Under the social structure is understood the stratification and hierarchical organization of various strata of society, as well as the totality of institutions and relations between them.
strata- large groups of people who differ in their position in the social structure of society.
Cause social stratification is a natural and social inequality.
Inequality- this is an uneven distribution of the scarce resources of society - money, power, education, prestige between different strata.
Historical types of stratification systems
| Name | Essence | The nature of society |
| Slavery | a form of the most rigid fixing of people in the lower strata. A slave is a talking tool, the property of another person, deprived of all rights and freedoms |
"Closed society", social movements from the lower strata to the higher strata are either prohibited or significantly limited |
| caste | lifelong assignment of a person to a certain stratum on an ethnic or religious basis Membership in the caste of a person is determined only by birth, is inherited, strict regulation. There is no social mobility. For example, in ancient India there were four main castes: a) brahmins - priests; b) kshatriyas - warriors; c) vaishyas - merchants; d) Shudras - peasants, artisans, workers. A special position was occupied by the Chandalas - untouchables who did not belong to any caste and occupied the lowest position. |
|
| class | The division of people into groups - classes that have rights and obligations enshrined in law or custom and privileges that are inherited (nobility, clergy, Cossacks, peasantry). Belonging to a certain class could be acquired for money, bestowed by the authorities for service | |
| class | The division of people into large groups, differing in their place in a historically defined system social production, in their relation to the means of production, in 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. 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 dependent peasants; c) the bourgeoisie and the proletariat; d) middle class |
« open society»: social movements from one stratum to another are free |
Since any social structure is the totality of all functioning social communities taken in their interaction, the following elements can be distinguished in it:
Social mobility is a change in the place occupied by an individual or a group of people in society.
Social elevators(channels social mobility) - social institutions that promote social mobility: marriage, professional activity, education, army, media, party activities.
Types of social mobility:
- individual and group;
- intergenerational and intragenerational;
- organized and spontaneous;
- structural - caused by changes in the structure of the economy;
The Importance of Social Mobility
| positive value | Negative Consequences |
| for a person | |
| - realization of personal qualities of a person; - development of a realistic self-assessment; - selection of more realistic goals; - there are opportunities to create new groups, new ideas, new experiences |
- the individual loses his group affiliation, becomes a marginal, he now needs to adapt to a new group; - manifestation of tension in relationships with other people |
| for society as a whole | |
| - stagnation in the social structure of society is prevented, the elite is being renewed; - contributes to intellectual and scientific progress, forms new values and social movements; - society is freed from obsolete elements |
- increases social tension, causes conflicts; - destabilizes society; - social ties are broken |
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 younger member of the family, 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 the caste system. 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. Usually in society there are privileged and unprivileged classes. For example, in Western Europe, the first group included the nobility and clergy (in France they were called that - the first estate and the second estate) to the second - artisans, merchants and peasants. In Russia until 1917, in addition to the privileged (the nobility, the clergy) and the unprivileged (the peasantry), there were also semi-privileged estates (for example, the Cossacks).
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 of social production, in their relationship (for the most part fixed and formalized in laws) to the means of production, according to their role in the social organization of 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 is 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.
Qualitative changes taking place in the economic basis of modern Russian society have led to serious changes in its social structure. 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 clerical workers and public sector workers (teachers and doctors in state and municipal institutions). It should be noted that the process of social mobility between these levels in Russia is limited, which may become one of the prerequisites for future conflicts in society.
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.
People unite in the course of their life activity, and human society is a multitude of different social communities and groups.
A social community is a real-life, empirically fixed set of people, characterized by relative integrity and acting as an independent subject of historical and social action.
Signs of social community
similarity of living conditions.
Generality of needs.
Availability joint activities.
Formation of own culture.
Social identification of community members, their self-assignment to this community.
Social communities are distinguished by an unusual variety of specific forms and types. They may vary:
- by quantitative composition: from a few individuals to numerous masses;
- by duration of existence: from minutes and hours (for example, train passengers, theater audience) to centuries and millennia (for example, ethnic groups (from gr. ethnos - people, nation);
- according to the degree of connection between individuals: from relatively stable associations to very amorphous, random formations (for example, a queue, a crowd, an audience of listeners, fans of football teams), which are called “quasi-groups” (lat. quasi - supposedly, imaginary), or “social aggregations." They are characterized by the fragility of relationships between contacting people.
Social communities are divided into stable (for example, a nation) and short-term (for example, passengers on a bus).
Types of social communities
Class communities and layers.
historical forms community.
Socio-demographic communities.
corporate communities.
Ethnic and territorial communities.
Communities that have developed depending on the interests of individuals.
In general, the whole set of real social communities can be divided into two large subclasses: mass and group (social groups).
Social groups are stable aggregates of people who have different, only their inherent characteristics (social status, interests, value orientations).
The emergence of social groups, firstly, is associated with the social division of labor and specialization of activities, and secondly, is caused by the historical diversity of living conditions, culture, social norms and values.
Collectively, social groups form the social structure of society.
The social structure of a society is the internal structure of a society or a social group, ordered by certain norms for the interaction of parts. The social structure organizes society into a single whole.
As already noted, in addition to the concept of "group", in sociology there is the concept of "quasi-group".
A quasi-group is an unstable informal set of people, united, as a rule, by one or very few types of interaction, having an indefinite structure and a system of values and norms.
There are the following kinds of quasigroup:
- audience - an association of people led by a communicator (for example, a concert or radio audience). Here there is such a type of social connections as the transmission-reception of information directly or with the help of technical means;
- fan group - an association of people based on a fanatical commitment to a sports team, rock band or religious cult;
- crowd - a temporary gathering of people united by some interest or idea.
Main properties of quasigroups:
+ Anonymity
+ Suggestibility
+ Social contagion
+ Unconsciousness
IN modern conditions When a huge amount of work is required to coordinate activities and resources, the importance of organizations increases.
An organization is a large association of people acting on the basis of non-personal connections, created to achieve specific goals (hospitals, educational establishments, firms, financial companies, banks, government agencies, etc.). Organizations are, for the most part, "designed" - established for specific purposes, located in buildings or physical spaces specially designed to help achieve those goals.
Groups and organizations directly influence human behavior. This influence can be both positive and negative.
The impact of a small group on a person
positive
Relationships that develop in a group teach a person to comply with existing social norms, form value orientations that are assimilated by a person.
In a group, a person improves his communication skills
From the members of the group, a person receives information that allows him to correctly perceive and evaluate himself. The group gives a person self-confidence, supplies him with a system of positive emotions necessary for his development.
negative
The goals of the group are achieved by infringing on the interests of its individual members to the detriment of the interests of the whole society, i.e., there is a group egoism
The impact that the group usually has on gifted creative individuals: their original ideas were rejected by the majority because they were incomprehensible, and extraordinary personalities themselves were held back, suppressed in their development, persecuted
Sometimes a person goes into an internal conflict and behaves conformally (lat. conformis - similar), that is, consciously disagreeing with other people, nevertheless agrees with them, based on some considerations
Thus, despite the fact that real society is made up of people, separate individuals, social groups are the true subjects of social relations.
Youth is a socio-demographic group identified on the basis of a combination of age characteristics (approximately from 16 to 25 years), social status and certain socio-psychological qualities.
Youth is a period of choosing a profession and one's place in life, developing a worldview and life values, choosing a life partner, creating a family, achieving economic independence and socially responsible behavior.
Youth is a certain phase, stage of the human life cycle and is biologically universal.
Features of the social status of youth
- Transitivity of the position.
- High level of mobility.
- Mastering new social roles (worker, student, citizen, family man) associated with a change in status.
- Active search for your place in life.
- Favorable professional and career prospects.
Young people are the most active, mobile and dynamic part of the population, free from stereotypes and prejudices of previous years and possessing the following socio-psychological qualities: mental instability; internal inconsistency; low level of tolerance (from lat. tolerantia - patience); the desire to stand out, to be different from the rest; the existence of a specific youth subculture.
Typical for young people is the association in informal groups, which are characterized by the following features:
- emergence on the basis of spontaneous communication in the specific conditions of the social situation;
- self-organization and independence from official structures;
- obligatory for the participants and different from the typical, accepted in society, models of behavior that are aimed at the realization of vital needs that are not satisfied in ordinary forms (they are aimed at self-affirmation, giving social status, gaining security and prestigious self-esteem);
- relative stability, a certain hierarchy among group members;
- expression of other value orientations or even worldview, stereotypes of behavior that are uncharacteristic of society as a whole;
- attributes that emphasize belonging to a given community.
Youth groups and movements can be classified depending on the characteristics of youth initiatives.
Aggressive amateur performance
It is based on the most primitive ideas about the hierarchy of values based on the cult of persons. Primitivism, visibility of self-affirmation. Popular among teenagers and young people with a minimum level of intellectual and cultural development.
Outrageous (fr. epater - to amaze, surprise) amateur performance
It is based on a challenge to norms, canons, rules, opinions both in everyday, material forms of life - clothing, hair, and in spiritual ones - art, science. “Challenge” aggression on yourself from other people so that you are “noticeable” (punk style, etc.)
Alternative amateur performance
It is based on the development of alternative behavioral patterns that are systemically contradictory to generally accepted models of behavior, which become an end in itself (hippies, Hare Krishnas, etc.)
Social initiative
Aimed at solving specific social problems(environmental movements, movements for the revival and preservation of cultural and historical heritage, etc.)
Political amateur performance
Aimed at changing the political system and the political situation in accordance with the ideas of a particular group
The acceleration of the pace of development of society causes an increase in the role of young people in public life. Involving in social relations, young people modify them and, under the influence of the transformed conditions, improve themselves.
Along with classes, estates and other groups, the social structure of society is also made up of historically established communities, called ethnic ones. Ethnic groups are large groups of people who have a common culture, language, consciousness of the indissolubility of historical destiny. Among ethnic communities, tribes, nationalities and nations are distinguished. A nation is the historically highest form of an ethno-social community of people, characterized by the unity of territory, economic life, historical path, language, culture, ethnicity, self-consciousness. The unity of the territory should be understood as the compactness of the population of the nation. Representatives of the nation speak and write the same language, understandable (despite the dialects) to all members of the nation. Each nation has its own folklore, customs, traditions, mentality (special stereotypes of mind set), national way of life, etc., i.e. own culture. The unity of the nation is also facilitated by the common historical path traveled by each nation. National self-consciousness is understood as a reflection of the consciousness of a nation in the individual consciousness of its members, expressing the assimilation by the latter of ideas about the place and role of their people in the world, about their historical experience. A person is aware of his national identity, his belonging to a particular nation, understands national interests. Common economic life plays a special role among the characteristics of a nation. On the basis of the development of commodity-money relations, natural isolation and isolation are being destroyed, a single national market is taking shape, and economic ties between the individual parts of the nation are growing stronger. This creates a solid basis for its unity. An important factor in the formation and development of the nation is the state. Nations are formed during the period of the genesis of commodity-money relations, although a number of scientists trace the history of nations from ancient times. They are preceded by tribe and nationality. The main role in the formation of the tribe is played by blood relations, and the nationality is characterized by a common territory. IN modern world there are from 2500 to 5000 ethnic groups, but only a few hundred of them are nations. As part of the modern Russian Federation more than 100 ethnic groups, including about 30 nations. A nation is an ethnic group or a set of ethnic groups living in a single state, rising to a state way of life. And an ethnos is a pre-state or already intra-state community of people. Therefore, a state can be either monoethnic (for example, Japan) or polyethnic (for example, Russia), and an ethnos, in turn, can be either divided between several states (like the Kurds, for example), or consolidated in one state ( like the Yakuts). At the same time, ethnic groups can be both state-forming (created and preserved the tradition of their statehood) and “nationalized” (those who have adopted statehood from other peoples with whom they live in a common state). But in any case, one thing should be singled out and emphasized: an ethnos (nationality, "nationality") is either still a pre-state (a potential subject of state life), or already a subject of state life - its own, original or common with other ethnic groups. And it is precisely by its attitude to state life that, first of all, an ethnos differs from a nation. There are two interrelated trends in the modern world. One is manifested in the economic, cultural and even political rapprochement of nations, the destruction of national barriers, and ultimately leads to integration within supranational structures (for example, the European Community). On the other hand, the desire of a number of peoples to gain national independence and resist the economic, political and cultural expansion of the superpowers remains and even grows. In almost all states, the positions of nationalist parties and movements are strong, and there are many supporters even of the ideas of national exclusiveness. True, societies mass production and mass consumption by definition cannot be individual. The scientific and technological revolution also requires the deepening of cooperation between different states. But even in developed countries (Canada, Spain, Great Britain), the national question remains acute. The national question is understood as the question of the liberation of the oppressed peoples, their self-determination and the overcoming of ethnic inequality. The roots of the national question lie in the uneven socio-economic and political development of different peoples. More developed and powerful states conquered the weak and backward, establishing a system of national oppression in the conquered countries, sometimes expressed in forced ethnic assimilation and even genocide. After the division of Europe, it was the turn of the "third world". The traditional societies of Asia, Africa, America fell under the onslaught of the European industrial civilization and turned into colonial countries. At the same time, the struggle of dependent peoples against national oppression began. By the end of the XX century. it actually ended with the complete collapse of the colonial system and the formation of many independent states on the political map of the world. But the mismatch of ethnic and territorial boundaries, the deterioration of the economic situation, social contradictions, nationalism and chauvinism elevated to the rank of official policy, the remaining national and religious differences (sometimes quite sharp), the burden of past national grievances are the breeding ground for numerous ethnic conflicts. The degree of their acuteness largely depends on the nature of the demands of the national minority. So the Sikhs in India, the Tamils in Sri Lanka, the Basques in Spain are in favor of creating their own independent states, so the interethnic conflict has turned into a long-term bloody armed confrontation. The nature of the Ulster conflict is the same: the Catholic Irish demand the reunification of Northern Ireland with the main core of the nation. More moderate demands, such as cultural autonomy or the establishment of genuine equality (the Korean minority in Japan), also explain more moderate forms of national confrontation. The collapse of the USSR and the formation of sovereign Russia did not remove the acuteness of the national question in the country. All former autonomous republics of the RSFSR declared their sovereignty and renounced the status of autonomies. In a number of republics (Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Yakutia), nationalist forces headed for secession from Russia. The North Ossetian-Ingush conflict led to a bloody massacre. The Ingush tried to regain the territories taken from them during the Great Patriotic War and not yet returned. To separate the warring parties, the president and the government had to send federal armed forces to the confrontation zone. But the most serious manifestation of the aggravation of interethnic relations on the territory of Russia was and remains the Chechen crisis. Back in 1991, the Republic of Ichkeria (Chechnya) announced its secession from the Russian Federation. The federal authorities did not recognize the self-proclaimed state. but for a long time no measures were taken to normalize the situation. In December 1994, Russian troops entered Chechnya with the aim of "restoring constitutional order." Separatist detachments met with fierce resistance from the federal armed forces. The conflict became protracted and bloody. Chechen fighters committed a number of terrorist acts against civilians in several Russian regions. The government proved unable to resolve the crisis militarily, prompting a wave of protests both in Russia and abroad. The war in Chechnya revealed the weak combat readiness of the Russian army and the unpreparedness of the command of the federal forces to lead military operations in the mountainous regions. The failure of such a strategy made it necessary to resolve the Chechen crisis peacefully. In August 1996, the leadership of the Russian Federation and the separatists agreed on a cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of federal troops from the rebellious republic. Until 2000, the decision on the political status of Chechnya was postponed. However, after an unsuccessful attempt by Chechen fighters in August 1999 to seize a number of districts of Dagestan, the second Chechen campaign began. During the autumn of 1999 - spring 2000, the federal troops, despite sharp criticism of the actions of the Russian authorities by international human rights organizations (for example, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe suspended the powers of the delegation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation), managed to establish control over most of the territory of the republic (with the exception of mountainous regions ). Now on the agenda are the tasks of a political settlement: the restoration of the Chechen economy, the creation of new authorities (in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the Russian Federation), the holding of free and democratic elections, the real integration of Chechnya into the Federation. The national question is also quite acute in the countries of the so-called near abroad. Remaining on the territory of the former Soviet republics, and now independent states, the Russian-speaking population found itself in the position of a national minority. In the Baltic states (especially in Latvia and Estonia), discriminatory laws on citizenship and the state language are adopted, directed against the non-indigenous population. For a long time, the Russian authorities did not take adequate measures to protect our compatriots. A big problem is the numerous Russian refugees from Central Asia, Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan, who returned to their homeland from areas of military conflicts and national intolerance. When solving interethnic conflicts, it is necessary to observe the humanistic principles of policy in the field of national relations: 1) renunciation of violence and coercion; 2) search for consent based on the consensus of all participants; 3) recognition of human rights and freedoms as the most important value; 4) readiness for a peaceful settlement of disputed problems.
Interethnic (interethnic) relations - relations between ethnic groups (peoples), covering all spheres of public life.
Levels of interethnic relations: 1) interaction of peoples in different areas public life; 2) interpersonal relations of people of different ethnicity.
In the modern world, there is an economic, cultural and even political rapprochement (integration) of nations (EU - European Union).
The European Union was formed in 1993 in accordance with the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 on the basis of the European Community, which united 12 countries: Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, France.
In June 2004, the European Constitution was adopted. It caused the disapproval of the Vatican because of the refusal to mention the "Christian roots" of European civilization. In addition, Spain and Poland tried to revise the decision-making process in the EU (instead of the current one, taking into account " specific gravity» economies of member countries, move to a procedure in which the number of votes from each country would be proportional to its population). However, with the coming to power of the Socialist government in Spain, this country abandoned its intentions. The new constitution was signed on October 29, 2004 in Rome. In order for it to enter into force, it must be ratified by the parliaments of all member countries. In some countries, approval was supposed to be obtained through popular referenda. In 2005, referendums in France and the Netherlands rejected the Constitution. In 2009, Ireland and Poland finally supported the Constitution (with some reservations - a ban on abortion).
Another way of interethnic integration was carried out in the United States (the "melting pot" strategy).
"Melting pot" (melting pot) - the concept according to which the United States is a kind of "melting pot" (crucible) that turns representatives of various ethnic groups into just Americans.
Thanks to the constant influx of emigrants, the population of the USA from 1871 to 1913 increased from 39.8 million to 96.5 million people.
Israel Zangwill (1908):
"America ... is a huge melting pot in which all European nations are melted down and transformed."
This metaphor became famous after the play of the same name by the English playwright and writer Israel Zangwill debuted in New York in 1908 with great success, telling about the life of a Jewish family that, fleeing the pogroms, left Russia and found refuge in America.
Ethnic mixing - mixing of different ethnic groups and the emergence of a new ethnic group (Latin America).
Assimilation (from Latin assimilatio - merging, likening, assimilation) - (in ethnography) the merging of one people with another with the loss of one of them of their language, culture, national identity. A distinction is made between natural assimilation arising from the contact of ethnically heterogeneous groups of the population, mixed marriages, etc., and forced assimilation, which is characteristic of countries where nationalities are unequal.
During acculturation, one people learns the norms of another people, but retains its ethnic identity.
Acculturation (lat. accumulare - accumulate + cultura - cultivation) - mutual assimilation and adaptation of various cultures of peoples and individual phenomena of these cultures, in most cases with the dominance of the culture of the people, socially more highly developed.
On the other hand, the desire of peoples to gain national independence (differentiation) and resist the expansion of superpowers is growing.
Multiculturalism is a policy aimed at the development and preservation of cultural differences in a single country and in the world as a whole, and the theory or ideology justifying such a policy.
Multiculturalism is opposed to the concept of a "melting pot", where all cultures are supposed to merge into one.
Nationalism is the ideology, politics, psychology and social practice of separating and opposing one nation to another, propaganda of the national exclusivity of a separate nation.
Types of nationalism: 1) ethnic. 2) sovereign-state, 3) domestic.
Chauvinism - on behalf of N. Chauvin, a soldier, an admirer of the aggressive policy of Napoleon - is an extreme, aggressive form of nationalism.
Discrimination (from Latin discriminatio - distinction) - derogation (actually or legally) of the rights of any group of citizens based on their nationality, race, gender, religion, etc. In the field of international relations - granting citizens and organizations of any state fewer rights and privileges than citizens and organizations of other states.
Segregation (from the late Latin segregatio - separation) is a policy of forced separation of any group of the population on a racial or ethnic basis, one of the forms of racial discrimination.
Apartheid (apartheid) (in Afrikaans apartheid - separate living) is an extreme form of racial discrimination. It means the deprivation of certain groups of the population, depending on their race, of political, socio-economic and civil rights, up to territorial isolation. Modern international law considers apartheid a crime against humanity.
Genocide (from Greek genos - clan, tribe and Latin caedo - I kill) is one of the gravest crimes against humanity, the extermination of certain groups of the population on racial, national, ethnic or religious grounds, as well as the deliberate creation of living conditions designed for full or partial physical extermination of these groups, as well as measures to prevent childbearing in their environment (biological genocide). Such crimes were committed on a mass scale by the Nazis during the 2nd World War, especially against the Slavic and Jewish population.
In Nazi Germany, about 6 million Jews were destroyed in the death camps (Treblinka, Auschwitz). This tragedy is called the Greek word "holocaust" (all destruction through burning).
The Holocaust (holocaust) (English holocaust - from the Greek holokaustos - burned entirely) - the death of a significant part of the Jewish population of Europe (over 6 million people, over 60%) during the systematic persecution and destruction of it by the Nazis and their accomplices in Germany and in the territories it occupied in 1933-45.
Separatism (French separatisme from Latin separatus - separate) - the desire for separation, isolation; movement for the separation of part of the state and the creation of a new public education(Sikhs, Basques, Tamils) or for granting autonomy to a part of the country.
Irredentism (from Italian irredento - unliberated) - 1) the idea of reunification with the main core of the nation (the Irish in Ulster); 2) political and social movement in Italy in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. for the accession to Italy of the border lands of Austria-Hungary with the Italian population - Trieste, Trentino, etc.
Interethnic conflicts (in the narrow sense) occur between states or within a confederation, which is made up of a number of politically independent countries inhabited by different ethnic groups.
Interethnic conflicts arise within the state.
Interethnic conflict (in the broadest sense) is any competition (rivalry) between groups, from confrontation for the possession of limited resources to social competition, in all cases where the opposing side is defined in terms of the ethnicity of its members.
Causes of interethnic conflicts:
1) economic reasons - the struggle of ethnic groups for the possession of property, material resources(land, bowels);
2) social causes - the requirements of civil equality, equality before the law, in education, in wages, equality in employment, especially for prestigious places in government;
3) cultural and linguistic reasons - the requirements for the preservation or revival, development of the native language, which unites the ethnos into a single whole.
4) Huntington's concept of "clash of civilizations" explains modern conflicts by confessional, religious differences.
5) Historical past relationships of peoples.
6) Ethnodemographic - a rapid change in the ratio of the number of peoples in contact due to migration and differences in the level of natural population growth.
Types of ethnic conflicts:
1) conflicts of stereotypes (ethnic groups do not clearly understand the reasons for the contradictions, but in relation to the opponent they create a negative image of an “undesirable neighbor”, the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict);
2) conflict of ideas: putting forward certain claims, substantiating the “historical right” to statehood, to territory (Estonia, Lithuania, Tatarstan, at one time the idea of the Ural Republic);
3) conflict of actions: rallies, demonstrations, pickets, institutional decision-making, open clashes.
Resolution methods:
1) cut off the most radical elements or groups and support forces more inclined to compromise; it is important to exclude any factors capable of consolidating the conflicting side (the threat of the use of force, for example);
2) the use of a wide range of sanctions - from symbolic to military ones. It should be borne in mind that sanctions can work for extremist forces, intensification and exacerbation of the conflict. Armed intervention is admissible only in one case: if in the course of the conflict, which has taken the form of armed clashes, mass violations of human rights take place;
3) a break in the conflict, as a result, the emotional background of the conflict changes, the intensity of passions decreases, the consolidation of forces in society weakens;
4) division of the global goal into a number of sequential tasks that are solved sequentially from simple to complex;
5) conflict prevention - the sum of efforts aimed at preventing events leading to conflicts.
National policy refers to the theoretical and actual practical problems of our time. This is a complex phenomenon that covers all spheres of society. It also has relative independence as a system of measures taken by the state aimed at taking into account and realizing national interests. The national policy includes the strategic tasks of the life of the state and ensures the realization of the interests of the entire nation. Domestic politics state in relation to ethnic communities and interethnic relations is usually called ethnic politics, or policies towards ethnic minorities. National politics- this is also a purposeful activity for the regulation of ethno-political processes, containing in its basis the goal, principles, main directions, a system of measures for their implementation. The main task of the state national policy is to harmonize the interests of all peoples living in the country, providing a legal and material basis for their development on the principles of voluntary, equal and mutually beneficial cooperation. Accounting for ethno-national characteristics in the life of society should be carried out within the boundaries of respect for human rights. At different times and in different countries, national policy can change its character from national terror (pogroms, ethnic cleansing, etc.), artificial assimilation (the policy and practice of forcibly converting people of one socio-cultural, ethno-national, confessional and other affiliation to another ( corresponding) affiliation) until the provision of full cultural and partially political autonomy to various peoples within the framework of a single state. The national policy in the Russian Federation is a system of measures aimed at updating and further evolutionary development of the national life of all the peoples of Russia within the framework of a federal state, as well as at creating equal relations between the peoples of the country, the formation of democratic mechanisms for resolving national and interethnic problems. The documents defining the national policy in our country are the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as adopted in 1996 "The concept of the national policy of the Russian Federation". After the collapse of the USSR, a new stage began in the development of our state based on the traditions of Russian statehood, the principles of federalism and civil society. For our multinational country, a well-thought-out democratic national politics, which includes the following areas: - development of federal relations that ensure a harmonious combination of the independence of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the integrity Russian state; - development of national cultures and languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation, strengthening of the spiritual community of Russians; - ensuring political and legal protection of small peoples and national minorities; - achieving and maintaining stability, lasting interethnic peace and harmony in the North Caucasus; - support for compatriots living in the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as in the Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian republics, promoting the development of their ties with Russia. Basic principles of national policy in Russia Equality of rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen, regardless of his gender, race, nationality, language, attitude to religion, membership in social groups and public associations. Prohibition of any form of restriction of the rights of citizens on the grounds of social, racial, national, linguistic or religious affiliation. Preservation of the integrity and inviolability of the territory of the Russian Federation. Equal rights for all subjects of the Russian Federation in relations with federal government bodies. Guaranteeing the rights of indigenous peoples in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, generally recognized principles and norms of international law and international treaties of the Russian Federation. The right of every citizen to determine and indicate his nationality without any coercion. Assistance in the development of national cultures and languages of the peoples of Russia. Timely and peaceful resolution of contradictions and conflicts. Prohibition of activities aimed at undermining the security of the state, inciting social, racial, national and religious discord, hatred or enmity. Protection of the rights and interests of citizens of the Russian Federation outside its borders, support for compatriots living in foreign countries, in the preservation and development of the native language, culture and national traditions, in strengthening their ties with the Motherland in accordance with the norms of international law.
The social heterogeneity of society, differences in the level of income, property, power, prestige, horizontal and vertical mobility naturally lead to an aggravation of social contradictions and conflicts. Conflicts are a special type of social interaction, the subjects of which are communities, organizations and individuals with real or supposedly incompatible goals.
There are various theories regarding the causes and essence of conflicts that arise in society.
Herbert Spencer, the founder of the organic school, is considered to be the founder of the conflictological tradition in sociology. Spencer believed that conflicts in society are a manifestation of the process of natural selection and the general struggle for survival. Competition and inequality lead to the selection of the strongest, dooming the weaker ones to death. Spencer considered it possible to avoid the revolutionary way of resolving conflicts and preferred the evolutionary development of mankind.
Unlike Spencer, sociologists of Marxist orientation were of the opinion that conflict is just a temporary state that periodically arises in society, and that this state can be overcome as a result of a revolutionary change in the type of social order. They argued that different socio-economic formations correspond to different conflict types of the class structure of society; between the exploiting and exploited classes there is a struggle for the redistribution of ownership of the means of production. This class struggle, taking place in capitalist society between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, inevitably leads to the dictatorship of the proletariat, which represents a transition to a classless (i.e., socially conflict-free) society.
The German sociologist Georg Simmel paid much attention to the theory of social conflict in his studies. He proved the thesis that conflicts in society are inevitable, since they are predetermined by: 1) the biological nature of man; 2) the social structure of society, which is characterized by the processes of association (association) and dissociation (separation), domination and subordination. Simmel believed that frequent and not too long conflicts are even useful, since they help different social groups and individual members of society to get rid of hostility towards each other.
Modern Western sociologists explain the nature of social conflicts by socio-psychological factors. They believe that the inherent inequality of society generates a stable psychological dissatisfaction of its members. This sensual-emotional anxiety and irritability periodically develops into conflict clashes between the subjects of social relations.
The conflict behavior of the parties itself consists of oppositely directed actions of opponents. All of them can be divided into main and auxiliary. The main sociologists include those that are directly aimed at the subject of the conflict. Auxiliary actions ensure the implementation of the main ones. Also, all conflict actions are divided into offensive and defensive. Offensive consists in attacking the enemy, seizing his property, etc. Defensive - in holding the disputed object behind him or in protecting it from destruction. Such an option as a retreat, surrender of positions, refusal to protect one's interests is also possible.
If none of the parties tries to make concessions and evade the conflict, then the latter goes into an acute stage. It can end immediately after the exchange of conflict actions, but it can also last for quite a long time, changing its form (war, truce, war again, etc.) and growing. The escalation of a conflict is called escalation. The escalation of the conflict, as a rule, is accompanied by an increase in the number of its participants.
The end of a conflict does not always mean its resolution. The resolution of the conflict is the decision of its participants to end the confrontation. The conflict may end with the reconciliation of the parties, the victory of one of them, the gradual fading or development into another conflict.
Sociologists consider the achievement of consensus to be the most optimal solution to the conflict. Consensus is the agreement of a significant majority of representatives of a certain community regarding important aspects of its functioning, expressed in assessments and actions. Consensus does not mean unanimity, since it is practically impossible to achieve a complete concurrence of the positions of the parties, and it is not necessary. The main thing is that none of the parties should express direct objections; also, when resolving a conflict, a neutral position of the parties, abstention from voting, etc. is allowed.
Depending on the basis on which the typology is carried out, sociologists distinguish the following types conflicts:
a) by duration: long-term, short-term, one-time, protracted and recurring;
b) according to the source of occurrence: objective, subjective and false;
c) in form: internal and external;
d) by the nature of development: intentional and spontaneous;
e) by volume: global, local, regional, group and personal;
f) according to the means used: violent and non-violent;
g) by influence on the course of development of society: progressive and regressive;
h) by spheres of public life: economic (or industrial), political, ethnic, family and household.
i) by participants: Intrapersonal conflict manifests itself within the individual and is often a conflict of goals or views in nature. Its intensity increases with the increase in the number of solutions, with the achievement of a balance between the positive and negative outcome of the conflict and the perception of the importance of its source.
Two or more individuals are involved in interpersonal conflict if they perceive themselves to be in opposition to each other regarding the goals, dispositions, values, or behavior of each of them. This is the most common type of conflict.
Intragroup conflict - as a rule, this is a clash between parts or members of a group that affects group dynamics and the results of the work of the entire group. It can arise as a result of a change in the balance of power in the group: a change in leadership, the emergence of an informal leader, the development of grouping, etc.
Intergroup conflict is a confrontation or clash between two or more groups in an organization. May have a professional-production or emotional basis. Has an intense character. The development of intergroup conflict leads to intraorganizational conflict.
Intra-organizational conflict arises most often on the basis of the design of individual works, the formation of the organization as a whole, and also as a result of the formal distribution of power. It can be vertical (conflict between levels of the organization), horizontal (between parts of the organization equal in status), linear-functional (between line management and specialists) and role-based.
(conflict with the external environment)
In the prevention and timely resolution of social conflicts, the social policy pursued by the state plays an important role. Its essence is the regulation of the socio-economic conditions of society and concern for the well-being of all its citizens.
The sociology of conflict as a special part of sociological science arose relatively recently, but was quickly in demand by modern society. Today, conflictologists participate in negotiation processes in "hot spots", help to resolve group and interpersonal conflicts. The relevance and importance of their work is constantly growing due to the growth of social tension and the social polarization of Russian society.
In the course of their life, people constantly interact with each other. The diverse forms of interaction between individuals, as well as the connections that arise between different social groups (or within them), are usually called social relations. A significant part of social relations is characterized by conflicting interests of their participants. The result of such contradictions are social conflicts that arise between members of society. One of the ways to harmonize the interests of people and smooth out the conflicts that arise between them and their associations is normative regulation, that is, regulation of the behavior of individuals with the help of certain norms.
The word "norm" comes from lat. norma, which means "rule, pattern, standard". The norm indicates the boundaries within which an object retains its essence, remains itself. Norms can be different - natural, technical, social. Actions, deeds of people and social groups that are subjects of social relations, regulate social norms.
Under social norms understand the general rules and patterns, the behavior of people in society, due to social relations and resulting from the conscious activity of people. Social norms are formed historically, naturally. In the process of their formation, being refracted through the public consciousness, they are then fixed and reproduced in the relations and acts necessary for society. To some extent, social norms are binding on those to whom they are addressed, they have a certain procedural form of implementation and mechanisms for their implementation.
There are various classifications of social norms. The most important is the division of social norms depending on the characteristics of their emergence and implementation. On this basis, five varieties of social norms are distinguished: moral norms, norms of customs, corporate norms, religious norms and legal norms.
Moral norms are rules of conduct that are derived from people's ideas about good and evil, about justice and injustice, about good and bad. The implementation of these norms is ensured by public opinion and the internal conviction of people.
The norms of customs are the rules of behavior that have become a habit as a result of their repeated repetition. The implementation of customary norms is ensured by the force of habit. The customs of moral content are called mores.
A variety of customs are traditions that express the desire of people to preserve certain ideas, values, useful forms of behavior. Another kind of customs are rituals that regulate the behavior of people in everyday, family and religious spheres.
Corporate norms are the rules of conduct established by public organizations. Their implementation is ensured by the internal conviction of the members of these organizations, as well as by the public associations themselves.
Religious norms are understood as the rules of conduct contained in various sacred books or established by the church. The implementation of this type of social norms is provided by the internal beliefs of people and the activities of the church.
Legal norms are rules of conduct established or sanctioned by the state, and sometimes directly by the people, the implementation of which is ensured by the authority and coercive power of the state.
Different types of social norms did not appear simultaneously, but one after another, as needed.
With the development of society, they became more and more complicated.
Scientists suggest that the first type of social norms that arose in primitive society were rituals. A ritual is a rule of conduct in which the most important thing is a strictly predetermined form of its execution. The content of the ritual itself is not so important - it is its form that matters most. Rituals accompanied many events in the life of primitive people. We know about the existence of rituals of seeing off fellow tribesmen for hunting, taking office as a leader, presenting gifts to leaders, etc. Somewhat later, rituals began to be distinguished in ritual actions. Rites were rules of conduct, consisting in the performance of certain symbolic actions. Unlike rituals, they pursued certain ideological (educational) goals and had a deeper impact on the human psyche.
The next social norms in time, which were an indicator of a new, higher stage in the development of mankind, were customs. Customs regulated almost all aspects of the life of primitive society.
Another type of social norms that arose in the era of primitiveness were religious norms. Primitive man, aware of his weakness before the forces of nature, attributed to the latter a divine power. Initially, the object of religious admiration was a real-life object - a fetish. Then a person began to worship any animal or plant - a totem, seeing in the latter his ancestor and protector. Then totemism was replaced by animism (from the Latin "anima" - soul), i.e., belief in spirits, the soul, or the universal spirituality of nature. Many scientists believe that it was animism that became the basis for the emergence of modern religions: over time, among supernatural beings, people identified several special ones - gods. So the first polytheistic (pagan), and then monotheistic religions appeared.
In parallel with the emergence of norms of customs and religion, moral norms were also formed in primitive society. It is impossible to determine the time of their occurrence. We can only say that morality appears along with human society and is one of the most important social regulators.
During the emergence of the state, the first rules of law appear.
Finally, corporate norms emerge most recently.
All social norms have common features. They are rules of conduct general, i.e., designed for multiple use, and operate continuously in time in relation to a personally indefinite circle of persons. In addition, social norms are characterized by such features as procedural and sanctioned. The procedural nature of social norms means the presence of a detailed regulated order (procedure) for their implementation. Sanctioning reflects the fact that each of the types of social norms has a certain mechanism for the implementation of their prescriptions.
Social norms define the boundaries of acceptable behavior of people in relation to specific conditions their livelihoods. As already mentioned above, compliance with these norms is usually ensured by the internal beliefs of people or by applying social rewards and social punishments to them in the form of so-called social sanctions.
Social sanction is usually understood as the reaction of society or a social group to the behavior of an individual in a socially significant situation. According to their content, sanctions can be positive (encouraging) and negative (punishing). There are also formal sanctions (coming from official organizations) and informal (coming from informal organizations). Social sanctions play a key role in the system of social control, rewarding members of society for the implementation of social norms or punishing for deviation from the latter, i.e. for deviance.
Deviant (deviant) is such behavior that does not meet the requirements of social norms.
The opposite of deviant behavior is conformist behavior (from Latin conformis - similar, similar). Conformist is called social behavior that corresponds to the norms and values accepted in society. Ultimately, the main task regulation and social control is the reproduction in society of precisely the conformist type of behavior.
The efforts of society aimed at preventing deviant behavior, punishing and correcting deviants, are defined by the concept of "social control".
Social control is a mechanism for regulating relations between the individual and society in order to strengthen order and stability in society.
In the broad sense of the word, social control can be defined as the totality of all types of control that exist in society, moral, state control, etc., in the narrow sense, social control is the control of public opinion, publicity of the results and assessments of people's activities and behavior.
Social control includes two main elements: social norms and sanctions.
Sanctions - any reaction on the part of others to the behavior of a person or group.
There is the following classification of sanctions.
Types of sanctions
Formal:
- negative - punishment for breaking the law or violating the administrative order: fines, imprisonment, etc.
- positive - encouragement of a person's activity or act by official organizations: awards, certificates of professional, academic success, etc.
Informal:
- negative - condemnation of a person for an act by society: offensive tone, swearing or reprimand, defiant ignoring of a person, etc.
- positive - gratitude and approval of unofficial persons - friends, acquaintances, colleagues: praise, an approving smile, etc., etc.
Sociologists distinguish two main forms of social control.
social control
Internal (self-control)
A form of social control in which an individual independently regulates his behavior, coordinating it with generally accepted norms
External
A set of institutions and mechanisms that guarantee compliance with generally accepted norms of behavior and laws
Informal (intra-group) - based on approval or condemnation from a group of relatives, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, as well as from public opinion, which is expressed through traditions and customs or through the media
Formal (institutional) - based on the support of existing social institutions (army, court, education, etc.)
In the process of socialization, norms are assimilated so firmly that people, violating them, experience a feeling of awkwardness or guilt, pangs of conscience. Conscience is a manifestation of internal control.
Generally accepted norms, being rational prescriptions, remain in the sphere of consciousness, below which is the sphere of the subconscious, or unconscious, consisting of elemental impulses. Self-control means containment of the natural elements, it is based on volitional effort.
In a traditional society, social control rested on unwritten rules; in modern society, it is based on written norms: instructions, decrees, decrees, laws. Social control has gained institutional support. Formal control is carried out by such institutions of modern society as the court, education, the army, production, the media, political parties, and the government. The school controls through examination scores, the government through the system of taxation and social assistance population, the state - thanks to the police, the secret service, the state channels of radio, television, and the press.
In the Russian Federation, special bodies have been created to exercise social control. These include the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, the Federal Security Service, various financial control bodies, etc. Deputies of various levels are also vested with control functions. In addition to state control bodies, various public organizations are playing an increasing role in Russia, for example, in the field of consumer protection, in monitoring labor relations, after the state environment etc.
Detailed (petty) control, in which the leader intervenes in every action, corrects, corrects, etc., is called supervision. Supervision is carried out not only at the micro, but also at the macro level of society. The state becomes its subject, and it turns into a specialized public institution.
The more self-control developed among members of a society, the less that society has to resort to external control. And vice versa, the less self-control people have, the more often the institutions of social control come into action, in particular the army, the court, the state. The weaker the self-control, the tighter the external control must be. However, strict external control, petty guardianship of citizens hinder the development of self-consciousness and expression of will, muffle internal volitional efforts.
Methods of social control
Insulation
Establishment of impenetrable partitions between the deviant and the rest of society without any attempts to correct or re-educate him
Isolation
Limiting the deviant's contacts with other people, but not his complete isolation from society; this approach allows for the correction of deviants and their return to society when they are ready to again fulfill the generally accepted norms
Rehabilitation
The process by which deviants can prepare for a return to normal life and the correct performance of their social roles in society
In the history of social thought, the problem of freedom has always been associated with the search for different meanings. Most often, it boiled down to the question of whether a person has free will or all his actions are due to external necessity (predestination, God's providence, fate, fate, etc.).
If everything is absolutely necessary, if there are practically no accidents, new opportunities, then a person turns into an automaton, a robot acting according to a given program.
Freedom is the ability to do what you want. Complete arbitrariness in relation to other people, the impossibility of establishing any stable social ties
The core of freedom is a choice, which is always associated with the intellectual and emotional-volitional tension of a person (the burden of choice). Society, by its norms and limitations, determines the range of choice. This range also depends on the conditions for the realization of freedom, the established forms of social activity, the level of development of society and the place of a person in the social system.
Freedom is a specific way of being a person, associated with his ability to choose a decision and perform an act in accordance with his goals, interests, ideals and assessments, based on the awareness of the objective properties and relations of things, the laws of the world around.
There is freedom where there is choice. But only the freedom of choice gives rise to the responsibility of the individual for the decision made and the actions that are its consequences. Freedom and responsibility are two aspects of human conscious activity. Freedom breeds responsibility, responsibility guides freedom.
Responsibility is a socio-philosophical and sociological concept that characterizes an objective, historically specific type of relationship between an individual, a team, and society from the point of view of the conscious implementation of the mutual requirements placed on them.
Responsibility, accepted by a person as the basis of his personal moral position, acts as the foundation of the internal motivation of his behavior and actions. The regulator of such behavior is conscience.
There are the following types of responsibility:
- historical, political, moral, legal, etc.;
- individual (personal), group, collective.
Social responsibility is expressed in the tendency of a person to behave in accordance with the interests of other people.
As human freedom develops, responsibility increases. But its focus is gradually shifting from the collective (collective responsibility) to the person himself (individual, personal responsibility).
Only a free and responsible person can fully realize himself in social behavior and thereby reveal his potential to the maximum extent.
The social norms that people follow in their actions give the social world regularity and predictability. But not always and not all actions of individuals correspond to social expectations. People quite often deviate from the rules that they are required to follow.
Deviant (from late Latin deviatio - deviation) (deviating) behavior - social behavior that does not correspond to the existing norm or set of norms accepted by a significant part of people in a group or community.
The main forms of deviant behavior are: drunkenness; addiction; crime; prostitution; suicide; homosexuality.
Some sociologists make a distinction between deviant and delinquent (lat. delinquens - committing a misdemeanor) (literally - criminal) behavior. The latter includes violations of the norms that fall under the category of illegal action. At the same time, it is emphasized that deviant behavior is relative, because it belongs to the moral norms of this group, and delinquent behavior is absolute, since it violates the absolute norm expressed in the legal laws of society.
There are various explanations for the causes of deviant behavior.
biological
People are biologically predisposed to a certain type of behavior. Moreover, the biological predisposition of a person to crime is reflected in his appearance.
Psychological
Deviant behavior is a consequence of psychological qualities, character traits, internal life attitudes, personality orientation, which are partly innate, partly shaped by upbringing and environment. At the same time, the act itself, the violation of the law, can be the result of the psychological state of the deviant.
Sociological
Deviant behavior is caused by the anomic state of society (anomy), i.e. the collapse of the existing system of social values and norms that regulate people's life. According to the Theory of Stigmatization (from Gr. stigma - corner, spot)
Deviation is determined not by behavior or a specific act, but by a group assessment, the application of sanctions by other people against those whom they consider "violators" of established norms.
Distinguish between primary and secondary deviation. With primary deviation, the individual from time to time violates some social norms. However, others do not attach much importance to this, and he himself does not consider himself a deviant. Secondary deviation is characterized by the fact that a person is labeled as a “deviant” and begins to be treated differently from ordinary people.
Deviant behavior can be both collective and individual. Moreover, individual deviation in some cases is transformed into a collective one. The spread of the latter is usually associated with the influence of the criminal subculture, the carriers of which are the declassed strata of society. Categories of the population, more than others predisposed to commit deviant acts, are called risk groups. Such groups, in particular, include certain segments of the youth.
According to experts, the existence of deviant behavior in modern society is inevitable. Therefore, the task of "complete eradication" of deviations is not set today. After all, deviations are not necessarily directed to the worse. Sometimes deviant behavior is positive (for example, national heroes, outstanding athletes, political leaders, industry leaders).
At the same time, measures of social influence on behavioral deviations are needed. And here two main directions are outlined: if in relation to criminal (delinquent) behavior strict prohibitive measures are needed, then such deviations as alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide, mental disorders, etc., require organization different types social assistance - opening crisis centers, homes for the homeless, helplines, etc.
Status is a certain position in the social structure of a group or society, associated with other positions through a system of rights and obligations. The social status is general position individual or social group in society, associated with a certain set of rights and obligations. Social statuses are prescribed and acquired (achieved). The first category includes nationality, place of birth, social origin, etc., the second - profession, education, etc. In any society there is a certain hierarchy of statuses, which is the basis of its stratification. Certain statuses are prestigious, others are vice versa. Prestige is an assessment by society of the social significance of a particular status, enshrined in culture and public opinion. This hierarchy is formed under the influence of two factors: a) the real usefulness of those social functions that a person performs; b) the system of values characteristic of a given society. If the prestige of any statuses is unreasonably high or, conversely, underestimated, it is usually said that there is a loss of status balance. A society in which there is a similar tendency to lose this balance is unable to ensure its normal functioning. Authority must be distinguished from prestige. Authority is the degree to which society recognizes the dignity of an individual, a particular person. The social status of a person primarily affects her behavior. Knowing the social status of a person, one can easily determine most of the qualities that he possesses, as well as predict the actions that he will carry out. Such expected behavior of a person, associated with the status that he has, is commonly called a social role.
A social role is actually a certain pattern of behavior that is recognized as appropriate for people of a given status in a given society.
In fact, the role provides a model showing exactly how an individual should act in a given situation. Roles vary in their degree of formalization: some are very clearly defined, such as in military organizations, others are very vague. A social role can be assigned to a person both formally (for example, in legislative act), so be informal. Any individual is a reflection of the totality of social relations of his era. Therefore, each person has not one but a whole set of social roles that he plays in society. Their combination is called the role system. Such a variety of social roles can cause an internal conflict of the individual (in the event that some of the social roles contradict each other). Scientists offer various classifications of social roles. Among the latter, as a rule, the so-called basic (basic) social roles are distinguished. These include: a) the role of the worker; b) the role of the owner; c) the role of the consumer; d) the role of a citizen; e) the role of a family member. However, despite the fact that the behavior of an individual is largely determined by the status that it occupies and the roles it plays in society, it (the individual) nevertheless retains its autonomy and has a certain freedom of choice. And although in modern society there is a tendency towards the unification and standardization of the individual, fortunately, its complete leveling does not occur.
The individual has the opportunity to choose from a variety of social statuses and roles offered to him by society, those that allow him to better realize his plans, to use his abilities as efficiently as possible. The acceptance of a particular social role by a person is influenced by both social conditions and his biological and personal characteristics (health, gender, age, temperament, etc.). Any role prescription outlines only general scheme human behavior, offering to make a choice of ways of its execution by the personality itself. In the process of achieving a certain status and performing an appropriate social role, a so-called role conflict may arise.
A role conflict is a situation in which a person is faced with the need to satisfy the requirements of two or more incompatible roles.
Socialization (from Latin socialis - public) is the process of assimilation and further development by an individual of cultural norms and social experience necessary for successful functioning in society. The process of socialization continues throughout life, since a person during this time masters many social roles. Stages of socialization
Stage | Its content |
Elementary | Socialization of the child, mainly in the family |
Average | School education |
final | Socialization of an adult who is mastering new roles: spouse, parent, grandfather, etc. |
Factors of socialization .
A huge number of various conditions acting on a person are commonly called factors. In fact, not all of them have been identified, and far from all of the known ones have been studied. Quite a lot is known about some factors, little about others, and very little about others. More or less studied conditions or factors of socialization can conditionally be combined into four groups.
1) Megafactors (mega - very large, universal) - space, planet, world, which to some extent through other groups of factors influence the socialization of all inhabitants of the Earth.
2) Macrofactors (macro - large) - a country, ethnic group, society, state, which affect the socialization of all living in certain countries.
3) Mesofactors (meso - medium, intermediate) - the conditions for the socialization of large groups of people, distinguished: by the area and type of settlement in which they live (region, village, city, settlement); by belonging to the audience of certain networks of mass communication (radio, television, etc.); by belonging to certain subcultures.
4) Microfactors . These include factors that directly affect specific people who interact with them - family and home, neighborhood, peer groups, educational organizations, various public, religious, private organizations, microsociety.
Socialization agents (people and institutions responsible for teaching cultural norms and assimilation of social roles): family, peer group, school and other educational institutions, public organizations, mass media. There are as many agents of socialization as there are groups and social situations in which individuals spend any significant part of their lives.
!!! In a narrow sense, agents of socialization are specific people responsible for teaching other people cultural norms, assisting them in mastering social roles.
Primary socialization agents : parents, relatives, teachers (the closest environment of a person).
Jungle Children (Mowgli, Feral People) ( lat . feralis - wild) - human children who lived without contact with people from an early age and practically did not experience care and love from another person, had no experience of social behavior and communication.
Children raised by animals exhibit (within the limits of human physical capabilities) the behavior characteristic of their adoptive parents, for example, fear of a person.
If children had some social behavior skills before isolation from society, the process of their rehabilitation is much easier. Those who lived in the society of animals for the first 5-6 years of their lives practically cannot master the human language, walk upright, communicate meaningfully with other people, despite the years spent later in the society of people, where they received enough care.
Agents of secondary socialization : employees of universities, enterprises, journalists, TV presenters. In this sense, the institutions of socialization are social institutions: 1) primary (family, school, group of peers), 2) secondary (army, production).
Agents of secondary socialization influence in a narrow direction, they perform one or two functions. Primary socialization agents are universal, they perform many different functions: the father plays the role of a livelihood earner, guardian, discipliner, educator, teacher, friend.
Functions of agents and institutions of socialization : 1) teaching cultural norms and patterns of behavior; 2) control over the completeness of the assimilation of these norms and patterns of behavior through encouragement or punishment.
Means, methods, mechanisms of socialization .
Methods of socialization differ in the degree of purposefulness, organization, and methods of control.
Every society, every organization, every social group (small or large) develops in its history a set of positive and negative, formal and informal sanctions - methods of suggestion and persuasion, prescriptions and prohibitions, measures of coercion and pressure, up to the use of physical violence, ways of expressing recognition, honors, awards. With the help of these measures and methods, the behavior of a person and entire groups of people is brought into line with the patterns, norms, and values accepted in a given culture.
!!! Agents + factors = socialization mechanisms.
1) Socio-psychological mechanisms .
Imprinting (imprinting) is the fixation by a person at the receptor and subconscious levels of the features of vital objects affecting him.
Imitation - following an example, a model. In this case, one of the ways of arbitrary and most often involuntary assimilation of social experience by a person.
Identification (identification) is the process of unconscious identification by a person of himself with another person, group, model. Empathy (from Greek . empatheia - empathy) - the ability of a person to parallel experience those emotions that arise in another person in the process of communicating with him. Reflection is an internal dialogue in which a person considers, evaluates, accepts or rejects certain values inherent in various institutions of society, family, peer society, significant persons, etc.
2) Socio-pedagogical mechanisms of socialization br /> The traditional mechanism of socialization (spontaneous) is the assimilation by a person of norms, standards of behavior, attitudes, stereotypes that are characteristic of his family and immediate environment (neighborly, friendly, etc.).
The institutional mechanism of socialization functions in the process of human interaction with the institutions of society and various organizations, as specially created for his socialization.
The stylized mechanism of socialization operates within a certain subculture. Stages of socialization:
Version #1 : The first stage is characteristic of early childhood. At this stage, external conditions for the regulation of social behavior predominate. The second stage of socialization is characterized by the fact that there is a replacement of external sanctions internal control.
Version #2 : 1) primary socialization or adaptation stage (from birth to adolescence, when the child learns social experience critically, adapts, imitates others); 2) the stage of individualization (a person has a desire to distinguish himself from others, a critical attitude to social norms of behavior is formed); 3) the stage of integration is successful if the person is accepted by the group, society. If the society rejects a person, then one of the following options is possible: a) the preservation of dissimilarity and the emergence of aggressive interactions with people and society; b) changing oneself (“to become like everyone else”); c) external conciliation, adaptation; 4) labor stage (the period of maturity, labor activity, when a person learns social experience); 5) the post-labor stage (old age, which makes an important contribution to the reproduction of social experience, to the process of passing it on to new generations).
Version #3 : Erik Erickson (1902 - 1982): the life cycle of a personality includes eight phases (and, accordingly, eight psychosocial crises), each of which has its own specific goal and can end favorably or unfavorably for future development: 1) infancy (the goal is the development of the unconscious feelings of "basic trust" in outside world, failure => feeling of "basic distrust", isolation); 2) early childhood (goal - a sense of autonomy and personal value, failure => shame, insecurity and doubt); 3) playing age (goal - a sense of initiative, failure => guilt); 4) school age (goal - a sense of enterprise and efficiency, failure => feeling of inferiority); 5) youth (the goal is a sense of individuality, failure => role and personal uncertainty); 6) youth (the goal is the need and ability for intimate psychological intimacy with another person, failure => isolation and loneliness); 7) adulthood (the goal is creativity and a sense of productivity, usefulness, failure => a sense of stagnation, stagnation); 8) mature age or old age (the goal is a feeling of fullness of life, fulfillment of duty, failure => despair and disappointment).
In what areas is socialization taking place?
The expansion and deepening of socialization occurs in three main areas : 1) activities (expansion of types of socialization, orientation in the system of each type of activity, i.e. highlighting the main thing in it, its comprehension, etc.), 2) communication (enrichment of a person’s social circle, development of communication skills); 3) self-awareness (formation of the image of one's own "I" = I-concept, understanding one's social belonging, social role, self-esteem formation).
I am a concept - a system of a person's ideas about himself.How socialization differs from education
Socialization is the process of assimilation by a person of a certain system of knowledge, norms and values that allow him to function as a full member of society. Education is a process of purposeful influence on a person, which is designed to help him master the socio-cultural experience of mankind. In a broad sense, education is usually seen as the many-sided influence of society on the individual. In this sense, education is close to socialization. However, these two concepts cannot be considered as synonyms. Socialization occurs in conditions of spontaneous interaction of a person with the social environment. In the course of socialization, a person naturally acquires social experience, models of role behavior based on the norms existing in society.
Education is a process of purposeful influence on a person. In a narrow, special sense, education means a purposefully organized activity for the formation of certain qualities of a person (education of a worldview, moral culture, aesthetic taste).
Education can be considered as a mechanism for managing the process of socialization.
The family is a complex social entity. A family is a community of people based on a single family-wide activity, bound by the bonds of matrimony and thereby carrying out the reproduction of the population and the continuity of family generations, as well as the socialization of children and the maintenance of the existence of family members. The family is both a social institution and a small group.
social institution a relatively stable type or form of social practice is called, through which social life is organized, the stability of ties and relations is ensured within the framework of social organization society.
A small group in sociology is understood as a small social group in its composition, whose members are united by common activities and are in direct personal communication with each other, which is the basis for the emergence of both emotional relationships and special group values and norms of behavior. As a social institution, the family satisfies the most important need of people to reproduce the family, as a small group it plays a huge role in the upbringing and development of the individual, its socialization, and is the conductor of those values and norms of behavior that are accepted in society. Depending on the nature of the marriage, the characteristics of parenthood and kinship, the following types of family structures are distinguished: 1) monogamous marriage and polygamy. A monogamous marriage is the marriage of one man to one woman. Polygamy is the marriage of one spouse to several women. Polygamy is of two types: polygyny - the marriage of one man with several women and polyandry - the marriage of one woman with several men; 2) patrilineal and matrilineal families. In patrilineal families, the inheritance of the surname, property and social status is carried out by the father, and in matrilineal families - by the mother; 3) patriarchal and matriarchal families. In patriarchal families, the father is the head; in matriarchal families, the mother enjoys the highest authority and influence; 4) homogeneous and heterogeneous families. In homogeneous families, spouses come from the same social stratum; in heterogeneous families, they come from different social groups, castes, classes; 5) small families (1-2 children), medium-sized families (3-4 children) and large families (5 or more children). The most common in modern urbanized cities are the so-called nuclear families, consisting of parents and their children, that is, from two generations. The family performs a number of functions, among which the main ones are reproductive, educational, economic and recreational (removal of stressful situations). Sociologists distinguish between specific and non-specific family functions. Specific functions stem from the essence of the family and reflect its features as a social phenomenon. These include the birth, maintenance and socialization of children. Non-specific name the functions that the family is forced to perform in certain historical circumstances. These functions are associated with the accumulation and transfer of property, status, organization of production and consumption, etc. Another social institution, the institution of marriage, is closely connected with the institution of the family. As a rule, it is the married couple that forms the basis of the family. Marriage in sociology is understood as a society-sanctioned, socially and personally expedient, sustainable form of sexual relations. In the legal sense, marriage is a legally formalized voluntary and free union of a woman and a man, aimed at creating a family and giving rise to mutual personal, as well as property rights and obligations of the spouses. Marriage and family relations in the Russian Federation are governed by family law. The main source of family law is the Family Code of the Russian Federation. In accordance with the legislation on the family in the Russian Federation, only secular marriage is recognized, that is, a marriage legally formalized, concluded and registered with the civil registry offices. At the same time, the Family Code of the Russian Federation recognizes the legal force of marriages performed by Russian citizens in accordance with religious rites, if they took place in the occupied territories of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War, i.e., during the period when the registration authorities did not operate in these territories civil status. Marriage can be concluded only if the spouses comply with a number of conditions established by law.
There are two groups of such conditions. The first group includes positive conditions, the presence of which is mandatory for marriage: a) mutual voluntary consent of those entering into marriage; b) reaching the age of marriage, i.e. 18 years; in the presence of good reasons at the request of the spouses, the age of marriage may be reduced to 16 years. The Family Code provides for the possibility of marriage at an earlier age. This is allowed as an exception, taking into account special circumstances, if the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation establish the procedure and conditions for concluding such marriages. The second group consists of negative conditions, i.e., circumstances that prevent marriage. Negative conditions include the following: a) the state of at least one of the persons entering into marriage in another registered marriage; b) the presence of a close relationship between the persons entering into marriage. Close relatives are recognized: relatives in a direct ascending and descending line (parents and children, grandfather, grandmother and grandchildren), as well as siblings, and this relationship can be either complete or incomplete (when a sister and brother have only a common mother or father) c) the existence of relations of adoption or adoption between persons wishing to marry; d) recognition by the court of the incapacity of at least one of the spouses due to a mental disorder. In order to conclude a marriage, the persons entering into marriage shall submit a joint written application to the bodies of civil status acts, in which they confirm their mutual voluntary consent to the conclusion of the marriage, as well as the absence of circumstances preventing the conclusion of the marriage. The marriage is concluded after a month from the date of filing the application. However, the law provides that, if there are valid reasons, the monthly period can be reduced or extended (in the latter case, by no more than 1 month), and in the presence of special circumstances (pregnancy, childbirth, direct threat to the life of one of the parties, etc. .) marriage can be concluded on the day of application. The decision to reduce or increase the period of marriage is taken by the civil registry office. Marriage is entered into in the personal presence of those entering into marriage. State registration of marriage is carried out by any civil registry office on the territory of the Russian Federation at the choice of the persons entering into marriage. Family law establishes a number of grounds under which a marriage may be declared invalid. These include: a) non-compliance by persons who have entered into marriage with the conditions of its conclusion established by law; b) concealment by a person entering into marriage, the presence of a venereal disease or HIV infection; c) the conclusion of a fictitious marriage, i.e. such a marriage into which the spouses or one of them entered into without the intention of creating a family. Marriage is recognized as invalid from the date of its conclusion. However, if by the time of consideration of the case on recognizing the marriage as invalid, those circumstances that, by virtue of the law, prevented its conclusion, have disappeared, the court may recognize the marriage as valid. Grounds for declaring a marriage invalid should be distinguished from grounds for terminating a marriage. The latter, according to the Family Code of the Russian Federation, are the death or declaration of one of the spouses dead, as well as the dissolution of marriage in the manner prescribed by law. The dissolution of a marriage is carried out in the civil registry office or in court. In the civil registry offices, divorce is carried out in the following cases: 1) with mutual consent to the divorce of spouses who do not have common minor children; 2) at the request of one of the spouses, if the other spouse is recognized by the court as missing, incompetent or sentenced for committing a crime to imprisonment for a term of more than three years. Dissolution of marriage in these cases is carried out regardless of whether the spouses have common minor children. In all cases, the dissolution of the marriage is carried out after a month from the date of filing the application for the dissolution of the marriage. In the event of disputes between spouses during the dissolution of marriage in the civil registry offices (for example, on the division of property), such disputes are considered by the court. In a judicial proceeding, divorce is carried out in the following cases: 1) if the spouses have common minor children, with the exception of the cases noted above; 2) in the absence of the consent of one of the spouses to divorce; 3) if one of the spouses evades the dissolution of the marriage in the registry office, although he does not object to such dissolution (for example, refuses to submit a corresponding application, etc.). The law establishes a number of restrictions on the husband's rights to file claims for divorce (in particular, he does not have the right, without the consent of his wife, to initiate a divorce case during the wife's pregnancy and within a year after the birth of a child). The dissolution of a marriage is carried out if the court determines that the further joint life of the spouses and the preservation of the family are impossible. In this case, the court has the right to take measures to reconcile the spouses. For such reconciliation, the court sets a period within 3 months, and the trial of the case is postponed for this time. If the measures for reconciliation of the spouses turned out to be ineffective and the spouses (or one of them) insist on the dissolution of the marriage, then the court makes a decision on the dissolution of the marriage. If there is mutual consent to the dissolution of the marriage of spouses who have common minor children, the court dissolves the marriage without clarifying the motives for the divorce. When considering a case on dissolution of a marriage, the court decides on which of the parents, after the divorce, minor children will live, from which of the parents and in what amounts to collect child support, as well as on the division of property that is in the common property of the spouses. On all these issues, the spouses themselves can conclude an agreement and submit it to the court. The dissolution of marriage by the court is carried out after a month from the date of filing by the spouses of the application for dissolution of marriage. A marriage is considered terminated: a) in the event of its dissolution in the registry office - from the date of state registration of the dissolution of marriage in the register of acts of civil status; b) in case of dissolution of marriage in court - on the day the court decision enters into legal force (however, in this case as well state registration divorce is necessary). Spouses are not entitled to remarry until they receive a certificate of divorce from the civil registry office.
Social (stratification) structure - stratification and hierarchical organization of various strata of society, as well as a set 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.
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, 4 main types of social stratification are known - slavery, castes, estates and classes. The first three characterize closed societies, and the last type - open ones.
In modern society, three stratification levels can be distinguished: the highest, the middle and the lowest. In economically developed countries, the 2nd 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 is the movement of individuals or social groups from one position in the hierarchy of social stratification to another.
1) mobility caused by the voluntary movement of individuals within the social hierarchy of society, and mobility dictated by the structural changes taking place in society. An example of the latter is the social mobility brought about by the process of industrialization: one of the consequences of the industrialization process has been an increase in the number of people in working professions and a decrease in the number of people employed in agricultural production.
2) mobility is intergenerational and intragenerational. Intergenerational mobility refers to the movement of children to a higher or lower rung compared to their parents. Within the framework of intragenerational mobility, the same individual changes his social position several times throughout his life.
3) individual and group mobility. They say about individual mobility when movements within society occur in one person independently of others. With group mobility, movements occur collectively (for example, after a bourgeois revolution, the feudal class cedes its dominant positions to the bourgeois class).
The reasons that allow a person to move from one social group to another are called factors of social mobility:
EDUCATION. It played a decisive role in the process of social mobility in some ancient states. In particular, in China, only a person who passed a special exam could apply for a public post.
SOCIAL STATUS OF THE FAMILY to which the person belongs. Many families in various ways - from marriages to business support - help the promotion of their members to higher strata.
SYSTEM OF PUBLIC ORGANIZATION: in an open society, unlike a closed society, there are no formal restrictions on mobility and there are almost no informal ones. In a closed society, mobility is limited both quantitatively and qualitatively.
CHANGES OCCURING IN THE TECHNOLOGY OF PUBLIC PRODUCTION: they lead to the emergence of new professions that require high qualifications and considerable training. These professions are better paid and more prestigious.
SOCIAL SHOCKS, n\r, warriors and revolutions, leading, as a rule, to a change in the elite of society.
Movement between strata is carried out through special channels ("elevators"), the most important of which are such social institutions as the army, family, school, church, property.
The ARMY functions as a conduit for vertical mobility in both wartime and peacetime. However, during periods of war, the process of “rise up” is faster: large losses among the command staff lead to the filling of vacancies by people of lower ranks, who have distinguished themselves due to their talent and courage.
CHURCH. As a result of the ban on marriage for the Catholic clergy, the transfer of church positions by inheritance was excluded, and after the death of the clergy, their positions were filled with new people. Significant opportunities for progress from the bottom up also appeared during the periods of the formation of new religions.
SCHOOLS. Getting an education in the most prestigious schools and universities automatically provides a person with belonging to a certain stratum and a fairly high social status.
FAMILY becomes a channel of vertical mobility when people of different social status get married. So, in the late XIX - early XX century. in R., the marriage of impoverished but titled brides with representatives of the wealthy but humble merchant class was quite common. As a result of such a marriage, both partners moved up the social ladder, getting what each of them wanted. But such a marriage can be useful only if the individual from a lower stratum is prepared to quickly assimilate new patterns of behavior and lifestyle for him. If he cannot quickly assimilate new cultural standards, then such a marriage will not give anything, since representatives of the highest status stratum will not consider the individual
Finally, the fastest channel of vertical mobility is PROPERTY, usually in the form of money - one of the easiest and most effective ways to move up.
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 is 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.
Qualitative changes taking place in the economic basis of modern Russian society have led to serious changes in its social structure. 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.
It should be noted that the process of social mobility between these levels in Russia is limited, which may become one of the prerequisites for future conflicts in society.
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Translation of "as well as by raising awareness of all sectors of society" in Chinese
Other translations
The main objective of this Program is to prevent and punish the crime of trafficking in persons, as well as to provide assistance and protection to victims through the joint efforts of government agencies, the public and the private sector, working in coordination with each other, as well as by increasing.
The purpose of this program is to prevent and combat trafficking in persons and to provide care and protection to victims through coordination, collaboration and awareness raising in the public, social and private sectors .
And awareness raising in the public, social and private sectors.">
Suggest an example
Other results
The Subcommittee recommends that the authorities of the State party, acting in concert with the civil society, develop a strategy regarding the prohibition of the use of violence to resolve any conflicts.
The Subcommittee recommends that the authorities should work with civil society to devise a strategy to on the prohibition of the use of violence to resolve conflicts of any kind.
Society to devise a strategy to raise awareness at all levels of society on the prohibition of the use of violence to resolve conflicts of any kind.">
On the other hand, an important role in the implementation of protection/prevention activities, outreach, risk reduction and raising awareness of all sectors of society played by non-formal educational institutions, especially community learning centers.
on the other hand; the non-formal education institutions, particularly the community training centers, play an important role in terms of protective/preventive activities, sensitization, risk mitigation and awareness-raising for all segments of the society .
Awareness-raising for all segments of the society.">
Campaigns should be carried out systematically and consistently in an orderly manner awareness raising about the negative health consequences of such practices for children, especially girls, among all walks of life, including the general population, and community, traditional and religious leaders.
Awareness-raising campaigns on the negative effects on the health of children, especially girls, should systematically and consistently be mainstreamed, targeting all segments of the society as well as community, traditional and religious leaders.
Awareness-raising campaigns on the negative effects on the health of children, especially girls, should systematically and consistently be mainstreamed, targeting all segments of the society including the general public as well as community, traditional and religious leaders.">
The assessment confirmed the need for a systematic and continuous connection all walks of life to work on raising awareness and prevention of unwanted pregnancy, and to promote the use modern methods contraception.
All segments of society to improve the level of education and to prevent unwanted pregnancies and to increase the need and use of modern methods of contraception.">
Encourages Member States to take measures to , including at the family level, regarding persons with Down syndrome;
Raise awareness throughout society, including at the family level, regarding persons with Down syndrome;">
In this resolution, the Assembly called on all countries and relevant groups to observe World Autism Awareness Day every year on 2 April and encouraged Member States to take steps to raising awareness of all sectors of society, including at the family level, about the problem of children with autism.
In that resolution, the Assembly invited all countries and associated groups to observe World Autism Awareness Day every 2 April and encouraged Member States to take measures to raise awareness throughout society, including at the family level, regarding children with autism.
Raise awareness throughout society, including at the family level, regarding children with autism.">
Adoption of binding laws; development, implementation and periodic evaluation of integrated national and regional strategies; raising awareness of all sectors of society; and the implementation of rational development policies that take into account the nature of distribution and the limitations of available natural resources;
Enacting binding legislation; formulating, implementing and periodically assessing integrated national and regional policies; raising the awareness of all segments of society ; and implementing sound development policies that take into account the distribution and limited nature of available natural resources;
Raising the awareness of all segments of society; and implementing sound development policies that take into account the distribution and limited nature of available natural resources;">
One of critical tasks is awareness raising on existing legal norms among all walks of life, especially in the lower echelons, and ensuring their strict implementation.
A key task was to generate awareness of existing legal standards among all actors, particularly in the lower echelons, and to ensure that they were strictly implemented.
Generate awareness of existing legal standards among all actors, particularly in the lower echelons, and to ensure that they were strictly implemented.">
Governments must make relentless efforts to improve awareness of all sectors of society at all levels about the negative impact of bad habits and behavior patterns on girls.
Governments must make unyielding efforts to raise awareness among all sectors of society at all levels about the harmful impact of negative attitudes and behavior on girls.
Awareness among all sectors of society at all levels about the harmful impact of negative attitudes and behavior on girls.">
Relevant government agencies have developed a range of programs and conduct workshops for representatives all walks of life contributing raising awareness population about the importance of promoting a culture of moderation.
The relevant Government agencies have also established programs and held seminars targeting all sectors of society that have helped to raise awareness about moderation among the population.
All sectors of society that have helped to raise awareness about moderation among the population.">
C) the obligation of governments to raise the level awareness of all sectors of society about the serious consequences of this practice through education and dissemination of information;
(c) The responsibility of Governments for raising, in all sectors of society, awareness of the serious consequences of such practices, through education and the dissemination of information;
All sectors of society, awareness of the serious consequences of such practices, through education and the dissemination of information;">
Along with this, there were Also community awareness campaigns aimed at improving awareness of all sectors of society with special attention to children.
In addition, community awareness campaigns aimed at increasing awareness at all levels of society, with special emphasis on children, were carried out.
Awareness at all levels of society, with special emphasis on children, were carried out.">
Poverty eradication is a massive undertaking that requires unwavering political commitment and commitment all walks of life, and unlimited economic support from developed countries.
Eliminating poverty in the world is a monumental task requiring unstinting political commitment and the collective participation of all societies , as well as unlimited economic support from the developed nations.
All societies, as well as unlimited economic support from the developed nations.">
Other goals are to promote mass response all walks of life, and overcoming the exclusion and discrimination faced by people living with HIV.
Social stratification - central theme sociology. It 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 divided people by income, level of education, power. Castes arose, then estates, and later classes. In some societies, the transition from one social stratum (stratum) to another is prohibited; there are societies where such a transition is limited, and there are societies where it is completely allowed. Freedom of social movement (mobility) determines whether a society is closed or open.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 the social strata (strata) also vertically. The basis is the income ladder: the poor are at the bottom, the wealthy are in the middle, and the rich are at the top.
The rich occupy the most privileged positions and have the most prestigious professions. As a rule, they are better paid and are associated with mental work, the performance of managerial functions. Leaders, kings, kings, presidents, political leaders, big businessmen, scientists and artists make up the elite of society. The middle class in modern society includes doctors, lawyers, teachers, qualified employees, the middle and petty bourgeoisie. To the lower strata - unskilled workers, the unemployed, the poor. The working class, according to modern ideas, is an independent group, which occupies an intermediate position between the middle and lower classes.
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. 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. Inheritance can be received by both working and non-working, and only working people can receive income. In addition to them, pensioners and the unemployed have income, but the poor do not. The rich may or may not work. In both cases, they are owners because they have wealth. The main wealth of the upper class is not income, but accumulated property. The salary share is small. For the middle and lower classes, income is the main source of subsistence, since the first, if there is wealth, is insignificant, and the second does not have it at all. Wealth allows you not to work, and its absence forces you to work for the sake of wages.
The essence of power is the ability to impose one's will against the wishes of other people. In a complex society, power is institutionalized; 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.
Prestige is the respect that is enjoyed in public opinion by one or another profession, position, occupation. The profession of a lawyer is more prestigious than the profession of a steelworker or a plumber. The position of president of a commercial bank is more prestigious than that of a cashier. All professions, occupations and positions that exist in a given society can be placed from top to bottom on the ladder of professional prestige. We define professional prestige intuitively, approximately. But in some countries, primarily in the United States, sociologists measure it with the help of special methods. They study public opinion, compare different professions, analyze statistics and finally get an accurate scale of prestige. The first such study was conducted by American sociologists in 1947. Since then, they regularly measure this phenomenon and monitor how the prestige of basic professions in society changes over time. In other words, they build a dynamic picture.
Income, power, prestige and education determine the total socio-economic status, that is, the position and place of a person in society. In this case, the status acts as a generalized indicator of stratification. Previously, its key role in the social structure was noted. Now it turned out that he plays a crucial role in sociology as a whole. The assigned status characterizes a rigidly fixed system of stratification, i.e. closed society, in which the transition from one stratum to another is practically forbidden. Such systems include slavery and caste system. The achieved status characterizes a mobile system of stratification, or an 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 estate structure, should be classified as an intermediate type, that is, a relatively closed system. Here, crossings are legally prohibited, but in practice they are not excluded. These are the historical types of stratification.
Social stratification of society
Social stratification (from Latin stratum - layer + facere - to make) is the differentiation of people in society depending on access to power, profession, income and some other socially significant features. The concept of "stratification" was proposed by the sociologist Pitirim Aleksandrovich Sorokin (1889-1968), who borrowed it from the natural sciences, where it, in particular, denotes the distribution of geological layers.The distribution of social groups and people by strata (layers) makes it possible to single out relatively stable elements of the structure of society in terms of access to power (politics) carried out professional functions and income received (economy). Three main types of stratification are presented in history - castes, estates and classes. Castes (from Portuguese casta - clan, generation, origin) are closed social groups connected by a common origin and legal status. Caste membership is determined solely by birth, and marriages between members of different castes are forbidden. The most famous is the caste system of India (table), originally based on the division of the population into four varnas (in Sanskrit, this word means “kind, genus, color”). According to legend, varnas were formed from different parts of the body of the primordial man, who was sacrificed.
Caste system in ancient India:
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Representatives |
Associated body part |
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Brahmins |
Scholars and priests |
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Warriors and rulers |
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Peasants and merchants |
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"Untouchable", dependent persons |
Estates are social groups whose rights and obligations, enshrined in law and tradition, are inherited.
Below are the main estates characteristic of Europe in the 18th-19th centuries:
The nobility is a privileged estate from among the large landowners and veteran officials. An indicator of nobility is usually a title: prince, duke, count, marquis, viscount, baron, etc.;
clergy - ministers of worship and the church, with the exception of priests. In Orthodoxy, black clergy (monastic) and white (non-monastic) are distinguished;
merchant class - the trading class, which included the owners of private enterprises;
the peasantry - the class of farmers engaged in agricultural labor as the main profession;
philistinism - the urban class, consisting of artisans, small merchants and lower employees.
In some countries, a military estate was distinguished (for example, chivalry). In the Russian Empire, the Cossacks were sometimes referred to as a special estate. Unlike the caste system, marriages between members of different classes are permissible. It is possible (although difficult) to move from one class to another (for example, the purchase of the nobility by a merchant).
Classes (from lat. classis - category) are large groups of people that differ in their attitude to property. The German philosopher Karl Marx (1818-1883), who proposed a historical classification of classes, pointed out that an important criterion for distinguishing classes is the position of their members - oppressed or oppressed:
In a slave-owning society, these were slaves and slave-owners;
in feudal society - feudal lords and dependent peasants;
in a capitalist society - capitalists (bourgeoisie) and workers (proletariat);
there will be no classes in a communist society.
In modern sociology, one often speaks of classes in the most general sense - as collections of people with similar life chances, mediated by income, prestige and power:
Upper class: divided into upper upper class (rich people from "old families") and lower upper class (recently rich people);
middle class: divided into upper middle (professionals);
lower middle (skilled workers and employees); The lower class is divided into an upper lower class (unskilled workers) and a lower lower class (lumpen and marginals).
The lower lower class are population groups that, for various reasons, do not fit into the structure of society. In fact, their representatives are excluded from the social class structure, so they are also called declassed elements.
The declassed elements include lumpen - vagabonds, beggars, beggars, as well as outcasts - those who have lost their social characteristics and have not acquired a new system of norms and values in return, for example, former factory workers who lost their jobs due to the economic crisis, or peasants driven from the earth during industrialization.
Strata - groups of people with similar characteristics in the social space. This is the most universal and broadest concept, which makes it possible to single out any fractional elements in the structure of society according to a set of various socially significant criteria. For example, strata such as elite specialists, professional entrepreneurs, government officials, office workers, skilled workers, unskilled workers, etc. are distinguished. Classes, estates and castes can be considered varieties of strata.
Social stratification reflects the presence of inequality in society. It shows that strata exist in different conditions and people have different opportunities to meet their needs. Inequality is the source of stratification in society. Thus, inequality reflects differences in the access of representatives of each layer to social benefits, and stratification is a sociological characteristic of the structure of society as a set of layers.
Criteria of social stratification
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).
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.).
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.
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 ( 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).
Social stratification and mobility
Social (stratification) structure, social differentiation - stratification and hierarchical organization of various strata of society, as well as a set of institutions and relations between them.The basis of the stratification structure of society is the natural and social inequality of people.
Social inequality - unequal access to social benefits.
Modern society strives to minimize social inequality, at the same time, natural inequality cannot be eliminated.
In sociology, four main types of social stratification are known:
Slavery,
caste,
estates,
classes.
The first three systems are considered closed, i.e. transition from one stratum to another is almost impossible or difficult. The class system is open, social mobility has been established.
There are two approaches to the study of society:
1. Stratification: divides society into strata based on lifestyle, income level, social prestige, involvement in power structures.
2. Class: divides society into classes, based on the place in the production system, attitude to ownership of the means of production, role in the social division of labor.
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 most general form, three stratification levels can be distinguished in modern society:
Higher (large owners, officials, scientific and cultural elite);
medium (entrepreneurs, highly qualified specialists);
lower (low-skilled workers, unemployed).
The basis of modern society is the middle class.
A marginal is an individual who has lost his former social status, deprived of the opportunity to engage in his usual business and is not adapted to the new stratum within which he exists.
The positive impact of the marginalized on society:
Marginals are prone to innovation and change;
marginals enrich the culture into which they bring elements of their former culture;
outcasts at the junction of two cultures create a new culture.
Bad influence:
Confusion and inability to act effectively in new circumstances;
destabilization of society;
inability to get used to new roles;
loss of old values and inability to accept new values, which leads to a kind of "spiritual vacuum".
Status is a certain position in the social structure of a group or society, associated with other positions through a system of rights and obligations.
Social status can be prescribed and acquired.
A person receives a prescribed (congenital) status at birth (family ties, gender, age).
Acquired (achieved) status is obtained during life (profession).
Mixed combines the features of prescribed and acquired status: something that did not depend on a person (unemployed, a person with disabilities) or maximum achievements in their field (professor, doctor of science, Olympic champion).
Status symbols are attributes by which you can find out the status of a person. Clothing is one of the most important status symbols.
Functions of clothing as a status symbol:
Compliance with the norms of etiquette (a strict suit of a top manager);
demonstration of belonging to a particular status (police uniform).
Social mobility is the movement of individuals or social groups from one position in the hierarchy of social stratification to another, a change in status.
Mobility types:
1) voluntary and forced;
2) intergenerational (moving children to a higher or lower step compared to their parents) and intragenerational (one and the same individual changes his social position several times throughout his life);
3) individual (movements within society occur in one person independently of others) and group (movements occur collectively, the position of the entire group changes);
4) vertical and horizontal. Vertical mobility is a change in status with a change in position in the social hierarchy. Vertical mobility is divided into downward and upward mobility. Horizontal mobility is a change in status without a noticeable change in position in the social hierarchy.
Movement between strata is carried out through special channels ("elevators"), the most important of which are such social institutions as the army, family, school, church, property.
Theory of social stratification
Most modern sociologists adhere to the theory of social stratification, which is based on the division of society into layers - strata. The concept of "stratum" came into sociology from geology, where it is understood as layers, layers of heterogeneous formations in the geological structure of the Earth.In sociology, a strata means a sufficiently large number of people united by certain social ties (economic, political, cultural, social, demographic, etc.).
All people belonging to a particular stratum occupy approximately the same social position (status), which is characterized by a certain level of material wealth, prestige, rights and privileges.
Such sociologists as M. Weber, R. Dahrendorf, T. Parsons, P. Sorokin made a great contribution to the development of the theory of social stratification.
In contrast to the definition of class, in which the main criteria are relations to the means of production and the method of obtaining a share of social wealth, the criteria of stratum are in themselves neutral.
So, for example, P. Sorokin considers the following stratum criteria to be the main ones:
The nature of work (profession);
- qualification;
- education;
- role in production management;
- income.
The theory of stratification has the advantage that it allows dividing people into very different strata: for a more accurate analysis that requires the differentiation of society into thin layers, several dozen stratification criteria can be introduced (for example, not only money, but also the presence of a house, car, swimming pool, radiotelephone etc.); a rough analysis can be limited to several criteria.
The modern Russian sociologist A. Zinoviev believes that the stratification of Soviet society, the features of which are still largely carried by modern Russia, was carried out according to the following criteria:
Position on the ladder of social positions;
- prestige of the profession;
- the size of the salary;
- the presence (absence) of privileges;
- the nature of the privileges;
- the possibility of using one's official position;
- education;
- cultural level;
- living conditions;
- access to life's blessings;
- sphere of communication;
- prospects for improvement;
- prospects for the placement of children.
As you can see, this approach explains much more the position of a particular person, the forces driving him, the social structure of society than the theory of "two and a half classes." This in no way means that the conflict approach to the analysis of society, which is the basis of Marxism, is wrong. Sociologists have modernized class theory. M. Weber, R. Dahrendorf, L. Koser believe that class and group contradictions form the basis of social dynamics.
The theory of social stratification allows not only to determine the social structure of society and find the place of each individual in this structure (status), but also to compare, analyze different societies, draw conclusions about the levels and trends of their development.
The main difference between American society and Russian society is that not everything is determined by the position of the individual in relation to the authorities, the state. In the higher strata of society there are people of free professions - managers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, doctors, university professors. In Russian society, a state official almost always stands above a person of civil society. Obviously, with a successful outcome of the reforms, the stratification of Russian society in this respect will approach the American one.
A great contribution to the development of views on the social structure of society was made by sociologists V. Pareto, G. Mosca, R. Michels, who created the theory of elites.
The term "elite" means "the best", "selective", "chosen".
In sociology, the elite is understood as the highest privileged layer that manages society and develops its culture.
V. Pareto divides the whole society into an elite, psychologically predisposed to management, and not an elite - a controlled majority.
G. Mosca believes that the ruling class (elite) needs support in society, or a more numerous class that makes up the base, the foundation of the elite, that is, the middle class.
Thus, the theory of elites from the point of view of the stratification of society does not contradict the theory of the middle class, according to which the majority of modern post-industrial society is made up of people who identify and self-identify as the middle class, belong to strata occupying an intermediate position between the elite (upper class) and the lower strata of society. Sociological studies show that the elite of industrial societies is 1–3%, the middle strata 70–75%, and the lower strata 20–25%.
In the 20s. 20th century American sociologist R. Park introduced the concept of marginals (from Latin margo - edge), i.e. people who do not recognize the values and norms of their stratum, society and, thus, "fall to the sidelines", becoming outcasts. A marginal is not necessarily a beggar, a homeless person. This is a fighter for their values and norms. The marginal may be a professor who fights against the dominant scientific school; a dissident (dissenter), a nonconformist who does not recognize the prevailing social values and norms, a vagabond, etc. Marginals make up an insignificant part of society.
The social structure of the post-industrial society is a rhombus or a truncated rhombus, in contrast to the triangle, the pyramid of the social structure of an industrial society. Changes in the social structure occur due to a sharp increase in the middle class and its greater differentiation and a significant decrease in the number of the lower strata in the process of reducing manual labor.
Sorokin's social stratification
Social stratification is the differentiation of a certain set of people 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 obligations, the presence or absence of social values, power and influence among members of a particular community. Concrete molds social stratification is very diverse.If the economic status of members of a certain society is not the same, if there are both haves and have-nots among them, then such a society is characterized by the presence of economic stratification, regardless of whether it is organized on communist or capitalist principles, whether it is constitutionally defined as a "society of equals" or not .
No labels, signs, oral statements are able to change or obscure the reality of the fact of economic inequality, which is expressed in the difference in incomes, living standards, in the existence of rich and poor sections of the population. If within a group there are hierarchically different ranks in terms of authority and prestige and honors, if there are rulers and ruled, then regardless of the terms (monarchs, bureaucrats, masters, bosses) this means that such a group is politically differentiated, whatever it neither proclaimed in its constitution or declaration.
If the members of a society are divided into different groups according to the nature of their activity, occupation, and some professions are considered more prestigious in comparison with others, and if the members of a particular professional group are divided into leaders of various ranks and subordinates, then such a group professionally differentiated regardless of whether bosses are elected or appointed, whether they get them leadership positions heredity or due to their personal qualities.
The specific aspects of social stratification are numerous. However, all their diversity can be reduced to three main forms: economic, political and professional stratification. As a rule, they are all closely intertwined. People who belong to the highest stratum in one respect usually belong to the same stratum in other respects; and vice versa.
Representatives of the highest economic strata simultaneously belong to the highest political and professional strata. The poor, as a rule, are disenfranchised and are in the lower strata of the professional hierarchy. Takovo general rule although there are many exceptions.
So, for example, the richest are not always at the top of the political or professional pyramid, nor in all cases are the poor at the lowest places in the political and professional hierarchy. And this means that the interdependence of the three forms of social stratification is far from perfect, because the various layers of each of the forms do not completely coincide with each other. Rather, they coincide with each other, but only partially, that is, to a certain extent. This fact does not allow us to analyze all three main forms of social stratification together. For greater pedantry, it is necessary to analyze each of the forms separately. The real picture of the social stratification of any society is very complex and confusing.
To facilitate the analysis process, only the main, most important properties should be taken into account, in order to simplify, omitting details that do not distort the overall picture.
Types of social stratification
Social stratification is a certain orderliness of society. At the stages of human existence, its three main types can be traced: caste, estate and class. The primitive state is characterized by a natural structuring by age and gender.The first type of social stratification is the division of society into castes. The caste system is a closed type of society, i.e. status is given from birth, and mobility is almost impossible. The caste was a hereditary association of people connected by traditional occupations and limited in communication with each other. Caste took place in ancient Egypt, Peru, Iran, Japan, in the southern states of the United States. Its classic example was India, where the caste organization turned into a comprehensive social system.
The hierarchical ladder of access to wealth and prestige in India had the following steps:
1) brahmins - priests;
2) kshatriyas - military aristocracy;
3) vaishyas - farmers, artisans, merchants, free community members;
4) Shudras - not free community members, servants, slaves;
5) "untouchables", whose contacts with other castes were excluded. This system was banned in India in the 50s of the twentieth century, but caste prejudice and inequality still make themselves felt today.
The second type of social stratification - class - also characterizes a closed society, where mobility is strictly limited, although it is allowed. The estate, like the caste, was associated with the inheritance of rights and obligations enshrined in custom and law. But unlike caste, the principle of inheritance in estates is not so absolute, and membership can be bought, bestowed, recruited. Class stratification is characteristic of European feudalism, but was also present in other traditional civilizations.
Its model is medieval France, where society was divided into four estates:
1) the clergy;
2) nobility;
3) artisans, merchants, servants (city dwellers);
4) peasants. In Russia, from Ivan the Terrible (the middle of the 17th century) to Catherine II, a hierarchy of estates was formed, officially approved by her decrees (1762 - 1785) in the following form: the nobility, the clergy, the merchants, the bourgeoisie, the peasantry. The decrees stipulated the paramilitary class (sub-ethnos), the Cossacks and the raznochintsy.
Class stratification is characteristic of open societies. It differs significantly from caste and class stratification.
These differences appear as follows:
Classes are not created on the basis of legal and religious norms, membership in them is not based on hereditary position;
- class systems are more mobile, and the boundaries between classes are not rigidly delineated;
- classes depend on economic differences between groups of people associated with inequality in ownership and control over material resources;
- class systems carry out mainly connections of an impersonal nature. The main basis of class differences - the inequality between conditions and wages - applies to all professional groups as a result of economic circumstances belonging to the economy as a whole;
- social mobility is much simpler than in other stratification systems, there are no formal restrictions for it, although mobility is really constrained by a person's starting capabilities and the level of his claims.
Classes can be defined as large groups of people that differ in their general economic opportunities, which significantly affect their types of lifestyle.
The most influential theoretical approaches in the definition of classes and class stratification belong to K. Marx and M. Weber.
According to Marx, a class is a community of people in direct relation to the means of production. He singled out the exploiting and exploited classes in society at different stages. The stratification of society according to Marx is one-dimensional, connected only with classes, since its main basis is the economic situation, and all the rest (rights, privileges, power, influence) fit into the “Procrustean bed” of the economic situation, are combined with it.
M. Weber defined classes as groups of people who have a similar position in a market economy, receive similar economic rewards and have similar life chances. Class divisions stem not only from control of the means of production, but also from economic differences not related to property. Such sources include professional excellence, rare specialty, high qualifications, intellectual property ownership, and so on. Weber gave not only class stratification, considering it only a part of the structuring necessary for a complex capitalist society. He proposed a three-dimensional division: if economic differences (by wealth) give rise to class stratification, then spiritual (by prestige) - status, and political (by access to power) - party. In the first case, we are talking about the life chances of social strata, in the second - about the image and style of their life, in the third - about the possession of power and influence on it. Most sociologists consider the Weberian scheme to be more flexible and appropriate for modern society.
Stratification of social groups
Different social groups occupy different positions in society. This position is determined by unequal rights and privileges, responsibilities and duties, property and income, attitudes towards power and influence among members of their community.Social differentiation (from lat. differentia - difference) is the division of society into various social groups that occupy different positions in it.
Inequality is the uneven distribution of the scarce resources of society - money, power, education and prestige - between different strata and strata of the population.
Social inequality is an internal characteristic of any social group and society as a whole, otherwise their existence as a system would be impossible. The factor of inequality determines the development and dynamics of a social group.
In the early stages of social development, such individual characteristics as gender, age, and kinship are socially significant. The objective inequality that really exists here is interpreted as the natural order of things, that is, as the absence of social inequality.
In a traditional society based on the division of labor, a class structure is emerging: peasants, artisans, nobility. However, in this society, objective inequality is recognized as a manifestation of the Divine order, and not as social inequality.
In modern society, objective inequality is already recognized as a manifestation of social inequality, that is, it is interpreted from the point of view of equality.
The difference between groups according to the principle of inequality is expressed in the formation of social strata.
Under the stratum (from the Latin stratum - layer, flooring) in sociology is understood a real, empirically fixed community, a social layer, a group of people united by some common social sign(property, professional, level of education, power, prestige, etc.). The reason for inequality is the heterogeneity of labor, which results in the appropriation of power and property by some people, the uneven distribution of rewards and incentives. The concentration of power, property and other resources in the elite contributes to the emergence of social conflicts.
Inequality can be represented as a scale, on one pole of which there will be those who own the largest (rich), and on the other - the smallest (poor) amount of goods. Money is a universal measure of inequality in modern society. To describe the inequality of different social groups, there is the concept of "social stratification".
Social stratification (from Latin stratum - layer, flooring and facege - to do) is a system that includes many social formations, whose representatives differ from each other in an unequal amount of power and material wealth, rights and obligations, privileges and prestige.
The term "stratification" came to sociology from geology, where it refers to the vertical arrangement of the Earth's layers.
According to the theory of stratification, modern society is layered, multi-level, outwardly resembling geological layers. The following stratification criteria are distinguished: income; power; education; prestige.
Stratification has two essential characteristics that distinguish it from a simple bundle:
1. The upper strata are in a more privileged position (with respect to the possession of resources or opportunities to receive rewards) in relation to the lower strata.
2. The upper layers are much smaller than the lower ones in terms of the number of members of society included in them.
Social stratification in various theoretical systems is understood differently. There are three classical strands of stratification theories:
1. Marxism - the main type of stratification - class (from Latin classis - group, category) stratification, which is based on economic factors, primarily property relations. A person's attitude to property determines his position in society and his place on the stratification scale.
2. Functionalism - social stratification associated with the professional division of labor. Unequal remuneration is a necessary mechanism by which society ensures that the most important places in society are filled by the most qualified people. This concept was introduced into scientific circulation by the Russian-American sociologist and culturologist P. A. Sorokin (1889-1968).
3. The theory based on the views of M. Weber - the basis of any stratification is the distribution of power and authority, which are not directly determined by property relations. The most important relatively independent hierarchical structures are economic, socio-cultural, and political. Accordingly, the social groups that stand out in these structures are class, status, party.
Types of stratification systems:
1) Physical-genetic - based on the ranking of people according to natural characteristics: gender, age, the presence of certain physical qualities - strength, dexterity, beauty, etc.
2) Etatocratic (from French etat - state) - differentiation between groups is carried out according to their position in the power-state hierarchies (political, military, administrative and economic), according to the possibilities of mobilizing and distributing resources, as well as according to the privileges that these groups have depending on their rank in the power structures.
3) Socio-professional - groups are divided according to the content and working conditions; ranking here is carried out with the help of certificates (diplomas, grades, licenses, patents, etc.), which fix the level of qualification and ability to perform certain types of activities (rank grid in the public sector of industry, the system of certificates and diplomas of education received, the system for assigning scientific degrees and titles, etc.).
4) Cultural-symbolic - arises from differences in access to socially significant information, unequal opportunities to select, store and interpret it for pre-industrial societies, theocratic (from gr. theos - god and kratos - power) manipulation of information is characteristic, for industrial - partocratic (from lat. pars (partis) - part, group and gr. kratos - power), for post-industrial - technocratic (from gr. techno - skill, craft and kratos - power).
5) Cultural and normative - differentiation is built on differences in respect and prestige that arise as a result of comparing existing norms and lifestyles inherent in certain social groups (attitude towards physical and mental labor, consumer standards, tastes, ways of communication, professional terminology, local dialect, etc.).
6) Socio-territorial - is formed due to the unequal distribution of resources between regions, differences in access to jobs, housing, quality goods and services, educational and cultural institutions, etc.
In reality, these stratification systems are closely intertwined and complement each other. For example, the socio-professional hierarchy in the form of an officially fixed division of labor not only performs important independent functions for maintaining the life of society, but also has a significant impact on the structure of any stratification system.
In modern sociology, the most common are two main approaches to the analysis of the social structure of society: stratification and class, which are based on the concepts of "stratum" and "class".
The stratum is distinguished by:
income level;
the main features of the lifestyle;
inclusion in power structures;
property relations;
social prestige;
self-assessment of one's position in society.
The class is distinguished by:
place in the system of social production;
relation to the means of production;
roles in the social organization of labor;
methods and amounts of wealth.
The main difference between the stratification and class approaches is that within the framework of the latter, economic factors are dominant, all other criteria are their derivatives.
The stratification approach proceeds from taking into account not only economic, but also political, actually social, as well as socio-psychological factors. This implies that there is not always a rigid connection between them: a high position in one position can be combined with a low position in another.
Stratification approach:
1) Accounting, first of all, for the value of one or another attribute (income, education, access to power).
2) The basis for the allocation of strata is a set of features, among which access to wealth plays an important role.
3) Taking into account not only the factor of conflict, but also solidarity, complementarity of various social strata.
Class approach in the Marxist sense:
1) Aligning groups on a scale of inequality, depending on the presence or absence of a leading feature.
2) The basis for the allocation of classes is the possession of private property, which makes it possible to appropriate profits.
3) The division of society into conflict groups.
Social stratification performs two functions - it is a method of identifying the social strata of a given society and gives an idea of the social portrait of a given society.
Social stratification is distinguished by a certain stability within a particular historical stage.
Classes of social stratification
Inequality is a characteristic feature of any society, when some individuals, groups or layers have more opportunities or resources (financial, power, etc.) than others.To describe the system of inequality in sociology, the concept of "social stratification" is used. The very word "stratification" is borrowed from geology, where "stratum" means a geological layer. 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. The West German sociologist R. Dahrendorf proposed to put the political concept of "authority" as the basis of social stratification, 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 imagined 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".
The American sociologist L. Warner singled out four parameters as defining features of stratification:
Income;
- prestige of the profession;
- education;
- ethnicity.
Thus, he defined six main classes:
The upper-upper class included rich people. But the main criterion for their selection was "noble origin";
- the 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;
- the upper layer of the middle class consisted of highly educated people engaged in intellectual work, and business people, lawyers, owners of capital;
- the lower middle class was represented mainly by clerks and other "white collars" (secretaries, bank tellers, clerks);
- the upper layer of the lower class were "blue collars" - factory workers and other manual laborers;
- finally, the lower stratum of the lower class included the poorest and most outcast members of society.
Another American sociologist B. Barber stratified according to six indicators:
Prestige, profession, power and might;
- income level;
- the level of education;
- the degree of religiosity;
- position of relatives;
- ethnicity.
The French sociologist A. Touraine believed that all these criteria were already outdated, and proposed to define groups according to 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 identified three criteria for stratification:
Income level (rich and poor);
- political status (those who have power and those who do not have it);
- professional roles (teachers, engineers, doctors, etc.).
T. Parsons supplemented these signs with new criteria:
Qualitative characteristics inherent in people from birth (nationality, gender, family ties);
- role characteristics (position, level of knowledge; vocational training and so on.);
- "characteristics of possession" (the presence of property, material and spiritual values, privileges, etc.).
In modern post-industrial society, it is customary to distinguish four main stratification variables:
Income level;
- attitude to power;
- prestige of the profession;
- the level of education.
Income - the amount of money received by 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 received by an individual (individual income) or a 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 is measured by the number of years of study at a public or private school or university.
Power is measured by the number of people who are 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, it is protected by laws and tradition, surrounded by privileges and wide access to social benefits, and allows making 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 is outside this range, as it is a subjective indicator. Prestige is the respect that a particular profession, position, occupation enjoys in public opinion.
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.
There are nine types of historical stratification systems that can be used to describe any social organism, namely:
Physico-genetic,
- slaveholding,
- caste,
- class,
- etacratic
- social and 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.
The basis of the first type - 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 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 - 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. 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 Rus' 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 is 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 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 with a dominance of the caste system (this system was legally abolished here only in 1950). In India, there were 4 main castes: Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (merchants), Shudras (workers and peasants) and about 5 thousand minor castes and podcasts. 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 by a class stratification system. In this system, groups are distinguished legal rights which, in turn, are rigidly connected with 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 the etacratic system representing the fifth type (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, assigning categories to state institutions - or they can 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 the etacratic system from the system of estates. The etacratic system is revealed with all the greater force, the more authoritarian character the government assumes.
In accordance with the 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 in a medieval city and a rank grid in 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 one. 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 its purest 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-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 for communion with divine forces, for the possession of truth, for the expression of 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-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 work, 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 the social status of 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.
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 according to social strata depends on the importance of their professional activity and the contribution they make through their work to the achievement of society's goals. 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), proposed in addition 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.е. 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.
Types of social stratification
Modern theories of social stratification consider society as a hierarchical structure, at the top of which are privileged strata (strata of the population), and at the bottom are strata with a less advantageous position. Society has always been socially heterogeneous. People differ in physical strength, health, knowledge and skills, as well as social status and income.The stratification of society is more often linked with such concepts as "slavery", "caste", "estates", "classes".
Accordingly, the types of social stratification are distinguished:
Slave-owning stratification was based on the direct physical violence of slave owners in relation to slaves dependent on them. Slavery is the most obvious form of social inequality, when one individual is the property of another. As a result of the growing resistance of the slaves, and also because of their low interest in the results of their labor, this form of social stratification collapsed.
Caste stratification is associated with religious traditions, which fix the differentiation of the population into groups according to the types of permitted and prohibited activities. Caste is a rather vague concept. Most often it is associated with Indian culture, although the division of society into castes existed in other regions of the world. (For example, warriors, priests, commoners in Ancient Egypt). The racial differences that exist in many countries also have, in essence, a pronounced caste character.
Class stratification is determined by the legally fixed division of society into large social groups in accordance with the lifelong duties assigned to them. Estates were represented by privileged and oppressed groups of people. Aristocrats, nobles in Europe were the highest class. The clergy stood one step below. The third estate included merchants, artists, painters, free peasants (farmers), servants of noble persons. At the lowest social level were serfs.
Class stratification presupposes the economic inequality of citizens against the background of the proclaimed legal equality. Classes were present in all types of society, with the exception of primitive society, which was classless. The division of society into classes is usually based on the amount of income, the relationship to the means of production, or the level of control over production.
In modern society, along with class differentiation, there are other forms of social stratification:
Socio-demographic stratification - differentiation of the population by sex, age, the presence of certain physical qualities: strength, dexterity, beauty;
- socio-professional stratification - associated with the division of labor that has developed in society, requiring certain professional skills and experience;
- socio-cultural stratification - determined by unequal access to cultural values and therefore by the peculiarities of the way of life and style of behavior;
- socio-ethnic stratification - due to the ethnic characteristics of social groups.
Taken together, all types and forms of social stratification create a structurally complex, contradictory and unique structure of each specific society at each historical stage. The most acute contradictions are revealed in the formation of the social class composition of society.
Social structure and stratification
Between people in society there are differences of a social, biological, psychological nature. Social differences are called differences that are generated by social factors, such as: division of labor, lifestyle, functions performed, level of prosperity, etc. Modern society is characterized by the multiplication (growth) of social differences. Society is not only extremely differentiated and consists of many social groups, classes, communities, but also hierarchized: some layers have more power, more wealth, have a number of obvious advantages and privileges compared to others. Therefore, we can say that society has a social structure.The social structure is a stable set of elements, as well as connections and relationships that groups and communities of people enter into regarding the conditions of their life.
The initial element of the social structure of society is a person. Larger elements of the social structure: social groups, social strata (strata), classes, social communities, etc.
The social structure thus reflects the “vertical section” of society, however, all the constituent elements in society are located in a certain hierarchy, it is reflected by social stratification (“horizontal section”).
Social stratification (lat. stratum - layer, fasio - I do) - a set of vertically arranged social strata of society. The concept of stratification is borrowed by sociology from geology, where it denotes the position of layers of various rocks along the vertical.
A social stratum is a set of people within a large group who have a certain kind and level of prestige derived from their position, as well as the ability to achieve a special kind of monopoly. Sometimes in the literature, the concept of “social stratification” (i.e., division into layers) is used, which is identical to stratification. The term "stratification" captures not only the process of polarization of the population into poor and rich, but also final result stratification when a middle class emerges. The phenomenon of stratification is characteristic of both modern and pre-industrial societies.
A historical example of stratification is the caste system of Hindu society. In India, there were thousands of castes, but they were all grouped into four main ones: Brahmins - a caste of priests (3% of the population), Kshatriyas - descendants of warriors; vaishya - merchants, who together made up about 7% of Indians; sudra - peasants and artisans (70%); the rest are untouchables who have traditionally been cleaners, scavengers, tanners, swineherds. Strict rules did not allow representatives of the higher and lower castes to communicate, as it was believed that this defiles the higher ones. Of course, the stratification of ancient societies is not similar to the stratification of modern society, they differ in many criteria, one of which is the criterion of openness. In an open system of stratification, members of the social structure can easily change their social status (characteristic of modern societies); in a closed system of stratification, members of society with with great difficulty can change their status (agrarian-type societies).
The theory of social structure and stratification in sociology was developed by M. Weber, P. Sorokin, K. Marx and others.
P. Sorokin identified 3 types of social stratification according to 3 criteria:
1) income level,
2) political status,
3) professional roles.
P. Sorokin represented social stratification as the division of society into strata (layers). He believed that the layers (strata) do not remain data, unchanged, they are in constant change and development. P. Sorokin called the totality of such changes social mobility, i.e. mobility of social strata and classes.
A social stratum is a set of people within a large group who have a certain kind and level of prestige gained through position, as well as the ability to achieve a monopoly.
Social mobility is a change by an individual or group of a place in the social structure of society, a movement from one social position to another.
Social mobility has various characteristics, of which the spatial characteristics, the speed and density of the flow of stratification changes are essential.
Movement (mobility) happens:
– horizontal, vertical (up and down to another layer or within its own stratum);
- slow, fast (in terms of speed);
- individual, group.
T. Parsons improved the theory of social stratification proposed by P. Sorokin.
He supplemented the stratification criteria with new features:
1) quality characteristics that people have from birth (ethnicity, gender);
2) role characteristics (position, level of knowledge);
3) characteristics of possession (property, material values).
K. Marx understood social structure as the division of society into social classes. He linked the division of society into classes with the division of labor and the institution of private property. He believed that the cause of social stratification is the division of society into those who own the means of production, and those who can only sell their labor. According to K. Marx, these two groups and their diverging interests serve as the basis for stratification. Thus, for Marx, social stratification existed in only one dimension - economic.
M. Weber believed that K. Marx simplified the picture of stratification too much; there are other criteria for division in society. He proposed a multidimensional approach to stratification. M. Weber considered the sources of the development of strata: various types of people's occupations (professions), "charisma" inherited by some people and the appropriation of political power.
The scientist proposed to use 3 criteria for the stratification of society:
– class (economic status);
– status (prestige);
- party (power).
The economic position of stratification is determined by the wealth and income of the individual; prestige is authority, influence, respect, the degree of which corresponds to a certain social status; power is the ability of individuals and social groups to impose their will on others and to mobilize human resources to achieve a goal.
These three dimensions are interrelated, but not necessarily ranking high on one criterion, an individual will also rank high on another criterion (for example, the prestige of a priest in society is high, but this group of the population ranks low in terms of influence on politics).
Social stratification system
Distinguish between open and closed systems of stratification.A social structure whose members can change their status relatively easily is called an open system of stratification. In open systems of stratification, each member of society can change his status, rise or fall on the social ladder based on his own efforts and abilities. Modern societies, experiencing the need for qualified and competent specialists capable of managing complex social, political and economic processes, provide a fairly free movement of individuals in the system of stratification.
An open society is also called a society of equal opportunities, where everyone has a chance to rise to the highest levels of the social hierarchy.
A structure whose members can change their status with great difficulty is called a closed stratification system. An example of a closed system of stratification is the caste organization of India. A closed society is characterized by a rigid social structure that prevents people from moving not only up the social ladder, but also down. In such a society, social movements from the lower to the higher strata are either completely prohibited or significantly limited. Everyone knows their place in society, and this knowledge is passed down from generation to generation. Social statuses become heritable. Thanks to this centuries-old habituation to one's social position, not only a special psychology of fatalism, resignation to one's fate, but also a special kind of solidarity with the class and estate is formed. Corporate spirit, class ethics, code of honor - these concepts came from a closed society.
In sociology, four main types of stratification are known - slavery, castes, estates and classes. The first three characterize closed societies, the last type - open ones.
Slavery Slavery is historically the first system of social stratification. Slavery arose in ancient times in Egypt, Babylon, China, Greece, Rome and has survived in a number of regions almost to the present day. It has existed in the United States since the 19th century. Slavery was the least common among nomadic peoples, especially hunter-gatherers, and most prevalent in agrarian societies.
Slavery is an economic, social and legal form of enslavement of people, bordering on complete lack of rights and an extreme degree of inequality.
Slavery has historically evolved. The primitive form, or patriarchal slavery, and the developed form, or classical slavery, differ substantially. In the first case, the slave had all the rights of the youngest member of the family: he lived in the same house with the owners, participated in public life, married the free, inherited the property of the owner. It was forbidden to kill him. An example is serfdom in Rus' in the 10th-12th centuries. At the mature stage (during classical slavery), the slave was finally enslaved: he lived in a separate room, did not participate in anything, did not inherit anything, did not marry and had no family. He was allowed to be killed. He did not own property, but he himself was considered the property of the owner ("talking tool"). This form includes ancient slavery in Ancient Greece and plantation slavery in the United States.
The following causes of slavery are usually cited:
First, a debt obligation, when a person who was unable to pay his debts fell into slavery to his creditor.
Secondly, the violation of laws, when the execution of a murderer or a robber was replaced by slavery, i.e. the culprit was handed over to the affected family as compensation for the grief or damage caused.
Thirdly, war, raids, conquest, when one group of people conquered another, and the winners used some of the captives as slaves. Historian Gerda Lerner notes that there were more women among the slaves captured in the war effort; they were used as concubines, in order to reproduce offspring and as an additional labor force.
Thus, slavery was the result of a military defeat, a crime, or an unpaid debt, and not a sign of some inherent natural quality of some people.
Although slaveholding practices differed from region to region and from different eras, but regardless of whether slavery was the result of an unpaid debt, punishment, military captivity, or racial prejudice; whether it was permanent or temporary; hereditary or not, the slave was still the property of another person, and the system of laws secured the status of a slave. Slavery served as the main distinction between people, clearly indicating which person is free (and legally receives certain privileges) and which is a slave (without privileges).
Castes, like slavery, the caste system characterizes a closed society and rigid stratification. It is not as old as the slave system, and less common. If almost all countries went through slavery, of course, to varying degrees, then castes were found only in India and partly in Africa. India is a classic example of a caste society. It arose on the ruins of the slave system in the first centuries of the new era. A caste is a social group (stratum) in which a person owes membership solely to 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 (now it is clear why castes are not widespread). According to its canons, people live more than one life. The previous life of a person determines the nature of his new birth and the caste into which he falls in this case - the lowest or vice versa.
Since in the caste system status is determined by birth and is lifelong, the basis of the caste system is prescribed status. The achieved status is not able to change the place of the individual in this system. People who are born into a low-status group will always have this status, no matter what they personally manage to achieve in life.
Societies that are characterized by this form of stratification strive for a clear preservation of the boundaries between castes, therefore endogamy is practiced here - marriages within one's own group - and there is a ban on intergroup marriages. To prevent inter-caste contact, such societies develop complex rules regarding ritual purity, according to which it is considered that communication with members of the lower castes defiles the higher caste.
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 estates. An estate is a social group that has fixed custom or legal law and inherited rights and obligations.
The estate system, which includes several strata, is characterized by a hierarchy, expressed in the inequality of their position and privileges. A classic example of class organization was feudal Europe, where at the turn of the 14th-15th centuries society was divided into upper classes (nobility and clergy) and an unprivileged third estate (artisans, merchants, peasants). And in the X-XIII centuries there were three main estates: the clergy, the nobility and the peasantry. In Russia, from the second half of the 18th century, a class division into nobility, clergy, merchants, peasantry and philistinism (middle urban strata) was established.
Estates were based on landed property. The rights and obligations of each estate were enshrined in legal law and consecrated by religious doctrine. Membership in the estate was determined by inheritance. Social barriers between the estates were quite rigid, so social mobility existed not so much between as within the estates. Each estate included many layers, ranks, levels, professions, ranks. So, only nobles could engage in public service. The aristocracy was considered a military estate (chivalry).
The higher in the social hierarchy an estate stood, the higher was its status. In contrast to castes, inter-class marriages were quite allowed, and individual mobility was also allowed. A simple person could become a knight by purchasing a special permit from the ruler. Merchants acquired titles of nobility for money. As a relic, this practice has partially survived in modern England.
Characteristic estates - the presence of social symbols and signs: titles, uniforms, orders, titles. Classes and castes did not have state distinctive signs, although they were distinguished by clothing, jewelry, norms and rules of conduct, and a ritual of conversion. In a feudal society, the upper class - the nobility - had their own symbols and signs given to them by the state.
Titles are statutory verbal designations of the official and estate-generic position of their holders, briefly defining legal status. In Russia in the 19th century, there were such titles as "general", "state councilor", "chamberlain", "count", "adjutant wing", "secretary of state", "excellency" and "lordship". The core of the title system was the rank - the rank of each civil servant (military, civilian or courtier). Before Peter I, the concept of "rank" meant any position, honorary title, social status of a person. In 1722, Peter I established a new system of ranks, known as the "Table of Ranks". Each type of public service - military, civilian and court - was divided into 14 ranks. The class denoted the rank of the position, which was called the class rank. The name "official" was assigned to its owner.
Only the nobility, local and service, was allowed to public service. Both were hereditary: the title of nobility was passed on to the wife, children and distant descendants through the male line. Noble status was usually formalized in the form of genealogy, family coat of arms, portraits of ancestors, legends, titles and orders. Thus, a sense of the continuity of generations, pride in one's family and a desire to preserve its good name gradually formed in the minds. Together, they constituted the concept of "noble honor", an important component of which was the respect and trust of others in a spotless name. The noble origin of a hereditary nobleman was determined by the merits of his family before the Fatherland.
Classes of the Stratification System based on slavery, castes and estates are closed. The boundaries separating people are so clear and rigid that they leave no room for people to move from one group to another, with the exception of marriages between members of different clans. The class system is much more open because it is based primarily on money or material possessions.
Class is also determined at birth - the individual receives the status of his parents, but the social class of the individual during his life can change depending on what he managed (or failed) to achieve in life.
Belonging to a social stratum in slave-owning, caste and estate-feudal societies was officially fixed - by legal or religious norms. In a class society, the situation is different: no legal documents regulate the place of the individual in the social structure. Every person is free to move, with ability, education or income, from one class to another.
Thus, there are no laws that determine the occupation or profession of an individual depending on birth or prohibit marriage with members of other social classes.
In sociology, the class is understood in two aspects - broad and narrow.
In a broad sense, a class is understood as a large social group of people who own or do not own the means of production, occupying a certain place in the system of social division of labor and characterized by a specific way of earning income.
Since private property arises during the period of the birth of the state, it is believed that already in the Ancient East and in ancient Greece there were two opposite classes - slaves and slave owners. Feudalism and capitalism are no exception - and here there were and still are antagonistic classes: the exploiters and the exploited. This is the point of view of K. Marx, which is adhered to today not only by domestic, but also by many foreign sociologists.
In a narrow sense, a class is any social stratum in modern society that differs from others in income, education, power and prestige. This point of view prevails in foreign sociology, and now acquires the rights of citizenship also in the domestic one.
So, we can draw a very important conclusion: in the historical sense, classes are the youngest and most open type of stratification.
Indeed, belonging to a social stratum in slave-owning, caste and estate-feudal societies was fixed by legal or religious norms. In pre-revolutionary Russia, every person knew what class he was in. People, as they say, were assigned to one or another social stratum. In a class society, things are different. No one is assigned anywhere. The state does not deal with the issues of social consolidation of its citizens. The only controller is the public opinion of people, which is guided by customs, established practices, income, lifestyle and standards of behavior. Therefore, it is very difficult to accurately and unambiguously determine the number of classes in a particular country, the number of strata or layers into which they are divided, and the belonging of people to strata is very difficult.
From top to bottom in society are the strata of the rich, wealthy (middle class) and poor people. Large social strata are also called classes, within which we can find smaller divisions, which are actually called layers, or strata.
The rich occupy the most privileged positions and have the most prestigious professions. As a rule, they are better paid and are associated with mental work, the performance of managerial functions. Leaders, kings, kings, presidents, political leaders, big businessmen, scientists and artists are the elite of society.
The wealthy strata (middle class) in modern society include doctors, lawyers, teachers, qualified employees, the middle and petty bourgeoisie.
To the lower strata - unskilled workers, the unemployed, the poor. The working class, according to modern ideas, constitutes an independent group, which occupies an intermediate position between the middle and lower classes.
The wealthy of the upper class have a higher level of education and a greater amount 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 for stratification.
In general, the main characteristic of the class system of social stratification is the relative flexibility of its boundaries. The class system leaves room for social mobility, i.e. to move up or down the social ladder. Having the potential to advance one's social position, or class, is one of the main driving forces that motivate people to study well and work hard. Of course, marital status, inherited by a person from birth, can also determine extremely unfavorable conditions that will not leave him a chance to rise too high in life, and provide the child with such privileges that it will be practically impossible for him to “slide down” the class ladder.
In addition to the presented stratification systems, there are also physical-genetic, etacratic, socio-professional; cultural-symbolic and 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 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 greatest prestige here belongs to those who are able to carry out violence against nature and people or resist such violence: a healthy young male breadwinner in a peasant community living on the fruits of primitive manual labor; courageous warrior of the Spartan state; a true Aryan of the National Socialist army, capable of producing healthy offspring.
The system that ranks people according to their capacity for physical violence is largely a product of the militarism of ancient and modern societies. At present, although devoid of its former significance, it is still supported by military, sports and sexual-erotic propaganda.
The etacratic system (from French and Greek - "state power") has some similarities with the estate system. 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 to state institutions - or they can remain outside the sphere of state legislation (a good example is the system of the Soviet party nomenclature, 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 the etacratic system from the system of estates.
The etacratic system is revealed with all the greater force, the more authoritarian character the government assumes. In ancient times, striking examples of the etacratic system were observed in the societies of Asian despotism (China, India, Cambodia), located, however, by no means only in Asia (but, for example, in Peru, Egypt). In the twentieth century, it is actively asserting itself in the so-called "socialist societies" and, perhaps, even plays a decisive role in them.
In the 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 in a medieval city and a rank grid in 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.
In the cultural-symbolic stratification system, differentiation arises 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 the servants of the Church, interpreters of sacred texts, who make up the bulk of the literate population, in modern times - to scientists, technocrats and party ideologists. Claims for communion with divine forces, for the possession of scientific truth, for the expression of 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.
Pre-industrial societies are more characterized by theocratic manipulation; for industrial - partocratic; and for post-industrial - technocratic manipulation.
The cultural-normative type of the stratification system is characterized by differentiation built on differences in respect and prestige arising from a comparison of lifestyles and 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 the ranking of groups ("noble - not noble", "decent - not decent", "elite - ordinary people - the bottom").
Social stratification of modern society
The Stalin-Brezhnev model of stratification was reduced only to forms of ownership and, on this basis, to two classes (workers and collective farm peasantry) and a stratum (intelligentsia). The existing social inequality, the alienation of classes from property and power in Soviet science were not subjected to open structuring until the mid-1980s. However, foreign researchers were engaged in the stratification of social inequality in Soviet society. One of them - A. Inkels - analyzed the 1940s-1950s. and gave a conical model of the hierarchical division of society in the USSR.Using the material level, privileges and power as bases, he outlined nine social strata: the ruling elite, the upper intelligentsia, the labor aristocracy, the mainstream intelligentsia, the middle workers, the wealthy peasants, the white-collar workers, the middle peasants, the underprivileged workers, and the forced labor group ( prisoners). The inertia of a society closed to study turned out to be so great that at the present time the domestic stratification analysis is just unfolding.
Researchers turn to both the Soviet past and the current Russian society. Variations of three layers are known (business layer, middle layer, lumpen layer) and a model of eleven hierarchical levels (apparatus, "comprador", "national bourgeoisie", directorate, "merchants", farmers, collective farmers, members of new agricultural enterprises, lumpen- intellectuals, working class, unemployed). The most developed model belongs to Academician T. Zaslavskaya, who identified 78 social strata in modern Russia.
Western sociologists in the twentieth century. use different approaches to social stratification:
1) subjective - self-evaluative, when the respondents themselves determine their social affiliation;
2) subjective reputational, when respondents determine the social affiliation of each other;
3) objective (most common) - as a rule, with a status criterion. Most Western sociologists, structuring the societies of developed countries, divide them into the upper, middle and working classes, in some countries also the peasantry (for example, France, Japan, third world countries).
The upper class stands out for its wealth, corporatism and power. It makes up about 2% of modern societies, but controls up to 85-90% of the capital. It is made up of bankers, owners, presidents, party leaders, movie stars, outstanding athletes.
The middle class includes non-manual workers and is divided into three groups: the upper middle class (professionals - doctors, scientists, lawyers, engineers, etc.); intermediate middle class (teachers, nurses, actors, journalists, technicians); the lower middle class (cashiers, salespeople, photographers, policemen, etc.). The middle class makes up 30-35% in the structure of Western societies.
The working class - the class of manual workers, accounting for about 50-65% in different countries, is also divided into three layers:
1) workers of skilled manual labor (locksmiths, turners, cooks, hairdressers, etc.);
2) workers of manual semi-skilled labor (seamstresses, agricultural workers, telephone operators, bartenders, orderlies, etc.);
3) workers of unskilled labor (loaders, cleaners, kitchen workers, servants, etc.). An important feature of modern society is that, by supporting in the mass consciousness the idea of the necessity and expediency of the social hierarchy, it gives everyone a chance to test their strength in the most difficult ascent of the steps of the stratification ladder.
Thus, conditions are created for directing the energy generated by dissatisfaction with one's position in the hierarchical structure, not to destroy the structure itself and the institutions that protect it, but to achieve personal success. A stable idea is being created in the mass consciousness about personal responsibility for one's own destiny, for one's place in the pyramid of power, prestige and privileges.
Social inequality and social stratification
Social inequality - conditions under which people have unequal access to social goods such as money, power and prestige; these are some types of relationships between people: personal inequality, inequality of opportunities to achieve desired goals (inequality of chances). Inequality of living conditions (welfare, education, etc.), inequality of results; it is a system of priorities and social advantages that regulates the factors of social survival, which may be associated with an advantageous position in the social disposition, ease of moving to the privileged strata, social strata and a whole set of characteristics that demonstrate an increase in the degree of social freedom and security.Social inequality is a system of relations emerging in society that characterizes the uneven distribution of society's scarce resources (money, power, education and prestige) between different strata, or strata, of the population, social inequality is the cause and effect of social stratification. The main measure of inequality is the amount of liquid values, in modern society this function is usually performed by money. If inequality is presented as a scale, then those who own the greatest amount of goods (the rich) will be on one pole, and those who own the least (poor) will be on the other. Wealth is expressed as a sum of money equivalent to what a person owns. Wealth and poverty set a multidimensional stratification hierarchy. The amount of money determines the place of an individual or family in social stratification.
Social inequality in power relations is manifested in the ability of a certain social subject (social stratum, or stratum) to determine in their own interests the goals and direction of the activities of other social subjects (regardless of their interests), dispose of the material, informational and status resources of society, form and impose rules and code of Conduct. The key value in measuring social inequality by power relations belongs to the disposal of resources, which allows the ruling subject to subjugate other people. Social inequality in terms of the level of education and the prestige of social status, profession, position, occupation is determined by the inequality of starting conditions or the inequality of conditions for the development of various social strata and strata (real injustice, infringement of natural human rights, creation of artificial social barriers, monopolization of conditions and rules of social production) .
Social stratification - constant ranking of social statuses and roles in the social system (from a small group to society); this is the distribution of social groups in a hierarchically ordered rank (in ascending or descending order of any sign); this is a concept denoting, firstly, the structure of society, and secondly, a system of signs of social stratification, inequality. Social stratification is the structuring of inequality between different social communities, communities or groups of people, or a hierarchical organized structure of social inequality existing in society. The term "stratification" is borrowed from geology, where it refers to vertically arranged social strata.
Social stratification is a rank stratification, when the higher, or upper, strata, which are significantly smaller in the number of members of society included in them, are in a more privileged position (in terms of the possession of resources or the possibility of receiving rewards) than the lower strata. All complex societies have several systems of stratification, according to which individuals are ranked in layers. The main types of social stratification are: economic, political and professional.
In accordance with the data, the types of social stratification of society are usually distinguished by the criterion of income (and wealth, i.e. accumulation), the criteria for influencing the behavior of members of society and the criteria associated with the successful performance of social roles, the availability of knowledge, skills, skills and intuition, which are evaluated and rewarded by society. Social stratification, fixing the natural and social inequality between people, is sustainably maintained and regulated by various institutional mechanisms, constantly reproduced and modified, which is a condition for the orderly existence of any society and a source of its development.
Historical social stratification
There are 4 main historical types of social stratification:1. Slavery is an extreme form of inequality, when some individuals are the property of others.
2. Caste - a group whose members are related by origin or legal status, belonging to which is hereditary, the transition from one caste to another is practically impossible. In India, there were 4 castes, separated by the norms of ritual purity. Large castes were divided into podcasts. A characteristic feature of the caste system was endogamy (the prohibition of unequal marriages).
3. Estate - a group that has fixed custom or law and inherited rights and obligations. Estates were based on landed property. A characteristic feature of the estate is the presence of social symbols and signs: titles, uniforms, orders, titles. The estate system reached its perfection in medieval Western Europe. As a rule, two privileged classes are distinguished - the clergy and the nobility - and the third, which included all other strata of society.
4. Classes have a number of features that distinguish them from the other three stratification systems:
1) Classes are not based on law and religious traditions, belonging to a class is not associated with the inheritance of privileges enshrined in law or custom.
2) An individual can become a member of a class through his efforts, and not just "receive" it at birth.
3) Classes arise depending on the difference in the economic situation of groups of individuals, inequality in ownership and control over economic resources.
4) In other stratification systems, inequality is expressed primarily through personal relationships of duty and duty - between a slave and a master, a landowner and a serf. Class systems, on the other hand, function through large-scale connections of an impersonal nature.
The concept of class was introduced into circulation by the French historians Thierry and Guizot in the 18th century. There are many class concepts in modern sociology. Let us consider two main approaches to the analysis of classes - Marxist and gradational.
Marxist approach. The concept of "class" is most actively used by Marxists, but there is no definition of this category in the works of K. Marx. According to Marx, the main class-forming feature is ownership of the means of production.
The most important manifestation of class relations was the exploitation of one class by another. At each stage of the development of society, K. Marx singled out the main classes corresponding to this method production (slaves and slave owners, feudal lords and peasants, capitalists and workers), and non-basic - remnants of the old or the embryos of new formations (landowners under capitalism). The division of society into classes is the result of the social division of labor and the formation of private property relations.
According to Marx, a class in its development goes through two stages - from a "class in itself" to a "class for itself". The “class in itself” is an emerging class that has not realized its class interests. The second is an already formed class.
The gradation approach takes into account not one, but several criteria of class formation (occupation, source and amount of income, level of education, lifestyle).
Among the models of stratification adopted in Western sociology, the Lloyd Warner model has become the most widely used. He singled out three classes and two strata in each class.
The highest highest - dynasties (wealthy families of noble origin).
The lowest highest - people of high income, recently wealthy (nouveau riche).
Higher average - highly qualified people engaged in mental work, with high incomes (lawyers, doctors, scientific elite, managers), representatives of medium-sized businesses.
The lower middle group consists of unskilled "white-collar workers" (clerical workers, secretaries, cashiers, waiters), as well as small proprietors.
Higher lower - workers of manual labor.
Lower lower - beggars, unemployed, homeless, foreign workers.
Forms of social stratification
The specific aspects of social stratification are numerous. However, all their diversity can be reduced to three main forms: 1) economic, 2) political and 3) professional stratification. As a rule, they are all closely intertwined. People who belong to the highest stratum in one respect usually belong to the same stratum in other respects, and vice versa. Representatives of the highest economic strata simultaneously belong to the highest political and professional strata. The poor, as a rule, are disenfranchised and are in the lower strata of the professional hierarchy.This is the general rule, although there are many exceptions. So, for example, the richest are not always at the top of the political or professional pyramid, just as the poor do not always occupy the lowest places in the political and professional hierarchies. And this means that the interconnection of the three forms of social stratification is far from perfect, because the various layers of each of the forms do not completely coincide with each other ... they coincide with each other, but only partially, i.e. up to a certain extent.
Lumpens and outcasts
These two groups of the population, as it were, fall out of the stable social structure of society.
Lumpen - the proletariat (from German Lumpen - "rags") - a term introduced by Karl Marx to refer to the lower strata of the proletariat. Later, all declassed strata of the population (tramps, beggars, criminal elements, and others) began to be called "lumpen". In most cases, a lumpen is a person who does not have any property and lives on odd jobs.
Lumpen - declassed elements, people without social roots, a moral code, ready to unreasonably obey the strong, that is, who currently has real power.
The lumpenization of society means an increase in the proportion of these strata in the population and the spread of the psychology of the lumpen in conditions of a social crisis.
Marginal (from French marginal, Latin margo - edge, border) - 1) located on the border of two environments; 2) a person who, by his position, finds himself outside a certain social stratum, group (marginal personality, marginal).
It is often used as a negative assessment in relation to lumpen and outcasts, as well as in a positive sense - in relation to people who creatively overcome stereotypes and established principles of activity.
positive and negative sides marginality.
Marginality is usually associated with painful psychological experiences. It can be viewed as a negative phenomenon. And indeed, being outside of society is far from the most pleasant thing in life. This situation is dangerous, because a person may begin to feel superfluous, unnecessary.
On the other hand, it is precisely this position that can become an impetus that will force a person to make efforts and either adapt to society, restore his position in it, or change the social structure. Marginals play an extremely important role in the formation of new social communities (religious, professional, etc.). There is a close connection between the emergence of large masses of people who, for some reason, found themselves outside the usual way of life, and the emergence of new social formations, which has been repeatedly noted by sociologists.
Changing the degree of social inequality in the process of history.
Pareto believed that the degree of economic inequality, the proportion of rich people in the population is a constant thing. Karl Marx believed that in the modern world there is a process of economic differentiation - the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer, the middle class is disappearing. Pitirim Sorokin refuted these hypotheses with facts in hand and proved that the level of economic inequality fluctuates over time around one constant value.
Comparison of the stages of development of society in terms of inequality shows:
1) In societies of hunters and gatherers of plants, for example, among the Papuans of the island of Kivai, inequality occurs to the least extent.
2) In horticultural societies, the political leader, the merchant and the priest are the most influential. The degree of social inequality is low.
3) Inequality is most clearly manifested in agrarian societies, where hereditary monarchy and slavery arose.
4) In industrial societies, inequality and concentration of power are less than in agrarian ones.
Figures of inequality (stratification profile):
1) pyramid;
2) rhombus.
The horizontal width of the figure indicates the number of people with a given amount of income. At the top of the figure is the elite. Over the past hundred years, Western society has evolved from a pyramidal structure to a diamond-shaped one. In the pyramidal structure, there is a vast majority of the poor and a small handful of oligarchs. The diamond-shaped structure has a large share of the middle class. A rhomboid structure is preferred over a pyramidal structure, as in the first case, a large middle class will not allow a handful of poor people to start a civil war. And in the second case, the vast majority, consisting of the poor, can easily overturn the social system, arrange civil war and senseless slaughter. Russia's challenge is to move from the triangular shape of inequality that exists in Russia today to a diamond shape.
The middle class is a set of social strata of the population that occupy an intermediate position in the stratification system of society between the lower class (the poor) and the upper class (the rich). In developed countries, the middle class is the largest group of the population.
The functions of the middle class are traditionally considered to be the stabilization of society and the reproduction of a skilled workforce.
The concept of social stratification
Basics modern approach to the study of social stratification were laid by M. Weber, who considered the social structure of society as a multidimensional system in which, along with classes and the property relations that give rise to them, status and power occupy an important place.The most developed functionalist concept of social stratification (T. Parsons, E. Shils and others), according to which the stratification system of society is a differentiation of social roles and positions and is an objective need of any developed society. On the one hand, it is due to the division of labor and social differentiation of various groups, and on the other hand, it is the result of the action of the prevailing system of values and cultural standards in society that determine the significance of a particular activity and legitimize the emerging social inequality.
In the theory of social action, T. Parsons makes an attempt to develop universal criteria for the concept of social stratification:
"quality", i.e. prescribing to an individual a certain characteristic, position (for example, responsibility, competence, etc.);
"execution", i.e. evaluation of the activity of the individual in comparison with the activities of other people;
"possession" of material values, talent, skill, cultural resources.
In empirical sociology, the following approaches to the study of the concept of social stratification are distinguished: "self-evaluative", or the method of "class identification", when the sociologist gives the respondent the right to attribute himself to some conditional scale of the class composition of the population; the “reputation assessment” method, in which the respondents are asked to act as experts, that is, to assess the social position of each other or social groups known to them; "objective approach", when the researcher operates with some objective criterion of social differentiation; most often based on a social-class scale associated with the concept of "socio-economic status", usually covering three variables - the prestige of the profession, the level of education and the level of income.
When studying social stratification and mobility using the "objective approach" method, a seven-class vertical scale is often used:
1 - the highest class of professionals, administrators;
2 - mid-level technical specialists;
3 - commercial class;
4 - petty bourgeoisie;
5 - technicians and workers performing managerial functions;
6 - skilled workers;
7 - unskilled workers.
A generalization of multidimensional stratification is its geometric model, which conditionally represents a social space consisting of a series of interconnected axes formed by various measurable features (occupation, income, education, housing, etc.), along which an individual or group moves.
The theories under consideration are a component of the concept of social stratification, in which the concept of "status" is developed (from Latin status - state, position). Social status is the position of an individual in society in accordance with age, gender, origin, profession, marital status.
Distinguish the status of innate (prescribed) (social origin, nationality) and achievable (achievable) (education, qualifications, etc.). At the same time, each person, having a certain social status (according to which he occupies a certain place in the social hierarchy), combines several statuses in his person, being, for example, simultaneously a father, husband, governor, member of a political party, captain of a sports team, etc. e. Sometimes these statuses come into conflict with each other. In this case, the individual is forced to prefer one status to another.
The concept of "social status" is closely related to the concept of "social role". In this sense, the latter turns out to be the dynamic side of social status, its function, expected behavior depending on a certain position of a person in society.
With the help of social status theories, some sociologists interpret the concept of "class struggle" as the struggle of individuals for a better social role in conditions when the highest roles and statuses are numerically limited and the demand for them exceeds the supply.
Features of social stratification
Nomenklatura clans in the state apparatus, trying to put the course of reforms at their service, are faced with protests from broad social strata seeking to establish in society the principles of social justice and freedom. The struggle of forces and strata associated with a criminalized and "honest" economy is acquiring the most acute forms, up to acts of political terror, etc.At the same time, the formation of modern social stratification in Russia has a certain specificity and history. There were latent processes of the emergence of quasi-private property in the country (for example, in the form of individual-corporate property of the highest administrative bureaucracy, the accumulation of resources in the shadow economy), which subsequently contributed to the formation of a proto-class of large owners (nomenklatura, large representatives of the trade sector). The launched open nomenklatura privatization led to the concentration by the ruling class in their hands of the state property that they formally disposed of in Soviet times. The establishment by the class of managers of numerous funds, joint ventures and structures in place of state institutions and organizations is the mechanism that contributed to the redistribution of public resources into the individual property of managers. Thus, while retaining power, the nomenklatura also acquired property. In her person, a group of very rich and influential people was legally formed in the country.
Competitive capitalism began to gradually take shape in the country (in the form of directorial and check privatization, enrichment of officials through licensing and quotas in the regulation of export-import operations, the emergence of a layer of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs). The corporative nature of relations between government and business has led to the formation of favorable conditions for the growth of big capital. For example, if in the USA it took an average of 47 years to earn a fortune of 10 million dollars, and in South Korea - 13 years, then in Russia in those years it was possible in just 3-4 years. In the future, the growing influence of big capital led to its close rapprochement with power and entry into power (oligarchization). At the same time, support for medium and small businesses remained on the periphery of the authorities' attention.
The predominant orientation of the state to support big capital and the protectionist policy towards representatives of the ruling class led to rapid social stratification and massive downward social mobility. A significant group of poor people has formed in the country, according to various sources, today it covers from 40 to 80% of the population. If, for example, the minimum wage in the United States today is approximately 115–120% of the subsistence minimum, then in the Russian Federation it is only 17.5%. Such a significant decline in the standard of living of the population shows that at present stratification tends to "collapse differences" to its one politically significant dimension - economic.
According to a number of Russian scientists, at present the following stratification has developed in the country: the elite (large entrepreneurs and owners, politicians, the highest bureaucracy, the generals) - 0.5%; the top layer (high-ranking officials, businessmen, highly paid specialists) - 6-7%; the middle stratum (small private entrepreneurs, employed specialists) - 21%; the base layer (semi-intelligentsia, workers of mass professions in the sphere of trade and service, skilled workers and peasants) - 65%; the bottom layer (technical employees, unskilled workers, lumpen) - 7%.
The social stratification of Russian society has revealed new prestigious groups, which began to include financiers, bankers, employees of tax structures, and lawyers. At the same time, in a number of youth strata, criminal ethics became widespread and gained special authority. And this is not accidental, given that at present the shadow economy (directly and in parallel) employs a large part of the workforce. Of these, 9 million Russians took part in the criminal business (covering more than 40 thousand economic objects). Corruption has become an attribute of the state structure.
IN last years, despite the presence of low consumer standards and the difficulties experienced by the country, there is a gradual folding of the middle class. This process is associated primarily with a certain restructuring of the intellectual sphere, bringing the number of workers in science, education and culture into line with the opportunities and needs of society in these types of activities, as well as the gradual formation of a layer of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs.
A significant role in the evolution of social relations, which ambiguously affects the political stability of society and the diversity of political life in the country, is played by: migration from the CIS countries, the strengthening of regional characteristics, the complication of the cultural appearance of groups. Experience shows that the mitigation of political tension in Russia, as in other countries with a transitional social structure, is usually associated with an increase in the social orientation of government activities (especially in relation to the most vulnerable segments of the population), with the fight against crime and the privileges of the state bureaucracy, and the expansion of opportunities professional retraining of citizens and a number of other measures.
class social stratification
Class stratification is characteristic of an open type of society. It differs significantly from both the caste system and the class system.Differences in class stratification are manifested in the following:
1) classes are not created on the basis of religious doctrine or on the basis of legal norms;
2) membership in classes is not inherited;
3) the boundaries between classes are blurred rather than rigidly defined; classes are mobile;
4) the division into classes depends on economic differences (associated with inequality in the ownership or control of material resources);
5) the level of social mobility is higher in a class society (there are no formal restrictions, but mobility is constrained by starting opportunities and claims).
A class is a social group of people who own or do not own the means of production, occupy a certain place in the system of social division of labor and are characterized by a specific way of earning income.
The most influential theoretical approaches in the definition of class stratification belong to K. Marx and M. Weber. According to Marx, a class is a community of people in direct relation to the means of production. He singled out in society at various stages of its existence the exploited and the exploiters.
The stratification of society according to K. Marx is one-dimensional and is connected only with classes, since its main basis is the economic position, and all other grounds (rights, privileges, power, influence) fit into the space of the economic position, are combined with it.
M. Weber defined classes as groups of people who have a similar position in a market economy, receive similar economic rewards and have similar life chances. Class divisions stem from economic differences not related to property. Such sources include professional skill, rare specialty, high qualification, intellectual property ownership, etc.
M. Weber gave not only class stratification, considering it only a part of the structuring necessary for a complex capitalist society. Weber proposed a three-dimensional division: if economic differences (by wealth) give rise to class stratification, then spiritual (by prestige) - status, and political (by access to power) - party. In the first case, we are talking about the life chances of social strata, in the second - about the image and style of their life, in the third - about the possession of power and influence on it. Most sociologists consider the Weberian scheme to be more flexible, corresponding to modern society.
Weber's ideas formed the basis of modern stratification. At present, the generally accepted sociological model of the stratification structure of society in some countries (for example, in the UK) is the division of the population into three classes - working, intermediate, higher.
Manual workers are classified as the working class, non-manual workers are classified as the intermediate class, and managers and professionals are classified as the upper class.
In a country as sociologically developed as the United States, different sociologists offer different typologies of classes. In one there are seven, in another six, in the third five, and so on, social strata.
The first typology of classes was proposed by the USA in the 40s. 20th century American sociologist Lloyd Warner:
- the upper-upper class included the so-called "old families". They consisted of the most successful businessmen and those who were called professionals. They lived in privileged parts of the city;
- the lower-upper class in terms of material well-being was not inferior to the upper-upper class, but did not include the old tribal families;
- the upper-middle class consisted of owners and professionals who had less material wealth than those from the two upper classes, but they actively participated in the public life of the city and lived in fairly comfortable areas;
- the lower-middle class consisted of lower employees and skilled workers;
- the upper-lower class included low-skilled workers employed in local factories and living in relative prosperity;
- the lower-lower class consisted of those who are commonly called the "social bottom" - these are the inhabitants of basements, attics, slums and other places unsuitable for life. They constantly felt an inferiority complex due to hopeless poverty and constant humiliation. In all two-part words, the first - denotes a stratum or layer, and the second - the class to which this layer belongs.
The middle class (with its layers) is always distinguished from the working class. The working class may include the unemployed, the unemployed, the homeless, the poor, etc. As a rule, highly skilled workers are not included in the working class, but in the middle, but in its lower stratum, which is filled mainly by low-skilled mental workers - employees .
Another option is possible: workers are not included in the middle class, but two layers are left in the general working class. Specialists are included in the next layer of the middle class (the concept of "specialist" implies at least a college education).
The upper stratum of the middle class is filled mainly by "professionals" - specialists who, as a rule, have a university education and a large practical experience, who are distinguished by high skill in their field, are engaged in creative work and belong to the so-called category of self-employed, that is, who have their own practice, their own business (lawyers, doctors, scientists, teachers, etc.).
The middle class is a unique phenomenon in the world history of the stratification system of society. It appeared in the 20th century. The middle class acts as a stabilizer of society, and this is its specific function. The larger it is, the more stable the favorable political and economic atmosphere in society.
Representatives of the middle class are always interested in preserving the system that gives them such opportunities for realization and well-being. The thinner and weaker the middle class, the closer the polar points of stratification (lower and upper classes) are to each other, the more likely they are to clash. As a rule, the middle class includes those who have economic independence, that is, they own an enterprise, firm, office, private practice, their own business, as well as scientists, priests, doctors, lawyers, middle managers, the petty bourgeoisie, in other words, social basis society.
The essence of social stratification
There are many groups in society, but they are not all equal, just as the people who make up these groups are not equal. Those. there is always social inequality. However, the levels and forms of social inequality can be different.The central concept in the analysis of social inequality is the concept of social stratification.
Social stratification (from Latin stratum - layer, layer) - stratification, stratification of groups that have different access to social benefits due to their position in the social hierarchy. A stratum includes many people who are similar in some way, who feel connected to each other. Economic, political, socio-demographic, cultural characteristics can act as a sign, but they must necessarily be status, i.e. have a ranking character.
In sociology, there are various methodological approaches to the analysis of the essence, origins and prospects for the development of social stratification.
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functional approach |
Conflict Approach |
evolutionary approach |
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1. Stratification is natural, necessary, inevitable, because it is associated with a variety of needs, functions and social roles. |
1. Stratification is not necessary, but not inevitable. It arises from the conflict of groups. |
1. Stratification is not always necessary and useful. It appears not only because of natural needs, but also on the basis of the conflict that arises as a result of the distribution of the surplus product. |
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2. Remuneration is carried out in accordance with the role and therefore fair. |
2. Stratification is not fair. It is determined by the interests of those in power. |
2. Reward can be fair or unfair. |
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3. Stratification ensures the optimal functioning of society. |
3. Stratification hinders the normal functioning of society. |
3. Stratification can help or hinder development. |
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M. Weber identified three social resources that generate social stratification:
1. Ownership.
2. Power.
3. Prestige.
In other words, a social group at a higher level of the social hierarchy has more power, property, and prestige.
P. Sorokin proposed the idea of multidimensional stratification, that is, in his opinion, there is not a single stratification pyramid, but three:
Economic stratification.
- Political stratification.
- Professional stratification.
High social status in one stratification is not always associated with high status in another stratification (for example, the President of the United States has the highest status in political stratification, but his status in economic stratification is much lower).
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