Which is an example of vertical social mobility. Types of social mobility. Examples in history
An association of individuals based on a common social characteristic in a system of relations regulated by social institutions is called a social group.
Definition 1
Social groups are one of the main components of social structure. Changing one's position in the social structure by an individual or group is called social mobility.
Social mobility is divided into vertical (upward and downward) and horizontal, individual and group. Types of social mobility are schematically depicted in Fig. 1:
Definition 2
Horizontal social mobility is usually defined as the transition of an individual or group from one social group to another, belonging to the same socio-economic level, without changing their status.
Example 1
Examples of horizontal social mobility include: change of citizenship, place of residence, profession, marital status, political or religious affiliation.
Reasons for the emergence of horizontal social mobility
A person as a social unit in the process of his life cannot be in the same socio-economic status. Growing up, learning, professional activity, family life require individuals to move in society. The constant movement of society leads to changes in social structures, some individuals are displaced, and others fill their place.
The main reasons for the need for horizontal mobility are the following:
- Structural changes caused by the development of the economic and political system (for example, the disappearance of certain industries and professions).
- The need for openness in the structure of society, allowing movement from one social group to another.
A change in the importance of a certain class in society can provoke group mobility, when movement through the social structure is carried out not individually, but by an entire social group. The mobility of a society is influenced by the composition and density of its population, birth and death rates, economic condition. For example, young people are more mobile than older people, and men are more mobile than women. Young societies have low occupancy density social groups, which also contributes to the mobility of its individuals.
Note 1
Types of horizontal social mobility are divided into main and non-main forms. The main forms determine most societies in any era. Non-main forms of mobility are characteristic of limited types of society.
The role of horizontal social mobility
Horizontal social mobility promotes structural changes in society. The impact of social mobility can be both positive and negative:
- Positive factors include the development of a mechanism for selecting individuals in society. Through mobility channels social institutions fill gaps in necessary groups and sectors of society.
- Processes of social mobility can provoke such negative consequences as the emergence of marginalized people in society and its lumpenization.
High social mobility of a society is rather a positive indicator. Thanks to mobility, society becomes more open, accessible to individuals with high abilities and skills to move within its structure. An individual’s desire for well-being stimulates the need to develop his best personal qualities.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
People are in constant motion, and society is in development. The totality of social movements of people in society, i.e. changes in their status is called social mobility. This topic has interested humanity for a long time. The unexpected rise of a person or his sudden fall is a favorite plot folk tales: The cunning beggar suddenly becomes a rich man, the poor prince becomes a king, and the hardworking Cinderella marries the prince, thereby increasing her status and prestige.
However, the history of mankind consists not so much of individual destinies as of the movements of large social groups. The landed aristocracy is being replaced by the financial bourgeoisie, low-skilled professions are being squeezed out of modern production representatives of the so-called white collar workers - engineers, programmers, operators of robotic systems. Wars and revolutions reshaped the social structure of society, raising some to the top of the pyramid and lowering others. Similar changes occurred in Russian society after the October Revolution of 1917. They are still happening today, when the party elite is replaced by the business elite.
Between ascent and descent there is a well-known asymmetry, everyone wants to go up and no one wants to go down the social ladder. Usually, ascent - phenomenon voluntary, A descent is forced.
Research shows that those with high statuses prefer high positions for themselves and their children, but those with low statuses also want the same for themselves and their children. This is how it works in human society: everyone strives upward and no one strives downwards.
In this chapter we will look at essence, reasons, typology, mechanisms, channels of social mobility, and factors, influencing her.
Classification of mobility.
Exist two main types social mobility - intergenerational And intragenerational And two main type - vertical and horizontal. They, in turn, break down into subspecies And subtypes that are closely related to each other.
Intergenerational mobility suggests that children achieve a higher social position or fall to a lower level than their parents. Example: a miner's son becomes an engineer.
Intragenerational mobility occurs where the same individual, without comparison with his father, changes social positions several times throughout his life. Otherwise it is called social career. Example: a turner becomes an engineer, and then a workshop manager, a plant director, and a minister of the engineering industry.
The first type of mobility refers to long-term, and second - to short-term processes. In the first case, sociologists are more interested in interclass mobility, and in the second, in the movement from the sphere of physical labor to the sphere of mental labor.
Vertical mobility implies movement from one stratum (estate, class, caste) to another.
Depending on the direction of movement, there are upward mobility(social rise, upward movement) and downward mobility(social descent, downward movement).
Promotion is an example of upward mobility, dismissal, demotion is an example of downward mobility.
Horizontal mobility implies the transition of an individual from one social group to another located at the same level.
Examples include moving from an Orthodox to a Catholic religious group, from one citizenship to another, from one family (parental) to another (one’s own, newly formed), from one profession to another. Such movements occur without a noticeable change in social position in the vertical direction.
A type of horizontal mobility is geographic mobility. It does not imply a change in status or group, but a movement from one place to another while maintaining the same status.
An example is international and interregional tourism, moving from city to village and back, moving from one enterprise to another.
If a change of location is added to a change of status, then geographic mobility becomes migration.
If a villager came to the city to visit relatives, then this is geographical mobility. If he moved to the city for permanent residence and found work here, then this is already migration. He changed his profession.
It is possible to classify social mobility according to other criteria. So, for example, they distinguish:
individual mobility, when movement down, up or horizontally occurs in each person independently of others, and
group mobility, when displacement occurs collectively, for example, after a social revolution, the old class cedes its dominant position to the new class.
Individual mobility and group mobility are in a certain way connected with ascribed and achieved statuses. Do you think individual mobility is more consistent with ascribed or achieved status? (Try to figure this out on your own first, and then read the rest of the chapter.)
These are the main types, types and forms (there are no significant differences between these terms) of social mobility. In addition to them, sometimes they distinguish organized mobility, when the movement of individuals or entire groups up, down or horizontally is controlled by the state A) with the consent of the people themselves, b) without their consent. Towards voluntary organized mobility should include the so-called socialist organizational set, public calls for Komsomol construction sites, etc. TO involuntary organized mobility can be attributed repatriation(resettlement) of small peoples and dispossession during the years of Stalinism.
It is necessary to distinguish from organized mobility structural mobility. It is caused by changes in the structure National economy and occurs beyond the will and consciousness of individual individuals. For example, the disappearance or reduction of industries or professions leads To movements of large masses of people. In the 50s - 70s USSR small villages were reduced and enlarged.
The main and non-main types (types, forms) of mobility differ as follows.
Main types characterize all or most societies in any historical era. Of course, the intensity or volume of mobility is not the same everywhere.
Non-main species mobility is inherent in some types of society and not in others. (Find specific examples to prove this thesis.)
The main and non-main types (types, forms) of mobility exist in three main spheres of society - economic, political, professional. Mobility practically does not occur (with rare exceptions) in the demographic sphere and is quite limited in the religious sphere. Indeed, it is impossible to migrate from a man to a woman, and the transition from childhood to adolescence does not relate to mobility. Voluntary and forced changes in religion have occurred more than once in human history. Suffice it to recall the baptism of Rus', the conversion of Indians to Christianity after Columbus's discovery of America. However, such events do not occur regularly. They are of interest to historians rather than to sociologists.
Let us now turn to specific types and types of mobility.
GROUP MOBILITY
It occurs where and when the social significance of an entire class, estate, caste, rank, or category increases or decreases. The October Revolution led to the rise of the Bolsheviks, who previously had no recognized high position. The Brahmins became the highest caste as a result of a long and persistent struggle, and previously they were on a par with the Kshatriyas. In Ancient Greece, after the adoption of the constitution, most people were freed from slavery and rose up the social ladder, while many of their former masters fell down.
The transfer of power from a hereditary aristocracy to a plutocracy (an aristocracy based on wealth) had the same consequences. In 212 AD. Almost the entire population of the Roman Empire received the status of Roman citizenship. Thanks to this, huge masses of people previously considered inferior have increased their social status. The invasion of barbarians (Huns and Goths) disrupted the social stratification of the Roman Empire: one after another, the old aristocratic families disappeared, and they were replaced by new ones. Foreigners founded new dynasties and new nobility.
As P. Sorokin showed on vast historical material, the reasons for group mobility were the following factors:
Social revolutions;
Foreign interventions, invasions;
Interstate wars;
Civil wars;
Military coups;
Change of political regimes;
Replacing the old constitution with a new one;
Peasant uprisings;
The internecine struggle of aristocratic families;
Creation of an empire.
Group mobility takes place where there is a change in the stratification system itself.
3.4. Individual mobility:
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
Social mobility in the US and former USSR has both similar and distinctive features. The similarities are explained by the fact that both countries are industrialized powers, and the differences are explained by the uniqueness of the political regime of government. Thus, studies by American and Soviet sociologists, covering approximately the same period (70s), but conducted independently of each other, gave the same figures: up to 40% of employees in both the USA and Russia come from blue-collar backgrounds ; In both the USA and Russia, more than two-thirds of the population is involved in social mobility.
Another pattern is also confirmed: social mobility in both countries is most influenced not by the father’s profession and education, but by the son’s own educational achievements. The higher the education, the greater the chances of moving up the social ladder.
In both the United States and Russia, another curious fact has been discovered: a well-educated son of a worker has as much chance of advancement as a poorly educated son of the middle classes, particularly white-collar workers. Although the second one can be helped by parents.
The uniqueness of the United States lies in the large flow of immigrants. Unskilled workers - immigrants arriving in the country from all parts of the world - occupy the lower rungs of the social ladder, displacing or hastening the upward mobility of native Americans. Migration from rural areas has the same effect, not only in the United States, but also in Russia.
In both countries, upward mobility has so far been on average 20% higher than downward mobility. But both types of vertical mobility were inferior to horizontal mobility in their own way. This means the following: in two countries there is a high level of mobility (up to 70 - 80% of the population), but 70% is horizontal mobility - movement within the boundaries of the same class and even layer (stratum).
Even in the USA, where, according to belief, every sweeper can become a millionaire, the conclusion made back in 1927 by P. Sorokin remains valid: most people begin their working career at the same social level as their parents and only a very few manage to move forward significantly. In other words, the average citizen moves one step up or down during his life; rarely does anyone manage to move up several steps at once.
Thus, 10% of Americans, 7% of Japanese and Dutch, 9% of the British, 2% of the French, Germans and Danes, 1% of Italians rise from workers to the upper middle class. To the factors of individual mobility, i.e. the reasons that allow one person to achieve greater success than another, sociologists in both countries attribute:
social status of the family;
level of education;
nationality;
physical and mental abilities, external data;
receiving education;
location;
profitable marriage.
Mobile individuals begin socialization in one class and end in another. They are literally torn between dissimilar cultures and lifestyles. They do not know how to behave, dress, talk from the point of view of the standards of another class. Often adaptation to new conditions remains very superficial. A typical example is Molière's tradesman among the nobility. (Remember other literary characters who would illustrate the superficial assimilation of manners of behavior when moving from one class, layer to another.)
In all industrialized countries, it is more difficult for women to move up than for men. Often they increase their social status only through a profitable marriage. Therefore, when getting a job, women of this orientation choose those professions where they are most likely to find a “suitable man.” What kind of professions or places of work do you think these are? Give examples from life or literature when marriage acted as a “social elevator” for women of humble origin.
During the Soviet period, our society was the most mobile society in the world, along with America. Free education available to all classes opened up for everyone the same opportunities for advancement that existed only in the United States. Nowhere in the world is the elite of society behind short term was not formed from literally all strata of society. At the end of this period, mobility slowed down, but increased again in the 1990s.
The most dynamic Soviet society was not only in terms of education and social mobility, but also in the field of industrial development. For many years, the USSR held first place in terms of the pace of industrial progress. All these are signs of a modern industrial society that put the USSR, as Western sociologists wrote, among the leading countries in the world in terms of the pace of social mobility.
Structural mobility
Industrialization opens up new vacancies in vertical mobility. The development of industry three centuries ago required the transformation of the peasantry into the proletariat. At the late stage of industrialization, the working class became the largest part of the employed population. The main factor in vertical mobility was the education system.
Industrialization is associated not only with inter-class, but also with intra-class changes. At the stage of assembly line or mass production at the beginning of the twentieth century, low- and unskilled workers remained the predominant group. Mechanization and then automation required an expansion of the ranks of skilled and highly skilled workers. In the 1950s, 40% of workers in developed countries were low- or unskilled. In 1966, only 20% remained.
As unskilled labor declined, the need for employees, managers, and businessmen grew. The sphere of industrial and agricultural labor narrowed, and the sphere of service and management expanded.
In an industrial society, the structure of the national economy determines mobility. In other words, professional
mobility in the USA, England, Russia or Japan does not depend on individual characteristics people, but on the structural features of the economy, the relationship between industries and the shifts taking place here. Number of employees in agriculture The USA decreased by 10 times from 1900 to 1980. Small farmers became a respectable petty bourgeois class, and agricultural workers swelled the ranks of the working class. The stratum of professionals and managers doubled during that period. Number sales workers and clerks increased 4 times.
Similar transformations are characteristic of modern societies: from farm to factory in the early stages of industrialization and from factory to office in the later stages. Today in developed countries, over 50% of the workforce is engaged in mental work, compared to 10 - 15% at the beginning of the century.
Over the course of this century, blue-collar jobs in industrialized countries have declined and management jobs have expanded. But managerial vacancies were filled not by workers, but by the middle class. However, the number of management jobs grew faster than the number of children in the middle class available to fill them. The vacuum created in the 50s was partially filled by working youth. This was made possible by its accessibility to ordinary Americans. higher education.
In developed capitalist countries, industrialization was completed earlier than in former socialist countries (USSR, GDR, Hungary, Bulgaria, etc.). The lag could not but affect the nature of social mobility: in capitalist countries the share of leaders and intelligentsia - people from workers and peasants - is one third, and in former socialist countries - three quarters. In countries like England, which have long passed the stage of industrialization, the proportion of workers of peasant origin is very low; there are more so-called hereditary workers. On the contrary, in Eastern European countries this share is very high and sometimes reaches 50%.
It is thanks to structural mobility that the two opposite poles of the professional pyramid turned out to be the least mobile. In former socialist countries, the most closed were two layers - the layer senior managers and the layer of auxiliary workers located at the bottom of the pyramid - layers that fill the most prestigious and most unprestigious spheres of activity. (Try to answer the question “why?” on your own)
The essence of social mobility
We have already noted the complexity and multi-level nature of the social system. The theory of social stratification (see the previous section “Social stratification”) is designed to describe the ranking structure of society, its main features and patterns of existence and development, and the socially significant functions it performs. However, it is obvious that, having once received a status, a person does not always remain the bearer of this status throughout his life. For example, the status of a child, sooner or later, is lost, and is replaced by a whole set of statuses associated with the adult state.
Society is in constant motion and development. The social structure is changing, people are changing, fulfilling certain social roles and occupying certain status positions. Accordingly, individuals as the main elements of the social structure of society are in constant motion. To describe this movement of an individual through the social structure of society, there is a theory of social mobility. Its author is Pitirim Sorokin, who in 1927 introduced the concept into sociological science social mobility.
In the most general sense, under social mobility is understood as a change in the status of an individual or a social group, as a result of which he (she) changes his position in the social structure, acquires new role sets, and changes his characteristics on the main scales of stratification. P. Sorokin himself determined social mobility like any transition of an individual or social object(values), that is, everything that is created or modified by human activity, from one social position to another.
In the process of social mobility, there is a constant redistribution of individuals within the social structure in accordance with the principles of social differentiation existing in this system. That is, one or another social subsystem always has a fixed or traditional set of requirements that are presented to those wishing to become actors in this subsystem. Accordingly, ideally, those who best meet these requirements will succeed most.
For example, studying at a university requires young people and girls to master the curriculum, and the main criterion is the effectiveness of this mastery, which is checked during test and examination sessions. Anyone who does not meet the minimum level of knowledge requirements loses the opportunity to continue learning. Those who master the material more successfully than others increase their chances of efficient use received education (admission to graduate school, joining scientific activity, highly paid job in the specialty). Conscientiously fulfilling your social role contributes to a change for the better in social status. Thus, social system stimulates the types of individual and collective activities that are desirable for her.
Typology of social mobility
Within the framework of modern sociology, several types and types of social mobility are distinguished, which are designed to provide an opportunity full description the whole gamut of social movements. First of all, there are two types of social mobility - horizontal mobility and vertical mobility.
Horizontal mobility
- this is a transition from one social position to another, but located at the same social level. For example, a change of place of residence, a change of religion (in religiously tolerant social systems).
Vertical mobility
- this is a transition from one social position to another with a change in the level of social stratification. That is, with vertical mobility, social status improves or deteriorates. In this regard, two subtypes of vertical mobility are distinguished:
a) upward mobility- moving up the stratification ladder of the social system, that is, improving one’s status (for example, receiving another rank in the military, moving a student to a senior year or receiving a diploma from a university);
b) downward mobility- moving down the stratification ladder of the social system, that is, deterioration of one’s status (for example, a salary cut, entailing a change of stratum, expulsion from a university for poor academic performance, which entails a significant narrowing of opportunities for further social growth).
Vertical mobility can be individual or group.
Individual mobility occurs when an individual member of society changes his social position. He leaves his old status niche or stratum and moves into a new state. To factors individual mobility Sociologists include social origin, level of education, physical and mental abilities, external data, place of residence, advantageous marriage, specific actions, which can often negate the effect of all previous factors (for example, a criminal offense, a heroic deed).
Group mobility It is especially often observed in conditions of changes in the very system of stratification of a given society, when the social significance of large social groups changes.
You can also highlight organized mobility, when the movement of an individual or entire groups up, down, or horizontally in the social structure is sanctioned by the state or is a deliberate government policy. Moreover, this kind of action can be carried out both with the consent of people (voluntary recruitment of construction teams) and without it (reduction of rights and freedoms, resettlement of ethnic groups).
In addition, it is of great importance structural mobility. It is caused by structural changes in the entire social system. For example, industrialization led to a significant increase in the need for cheap labor, which, in turn, led to a significant restructuring of the entire social structure, which made it possible to recruit this very labor. Reasons that can cause structural mobility include a change in economic structure, social revolutions, a change in government or political regime, foreign occupation, invasions, interstate and civil military conflicts.
Finally, in sociology they distinguish intragenerational (intrageneration) And intergenerational (intergenerational) social mobility. Intragenerational mobility describes changes in status distribution within a certain age group, “generation,” which makes it possible to track the overall dynamics of the inclusion or distribution of a given group in the social system. For example, information about what part of modern Ukrainian youth is studying or has been trained at universities, and what part would like to undergo training can be very important. Such information allows monitoring of many relevant social processes. Knowing the general features of social mobility in a given generation, it is possible to objectively assess the social development of a particular individual or small group included in this generation. The path of social development that an individual goes through during his life is called social career.
Intergenerational mobility characterizes changes in social distribution in groups of different generations. Such an analysis makes it possible to monitor long-term social processes and establish patterns of social career implementation in various social groups and communities. For example, which social strata are most or least susceptible to upward or downward mobility? An objective answer to such a question makes it possible to reveal methods of social stimulation in individual social groups, features of the social environment that determine the desire (or lack thereof) for social growth.
Social mobility channels
How does it happen within the framework of the stable social structure of society? social mobility, that is, the movement of individuals through this very social structure? It is obvious that such movement within the framework of a complexly organized system cannot occur spontaneously, unorganized, or chaotically. Unorganized, spontaneous movements are possible only during periods of social instability, when the social structure is shaken, loses stability, and collapses. In a stable social structure, significant movements of individuals occur in strict accordance with a developed system of rules for such movements (stratification system). To change his status, an individual most often must not only have the desire to do so, but also receive approval from the social environment. Only in this case is a real change in status possible, which will mean a change in the individual’s position within the social structure of society. So, if a boy or girl decides to become students of a certain university (acquire student status), then their desire will be only the first step towards the status of a student of this university. Obviously, in addition to personal aspiration, it is also important that the applicant meets the requirements that apply to everyone who has expressed a desire to undergo training in this specialty. Only after confirmation of such compliance (for example, during entrance exams) does the applicant achieve the assignment of the desired status - the applicant becomes a student.
IN modern society, whose social structure is very complex and institutionalized, most social movements are associated with certain social institutions. That is, most statuses exist and have meaning only within the framework of specific social institutions. The status of a student or teacher cannot exist in isolation from the institution of education; statuses of a doctor or a patient - in isolation from the health care institute; Candidate or Doctor of Science statuses are outside the Institute of Science. This gives rise to the idea of social institutions as unique social spaces within which most changes in status occur. Such spaces are called channels of social mobility.
In a strict sense, under channel of social mobility
understands such social structures, mechanisms, methods that can be used to implement social mobility. As mentioned above, in modern society, social institutions most often act as such channels. The bodies of political power are of primary importance, political parties, public organizations, economic structures, professional labor organizations and unions, army, church, education system, family and clan ties. Organized crime structures are also of great importance today, which have their own system of mobility, but often have a strong influence on the “official” channels of mobility (for example, corruption).
Taken together, the channels of social mobility act as an integral system, complementing, limiting, and stabilizing each other’s activities. As a result, we can talk about a universal system of institutional and legal procedures for the movement of individuals along a stratification structure, which is a complex mechanism of social selection. In the case of any attempt by an individual to improve his social position, that is, to increase his social status, he will be, to one degree or another, “tested” for compliance with the requirements for a bearer of this status. Such a “test” can be formal (exam, testing), semi-formal ( probation, interview) and informal (the decision is made solely due to the personal inclinations of the test takers, but based on their ideas about the desirable qualities of the test subject) procedures.
For example, to enter a university you must pass entrance exams. But in order to be accepted into a new family, you need to go through a long process of getting to know the existing rules and traditions, confirm your loyalty to them, and gain the approval of the leading members of this family. It is obvious that in each specific case there is both a formal need to meet certain requirements (level of knowledge, special training, physical data), and a subjective assessment of the individual’s efforts on the part of the examiners. Depending on the situation, either the first or the second component is more important.
Social mobility can be vertical and horizontal. At horizontal mobility social movement of individuals and social groups occurs in other, but equal in status social communities. These can be considered as moving from government agencies to private ones, moving from one enterprise to another, etc. Varieties of horizontal mobility are: territorial (migration, tourism, relocation from village to city), professional (change of profession), religious (change of religion), political (transition from one political party to another).
With vertical mobility, there is upward and downward movement of people. An example of such mobility is the reduction of workers from the “hegemon” in the USSR to the simple class in today’s Russia and, conversely, the rise of speculators to the middle and upper class. Vertical social movements are associated, firstly, with profound changes in the socio-economic structure of society, the emergence of new classes, social groups striving to achieve a higher social status, and secondly, with a change in ideological guidelines, value systems and norms, political priorities. In this case, there is a movement to the top of those political forces that were able to perceive changes in the mentality, orientations and ideals of the population.
To quantitatively characterize social mobility, indicators of its speed are used. The speed of social mobility refers to the vertical social distance and the number of strata (economic, professional, political, etc.) that individuals pass through in their upward or downward movement over a certain period of time. For example, after graduating from college, a young specialist can take the position of senior engineer or head of department, etc., within several years.
The intensity of social mobility is characterized by the number of individuals changing social positions in a vertical or horizontal position over a certain period of time. The number of such individuals gives the absolute intensity of social mobility. For example, during the years of reforms in post-Soviet Russia (1992-1998), up to one third of the “Soviet intelligentsia”, who made up the middle class of Soviet Russia, became “shuttle traders”.
The aggregate index of social mobility includes its speed and intensity. In this way, one society can be compared with another to find out (1) in which one or (2) in which period social mobility is higher or lower in all respects. Such an index can be calculated separately for economic, professional, political and other social mobility. Social mobility -- important characteristic dynamic development of society. Those societies where the aggregate index of social mobility is higher develop much more dynamically, especially if this index relates to the governing strata.
Social (group) mobility is associated with the emergence of new social groups and affects the relationship between the main social strata, whose status no longer corresponds to the existing hierarchy. By the middle of the 20th century, such a group, for example, became managers (managers) large enterprises. Based on this fact, Western sociology developed the concept of a “revolution of managers” (J. Bernheim). According to it, the administrative stratum begins to play a decisive role not only in the economy, but also in social life, complementing and displacing the class of owners of the means of production (captains).
Vertical social movements are intensive during times of structural restructuring of the economy. The emergence of new prestigious, highly paid professional groups promotes mass movement up the ladder of social status. The decline in the social status of the profession, the disappearance of some of them provokes not only a downward movement, but also the emergence of marginal layers that lose their usual position in society and lose the achieved level of consumption. There is an erosion of the values and norms that previously united them and determined their stable place in the social hierarchy.
Marginalized people are social groups that have lost their previous social status, are deprived of the opportunity to engage in usual activities, and have found themselves unable to adapt to the new sociocultural (value and normative) environment. Their old values and norms were not supplanted by new norms and values. The efforts of marginalized people to adapt to new conditions give rise to psychological stress. The behavior of such people is characterized by extremes: they are either passive or aggressive, and also easily violate moral standards and are capable of unpredictable actions. A typical leader of the marginalized in post-Soviet Russia is V. Zhirinovsky.
During periods of acute social cataclysms and fundamental changes in the social structure, an almost complete renewal of the upper echelons of society can occur. Thus, the events of 1917 in our country led to the overthrow of the old ruling classes (nobility and bourgeoisie) and the rapid rise of a new ruling layer (the communist party bureaucracy) with nominally socialist values and norms. Such a radical replacement of the upper stratum of society always takes place in an atmosphere of extreme confrontation and tough struggle.
Question No. 10 “The concept of a social institution, its characteristics”
A social institution in a sociological interpretation is considered as historically established, stable forms of organization joint activities of people; in a narrower sense, it is an organized system of social connections and norms designed to satisfy the basic needs of society, social groups and individuals.
Social institutions (insitutum - institution) are value-normative complexes (values, rules, norms, attitudes, patterns, standards of behavior in certain situations), as well as bodies and organizations that ensure their implementation and approval in the life of society.
All elements of society are interconnected by social relations - connections that arise between and within social groups in the process of material (economic) and spiritual (political, legal, cultural) activity.
In the process of development of society, some connections may die out, others may appear. Connections that have proven their benefits to society are streamlined, become generally significant patterns and are subsequently repeated from generation to generation. The more stable these connections that are useful for society are, the more stable the society itself is.
Social institutions (from the Latin institutum - structure) are elements of society that represent stable forms of organization and regulation of social life. Such institutions of society as the state, education, family, etc., organize social relations, regulate the activities of people and their behavior in society.
The main goal of social institutions is to achieve stability in the development of society. In accordance with this goal, the functions of institutions are distinguished:
· meeting the needs of society;
· regulation of social processes (during which these needs are usually satisfied).
The needs that are satisfied by social institutions are diverse. For example, society's need for security can be supported by the institution of defense, spiritual needs by the church, and the need to understand the world around us by science. Each institution can satisfy several needs (the church is able to satisfy religious, moral, cultural needs), and the same need can be satisfied by different institutions (spiritual needs can be satisfied by art, science, religion, etc.).
The process of satisfying needs (say, the consumption of goods) can be institutionally regulated. For example, there are legal restrictions on the purchase of a number of goods (weapons, alcohol, tobacco). The process of meeting society's needs for education is regulated by institutions of primary, secondary, and higher education.
The structure of a social institution is formed by:
social groups and social organizations designed to satisfy the needs of groups and individuals;
· a set of norms, social values and patterns of behavior that ensure satisfaction of needs;
· a system of symbols regulating relations in the economic sphere of activity ( trademark, flag, brand, etc.);
· ideological justifications for the activities of a social institution;
· social resources used in the activities of the institute.
The characteristics of a social institution include:
· a set of institutions, social groups whose purpose is to satisfy certain needs of society;
· system of cultural patterns, norms, values, symbols;
· a system of behavior in accordance with these norms and patterns;
· material and human resources, necessary to solve problems;
· socially recognized mission, goal, ideology.
Let us consider the characteristics of an institute using the example of secondary vocational education. It includes:
· teachers, officials, administration educational institutions etc.;
· norms of behavior of students, society’s attitude towards the system of professional education;
· the established practice of relations between teachers and students;
buildings, auditoriums, teaching aids;
· mission - meeting society's needs for good specialists with secondary vocational education.
In accordance with the spheres of public life, four main groups of institutions can be distinguished:
economic institutions - division of labor, property, market, trade, wage, banking system, stock exchange, management, marketing, etc.;
· political institutions - state, army, militia, police, parliamentarism, presidency, monarchy, court, parties, civil society;
· institutions of stratification and kinship - class, estate, caste, gender discrimination, racial segregation, nobility, social Security, family, marriage, fatherhood, motherhood, adoption, twinning;
· cultural institutes - school, higher school, secondary professional education, theaters, museums, clubs, libraries, church, monasticism, confession.
The number of social institutions is not limited to the given list. Institutions are numerous and varied in their forms and manifestations. Large institutions may include lower level institutions. For example, the institute of education includes institutes of primary, vocational and high school; court - institutions of the legal profession, prosecutor's office, judging; family - institutions of motherhood, adoption, etc.
Since society is a dynamic system, some institutions may disappear (for example, the institution of slavery), while others may appear (the institution of advertising or the institution of civil society). The formation of a social institution is called the process of institutionalization.
Institutionalization is a process of ordering public relations, formation of stable samples social interaction based on clear rules, laws, patterns and rituals. For example, the process of institutionalization of science is the transformation of science from the activity of individuals into an ordered system of relations, including a system of titles, academic degrees, research institutes, academies, etc.
The general concept of social mobility is associated with a change in the status of an individual or a certain social group, after which he changes his current position and place in the social structure, he has other roles, and characteristics in stratification change. The social system is complex due to its multi-level nature. Stratification describes the rank structure, patterns and features of existence in development, hence the division of this movement into types of social mobility.
Status
A person who has once received one or another status does not remain its bearer until the end of his life. A child, for example, grows up and is replaced by another set of statuses associated with growing up. Likewise, society is constantly in motion, developing, changing the social structure, losing some people and gaining others, but certain social roles are still played, since status positions remain filled. Any transition of an individual or an object created or modified by human activity to another position, to which channels of social mobility have led, falls under this definition.
The main elements of social structure - individuals - are also in constant motion. To describe the movements of an individual in social structure, such a concept as “social mobility of society” is used. This theory appeared in sociological science in 1927, its author was Pitirim Sorokin, who described the factors of social mobility. The process under consideration determines the constant redistribution of individuals within the boundaries of the social structure in accordance with the existing principles of social differentiation.
Social system
In a single social system, there are many subsystems that have a clearly fixed or traditionally fixed set of requirements for all individuals seeking to achieve one or another status. It is always the one who meets all these requirements to the greatest extent who succeeds. Examples of social mobility can be found literally at every step. Thus, a university is a powerful social subsystem.
Students studying there must learn curriculum, and during the session there will be a check to see how effective the development was. Naturally, those individuals who do not satisfy the examiners’ minimum level of knowledge will not be able to continue their studies. But those who have mastered the material better than others receive additional channels of social mobility, that is, chances to effectively use their education - in graduate school, in science, in employment. And this rule always applies everywhere: fulfilling a social role changes the situation in society for the better.
Types of social mobility. Current state of affairs
Modern sociology subdivides the types and types of social mobility, designed to most fully describe the entire gamut of social movements. First of all, we need to talk about two types - vertical and horizontal mobility. If the transition from one social position to another has taken place, but the level has not changed, this is horizontal social mobility. This could be a change of religion or place of residence. Examples of horizontal social mobility are the most numerous.
If, with the transition to another social position, the level of social stratification changes, that is, the social status becomes better or worse, then this movement belongs to the second type. Vertical social mobility, in turn, is divided into two subtypes: upward and downward. The stratification ladder of a social system, like any other ladder, implies movement both up and down.
Examples of vertical social mobility: up - improvement in status (another military rank, obtaining a diploma, etc.), down - deterioration (loss of a job, expulsion from a university, etc.), that is, something that involves an increase or decrease opportunities for further movement and social growth.
Individual and group
In addition, vertical social mobility can be group or individual. The latter occurs when an individual member of society changes his social position, when the old status niche (stratum) is abandoned and a new state is found. The level of education, social origin, mental and physical abilities, place of residence, external data, specific actions play a role here - an advantageous marriage, for example, a criminal offense or a manifestation of heroism.
Group mobility most often occurs when the stratification system of this society changes, when the social significance of even the largest social groups undergoes changes. These types of social mobility are sanctioned by the state or are the result of targeted policies. Here we can highlight organized mobility (and the consent of people does not matter - recruitment into construction teams or volunteers, economic crisis, reduction of rights and freedoms in certain sections of society, resettlement of peoples or ethnic groups, etc.)
Structure
Structural mobility is also of great importance in defining the concept. The social system undergoes structural changes, which is not so rare. Industrialization, for example, which usually requires cheap labor, which rebuilds the entire social structure in order to recruit this labor.
Horizontal and vertical social activity can occur in a group simultaneously during a change of political regime or state system, economic collapse or takeoff, during any social revolution, during foreign occupation, invasion, during any military conflicts - both civil and interstate.
Within a generation
The science of sociology distinguishes between intragenerational and intergenerational social mobility. This is best seen through examples. Intragenerational, that is, intragenerational social mobility presupposes changes in the status distribution in a certain age group, in a generation, and tracks the general dynamics of the distribution of this group within the social system.
For example, monitoring is carried out regarding opportunities for obtaining higher education, free medical care and many other current social processes. By learning the most general features of the social movement in a given generation, it is possible to evaluate with a degree of objectivity the social development of an individual from this age group. The whole path of a person social development a lifelong social career can be called.
Intergenerational mobility
An analysis of changes in social status in groups of different generations is carried out, which makes it possible to see the patterns of long-term processes in society, to establish characteristic factors of social mobility in the implementation of a social career, considering various social groups and communities.
For example, which segments of the population are subject to more upward social mobility and which to downward social mobility can be found out through broad monitoring, which will answer such questions and thus reveal ways to stimulate specific social groups. Many other factors are also determined: the characteristics of a given social environment, whether or not there is a desire for social growth, etc.
Play by the rules
In a stable social structure, the movement of individuals occurs plannedly and according to rules. In an unstable situation, when the social system is shaken - unorganized, spontaneous, chaotic. In any case, to change status, an individual must enlist the support of his social environment.
If an applicant wants to enter Moscow State University, MGIMO or MEPhI, in order to acquire student status, he must, in addition to the desire to have the whole complex certain personal qualities and meet the requirements for all students of these educational institutions. That is, the applicant must confirm his compliance, for example, with entrance examinations or financial independence. If compliant, he will receive the desired status.
Social institutions
Modern society is a complex and highly institutionalized structure. Most social movements are associated with certain social institutions; many statuses outside the framework of specific institutions do not matter at all. For example, apart from education, the statuses of teacher and student do not exist, and outside the institute of health care there are no statuses of patient and doctor. This means that it is social institutions that create the social space where most of the changes in status occur. These spaces (channels of social mobility) are structures, methods, mechanisms used for status movement.
The main driving force is government bodies, political parties, economic structures, public organizations, the church, the army, professional and labor unions and organizations, family and clan ties, and the education system. In turn, at this period of time, the social structure is experiencing significant influence from organized crime, which has its own mobile system, which also influences official institutions through, for example, corruption.
Total influence
Channels of social mobility are an integral system that complements, limits, and stabilizes all components of the social structure, in which the institutional and legal procedures for the movement of each individual represent elementary social selection, where not only long-term and close acquaintance with certain rules and traditions occurs, but also confirmation by the individual their loyalty, obtaining the approval of leading persons.
Here we can talk a lot more about the formal need for compliance and the subjectivity of assessing all the efforts of an individual on the part of those on whom the social movement of the individual’s status directly depends.
