Where it denotes the location of the layers of the earth. But people initially likened the social distances and partitions existing between them to layers of the earth, floors of buildings, objects, tiers of plants, etc.
Stratification is the division of society into special strata (strata) by combining various social positions with approximately the same social status, reflecting the prevailing concept of social inequality, lined up horizontally (social hierarchy), along its axis along one or more stratification criteria (indicators of social status). The division of society into strata is carried out proceeding from the inequality of social distances between them - the main property of stratification. Social strata are built vertically and in strict sequence according to indicators of welfare, power, education, leisure, and consumption.
IN social stratification a certain social distance is established between people (social positions) and a hierarchy is built from social strata. Thus, the unequal access of members of society to certain socially significant scarce resources is recorded by establishing social filters at the boundaries dividing social strata. For example, the allocation of social strata can be carried out according to the levels of income, education, power, consumption, the nature of work, spending free time. The social strata highlighted in society are assessed in it by the criterion of social prestige, which expresses the social attractiveness of certain positions.
The simplest stratification model is the dichotomous one - the division of society into elites and masses. In some of the earliest, archaic social systems, the structuring of society into clans is carried out simultaneously with the implementation of social inequality between them and within them. This is how the "initiates" appear, i.e. those who are initiated into certain social practices (priests, elders, leaders) and the uninitiated - "profane" (profane - from Lat. pro fano - devoid of holiness, uninitiated; profane - all other members of society, ordinary members of the community, tribesmen). Within them, society can further, if necessary, be stratified.
As the complexity (structuring) of society, a parallel process takes place - the embedding of social positions into a certain social hierarchy. This is how castes, estates, classes, etc. appear.
Modern ideas about the stratification model prevailing in society are quite complex - they are multi-layered (polychotomous), multidimensional (carried out along several axes) and variable (sometimes they allow the existence of many stratification models): qualifications, quotas, certification, determination of status, ranks, benefits, privileges, other preferences.
The most important dynamic characteristic of society is social mobility. According to P. Sorokin's definition, "social mobility is understood as any transition of an individual, or a social object, or value, created or modified through activity, from one social position to another." However, social agents do not always move from one position to another, it is possible to move the social positions themselves in the social hierarchy, such a movement is called "positional mobility" (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum (horizontal mobility). Along with social filters that establish barriers to social displacement, there are also "social elevators" in society that significantly accelerate this process (in a crisis society - revolutions, wars, conquests, etc.; in a normal, stable society - family, marriage, education , property, etc.). The degree of freedom of social movement from one social stratum to another largely determines what kind of society is - closed or open.
- Ilyin V.I. The theory of social inequality (structuralist-constructivist paradigm). M., 2000.
- Sushkova-Irina Ya. I. Dynamics of social stratification and its representation in the pictures of the world // Electronic magazine “Knowledge. Understanding. Skill "... - 2010. - № 4 - Culturology.
Notes
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See what "Social stratification" is in other dictionaries:
- (social stratification) Study of classes and strata in society, especially the social gradation of professions. Sometimes the relationship to the means of production is taken as a basis (See: class - class). However, more often stratification is carried out on the basis of a combination ... ... Political science. Dictionary.
- (from Lat. stratum layer and facio I do), one of the main. concepts of the bourgeois. sociology, denoting a system of signs and criteria of social stratification, inequality in society, the social structure of society; branch of the bourgeois. sociology. Theories of S. with. ... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia
Modern encyclopedia
Sociological concept denoting: the structure of society and its individual strata; a system of signs of social differentiation; branch of sociology. In theories of social stratification based on such characteristics as education, living conditions, ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
The concept by which sociology denotes the uneven distribution of material wealth, power functions and social prestige between individuals and social groups (see STRAT) in a modern industrial society, ... ... The latest philosophical dictionary
A sociological concept that denotes the structure of society and its layers, a system of signs of social differentiation (education, living conditions, occupation, income, psychology, religion, etc.), on the basis of which society is divided into classes and ... ... Business glossary
Social stratification - SOCIAL STRATIFICATION, a sociological concept that denotes the structure of society and its layers, a system of signs of social differentiation (education, living conditions, occupation, income, psychology, religion, etc.), on the basis of which society ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION - (social stratification) hierarchically organized structures of social inequality (ranks, status groups, etc.) existing in any society (cf. class, especially 1 5). As in geology, the term refers to layered structuring or ... ... Comprehensive explanatory sociological dictionary
Sociological concept denoting: the structure of society and its individual layers; a system of signs of social differentiation; branch of sociology. In the theories of social stratification based on features such as education, living conditions, ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
Social stratification - (according to Pitirim Sorokin) differentiation of a given set of people (population) into classes in a hierarchical rank (including the upper and lower strata). Its essence lies in the uneven distribution of rights and privileges, responsibilities and ... ... Geoeconomic Dictionary
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Option 19
The concept of social stratification. Sociological theories of social stratification.
Sources and factors of social stratification.
Historical types of social stratification. The role and importance of the middle class in modern society.
1. The concept of social stratification. Sociological theories of social stratification
The very term "social stratification" was borrowed from geology, where it means a sequential change of layers of rocks of different ages. But the first ideas about social stratification are found in Plato (distinguishes three classes: philosophers, guards, farmers and artisans) and Aristotle (also three classes: "very wealthy", "extremely poor", "middle stratum"). 1 The ideas of the theory of social stratification were finally formed at the end of the 18th century. thanks to the emergence of the method of sociological analysis.
Let us consider various definitions of the concept of "social stratification" and highlight the characteristic features.
Social stratification:
it is social differentiation and structuring of inequality between different social strata and groups of the population based on various criteria (social prestige, self-identification, profession, education, level and source of income, etc.); 2
these are hierarchically organized structures of social inequality that exist in any society; 3
these are social differences that become stratification when people are hierarchically located in some dimension of inequality; four
a set of vertically arranged social strata: poor-rich. five
Thus, the essential features of social stratification are the concepts of "social inequality", "hierarchy", "systemic organization", "vertical structure", "layer, stratum".
The basis of stratification in sociology is inequality, i.e. uneven distribution of rights and privileges, responsibilities and duties, power and influence.
Inequality and poverty are concepts closely related to social stratification. Inequality characterizes the uneven distribution of scarce resources of society - income, power, education, and prestige - among different strata or strata of the population. The main measure of inequality is the amount of liquid assets. This function is usually performed by money (in primitive societies, inequality was expressed in the number of small and cattle, shells, etc.).
Poverty is not only a minimum income, but a special way and style of life, passed from generation to generation norms of behavior, perception stereotypes and psychology. Therefore, sociologists speak of poverty as a special subculture.
The essence of social inequality lies in the unequal access of various categories of the population to socially significant goods, scarce resources, liquid values. The essence of economic inequality lies in the fact that the minority always owns most of the national wealth, in other words, receives the highest income
K. Marx and M. Weber were the first to try to explain the nature of social stratification.
The first saw the reason for social stratification in the separation of those who own and manage the means of production, and those who sell their labor. These two classes (the bourgeoisie and the proletariat) have different interests and are opposed to each other, the antagonistic relations between them are built on exploitation. The basis for the separation of classes is the economic system (the nature and mode of production). With this bipolar approach, there is no room for the middle class. It is interesting that the founder of the class approach, K. Marx, did not give a clear definition of the concept of "class". The first definition of class in Marxist sociology was given by V.I.Lenin. Subsequently, this theory had a huge impact on the study of the social structure of Soviet society: first there was a system of two opposing classes, in which there was no place for the middle class with its function of reconciling interests, and then the "destruction" of the exploiting class and the "striving for universal equality" and how follows from the definition of stratification, a classless society. However, in practice, equality was formal, and in Soviet society there were various social groups (nomenklatura, workers, intelligentsia).
M. Weber proposed a multidimensional approach, highlighting three dimensions for characterizing classes: class (economic situation), status (prestige) and party (power). It is these interrelated (through income, profession, education, etc.) factors that, according to Weber, underlie the stratification of society. Unlike Karl Marx, for M. Weber a class is only an indicator of economic stratification, it appears only where market relations arise. For Marx, the concept of class is historically universal.
Nevertheless, in modern sociology, the question of the existence and significance of social inequality, and, therefore, social stratification, occupies a central place. There are two main points of view: conservative and radical. Theories based on the conservative tradition ("inequality is a tool for solving the main problems of society") are called functionalist. 6 Radical theories view social inequality as a mechanism of exploitation. The most developed is the theory of conflict. 7
The functionalist theory of stratification was formulated in 1945 by K. Davis and W. Moore. Stratification exists by virtue of its universality and necessity, society cannot do without stratification. Social order and integration require a certain degree of stratification. The stratification system makes it possible to fill in all the statuses that form the social structure, develops incentives for the individual to perform duties associated with their position. The distribution of material wealth, power functions and social prestige (inequality) depends on the functional significance of the position (status) of the individual. In any society, there are positions that require specific abilities and training. Society must have certain benefits that are used as incentives for people to take positions and fulfill their respective roles. And also certain ways of unequal distribution of these benefits depending on the positions held. Functionally important positions should be rewarded accordingly. Inequality serves as an emotional stimulus. Benefits are built into the social system, so stratification is a structural feature of all societies. Universal equality would deprive people of the incentive to advance, the desire to make every effort to fulfill their responsibilities. If there are not enough incentives and no statuses are empty, society disintegrates. This theory has a number of disadvantages (it does not take into account the influence of culture, traditions, family, etc.), but it is one of the most developed.
The theory of conflict is based on the ideas of Karl Marx. The stratification of society exists because it is beneficial to individuals or groups who have power over other groups. However, conflict is a common characteristic of human life that is not limited to economic relations. R. Darendorf 8 believed that group conflict is an inevitable aspect of social life. R. Collins, within the framework of his concept, proceeded from the conviction that all people are characterized by conflicts due to the antagonism of their interests. 9 The concept is based on three basic principles: 1) people live in the subjective worlds they have constructed; 2) people can wield power to influence or control the subjective experience of an individual; 3) people often try to control the individual who opposes them.
The process and result of social stratification was also considered within the framework of the following theories:
distribution theory of classes (J. Mellier, F. Voltaire, J.-J. Rousaud, D. Diderot, etc.);
the theory of production classes (R. Cantillon, J. Necker, A. Turgot);
theories of utopian socialists (A. Saint-Simon, C. Fourier, L. Blanc, etc.);
the theory of classes based on social ranks (E. Tord, R. Worms and others);
racial theory (L. Gumplovich);
multicriteria class theory (G. Schmoller);
the theory of historical layers by W. Sombart;
organizational theory (A. Bogdanov, V. Shulyatikov);
multidimensional stratification model of A.I. Stronin;
One of the founders of the modern theory of stratification is P.A. Sorokin. He introduces the concept of "social space" as the totality of all social statuses of a given society, filled with social connections and relationships. The way of organizing this space is stratification. Social space is three-dimensional: each of its dimensions corresponds to one of the three main forms (criteria) of stratification. Social space is described by three axes: economic, political and professional status. Accordingly, the position of an individual or a group is described in this space using three coordinates. The aggregate of individuals with similar social coordinates form a stratum. The basis of stratification is the uneven distribution of rights and privileges, responsibilities and duties, power and influence.
TI Zaslavskaya made a great contribution to the solution of practical and theoretical problems of stratification of Russian society. 10 In her opinion, the social structure of society is the people themselves, organized into various groups (strata, strata) and performing in the system of economic relations all those social roles that the economy creates, which it requires. It is these people, their groups that carry out a certain social policy, organize the development of the country, and make decisions. Thus, in turn, the social and economic position of these groups, their interests, the nature of their activity and relationships with each other affect the development of the economy.
2.Sources and factors of social stratification
What is it that "orientates" large social groups? It turns out that society's unequal assessment of the value and role of each status or group. A plumber or janitor is ranked less than a lawyer or a minister. Consequently, high statuses and the people who occupy them are better rewarded, have a greater amount of power, the prestige of their occupation is higher, and the level of education should also be higher. We get four main dimensions of stratification - income, power, education, prestige. These four dimensions exhaust the range of social benefits that people aspire to. More precisely, not the goods themselves (there may be a lot of them), but the channels of access to them. Home abroad, luxury car, yacht, holidays in the Canary Islands, etc. - social goods, which are always in short supply (i.e. highly respected and inaccessible to the majority) and are acquired through access to money and power, which, in turn, are achieved through high education and personal qualities.
Thus, social structure arises about the social division of labor, and social stratification - about the social distribution of the results of labor, that is, social benefits.
The distribution is always unequal. This is how social strata are positioned according to the criterion of unequal access to power, wealth, education and prestige.
Imagine a social space in which the vertical and horizontal distances are not equal. One way or something like that thought of social stratification was P. Sorokin 11, the man who was the first in the world to give a complete theoretical explanation of the phenomenon, and who confirmed his theory with the help of a huge empirical material extending over the whole of human history. The points in space are social statuses. The distance between the turner and the milling machine is one, it is horizontal, and the distance between the worker and the foreman is different, it is vertical. The master is the boss, the worker is the subordinate. They have different social ranks. Although the case can be presented in such a way that the foreman and the worker will be located at an equal distance from each other. This will happen if we consider the one and the other not as a boss and a subordinate, but only as workers performing different labor functions. But then we will go from vertical to horizontal plane.
Inequality of distances between statuses is the main property of stratification. It has four measuring rulers, or coordinate axes. All of them are located vertically and next to each other:
Education,
Prestige.
Income is measured in rubles or dollars that an individual (individual income) or family (family income) receives over a certain period of time, say, one month or a year.
Education is measured by the number of years of study at a public or private school or university.
Power is not measured by the amount to which the decision you make extends (power is the ability to impose your will or decisions on other people regardless of their desire). The decisions of the President of Russia apply to 147 million people, and the decisions of the foreman - to 7-10 people.
The three scales of stratification - income, education, and power - have quite objective units of measurement: dollars, years, people. Prestige is outside this range, since it is a subjective indicator. Prestige is the respect for status that has developed in public opinion.
Stratum membership is measured by subjective and objective indicators:
subjective indicator - a feeling of belonging to a given group, identification with it;
objective indicators - income, power, education, prestige.
Thus, a large fortune, high education, great power and high professional prestige are the necessary conditions for a person to be attributed to the highest stratum of society.
3. Historical types of social stratification. The role and importance of the middle class in modern society.
The attributed status characterizes a rigidly fixed system of stratification, that is, a closed society in which the transition from one stratum to another is practically prohibited. These systems include slavery, caste and class system. The achieved status characterizes a mobile system of stratification, or an open society, where free transitions of people down and up the social ladder are allowed. This system includes classes (capitalist society). These are the historical types of stratification.
Stratification, that is, inequality in income, power, prestige and education, arose with the birth of human society. In its embryonic form, it is found already in a simple (primitive) society. With the emergence of the early state - Eastern despotism - stratification becomes tougher, and with the development of European society, liberalization of morals, stratification softens. The estate system is freer than caste and slavery, and the class system that has replaced the estate has become even more liberal.
Slavery is historically the first system of social stratification. Slavery originated in ancient times in Egypt, Babylon, China, Greece, Rome and has survived in a number of regions almost to the present day. It existed in the United States back in the 19th century. Slavery is an economic, social and legal form of enslavement of people, bordering on complete lack of rights and extreme inequality. It has evolved historically. The primitive form, or patriarchal slavery, and the developed form, or classical slavery, differ significantly. In the first case, the slave had all the rights of a younger member of the family: he lived in the same house with the owners, participated in public life, married free, inherited the owner's property. It was forbidden to kill him. At the mature stage, the slave was finally enslaved: he lived in a separate room, did not participate in anything, did not inherit anything, did not marry and did not have a family. He was allowed to be killed. He did not own property, but he himself was considered the property of the owner (<говорящим орудием>).
Like slavery, the caste system characterizes society and rigid stratification. It is not as ancient as the slave system, closed and less widespread. If almost all countries went through slavery, of course, to varying degrees, then castes are 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), membership in which a person owes exclusively to birth. He cannot pass 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 (it is now clear why castes are not widespread). According to her 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 at the same time - the lower one or vice versa.
In total, there are 4 main castes in India: brahmanas (priests), kshatriyas (warriors), vaisyas (merchants), sudras (workers and peasants) - and about 5 thousand non-main castes and a podcast. The untouchables (outcasts) are especially worthy - they do not belong to any caste and occupy the lowest position. In the course of industrialization, castes are replaced by classes. The Indian city is becoming more and more class-based, and the village, which is home to 7/10 of the population, remains a caste one.
Estates are the form of stratification that precedes classes. In the feudal societies that existed in Europe from the 4th to the 14th century, people were divided into estates.
An estate is a social group that has rights and obligations enshrined in custom or legal law and inherited. The estate system, which includes several strata, is characterized by a hierarchy expressed in the inequality of their position and privileges. The classic example of the estate organization was feudal Europe, where at the turn of the 14th - 15th centuries society was divided into the upper classes (nobility and clergy) and the unprivileged third class (artisans, merchants, peasants). And in the X-XIII centuries there were three main estates: the clergy, the nobility and the peasantry. In Russia, from the second half of the 18th century, the class division into the nobility, the clergy, the merchants, the peasantry and the middle class (the middle urban strata) was established. Estates were based on land ownership.
The rights and obligations of each class were enshrined in legal law and sanctified by religious doctrine. Membership in the estate was determined by inheritance. Social barriers between estates were quite tough, so social mobility existed not so much between estates as within estates. Each estate included many layers, ranks, levels, professions, ranks. So, only nobles could be engaged in public service. The aristocracy was considered a military estate (chivalry).
The higher the class was in the social hierarchy, the higher was its status. In contrast to castes, inter-social marriages were fully tolerated, and individual mobility was also permitted. An ordinary person could become a knight by purchasing a special permit from the ruler. Merchants bought titles of nobility for money. As a relic, this practice has been partially preserved in modern England.
Belonging to a social stratum in slave-owning, caste and estate-feudal societies was officially recorded - 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. Each person is free to move, if he has ability, education or income, from one class to another.
Sociologists today propose different class typologies. In one there are seven, in the other six, in the third five, etc. social strata. The first typology of US classes was proposed in the 40s of the XX century by the American sociologist Lloyd Warner. It included six classes. Today it has been replenished with one more layer and in its final form represents a seven-point scale.
Upper-upper class includes<аристократов по крови>who emigrated to America 200 years ago and amassed enormous wealth for generations. They are distinguished by a special way of life, high society manners, impeccable taste and behavior.
The lower-upper class consists mainly of<новых богатых>who have not yet managed to create powerful tribal clans that have seized top positions in industry, business, and politics. Typical representatives are a professional basketball player or pop star, receiving tens of millions, but in the family who do not have<аристократов по крови>.
The upper-middle class consists of the petty bourgeoisie and highly paid professionals: big lawyers, famous doctors, actors or television commentators. Their way of life is approaching that of the high society, but they still cannot afford a fashionable villa in the most expensive resorts of the world or a rare collection of art rarities.
The middle-middle class represents the most massive stratum of a developed industrial society. It includes all well-paid employees, middle-paid professionals, in a word, people of intelligent professions, including teachers, teachers, middle managers. It is the backbone of the information society and the service sector.
The lower-middle class was made up of lower employees and skilled workers, who, by the nature and content of their labor, tend not to physical, but to mental labor. The hallmark is a befitting lifestyle.
The upper-lower class includes medium- and low-skilled workers employed in mass production, in local factories, living in relative wealth, but in demeanor significantly different from the upper and middle class. Distinctive features: low education (usually complete and incomplete secondary, specialized secondary), passive leisure (watching TV, playing cards, etc.), primitive entertainment, often excessive drinking and non-literary vocabulary.
The lower-lower class is made up of the inhabitants of basements, attics, slums and other places of little use for habitation. They have no or have only primary education, more often than not they are interrupted by odd jobs or begging, they constantly feel an inferiority complex due to hopeless poverty and constant humiliation. They are usually called<социальным дном>, or underclass. Most often, their ranks are recruited from chronic alcoholics, ex-prisoners, homeless people, etc.
Term<верхний-высший класс> means top grade top layer. In all two-part words, the first word denotes a stratum or layer, and the second - the class to which this layer belongs.<Верхний-низший класс> sometimes they call it what it is, and sometimes refer to it as the working class. In sociology, the criterion for assigning a person to a particular stratum is not only income, but also the amount of power, the level of education and the prestige of an occupation, which presuppose a specific way of life and style of behavior. You can get a lot, but all the money is ineptly spent or spent on drink. It is not only the arrival of money that is important, but also their expenditure, and this is already a way of life.
The working class in modern post-industrial society includes two strata: lower-middle and upper-lower. All knowledge workers, no matter how little they receive, are never enrolled in the lower class.
The middle class (with its inherent strata) is always distinguished from the working class. But the working class is also distinguished from the lower class, which may include the unemployed, unemployed, homeless, beggars, etc. As a rule, highly skilled workers are included not in the working class, but in the middle class, but in its lower stratum, which is filled mainly by low-skilled workers of mental labor - office workers.
The middle class is a unique phenomenon in world history. Let's just say: it did not exist throughout the history of mankind. It appeared only in the XX century. In society, he performs a specific function. The middle class is the stabilizer of society. The larger it is, the less likely it is that society will be shaken by revolutions, interethnic conflicts, social cataclysms. The middle class breeds two opposite poles, rich and poor, and prevents them from colliding. The thinner the middle class, the closer to each other the polar points of stratification, the more likely they are to collide. And vice versa.
The middle class is the largest consumer market for small and medium-sized businesses. The more numerous this class, the more confidently small business stands on its feet. 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, scientists, priests, doctors, lawyers, middle managers, the petty bourgeoisie - the social "backbone" of society ...
What is the middle class? It follows from the term itself that it belongs to the middle position in society, but its other characteristics are important, primarily qualitative. It should be noted that the middle class itself is internally heterogeneous; such strata are distinguished in it as the upper middle class (it includes managers, lawyers, doctors, representatives of medium-sized businesses, who have high prestige and high income in their mass), the middle middle class (owners of small businesses , farmers), the lower middle class (office staff, teachers, nurses, salespeople). The main thing is that the numerous strata that make up the middle class and are characterized by a fairly high standard of living have a very strong, and sometimes decisive, influence on the adoption of certain economic and political decisions, in general, on the policy of the ruling elite, which cannot but listen to the "voice" of the majority. The middle class largely, if not completely, forms the ideology of Western society, its morality, and a typical way of life. Note that a complex criterion is applied to the middle class: its involvement in power structures and influence on them, income, prestige of the profession, level of education. It is important to emphasize the last of the terms of this multidimensional criterion. Due to the high level of education of numerous representatives of the middle class of modern Western society, its involvement in power structures of different levels, high incomes and the prestige of the profession are ensured.
Social stratification concept
People differ among themselves in many ways: gender, age, skin color, religion, ethnicity, etc. But these differences become social only when they affect the position of a person, a social group on the ladder of social hierarchy. Social differences determine social inequality, which implies discrimination on various grounds: by skin color - racism, gender - sexism, ethnicity - ethno-nationalism, age - ageism. Social inequality in sociology is usually understood as the inequality of social strata of society. It is the basis of social stratification. Literally translated, stratification means "making layers", i.e. divide society into layers (stratum - layer, facere - to do). Stratification can be defined as structured inequalities between different groups of people. Societies can be viewed as composed of strata arranged hierarchically, with the most privileged strata at the top and least at the bottom.
The foundations of the theory of stratification were laid by M. Weber, T. Parsons, P. Sorokin and others. T. Parsons identified three groups of differentiating features. These include:
- 1) characteristics that people possess from birth - gender, age, ethnicity, physical and intellectual characteristics, family ties, etc .;
- 2) signs associated with the performance of the role, i.e. with various types of professional and labor activities;
- 3) elements of "possession", which include property, privileges, material and spiritual values, etc.
These features are the initial theoretical basis for a multidimensional approach to the study of social stratification. Sociologists distinguish various sections or dimensions in determining the number and distribution of social strata. This diversity does not exclude the essential features of stratification. First, it is associated with the distribution of the population into hierarchically formed groups, i.e. higher and lower strata; secondly, stratification consists in unequal distribution of socio-cultural goods and values. According to P. Sorokin, the object of social inequality is 4 groups of factors:
- -rights and privileges
- - duties and responsibilities
- -social wealth and need
- -power and influence
Stratification is closely related to the prevailing system of values \u200b\u200bin society. It forms a normative scale for evaluating various types of human activity, on the basis of which people are ranked according to the degree of social prestige. In empirical studies in modern Western sociology, prestige is often generalized using three measurable attributes - the prestige of the profession, the level of income, and the level of education. This indicator is called the index of socio-economic position.
Social stratification performs a double function: it acts as a method for identifying the strata of a given society and at the same time represents its social portrait. Social stratification is characterized by a certain stability within a specific historical stage.
Social mobility and its types
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. The possibilities and dynamics of social mobility differ in different historical conditions.
The options for social mobility are varied:
individual and collective;
vertical and horizontal;
intragenerational and intergenerational.
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 (eg, career and lumpenization). Horizontal mobility is a change in position that does not lead to an increase or decrease in social status.
Intra-generational (intergenerational) mobility means that a person changes position in the stratification system throughout his life. Intergenerational or intergenerational - assumes that children are in a higher position than their parents.
P. Sorokin considers the following social institutions to be channels or "lifts" of social mobility: army, church, educational institutions, family, political and professional organizations, mass media, etc.
Literature
Belyaev V.A., Filatov A.N. Sociology: Educational. course for universities. Part 1. - Kazan, 1997.-Ch. 9.
Raduev V.V., Shkaratan O.I. Social stratification: textbook. allowance. M., 1996.
Radugin A.A., Radugin K.A. Sociology: a course of lectures. M., 1996. - Topic 8.
Smelzer N. Sociology. M., 1994 .-- Ch. 9.
It is the most accurate structural indicator of social inequality. Thus, the stratification of society is its division into different levels, or strata.
Terminology
It is believed that the term social stratification was first used by the American social scientist Pitirim Sorokin, who has Russian roots. He also developed this theory based on strata as a phenomenon in society.
The word is characterized by the following definition: "structured hierarchy
Reasons for P. Sorokin
Pitirim Sorokin was inclined to single out the following reasons why society is "stratified":
- First of all, these are rights and privileges. Because, as we know, the noble idea of \u200b\u200ba just communism does not work in reality.
- Secondly, these are duties and responsibilities. After all, in the end, it turns out that there are individuals who are able to take them upon themselves and cope with what others call a "load" and which, most likely, they will try to avoid at the best opportunity.
- Third, it is social wealth and need. Different people need different things, and the results of their work are at different levels.
- The fourth item is power and influence. And here it is appropriate to recall Fromm's theory of wolves and sheep: no matter how you talk about equality, people are divided into those who are born to command and those who are used to living in obedience. This in no way means slavery, which humanity has already passed in its development as a stage. But at the subconscious level, the leaders and the followers remain. The former subsequently become leaders who "move, roll" the world, but what about the latter? They run side by side and wonder where he is actually heading.
Modern reasons for the stratification of society
To this day, stratification in social science is an urgent problem of society. Experts identify the following reasons for its occurrence:
- Gender segregation. The problem of "men" and "women" has been acute at all times. Now there is another wave of feminism in society, demanding equality between the sexes, since the system of social stratification is based on the same.
- Differences at the level of biological abilities. Someone is given to be a technician, someone is a humanist, someone is an expert on natural sciences. But the problem of society also lies in the fact that some people may have such obvious abilities that they will be geniuses of their time, while others will practically not manifest themselves at all.
- Class division. The most important reason (according to Karl Marx), which will be discussed in detail below.
- Privileges, rights and benefits related to the economy, politics and social sphere.
- A system of values, based on which certain types of activity are deliberately placed above others.
Stratification in social studies is a subject of discussion and reasoning of great pundits. Sorokin presented it in his own way, Weber, developing the theory, deduced his own conclusions, as did Marx, who eventually reduced everything to class inequality.
Marx's ideology
The conflict of classes, in his opinion, is a source of changes in society and directly causes such a phenomenon as the stratification of society.
Thus, according to K. Marx, antagonistic classes are distinguished according to two objective criteria:
- the generality of the state of the economy and relationships based on the means of production;
- power powers and their manifestation in public administration.
Weber's opinion
Max Weber made such an important contribution to the development of the theory of social inequality that when considering the topic: "The concept of" stratification ", its origin and essence" it is impossible not to mention this name.
The scientist did not quite agree with Marx, but he did not contradict him either. He relegated property rights as the cause of stratification to the background. The first was deduced prestige and power.
Levels of social stratification
Based on the prevailing factors, Weber identified three levels of social stratification:
- the first of them - the lowest - related to property and determined the classes of stratification;
- the second — the middle — relied on prestige and was responsible for status in society or, to use another definition, social strata;
- the third - the highest - was the "top", in which, as you know, there is always a struggle for power, and it is expressed in society in the form of the existence of political parties.
Features of social stratification
The stratification structure has distinctive features. Stratification primarily occurs according to ranks, all depending on the reasons for which it happened. As a result, the privileged members of society are at the top, and the lower "caste" is content with little.
The upper layers are always quantitatively smaller than the lower and middle ones. But the proportionality of the latter two can vary among themselves and, in addition, characterize the present state of society, "highlighting" the position of certain of its spheres.
Types of social stratification
Developing his theory, Pitirim Sorokin also deduced three main types of social stratification, relying on the factors that cause it:
- based on the criterion of wealth - economic;
- on the basis of power, degree of influence - political;
- based on social roles and their performance, status, etc. - professional stratification.
Social mobility
The so-called "displacement" in society is usually called It can be horizontal and vertical.
In the first case, this is the acquisition of a new role that does not imply advancement on the social ladder. For example, if another child is born in the family, the existing one will receive the status of "brother" or "sister" and will no longer be the only child.
Vertical mobility is movement along social levels. The system of social stratification (at least the modern one) assumes that it is possible to "rise" or "descend" along it. The clarification was given, given that such a structure in Ancient India (caste) did not imply any mobility. But the stratification of modern society, fortunately, does not set such a framework.
Linking mobility to social stratification
How is mobility related to stratification? Sorokin said that stratification in social science is a reflection of the vertical sequence of layers of society.
Marx, Weber and Sorokin himself named various reasons for this phenomenon, based on the reasons for stratification discussed above. The modern interpretation of the theory recognizes the multidimensionality and equivalence of the positions proposed by scientists, and a constant search for new ones is made.
Historical forms of stratification
The concept of stratification is not new. This phenomenon as a stable system has been known for a long time, but at different times it had different forms. Which ones, we will consider below:
- The slave-owning form was based on the forcible subordination of one group of society to another. There was a lack of any rights, let alone privileges. If we recall private property, then the slaves did not have it, moreover, they themselves were it.
- Caste form (already mentioned in this article). This stratification in social science is a vivid and illustrative example of stratified inequality with clear and precise boundaries, frames drawn between castes. It was impossible to move upwards along this system, so if a person "descended", he could say goodbye to his previous status forever. The stable structure was based on religion - people accepted who they were, because they believed that in the next life they would rise higher, and therefore they were obliged to play their current role with honor and humility.
- An estate form, which has one main feature - legal division. All these imperial and royal statuses, nobility and other aristocracy are manifestations of this type of stratification. Belonging to the estate was inherited, a little boy in one family was already a prince and heir to the crown, and in another - an ordinary peasant. The economic situation was a consequence of the legal status. This form of stratification was relatively closed, because there were few ways to move from one class to another, and it was difficult to do this - you could only rely on luck and chance, and then one in a million.
- The class form is also inherent in modern society. It is a stratification at the level of income and prestige, which is determined in some almost unconscious and intuitive way. At one time or another, professions in demand come to the fore, the payment of which corresponds to their status and the product being produced. Now it is the IT sphere, a few years ago - economics, even earlier - jurisprudence. The influence of the class on modern society can be described with a simple example: when asked "who are you", a person names his profession (teacher / doctor / firefighter), and the questioner immediately draws appropriate conclusions from this for himself. The class form of stratification is characterized by the provision of political and legal freedom of citizens.
Types according to Nemirovsky
At one time, Nemirovsky supplemented the above list with several more forms of dividing society into layers:
- physical and genetic, which includes gender, other biological characteristics, qualities inherent in a person;
- ethnocratic, dominated by power social hierarchies and their respective powers;
- social and professional, in which knowledge and the ability to apply them in practice are important;
- cultural and symbolic, based on information and the fact that it "rules the world";
- cultural and normative, presented as a tribute to morality, traditions and norms.
Social stratification - it is a system of social inequality, consisting of hierarchically arranged social strata (strata). A stratum is understood as a set of people united by common status features.
Considering social stratification as a multidimensional, hierarchically organized social space, sociologists explain its nature and causes of origin in different ways. Thus, Marxist researchers believe that the basis of social inequality, which determines the stratification system of society, is property relations, the nature and form of ownership of the means of production. According to the supporters of the functional approach (K. Davis and W. Moore), the distribution of individuals according to social strata occurs in accordance with their contribution to the achievement of the goals of society, depending on the importance of their professional activities. According to the theory of social exchange (J. Homans), inequality in society arises in the process of unequal exchange of the results of human activity.
To determine belonging to a particular social stratum, sociologists offer a variety of parameters and criteria. One of the founders of the stratification theory P. Sorokin identified three types of stratification:
1) economic (according to the criteria of income and wealth);
2) political (according to the criteria of influence and power);
3) professional (according to the criteria of mastery, professional skills, successful performance of social roles).
In turn, the founder of structural functionalism T. Parsons identified three groups of signs of social stratification:
Qualitative characteristics of members of society that they possess from birth (origin, family ties, gender and age characteristics, personal qualities, innate characteristics, etc.);
Role characteristics, determined by the set of roles that an individual performs in society (education, profession, position, qualifications, various types of work, etc.);
Characteristics associated with the possession of material and spiritual values \u200b\u200b(wealth, property, works of art, social privileges, the ability to influence other people, etc.).
The nature of social stratification, the ways of its determination and reproduction in their unity form what sociologists call stratification system.
Historically, there are 4 types of stratification systems: - slavery, - castes, - estates, - classes.
The first three characterize closed societies, and the fourth type is an open society. In this context, a closed society is considered a society where social movements from one stratum to another are either completely prohibited or significantly limited. An open society is a society where the transitions from lower strata to higher strata are not officially limited in any way.
Slavery- the form of the most rigid fixation of people in the lower strata. This is the only form of social relations in history when one person acts as the property of another, deprived of all rights and freedoms.
Caste system- a stratification system that presupposes a person's lifelong attachment to a certain stratum on an ethnic, religious or economic basis. The caste is a closed group, which was assigned a strictly defined place in the social hierarchy. This place was determined by the special function of each caste in the system of division of labor. In India, where the caste system was most widespread, there was a detailed regulation of activities for each caste. Since belonging to the caste system was inherited, the possibilities for social mobility were limited here.
Estates system- a stratification system, which implies the legal assignment of a person to a particular stratum. The rights and obligations of each class were determined by law and sanctified by religion. Belonging to the estate was mainly inherited, but as an exception it could be acquired for money or granted by the authorities. In general, the estate system was characterized by a ramified hierarchy, which was expressed in the inequality of social status and the presence of numerous privileges.
The estate organization of the European feudal society provided for the division into two upper classes (nobility and clergy) and an unprivileged third estate (merchants, artisans, peasants). Since the inter-class barriers were quite tough, social mobility existed mainly within the estates, which included many ranks, ranks, professions, strata, etc. However, in contrast to the caste system, inter-class marriages and individual transitions from one stratum to another were sometimes allowed.
Class system- an open-type stratification system that does not imply a legal or any other way of securing an individual for a certain stratum. Unlike previous closed stratification systems, class membership is not regulated by the authorities, is not established by law, and is not inherited. It is determined, first of all, by the place in the system of social production, ownership of property, as well as the level of income received. The class system is characteristic of modern industrial society, where there are opportunities for free transition from one stratum to another.
The allocation of slave, caste, estate and class stratification systems is generally recognized, but not the only classification. It is supplemented by a description of such types of stratification systems, a combination of which is found in any society. Among them are the following:
physical and genetic stratification system,which is based on the ranking of people according to natural characteristics: gender, age, the presence of certain physical qualities - strength, dexterity, beauty, etc.
etacratic stratification system,in which differentiation between groups is carried out according to their position in the power-state hierarchies (political, military, administrative and economic), according to the possibilities for mobilizing and distributing resources, as well as according to the privileges that these groups have depending on their rank in the power structures.
social and professional stratification system,according to which the groups are divided according to the content and working conditions. Ranking here is carried out using certificates (diplomas, grades, licenses, patents, etc.) that record the level of qualifications and the ability to perform certain types of activities (grade grid in the public sector of industry, the system of certificates and diplomas of education, the system of awarding scientific degrees and titles, etc.).
cultural and symbolic stratification system,arising from differences in access to socially significant information, unequal opportunities to select, save and interpret this information (pre-industrial societies are characterized by theocratic manipulation of information, industrial ones - partocratic, post-industrial ones - technocratic).
cultural and normative stratification system,in which differentiation is based on differences in respect and prestige arising from the comparison of existing norms and lifestyles inherent in certain social groups (attitudes towards physical and mental work, consumer standards, tastes, methods of communication, professional terminology, local dialect, - all this can serve as a basis for ranking social groups).
socio-territorial stratification system,formed due to unequal distribution of resources between regions, differences in access to jobs, housing, quality goods and services, educational and cultural institutions, etc.
In reality, all these stratification systems are closely intertwined, complement each other. So, the social and professional hierarchy in the form of an officially enshrined division of labor not only performs important independent functions to maintain the life of society, but also has a significant impact on the structure of any stratification system. Therefore, the study of the stratification of modern society cannot be reduced only to the analysis of any one type of stratification system.
