What is horizontal and vertical social mobility. Big encyclopedia of oil and gas

The concept of "social mobility" was introduced by P. Sorokin. social mobility means the movement of individuals and groups from one social strata, communities to others, which is associated with a change in the position of an individual or group in the system of social stratification, i.e. It's about changing social status.

Vertical mobility is a change in the position of an individual, which causes an increase or decrease in his social status, a transition to a higher or lower class position.

It distinguishes between ascending and descending branches (for example, career and lumpenization). In the developed countries of the world, the ascending branch of vertical mobility exceeds the descending one by 20%. However, most people, starting their careers at the same level as their parents, only slightly move forward (most often, by 1-2 steps).

a) Upward intergenerational mobility.

Intergenerational (intergenerational) mobility implies that children occupy a different position in relation to the position of their parents.

For example, parents are peasants, and the son is an academician; the father is a factory worker, and the son is a bank manager. In both the first and second cases, it is understood that children have a higher level of income, social prestige, education and power compared to their parents.

b) Downward group mobility.

Group mobility is a change in the social position of an entire class, estate, caste, group. As a rule, with group mobility, movements occur due to some objective reasons, and at the same time there is a radical breakdown of the entire way of life and a change in the very system of stratification.

For example, the change in the position of the nobility and the bourgeoisie in Russia as a result of the 1917 revolution. As a result of various kinds of repressions (from the forced seizure of property, up to physical destruction), the hereditary aristocracy and the bourgeoisie lost their leading positions.

c) Group geographic.

Horizontal mobility implies the transition of an individual from one social group to another, located at the same level (for example, changing jobs while maintaining the same salary, level of power and prestige).

Geographical mobility not associated with a change in status or group is a type of horizontal mobility. For example, group tourism. Tourist trips of Russian citizens, for example, to Europe in order to get acquainted with historical and cultural sights.

If a change of status is added to a change of place, as in the example discussed above, then geographic mobility becomes migration.

Migration may be voluntary. For example, the mass migration of villagers to the city, or the mass exodus of Jews under the leadership of Moses from Egypt in search of the promised land, described in the Bible.

Migration can also be forced. For example, the resettlement of the diaspora of the Volga Germans during the reign of I.V. Stalin to the territory of Kazakhstan.

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

1. Vertical mobility

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

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

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

1. Generational mobility

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

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

20. Stratification of modern Russian society

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Status-role concept of personality.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The social role should be considered in 2 aspects:

Role expectation

Role play.

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

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

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

2. prescription (requirements) associated with this behavior

3. assessment of the performance of the prescribed role

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

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

social mobility is an opportunity to change social stratum.

social mobility- change by an individual or group of the place occupied in the social structure (social position), moving from one social stratum (class, group) to another (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum (horizontal mobility)

Kinds:

Under the vertical social Mobility refers to those relationships that arise when an individual or a social object moves from one social stratum to another.

Horizontal mobility- this is the transition of an individual or a social object from one social position to another, lying on the same level, for example, the transition of an individual from one family to another, from one religious group to another, as well as a change of residence

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

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

Individual mobility- this is when there is a movement down, up or horizontally in an individual independently of others.

group mobility- a process in which movements occur collectively. “It occurs there and then, where and when the social significance of an entire class, estate, caste, rank, category rises or falls”

Structural social mobility- a change in the social position of a significant number of people, mostly due to changes in society itself, and not individual efforts. It is caused by changes in the structure of the national economy and occurs against the will and consciousness of individual individuals.

Voluntary mobility it is mobility of one's own free will, and forced due to forced circumstances.

Intergenerational mobility assumes that children achieve a higher social position or descend to a lower rung than their parents

Intragenerational mobility- change in the social position of the individual throughout his life. (Social career)

Channels of social mobility there are ways called "stairs", "elevators", allowing people to move up and down the social hierarchy. " social lift- this is a way to give rise and help in occupying a more pleasant position in society.

For Pitirim Sorokin, such channels as the army, church, school, political, economic and professional organizations were of particular interest.

Army. Involved as a vertical circulation channel in wartime most of all. Large losses among the commanding staff make it possible for lower ranks to climb up the career ladder. lead to the filling of vacancies from lower ranks.

Church . It is the second channel, among the main ones. But at the same time, “the church performs this function only when its social significance increases. During periods of decline or at the beginning of the existence of a particular denomination, its role as a channel of social stratification is insignificant and insignificant” 1 .

School . “Institutions of education and upbringing, no matter what specific form they take, in all ages have been the means of vertical social circulation. In societies where schools are available to all its members, the school system is a "social elevator" moving from the very bottom of society to the very top" 2 .

Government groups, political organizations and political parties as channels of vertical circulation. In many countries there is an automatic promotion of officials over time, regardless of what position the person entered.

professional organization as channel vertical circulation . Some of the organizations play a large role in the vertical movement of individuals. Such organizations are: scientific, literary, creative institutes. "Entrance to these organizations was relatively free for everyone who showed appropriate abilities, regardless of their social status, then promotion within such institutions was accompanied by a general advancement along the social ladder" 3 .

Wealth Creation Organizations as Channels of Social Circulation. The accumulation of wealth at all times led to the social advancement of people. Throughout history, there has been a close relationship between wealth and nobility. Forms of "enriched" organizations can be: land ownership, oil production, banditry, mining, etc.

Family and other channels of social circulation . Marriage (especially between representatives of different social statuses) can lead one of the partners to social advancement, or to social degradation. In democratic societies, we can observe how rich brides marry poor but titled grooms, thus one moves up the social ladder thanks to the title, and the other materially reinforces his titled status.

Task 2

Charles Ogier de Batz de Castelmore, Count d'Artagnan (fr. Charles Ogier de Batz de Castelmore, comte d "Artagnan, 1611, Castelmore Castle, Gascony, France, - June 25, 1673, Maastricht, the Netherlands) - a Gascon nobleman who made a brilliant career under Louis XIV in the company of the royal musketeers.

1. Type of social mobility:

vertical mobility. Rising. Individual. Voluntary. (D'Artagnan made a career as a courier for Cardinal Mazarin in the years after the first Fronde => lieutenant of the French guard (1652) => captain (1655) => second lieutenant (i.e. deputy actual commander) in the recreated company of the royal musketeers (1658) = > lieutenant commander of the musketeers (1667) => position of governor of Lille (1667) => field marshal (major general) (1672).

horizontal mobility. Charles de Batz moved to Paris in the 1630s from Gascony.

2. Channel of social mobility - army

Factors that caused social mobility: personal qualities (high level of motivation, initiative, sociability), physical and mental abilities, migration process (moving to a large city), demographic factors (male gender, age of entry into service), social status of the family (D 'Artagnan was a descendant of counts on the maternal side, his father had a title of nobility, which he appropriated after marriage)

3. Charles de Batz achieved a new social status, a high standard of living

4. There was no cultural barrier, D-Artagnan was easily accepted into the new society, he was close to the king, respected both at court and in the army.

Louis XIV: "almost the only person who managed to make people love themselves without doing anything for them that would oblige them to do so"

1Sorokin P.A. Man. Civilization. Society. – M.: Politizdat, 1992.

2Sorokin P.A. Man. Civilization. Society. – M.: Politizdat, 1992.

3Sorokin P.A. Man. Civilization. Society. – M.: Politizdat, 1992.

Social mobility types and examples

The concept of social mobility

The concept of "social mobility" was introduced into scientific use by Pitirim Sorokin. These are various movements of people in society. Each person at birth occupies a certain position and is built into the system of stratification of society.

An individual's position at birth is not fixed, and it may change throughout the course of life. It can go up or down.

Types of social mobility

There are various types of social mobility. Usually there are:

• intergenerational and intragenerational;
• vertical and horizontal;
• organized and structured.

Intergenerational mobility means that children change their social position and become different from their parents. So, for example, the daughter of a seamstress becomes a teacher, that is, she raises her status in society. Or, for example, the son of an engineer becomes a janitor, that is, his social status goes down.

Intragenerational mobility means that the status of an individual can change throughout his life. An ordinary worker can become a manager at an enterprise, a director of a factory, and then a head of a complex of enterprises.

Vertical mobility means that the movement of a person or group of people within society changes the social status of this person or group. This type of mobility is stimulated through various reward systems (respect, income, prestige, benefits). Vertical mobility has different characteristics. one of them is intensity, that is, it determines how many strata an individual passes on his way up.

If the society is socially disorganized, then the intensity indicator becomes higher. Such an indicator as universality determines the number of people who have changed their position vertically in a certain period of time. Depending on the type of vertical mobility, two types of society are distinguished. It is closed and open.

In a closed society, moving up the social ladder is very difficult for certain categories of people. For example, these are societies in which there are castes, estates, and also a society in which there are slaves. There were many such communities in the Middle Ages.

In an open society everyone has equal opportunities. These societies include democratic states. Pitirim Sorokin argues that there are no and never have been societies in which the possibilities for vertical mobility would be absolutely closed. At the same time, there have never been communities in which vertical movements would be absolutely free. Vertical mobility can be either upward (in which case it is voluntary) or downward (in which case it is forced).

Horizontal mobility assumes that an individual moves from one group to another without changing social status. For example, it could be a change in religion. That is, an individual can convert from Orthodoxy to Catholicism. He can also change citizenship, can create his own family and leave his parent, can change his profession. At the same time, the status of the individual does not change. If there is a move from one country to another, then such mobility is called geographical. Migration is a type of geographic mobility in which the status of an individual changes after moving. Migration can be labor and political, internal and international, legal and illegal.

Organized mobility It is a state dependent process. It directs the movement of groups of people down, up or in a horizontal direction. This can happen both with the consent of these people, and without it.

Structural mobility caused by changes that occur in the structure of society. Social mobility can be group and individual. Group mobility implies that whole groups move. Group mobility is influenced by the following factors:

• uprisings;
• wars;
• replacement of the constitution;
• the invasion of foreign troops;
• change in the political regime.
• Individual social mobility depends on such factors:
• the level of education of the citizen;
• nationality;
• place of residence;
• the quality of education;
• the status of his family;
• whether the citizen is married.
• Of great importance for any kind of mobility are age, sex, birth and death rates.

Social mobility examples

Examples of social mobility can be found in our lives in large numbers. So, Pavel Durov, who was originally a simple student of the Faculty of Philology, can be considered a model for increasing growth in society. But in 2006, he was told about Facebook, and then he decided that he would create a similar network in Russia. At first, it was called "Student.ru", but then it was called Vkontakte. Now it has more than 70 million users, and Pavel Durov owns a fortune of more than $ 260 million.

Social mobility often develops within subsystems. So, schools and universities are such subsystems. A student at a university must master the curriculum. If he successfully passes the exams, he will move on to the next course, receive a diploma, become a specialist, that is, he will receive a higher position. Expulsion from a university for poor performance is an example of downward social mobility.

An example of social mobility is the following situation: a person who received an inheritance, got rich, and moved to a more prosperous layer of people. Examples of social mobility include the promotion of a school teacher to a director, the promotion of an associate professor of a department to a professor, the relocation of an employee of an enterprise to another city.

Vertical social mobility

Vertical mobility has been the subject of the most research. The defining concept is the mobility distance. It measures how many steps an individual goes through as he advances in society. He can walk one or two steps, he can suddenly fly up to the very top of the stairs or fall to its base (the last two options are quite rare). The amount of mobility is important. It determines how many individuals have moved up or down with the help of vertical mobility in a certain period of time.

Channels of social mobility

There are no absolute boundaries between social strata in society. Representatives of some layers can make their way into other layers. Movement occurs with the help of social institutions. In wartime, the army acts as a social institution, which elevates talented soldiers and gives them new ranks in the event that the former commanders have died. Another powerful channel of social mobility is the church, which at all times has found loyal representatives in the lower classes of society and elevated them.

Also, the institution of education, as well as family and marriage, can be considered channels of social mobility. If representatives of different social strata entered into marriage, then one of them went up the social ladder, or went down. For example, in ancient Roman society, a free man who married a slave could make her free. In the process of creating new strata of society - strata - groups of people appear who do not have generally accepted statuses, or have lost them. They are called marginals. Such people are characterized by the fact that it is difficult and uncomfortable for them in their current status, they experience psychological stress. For example, this is an employee of an enterprise who became homeless and lost his home.

There are such types of marginals:

• ethnomarginals - people who appeared as a result of mixed marriages;
• biomarginals, whose health society has ceased to care about;
• political outcasts who cannot come to terms with the existing political order;
• religious outcasts - people who do not consider themselves to be a generally accepted confession;
• criminal outcasts - people who violate the Criminal Code.

Social mobility in society

Social mobility may differ depending on the type of society. If we consider Soviet society, it was divided into economic classes. These were the nomenklatura, the bureaucracy and the proletariat. The mechanisms of social mobility were then regulated by the state. Employees of regional organizations were often appointed by party committees. The rapid movement of people took place with the help of repressions and the construction of communism (for example, BAM and virgin lands). Western societies have a different structure of social mobility.

The main mechanism of social movement there is competition. Because of it, some go bankrupt, while others receive high profits. If this is a political sphere, then the main mechanism of movement there is elections. In any society there are mechanisms that make it possible to mitigate the sharp downward transition of individuals and groups. These are different forms of social assistance. On the other hand, representatives of the higher strata strive to consolidate their high status and prevent representatives of the lower strata from penetrating into the higher strata. In many ways, social mobility depends on what kind of society. It can be open and closed.

An open society is characterized by the fact that the division into social classes is conditional, and it is quite easy to move from one class to another. To achieve a higher position in the social hierarchy, a person needs to fight. People have a motivation to work constantly, because hard work leads to an increase in their social position and well-being. Therefore, people of the lower class strive to constantly break through to the top, and representatives of the upper class want to maintain their position. Unlike an open society, a closed social society has very clear boundaries between classes.

The social structure of society is such that the promotion of people between classes is almost impossible. In such a system, hard work does not matter, and the talents of a member of the lower caste do not matter either. Such a system is supported by an authoritarian ruling structure. If the rule weakens, then it becomes possible to change the boundaries between the strata. The most outstanding example of a closed caste society can be considered India, in which the Brahmins, the highest caste, have the highest status. The lowest caste are the sudras, the garbage collectors. Over time, the absence of significant changes in society leads to the degeneration of this society.

Social stratification and mobility

Social stratification divides people into classes. The following classes began to appear in post-Soviet society: new Russians, entrepreneurs, workers, peasants, and the ruling stratum. Social strata in all societies have common features. Thus, people of mental labor occupy a higher position than just workers and peasants. As a rule, there are no impenetrable boundaries between strata, while the complete absence of boundaries is impossible.

Recently, social stratification in Western society has been undergoing significant changes due to the invasion of Western countries by representatives of the Eastern world (Arabs). Initially, they come as a labor force, that is, they perform low-skilled work. But these representatives bring their culture and their customs, often different from Western ones. Often, entire neighborhoods in the cities of Western countries live according to the laws of Islamic culture.

It must be said that social mobility in conditions of social crisis differs from social mobility in conditions of stability. War, revolution, prolonged economic conflicts lead to changes in the channels of social mobility, often to mass impoverishment and an increase in morbidity. Under these conditions, stratification processes can differ significantly. So, representatives of criminal structures can make their way into the ruling circles.

The topic of this article is social mobility. This is a very important topic for a sociologist. It is held today at school in the lessons of social studies. After all, knowledge of the society in which we live is necessary for everyone. In our days, when the world is changing very quickly, this is especially true.

Definition

Migration in the broad and narrow senses

Migrations, that is, territorial movements of the population, can also be considered as one of the forms of social mobility. In a broad sense, they are understood as any movements outside the boundaries of a certain territory of its population (usually this territory is a settlement). At the same time, for what purpose and for how long the procedure takes place is immaterial.

However, in popular science and scientific literature, a narrow interpretation of the concept of "migration" is much more often used. According to her, this is a movement that is associated with a change in the place of permanent residence.

Seasonal and pendulum migration

In a broad sense, migration includes, in addition to moving to a permanent place of residence, also seasonal and pendulum migration. The second is the regular movement of people between several (two or more) settlements. However, their place of residence does not change. Such migration is connected with work, rest or study. These are mostly daily trips. Sometimes, however, trips made for a longer period (usually within one week) are also considered as pendulum migrations.

Two important reasons for the sociologist to classify migration

Many features exist to classify migration flows. The most important for the sociologist are the following two:

1. Migration occurring between settlements, the rank of which is different. In some cases, migration is vertical social mobility. This is observed when it is associated with a decrease or increase in the status of a person who has a certain place of residence. In others, it is horizontal (in the event that the move occurs between settlements with the same rank). Today, migration as vertical social mobility is a phenomenon associated mainly with the process of urbanization. After all, moving from villages to cities is a necessary element of this process.

2. External and internal migration. This division is considered rather conditional. Migration human mobility is a vast phenomenon that cannot be rigorously classified. In official statistics, internal migration is usually understood as the movement of people to a new place of residence, carried out within the same country. Under the external means moving to a sufficiently long or permanent residence in another country. However, sometimes, depending on the goals pursued by a particular sociological study, migrations between different subjects of the federation are also considered as external.

Social mobility in Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries

Throughout the history of the development of our state, the nature of the mobility of its population has changed. These changes can be recorded quite accurately from the beginning of the 18th century. Russia, like any other semi-agrarian and agrarian society, was characterized until the end of the 19th century by rather low rates of vertical mobility. During these years, the basis of the structure of society was made up of estates. The boundaries of class groups, however, were at that time more permeable than in Europe during the time of classical feudalism. The policy of absolutism pursued by the state contributed to this. Although the outflow was hardly noticeable in relation to the total number of the peasantry due to the high proportion of its representatives in the population of the country, the rates of mobility were very high in relation to the urban estates and the nobility. By paying the tax rate and the ransom, people from the peasantry quite easily got into the urban estates, they could advance in the social hierarchy up to the merchants of the first guild. The ranks of the service nobility also replenished very intensively. From all the estates of Russia, its representatives were nominated - from the clergy, merchants, philistines, peasants.

The structural mobility of the society of that time (since the time of Peter I, at least) was insignificant. That is, the layers that make up the structure of society remained unchanged. Until the 1870s, only their quantitative ratio changed slightly.

Mobility in the post-Petrine era

Russia during the next 140 years following the reign of Peter I, experienced not only a very intense vertical mobility. The structural social mobility of the society of that time was also significant and took place in several stages. At first (1870-1917), a class of proletariat and industrial bourgeoisie was gradually formed in Russia. After that, mainly from 1930 to 1970, an intensive process of modernization took place. At this time, a structure was being formed that was already close to the corresponding one in industrial and post-industrial societies. The difference was that there was no class of private entrepreneurs. In addition, the sphere in which market relations operated was significantly limited. Since the 1990s, the third stage of structural mobility has begun in our society. It is associated with the formation of a post-industrial society in Russia, which is based on a market economy.

Change in the prestige of professions, high rates of inter- and intra-generational mobility

It was not only the quantitative ratio of different social strata that changed in the process of the structural shifts described above. The relative prestige of certain professions also did not remain unchanged. For example, in the 1930s-1950s, the most prestigious were technical specialties (skilled worker, engineer), in the 1950s-1970s, professions related to science, and from the mid-1980s of the last century, those related to finance and trade. During the entire period, very high rates of intergenerational and intragenerational mobility, as well as a low level of isolation of various professional groups, were observed. This was noted not only by domestic sociologists, but also by Western ones.

Territorial migration at different times

During this period, the rates of territorial mobility were also extremely high (both horizontal - to construction sites and newly developed areas, and vertical - from the village to the city). Migration began to decline only from the mid-1970s. However, since the beginning of the 1990s, growth rates have been observed again. Many people migrate to the regions of the Russian Federation from the former Soviet republics.