Upward social mobility. social mobility

landscaping 13.10.2019

landscaping

social mobility is an opportunity to change social stratum.

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

Kinds:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Task 2

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

1. Type of social mobility:

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

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

2. Channel of social mobility - army

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 man or his sudden fall is a favorite subject. folk tales: a cunning beggar suddenly becomes a rich man, a poor prince becomes a king, and a hardworking Cinderella marries a prince, thereby increasing her status and prestige.

However, human history is made up not so much of individual destinies as of the movement 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 collars" - 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 have taken place in Russian society after the October Revolution of 1917. They are still happening today, when the business elite is replacing the party elite.

Between ascent and descent there is a certain asymmetry: everyone wants to go up and no one wants to go down the social ladder. Usually, ascent - the phenomenon is voluntary, descent - forced.

Studies show that those with higher status prefer high positions for themselves and their children, but those with lower status want the same for themselves and their children. And so it turns out in human society: everyone is striving upward and no one is downward.

In this chapter, we will look at essence, causes, typology, mechanisms, channels and factors affecting social mobility.

Exist two main types social mobility - intergenerational and intragenerational, and two main types - vertical and horizontal. They, in turn, break down into subspecies and subtypes, which are closely related to each other.

Intergenerational mobility assumes 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 takes place where the same individual, beyond comparison with the father, changes social positions several times throughout his life. Otherwise it is called social career. Example: a turner becomes an engineer, and then a shop manager, plant director, minister of the engineering industry.

The first type of mobility refers to long-term, and the second - to short-term processes. In the first case, sociologists are more interested in interclass mobility, and in the second - movement from the sphere physical labor into the realm of the mind.

Vertical mobility implies a 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, demolition 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. An example is the movement 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.

Variety horizontal mobility serves geographical 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 a city to a village and back, moving from one enterprise to another.

If a change of status is added to a change of place, then geographic mobility becomes migration. If a villager comes to the city to visit relatives, then this is geographic mobility. If he moved to the city for permanent residence and found a job here, then this is migration. He changed his profession.

Vertical and horizontal mobility are influenced by gender, age, birth rate, death rate, population density. In general, young people and men are more mobile than older people and women. Overpopulated countries are more likely to experience the effects of emigration than immigration. Where the birth rate is high, the population is younger and therefore more mobile, and vice versa.

Professional mobility is typical for the young, economic mobility for adults, and political mobility for the elderly. The birth rate is unevenly distributed across classes. The lower classes tend to have more children, while the higher classes tend to have fewer. There is a pattern: the higher a person climbs the social ladder, the fewer children he has. Even if every son of a rich man follows in the footsteps of his father, voids are still formed on the upper steps of the social pyramid, which are filled by people from the lower classes. In no class do people plan for the exact number of children needed to replace parents. The number of vacancies and the number of applicants for the occupation of certain social positions in different classes is different.

Professionals (doctors, lawyers, etc.) and skilled employees do not have enough children to fill their jobs in the next generation. By contrast, farmers and agricultural workers, in the US, have 50% more children than they need to be self-sustaining. It is not difficult to calculate in which direction social mobility should proceed in modern society.

High and low fertility in different classes creates for vertical mobility the same effect that population density has on horizontal mobility in different countries. Strata, like countries, can be overpopulated or underpopulated.

It is possible to propose a classification of social mobility according to other criteria. So, for example, they distinguish:

· individual mobility, when moving down, up or horizontally occurs in each person independently of others, and

· group mobility, when displacement occurs collectively, such as after a social revolution old class cedes its dominant positions to a new class.

Individual mobility and group mobility are connected in a certain way with assigned and achieved status. Individual mobility corresponds more to the status achieved, and group mobility to the assigned status.

Individual mobility occurs where and when the social significance of an entire class, estate, caste, rank, or category rises or falls. October Revolution led to the rise of the Bolsheviks, who previously did not have a recognized high position. Brahmins became the highest caste as a result of a long and stubborn struggle, and earlier they were on an equal footing with the kshatriyas. In ancient Greece, after the adoption of the constitution, most people were freed from slavery and climbed the social ladder, and many of their former masters went down.

The transition from a hereditary aristocracy to a plutocracy (an aristocracy based on the principles of wealth) had the same consequences. In 212 AD e. almost the entire population of the Roman Empire received the status of Roman citizens. Thanks to this, huge masses of people who were previously considered to be deprived of their rights have raised their social status. The invasion of the barbarians (Huns, Lobards, Goths) disrupted the social stratification of the Roman Empire: one by one, the old aristocratic families disappeared, and they were replaced by new ones. Foreigners founded new dynasties and new nobility.

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 in terms of the standards of another class. Often adaptation to new conditions remains very superficial. A typical example is Moliere's tradesman in the nobility.

These are the main types, types and forms (between these terms significant differences no) social mobility. In addition to them, organized mobility is sometimes singled out, when the movement of a person or entire groups up, down or horizontally is controlled by the state a) with the consent of the people themselves, b) without their consent. Voluntary organized mobility should include the so-called socialist organization set, public appeals for Komsomol construction projects, etc. Involuntary organized mobility includes 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 of the national economy and occurs against the will and consciousness of individual individuals. For example, the disappearance or reduction of industries or professions leads to the displacement of large masses of people. In the 1950s and 1970s, small villages were reduced and enlarged in the USSR.

Social mobility types and examples

The concept of social mobility

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

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

Types of social mobility

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Social mobility examples

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

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

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

Vertical social mobility

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

Channels of social mobility

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

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

There are such types of marginals:

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

Social mobility in society

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

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

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

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

Social stratification and mobility

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

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

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

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 of folk tales: a cunning beggar suddenly becomes rich, a poor prince becomes a king, and the industrious Cinderella marries a prince, thereby increasing her status and prestige.

However, the history of mankind is made up not so much of individual destinies as of the movement of large social groups. The landed aristocracy is being replaced by the financial bourgeoisie, low-skilled professions are being squeezed out of modern production by representatives of the so-called white-collar workers - engineers, programmers, operators of robotic complexes. Wars and revolutions reshaped the social structure of society, raising some to the top of the pyramid and lowering others. Similar changes took place in Russian society after the October Revolution of 1917. They are still taking place today, when the business elite is replacing the party elite.

Between ascent and descent there is a certain asymmetry, everyone wants to go up and no one wants to go down the social ladder. Usually, ascent - phenomenon voluntary a descent is compulsory.

Research shows that those with higher status prefer high positions for themselves and their children, but those with lower status want the same for themselves and their children. And so it turns out in human society: everyone is striving upward and no one is downward.

In this chapter, we will look at essence, causes, typology, mechanisms, channels of social mobility, as well as factors affecting her.

mobility classification.

Exist two main types social mobility - intergenerational and intragenerational and two main types - vertical and horizontal. They, in turn, break down into subspecies and subtypes „which are closely related to each other.

Intergenerational mobility assumes 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 takes place where the same individual, beyond comparison with the father, changes social positions several times throughout his life. Otherwise it is called social career. Example: a turner becomes an engineer, and then a shop manager, plant director, 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 - the movement from the sphere of physical labor to the sphere of mental labor.

Vertical mobility implies a 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, demolition 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.

An example is the movement 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 form of horizontal mobility is geographical 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 a city to a village and back, moving from one enterprise to another.

If a change of status is added to a change of place, then geographic mobility becomes migration.

If a villager comes to the city to visit relatives, then this is geographic mobility. If he moved to the city for permanent residence and found a job here, then this is migration. He changed his profession.

It is possible to classify social mobility according to other criteria. So, for example, they distinguish:

individual mobility, when moving 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 positions to the new class.

Individual mobility and group mobility are connected in a certain way with assigned and achieved status. Do you think individual mobility is more in line with assigned or achieved status? (Try to figure this out on your own first, and then read the chapter to the end.)

These are the main types, types and forms (there are no significant differences between these terms) of social mobility. In addition to them, sometimes allocate organized mobility, when the movement of a person or entire groups up, down or horizontally is controlled by the state a) with the consent of the people themselves, b) without their consent. to voluntary organized mobility should be attributed to the so-called socialist organization set, public appeals for Komsomol construction projects, 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 of the national economy and occurs against the will and consciousness of individual individuals. For example, the disappearance or reduction of industries or professions leads to to movement of large masses of people. In the 50s - 70s in 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 epoch. 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. (Look for concrete examples in support of this thesis.

The main and non-main types (types, forms) of mobility exist in three main areas 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 in youth does not apply to mobility. Voluntary and forced change of religion in human history occurred repeatedly. Suffice it to recall the baptism of Russia, the conversion of the Indians to the Christian faith after the discovery of America by Columbus. However, such events do not occur regularly. They are of interest to historians rather than sociologists.

Let us now turn to specific types and types of mobility.

GROUP MOBILITY

It occurs there and then, where and when the social significance of an entire class, estate, caste, rank, or category rises or falls. The October Revolution led to the rise of the Bolsheviks, who previously did not have a recognized high position. Brahmins became the highest caste as a result of a long and stubborn struggle, and earlier they were on an equal footing with the kshatriyas. In ancient Greece, after the adoption of the constitution, most people were freed from slavery and climbed the social ladder, and many of their former masters went down.

The transition of power from a hereditary aristocracy to a plutocracy (an aristocracy based on the principles of 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 who were previously considered to be deprived of their rights have increased their social status. The invasion of the barbarians (Huns and Goths) disrupted the social stratification of the Roman Empire: one by one, the old aristocratic families disappeared, and they were replaced by new ones. Foreigners founded new dynasties and new nobility.

As P. Sorokin showed on a huge historical material, the following factors served as the reasons for group mobility:

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;

Internecine struggle of aristocratic families;

Creation of an empire.

Group mobility takes place where there is a change in the very system of stratification.

3.4. Individual mobility:

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Social mobility in the US and former USSR has both similarities and differences. The similarity is explained by the fact that both countries are industrialized powers, and the differences are explained by the peculiarity of the political regime of government. Thus, studies by American and Soviet sociologists, covering approximately the same period (70s), but carried out independently of each other, gave the same figures: up to 40% of employees in both the USA and Russia come from workers ; in both the US and Russia, more than two-thirds of the population is involved in social mobility.

Another regularity is also confirmed: social mobility in both countries greatest influence It is not the profession and education of the father that renders, but the son's own achievements in education. The higher the education, the more chances to move up the social ladder.

In both the US and Russia, another curious fact has been discovered: a well-educated son of a worker has just as much chance of promotion as a poorly educated person from the middle classes, in particular employees. Although the second can help parents.

The peculiarity 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 advancement of Native Americans. Rural migration has the same effect, not only in the US, but also in Russia.

In both countries, upward mobility has so far averaged 20% more 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, the level of mobility is high (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 legend, every sweeper can become a millionaire, the conclusion made by P. Sorokin back in 1927 remains valid: most people start their working careers at the same social level as their parents, and only a very few manage to make significant progress. In other words, the average citizen moves one rung up or down in his life, rarely anyone manages to step several steps at once.

So, 10% of Americans, 7% of Japanese and Dutch, 9% of British, 2% of French, Germans and Danes, 1% of Italians rise from workers to the upper - middle class. To the factors of individual mobility, i.e. reasons that allow one person to achieve greater success than another, sociologists in both countries include:

the social status of the family;

level of education;

nationality;

physical and mental abilities, external data;

receiving education;

place of residence;

profitable marriage.

In all industrial developed 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 " the right man". What do you think, what kind of professions or places of work are they? Give examples from life or literature when marriage acted as a "social lift" for women of humble origin.

During the Soviet period, our society was the most mobile society in the world along with America. Available to all layers free education opened up to everyone the same opportunities for advancement that existed only in the United States. Nowhere in the world the elite of society beyond short term was not formed literally from all walks of life. 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 terms of industrial development. For many years, the USSR held the first place in terms of the pace of industrial progress. All these are signs of a modern industrial society that have made the USSR, as Western sociologists have written, one of the world's leading countries in terms of social mobility.

Structural mobility

Industrialization opens new vacancies in vertical mobility. The development of industry three centuries ago required the transformation of the peasantry into a proletariat. In the late stage of industrialization, the working class became the largest part of the employed population. The main factor of vertical mobility was the education system.

Industrialization is associated not only with interclass but also with intraclass changes. At the stage of conveyor or mass production at the beginning of the 20th century, unskilled 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 poorly or unskilled. In 1966, 20% of such people remained.

As unskilled labor was reduced, the need for employees, managers, and businessmen grew. The sphere of industrial and agricultural labor narrowed, while 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 the individual characteristics of people, but on structural features economy, the relationship of industries and the shifts taking place here. Number of people employed in agriculture The USA decreased from 1900 to 1980 by 10 times. The small farmers became the respectable petty bourgeois class, and the agricultural laborers were added to the ranks of the working class. The stratum of professionals and managers doubled over that period. The number of trade workers and clerks increased by 4 times.

Such 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 knowledge work, compared with 10-15% at the beginning of the century.

During this century, vacancies in industrialized countries declined in the working professions and expanded in the field of management. But managerial vacancies were filled not by representatives of the workers, but by the middle class. However, the number of management jobs has grown faster than the number of middle class children able to fill them. The vacuum formed in the 1950s was partly filled by working youth. This was made possible due to the availability for ordinary Americans. higher education.

In the developed capitalist countries, industrialization was completed earlier than in the former socialist countries. (USSR, GDR, Hungary, Bulgaria, etc.). The lag could not but affect the nature of social mobility: in the capitalist countries, the share of leaders and intelligentsia - who come from workers and peasants - is one third, and in the former socialist countries- three quarters. In countries such as 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 due to structural mobility that the two opposite poles of the professional pyramid turned out to be the least mobile. In the former socialist countries, the most closed were two layers - the layer of top managers and the layer of auxiliary workers located at the bottom of the pyramid - layers that fill the most prestigious and the most not prestigious areas of activity. (Try to answer the question "why?")

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 in 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 once received this or that status does not remain its bearer until the end of his life. A child, for example, grows up, taking on a different set of statuses associated with growing up. So 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 object, created or modified by human activity, to another position, to which the channels of social mobility have led, falls under this definition.

The basic elements of the social structure - individuals - are also in constant motion. To describe the movement 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 causes a constant redistribution within the boundaries of the social structure of individual individuals 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 acquire a particular status. The one who meets all these requirements to the greatest extent always succeeds. Examples of social mobility can be found literally at every turn. Thus, the university is a powerful social subsystem.

Students studying there must master the curriculum, and during the session there will be a test of how effectively mastering was. Naturally, those individuals who do not satisfy the examiners in terms of the minimum level of knowledge will not be able to continue their education. On the other hand, those who have mastered the material better than the rest receive additional channels of social mobility, that is, the chances to effectively use education - in graduate school, in science, in employment. And this rule applies always and everywhere: the fulfillment of a social role changes the situation in society for the better.

Types of social mobility. The 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, it is necessary to say 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 may be a change of confession or place of residence. Examples of horizontal social mobility are the most numerous.

If, however, with the transition to another social position, the level social stratification, 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: upwards - status improvement (another military rank, receiving a diploma, etc.), downwards - deterioration (loss of a job, expulsion from a university, etc.), that is, something that implies an increase or decrease opportunities for further movement and social growth.

Individual and group

In addition, vertical social mobility can be group and 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 - a profitable 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 is subject to change. Such types of social mobility are sanctioned by the state or are the result of targeted policies. Here we can distinguish organized mobility (and the consent of people does not matter - recruitment into construction teams or volunteers, the economic crisis, the reduction of rights and freedoms in certain sectors of society, the resettlement of peoples or ethnic groups, etc.)

Structure

Structural mobility also has great importance when defining a concept. The social system undergoes structural changes, which is not so rare. Industrialization, for example, which usually requires cheap labor, which restructures the entire social structure in order to recruit this labor force.

Horizontal and vertical social activity can take place in a group order simultaneously with a change in political regime or political system, economic collapse or rise, 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 with examples. Intra-generational, that is, intra-generational social mobility implies shifts in the status distribution in a certain age group, in a generation, it tracks the general dynamics of the distribution of this group within the social system.

For example, monitoring is carried out regarding the possibilities of obtaining higher education, free medical care and many other topical social processes. Recognizing the most common features social movement in a given generation, it is already possible to assess the social development of an individual from this age group with a degree of objectivity. The whole journey of man social development a life-long one can be called a social career.

Intergenerational mobility

An analysis is made of changes in social status in groups of different generations, which makes it possible to see the patterns of long-term processes in society, to establish the 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, can be found out through extensive monitoring, which will answer such questions and thus reveal ways to stimulate specific social groups. Many other factors are determined in the same way: the features of this social environment whether or not there is a desire to social growth etc.

Game by the rules

In a stable social structure, the movement of individuals occurs according to plans and rules. When unstable social system shattered, disorganized, spontaneous, chaotic. In any case, in order to change the status, the individual must enlist the support of the social environment.

If an applicant wants to enter Moscow State University, MGIMO or MEPhI, in order to acquire student status, in addition to the desire, he must have a whole range of certain personal qualities and meet the requirements for all students of these data educational institutions. That is, the applicant must confirm his compliance, for example, with entrance examinations or financial independence. If it matches, it will get 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 a teacher and a student do not exist, and outside the institute of health care there are no statuses of a patient and a doctor. So exactly social institutions create the social space where the largest part of the status changes take place. These spaces (channels of social mobility) are structures, ways, mechanisms used for status movement.

Main driving force- organs state power, political parties, economic structures, public organizations, church, army, professional and labor unions and organizations, family and clan ties, education system. In turn, for a given period of time, the social structure is significantly influenced by organized crime, which has its own mobile system which also influences official institutions through, for example, corruption.

Aggregate of Influence

The channels of social mobility are an integral system that complements, limits, 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 a long and close acquaintance with certain rules and traditions, but also confirmation by the individual of his loyalty, obtaining the approval of the dominant persons.

Here one can still talk a lot about the formal necessity of conformity and subjectivity of the assessment of all the efforts of the individual on the part of those on whom the social transfer of the individual's status directly depends.