What is the criterion of social stratification. Social stratification: concept, criteria, types. The concept of social stratification

The term "stratification" comes from "stratum" (lat.) - layer and "facio" (lat.) - I do. Stratification- this is not just differentiation, enumeration of differences between individual layers, strata in society. The task of stratification is to identify the vertical sequence of the positions of social strata, their hierarchy.

The theory of social stratification is one of the most developed parts of social theory. Its foundations were laid by M. Weber, K. Marx, P. Sorokin, T. Parsons. The basis of the stratification structure is the natural and social inequality of people.

In the English Dictionary of the Social Sciences, stratification is understood as a process by which families and individuals are not equal to each other and are grouped into hierarchically arranged strata with different prestige, property and power.

All criteria of social stratification must comply with the following principles (according to M. Weber and E. Durkheim):

• 1) all social strata of a given society should be studied without exception;
• 2) it is necessary to measure and compare groups using the same criteria;
• 3) criteria should be no less than required for a sufficiently complete description of each layer.

P. Sorokin defined social stratification as “the differentiation of a given set of people (population) into classes in a hierarchical rank. It finds expression in the existence of higher and lower strata. Its basis and essence lies in the uneven distribution of rights and privileges, responsibilities and duties, the presence or absence of social values, power and influence among members of a particular community” ?5?. Stratification model of society ( pyramid divided into strata) was borrowed by P. Sorokin from geology. However, unlike the structure of rocks, in society:

the lower layers are always much wider than the upper ones,

the number of layers is not strictly defined: it all depends on how many stratification criteria are taken into account,

the thickness of the layer is not constant, since people can move from one layer to another (processes of social mobility).

There are two main ways to stratify a society, depending on the number of underlying features:

• 1. One-dimensional stratification. It is based on one-dimensional strata, i.e., strata distinguished by any one social attribute. This approach assumes the stratification of society according to the following groups of features:
• 1) gender and age;
• 2) national language;
• 3) professional;
• 4) educational;
• 5) religious;
• 6) by settlement.

Some researchers base the classification on other features.

2. Multidimensional stratification. At the same time, stratification is based on several features.

The second method of stratification includes the division of society into:

• 1) socio-territorial communities (population of a city, village, region);
• 2) ethnic communities (tribe, nationality, nation);
• 3) the system of slavery (an economic, social and legal form of fixing people, bordering on complete lack of rights and an extreme degree of inequality);
• 4) castes ( social groups membership in which a person owes birth);
• 5) estates (social groups supported by established customs or laws, and in which rights and obligations are inherited);
• 6) social classes.

The modern English researcher E. Giddens offers a number of differences between the class system and the slave, caste and class system:

• 1. Classes are not formed on the basis of religious beliefs. Belonging to a class is not determined by adherence to certain customs, traditions and mores. The class system is more fluid than other types of stratification. Labor is the basis of class division.
• 2. A person's belonging to a particular class is often achieved by himself, and is not given from birth.
• 3. An economic attribute is the basis for assigning an individual to a particular class.
• 4. In other types of social structure, inequality expresses mainly the personal dependence of one individual on another. The class structure of society, on the contrary, is characterized by the personal independence of individuals from each other?6?.

In sociology, there are several main approaches to the stratification structure.

• 1. Economic approach, whose supporters (K. Marx, E. Durkheim and others) considered the division of labor as the main cause of social differentiation. K. Marx was the first to develop the theory economic basis classes. He connected the existence of classes only with certain historical forms of the development of production, where ownership of the means of production is distributed evenly among different sections of the population, as a result of which some exploit others, and struggle is inevitable between them.
• 2. Political approach to stratification. Its founders are L. Gumplovich, G. Mosca, V. Pareto, M. Weber. Political stratification is the difference between politically dominant groups and masses, in which the very vertical of the political hierarchy is built through the prism of belonging to certain political forces, and the main criterion for distinguishing one or another political stratum is the level of possession of political power. L. Gumplovich believed that the nature of class differences is a reflection of differences in power, which also determine the subsequent division of labor and the distribution of social responsibilities. G. Mosca and V. Pareto considered inequality and mobility as related aspects of the same phenomenon, the movement of people between the ruling class, the elite and the lower class - passive subordinates.
• 3. functionalist concept social stratification, which is based on the ideas of T. Parsons, K. Davis, W. Moore. T. Parsons considers stratification an aspect of any social system. He proceeds from the fact that any action is inevitably associated with choice and evaluation. Generally accepted scoring standards make it possible to rank positions as higher or lower. Since the desired positions are not enough, then in order to save the system, it is necessary to institutionalize inequality, allowing interactions to proceed without conflicts. Generalization and acceptance of the rating scale implies coverage of all types of rewards, of which “respect” is considered the most important.

Each given person, according to Parsons, actually enjoys respect, correlated with a graduated hierarchy, his relative respect in an ordered total system of differentiated evaluation is prestige, which means comparative assessment. In turn, differentiated prestige is the basis of stratification.

Davies and Moore rightly believe that some positions in the social system are functionally more important than others and require special skills for their realization. However, the number of individuals with these abilities is limited. Therefore, these positions should be given stimulus in the form of differentiated access to society's limited and desirable rewards, in order to force talented individuals to make sacrifices and acquire the necessary training. These differentiated rewards lead to differentiation in stratum prestige and hence to social stratification.

Modern studies of social stratification use the theoretical basis of the above approaches, and also proceed from the principle of multidimensionality of stratified measurements. The foundations of this approach were already laid in the works of M. Weber, who studied the interdependence between various stratification criteria. Weber believed that class affiliation is determined not only by the nature of the relationship to the means of production, but also by economic differences that are not directly related to property: for example, qualifications, skills, education.

Other criteria for stratification, according to Weber, are status and party affiliation (groups of individuals with a common origin, goals, interests).

The American sociologist B. Barber, based on the multidimensionality and interconnectedness of measurements, proposed the following concept of the structure of social stratification.

• 1. The prestige of the profession, occupation, position, assessed by the functional contribution to social development.
• 2. Power, seen as an institutionally defined right to influence the actions of other people, contrary to or regardless of their wishes.
• 3. Income or wealth. Different occupational statuses in society have different capacities for generating income and for accumulating wealth in the form of capital; there are various chances of getting wealth as an inheritance.
• 4. Education. Unequal access to education predetermines the ability of individuals to occupy one position or another in society.
• 5. Religious or ritual purity. In some societies, belonging to a particular religion is crucial.
• 6. Ranking by kindred and ethnic groups.

Thus, income, power, prestige and education determine the total socio-economic status, that is, the position and place of a person in society.

In modern sociological science, various approaches to the analysis of social stratification coexist (the activity approach, the concept of "emergence" of the emergence of unexpected criteria of social inequality, etc.).

From the point of view of the activity-activist approach to the analysis of social inequalities (T.I. Zaslavskaya), the social hierarchy of modern Russian society can be represented as follows?7?:

elite - ruling political and economic - up to 0.5%;

the top layer - large and medium-sized entrepreneurs, directors of large and medium-sized privatized enterprises, other sub-elite groups - 6.5%;

the middle layer - representatives of small businesses, qualified professionals, middle management, officers - 20%;

the base layer - ordinary specialists, assistants to specialists, workers, peasants, trade and service workers - 60%;

the bottom layer - low-skilled and unskilled workers, temporarily unemployed - 7%;

social bottom - up to 5%.

Social stratification makes it possible to represent society not as a chaotic heap of social statuses, but as a complex but clear structure of status positions that are in certain dependencies.

To assign statuses to one or another level of the hierarchy, appropriate grounds or criteria must be defined.

Criteria of social stratification - indicators that allow you to determine the position of individuals and social groups on a hierarchical scale of social status.

The question of the foundations of social stratification in the history of sociological thought was solved ambiguously. So, K. Marx believed that these should be economic indicators, which, in his opinion, determine the state of all other relations in society. Fact a person's possession of property and the level of his income he considered as the basis of social stratification. Marx came to the conclusion that the history of all societies, with the exception of the primitive and the future communist, is the history of classes and class struggle, as a result of which society rises to a higher stage of development. Slaves and slave-owners, feudal lords and peasants, workers and bourgeoisie are irreconcilable in their social position.

M. Weber believed that Marx simplified the picture of stratification, and an accurate picture of inequality can be obtained using multidimensional criteria: along with economic situation needs to be considered prestige of a profession or occupation, as well as measure of power possessed by an individual or his social group. Unlike Marx, he associated the concept of class only with capitalist society, where the market is the most important regulator of relations. In the market, people occupy different positions, i.e., they are in a different “class situation”. Property and lack of property are the basic categories of all class situations. The totality of people who are in the same class situation constitutes, according to Weber, a social class. Those who do not own property and can offer only services on the market are divided according to the types of services. Property owners can be differentiated according to what they own.

This approach was developed by P. Sorokin, who also believed that the position of an individual in the social space can be more accurately described not by a single, but by several indicators: economic (income), political (power, prestige) and professional (status).

In the XX century. many other models of stratification have been created. Thus, the American sociologist B. Barber proposed a whole range of features for the stratification of society: the prestige of the profession; power and might; income and wealth; education; religious or ritual purity; the position of relatives; ethnicity.

The creators of the theory of post-industrial society, the French sociologist A. Touraine and the American D. Bell, believe that in modern society social differentiation occurs not in relation to property, prestige, power, ethnicity, but in terms of access to information. The dominant position is occupied by people who own strategic and new information, as well as the means of controlling it.

In modern sociological science, the following indicators act as the basis of social stratification: income, power, education, prestige. The first three indicators have specific units of measurement: income is measured in money, power - in the number of people to whom it applies, education - in the number of years of study and the status of an educational institution. Prestige is determined on the basis of public opinion polls and self-assessments of individuals.

These indicators determine the overall socio-economic status, i.e., the position of an individual (social group) in society. Let us consider in more detail the bases of stratification.

Income- this economic characteristic the position of the individual. It is expressed as the amount of cash receipts for a certain period of time. Sources of income can be different income - salary, scholarships, pensions, allowances, fees, cash bonuses, bank charges on deposits. Members of the middle and lower classes tend to spend their income on sustenance. But if the amount of income is significant, it can be accumulated and transferred into expensive movable and immovable property (car, yacht, helicopter, securities, precious items, paintings, rare items), which will make up wealth. The main asset of the upper class is not income, but wealth. It allows a person not to work for the sake of a salary, it can be inherited. If the life situation changes and a person loses high incomes, he will have to turn wealth back into money. Therefore, high income does not always mean great wealth, and vice versa.

The uneven distribution of income and wealth in society means economic inequality. Poor and rich people have different life chances. Having a lot of money empowers a person, allows him to eat better, take care of his health, live in more comfortable conditions, pay for education in a prestigious educational institution, etc.

Power- is the ability of individuals or groups to impose their will on others, regardless of their desire. Power is measured by the number of people who are subject to this influence. The power of the head of the department extends to several people, the chief engineer of the enterprise - to several hundred people, the minister - to several thousand, and the President of Russia - to all its citizens. His status has the highest rank in social stratification. Power in modern society is fixed by law and tradition, surrounded by privileges and wide access to social benefits. Power allows you to control key resources. To master them means to gain dominion over people. People who have power or enjoy recognition, authority for their economic, political, spiritual activities, constitute the elite of society, its highest social stratum.

Education- the basis of general cultural and vocational training in modern society, one of the characteristics of the achieved status. As society develops, knowledge becomes more specialized and deep, so modern man spends much more time on education than a few hundred years ago. On average, it takes 20 years to train a specialist (for example, an engineer) in modern society, given that before entering a university, he must receive a secondary education. The level of education is determined not only by the number of years of study, but also by the rank educational institutions who confirmed in the manner prescribed by law (diploma or certificate) the individual's education: high school, college, university.

Prestige- the respect with which public opinion relates to a particular profession, position, occupation or individual for his personal qualities. The formation of the professional and job structure of society is an important function of social institutions. The nomenclature of professions eloquently testifies to the nature of society (agrarian, industrial, informational) and the stage of its development. She is changeable, as changeable and prestige various professions.

For example, in medieval society, the profession of a priest was perhaps the most prestigious, which cannot be said about modern society. In the 30s.

20th century millions of boys dreamed of becoming pilots. Everyone had the names of V.P. Chkalov, M.V. Vodopyanov, N.P. Kamanin on their lips. In the postwar years, and especially after the development of scientific and technological revolution in the middle of the 20th century. the prestige of the engineering profession has grown in society, and computerization of the 90s. updated the professions of computer specialists and programmers.

The most prestigious at all times were considered professions associated with access to valuable resources for a given society - money, scarce goods, power or knowledge, information. A person, as a rule, seeks to emphasize his own high prestige with appropriate status symbols: clothes, accessories, an expensive car brand, awards.

In sociological science, there is such a thing as a ladder of professional prestige. This is a scheme that reflects the degree of public respect that goes to a particular profession. The basis for its construction is the study of public opinion. Such polls are especially popular in the USA. An example of a scale built by American researchers based on a generalization of the results of public opinion polls conducted in 1949-1982 is shown in Table. 6. (The highest score awarded to the profession is 100, the lowest is 1.)

Table 6

Scale of professional prestige

Different sociologists explain the causes of social inequality and, consequently, social stratification in different ways.

In the Marxist school of sociology, inequality is based on: property relations, the nature, degree and form of ownership of the means of production.

According to the functionalists (K. Davis, W. Moore), the distribution of individuals across social strata depends on the importance of their professional activities and the contribution that they make with their work to achieve the goals of society. Proponents of the exchange theory (J. Homans) believe that inequality in society arises due to the unequal exchange of the results of human activity.

A number of classic sociologists considered the problem of stratification more broadly. For example, M. Weber, in addition to economic (attitude to property and income level), additionally proposed such criteria as social prestige (inherited and acquired status) and belonging to certain political circles, hence power, authority and influence.

One of the creators of the theory of stratification, P. Sorokin, identified three types of stratification structures:

§ economic(according to the criteria of income and wealth);

§ political(according to the criteria of influence and power);

§ professional(according to the criteria of mastery, professional skills, successful performance of social roles).

The founder of structural functionalism T. Parsons proposed three groups of differentiating features:

§ qualitative characteristics of people that they possess from birth (ethnicity, family ties, gender and age characteristics, personal qualities and abilities);

§ role characteristics determined by a set of roles performed by an individual in society (education, position, different kinds professional and labor activity);

§ characteristics due to the possession of material and spiritual values ​​(wealth, property, privileges, the ability to influence and manage other people, etc.).

In modern sociology, it is customary to distinguish the following main criteria for social stratification:

§ income - the amount of cash receipts for a certain period (month, year);

§ wealth - accumulated income, i.e. the amount of cash or embodied money (in the second case, they act in the form of movable or immovable property);

§ power - the ability and ability to exercise one's will, to exert a decisive influence on the activities of other people through various means (authority, law, violence, etc.). Power is measured by the number of people it extends to;

§ education - a set of knowledge, skills and abilities acquired in the learning process. The level of education is measured by the number of years of education;

§ prestige - public assessment attractiveness, significance of a particular profession, position, a certain type of occupation.

Despite the variety of different models of social stratification currently existing in sociology, most scientists distinguish three main classes: the highest, the middle and the lowest.

In a number of cases, sociologists make a certain division within each class. Thus, the American sociologist W.L. Warner (1898-1970), in his famous study of Yankee City, identified six classes:

§ upper-upper class (representatives of influential and wealthy dynasties with significant resources of power, wealth and prestige);

§ lower-upper class (“new rich” - bankers, politicians who do not have a noble origin and did not have time to create powerful role-playing clans);

§ upper-middle class (successful businessmen, lawyers, entrepreneurs, scientists, managers, doctors, engineers, journalists, cultural and artistic figures);

§ lower-middle class ( wage-earners- engineers, clerks, secretaries, employees and other categories, which are commonly called "white collars");

§ upper-lower class (workers engaged mainly in physical labor);

§ lower-lower class (beggars, unemployed, homeless, foreign workers, declassed elements).

There are other schemes of social stratification. But they all boil down to the following: non-basic classes arise by adding strata and layers that are inside one of the main classes - rich, wealthy and poor.

Thus, social stratification is based on natural and social inequality between people, which manifests itself in their social life and has a hierarchical character. It is sustainably supported and regulated by various social institutions, constantly reproduced and modified, which is an important condition for the functioning and development of any society.

34. Social mobility. Types of social mobility.

The term "social mobility" was introduced by P. Sorokin. He called social mobility the transition of an individual between different levels of the social hierarchy, defined in terms of broad professional or social class categories. That is, mobility is a transition from one social position to another in social space.

There are two main types of social mobility - intergenerational and intragenerational, and two main types - vertical and horizontal.

Intergenerational mobility implies that children achieve a higher social position or fall to a lower rung than their parents.

Intragenerational mobility means that the same individual, beyond comparison with parents, changes social positions several times throughout his life.

Vertical mobility implies moving from one stratum to another, i.e. movement leading to an increase or decrease in social status.

Depending on the direction of movement, vertical mobility can be upward and downward.

Horizontal mobility implies the movement of an individual from one social group to another without raising or lowering social status.

Geographical mobility is a variation of horizontal mobility.

There are individual mobility - movements down, up or horizontally occur for each person independently of others, and group mobility - movements occur collectively.

Types of social mobility can be distinguished according to other criteria:

1. by range;

2. by quantitative indicator;

3. according to the degree of organization:

The study of social mobility is carried out using two systems of indicators. In the first, the individual acts as the unit of account. The main indicators are the volume of mobility (absolute and relative, aggregate and differentiated) and the degree of mobility. The volume of mobility shows the number of individuals who have moved up the social ladder in a vertical direction in a certain period of time. The degree of mobility is determined by two factors: the range of mobility (the number of statuses in a given society) and the conditions that allow people to move. So the maximum mobility is always observed in society during any social and economic transformations. The degree of mobility also depends on the historical type of stratification.

The second unit of reference is the status. In this case, the volume of mobility (the number of people who changed their status) describes its direction. The measure of mobility is the step of mobility (distance), which shows the number of steps that the individual has moved in the vertical direction. It can be intergenerational and intragenerational, interclass and intraclass.

P.A. Sorokin developed the theory of vertical mobility channels. Social institutions act as such channels: family, school, army, church, property. Moreover, the family and school are one of the most important mechanisms of social selection, determination and inheritance of status.

35. Marginality as a social phenomenon

Marginality is a characteristic of phenomena that arise as a result of the interaction of different cultures, social communities, structures, as a result of which a part of social subjects is outside them.

Introduced into science by R. Park, this concept served to study the situation of migrants, mulattoes and other "cultural hybrids", their lack of adaptation in the conditions of various conflicting cultures.

R. Merton defined marginality as a specific case of the theory of the reference (reference) group: marginality characterizes the moment when an individual seeks membership in a positive reference group for him, which is not inclined to accept him. This ratio implies double identification, incomplete socialization and lack of social affiliation.

T. Shibutani considers marginality in the context of the socialization of the individual in a changing society. The central point in understanding marginality here is the dominance of social changes, the transformation of the social structure, leading to the temporary destruction of harmony. As a result, a person finds himself in the face of several reference (reference) groups with different, often conflicting requirements that cannot be satisfied simultaneously. This is the difference from the situation in a stable society, when the reference groups in the life of an individual reinforce each other.

The direction of the study of marginality is also approved as a state of social exclusion (or incomplete inclusion), a position in the social structure characterized by a high distance in relation to the dominant culture of the "main society" ("on the edge" of society).

The following types of marginality are called:
- cultural marginality (cross-cultural contacts and assimilation);
- marginality of the social role (contradictions of being assigned to a positive reference group, etc.);
- Structural marginality (vulnerable, powerless position in political, social and economic terms of a group in society).

There are two main approaches to the consideration of marginality. Marginality as a contradiction, an indefinite state in the process of mobility of a group or individual (change of status); marginality as a characteristic of a special marginal (marginal, intermediate, isolated) position of groups and individuals in the social structure.

The originality of approaches to the definition of marginality and understanding its essence is largely determined by the specifics of a particular social reality and the forms that this phenomenon takes on in it.

Conceptual developments of the concept of "marginality" have led to the emergence of a set of related concepts.

The marginal zone is those sections of social reality where the most intense and significant changes structures of relationships, positions, lifestyle.

A marginal situation is a complex and structure of factors that generate and reinforce the state of marginality of an individual or group.

Marginal status is a position of intermediateness, uncertainty in which an individual or group falls under the influence of a marginal situation.

Marginal - a person who is on the border of various social groups, communities, cultures that come into conflict with them, being not accepted by any of them as a full member.

A marginal personality is a complex of psychological traits that characterize a person in a situation of uncertainty associated with the transition from one group to another and aggravated by the contradictions of a social role conflict.

Marginal group - a group in society, united common criteria characterizing its marginal or transitional position (ethnic, territorial, professional, racial, etc.)

Among the marginals there may be ethnomarginals: national minorities; bio-marginals, whose health ceases to be the concern of society; social marginals, such as groups in the process of incomplete social displacement; age marginals, formed when ties between generations are broken; political marginals: they are not satisfied with legal opportunities and legitimate rules of socio-political struggle; economic marginals of the traditional type (the unemployed) and the so-called "new poor"; religious outcasts - standing outside confessions or not daring to make a choice between them; and, finally, criminal outcasts; and perhaps also simply those whose status in the social structure is not defined.

The emergence of new marginal groups is associated with structural changes in post-industrial societies and mass downward social. mobility of heterogeneous groups of specialists losing their jobs, professional positions, status, living conditions.

36. Social stratification and mobility

Under the social (stratification) structure is understood the stratification and hierarchical organization of various strata of society, as well as the totality of institutions and the relationship between them. The term "stratification" originates from the Latin word stratum - layers, layer. Strata are large groups of people who differ in their position in the social structure of society.

All scientists agree that the basis of the stratification structure of society is the natural and social inequality of people. However, on the question of what exactly is the criterion for this inequality, their opinions differ. Studying the process of stratification in society, K. Marx called the fact that a person owns property and the level of his income as such a criterion. M. Weber added to them the social prestige and belonging of the subject to political parties, to power. Pitirim Sorokin considered the cause of stratification to be the uneven distribution of rights and privileges, responsibilities and duties in society. He also argued that the social space also has many other criteria for differentiation: it can be carried out according to citizenship, occupation, nationality, religious affiliation, etc. Finally, supporters of the theory of structural functionalism suggested relying on the social functions that perform certain social strata in society.

Historically, stratification, i.e., inequality in income, power, prestige, etc., arises with the birth of human society. With the advent of the first states, it becomes tougher, and then, in the process of development of society (primarily European), it gradually softens.

In sociology, four main types of social stratification are known - slavery, castes, estates and classes. The first three characterize closed societies, and the last type - open ones.

The first system of social stratification is slavery, which arose in antiquity and still persists in some backward regions. There are two forms of slavery: patriarchal, in which the slave has all the rights of a junior family member, and classical, in which the slave has no rights and is considered the property of the owner (a talking tool). Slavery was based on direct violence, and social groups in the era of slavery were distinguished by the presence or absence of civil rights.

The second system of social stratification should be recognized as caste build. A caste is a social group (stratum) in which membership is transferred to a person only by birth. The transition of a person from one caste to another during his lifetime is impossible - for this he needs to be born again. India is a classic example of a caste society. In India, there are four main castes, descended, according to legend, from various parts of the god Brahma:

a) brahmins - priests;

b) kshatriyas - warriors;

c) vaishyas - merchants;

d) Shudras - peasants, artisans, workers.

A special position is occupied by the so-called untouchables, who do not belong to any caste and occupy a lower position.

The next form of stratification is estates. An estate is a group of people who have rights and obligations enshrined in law or custom, which are inherited.

Finally, another stratification system is the class system. The most complete definition of classes in the scientific literature was given by V. I. Lenin: “Classes are large groups of people that differ in their place in a historically defined system social production, according to their relation (for the most part fixed and formalized in laws) to the means of production, according to their role in public organization labor, and consequently, according to the methods of obtaining and the size of the share of social wealth that they have. The class approach is often opposed to the stratification approach, although in fact class division is only a special case of social stratification.

Depending on the historical period in society, the following classes are distinguished as the main ones:

a) slaves and slave owners;

b) feudal lords and feudal dependent peasants;

c) the bourgeoisie and the proletariat;

d) the so-called middle class.

Since any social structure is a collection of all functioning social communities, taken in their interaction, the following elements can be distinguished in it:

a) ethnic structure (clan, tribe, nationality, nation);

b) demographic structure (groups are distinguished by age and sex);

c) settlement structure (urban residents, rural residents, etc.);

d) class structure (bourgeoisie, proletariat, peasants, etc.);

e) professional and educational structure.

In the very general view In modern society, three stratification levels can be distinguished: the highest, the middle and the lowest. In economically developed countries the second level is predominant, giving the society a certain stability. In turn, within each level there is also a hierarchically ordered set of different social strata. A person who occupies a certain place in this structure has the opportunity to move from one level to another, while raising or lowering his social status, or from one group located at any level to another located at the same level. This transition is called social mobility.

Social mobility sometimes leads to the fact that some people find themselves, as it were, at the junction of certain social groups, while experiencing serious psychological difficulties. Their intermediate position is largely determined by the inability or unwillingness for any reason to adapt to one of the interacting social groups. This phenomenon of finding a person, as it were, between two cultures, associated with his movement in social space, is called marginality. A marginal is an individual who has lost his former social status, deprived of the opportunity to engage in his usual business and, moreover, who has turned out to be unable to adapt to the new socio-cultural environment of the stratum in which he formally exists. The individual value system of such people is so stable that it cannot be replaced by new norms, principles, and rules. Their behavior is characterized by extremes: they are either excessively passive or very aggressive, easily step over moral standards and are capable of unpredictable actions. Among the marginals there may be ethnomarginals - people who find themselves in a foreign environment as a result of migration; political outcasts - people who are not satisfied with the legal opportunities and legitimate rules of the socio-political struggle: religious outcasts - people who stand outside the confession or do not dare to make a choice between them, etc.

The social hierarchy that is currently being formed is distinguished by inconsistency, instability and a tendency to significant changes. The highest stratum (elite) today can be attributed to representatives of the state apparatus, as well as owners of big capital, including their top - financial oligarchs. The middle class in modern Russia includes representatives of the class of entrepreneurs, as well as knowledge workers, highly qualified managers (managers). Finally, the lowest stratum is made up of workers of various professions, employed in medium and low-skilled labor, as well as office workers and workers public sector(teachers and doctors in state and municipal institutions).

In the process of changing the social structure of modern Russian society, the following trends can be distinguished:

1) social polarization, i.e. stratification into rich and poor, deepening social and property differentiation;

2) mass downward social mobility;

3) mass change of residence by knowledge workers (the so-called "brain drain").

In general, it can be said that the main criteria that determine the social position of a person in modern Russia and his belonging to one or another stratification level are either the size of his wealth or belonging to power structures.

37. The concept of a social institution. The reasons for their emergence and functioning in society. Classification of social institutions.

The life of individuals in society is organized through social institutions. The term "institution" means "device, establishment". In sociology, an institution is defined as a stable set of norms, rules and symbols that regulates any of the aspects of human life and organizes them into a system of roles and statuses. A.R. Radicliffe-Brown understands an institution as the standardized ways of behavior by which a social structure - a network of social relations - maintains its existence over time. Social institutions can be characterized in terms of both their external, formal (material) structure and internal activities. Outwardly, a social institution looks like a collection of individuals, institutions, equipped with certain material resources and carrying out a specific social function. From the content side, it is a given set of expediently oriented standards of behavior of certain individuals in specific situations. A social institution, moreover, is a certain organization social activities and social relations, carried out through standards of behavior, the emergence and grouping of which into a system is determined by the content of a specific task solved by this institution.

So the social institution is

role system, which includes certain norms, statuses and roles;

a set of customs, traditions and rules of behavior of people;

an organized system of formal and informal structures;

a set of norms and institutions that regulate a particular area of ​​social relations;

a sustainable set of social actions.

Each social institution is characterized by the presence of an activity goal, specific functions that ensure its achievement, a set of social positions and roles typical for this institution, as well as a system of sanctions that encourage the desired and suppress deviant behavior.

In every society, according to sociologists, there are necessarily at least five groups of social institutions:

1. Economic institutions that regulate the production and distribution of goods and services;

2. Political institutions that regulate the exercise of power and relations around power;

3. Institutions of stratification that regulate the distribution of status positions and incomes in society;

4. Institutions of kinship, organizing relations between relatives, spouses, parents and children, ensuring the reproduction of the population and the transmission of traditions;

5. Institutes of culture, which include religious, educational and cultural institutions proper. They are responsible for the socialization of new generations, the preservation and transmission of social values.

In order to develop a system of social regulation of a particular area public life, i.e. one or another social institution, the conditions necessary for this must exist. Firstly, in society there must exist and be recognized by the majority of individuals a social need for this institution. Secondly, society must have the necessary means to satisfy this need - resources (material, labor, organizational), a system of functions, actions, individual goal-settings, symbols and norms that form the cultural environment on the basis of which a new institution will be formed.

All social institutions arose in ancient times. Production in the human community dates back 2 million years, if we take the first tools of labor created by man as a starting point. The age of the family, according to anthropologists, is 500 thousand years. The state is about the same age as education, namely 5-6 thousand years. Religion in its primitive forms appeared about 30-40 thousand years ago.

The system of social institutions is constantly evolving. The sphere of production, political institutions, institutions of religion and education are undergoing evolution. Significant changes are taking place in the institution of the family. Compared with the 19th century, over the past half century, the average age of marriage, the size of the family, the time of the beginning of working life, the distribution of marital responsibilities, the style of leadership in the family, and the sexual behavior of men and women have changed.

The evolution of social institutions leads to the fact that modern society is characterized by the diversity and complexity of the system of institutions. On the one hand, the same basic need gives rise to the emergence and existence of several specialized institutions, on the other hand, each institutional phenomenon, say, the family, the state, the church, implements a whole series of fundamental needs, including in communication, in the production of services, and in the distribution of benefits, in ensuring the security of citizens, in their individual and collective protection, in maintaining order and control, in the development of the spiritual sphere of society.

38. Social institutions in the economic sphere.

The group of fundamental economic social institutions includes: property, market, money, exchange, banks, finance, various types of economic associations, which together form a complex system of production relations, connecting economic life with other areas of social life.

Thanks to the development of social institutions, the entire system of economic relations and society as a whole functions, the socialization of the individual in the social and labor sphere is carried out, and the norms of economic behavior and moral values ​​are transferred.

Let us single out four features common to all social institutions in the field of economics and finance:

Interaction between participants in social ties and relationships;

· Availability of trained professional staff to ensure the activities of institutions;

definition of the rights, duties and functions of each participant in social interaction in economic life;

· regulation and control of the effectiveness of the process of interaction in the economy.

The development of the economy as a social institution is subject not only to economic laws, but also to sociological ones. The functioning of this institution, its integrity as a system is ensured by various social institutions and social organizations that monitor the work of social institutions in the field of economics and finance, and control the behavior of their members.

The basic institutions with which the economy interacts are politics, education, family, law, etc.

The main functions of the economy as a social institution are:

· harmonization of social interests of business entities, producers and consumers;

meeting the needs of the individual, social groups, strata and organizations;

Strengthening social ties within the economic system, as well as with external social organizations and institutions;

maintaining order and preventing uncontrolled competition between business entities in the process of satisfying needs.

Inequality – characteristic any society, when some individuals, groups or layers have great opportunities, or resources (financial, power, etc.) than others.

To describe the system of inequality in sociology, the concept is used "social stratification" . The very word "stratification" borrowed from geology, where "stratum" means geological formation. This concept quite accurately conveys the content of social differentiation, when social groups line up in social space in a hierarchically organized, vertically sequential row according to some measuring criterion.

In Western sociology, there are several concepts of stratification. West German sociologist R. Dahrendorf proposed to put the political concept at the basis of social stratification "authority" , which, in his opinion, most accurately characterizes the relations of power and the struggle between social groups for power. Based on this approach R. Dahrendorf represented the structure of society, consisting of managers and managed. He, in turn, divided the former into managing owners and managing non-owners, or bureaucratic managers. The second he also divided into two subgroups: the highest, or labor aristocracy, and the lowest - low-skilled workers. Between these two main groups he placed the so-called "new middle class" .

American sociologist L. Warner identified as defining signs of stratification four parameters :

The prestige of the profession;

Education;

Ethnicity.

Thus he determined six main classes :

top-top class included rich people. But the main criterion for their selection was "noble origin";

IN lower upper class also included people of high income, but they did not come from aristocratic families. Many of them had only recently become rich, boasted of it, and sought to flaunt their luxurious clothes, jewelry, and fancy cars;

upper middle class consisted of highly educated people engaged in intellectual work, and business people, lawyers, owners of capital;

lower middle class represented mainly by clerks and other "white-collar workers" (secretaries, bank tellers, clerks);

upper class lower class made up of "blue collar" - factory workers and other manual laborers;

Finally, underclass included the poorest and most outcast members of society.

Another American sociologist B. Barber stratified on six indicators :

Prestige, profession, power and might;

Income level;

The level of education;

The degree of religiosity;

The position of relatives;

Ethnicity.

French sociologist A. Touraine believed that all these criteria were already outdated, and proposed to define groups on access to information. The dominant position, in his opinion, is occupied by those people who have access to the greatest amount of information.

P. Sorokin singled out three criteria stratification:

Income level (rich and poor);

Political status (those with and without power);

Professional roles (teachers, engineers, doctors, etc.).

T. Parsons supplemented these signs with new ones criteria :

quality characteristics inherent in people from birth (nationality, gender, family ties);

role characteristics (position, level of knowledge; professional training, etc.);

"characteristics of possession" (possession of property, material and spiritual values, privileges, etc.).

In modern post-industrial society, it is customary to single out four main stratification variables :

Income level;

Attitude to power;

The prestige of the profession;

The level of education.

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, allowances, alimony, fees, deductions from profits. Income is measured in rubles or dollars that an individual receives (individual income) or family (family income). Incomes are most often spent on maintaining life, but if they are very high, they accumulate and turn into wealth.

Wealth- accumulated income, that is, the amount of cash or embodied money. In the second case, they are called movable (car, yacht, securities, etc.) and immovable (house, works of art, treasures) property. Usually wealth is inherited , which can be received by both working and non-working heirs, and only working ones can receive income. The main wealth 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 subsistence is income, since in the first case, if there is wealth, it is insignificant, and in the second it is not at all. Wealth allows you not to work, and its absence forces you to work for the sake of wages.

Wealth and income are unevenly distributed and signify economic inequality. Sociologists interpret it as an indicator that different groups of the population have unequal life chances. They buy different quantities and different qualities of food, clothing, housing, etc. But in addition to the obvious economic advantages, the wealthy have hidden privileges. The poor have shorter lives (even if they enjoy all the benefits of medicine), less educated children (even if they go to the same public schools), and so on.

Education measured by the number of years of study in a public or private school or university.

Power measured by the number of people affected by the decision. The essence of power is the ability to impose one's will against the will of others. In a complex society, power is institutionalized , that is, protected by laws and tradition, surrounded by privileges and wide access to social benefits, allows you to make decisions that are vital for society, including laws that, as a rule, are beneficial to the upper class. In all societies, people who hold some form of power—political, economic, or religious—make up an institutionalized elite. . It determines the domestic and foreign policy of the state, directing it in a direction that is beneficial to itself, which other classes are deprived of.

Three scales of stratification - income, education and power - have completely objective units of measurement: dollars, years, people. Prestige stands outside this series, since it is a subjective indicator. Prestige - respect, which in public opinion is enjoyed by this or that profession, position, occupation.

The generalization of these criteria makes it possible to represent the process of social stratification as a multifaceted stratification of people and groups in society on the grounds of owning (or not owning) property, power, certain levels of education and training, ethnic characteristics, gender and age characteristics, sociocultural criteria, political positions, social statuses. and roles.

Can be distinguished nine types of historical stratification systems , which can be used to describe any social organism, namely:

Physico-genetic,

slaveholding,

caste,

estate,

Etacratic

Socio-professional,

class,

cultural and symbolic,

Cultural and normative.

All nine types of stratification systems are nothing more than "ideal types". Any real society is their complex mixture, combination. In reality, stratification types are intertwined and complement each other.

basis of the first type physical-genetic stratification system – lies the differentiation of social groups according to "natural", socio-demographic characteristics. Here, the attitude towards a person or group is determined by gender, age and the presence of certain physical qualities - strength, beauty, dexterity. Accordingly, the weaker, those with physical disabilities are considered defective and occupy a humbled social position. Inequality is affirmed in this case by the existence of the threat of physical violence or its actual use, and then fixed in customs and rituals. This "natural" stratification system dominated the primitive community, but continues to be reproduced to this day. It is especially strong in communities struggling for physical survival or expansion of their living space.

The second stratification system - slaveholding – 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. Certain social groups have been completely deprived of these rights and, moreover, along with things, have been turned into an object of private property. Moreover, this position is most often inherited and thus fixed in generations. Examples of slaveholding systems are quite diverse. This is ancient slavery, where the number of slaves sometimes exceeded the number of free citizens, and servility in Russia during the Russkaya Pravda, and plantation slavery in the south of the North American United States before the civil war of 1861-1865, this is, finally, the work of prisoners of war and deported persons on German private farms during World War II.

The third type of stratification system - caste . It is based on ethnic differences, which, in turn, are reinforced by the religious order and religious rituals. Each caste is a closed, as far as possible, endogamous group, which is assigned a strictly defined place in the social hierarchy. This place appears as a result of the isolation of the functions of each caste in the system of division of labor. There is a clear list of occupations that members of a particular caste can engage in: priestly, military, agricultural. Since the position in the caste system is inherited, the possibilities of social mobility are extremely limited here. And the stronger caste is expressed, the more closed this society turns out to be. India is rightfully considered a classic example of a society dominated by the caste system (legally, this system was abolished here only in 1950). There were 4 main castes in India : Brahmins (priests) kshatriyas (warriors) vaishyas (merchants) sudras (workers and peasants) and about 5 thousand minor castes And podcast . The untouchables, who were not part of the castes and occupied the lowest social position, stood out in particular. Today, although in a smoother form, the caste system is reproduced not only in India, but, for example, in the clan system of the Central Asian states.

The fourth type is represented estate stratification system . In this system, groups differ in legal rights, which, in turn, are strictly related to their duties and are directly dependent on these duties. Moreover, the latter imply obligations to the state, enshrined in law. Some classes are obliged to carry out military or bureaucratic service, others - "tax" in the form of taxes or labor duties. Examples of developed estate systems are feudal Western European societies or feudal Russia. So, class division is, first of all, a legal, and not an ethnic-religious or economic division. It is also important that belonging to a class is inherited, contributing to the relative closeness of this system.

Some similarity with the estate system is observed in representing the fifth type of etacratic system (from French and Greek - "state power"). In it, differentiation between groups occurs, first of all, according to their position in the power-state hierarchies (political, military, economic), according to the possibilities of mobilizing and distributing resources, as well as according to the privileges that these groups are able to derive from their positions of power. The degree of material well-being, the style of life of social groups, as well as the prestige they feel, are connected here with the formal ranks that these groups occupy in the respective power hierarchies. All other differences - demographic and religious-ethnic, economic and cultural - play a secondary role. The scale and nature of differentiation (volumes of power) in the etacratic system are under the control of the state bureaucracy. At the same time, hierarchies can be fixed formally legally - through bureaucratic tables of ranks, military regulations, assignment of categories government agencies, - and may remain outside the sphere of state legislation (a good example is the system of the Soviet party nomenklatura, the principles of which are not spelled out in any laws). The formal freedom of members of society (with the exception of dependence on the state), the absence of automatic inheritance of positions of power also distinguish etacratic system from the class system. Etacratic system manifests itself with the greater force, the more authoritarian character the state government assumes.

In line with socio-professional stratification system groups are divided according to the content and conditions of their work. A special role is played by the qualification requirements for a particular professional role - the possession of relevant experience, skills and abilities. Approval and maintenance of hierarchical orders in this system is carried out with the help of certificates (diplomas, grades, licenses, patents), fixing the level of qualification and ability to perform certain types of activities. The validity of qualification certificates is supported by the power of the state or some other sufficiently powerful corporation (professional workshop). Moreover, these certificates are most often not inherited, although there are exceptions in history. The socio-professional division is one of the basic stratification systems, various examples of which can be found in any society with any developed division of labor. This is a system of craft workshops of a medieval city and a bit grid in a modern state industry, a system of certificates and diplomas of education received, a system of scientific degrees and titles that open the way to more prestigious jobs.

The seventh type is represented by the most popular class system . The class approach is often opposed to the stratification approach. But class division is only a particular case of social stratification. In the socio-economic interpretation, classes represent social groups of politically and legally free citizens. The differences between these groups lie in the nature and extent of ownership of the means of production and the product produced, as well as in the level of income received and personal material well-being. Unlike many previous types, belonging to classes - bourgeois, proletarians, independent farmers, etc. - is not regulated by the highest authorities, is not established by law and is not inherited (property and capital are transferred, but not the status itself). IN pure form the class system does not contain any internal formal partitions at all (economic prosperity automatically transfers you to a higher group).

Another stratification system can be conditionally called cultural and symbolic . Differentiation arises here from differences in access to socially significant information, unequal opportunities to filter and interpret this information, and the ability to be a bearer of sacred knowledge (mystical or scientific). In ancient times, this role was assigned to priests, magicians and shamans, in the Middle Ages - to church ministers, interpreters of sacred texts, who make up the bulk of the literate population, in modern times - to scientists, technocrats and party ideologists. Claims to communicate with divine forces, to possess the truth, to express the state interest have existed always and everywhere. And a higher position in this regard is occupied by those who have the best opportunities to manipulate the consciousness and actions of other members of society, who can prove their rights to true understanding better than others, who own the best symbolic capital.

Finally, the last, ninth type of stratification system should be called cultural and normative . Here, differentiation is built on differences in respect and prestige that arise from a comparison of the way of life and the norms of behavior followed by a given person or group. Attitudes towards physical and mental labor, consumer tastes and habits, manners of communication and etiquette, a special language (professional terminology, local dialect, criminal jargon) - all this forms the basis of social division. Moreover, there is not only a distinction between “us” and “them”, but also a ranking of groups (“noble - ignoble”, “decent - dishonorable”, “elite - ordinary people- bottom).

The concept of stratification (from Latin stratum - layer, layer) denotes the stratification of society, differences in social status its members. Social stratification is a system of social inequality, consisting of hierarchically arranged social strata (strata). All people belonging to a particular stratum occupy approximately the same position and have common status characteristics.

Stratification criteria

Different sociologists explain the causes of social inequality and, consequently, social stratification in different ways. Thus, according to the Marxist school of sociology, inequality is based on property relations, the nature, degree and form of ownership of the means of production. According to the functionalists (K. Davis, W. Moore), the distribution of individuals by social strata depends on the importance of their professional activities and the contribution that they make with their work to achieve the goals of society. Proponents of the exchange theory (J. Homans) believe that inequality in society arises due to the unequal exchange of the results of human activity.

A number of classic sociologists considered the problem of stratification more broadly. For example, M. Weber, in addition to economic (attitude to property and income level), additionally proposed such criteria as social prestige (inherited and acquired status) and belonging to certain political circles, hence power, authority and influence.

One of the creators of the theory of stratification, P. Sorokin, identified three types of stratification structures:

§ economic (according to the criteria of income and wealth);

§ political (according to the criteria of influence and power);

§ professional (according to the criteria of mastery, professional skills, successful performance of social roles).

The founder of structural functionalism T. Parsons proposed three groups of differentiating features:

§ qualitative characteristics of people that they possess from birth (ethnicity, family ties, gender and age characteristics, personal qualities and abilities);

§ role characteristics determined by a set of roles performed by an individual in society (education, position, various types of professional and labor activity);

§ characteristics due to the possession of material and spiritual values ​​(wealth, property, privileges, the ability to influence and manage other people, etc.).

In modern sociology, it is customary to distinguish the following main criteria for social stratification:

§ income - the amount of cash receipts for a certain period (month, year);

§ wealth - accumulated income, i.e. the amount of cash or embodied money (in the second case, they act in the form of movable or immovable property);

§ power - the ability and ability to exercise one's will, to exert a decisive influence on the activities of other people through various means (authority, law, violence, etc.). Power is measured by the number of people it extends to;

§ education - a set of knowledge, skills and abilities acquired in the learning process. The level of education is measured by the number of years of education;

§ prestige - a public assessment of the attractiveness, significance of a particular profession, position, a certain type of occupation.

Despite the variety of different models of social stratification currently existing in sociology, most scientists distinguish three main classes: the highest, the middle and the lowest. At the same time, the share of the upper class in industrialized societies is approximately 5-7%; middle - 60-80% and lower - 13-35%.

In a number of cases, sociologists make a certain division within each class. Thus, the American sociologist W.L. Warner (1898-1970), in his famous study of Yankee City, identified six classes:

§ upper-upper class (representatives of influential and wealthy dynasties with significant resources of power, wealth and prestige);

§ lower-upper class (“new rich” - bankers, politicians who do not have a noble origin and did not have time to create powerful role-playing clans);

§ upper-middle class (successful businessmen, lawyers, entrepreneurs, scientists, managers, doctors, engineers, journalists, cultural and art figures);

§ lower-middle class (employees - engineers, clerks, secretaries, employees and other categories, which are commonly called "white collars");

§ upper-lower class (workers engaged mainly in physical labor);

§ lower-lower class (beggars, unemployed, homeless, foreign workers, declassed elements).

There are other schemes of social stratification. But they all boil down to the following: non-basic classes arise by adding strata and layers that are inside one of the main classes - rich, wealthy and poor.

Thus, social stratification is based on natural and social inequality between people, which manifests itself in their social life and has a hierarchical character. It is sustainably supported and regulated by various social institutions, constantly reproduced and modified, which is an important condition for the functioning and development of any society.

The stratification of society occurs with the application of several factors: income, wealth, power and prestige.

1. Income can be described as the amount of money that a family or a certain individual received in a certain period of time. Such money includes: wages, alimony, pensions, fees, etc.

2. Wealth is the ability to own property (movable and immovable), or the presence of accumulated income in the form of cash. This is the main feature of all the rich. They can either work or not work in order to get their wealth, because the share of wages in their general condition is not large. For the lower and middle classes, it is income that is the main source for further existence. The presence of wealth makes it possible not to work, and its absence forces people to go to work for the sake of a salary.

3. Power exercises the ability to impose their wishes, not taking into account the will of others. In modern society, all power is subject to regulation by laws and traditions. People who have access to it can freely use a wide range of various social benefits, have the right to make decisions that, in their opinion, are important for society, including laws (which are often beneficial to the upper class).

4. Prestige is the degree of respect in society for a particular profession. On the basis of these bases for the division of society, the aggregate socio-economic status is determined. In another way, it can be called the place of a certain person in society.

Main types of social stratification

Inequality or stratification arose gradually, accompanying the birth of human society. Its initial form was already present in the primitive mode. The tightening of stratification occurred during the creation of early states due to the creation of a new class - slaves.

1. Slavery.

2. Caste system

3. Estates

Slavery, castes and estates characterize a closed society, i.e. social movements from the lower strata to the higher strata are either completely prohibited or significantly restricted.
Classes characterize open society, in which movement from one stratum to another is officially unrestricted.

Slavery is the first historical system of stratification. It arose in ancient times in China, Egypt, Babylon, Rome, Greece and existed in many countries up to the present. Slavery is a social, economic and legal form enslavement of people. Slavery often deprived a person of any rights at all and bordered on an extreme degree of inequality.

The softening of stratification occurred with the gradual liberalization of views. For example, during this period, in countries with the Hindu religion, a new division of society is created - into castes. Castes are social groups, a member of which a person became only because he was born from representatives of one or another stratum (caste). Such a person was deprived for the rest of his life of the right to move to another caste, from the one in which he was born. There are 4 main castes: shurds - peasants, vaishyas - merchants, kshatriyas - warriors and brahmins - priests. In addition to them, there are still about 5 thousand castes and a podcast.

All the most prestigious professions and privileged positions are held by the wealthy stratum of the population. Usually their work is connected with mental activity and management of the lower parts of society. Their examples are presidents, kings, leaders, kings, political leaders, scientists, politicians, artists. They are the highest rung in society.

In modern society, the middle class can be considered lawyers, qualified employees, teachers, doctors, as well as the middle and petty bourgeoisie. The lowest layer can be considered the poor, unemployed and unskilled workers. Between the middle and the lower one can still distinguish one class in the composition, which often includes representatives of the working class.

Rich people, as members of the upper class, tend to have the highest levels of education and have the most access to power. The poor miles of the population are often quite limited by the level of power, up to the complete lack of the right to govern. They also have a low level of education and low income.

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There are different types of social structures:

1. Socio-demographic - the whole society can be divided into groups according to similar characteristics. By sex, age and education

2. Socio-ethnic. Difference by nationality

3. Social-territorial

4. Social class. Class membership

5. Religious, confessional

That. the social structure of society is a heterogeneous phenomenon, i.e. each individual at one moment of time is simultaneously included in a whole set of social communities.

Social stratification

Social differentiation is the division of society (individuals) according to various criteria. The signs that distinguish one person from another are innumerable. But some of these signs do not lead to inequality between people, but some do: power, education, prosperity, prestige. They talk about social differentiation when they consider signs that do not affect inequality, and when we talk about stratification, the opposite is true.

In developed Western societies, these 4 features complement each other. But in Russia it is not so. Therefore, stratification in Russia differs from stratification in other countries.

social mobility

Social mobility is the transition of individuals and groups from one stratum to another (vertical mobility) or within one stratum (horizontal mobility).

Horizontal mobility: moving to another city, changing marital status, changing profession (with the same income level). Vertical mobility implies either an increase or decrease in social mobility.

There are vertical upward and downward mobility. As a rule, upward mobility is voluntary, while downward mobility is forced.

Mobility is individual and group.

Two main types of str. System:

1. Pyramidal - developing countries

2. Rhomboid - Europe

They reflect the distribution of strata in society

A - the highest stratum, the elite (no more than 3%). The elite is economic, political, spiritual, scientific, and sometimes it is a combination.

C - the lowest layer - people with a low level of education, income, culture. It is heterogeneous in composition.

Anderslass is an underclass class. It includes vagrants, criminals. It is located at the very bottom of the pyramid.

B - the middle layer, the middle class.

middle layer. Middle class.

For the first time, the middle strata were mentioned by Aristotle, who argued that the larger the middle strata, the more stable society will develop.

In a capitalist society, peasants, artisans and the intelligentsia (stratum) were referred to the middle stratum.

On the currently The middle layer performs a number of important functions in society:

1. Social stabilizer function. People belonging to this layer tend to support the existing social order.

2. The function of an economic donor. This is the bulk that provides life and services. They are also the main consumers. These are taxpayers, investors.

3. The middle layer is a cultural integrator, because is the bearer of cultural values ​​traditional for this society

4. The function of the administrative-executive regulator. It is from the middle layer that the authorities of all levels are formed, representatives of the middle layer (middle managers) - a source of resources for personnel in the municipal and other areas.

The middle layer is not homogeneous. It distinguishes groups in Western societies:

1. Old middle class. It includes small and medium-sized businesses.

2. New middle class. It includes highly qualified specialists, employees and highly qualified workers.

Criteria for identifying the middle class in Russia:

1. Income level. In the US, over $2,000 per month. In the countries of Western Europe + -5%. In Russia, higher than the average for the region (19-20 thousand)

2. Education and cultural values. In Russia, the carriers of cultural values ​​80%. Higher education only 25%

3. Self-reference - 60%.

A full-fledged middle stratum in Russia is small, but there are so-called proto-middle strata (which can transform into a middle one)

Social communities

Definition (see the topic of society).

Characteristics of social communities:

1. Social communities really exist. Their existence can be empirically fixed and verified.

2. Social community has system properties.

3. Social communities are independent subjects of social interactions.

Classification of social communities:

Commons can be classified in several ways:

1. According to the basic system-forming feature:

1) Social demographic (husbands and wives)

2) Social ethnic

3) Social professional (example - railway workers)

4) Social-territorial

5) Cultural, etc.

2. By size:

1) Large: nation, nationality

2) Intermediate: SSU students

3) Small: family, team

3. By duration of existence

1) Group or social groups. They are more or less stable. They have direct personal interactions. There are criteria for membership in them: you yourself are aware of yourself as a member of a particular one and the rest recognize it. Small groups: from 2 to 15-20. The main criterion for a small group is direct interaction. If they don't interact, then it's already middle group. Large groups6 demographic, ethnic

2) Bulk. They are characterized by a situational mode of existence, the absence of a clear structure, and a short existence. They are large, medium and small. Small is, for example, the queue in the store. The average communities are the crowd, the spectators of the cinema, the football match. Large communities: viewers of the 1st channel, fans of the singer or singer.

Groups are:

1. Primary - the immediate environment of the individual. These are usually informal groups. These include family, friends, neighbors

2. Secondary - formal groups. They are medium or large in size. This is, for example, a university, a production organization, etc.

Reference groups - a group to which the individual does not belong, but it is a standard, model, ideal for the individual, and the individual either wants to get into this group very much (then it is a positive reference group), or the individual really does not want to go there (negative reference group) .

Groups are divided into formal and informal. Formal groups are registered with authorities. It can be organizations, parties, associations. Informal groups are not registered and relationships are built on the basis of personal likes and dislikes.

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Social institutions

Each person is subject to the influence of society, which is through social institutions. This impact is not realized by a person, it is universal and sometimes the category “sociality” is replaced by the term “institutional”. It is believed that social institutions arose along with the emergence of society. Social institutions for a person compensate for the lack of instincts. There are no institutions in the animal world, and they are not needed there, because regulation is provided by powerful innate instincts. Animals do not need training, maintaining norms. Therefore, a number of institutions are emerging.

A social institution is understood as a set of socially significant values, norms, rules of conduct, patterns and models of behavior, social statuses and roles that satisfy basic social needs.

Key or fundamental institutions 5:

1. Institute of the family. Satisfies a range of needs. The key is the reproduction of society.

2. Political institutions. There are many of them, one of the key ones is the state.

3. Economic and social institutions. Economic: market, capitalism, money, etc.

4. Educational: institute of higher, secondary, vocational education, institute of governorship, etc.

5. Religious institutions.

In the event of the disappearance of social need (dactualization), the institution may exist for some time, but it inevitably ceases to function.

Social institutions cannot be identified with social groups and organizations. They are constituent parts of the institution, but its key element is norms and values. Belonging to a particular institution can be judged by the presence of a certain social status.

The process of forming an institution is called institutionalization. It consists of the following steps:

1. The emergence of a need, the satisfaction of which requires joint organized action. If the need can be organized by one person, then the institution does not arise.

2. Formation of common goals.

3. The emergence of norms and rules during natural social interactions by trial and error.

4. The emergence of procedures, rituals, patterns of behavior associated with norms and rules.

5. Consolidation of norms and rules, their adoption and practical application.

6. The emergence and consolidation of a system of norms and sanctions that guarantee the implementation of norms. Sanctions are both positive and negative. Negatives are responsible for breaking the rules.

7. Creation of a system of statuses and roles covering all members and institutions without exception.

CHOOSE ANY SOCIAL INSTITUTION AND LIST ALL ITS MAIN COMPONENTS OR COMPONENTS: NEEDS WHICH IT SATISFIES, NORMS, PUBLIC VALUES, SANCTIONS FOR VIOLATION OF THESE NORMS AND THE SYSTEM OF STATUSES AND ROLES WHICH THIS IS DESCRIBED.

Functions of social institutions.

They are divided into explicit and hidden or latent.

Latent functions are individual for each institution. Explicit common functions for all institutions include:

1. The function of consolidation and reproduction of social relations. It is implemented: each institution has a system of norms and rules that consolidate, standardize human behavior and make it predictable.

2. Regulatory. Institutions regulate people's behavior through the development of patterns of behavior.

3. Integrative function. It consists in uniting people on the basis of common social institutions for them.

4. Broadcasting function. Transfer of social experience to each subsequent generation.

5. Communicative. It consists in the dissemination of information within the social institution and in the exchange of information between social institutions.

Social organizations

The term organization has three meanings:

1. Activities to develop certain norms and rules for the interaction and coordination of the efforts of individuals or groups.

2. Object properties have a complex ordered structure.

3. Target group of an institutional nature, with clear boundaries and focused on the implementation of certain functions.

In a traditional society, this role is played by communities, while in an industrial and post-industrial society, organizations play this role.

Organizations can be classified in various ways.

1. By size: large, medium, small.

2. By field of activity: trade, manufacturing, educational, medical, etc.

3. Fregozhin identified 4 types of organizations: business (characterized by the fact that membership in such organizations brings income to a person), allied or associative (participation in them does not bring income to a person, but satisfies other needs: cultural, religious, political), family, territorial-settlement organizations.

4. According to the method of structure: linear (army), functional (some construction organizations), project (there is no stable structure and working groups are formed according to certain orders), matrix (synthesis of the project and functional structure), divisional (organizations with branches), mixed or conglomerative (include many functions in the seed)

28.11.2011.

1. Sociology of personality

1. The concepts of "man", "individual" and "personality".

The term "man" is used to refer to the qualities and abilities inherent in all people. A person is understood as a biosocial being with biogenic and sociogenic features.

An individual is a separate specific representative of the human race, possessing a unique set of qualities and characteristics. All people are different and therefore each person has an individuality.

The term "personality" is studied by many sciences. The main one is psychology.

Personality is the integrity of the social properties of a person, a product of social development and the inclusion of an individual in the system of social relations through active objective activity and communication. In order for an individual to become a person, two conditions must be present:

1. Biologically, genetically predetermined prerequisites

2. The presence of a social environment and interaction or contact with it.

There are several theories of personality in sociology that explain its structure and behavior:

1) Our idea of ​​how others see me.

2) Our idea of ​​how other people react to what they see.

3) Our response to the perceived reaction of others. J

If the image that we see in the mirror is favorable, our "I" - the concept is reinforced and actions are repeated, if this image is not favorable, "I" - the concept is revised, and the behavior is changed.

3. Status-role. Author: Merton. Each person simultaneously has a set of social positions, which are called statuses. This collection is called the status set. Statuses are divided into 2 main groups: social (belonging to a large social group: student, professor), personal (friend, family). In this whole set, the main or basic one can be distinguished. Most often it is associated with the main type of activity. Statuses are achieved and assigned.

Assigned status is given upon reaching a specific age, but this happens automatically without human intervention.

Achievable requires at least minimal action. Example: student.

For each status there is a certain image (a set of manners of behavior, speech). Each status corresponds to a certain model of behavior, called a social role. Social role is described in two aspects:

role expectations - behavior expected from a person holding a certain social position,

role behavior - real behavior.

If they do not match, then there is a role conflict. The success of the performance of a particular social role depends on:

1. Correct assimilation of role expectations. If they are formed incorrectly, then his role behavior will be mixed.

2. Compliance of individual characteristics with the requirements of the role. Sensitivity to the requirements of the role.

Personal socialization is the process of becoming a person by mastering the main set of spiritual values ​​by an individual, as well as the process of adaptation to the social environment, awareness of one's place and role in society.

There are two main stages of socialization:

1. Primary. Covers two stages of growing up: childhood and adolescence

2. Secondary. Covers two periods: maturity and old age.

Socialization never ends and proceeds throughout a person's life, but differs at different stages. In the process of primary socialization, the individual is able to build norms and values ​​into the personality structure. In the secondary process, there is a change in external behavior, while the structure remains unchanged.

Smelse identifies three main stages of primary socialization:

1. The stage of imitation and copying of adult behavior by children

2. Game. Children are aware of behavior as the performance of a role.

3. Group game stage. Children begin to understand what the group expects from them.

Allocate agents of primary and secondary socialization. Primary agents: family, friends, i.e. closest social circle. Secondary: school, labor collective, mass media.

Sociology of the family

The family in sociology is considered in two aspects:

1. As a small group. We are talking about specific families.

A family is an association of people based on great kinship or adoption, connected by a common life and mutual responsibility for raising children. The family includes three systems of relationships

1) Matrimony, marriage

2) Parenthood

3) Kinship.

2. Social Institute.

The family is a social institution for the reproduction and development of social status, spiritual and physical values, social health, well-being of individuals and society as a whole.

Family types: nuclear family, contracted family, and extended and extended family

Traditional family, neotraditional family, matriarchal family, egolitarian family.

Family functions (at least 5)

Social control (29.30) - independently.