Social inequality, stratification and social mobility

TOPIC 4. Social class structure of society

Main groups in the stratification structure of society

Social class structure of society

Subjects , The carriers of social relations are social communities and groups. It is the subjects who connect the main spheres into a single societal system public life, so analysis social structure society is central problem sociology.

In the very general view societal structure -this is a stable connection between such elements of the sociocultural system as classes, layers and groups, which differ in their place in the system of social inequalities of society.

Therefore, it is first necessary to find out the origins of social inequality and its impact on the social differentiation of people in society.

Social inequality, stratification and social mobility

Social inequality has existed throughout history human civilization. Many modern researchers see the origins of social inequality in the natural differences between people in physical characteristics, temperament, and strength of motivation. Initially emerging inequality is usually extremely unstable and does not lead to institutional consolidation. For example, a strong, strong-willed, purposeful person can be a leader and subjugate group members, receiving more material benefits and honor until a stronger and more ambitious challenger appears. The authority of the leaders of tribal social structures had to be constantly supported by the successful achievement of group goals.

The next stage in the formation of social inequality is the consolidation of the existing situation in conditions of social division of labor and exchange. In society, groups are differentiated, unequal by nature of work(mental and physical workers), by social roles(father, doctor, salesman, politician), by type of settlement and lifestyle(urban and rural population).

Inequality is consolidated through institutionalization and a regulatory framework that establishes the place of each individual in the social structure. Even natural differences take on a socially institutionalized form. Women turn out to be socially unequal to men, younger ones to older ones. A stable system of social statuses appears that determines the ranks of individuals according to criteria such as property, access to power, etc.

Causes of social inequality sociologists explain it differently. Functionalists, starting with E. Durkheim, point to the division of functions according to their significance for a particular society. Based on the hierarchy of social functions, a corresponding hierarchy of unequal social groups.

Marxists believe that inequality is not only a consequence of the division of labor, but also of property, the form of property and the way it is owned.

Social exchange theories argue that inequality results from unfair, unequal exchanges of outcomes. human activity. M. Weber was the first to substantiate the importance of identifying unequal status groups that differ in social prestige, membership in certain political circles (parties), and access to power.

Inequality has many faces and manifests itself in various parts of the social system: in the family, in everyday life, in production, in organizations, large groups. It is a necessary condition organizations social life in the types of social systems known to us. Inequality is regulated by social institutions because it imparts stability to social relations and stimulates the development of the productive forces of society. The reproduction of inequality leads to the stratification of society.

Social stratification -it is a hierarchically organized structure of social inequality that exists in a certain society, in a certain historical period of time.

The hierarchically organized structure of social inequality can be represented as a division of the entire society into strata (this means layer). The stratification of society into strata can be compared to the geological layers of soil. At the same time, in comparison with natural stratifications, social stratification presupposes: rank bundle when the upper strata are in a privileged position in relation to the lower ones; smaller number of upper layers.

A carefully developed theory of stratification was created by our compatriot P.A. Sorokin, who believed that it was impossible to give a single set of criteria for belonging to any stratum and saw three stratification structures in society: economic, professional and political. He used the criteria identified by his predecessors and contemporaries: property, income, profession, power, social roles, etc.

How did P.A. Sorokin imagine the social stratification of society?

First of all, he distinguished univariate stratification, carried out by identifying groups according to any one sign, for example, by income. Further, in the course of multidimensional stratification, groups are identified that have a whole set of common characteristics, for example, women of a certain nationality, age, and with low incomes.

According to P.A. Sorokin, in modern world There are millions of sociocultural systems in which one can distinguish microgroups (dyads, triads), and supersystems, worldwide religious associations (a billion Catholics, several billion Muslims). This multitude of social systems is classified on a variety of grounds.

Among the one-dimensional groups there are biosocial: race, gender, age; sociocultural: clan, territorial neighborhood, linguistic, ethnic groups, states, professional groups, economic groups, religious associations, political organizations, ideological groups (scientific, educational, ethical, recreation and entertainment groups), nominal elite groups (leaders, geniuses, historical figures).

P.A. Sorokin considers multilateral (a combination of several values) groups: family, clan, tribe, nation, estate and classes.

This scheme is not particularly disputed in sociology, although other theories of stratification have been proposed.

In the works of American sociologists, there are up to 90 signs of stratification. At different periods of history foreground Now one or the other foundations of social division emerge. The ancient Egyptians spent a huge portion of their national income servicing the dead, including them in their ranking system. In Russia, religion played a significant role in stratification for many centuries. Russian schismatics (nobles, merchants, peasants) went into the fire for the right to be baptized in their own way.

According to the views of the American sociologist E.O. Wright, in modern capitalist production there are three types of control over economic resources, which make it possible to distinguish the main strata.

1. Control over investments or monetary capital.

2. Control over land and industrial means of production.

3. Control over labor and power.

The capitalist class controls all three types of resources, while the workers control none.

Frank Parkin, a British sociologist, a follower of M. Weber, considers property, control over financial resources, race, nationality, language, religion as special social partitions dividing strata. For example, in South Africa, until recently, white unions excluded blacks from membership in order to maintain their privileged position.

The German sociologist R. Dahrendorf proposed to base social stratification on the concept of “authority,” which, in his opinion, most accurately characterizes power relations and the struggle between groups for a prestigious place in the stratification system. R. Dahrendorf divides modern society into managers and managed. In turn, the former are divided into two subgroups: manager-owners and manager-managers. The managed group is also heterogeneous. It can be divided into skilled and unskilled workers. Between the two main strata there is an intermediate “new middle class” - a product of the assimilation of the labor aristocracy and employees.

The most influential point of view on the process of formation of social strata can be considered the theory of stratification by K. Davis and W. Moore - supporters of the functional approach of E. Durkheim.

According to this theory, every society must solve the problem of placing and motivating individuals in the social structure in accordance with their functional capabilities. To distribute people by social status and motivate them, rewards are used, which reproduce both income inequality and the statuses themselves. The more complex the work, the more professional training it requires, the higher the status rank and wages. However, there is another group of statuses that are not functionally significant, but are nevertheless highly rewarded. These are difficult statuses to fill, i.e. unprestigious, unhealthy work. Religious work is also important, so clergy are rewarded more than ordinary workers. The reward is not always money. This may be greater honor, respect, insignia, orders.

Thus, from the point of view of functionalist theory, inequality and status distribution on the stratification scale depend, first of all, on the functional significance this status, requirements for playing the role (professional qualities) and difficulties in filling social status.

Sociology knows four main historical systems of social stratification.

Slavery - the most pronounced form of social inequality, in which some people belong to others as property. As a major, massive system of stratification, slavery disappeared in the 20th century, but even today elements of the slave trade remain in some third world countries.

Castes associated with the culture of the Indian subcontinent, where they are elaborate and associated with the Hindu religion. Religion and traditions reinforce caste membership so strongly that Brahmins, for example, generally avoid any contact with untouchables, who, in turn, are mainly engaged in animal husbandry.

Caste-like systems of stratification arose in other countries when policies of racial segregation were implemented. For example, in the United States, after the abolition of slavery, the degree of separation of blacks from whites remained so strong that stratification system was actually caste.

Estates were part of European feudalism and other traditional civilizations. The place of classes in the stratification system was fixed by law; all classes had different rights, responsibilities, clothing, etc. Places in the hierarchy were distributed as follows: aristocracy, nobility, clergy, merchants, free peasants, servants, artists, etc.

Classes They differ primarily in their economic capabilities, are impersonal, mobile and independent of legal and religious norms.

The strata should not be considered in a frozen, unchanging position, but in constant movements and displacements. These movements in sociology are called "social mobility".

Social mobility -This is any transition of an individual, group, social object from one social position to another, from stratum to stratum, or within one stratum.(By social object P.A. Sorokin understands property, cultural objects).

Horizontal mobility - This is the movement of an individual (social object) from one group to another located at the same level (change of place of residence, family, religion). Status, income, prestige do not change. If such a movement occurs up(promotion, increase in income), then it takes place vertical mobility. Deprivation of status, bankruptcy, loss of respect, deprivation of awards - examples downward vertical mobility.

Due to the fact that social movements of people and social objects are carried out both individually and jointly, they distinguish individual and group vertical mobility.

In the figurative expression of P.A. Sorokin, “the first case of decline resembles the fall of a man from a ship; the second is a ship that sank with all on board.” The mechanism of infiltration in vertical mobility is associated with the action of the main social channels (elevators). By these, P.A. Sorokin understands the main social institutions: the army, the education system, political and economic organizations, marriage and family, property.

For example, an individual chooses a military career because it guarantees a stable, gradual rise from one stratum to another, an increase in income, status, and prestige. War can accelerate the movement of this social elevator, since it involves the retirement due to the death of those who occupy higher ranks, provides an opportunity to demonstrate military valor, receive awards, etc.

In the spirit of the positivist tradition, P.A. Sorokin proposes to distinguish between absolute and relative intensity of mobility (the number of people moved per unit of time), to calculate the total mobility index, etc. His work Social Mobility is still considered an official textbook in American universities.

The positivism of P.A. Sorokin is also clearly manifested in the formulation of the basic laws of stratification. Here are some examples:

1. Any society is stratified; an unstratified society is a utopia.

2. No individual, no group can constantly maintain the same place in the stratification system.

3. The narrower the boundaries of stratification, the more likely social stagnation and cessation of development; the wider the boundaries of stratification, the more likely social explosions and revolutions are.

To measure social distances in the social hierarchy, P.A. Sorokin proposed the term "decile coefficient", meaning the difference in income between the richest 10% and the poorest 10%.

Changes in the position of an individual in the stratification system can occur not only under the influence of vertical and horizontal mobility, but also as a result of the reorganization of the social structure, the introduction new system stratification. New industries, service sectors, and new professions appear or disappear.

Massive movements horizontally and vertically are associated with profound changes in economic system society, with changes in ideological guidelines, the emergence of new social groups.

Social stratification describes social inequality in society, the division of social strata by income level and lifestyle, by the presence or absence of privileges. In primitive society, inequality was insignificant, so stratification was almost absent there. In complex societies, inequality is very strong; it divides people according to income, level of education, and power. Castes arose, then estates, and later classes. In some societies, transition from one social layer (stratum) to another is prohibited; There are societies where such a transition is limited, and there are societies where it is completely permitted. Freedom of social movement (mobility) determines whether a society is closed or open.

^ TERMS OF STRATIFICATION

The term “stratification” comes from geology, where it refers to the vertical arrangement of the Earth’s layers. Sociology has likened the structure of society to the structure of the Earth and placed social layers (strata) also vertically. The basis is an income ladder: the poor occupy the lowest rung, the affluent groups the middle, and the rich the top.

The rich occupy the most privileged positions and the most prestigious professions. As a rule, they are better paid and involve mental work and management functions. Leaders, kings, czars, presidents, political leaders, big businessmen, scientists and artists make up the elite of society. To the wealthy strata that make up the middle class, in modern society include doctors, lawyers, teachers, qualified employees, the middle and petty bourgeoisie; to the lower strata - unskilled workers, unemployed, beggars. Working class, according to modern ideas, is independent group, which occupies an intermediate position between the middle and lower classes.

The wealthy upper class have higher levels of education and greater amounts of power. The lower class poor have little power, income, or education. Thus, the prestige of the profession (occupation), the amount of power and the level of education are added to income as the main criterion of stratification.

Income- the amount of cash receipts of an individual or family for a certain period of time (month, year). Income is the amount of money received in the form of wages, pensions, benefits, alimony, fees, and deductions from profits. Income is most often spent on maintaining life, but if it is very high, it accumulates and turns into wealth.

Wealth- accumulated income, i.e. the amount of cash or materialized money. In the second case, they are called movable (car, yacht, securities etc.) and real estate (house, works of art, treasures). Wealth is usually inherited. The rich can work or not work. In both cases they are owners, because they have wealth. The main asset of the upper class is not income, but accumulated property. The salary share is small. For the middle and lower classes, the main source of existence is income, since the first, if there is wealth, is insignificant, and the second does not have it at all. Wealth allows you not to work, but its absence forces you to work for a salary.

The essence authorities- the ability to impose one’s will against the wishes of other people. In a complex society, power is institutionalized, that is, it is protected by laws and tradition, surrounded by privileges and wide access to social benefits, and allows decisions that are vital for society to be made, including laws that are usually beneficial to the upper class. In all societies, people who have some form of power - political, economic or religious - constitute elite. It determines the domestic and foreign policy of the state, directing it in a direction beneficial to itself, which other classes are deprived of.

Prestige is the respect that a particular profession, position, or occupation enjoys in public opinion. Legal profession more prestigious than the profession steelworker or plumber. The position of president of a commercial bank is more prestigious than the position of cashier. All professions, occupations and positions existing in a given society can be ranked from top to bottom on the ladder of professional prestige. As a rule, professional prestige is determined by us intuitively, approximately.

Income, power, prestige and education determine aggregate socioeconomic status, i.e., the position and place of a person in society. In this case, status acts as a general indicator of stratification. The ascribed status characterizes a rigidly fixed system of stratification, i.e. closed society, in which the transition from one stratum to another is practically prohibited. Such systems include slavery And caste build. The achieved status characterizes the mobile stratification system, or open society, where people are allowed to move freely up and down the social ladder. Such a system includes classes(capitalist society). Finally, feudal society with its inherent class structure should be classified as an intermediate type, i.e. To relatively closed system. Here transitions are legally prohibited, but in practice they are not excluded. These are the historical types of stratification.
^ SOCIAL MOBILITY

People are in constant motion, and society is in development. The totality of social movements of people in society, i.e. changes in their status, is called social mobility.

There is a well-known asymmetry between ascent and descent: everyone wants to go up and no one wants to go down the social ladder. As a rule, ascent is a voluntary phenomenon, and descent is forced.

Research shows that those with high statuses prefer high positions for themselves and their children, but those with low statuses also want the same for themselves and their children. This is what happens in human society: everyone strives upward and no one strives downward.

^ MOBILITY CLASSIFICATION

Mintergenerational mobility suggests that children either achieve a higher social position or sink to a lower level than their parents. Example: a miner's son becomes an engineer.

^ Intragenerational mobility occurs where the same individual, without comparison with his father, changes social positions several times throughout his life. Example: a turner becomes an engineer, and then a workshop manager, a plant director, and a minister of the engineering industry.

^ Vertical mobility implies movement from one stratum (estate, class, caste) to another. Depending on the direction of movement, there are ascending mobility (social ascent, upward movement) and descending mobility (social descent, downward movement). Promotion is an example of upward mobility, dismissal, demotion is an example of downward mobility.

^ Horizontal mobility implies the transition of an individual from one social group to another, at one level. An example is movement from an Orthodox religious group to a Catholic one, from one citizenship to another, from one family (parental) to another (one’s own, newly formed), from one profession to another. Such movements occur without a noticeable change in social position in the vertical direction.

It is possible to propose a classification of social mobility according to other criteria. So, for example, they distinguish individual mobility , when movement down, up or horizontally occurs in each person independently of others; group mobility , when movements occur collectively, for example, after a social revolution, the old class cedes its dominant position to a new class.

These are the main types of social mobility. In addition to those mentioned, sometimes there are organized mobility , when the movements of a person or entire groups up, down or horizontally are controlled by the state: a) with the consent of the people themselves, b) without their consent.

Voluntary organized mobility includes the so-called socialist organizational recruitment, public calls for Komsomol construction projects, etc. Involuntary organized mobility includes the repatriation (resettlement) of small peoples and dispossession during the years of Stalinism.

It is necessary to distinguish from organized mobility structural mobility . It is caused by changes in the structure of the national economy and occurs beyond the will and consciousness of individuals. For example, the disappearance or reduction of industries or professions leads to the displacement of large masses of people. In the 50-70s, the USSR carried out the reduction of small villages and their consolidation.
^ VERTICAL MOBILITY CHANNELS

The most complete description of vertical mobility channels was given by P. Sorokin . Only he calls them “vertical circulation channels.” Of particular interest are social institutions - the army, church, school, family, property, which are used as channels of social circulation.

Army functions as a conduit for wartime mobility. Large losses among the command staff lead to filling vacancies from lower ranks. IN war time soldiers advance through talent and courage. Having risen in rank, they use the resulting power as a channel for further advancement and accumulation of wealth. They have the opportunity to seize trophies, take indemnities, take away slaves, surround themselves with pompous ceremonies and titles, and transfer their power by inheritance.

It is known that out of 92 Roman emperors, 36 started from the lower ranks. Of the 65 Byzantine emperors, 12 were promoted through military careers. Napoleon and his entourage - marshals, generals and the kings of Europe appointed by him - came from commoners. Cromwell, Grant, Washington and other commanders rose to their highest positions through the army.

Church as a channel of social circulation, it moved a large number of people from the bottom to the top of society. Gebbon, Archbishop of Reims, was a former slave. Pope Gregory VII is the son of a carpenter. P. Sorokin studied 144 Roman Catholic popes and found that 28 came from the lower strata, and 27 from the middle strata. The institution of celibacy (celibacy), introduced in the 11th century by Pope Gregory VII, obliged the Catholic clergy not to have children. Thanks to this, after the death of officials, the vacated positions were filled with new people.

The church was a channel not only of upward, but also of downward movement. Thousands of heretics, pagans, enemies of the church were put on trial, ruined and destroyed. Among them were many kings, dukes, princes, lords, aristocrats and nobles of high rank.

School. Institutions of education and upbringing, whatever their specific form, have served in all centuries as a powerful channel of social circulation. The USA and the USSR belong to societies where schools were available to all its members. In such a society, the “social elevator” moves from the very bottom, passes through all floors and reaches the very top.

Britain represents the other pole, where privileged schools are available only to the upper classes. The “social elevator” is short: it moves only on the upper floors of a social building.

An example of the “long elevator” is represented by Ancient China. During the era of Confucius, schools were open to all grades. Exams were held every three years. The best students, regardless of their family status, were selected and transferred to higher schools, and then to universities, from where they found high government positions. Under the influence of Confucius, the government of the mandarins was reputed to be the government of Chinese intellectuals, exalted thanks to the school "mechanism".

High competition for admission to colleges and universities in many countries is explained by the fact that education is the fastest and most accessible channel of upward mobility.

Own manifests itself most clearly in the form of accumulated wealth and money. They are one of the simplest and effective ways social promotion. In the XV-XVIII centuries. European society began to be ruled by money. Only those who had money, not noble birth, achieved high positions. Recent periods stories Ancient Greece and Rome were the same.

P. Sorokin found that only some occupations and professions contribute to the accumulation of wealth. According to his calculations, in 29% of cases this allows the occupation of a manufacturer, in 21% - a banker and stockbroker, in 12% - a merchant. The professions of artists, painters, inventors, statesmen, miners and some others do not provide such opportunities.

^ Family And marriage become channels of vertical circulation if representatives of different social statuses enter into an alliance. In European society, the marriage of a poor but titled partner with a rich but not noble one was common. As a result, both moved up the social ladder, getting what each wanted.

We find an example of downward mobility in antiquity. According to Roman law, a free woman who married a slave became a slave herself and lost her status as a free citizen.

^ SOCIAL SANCTIONS

Social sanctions are an extensive system of rewards for compliance with norms, for agreement with them, and punishments for deviation from them, i.e. deviance. There are 4 types of sanctions: positive and negative, formal and informal.

^ Formal positive sanctions - public approval from official organizations (government, institution, creative union): government awards, state prizes and scholarships, awarded titles, academic degrees and titles, construction of a monument, presentation of certificates of honor, admission to high positions and honorary functions (for example, election chairman of the board).

^ Informal positive sanctions - public approval that does not come from official organizations: friendly praise, compliments, tacit recognition, goodwill, applause, fame, honor, flattering reviews, recognition of leadership or expert qualities, smile.

^ Formal negative sanctions - punishments prescribed by legal laws, government decrees, administrative instructions, orders, orders: deprivation of civil rights, imprisonment, arrest, dismissal, fine, depreciation, confiscation of property, demotion, demotion, dethronement, death penalty, excommunication .

^ Informal negative sanctions - punishments not provided for by official authorities: censure, remark, ridicule, mockery, cruel joke, unflattering nickname, neglect, refusal to shake hands or maintain relationships, spreading rumors, slander, unkind review, complaint, writing a pamphlet or feuilleton, revealing article.

Social sanctions play a key role in the system of social control. Together with values ​​and norms, they constitute its mechanism. The rules themselves do not control anything. People's behavior is controlled by other people based on norms that are expected to be followed by everyone. Compliance with generally accepted norms makes our behavior predictable. Sanctions are also predictable and generally accepted. Each of us knows that an official reward awaits for an outstanding scientific discovery, and imprisonment for a serious crime. Sanctions also introduce an element of predictability into behavior. When we expect a certain action from another person, we hope that he knows not only the norm, but also the sanction.
YOUTH
Youth completes the active period of socialization. Youths are typically defined as teenagers and young adults between the ages of 13 and 19. They are also called teenagers(look in an English dictionary or other source and determine the meaning of the term). At this age, important physiological changes occur (one of them is the onset of puberty), which entail certain psychological changes: an attraction to opposite sex, aggressiveness (often unmotivated) increases, a tendency to take thoughtless risks and an inability to assess the degree of its danger, an emphasized desire for independence and independence.

Psychophysiological changes cannot but affect the course and content of socialization. A penchant for innovation and creativity, non-recognition of any and all authorities, on the one hand, emphasized autonomy and independence, on the other, give rise to a special phenomenon called youth subculture. Among its negative characteristics, three symbolic phenomena are usually distinguished: drugs, sex and violence. Adolescence is called a “difficult age”, a “turning point”. Its content lies in a change in behavioral characteristics: from almost complete obedience, characteristic of small children, young men move to restrained disobedience - hidden disobedience to parents. If earlier, as children, they looked at the world through the eyes of their parents, now they keep a kind of double account: teenagers and young men build parallel value system and views on the world, which partly overlaps with the position of parents, and partly with the views of peers.

During this period, the formation of the foundation of the personality ends, its upper - worldview - floors are completed. Awareness of one’s “I” occurs as an understanding of one’s place in the life of parents, friends, and the surrounding society. At the same time, there is a constant search for moral guidelines associated with a reassessment of the meaning of life. Adolescents and young men are more susceptible to negative assessments from others, especially if they relate to clothing, appearance, behavior, circle of acquaintances, i.e. everything that makes up the social environment and social symbolism of the “I”. Hypertrophied independence finds expression in emphasized harshness own estimates: For many teenagers, “good” and “correct” are only what they like.

Difficulties in socialization during this period are associated with three main circumstances:

Mismatch high level aspirations (the desire to become a hero, to become famous) and the low social status of teenagers, which is determined by their age;

The discrepancy between the old style of parenting, focused on the fact that for a mother, a son or daughter always remains a child, and the new potential opportunities teenagers, given to them by psychophysiological maturation;

The contradiction between an increased orientation towards independence and dependence on the opinions of peers.

Psychophysiological maturation changes practically nothing in the socio-economic status of teenagers. The social statuses of parents and young men are still incompatible. Parents earn a living, bear moral and legal responsibility for children and the integrity of property, participate in social and industrial life: Adults are owners, managers, guardians, producers, legislators, consumers, defenders, etc. And teenagers are economically dependent, they are all still require social protection and do not act as participants in legal relations. Their role range is extremely limited. They are not owners, managers, producers, legislators. They are just consumers. Although in a legal sense they cannot make vital decisions, psychologically teenagers are ripe for them. But parents limit them. This is the original contradiction.

In this regard, sociologists talk about role disenfranchisement of teenagers- fewer rights and responsibilities compared to adults. Having fewer opportunities, teenagers are faced with global ideological and moral problems that have already been resolved in adulthood. Their lack of life experience forces them to make many more mistakes than adults do. But the main thing is not the quantity, but the quality of mistakes, the seriousness of their consequences: crime, drug use, alcoholism, sexual promiscuity, violence against the individual. Many teenagers drop out of school, as a result of which the socialization process is disrupted. Incomplete education immediately affects the economic situation; adolescents and young men find themselves in a worse situation in the labor market. In developed countries, the unemployment rate among 18-year-olds is 3 times higher than that of adults.

Sociologists believe that sexual promiscuity, alcohol abuse and reckless behavior are nothing more than an attempt to play the role of adults. It is possible that the same reason prompts many to leave school. The student's status is considered “non-adult”. It does not contribute to achieving success in life, and with it, recognition in the peer group. Teenagers seek recognition of their psychological adulthood outside of school and family - institutions where they continue to be considered children.
^ MATURE AGE
In adulthood, role conflict (role disenfranchisement) is overcome. Psychophysiological maturation coincides with social and economic maturation; the claims, ambitions and hopes of youth are satisfied in proportion to the efforts expended and acquired knowledge. Adulthood is characterized by the flourishing of human personality (although specific people, of course, differ in the degree of their personal development).

As such, adulthood is not an independent stage of socialization. This is a collective concept covering several cycles human life, separated by the most important events: mastering a profession, completing military service, beginning labor activity, marriage, starting a family, having children.

The onset of adulthood, i.e. adulthood, may be delayed due to continued education (at university and graduate school) until the age of 21-23, or it may be accelerated due to an early start to work. If bottom line mature age is not precisely defined and depends on specific circumstances, then it upper limit indicated by retirement - for men at 60, and for women at 55.

The sociological criterion for distinguishing two periods - youth and adulthood - is economic, social and political independence. But what is considered a manifestation of such independence? There were times when 20-year-old boys commanded armies and were engaged in other serious adult activities, but today they sit in student classrooms and are not able to feed their families. In extreme periods of history - during wars and revolutions - youth quickly achieve public recognition, their social status grows due to the increased military importance of youth as a source of recruitment. On the contrary, during calm periods of history, the stage of lack of independence is prolonged. For such periods, sociologists have developed a set of criteria that make it possible to determine compliance young man adult status. He must:

Provide yourself with the means of subsistence;

Manage money independently of others;

Be independent in choosing your lifestyle;

Live independently from parents.

In Spain, sociologists have found, for example, that only 20% of young people aged 15 to 30 meet the four given criteria and therefore have the right to be called adults. Along with these criteria, sociologists also use others. This is in particular: a) the ability to answer before the law, b) admission to vote in elections, c) marriage. From the point of view of socialization, only marriage serves as a significant criterion of adulthood. The family is the only agent of socialization that has an impact throughout life. However, the role and status of each of its members is different stages the family cycle is changing. A child is an object of socialization and one of the goals of the parents’ life, an adult is a subject (in relation to children) and an object (in relation to the other spouse) of socialization at the same time. Old people and elderly family members can only be subjects, but they are often excluded by adult children from the active process of socialization and upbringing of grandchildren. Husband and wife act as agents of socialization for each other.

^ Agents of Socialization - people and institutions responsible for teaching cultural norms and learning social roles. These include: agents of primary socialization - parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, close and distant relatives, babysitters, family friends, peers, teachers, coaches, doctors, leaders of youth groups; agents of secondary socialization - representatives of the administration of a school, university, enterprise, army, police, church, state, employees of television, radio, press, parties, courts, etc.

Socialization is divided into primary and secondary. ^ Primary socialization concerns the immediate environment of a person and includes primarily family, relatives and friends, and secondary refers to the indirect, or formal, environment and consists of the influences of institutions and institutions. The role of primary socialization is great in the early stages of life, and secondary socialization in the later stages. Accordingly, agents of primary and secondary socialization are distinguished.

Primary socialization is carried out by those who are connected with the child by close personal relationships (parents, friends), and secondary socialization is carried out by those who are connected by formal business relations. The same teacher, if there is no trusting personal relationship between him and the student, finds himself among the agents of not primary, but secondary socialization. A policeman or policeman always acts as a secondary socializer.

Agents of secondary socialization influence in a narrow direction; they perform one or two functions. A school provides knowledge, an enterprise provides livelihood, etc. On the contrary, the agents of primary socialization are universal, they perform many different functions: the father plays the role of provider of livelihood, guardian, discipliner, educator, teacher, friend. Peers act as play partners and quasi-parents: older children look after and care for the younger ones.

Social inequality is a form of social differentiation in which individuals, social groups, strata, classes are at different levels of the vertical social hierarchy and have unequal life chances and opportunities to satisfy needs.

Any society is structured according to national, social class, demographic, geographical and other characteristics. Such structuring inevitably gives rise to social inequality.

Social structure is determined by social differences between people, that is, differences generated social factors: division of labor, way of life, social roles that are performed by individuals or social groups.

The source of social inequality is the very development of civilization. Each individual person cannot master all the achievements of material and spiritual culture. Specialization of people arises and, along with it, more and less valuable or more relevant, in-demand types of activities arise.

Social stratification (from the Latin stratum - layer and facio - do) is a systematically manifested inequality between groups of people, arising as an unintended consequence of social relations and being reproduced in each next generation. The concept of social stratification is used to denote the conditions under which social groups have unequal access to such social benefits as money, power, prestige, education, information, professional career, self-realization, etc.

Western sociology traditionally considers the social structure of society from the point of view of the theory of stratification.

Stratification is an organization of society in which some individuals and social groups have more, others have less, and others may have nothing at all. It is almost impossible to resolve this conflict. It is based on two incompatible absolute truths.

On the one hand, the stratification of society is fraught with social conflicts, even revolutions. People who are at the bottom of the stratification system are disadvantaged both physically and morally. On the other hand, stratification forces people and social groups to show initiative, enterprise, and ensure the progress of society.

Karl Marx considered class conflict to be the main source of social change. According to Marx, antagonistic classes are distinguished according to two objective criteria: a common economic situation, determined by their relationship to the means of production, and a common power of power in comparison with state power.

The founder of the theory of stratification, Max Weber, unlike Marx, believed that social position is determined not only by property rights, but also by prestige and power. Based on these three criteria, three levels of social stratification can be distinguished: lower, middle and higher. Differences in property create classes, differences in prestige create status groups (social strata), differences in power create political parties.

Fundamental to modern stratification concepts is the principle of functionalism, which presupposes the need for social inequality, due to the fact that everyone social stratum is a functionally necessary element of society.

Each person moves to social space, in the society in which he lives. Sometimes these movements are easily felt and identified, for example when an individual moves from one place to another, moves from one religion to another, changes marital status. This changes the position of the individual in society and speaks of his movement in social space. However, there are movements of an individual that are difficult to determine not only to the people around him, but also to himself. For example, it is difficult to determine a change in an individual’s position due to an increase in prestige, an increase or decrease in opportunities to use power, or a change in income. At the same time, such changes ultimately affect a person’s behavior, his needs, attitudes, interests and orientations.

All social movements of an individual or a social group are designated by such a concept as social mobility. According to Pitirim Sorokin’s definition, “social mobility is understood as any transition of an individual, or a social object, or a value created or modified through activity, from one social position to another.”

P. Sorokin distinguishes two types of social mobility: horizontal and vertical. Horizontal mobility is the transition of an individual or social object from one social position to another, lying at the same level. In all these cases, the individual does not change the social stratum to which he belongs or his social status. The most important process is vertical mobility, which is a set of interactions that facilitate the transition of an individual or social object from one social stratum to another. This includes, for example, a promotion, a significant improvement in well-being or a transition to a higher social level.

Society can elevate the status of some individuals and lower the status of others. Depending on this, a distinction is made between upward and downward social mobility, or social ascent and social decline. Upward mobility(professional, economic or political) exist in two main forms: as individual ascent (the infiltration of individuals from a lower stratum to a higher one) and as the creation of new groups of individuals with their inclusion in a higher stratum next to or instead of existing groups of this stratum. Likewise downward mobility exists in the form of both pushing individuals from high social statuses to lower ones, and lowering the social statuses of an entire group.

The desire to achieve a higher status is determined by each individual’s need to achieve success and avoid failure in the social aspect. The actualization of this need generates the force with which the individual strives to achieve a higher social position or to maintain his current position and not slide down. In order to achieve higher status, an individual must overcome barriers between groups or strata. An individual striving to join a higher status group has a certain energy aimed at overcoming these barriers. The probabilistic nature of infiltration in vertical mobility is due to the fact that when assessing the process, one should take into account the constantly changing situation, which consists of many factors, including the personal relationships of individuals.

To quantify mobility processes, speed and intensity indicators are usually used. The speed of social mobility refers to the vertical social distance or the number of strata - economic, professional or political - that an individual passes through in his upward or downward movement over a certain period of time. The intensity of social mobility refers to the number of individuals changing social positions in a vertical or horizontal direction over a certain period of time.

There is often a need to consider the process of mobility from the point of view of the relationship between its speed and intensity. In this case, the aggregate mobility index for a given social community is used. In this way, it is possible, for example, to compare one society with another in order to find out in which of them or in which period mobility is higher in all respects. Such an index can be calculated separately for the economic, professional or political field of activity.

Federal Agency for Education

"Ural State Mining University"

Department of Human Resources Management

Abstract on the topic: “The theory of social stratification and social inequality”

in the discipline "Sociology and Political Science"

Group: ASU-08-2

Student: Mananova Alfiya

Teacher: Timofeev

Semyon Viktorovich

Ekaterinburg

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 – 4

1. Social stratification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 – 10

1.1.Prerequisites for stratification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 – 6

1.2. Types of stratification systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 – 10

2. The role of the middle class in modern society. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 – 16

2.1. Middle class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 – 12

2.2. Poverty and inequality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 – 16

3. Features of social stratification in modern Russia. 17 – 21

Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Introduction

Even at the dawn of history, people discovered that the division of labor functions increases the efficiency of society, therefore, in all societies there is a division of statuses and roles. At the same time, all members of society are distributed within the social structure in such a way that various statuses are filled and the roles corresponding to them are fulfilled.

Therefore, the basis for the division of people into groups was the division of labor, which was initially influenced only by such characteristics as age, gender, health status, and subsequently by social origin, life experience, education, etc.

Various groups acquired characteristics that distinguished them from other groups of people in a given society, primarily the level of wealth and the amount of power.

Therefore, any society is more or less complexly structured, it consists of various groups (castes, classes, layers, etc.).

Social stratification is the process and result of dividing people into unequal groups that form a hierarchical (ordered according to the principle: lower - higher) sequence based on one or many characteristics.

The problem of dividing people into any strata or classes is relevant in our society. The issue of dividing people into poor and rich is very acute. The inequality of people plays a huge role in life; people react very painfully to social inequality, which is often expressed in social conflicts.

The purpose of this work is to consider the characteristics of social stratification and social inequality.

Based on the set goal, the following main tasks were solved:

Reveal the prerequisites for the stratification of society

Identify the main types of stratification

Explore the causes of poverty

Analyze the features of stratification in modern Russia

The object of the study is the social stratification of society and social inequality.

Chapter 1. Social stratification of society

1.1. Prerequisites for stratification

Most societies are organized in such a way that their institutions distribute benefits and responsibilities unequally among different categories of people and social groups. Sociologists call social stratification arrangement of individuals and groups from top to bottom along horizontal layers, or strata, based on inequality in income, level of education, amount of power, professional prestige. From this point of view, social order is not neutral, but serves the goals and interests of some people and social groups to a greater extent than others.

The question “who gets what and why?” has always interested humanity. The first Jewish prophets, who lived 800 BC, particularly Amos, Micah and Isaiah, consistently condemned the rich and powerful members of society. Micah, for example, accused them of seizing the fields and houses of their neighbors; were “full of violence,” demanded bribes and committed dishonest and treacherous acts. Ancient Greek philosophers, including Plato and Aristotle, discussed the institution at length private property and slavery. In his dialogue “The Republic” in 370 BC. Plato wrote: “Any city, no matter how small, is actually divided into two halves: one for the poor, the other for the rich, and they are at enmity with each other.” The Indian Laws of Manu, compiled around 200 BC, describe a creation in which social inequality is considered to be sent down by the gods for the common good. The Anglican hymn contains these words:

A rich man is in his castle,

The poor man is at his gate.

God set one high and one low

And he determined who should have what.

Thus, polar opposite views on social stratification are known: some, like Micah and Plato, criticized existing system distribution, others, like Brahmins, supported her.

1.2. Types of stratification systems

There are many stratification criteria by which any society can be divided. Each of them is associated with special ways of determining and reproducing social inequality. The nature of social stratification and the way it is asserted in its unity form what we call a stratification system. When it comes to the main types of stratification systems, caste, slave, class and class differentiation are usually analyzed. At the same time, it is customary to identify these stratification systems with historical types of social structure, observed in the modern world or already consigned to the irrevocable past.

Slaveholding

Caste

Estate

Etacratic

Social and professional

Class

Cultural-symbolic

Cultural-normative

The basis of the physical-genetic stratification system is the differentiation of social groups according to “natural” socio-demographic characteristics. Here, the attitude towards a person or group is determined by their gender, age and the presence of certain physical qualities - strength, beauty, dexterity. Accordingly, the weaker, those with physical disabilities are considered defective here and occupy a degraded social position. Inequality is asserted in this case by the existence of the threat of physical violence or through its actual use, and then is reinforced in customs and rituals. This “natural” stratification system dominated in primitive communal societies, but continues to be reproduced to this day.

Slavery is also based on direct violence. But inequality here is determined not by physical, but by military-legal coercion. Social groups differ in the presence or absence of civil rights and property rights. At the same time, certain social groups are completely deprived of any civil and property rights and, moreover, along with things, they turn into an object of private property. Moreover, this position is most often inherited and, thus, consolidated in generations. Examples of slave systems are extremely diverse. This is also ancient slavery, where the number of slaves sometimes exceeded the number of free citizens. And servility in Rus' during the times of “Russian Truth”. This is plantation slavery in the southern North American United States until civil war 1861-1865 This is the work of prisoners of war and deportees on German private farms during World War II.

The caste system is based on ethnic differences, which in turn are reinforced by religious order and religious rituals. Each caste is a closed, as far as possible, endogamous group, which is assigned a clear place in the social hierarchy. This place appears as a result of the isolation of the special functions of each caste in the system of division of labor. There is a fairly clear list of occupations that members of this caste can engage in: priestly, military, agricultural occupations. The highest position is occupied by the caste of “ideologists” who possess a certain sacred knowledge. Since the position in caste system is inherited, the possibilities for social mobility are extremely limited here. And the more pronounced casteism is, the more closed a given society turns out to be.

In the class system, groups differ legal rights, which, in turn, are strictly related to their responsibilities and are directly dependent on these responsibilities. Moreover, by responsibilities we mean obligations to the state, enshrined in law. Some classes are required to perform military or bureaucratic service, others are required to bear the “tax” in the form of taxes or labor obligations. Examples of developed class systems are feudal Western European societies or medieval Russia.

Some similarities with the class system are observed in the étacratic society (from French and Greek - “state power”). In it, differentiation between groups occurs, first of all, according to their position in power-state hierarchies (political, military, economic), according to the possibilities of mobilization and distribution of resources, as well as the privileges that these groups are able to derive from their positions of power. The degree of material well-being, the lifestyle of social groups, as well as the prestige they feel are associated here with the same formal ranks that they occupy in the corresponding power hierarchies. All other differences - demographic and religious-ethnic, economic and cultural - play a derivative role.

Inequality characterizes the uneven distribution between individuals and groups of society's scarce resources. There are 4 scarce resources: power, property, education and prestige.

Social stratification is the arrangement of individuals and groups in a hierarchical order by layers or strata, based on inequality in income, level of education, amount of power, professional prestige.

1 . Functional. From the point of view of functionalists, inequality appears because society, being systematically rewards more valuable elements (social groups) with scarce goods. And there is a consensus in society on this matter. Opponents of this point of view are Lewis Coser, RalphDerendorf– the founders of conflict inequality.

2. Conflict. R. Derendorff and L. Coser believe that inequality exists because some individuals and groups seize power and dictate their terms to the rest of society.

Karl Marx was the first to try to explain the nature of social stratification. In each society, two ontological classes are formed, highlighting only the economic factor. I considered the rest Max Weber and identified 3 changes: the class dimension (a person’s economic status), the status dimension (prestige) and the party dimension (power).

Pitirim Sorokin considers it impossible to single out only criteria for stratification difference and identifies three groups of characteristics: people have this characteristic from birth (race, family ties); acquired social status (profession); elements of possession (material and spiritual values, property)

There are three basic criteria: political, economic and professional.

The concept of “stratification” comes from the Latin stratum (flooring, layer) and facege (to do). Any society can be represented as inequality organized in a special way between different social strata and entities. Social stratification refers to “structural inequalities between different groups of people” (E. Giddens). In society, individuals and social groups are “arranged” in a certain hierarchical sequence. Depending on which features of social ranking are considered the most important, various types of stratification are distinguished. For example, the American sociologist P. Sorokin proposed using economic, political and professional criteria to describe stratification.

Historical types of stratification.

Stratification, that is, inequality in income, power, prestige and education, arose with the emergence of human society. It was found in its rudimentary form already in simple (primitive) society. With the advent of the early state - eastern despotism - stratification became stricter, and with the development of European society and the liberalization of morals, stratification softened. The class system is freer than caste and slavery, and the class system that replaced the class system has become even more liberal.

Slavery– historically the first system of social stratification: Slavery arose in ancient times in Egypt, Babylon, China, Greece, Rome and survived in a number of regions almost to the present day. It existed in the USA back in the 19th century. Slavery is an economic, social and legal form of enslavement of people, bordering on complete lack of rights and extreme inequality. It has evolved historically. The primitive form, or patriarchal slavery, and the developed form, or classical slavery, differ significantly. In the first case, the slave had all the rights of a junior member of the family: he lived in the same house with his owners, participated in public life, married free people, and inherited the owner’s property. It was forbidden to kill him. At the mature stage, the slave was completely enslaved: he lived in a separate room, did not participate in anything, did not inherit anything, did not marry and had no family. It was allowed to kill him. He did not own property, but was himself considered the property of the owner (“a talking instrument”).

This is how slavery turns into slavery. When they talk about slavery as a historical type of stratification, they mean its highest stage.

Castes. Like slavery, the caste system characterizes a closed society and rigid stratification. India – classic example caste society. It arose on the ruins of the slave system in the first centuries of the new era.

Caste called a social group (stratum), membership in which a person is obliged solely by birth. He cannot move from one caste to another during his lifetime. To do this, he needs to be born again. The caste position of a person is fixed by the Hindu religion. According to its canons, people live more than one life. Each person falls into the appropriate caste depending on what his behavior was in his previous life.

In total, there are 4 main castes in India: Brahmans (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (merchants), Shudras (workers and peasants) - and about 5 thousand minor castes and subcastes. The untouchables (outcasts) stand out especially - they do not belong to any caste and occupy the lowest position. During industrialization, castes are replaced by classes. The Indian city is increasingly becoming class-based, while the village, which has a population of 7,110, remains caste-based.

Estates. The form of stratification that precedes classes is estates. In the feudal societies that existed in Europe from the 4th to the 14th centuries, people were divided into classes. Estate – a social group that has rights and obligations that are fixed by custom or legal law and are inheritable. A class system that includes several strata is characterized by a hierarchy expressed in the inequality of their position and privileges. The classic example of class organization was Europe, where at the turn of the 14th–15th centuries. society was divided into the upper classes (nobility and clergy) and the unprivileged third class (artisans, merchants, peasants). And in the X–XIII centuries. There were three main classes: the clergy, the nobility and the peasantry. In Russia from the second half of the 17th century. The class division into nobility, clergy, merchants, peasantry and petty bourgeoisie (middle urban strata) was established. Estates were based on land ownership.

The rights and duties of each class were determined by legal law and sanctified by religious doctrine. Membership in the estate was determined by inheritance. Social barriers between classes were quite strict, so social mobility existed not so much between classes as within classes. Each estate included many strata, ranks, levels, professions, and ranks. Thus, only nobles could engage in public service. The aristocracy was considered a military class (knighthood).

The higher a class stood in the social hierarchy, the higher its status. In contrast to castes, inter-class marriages were fully allowed, and individual mobility was also allowed. A simple person could become a knight by purchasing a special permit from the ruler. Merchants acquired noble titles for money. As a relic, this practice has partially survived in modern England.