thanks to their own efforts, are able to climb the social ladder. The idea of ​​updating and replenishing the upper class with the most capable people who confirmed their merits found justification in the writings of the Italian sociologist Vilfredo Pareto (1848–1923). His approach, called meritocratic(from Latin meritus - worthy and Greek kratos - power), is that if the elite of society does not co-opt the most worthy representatives of the lower classes into its composition, then it will inevitably collapse. IN modern interpretations For example, the American scientist Daniel Bell, the upper class also includes groups of professionals with higher education, using their special knowledge as a means of asserting their own power status.

In sociology, when describing the forms of social hierarchy, one often resorts to geometric images. So, P. A. Sorokin presented the model of stratification of society, created according to economic parameters, in the form of a cone, each of the levels of which fixes a certain position of wealth and income. In his opinion, in different periods, the shape of the cone is able to change, sometimes becoming excessively sharpened, when social stratification and inequality in society grows, then, on the contrary, becoming more squat, up to turning into a flat trapezoid during egalitarian communist experiments. Both the first and the second are dangerous, threatening social explosion and collapse in one case and complete stagnation of society in another.

The representative of American functionalism B. Barber believes that depending on the greater or lesser degree of hierarchy in society, i.e. more or less sharp pointed to the top, the stratification of society can be depicted in the form of a pyramid and a rhombus. These figures show that there is always a minority in society, i.e. the highest class, having ranks closer to the top. With a pyramidal structure, there is a very small stratum of the middle class, and the majority is lower class. With a diamond-shaped structure, the predominance of the middle class, which gives balance to the entire system, is characteristic, while the minority is represented in the upper and lower sharp corners rhombus.

TO middle class, as a rule, include those who have economic independence, i.e. has his own business (small business, workshop, gas station, etc.); they are most often described as old middle class. There is an upper layer of the middle class, which is made up of managers and professional specialists (doctors, college teachers, highly qualified lawyers, etc.), as well as a lower layer (clerical and commercial employees, nurses, and many others). The position of the middle class is extremely heterogeneous. Being located in the system of hierarchy between the "tops" and the social "bottoms", it turns out to be the most mobile. IN modern society the middle class, on the one hand, nourishes the elite with talented and enterprising people, and on the other hand, ensures the stability of the main social structures.

lower class, in Marxist terminology, working class, consisting of people engaged in physical labor. It is as deeply structured as all other components of the social hierarchy.

The difference between highly skilled workers and representatives of the so-called underclass(English underclass - lower class) is very high in all major indicators (income, professional training, education, etc.). Representatives of the latter have poor working conditions, their standard of living is much lower than that of the majority of the population. Many of them remain unemployed for a long time or periodically lose it. The formation of the underclass is carried out mainly at the expense of ethnic minorities and various kinds of marginal elements. For example, in the UK, blacks and coloreds from former British colonies predominate among them, in France - people from North Africa, and in Germany - Turks and Kurds.

In recent years, Western governments have been striving to more actively filter migration flows into these countries, potentially multiplying the size of the underclass. For example, in Canada, the legal requirements for immigrants require that they have professional education, qualifications and work experience in their specialty. Satisfying these requirements in practice means that migrants will be able to more successfully fit into existing system stratification of society.

The general concept of social mobility is associated with a change in the status of an individual or a certain social group, after which he changes his current position and place in the social structure, he has other roles, and characteristics in stratification change. The social system is complex in its multi-level nature. Stratification describes the rank structure, patterns and features of existence in development, hence the division of this movement into types of social mobility.

Status

A person who once received this or that status does not remain its bearer until the end of his life. A child, for example, grows up, taking on a different set of statuses associated with growing up. So society is constantly in motion, developing, changing the social structure, losing some people and gaining others, but certain social roles are still played, since status positions remain filled. Any transition of an individual or object, created or modified by human activity, to another position, to which the channels of social mobility have led, falls under this definition.

The basic elements of the social structure - individuals - are also in constant motion. To describe the movement of an individual in social structure, such a concept as "social mobility of society" is used. This theory appeared in sociological science in 1927, its author was Pitirim Sorokin, who described the factors of social mobility. The process under consideration causes a constant redistribution within the boundaries of the social structure of individual individuals, respectively existing principles social differentiation.

social system

In a single social system, there are many subsystems that have a clearly fixed or traditionally fixed set of requirements for all individuals seeking to acquire a particular status. The one who meets all these requirements to the greatest extent always succeeds. Examples of social mobility can be found literally at every turn. Thus, the university is a powerful social subsystem.

Students studying there must learn curriculum, and during the session there will be a check on how effectively the development was carried out. Naturally, those individuals who do not satisfy the examiners in terms of the minimum level of knowledge will not be able to continue their education. On the other hand, those who have mastered the material better than the rest receive additional channels of social mobility, that is, the chances to effectively use education - in graduate school, in science, in employment. And this rule applies always and everywhere: the fulfillment of a social role changes the situation in society for the better.

Types of social mobility. The current state of affairs

Modern sociology subdivides the types and types of social mobility, designed to most fully describe the entire gamut of social movements. First of all, it is necessary to say about two types - vertical and horizontal mobility. If the transition from one social position to another has taken place, but the level has not changed, this is horizontal social mobility. This may be a change of confession or place of residence. Examples of horizontal social mobility are the most numerous.

If, however, with the transition to another social position, the level of social stratification changes, that is, the social status becomes better or worse, then this movement belongs to the second type. Vertical social mobility, in turn, is divided into two subtypes: upward and downward. The stratification ladder of a social system, like any other ladder, implies movement both up and down.

Examples of vertical social mobility: upwards - status improvement (another military rank, receiving a diploma, etc.), downwards - deterioration (loss of a job, expulsion from a university, etc.), that is, something that implies an increase or decrease opportunities for further movement and social growth.

Individual and group

In addition, vertical social mobility can be group and individual. The latter occurs when an individual member of society changes his social position, when the old status niche (stratum) is abandoned and a new state is found. The level of education, social origin, mental and physical abilities, place of residence, external data, specific actions play a role here - a profitable marriage, for example, a criminal offense or a manifestation of heroism.

Group mobility most often occurs when the stratification system of this society changes, when the social significance of even the largest social groups undergoes changes. Such types of social mobility are sanctioned by the state or are the result of targeted policies. Here we can distinguish organized mobility (and the consent of people does not matter - recruitment into construction teams or volunteers, the economic crisis, the reduction of rights and freedoms in certain sectors of society, the resettlement of peoples or ethnic groups, etc.)

Structure

Structural mobility is also of great importance in defining the concept. The social system undergoes structural changes, which is not so rare. Industrialization, for example, which usually requires cheap labor, which restructures the entire social structure in order to recruit this labor force.

Horizontal and vertical social activity can occur in a group order at the same time when changing political regime or political system, economic collapse or rise, during any social revolution, during foreign occupation, invasion, during any military conflicts - both civil and interstate.

Within a generation

The science of sociology distinguishes between intragenerational and intergenerational social mobility. This is best seen with examples. Intra-generational, that is, intra-generational social mobility involves shifts in the status distribution in a certain age group, in a generation, and tracks the overall dynamics of the distribution of this group within the social system.

For example, monitoring is carried out regarding the possibilities of obtaining higher education, free medical care and many other topical social processes. Recognizing the most common features social movement in a given generation, it is already possible to assess the social development of an individual from this age group with a degree of objectivity. The entire life-long path of a person in social development can be called a social career.

Intergenerational mobility

An analysis is made of changes in social status in groups of different generations, which makes it possible to see the patterns of long-term processes in society, to establish the characteristic factors of social mobility in the implementation of a social career, considering various social groups and communities.

For example, which segments of the population are subject to more upward social mobility, and which to downward, can be found out through broad monitoring, which will answer such questions and thus reveal ways to stimulate specific social groups. Many other factors are determined in the same way: the features of this social environment, whether or not there is a desire for social growth, etc.

Game by the rules

In a stable social structure, the movement of individuals occurs according to plans and rules. In an unstable one, when the social system is shattered, it is unorganized, spontaneous, chaotic. In any case, in order to change the status, the individual must enlist the support of the social environment.

If an applicant wants to enter Moscow State University, MGIMO or MEPhI, in order to acquire student status, in addition to the desire, he must have whole complex certain personal qualities and meet the requirements for all students of these educational institutions. That is, the applicant must confirm his compliance, for example, by entrance examinations or financial independence. If it matches, it will get the desired status.

Social institutions

Modern society is a complex and highly institutionalized structure. Most social movements are associated with certain social institutions, many statuses outside the framework of specific institutions do not matter at all. For example, apart from education, the statuses of a teacher and a student do not exist, and outside the institute of health care there are no statuses of a patient and a doctor. This means that it is social institutions that create the social space where the largest part of the status changes take place. These spaces (channels of social mobility) are structures, ways, mechanisms used for status movement.

Main driving force- organs state power, political parties, economic structures, public organizations, church, army, professional and labor unions and organizations, family and clan ties, education system. In turn, for a given period of time, the social structure is significantly influenced by organized crime, which has its own mobile system that also influences official institutions through, for example, corruption.

Aggregate of Influence

Channels of social mobility - an integral system that complements, limits, stabilizes all components of the social structure, in which the institutional and legal procedures for the movement of each individual represent an elementary social selection, where there is not only a long and intimate acquaintance with certain rules and traditions, but also confirmation by the individual their loyalty, obtaining the approval of the dominant persons.

Here one can still talk a lot about the formal necessity of conformity and subjectivity of the assessment of all the efforts of the individual on the part of those on whom the social transfer of the individual's status directly depends.

Social mobility can be vertical and horizontal. At With horizontal mobility, the social movement of individuals and social groups occurs to other, but equal in status, social communities. These can be considered as moving from state structures to private ones, moving from one enterprise to another, etc. Varieties of horizontal mobility are: territorial (migration, tourism, relocation from village to city), professional (change of profession), religious (change of religion) , political (transition from one political party to another).

With vertical mobility, there is an upward and downward movement of people. An example of such mobility is the reduction of workers from the "hegemon" in the USSR to simple class in today's Russia and, conversely, the rise of speculators into the middle and upper class. Vertical social movements are associated, firstly, with profound changes in the socio-economic structure of society, the emergence of new classes, social groups striving to win a higher social status, and secondly, with a change in ideological guidelines, value systems and norms, political priorities. In this case, there is an upward movement of those political forces that were able to catch changes in the mindsets, orientations and ideals of the population.

To quantify social mobility, indicators of its speed are used. The rate of social mobility is understood as the vertical social distance and the number of strata (economic, professional, political, etc.) that individuals go through in their movement up or down in a certain period of time. For example, a young specialist after graduation can take the positions of a senior engineer or head of a department for several years, etc.

The intensity of social mobility is characterized by the number of individuals changing social positions in the vertical or horizontal position for a certain period of time. The number of such individuals gives the absolute intensity of social mobility. For example, during the years of reforms in post-Soviet Russia (1992-1998), up to one-third of the “Soviet intelligentsia”, who made up the middle class of Soviet Russia, became “shuttle traders.

The aggregate index of social mobility includes its speed and intensity. In this way one can compare one society with another in order to find out (1) in which of them or (2) in what period social mobility is higher or lower in all indicators. Such an index can be calculated separately for economic, professional, political and other social mobility. Social mobility is an important characteristic of the dynamic development of society. Those societies where the total index of social mobility is higher develop much more dynamically, especially if this index belongs to the ruling strata.

Social (group) mobility is associated with the emergence of new social groups and affects the ratio of the main social strata, whose status no longer corresponds to the existing hierarchy. By the middle of the 20th century, for example, managers (managers) of large enterprises became such a group. On the basis of this fact in Western sociology, the concept of the "revolution of managers" (J. Bernheim) has developed. According to her, the administrative stratum begins to play a decisive role not only in the economy, but also in social life, supplementing and displacing the class of owners of the means of production (capitalists).

Social movements along the vertical are intensively going on during the restructuring of the economy. The emergence of new prestigious, highly paid professional groups contributes to mass movement up the ladder of social status. The fall of the social status of the profession, the disappearance of some of them provoke not only a downward movement, but also the emergence of marginal strata, losing their usual position in society, losing the achieved level of consumption. There is an erosion of values ​​and norms that previously united them and determined their stable place in the social hierarchy.

Outcasts are social groups that have lost their former social status, are deprived of the opportunity to engage in their usual activities, and are unable to adapt to a new sociocultural (value and normative) environment. Their former values ​​and norms did not succumb to the displacement of new norms and values. The efforts of the marginalized to adapt to new conditions give rise to psychological stress. The behavior of such people is characterized by extremes: they are either passive or aggressive, and also easily violate moral standards, capable of unpredictable actions. A typical leader of the outcasts in post-Soviet Russia is V. Zhirinovsky.

During periods of acute social cataclysms, a radical change in the social structure, an almost complete renewal of the highest echelons of society can occur. Thus, the events of 1917 in our country led to the overthrow of the old ruling classes (nobility and bourgeoisie) and the rapid rise of a new ruling stratum (communist party bureaucracy) with nominally socialist values ​​and norms. Such a cardinal replacement of the upper stratum of society always takes place in an atmosphere of extreme confrontation and tough struggle.

Question number 10 “Concept social institution, its signs

A social institution in the sociological interpretation is considered as historically established, stable forms of organizing the joint activities of people; in a narrower sense, it is an organized system of social ties and norms designed to satisfy the basic needs of society, social groups and individuals.

Social institutions (insitutum - institution) - value-normative complexes (values, rules, norms, attitudes, patterns, standards of behavior in certain situations), as well as bodies and organizations that ensure their implementation and approval in society.

All elements of society are interconnected by social relations - connections that arise between social groups and within them in the process of material (economic) and spiritual (political, legal, cultural) activities.

In the process of the development of society, some connections may die out, others may appear. Relationships that have proven to be beneficial to society are streamlined, become universally valid patterns, and are then repeated from generation to generation. The more stable these ties that are useful for society, the more stable the society itself.

Social institutions (from lat. institutum - device) are called elements of society, representing stable forms of organization and regulation of social life. Such institutions of society as the state, education, family, etc., streamline social relations regulate the activities of people and their behavior in society.

The main goal of social institutions is to achieve stability in the course of the development of society. In accordance with this goal, the functions of institutions are distinguished:

meeting the needs of society;

regulation of social processes (in the course of which these needs are usually satisfied).

The needs that are satisfied by social institutions are diverse. For example, the society's need for security can be supported by the institution of defense, spiritual needs - by the church, the need for knowledge of the surrounding world - by science. Each institution can satisfy several needs (the church is able to satisfy its own religious, moral, cultural needs), and the same need can be satisfied by different institutions (spiritual needs can be satisfied by art, science, religion, etc.).

The process of satisfaction of needs (say, the consumption of goods) can be institutionally regulated. For example, there are legal restrictions on the purchase of a number of goods (weapons, alcohol, tobacco). The process of meeting the needs of society in education is regulated by the institutions of primary, secondary, higher education.

The structure of a social institution is formed by:

social groups and social organizations designed to meet the needs of groups, individuals;

a set of norms, social values ​​and patterns of behavior that ensure the satisfaction of needs;

· a system of symbols that regulate relations in the economic sphere of activity (trademark, flag, brand, etc.);

· ideological substantiation of the activities of the social institution;

· social resources used in the activities of the Institute.

The characteristics of a social institution include:

a set of institutions, social groups, the purpose of which is to satisfy certain needs of society;

a system of cultural patterns, norms, values, symbols;

a system of behavior in accordance with these norms and patterns;

· material and human resources necessary for solving problems;

· publicly recognized mission, goal, ideology.

Consider the characteristics of the institution on the example of secondary vocational education. It includes:

· teachers, officials, administrations of educational institutions, etc.;

· norms of behavior of students, the attitude of society to the system of vocational education;

the established practice of relations between teachers and students;

buildings, auditoriums, study guides;

· mission -- meeting the needs of society in good specialists with secondary vocational education.

In accordance with the spheres of public life, four main groups of institutions can be distinguished:

· economic institutions - division of labor, property, market, trade, wages, banking system, stock exchange, management, marketing, etc.;

· political institutions-- state, army, militia, police, parliamentarism, presidency, monarchy, court, parties, civil society;

• institutions of stratification and kinship - class, estate, caste, gender discrimination, racial segregation, nobility, social security, family, marriage, fatherhood, motherhood, adoption, twinning;

· Institutes of culture - school, higher school, secondary vocational education, theatres, museums, clubs, libraries, church, monasticism, confession.

The number of social institutions is not limited to the above list. The institutions are numerous and varied in their forms and manifestations. Large institutions may include institutions larger than low level. For example, the institute of education includes the institutes of elementary, vocational and higher education; court - the institutions of the bar, prosecutor's office, judging; family - institutions of motherhood, adoption, etc.

Since society is a dynamic system, some institutions may disappear (for example, the institution of slavery), while others may appear (the institution of advertising or the institution of civil society). The formation of a social institution is called the process of institutionalization.

Institutionalization is the process of streamlining social relations, the formation of stable patterns of social interaction based on clear rules, laws, patterns and rituals. For example, the process of institutionalization of science is the transformation of science from the activity of individuals into an ordered system of relations, including a system of titles, academic degrees, research institutes, academies, etc.