When it comes to the main types of stratification systems, a description of caste, slave, estate and class differentiations is usually given. At the same time, it is customary to identify them with historical types social order, observed in modern world or already irretrievably a thing of the past. Another approach assumes that any given society consists of combinations of various stratification systems and many of their transitional forms.
Social stratification is social inequality between people, which is hierarchical in nature and regulated by the institutions of public life. The nature of social inequality and the method of its establishment form a stratification system. Basically, stratification systems are identified with historical types of social structure and are called: caste, slave, estate and class.
To describe the social organism in the history of different societies, it will be rational to talk about nine types of stratification systems:
1) physical and genetic. Separation of groups according to natural characteristics (gender, age, strength, beauty). The weak have a degraded position;
2) caste. Ethnic differences are at the core. Each caste has its place in society, and it occupies this place as a result of the performance by this caste of certain functions in the system of division of labor. There is no social mobility, since caste membership is a hereditary phenomenon. This is a closed society;
3) estate-corporate. Groups have their own responsibilities and rights. Belonging to a class is often inherited. There is a relative closeness of the group;
4) etacratic. Inequality here depends on the position of the group in the power-state hierarchies, the distribution of resources, and privileges. Groups on this basis have their own lifestyle, well-being, prestige of the positions they occupy;
5) social and professional. The conditions and content of work (special skills, experience) are important here. The hierarchy in this system is based on certificates (diplomas, licenses, etc.), reflecting the level of a person’s qualifications. The validity of these certificates is maintained by the government;
6) class. There are differences in the nature and size of property (although the political and legal statuses are the same), level of income, and material wealth. Belonging to any class is not established by law and is not inherited;
7) cultural-symbolic. Different groups have different opportunities to receive socially significant information, to be a bearer of sacred knowledge (previously these were priests, in modern times - scientists);
8) cultural-normative. Differences in people's lifestyles and norms of behavior lead to differences in respect and prestige (differences in physical and mental labor, manners of communication);
9) socio-territorial. Uneven division of resources between regions, use of cultural institutions, access to housing and work are different.
Of course, we understand that any society combines even several stratification systems, and the types of stratification systems presented here are “ideal types.”
The nature of social stratification, the methods of its determination and reproduction in their unity form what sociologists call stratification system. Historically, there are four main types of stratification systems: slavery, castes, estates and classes. The first three characterize closed societies, and the fourth type is an open society. In this context, a closed society is considered to be a society where social movements from one stratum to another are either completely prohibited or significantly limited. An open society is a society where transitions from lower to higher strata are not officially limited in any way.
1. Slavery- a form of the most rigid consolidation of people in the lower strata. This is the only form in history social relations, when one person acts as the property of another, deprived of all rights and freedoms.
2. Caste system- a stratification system that presupposes the lifelong assignment of a person to a certain stratum on ethnic, religious or economic grounds. A caste is a closed group that was assigned a strictly defined place in the social hierarchy. This place was determined by the special function of each caste in the system of division of labor. In India, where the caste system was most widespread, there was detailed regulation of the types of activities for each caste. Since membership in the caste system was inherited, opportunities for social mobility were limited.
3. Class system- a stratification system that involves the legal assignment of a person to a particular stratum. The rights and duties of each class were determined by law and sanctified by religion. Belonging to the class was mainly inherited, but as an exception it could be acquired for money or granted by power. In general, the class system was characterized by a branched hierarchy, which was expressed in inequality of social status and the presence of numerous privileges.
The class organization of European feudal society included a division into two upper classes (nobility and clergy) and an unprivileged third class (merchants, artisans, peasants). Since inter-class barriers were quite strict, social mobility existed mainly within classes, which included many ranks, ranks, professions, strata, etc. However, unlike the caste system, inter-class marriages and individual transitions from one stratum to another were sometimes allowed.
4. Class system- an open stratification system that does not imply a legal or any other way of assigning an individual to a specific stratum. Unlike previous closed-type stratification systems, class membership is not regulated by the authorities, is not established by law, and is not inherited. It is determined, first of all, by its place in the system of social production, ownership of property, and the level of income received.
The class system is characteristic of modern industrial society, where there are opportunities for free transition from one stratum to another. Thus, the accumulation of property and wealth, successful entrepreneurial activity allow one to automatically occupy a higher social position.
The identification of slave, caste, estate and class stratification systems is generally accepted, but not the only classification. It is complemented by a description of such types of stratification systems, a combination of which is found in any society. Among them the following can be noted:
physical-genetic stratification system, which is based on ranking people according to natural characteristics: gender, age, the presence of certain physical qualities - strength, dexterity, beauty, etc.;
etacratic stratification system, in which differentiation between groups is carried out according to their position in power-state hierarchies (political, military, administrative and economic), according to the possibilities of mobilization and distribution of resources, as well as the privileges that these groups have depending on their rank in the structures of power;
socio-professional stratification system, in accordance with which groups are divided according to content and working conditions; ranking here is carried out using certificates (diplomas, ranks, licenses, patents, etc.), fixing the level of qualifications and the ability to perform certain types of activities (rank grid in the public sector of industry, a system of certificates and diplomas of education, a system for awarding scientific degrees and titles, etc.);
cultural-symbolic stratification system, arising from differences in access to socially significant information, unequal opportunities to select, preserve and interpret this information (pre-industrial societies are characterized by theocratic manipulation of information, industrial ones - partocratic, post-industrial - technocratic);
cultural-normative stratification system, in which differentiation is based on differences in respect and prestige that arise as a result of comparison of existing norms and lifestyles inherent in certain social groups (attitudes towards physical and mental work, consumer standards, tastes, methods of communication, professional terminology, local dialect, - all this can serve as a basis for ranking social groups);
socio-territorial stratification system, formed due to the unequal distribution of resources between regions, differences in access to workers
places, housing, quality goods and services, educational and cultural institutions, etc.
In reality, all these stratification systems are closely intertwined and complement each other. Thus, the socio-professional hierarchy in the form of an officially established division of labor not only fulfills important independent functions to maintain the life of society, but also provides significant influence on the structure of any stratification system. Therefore, the study of the stratification of modern society cannot be reduced only to the analysis of any one type of stratification system.
Test on the topic:
TYPES OF STRATIFICATION SYSTEMS.
There are many stratification criteria by which any society can be divided.
There are nine types of stratification systems,
which can be used to describe any social organism, namely:
1. Physico-genetic
2. Slaveholding
3. Caste
4. Estate
5. Etacratic
6. Social and professional
7. Class
8. Cultural-symbolic
9. Cultural-normative
1. Physical-genetic stratification system
It is based on the differentiation of social groups according to “natural” socio-demographic characteristics. Here, the attitude towards a person or group is determined by gender, age and the presence of certain physical qualities - strength, beauty, dexterity.
Accordingly, the weaker and those with physical disabilities are considered defective and occupy a lower social position. Inequality is asserted in this case by the existence of the threat of physical violence or its actual use, and then is reinforced in customs and rituals.
2. Slave stratification system
This system is also based on direct violence. But inequality here is determined not by physical, but by military-legal coercion. Social groups differ depending on the presence or absence civil rights and property rights. Certain social groups are completely deprived of these rights and, moreover, along with things, they are turned into an object of private property. Moreover, this position is most often inherited and thus consolidated through generations.
Examples of slave systems are very diverse. This is ancient slavery, where the number of slaves sometimes exceeded the number of free citizens, and servility in Rus' during the “Russian Truth”, this is plantation slavery in the south of the United States of America before civil war 1861-1865
3. Caste stratification system
It is based on ethnic differences, which, in turn, are reinforced by religious order and religious rituals. Each caste is a closed, as far as possible, endogamous group, which is assigned a strictly defined place in the social hierarchy. This place appears as a result of the isolation of the special functions of each caste in the system of division of labor. There is a clear list of occupations that members of this caste can engage in: priestly, military, agricultural. Because position in the caste system is hereditary, opportunities for social mobility are extremely limited. And the more pronounced casteism is, the more closed a given society turns out to be.
4. Class stratification system
In this system, groups are distinguished by legal rights, which, in turn, are tightly linked to their responsibilities and are directly dependent on these responsibilities. Moreover, the latter imply obligations to the state, enshrined in law. Some classes are required to perform military or bureaucratic service, others are required to carry out “taxes” in the form of taxes or labor obligations.
5. Etacratic stratification system
In it, differentiation between groups occurs, first of all, according to their position in power-state hierarchies (political, military, economic), according to the possibilities of mobilization and distribution of resources, as well as the privileges that these groups are able to derive from their positions of power. The degree of material well-being, the lifestyle of social groups, as well as the prestige they perceive, are here associated with the formal ranks that these groups occupy in the corresponding power hierarchies. All other differences - demographic and religious-ethnic, economic and cultural - play a derivative role.
The etacracy system is revealed with greater force, the more authoritarian the state government takes on.
6. Socio-professional stratification system
Here the groups are divided according to the content and conditions of their work. A special role is played by the qualification requirements for a particular professional role - the possession of relevant experience, skills and abilities. The approval and maintenance of hierarchical orders in this system is carried out with the help of certificates (diplomas, ranks, licenses, patents), fixing the level of qualifications and the ability to perform certain types of activities. The validity of qualification certificates is supported by the power of the state or some other fairly powerful corporation (professional workshop). Moreover, these certificates are most often not inherited, although there are exceptions in history.
Socio-professional division is one of the basic stratification systems, various examples of which can be found in any society with any developed division of labor.
This is the structure of the craft workshops of the medieval city and the rank grid of modern state industry, the system of certificates and diplomas of education, the system of scientific degrees and titles that open the way to more prestigious jobs.
7. Class stratification system
The class approach is often contrasted with the stratification approach.
But for us class division is only special case social stratification. Of the many interpretations of the concept of “class”, in this case we will focus on the more traditional one - the socio-economic one. In this interpretation, classes represent social groups of citizens who are free in political and legal relations. Differences between groups primarily lie in the nature and extent of ownership of the means of production and the product produced, as well as in the level of income received and personal material well-being.
Unlike many previous types, belonging to classes - bourgeois, proletarians, independent farmers, etc. - is not regulated by higher authorities, is not established by law and is not inherited (property and capital are transferred, but not the status itself). In its pure form, the class system does not contain any internal formal barriers at all (economic success automatically transfers you to a higher group).
Economically egalitarian communities, where there is absolutely no class differentiation, are a rather rare and unstable phenomenon.
But throughout most of human history, class divisions have remained subordinate. They come to the fore, perhaps, only in bourgeois Western societies. A highest altitudes the class system reaches the liberal-minded United States of America.
8. Cultural-symbolic stratification system.
Differentiation arises here from differences in access to socially significant information, unequal opportunities to filter and interpret this information, and the ability to be a bearer of sacred knowledge (mystical or scientific). In ancient times, this role was assigned to priests, magicians and shamans, in the Middle Ages - to church ministers, who made up the bulk of the literate population, interpreters of sacred texts, in modern times - to scientists, technocrats and party ideologists.
Claims to communicate with divine powers, to possess scientific truth, to express state interest have always existed everywhere. And a higher position in this regard is occupied by those who have better opportunities to manipulate the consciousness and actions of other members of society, who can better prove their rights to true understanding than others, and who own the best symbolic capital.
To simplify the picture somewhat, we can say that pre-industrial societies are more characterized by theocratic manipulation; for industrial - partocratic; and for post-industrial - technocratic.
9. Cultural-normative stratification system.
Separation of the elite, differentiation of all middle and lower strata.
In a peasant community, where everyone is formally equal, there are “good owners” who live “according to custom”, “according to conscience”, and quitters, renegades, “tumbleweeds”.
There is also its own normative culture, its own patterns of behavior and its own “aristocracy” at the very “bottom”, inside the criminal world. The emergence of countercultures and so-called antisocial behavior, by the way, is also largely a product of moral regulation and ideological control carried out in a given community.
Conclusion.
Higher groups in all stratification systems strive to consolidate their position, to make it not only monopoly, but also inheritable. IN class system such inheritance is ensured by the principle of primogeniture (transfer of the main property to the eldest heir), characteristic, say, for ancient india, Western Europe of the 11th-13th centuries or Russia until 1917 (The remaining relatives in this case actually fall down the class ladder).
IN etacratic system, an official formally does not have the right to transfer his position and powers to his own children, but he is able, through patronage, to provide them with an equally enviable place in an institution of a similar rank.
The situation in socio-professional , cultural-symbolic And cultural-normative systems often actually transmitted through education and upbringing, the transfer of experience and secrets of skill, the sanctioning of certain codes of conduct (professional dynasties are not the only, but a striking example).
As for physical-genetic system , then it stands somewhat apart, because inheritance here occurs often, but not as a result of any social mechanisms, but purely biologically.
It can be noted that all nine types of stratification systems are nothing more than ideal types. Any real society is a complex mixture and combination of them. Thus, in Rus' in the 11th century, serfs, who were not much different from slaves, coexisted side by side, purchasers, who were more like serfs, and smerdas, who vaguely resembled the class of free cultivators.
In reality, stratification types are intertwined and complement each other. For example, the socio-professional hierarchy in the form of an officially established division of labor not only plays an independent role, but significantly influences the structure of almost any other stratification system. There are many, many examples of the mutual interweaving of stratification systems. So, for example: Respect for elders is generated not only by their advanced years as such, but by the accumulated experience and knowledge of many years, allowing them to interpret current events.
The groups with the greatest symbolic power in a society often become its highest caste (Indian Brahmins) or the ruling stratum (party ideologues).
The status of wealthy representatives of society is determined not simply by the size of their private property, but is supported by a special lifestyle that is inaccessible to most of their fellows.
Slavery, based on private ownership of people, can be considered a form of class relations (state slavery is closer to the ethacratic system).
Professional or purely physical attributes become tools for performing complex symbolic roles (sports stars and movie stars).
Individual stratification systems can mutually condition each other, changing places over time. For example, initially in Russian history, estates arose on the basis of economic classes - their professional differences and property stratification.
Then, on the contrary, class differences are determined primarily by class affiliation. Thus, using the example of the Russian Table of Ranks of 1722, one can trace how the class system largely determines one’s place in the ethacratic system, and the latter, in turn, influences class-ownership positions (origin affects service rank, and the latter influences material wealth).
Then, as we approach the turn of the 20th century, estates and classes become increasingly independent of each other, largely existing in parallel. For example, enrollment in the first merchant guild occurs here rather for non-economic reasons (prestige, overcoming the residency requirement), while many representatives of the commercial and industrial strata do not formally belong to the merchant class.
Thus, stratification types should be used as complementary tools, without absolutizing one to the detriment of others.
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Social stratification of society (3)
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Social inequality and stratification of society
Abstract >> SociologyWhen it comes to basic types stratification systems, usually a description of caste, slave... traditional terminology is given. Below are nine types stratification systems, which, in our opinion, can...
Lecture 5. Types of stratification systems. Social structure, stratification and mobility.Stratification changes The concept of social stratification. Stratification and ranking. Wealth, power, income, prestige, occupation -as criteria for social stratification. Economic stratification. Professional prestige. Political stratification.
Types of stratification systems.
Social inequality can be represented as a scale, where at one pole are the rich, people who own maximum number scarce resources, on the other - the poor, respectively, with minimal access to public goods. There is a distinction between absolute and relative poverty. Absolute poverty is understood as a condition in which an individual, with the income he receives, is unable to satisfy even basic needs (food, clothing, housing) or to satisfy them in an amount that ensures only biological survival. The inability to maintain socially accepted “decent” living standards is considered relative poverty.
Poverty is not only the economic and social condition of people, but also a special way of life, a lifestyle passed on from generation to generation and limiting opportunities for normal civilized development. In Russia, to characterize the scale of poverty, which is determined by the proportion of the country’s population located at the officially recorded poverty line or threshold. The cost of living indicator is usually used. Considering that currently about 30% of the Russian population lives at or below the poverty line, an important task of the state is to reduce poverty.
To measure inequality, P. Sorokin introduced two parameters:
The height of stratification is the magnitude of the social distance between the highest and lowest status in a given society;
Stratification profile is the ratio of the number of social positions occupied in the hierarchy of values of a status layer (stratum).
It should be noted that the following pattern exists: the higher the level of development of society, the lower the height of stratification, and vice versa. So. in developed societies the stratification profile approaches a diamond shape due to the large middle class, and in backward societies it approaches a pyramidal or “cone” shape. The Russian stratification profile rather resembles a triangle with a vertically protruding acute angle.
An important empirical indicator of social inequality is the decile coefficient, which is understood as the ratio of the incomes of the richest 10% to the lowest 10% of the lowest paid groups. Thus, in highly developed industrial countries it is 4-7, where even an approach of this coefficient to 8 is considered as an indicator of impending social upheaval.
In general, despite the differences in the views of different sociological schools and directions, it can be noted that social inequality performs a positive function in society, since it serves as a stimulus for the progress of social development.
The system of social stratification is usually understood as a set of methods that maintain the unevenness of this distribution in a particular society. In sociology there are four main historical type stratification systems: slavery, castes, estates and classes. The first three characterize closed societies in which social movements from one stratum to another are either completely prohibited or significantly limited. The fourth type belongs to an open society, where transitions from lower to higher strata are quite real.
1. Slavery is a form of economic, social and legal enslavement of people. This is the only form of social relations in history in which one person is the property of another and is deprived of all rights and freedoms.
2. The caste system is a stratification system that presupposes the lifelong assignment of a person to a certain stratum on ethnic, religious or economic grounds. A person owes his membership in this system solely to birth. A classic example of a caste system is India, where there were detailed regulations for each caste. So. According to the canons of this system, membership in a particular caste was inherited, and therefore the possibility of moving from one caste to another was prohibited.
3. The class system is a stratification system that presupposes the legal assignment of a person to a certain stratum. At the same time, the rights and duties of each stratum were determined by law and sanctified by religion. Membership in the estate was mainly inherited, but as an exception it could be purchased for money or given as a gift.
The class organization of European feudal society was divided into two upper classes (nobility and clergy) and an unprivileged third class (merchants, artisans, peasants). The barriers between classes were quite strict, so social mobility was carried out not so much between, but within classes, which included many ranks, ranks, strata, and professions.
4. Class system is an open-type stratification system, where, unlike previous closed-type systems, class membership is determined primarily by one’s place in the system of social production, ownership of property, as well as the presence of abilities, education, and level of income received.
The considered stratification system is generally accepted, but not the only classification. In reality, all stratification systems are closely intertwined and complement each other.
Mobility is a change by an individual, group, or class in its social position occupied in the economic, political, and professional space of human life.
If a man:
Moved from the lower class to the middle class and increased his income, then he moved in the economic sphere;
Changed his party affiliation - politically;
Changed profession or type of activity - professional.
Social space is structurally and functionally organized. The method of organization should be called stratification, which includes:
A system of signs and criteria of social inequality in society;
Theory and practice of social differentiation;
Social structure of society.
S. adheres to the concept of “multidimensional stratification,” according to which layers and classes are distinguished on the basis of many criteria (employment, income, education, lifestyle, type of housing, area of residence, etc.). The basis of stratification is inequality between people, their division according to income, the prestige of their activities, and political status. Everyone has their own place in the social hierarchy, and hence the uneven distribution of rights and privileges, responsibilities and duties, power and influence.
Social stratification:
Describes the stratification of people into estates and classes;
Explains how people are distributed in social space according to their hierarchical ranks;
Classifies the worldview of people (sensual, rational, intuitive, etc.) with different social statuses.
The historical process represents a change in the main types of culture within various civilizations. Sociocultural dynamics is the leading theme of Sorokin's theoretical heritage. With the formulation of the concept of socioculture, the sociology of society takes on a holistic, systemic form. The famous sociologist sets out his ideas on the problem of sociocultural conditioning in his four-volume work “Social and Cultural Dynamics.” Sorokin calls the artificial world created by man socioculture. He defines the concept of “socioculture” as follows:
An infinitely diverse ideological universe of meanings, united in sign systems of language, science, philosophy, religion, ethics, law, literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, music, economic, political, social and other theories;
Material culture, which is the embodiment of these meanings in the human environment, ranging from simple tools to the most complex technical and technological ways activity and purposeful view of the world around a person;
Etiquette, ceremonies, rituals, actions, behavior in which people and social groups implement and apply one or another set of meanings of interactive communication.
Sorokin emphasizes the integrity and systemic unity of the elements of socioculture. But what element of the sociocultural system is decisive? Many thinkers of the past thought about this. For Plato, for example, these were “ideas”, for Aristotle - “meanings”, for Bacon - “experiment”, for Darwin - “natural selection”. And for Sorokin, the central concept of socioculture is “value.” Therefore, the constituent elements of socioculture are integrated and interdependent, in his opinion, based on a value system.
In all sociocultural types of society, the level of income changes within a certain social space. If inequality is significant, the incomes of rich people are much higher than the incomes of poor people, then the profile of the population welfare pyramid is high, and vice versa. Over time, the height of the economic income pyramid either increases or decreases. This pattern is called fluctuation.
Based on statistical data, Sorokin showed that there is no stable pattern in the level of people’s well-being. For example, the population of America, England or Russia does not become richer or poorer over the course of their history. The minus sign changes over time to a plus sign, that is, in the development of any society, periods of enrichment are replaced by periods of impoverishment. This, for example, was the case in antiquity, and this is what is happening in modern America. Fluctuations (oscillations) occur in cycles:
Small cycles - 3-5, 7-8; 10-12 years;
Large cycles - 40-60 years.
The human community, Sorokin believes, must learn a simple truth: or a truncated pyramid of universal equality and moderate poverty in closed society, or a prosperous open society with inevitable economic inequality. In his opinion, there is no third option.
The concept of “stratification” (stratum - layer, facio - do) came to sociology from geology, where it describes the vertical arrangement of layers of various rocks of the earth. However, such an analogy when analyzing social stratification does not give a complete picture, since the rocks of the earth do not enter into significant interactions with each other; one layer is not able to move relative to the other. But in the social hierarchy this happens. For example, the social prestige of lawyers and bankers in modern Russian society has increased significantly compared to what it was decades ago in Soviet society.
There are sociological directions in the study of problems of social stratification:
First, the leading criterion of analysis is social prestige;
Second, the main criterion considers a person’s self-esteem relative to his social position;
Third, when describing the stratification of society, it uses such objective criteria as education, profession, income, etc.
But in any case, the basis of social stratification is the principle of inequality between people. “Even in a prosperous society, the unequal status of people remains an important and enduring phenomenon... Of course, these differences are no longer based on the direct force and legal norms on which the system of privileges in a caste or class society was based. Nevertheless, in addition to the cruder divisions of property and income, prestige and power, our society is characterized by many differences of rank - so subtle and at the same time so deeply rooted that claims about the disappearance of all forms of inequality as a result of equalizing processes can be perceived as at least skeptical." The famous German sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf began his work “On the Origin of Inequality Between People” with these remarks.
Inequality is a social necessity of any society. It's about not about biological differences in gender, age, physical characteristics, not about individual characteristics of temperament and inherited abilities, but what is meant is social inequality, which is reproduced in stable forms of interaction between the economic, political, social and spiritual spheres of society. The biological characteristics and differences in people's sociotypes ultimately begin to interest the sociologist when they are consolidated in the form of social stratification.
For the first time, Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore came out in defense of social inequality as a necessary element of stratification. By inequality they understood unequal distribution of: material goods; power functions; social prestige depending on the functional significance of a person’s positions. Any society must divide people according to these criteria. This is an institutionalized inequality that represents a natural mechanism of mobility relations. Inequality should stimulate the advancement of the most competent and responsible individuals to prestigious social positions.
It is not so easy to determine with precision which strategic positions are most important for society. In different societies, the same positions in stratification can be assessed differently. There are positions that require special abilities from people to a greater extent than other positions. Thus, the position of a company manager is functionally more significant and important than the position of a simple worker. Both positions are necessary for the company, but the activity of a manager requires special professional training and training costs. Therefore, society must have:
The resources and benefits it can use as incentives;
Proven methods for uneven distribution of these resources and benefits depending on the positions of individuals and groups.
Stratification changes The concept of social stratification.
The general scientific concept of “structure” (lat. structure) is interpreted as a set of functionally interconnected elements that make up the internal structure of an object. At the same time, as the most important characteristics structures are: integrity, orderliness of elements, stability of relationships.
Social structure is a special case of structure in general. It is a network of stable, ordered connections between individual elements social system. Despite the fact that this term became widespread in sociology only in the middle of the 20th century, the structural approach to the study of society was already presented by O. Comte, G. Spencer, and K. Marx.
There is a social structure of society as a whole, covering the totality of all public relations, and the social structure of its individual subsystems and spheres. Within the second approach, the following main social structures are usually identified: ethnic, demographic, territorial, professional and educational, and the structure of social inequality, represented by various stratification systems of society (caste, slave, class, class, etc.).
Social structures are stable, but their sharp changes are possible and often inevitable during periods of revolutionary upheavals in the life of society. Thus, the global changes taking place over the past 15 years in Russian society have led to significant changes in its social structures. The most serious problem was the sharp deformation of the stratification system of our society. Most researchers negatively assess the stratification changes in Russian society that took place in the 1980s - the first half of the 1990s, since at that time there was rapid stratification and criminalization of society, polarization of income, massive downward social mobility, and at the same time the formation of a group began owners.
In the second half of the 1990s, sociological research made it possible to obtain a rather complex realistic picture of social differentiation and stratification of Russians. Thus, the upper social layer includes the political and economic elite, the highest bureaucracy, and the generals; to the middle - small private entrepreneurs, representatives of business professions, financiers, intellectuals, trade and service workers, skilled workers, peasants; to the bottom - technical employees, people without qualifications and profession, lumpen.
It is obvious that the transition from the old type of stratification to the new one in Russia occurs through gradual changes. The existing stratification system is intermediate in nature, fusing old and new groupings together.
Stratification and ranking.
Stratification (from Latin stratum - layer, facio - do) is a set of vertically arranged social layers (strata), (poor, wealthy, rich).
P.A. Sorokin is considered the creator of the modern theory of stratification.
The term “stratification” itself was borrowed by sociology from geology, where it refers to the vertical arrangement of various rocks. However, a mechanical analogy between the structure of society and the structure of the earth's surface is hardly possible. Firstly, because the breeds of the earth, unlike representatives of various strata of society, do not enter into any relationships with each other. Secondly, one layer of the earth is not able to move relative to another, but in the social hierarchy this is possible. For example, in modern Russian society, the social prestige of lawyers and employees of banking structures has increased significantly compared to what it was in Soviet society. In the Scandinavian countries, over the past 20 years, the status of women has increased sharply, and they have begun to play a prominent role in political life. In the United States, the status of some national and racial groups (for example, Italians, blacks), which at the beginning of the 20th century could only count on low-paid jobs, has increased. Thirdly, unlike geological, social stratification is built on the principle of inequality.
Inequality is the unequal access of large social groups (strata, estates, classes, etc.) to economic resources, political power, and various social benefits. Inequality exists in all societies. And all societies, with the exception of the simplest society of hunters and gatherers, are characterized by three types of inequality identified by M. Weber: inequality of remuneration, inequality of status, inequality of access to political power. As a result, we have three systems of social stratification - economic, professional and political.
Wealth, power, income, prestige, occupation - as criteria for social stratification.
Different sociologists explain the causes of social inequality and, consequently, social stratification in different ways. Thus, according to the Marxist school of sociology, inequality is based on property relations, the nature, degree and form of ownership of the means of production. According to functionalists (K. Davis, W. Moore), the distribution of individuals into social strata depends on the importance of their professional activities and the contribution they make with their work to achieving the goals of society. Proponents of the exchange theory (J. Homans) believe that inequality in society arises due to unequal exchange of the results of human activity.
A number of classics of sociology took a broader view of the problem of stratification. For example, M. Weber, in addition to the economic (attitude to property and income level), proposed in addition such criteria as social prestige (inherited and acquired status) and belonging to certain political circles, hence power, authority and influence.
One of the creators of the theory of stratification, P. Sorokin, identified three types of stratification structures:
economic (based on income and wealth criteria);
political (according to the criteria of influence and power);
professional (according to the criteria of mastery, professional skills, successful performance of social roles).
The founder of structural functionalism T. Parsons proposed three groups of differentiating characteristics:
qualitative characteristics of people that they possess from birth (ethnicity, family ties, gender and age characteristics, personal qualities and abilities);
role characteristics determined by the set of roles performed by an individual in society (education, position, different kinds professional and labor activity);
characteristics determined by the possession of material and spiritual values (wealth, property, privileges, the ability to influence and manage other people, etc.).
In modern sociology, it is customary to distinguish the following main criteria of social stratification:
income - the amount of cash receipts for a certain period (month, year);
wealth - accumulated income, i.e. the amount of cash or embodied money (in the second case they act in the form of movable or immovable property);
power - the ability and opportunity to exercise one’s will, to exert a decisive influence on the activities of other people through various means (authority, law, violence, etc.). Power is measured by the number of people it extends to;
education is a set of knowledge, skills and abilities acquired in the learning process. Educational attainment is measured by the number of years of schooling;
prestige is a public assessment of the attractiveness and significance of a particular profession, position, or certain type of occupation.
Despite the variety of different models of social stratification that currently exist in sociology, most scientists distinguish three main classes: higher, middle and lower. Moreover, the share of the upper class in industrialized societies is approximately 5-7%; middle - 60-80% and low - 13-35%.
In a number of cases, sociologists make a certain division within each class. Thus, the American sociologist W.L. Warner (1898-1970), in his famous study of Yankee City, identified six classes:
Upper-upper class (representatives of powerful and wealthy dynasties with significant resources of power, wealth and prestige);
Lower-upper class (“new rich” - bankers, politicians who do not have a noble origin and did not have time to create powerful role-playing clans);
Upper-middle class (successful businessmen, lawyers, entrepreneurs, scientists, managers, doctors, engineers, journalists, cultural and artistic figures);
Lower-middle class (hired workers - engineers, clerks, secretaries, office workers and other categories, which are usually called “white collar”);
Upper-lower class (workers engaged primarily in manual labor);
Low-low class (beggars, unemployed, homeless, foreign workers, declassed elements).
There are other schemes of social stratification. But they all boil down to the following: non-main classes arise through the addition of strata and layers located within one of the main classes - rich, wealthy and poor.
Thus, the basis of social stratification is natural and social inequality between people, which manifests itself in their social life and is hierarchical in nature. It is steadily supported and regulated by various social institutions, constantly reproduced and modified, which is an important condition for the functioning and development of any society.
Economic stratification.
ECONOMIC STRATIFICATION - the division of a society or community on the basis of a characteristic that determines differences in the distribution of “life opportunities” and “economic advantages.”
Speaking about the economic status of a group (community), there are two main types of fluctuations (fluctuations). 1. Fluctuation of the economic status of the group as a whole: an increase in economic well-being, a decrease in the latter. 2. Fluctuation of height and profile of S.E. within society: rise of the economic pyramid, flattening of the economic pyramid.
1. Whether a group rises to a higher economic level or falls is a question that can be decided on the basis of fluctuations in per capita national income and wealth measured in monetary units. This criterion allows us to make the following statements. The wealth and income of different societies vary significantly from one country to another, from one group to another. The average level of well-being and income in the same society is not constant, but changes over time. However, in the history of a family, a nation, or any other group, there is no, as statistics show, a stable trend either towards enrichment or impoverishment. All well-known trends are fixed only for a limited period of time. History provides no sufficient basis for affirming either a trend towards prosperity or a trend towards impoverishment. History (according to the fundamental research of P.A. Sorokin) shows only aimless fluctuations.
2. A study of fluctuations in the height and profile of economic stratification within society shows that any society, moving from a less to a more developed state, reveals not a weakening, but an increase in economic inequality. Of course, analogy is far from an adequate tool, but the facts of history show that in many societies, at the early stages of development, economic differentiation increased and, reaching its culmination point, was characterized by a weakening of economic contrasts. Thus, the distribution of national income in European countries, being quite stable, shows only pendulum oscillations. This means that under normal social conditions The economic cone of a developed society fluctuates within certain limits, its shape is relatively constant. Under extreme circumstances, these limits may be violated, and the S.E. profile It can become either very flat or very convex and high. In both cases, this situation is short-lived. And if the “economically flat” society does not perish, then the “flatness” is quickly replaced by the strengthening of S.E. If economic inequality becomes too great and reaches the point of overstrain, then the top of society is destined to collapse or be overthrown. Thus, in any society, at any time, there is a struggle between the forces of stratification and the forces of equalization. The former work constantly and steadily, while the latter work spontaneously, impulsively, using, as a rule, violent methods.
Professional prestige.
Why do we need scales of prestige and status? Firstly, building a hierarchy of professional groups in accordance with the distribution of material and symbolic resources between them is in itself of sociological interest. Secondly, scales perform an important instrumental function: in empirical studies there is often a need to build a hierarchy of professions in accordance with certain criteria. In the future, this kind of scale can be used as an interval independent variable in regression and other statistical models - for example, demonstrating the influence of professional status on cultural consumption or political preferences.
Theoretically, occupational prestige scales are based on a structural analysis of the consequences of the division of labor in society. The division of labor leads to the existence of professions that require different skills and involve different control over resources. Occupations are rewarded differently, both materially and symbolically, and therefore some occupations are more prestigious than others. It is easy to see that this is essentially a structural-functionalist argument.
In practice, prestige scales are compiled on the basis of survey data in which respondents are asked to evaluate the prestige of the professions offered to them on a given scale or to rank professions in terms of prestige. Distinctive feature Such surveys are labor-intensive.
Prestige scales can be criticized for a number of reasons. First, researchers doubted the validity of measuring prestige in surveys. Indeed, by what parameter do respondents evaluate professions when they are asked about prestige? Goldthorpe and Hope argued that such a criterion is a generalized "better-worse" dimension, not prestige itself. Secondly, the already mentioned complexity of measuring prestige for all professions caused problems.
The third approach to compiling occupational scales is the network, or relational, approach. In this case, the scale is compiled on the basis of data on the professional affiliation of close friends or the respondents’ husband/wife - after all, people’s friendships and family connections are socially determined. Frequency of marriages and friendly contacts between representatives different professions varies depending on the social status of the latter. Professions that are located close to each other on the status scale will have a similar structure of friendships and marriages.
Technically, scales of this kind are compiled using statistical analysis of contingency tables of two factors: the profession of the respondent and the profession of his or her wife/husband or close friend/girlfriend. To analyze contingency tables, we use different methods: Multidimensional scaling, correspondence analysis or Goodman RC2 log-multiplicative row-column model.
Using M. Weber’s idea about the multidimensionality of the stratification order and the difference between classes and status groups. Chan and Goldthorpe make the argument that the resulting scale reflects social status - as opposed to social class, for which the Erikson–Goldthorpe class scheme is the measure. Chan and Goldthorpe used both class and status as independent variables in a series of regression models and found that status was a better predictor of cultural consumption than class.
Political stratification.
POLITICAL STRATIFICATION - relations of political inequality arising from the different positions of various groups in the system of government institutions, the different opportunities of these groups to influence political decision-making. P.s., existing in any society, is one of the most important sources of politics. P.S. is not immobile, it can change and develop due to the fact that certain social groups change their position in the hierarchy of power relations, new ways and channels of influence on power and basic political institutions arise. Thus, significant shifts in P.s. Western societies occurred throughout the 20th century, when new social groups became part of the ruling elite, the size of the bureaucracy and management apparatus at various levels increased sharply, the political role of managers of large, including state corporations, increased, etc.
The basis of P.s. is the division into political leaders, political elites, state bureaucracy and mass groups occupying a subordinate position in the system of power relations. At the same time, representatives of the political elites who are at the top of the pyramid of power relations usually include the leaders of the main political parties, representatives of the highest executive, legislative and judicial authorities, highest representatives of local authorities, senior military leadership (generals), owners and managers of those media that have a significant influence on the political life of society. At the same time, the state bureaucracy, which formally occupies a subordinate position in relation to the political elites, also has a significant influence on the processes of implementing political decisions. A significant role in P.s. The client-patron relationship also plays a role, in which the client is personally dependent on his patron. In the context of the spread of clientelism, state power and the political system function ineffectively, since legal and political norms are violated, and personal connections and interests play a significant role in the process of making political decisions.
CHECK QUESTIONS FOR SECTION No. 1
What is social mobility?
Describe the essence and features of social mobility?
What types of social mobility are there? What are the features of each type?
What channels of social mobility exist?
What is an "open" society?
What is a “closed” society?
Features of migration in Russia?
What is the essence of “brain drain”?
Stratification according to K. Davis and W. Moore?
What types of stratification systems are there?
What is the essence of social structure, stratification and mobility?
What criteria of social stratification exist? What is the essence of each of them?
What is the essence of economic stratification?
What is professional prestige?
What is the essence of political stratification?
LITERATURE FOR PREPARATION FOR HOMEWORK
1. Sociology. edited by SOUTH. Volkova; M. 2000
2. Sociology. E.V. Tadevosyan; ed. "Knowledge" 1999
3. Sociology. A.I. Kravchenko; ed. "Logos" 2000
4. Sociology N. Smelser; ed. "Phoenix" 1998
5. Encyclopedic sociological dictionary. edited by G.V. Osipova;
6. Romanenko L.M. Civil society (sociological dictionary-reference book). M., 1995.
7. Osipov G.V. and others. Sociology. M., 1995.
8. Smelser N.J. Sociology. M., 1994.
9. Golenkova Z.T., Viktyuk V.V., Gridchin Yu.V., Chernykh A.I., Romanenko L.M. Formation of civil society and social stratification // Socis. 1996.No.6.
10. Komarov M.S. Introduction to Sociology: A Textbook for higher institutions. – M.: Nauka, 1994.
Ranking of social positions, as already noted, can be carried out using various criteria. The nature of social stratification and the method of its establishment constitute stratification system. In sociology there are 5 types of stratification systems: physical-genetic, caste, slave-owning, class and class.
At the core physical-genetic stratification system lies in the differentiation of social groups according to socio-demographic characteristics: gender, age and physical qualities (strength, beauty, agility). The weaker occupy a lower social position. Inequality is asserted by the existence of the threat of physical violence or its actual use, which is enshrined in customs and rituals. This "natural" stratification system existed in the primitive community. At present, although it does not have its former significance, it continues to be reproduced in beauty contests, sports tournaments, and the promotion of the cult of strength and physical beauty.
Slaveholding the stratification system differentiates social groups according to the presence or absence civil rights and property rights. It is also based on direct violence. However, inequality here is determined not by physical, but military-legal coercion. The rigidity of fixing people in unprivileged strata differed in the two historical forms of the slave stratification system. Primitive form was inherent in patriarchal slavery, in which the slave had all the rights of the youngest member of the family. He lived in the same house with the owners, participated in public life, married free people, and inherited the owner’s property. It was forbidden to kill him. A similar form of slavery (servitude) was characteristic of Rus' in the 10th – 12th centuries. The source of replenishment of slaves was debt bondage.
Mature form personified classical slavery, in which the slave was the property of the slave owner, a “talking instrument” and deprived of all rights. He lived in a separate room, did not participate in anything, did not inherit anything, did not marry and did not have a family. He did not own property, he was allowed to be killed. This form was distributed Ancient Greece and Rome, China, USA (until 1865). If the source of replenishment of slaves in antiquity was the population of conquered new territories, then in Ancient China Criminals became slaves.
Third type stratification system - caste It is based on ethnic differences, which, in turn, are consolidated by religious order and religious rituals. The caste system is still widespread in some African countries. However, it acquired its classical forms in India. Although the caste system was legally abolished in 1950, in practice it retained its significance.
Caste called a social group (stratum) in which a person is obliged to belong solely by his birth. For many centuries, caste was determined primarily by profession. There are 4 main castes in India: Brahmans (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (merchants), Shudras (workers and peasants) and about 5 thousand non-main castes and semi-castes. The untouchables stand apart - they do not belong to any caste and occupy the lowest position. During industrialization, castes are replaced by classes, but the bulk of the Indian population lives in villages where the caste system remains.
Belonging to a caste determines everything: people are born as members of the caste, are raised, get married, give names to their children, teach them, perform ritual ceremonies and, finally, after death they are burned (and some are buried). All this happens in accordance with the rules prescribed for each caste by ancient religious law.
Each caste lives according to its own dharma- a set of instructions and prohibitions that define norms of behavior, regulate actions and even feelings.
Thus, one of the injunctions reads: “Only a girl from your caste has been brought up in the same dharma as you; only she can become your wife and the mother of your children.”
Each layer was isolated from the other for centuries by a system of prohibitions on mutual communication and, most importantly, changing professions, and each cell of each layer was isolated from the neighboring cell by prohibitions on mutual marriages.
High people should not communicate with low people - neither eat together, nor drink from their hands, nor smoke together, nor look at their women, nor allow their children to play with their children. Even the type of clothing indicates a person’s belonging to a particular caste. The nature of the home, food, the shape and type of vessels for its preparation - everything is determined, everything is prescribed, everything is studied from childhood.
In class groups differ in the stratification system legal rights, which, in turn, are strictly related to their responsibilities. Estate - social group, having fixed custom or legal law and inherited rights and responsibilities.
The class system, which includes several strata, is characterized by hierarchy, expressed in inequality of position and privileges. Estates in Europe had developed by the 14th century. The upper classes (nobility and clergy) and the unprivileged third class (artisans, merchants, peasants) were distinguished.
In Russia, the class division into nobility, clergy, merchants, peasantry and petty bourgeoisie (middle urban strata) was established in the 18th century. in the “Table of Ranks” of 1722. It provided for three main types of public service: military, civilian, and court. Each was divided into 14 ranks, or classes. Only the nobility—local and service nobility—were allowed to participate in public service. Characteristic estates - the presence of social symbols and signs: titles, uniforms, orders, titles.
The most common is class stratification system. Industrial revolution XVIII - XIX centuries. destroyed the class structure of feudal society and, instead of nobility of origin, established a ranking of social groups - classes - according to wealth and property. Classes represent social groups of politically and legally free citizens.
The differences between groups lie primarily in the nature and extent of ownership of the means of production and the product produced, as well as in the level of income received and personal material well-being. Unlike previous types of stratification, belonging to classes - bourgeois, proletarians, farmers, etc. is not regulated political power, is not established by law and is not inherited (only property and capital are transferred, but not the status itself).
In sociology there are two approaches to understanding the term “class”. Traditional(socio-economic) approach, formulated K. Marx, interprets the class as big social group people who own or do not own the means of production, occupying a certain place in the system of social division of labor and characterized by a specific way of generating income. This understanding was typical for the period of the emergence of capitalist society, when relations of ownership of the means of production were the basis for the identification of classes.
In modern society, the importance of individual and family capital is gradually decreasing and the role of share capital is increasing. Suffice it to note that in the United States, 50 million citizens are shareholders, which is almost a quarter of the country's population. For this reason, sociology is dominated by status approach, according to which a class is understood any social stratum (layer) that differs from others in income, power, education, prestige.
In modern society, sociologists have up to 6 classes. For example, in the USA there are 4 main classes - upper, middle, working and lower, each of which is divided into three more layers. The classic class stratification system developed in the USA, since there were no classes and the class structure was formed from a “blank slate”.
To the upper class includes the old bloodline of the aristocracy and the nouveau riche, who came from the ranks of financiers, real estate dealers, kings of the drug and porn business. Within the upper class, the American sociologist L. Warner identified:
- upper upper class(the so-called "old tribal families"; successful businessmen; those who are called professionals, that is, people with a university education, extensive practical experience, engaged in creative work and who have achieved public recognition (lawyers, doctors, scientists, teachers);
- lower upper class(they were not inferior to the upper upper class in terms of level material well-being, however, they could not boast of their birth).
Usually the rich are not individuals, but families and family clans. Among the 400 names classified by Forbes magazine as the richest (that is, with a fortune of at least $200 million), there are 14 Rockefellers and 8 Mellons. Many have made their fortune from oil: 9 out of 50 billionaires, 3 heirs of G. Hunt, are among the oil kings. A characteristic feature of American stratification is the self-reproduction of the rich.
At the other pole of the social ladder is lower class, living at or below the poverty line. But he's not the only one. According to official data, in 1990, 32 million Americans, or 14% of the population, lived below the official poverty level, which was then equal to an income of $6,024 per year for a single person or $9,435 for a single family. Some of the representatives of the working class should fall into the ranks of the poor. The other part, the qualified one, falls into the middle class.
The lower class is also heterogeneous. It contains upper lower class(low-skilled workers living in relative prosperity) and lower lower class(inhabitants of basements, attics, slums, who are called the “social bottom”).
Situated between the very rich and the very poor middle class, constituting up to 70% of the population developed countries. Its growth is associated with a reduction in the share manual labor and expansion specific gravity mental work both in industry and agriculture, with the development of the service sector, the emergence of new professions related to high technology. The middle class includes small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, traders, lawyers, priests, writers, artists, teachers, doctors, and middle managers.
The middle class performs the role of a social stabilizer, preventing collision of extreme poles social structure: very rich and very poor. Since it consists of those who created their own economic independence with their own hands, these people are interested in preserving the system that provided them with such opportunities. Middle class stands out social basis of democracy due to the moderation of their demands.
