Social mobility and its types. Concept and types of social mobility

The concept of social mobility characterizes social structure in a dynamic aspect. The theory of social mobility has been comprehensively developed P. Sorokin in his work “Social Mobility” (1927) and other studies.

Social mobility is the movement of an individual (or social group) between different positions in the system of social stratification. Social mobility takes many forms. In particular, researchers distinguish between individual (when the movement of one person occurs independently of other people) and group (when movements occur collectively due to an increase or decrease in the social significance of an entire class, estate, etc.) social mobility. As P. Sorokin showed using historical material, social revolutions can be factors of group social mobility; foreign interventions, invasions; interstate wars; civil wars; military coups; change of political regimes; creation of an empire, etc. Social mobility can be organized from above, when movements are controlled by the state. Such organized social mobility can be voluntary (in connection with public calls) and involuntary (for example, the repatriation of small nations).

Structural or forced mobility should be distinguished from organized social mobility, when movement from one social category to another is caused by changes in the professional structure itself (the reduction or creation of new jobs, the emergence or disappearance of entire sectors of the economy). The reasons for these changes may lie in economic growth, political and economic transformations, technical revolutions, and differences in birth rates within specific social groups.

On the contrary, circular or exchange social mobility, sometimes also called true, consists in the mutual “exchange” of individuals between strata. It characterizes social movements that occur due to the personal achievements or failures of individuals, as well as the emergence of new systemic opportunities (political, legal, educational). For example, in the USSR, mobility between strata of workers and engineers had a one-way direction: a worker, having received the appropriate education, could become an engineer, but not vice versa.

It is important to distinguish Vertical and horizontal social movements. The concept of social movement is broader than the concept of social mobility. It also includes labor mobility and geographic mobility (migration).

The concept of “social mobility” is usually associated with vertical movements - from one stratum (class) to another, but mobility can also be horizontal.

Horizontal social mobility is a transition from one social group to another No change in social status. If the movement is associated with a change of job (without changing status), we speak of horizontal labor mobility, if with a change of place of residence (without changing the status of the locality), we speak of horizontal migration.

Vertical social mobility is a transition from one stratum to another With a change in social status. Depending on the direction of movement, vertical mobility can be upward or downward. Upward mobility- this is an individual’s transition to a higher layer, downward mobility is a movement to a lower social position. There are channels or “elevators” through which individuals make these movements. P. Sorokin identified as such: the army, the church, government groups, political organizations and political parties, school, professional organizations, family. Thus, characterizing the school in this capacity, Sorokin writes: “In a society 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. In societies where privileged schools are available only to the upper classes, the school system is an elevator moving only through the upper floors of social knowledge, carrying up and down only the residents of the upper floors. However, even in such societies, some individuals from the lower strata still managed to get into this school elevator and, thanks to it, rise to the top.”

Depending on the starting point, intergenerational and intragenerational mobility are distinguished. Intergenerational mobility means a change in the status of children compared to the status of their parents. The status of the parents is taken as the starting point. Intragenerational (career) mobility means a change in the status of an individual throughout life, his career. In this case, the starting point is the status that the individual had at his first job.

Back in the late 90s. XX century in Russia, according to many researchers, the trend of downward social mobility of the majority of the population dominated in Russian society. Contradictions between social groups and strata of society have intensified and continue to intensify, and conditions have arisen for conflicts between them. One indicator of these contradictions is Marginalization a significant part of the country's population.

Social control

The efforts of society aimed at preventing deviant behavior, punishing and correcting deviants are defined by the concept of “social control”.

Social control is a mechanism for regulating relations between an individual and society in order to strengthen order and stability in society.

In the broad sense of the word, social control can be defined as the totality of all types of control that exist in society*, moral, state control, etc., in the narrow sense, social control is the control of public opinion, publicity of results and assessments of people’s activities and behavior.

Social control includes two main elements: social norms and sanctions.

Sanctions are any reaction from others to the behavior of a person or group.

There is the following classification of sanctions.

Types of sanctions

Formal:

Negative - punishment for breaking the law or violating an administrative order: fines, imprisonment, etc.

Positive - encouragement of a person’s activity or behavior by official organizations: awards, certificates of professional, academic success, etc.

Informal:

Negative - condemnation of a person for an action by society: an offensive tone, scolding or reprimand, demonstrative ignoring of a person, etc.

Positive - gratitude and approval of unofficial persons - friends, acquaintances, colleagues: praise, approving smile, etc., etc.

Sociologists distinguish two main forms of social control.

Social control

Internal (self-control)

A form of social control in which the individual independently regulates his behavior, coordinating it with generally accepted norms

A set of institutions and mechanisms that guarantee compliance with generally accepted norms of behavior and laws

Informal (intra-group) - based on approval or condemnation from a group of relatives, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, as well as from public opinion, which is expressed through traditions and customs or through the media

Formal (institutional) - based on the support of existing social institutions (army, court, education, etc.)

In the process of socialization, norms are internalized so firmly that when people violate them, they experience a feeling of awkwardness or guilt, pangs of conscience. Conscience is a manifestation of internal control.

Generally accepted norms, being rational prescriptions, remain in the sphere of consciousness, below which lies the sphere of the subconscious, or unconscious, consisting of spontaneous impulses. Self-control means restraining the natural elements; it is based on volitional effort.

In traditional society, social control was based on unwritten rules; in modern society, it is based on written norms: instructions, decrees, regulations, laws. Social control gained institutional support. Formal control is exercised by such institutions of modern society as the court, education, army, production, media, political parties, and government. The school controls thanks to exam grades, the government - thanks to the system of taxation and social assistance to the population, the state - thanks to the police, the secret service, state channels of radio, television, and the press.

In the Russian Federation, special bodies have been created to exercise social control. These include the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, the Federal Security Service, various financial control bodies, etc. Deputies of various levels are also vested with control functions. In addition to state control bodies, various public organizations are playing an increasingly important role in Russia, for example, in the field of consumer protection, in monitoring labor relations, monitoring the state of the environment, etc.

Detailed (minor) control, in which the manager intervenes in every action, corrects, pulls back, etc., is called supervision. Supervision is carried out not only at the micro, but also at the macro level of society. The state becomes its subject, and it turns into a specialized public institution.

The more self-control the members of a society develop, the less that society has to resort to external control. And vice versa, the less self-control is developed in people, the more often institutions of social control come into play, in particular the army, the court, and the state. The weaker the self-control, the stricter the external control should be. However, strict external control and petty supervision of citizens inhibit the development of self-awareness and expression of will, and muffle internal volitional efforts.

Methods of social control:

Insulation

Establishing impenetrable barriers between the deviant and the rest of society without any attempts to correct or re-educate him

Separation

Limiting the deviant’s contacts with other people, but not completely isolating him from society; this approach allows for the correction of deviants and their return to society when they are ready to once again fulfill generally accepted norms

Rehabilitation

The process by which deviants can prepare to return to normal life and correctly fulfill their social roles in society

People are in constant motion, and society is in development. The totality of social movements of people in society, i.e. changes in one's status is called social mobility . There are at least two main reasons for the existence of social mobility in society. First, societies change, and social changes modify the division of labor, creating new statuses and undermining old ones. Secondly, although the elite can monopolize educational opportunities, they are unable to control the natural distribution of talent and ability, so the upper strata are inevitably replenished with talented people from the lower classes.

Exists two main types social mobility – intergenerational and intragenerational, and two main types– vertical and horizontal. They, in turn, fall into subspecies and subtypes, which are closely related to each other.

Intergenerational mobility suggests that children achieve a higher social position or fall to a lower level than their parents. Example: a miner's son becomes an engineer.

Intragenerational mobility occurs where the same individual, without comparison with his father, changes social positions several times throughout his life. Otherwise it is called a social career. Example: a mason becomes a foreman, then a foreman, a site manager, and a minister.

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

Vertical mobility implies movement from one stratum (estate, class, caste) to another. Depending on the direction of movement, there are upward mobility(social rise, upward movement) and downward mobility(social descent, downward movement). Promotion is an example of upward mobility, dismissal, demotion is an example of downward mobility.

Horizontal mobility implies a transition from one social group to another located at the same level. Examples include moving from an Orthodox to a Catholic religious group, from one citizenship to another, from one family (parental) to another (one’s own, newly formed), from one profession to another. Such movements occur without a noticeable change in social position in the vertical direction.

A type of horizontal mobility is geographic mobility. It involves moving from one place to another while maintaining the same status. An example is international tourism, moving from city to village and back, transferring from one enterprise to another.

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

Vertical and horizontal mobility are influenced by gender, age, birth rate, death rate, and population density. In general, young people and men are more mobile than older people and women.

Young people are characterized by professional mobility, adults – economic mobility, and older people – political mobility. Fertility rates are not equally distributed across classes. The lower classes tend to have more children, and the upper classes fewer. There is a pattern: the higher a person climbs the career ladder, the fewer children he has. Even if every son of a rich man follows in his father's footsteps, voids will form at the top steps of the social pyramid, which will be filled by people from the lower classes.

Professionals (doctors, lawyers, etc.) and skilled employees do not have enough children to fill their jobs in the next generation. In contrast, farmers and agricultural workers in the US have 50% more children than they need to replace themselves.

There is a classification of social mobility but with different criteria. So, for example, they distinguish:

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

· group mobility when movements occur collectively, for example after a social revolution, the old class cedes its dominant position to the new class.

Individual mobility occurs where and when the social significance of an entire class, estate, caste, rank, or category increases or decreases. The October Revolution led to the rise of the Bolsheviks, who previously did not have a high position. In ancient Greece, after the adoption of the constitution, most people were freed from slavery and rose up the social ladder, while many of their former masters fell down.

The transition 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 citizens. Thanks to this, huge masses of people, previously considered inferior, increased their social status.

These are the main types and forms of social mobility. In addition to them, organized mobility is sometimes distinguished, when the movement of a person or entire groups up, down or horizontally is controlled by the state with the consent of the people themselves or without their consent. Voluntary organized mobility includes the so-called socialist organizational set, public calls for Komsomol construction sites, etc. Involuntary organized mobility includes repartee(resettlement) of small peoples (Crimean Tatars, Chechens) and dispossession during the years of Stalinism.

Structural mobility should be distinguished from organized mobility. It is caused by changes in the structure of the national economy and occurs beyond the will and consciousness of individuals. For example, the disappearance or reduction of industries or professions leads to the displacement of large masses of people. In the 50-70s, the USSR carried out the reduction of small villages and their consolidation.

The result of intensive processes of social mobility is marginality. Sociologists under "marginality" understand the intermediate position of an individual or group occupying an extreme borderline position in a stratum, group, class, society, and therefore not fully included in a given social formation. A marginalized group is located on the border of two cultures or subcultures and has some identification with each of them. It rejects certain values ​​and traditions of the culture in which it arises and asserts its own system of norms and values. Marginality is a special phenomenon in social stratification. It describes the position of large social groups of people occupying positions “on the borders,” “on the margins,” or between strata. Marginalized - these are people who left one stratum and did not adapt to another.

Criteria for marginality can be: profound changes in the social position of socio-professional groups, occurring mainly forcedly, under the influence of external circumstances - complete or partial loss of work, change of profession, position, conditions and wages as a result of the liquidation of an enterprise, reduction in production, general decline standard of living, etc.

Thus, marginalization is an inevitable component of any restructuring of social structure. Currently in Russia, due to changes in property relations and enormous shifts in the production structure, a gigantic restructuring of the social structure is taking place: new classes and layers are appearing, while the position of a significant part of the population is uncertain.

Social mobility is a category related to the area of ​​stratification of society and its variability. Within any social organism, one way or another, qualitative and quantitative changes occur: its character changes, new social layers arise, increase and decrease in a variety of sections: property, national, subcultural, and so on.

Such dynamism of society itself is inevitably accompanied by constant changes in the social status of specific individuals. Social mobility is expressed in these transformations. Historical examples of revolutions are perhaps the most revealing in terms of rapid and massive changes in the status of entire sections of the population. Although more often, of course, these changes occur individually (increasing a person’s income, occupying a high position, gaining widespread popularity, etc.) and globally evolutionarily (with the change in the nature of society and its needs, the status of people with the same abilities and skills changes).

Types of social mobility

Modern researchers call its main options the following:

In addition, social mobility as a phenomenon implies the presence of mechanisms that ensure its existence. Such mechanisms are called social elevators, they can be: school, army, political parties, church, family, government groups.

Traditionality in different societies

It should be noted that social mobility can vary significantly across different types of societies. Its level is lowest in so-called traditional societies, where high taboos prevail. Status here is often not just inherited, but its preservation for a particular person is also ensured by a significant degree of influence of all kinds of rules, obligations, religious regulations, moral norms, and so on. In such conditions, the life of all members of society is strictly regulated; closed social castes often arise in them, into which it is almost or completely impossible to penetrate without having the right of birth.

Ticket 10. Social mobility: concept, types, channels

Concept "social mobility" introduced by P. Sorokin. He believed that society is a huge social space in which people move both really and conditionally, in the opinions of others and in their own.

Social mobility is a change by an individual or group in its position in social space. Based on the directions of social movements, a distinction is made between vertical and horizontal social mobility.

Vertical mobility- social movement, which is accompanied by an increase or decrease in social status.

The transition to a higher social position is called upward mobility, and to a lower one – downward mobility.

Horizontal mobility- social movement not associated with a change in social status - transfer to another place of work in the same position, change of residence. If social status changes when moving, then geographic mobility turns into migration.

By types of mobility Sociologists distinguish between intergenerational and intragenerational. Intergenerational mobility- change in social status between generations. Intragenerational mobility associated with social career,, meaning a change in status within one generation.

In accordance with the individual’s change in his social position in society, they distinguish two forms of mobility: group and individual. Group mobility— movements are made collectively, and entire classes and social strata change their status. (Happens during periods of dramatic changes in society - social revolutions, civil or interstate wars, military coups). Individual mobility means the social movement of a particular person.

Channels of social mobility may act: school, education, family, professional organizations, army, political parties and organizations, church. Of course, in modern society education is of particular importance, the institutions of which serve as a kind of "social elevator" providing vertical mobility. Social elevator is a mechanism for increasing (or decreasing) social status.

At the same time, it should be noted that the processes of social mobility may be accompanied by marginalization and lumpenization of society. Under marginality is understood as an intermediate, “borderline” state of a social subject. Marginal when moving from one social group to another, he retains the same system of values, connections, habits and cannot learn new ones (migrants, unemployed). Lumpen, trying to move from an old group to a new one in the process of social mobility, finds himself completely outside the group, breaks social ties and over time loses basic human qualities - the ability to work and the need for it (beggars, homeless people).

Concept and types of social mobility

Analysis of the causes of social inequality always entails the question of whether an individual himself can achieve an increase in his social status and join the social stratum located above his own on the scale of wealth and prestige. In modern society, it is generally accepted that the starting opportunities of all people are equal and an individual will certainly achieve success if he makes the appropriate efforts and acts purposefully. This idea is often illustrated by examples of the dizzying careers of millionaires who started from scratch and shepherdesses who turned into movie stars.

Social mobility called the movement of individuals in a system of social stratification from one layer to another. There are at least two main reasons for the existence of social mobility in society. First, societies change, and social changes modify the division of labor, creating new statuses and undermining old ones. Secondly, although the elite can monopolize educational opportunities, they are unable to control the natural distribution of talent and ability, so the upper strata are inevitably replenished at the expense of talented people from the lower strata.

Social mobility comes in many forms:

vertical mobility- a change in the position of an individual that causes an increase or decrease in his social status. For example, if an auto mechanic becomes a director of a car repair shop, this is an indication of upward mobility, but if an auto mechanic becomes a scavenger, such a move will be an indicator of downward mobility;

horizontal mobility- a change in position that does not lead to an increase or decrease in social status.

A type of horizontal mobility is geographic mobility.

It does not imply a change in status or group, but a movement from one place to another while maintaining the same status. An example is international and interregional tourism, moving from city to village and back, moving from one enterprise to another.

If a change of location is added to a change of status, then geographic mobility becomes migration. If a villager came to the city to visit relatives, then this is geographical mobility. If he moved to the city for permanent residence and got a job here, then this is already migration.

intergenerational(intergenerational) mobility - is revealed by comparing the social status of parents and their children at a certain point in the careers of both (according to the rank of their profession at approximately the same age).

intragenerational(intragenerational) mobility - involves comparing the social status of an individual over a long period of time.

The classification of social mobility can be carried out according to other criteria. So, for example, they distinguish individual mobility, when downward, upward or horizontal movements occur in an individual independently of others, and group mobility, when movements occur collectively, for example after a social revolution, the old ruling class gives way to a new ruling class.

On other grounds, mobility may be classified into, say, spontaneous or organized. An example of spontaneous mobility is the movement of residents of neighboring countries to large cities in Russia for the purpose of earning money. Organized mobility (the movement of individuals or entire groups up, down or horizontally) is controlled by the state. As P. Sorokin showed using vast historical material, the following factors were 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;

The internecine struggle of aristocratic families;

Creation of an empire.

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Concept and parameters of social mobility

The concept " social mobility"introduced into science by P.A. Sorokin. According to his definition, “social mobility is understood as any transition of an individual, or a social object, or a value created or modified through activity, from one social position to another.” In social mobility P.A. Sorokin included:

Movement of individuals from one social group to another;

The disappearance of some and the emergence of other social groups;

The disappearance of an entire set of groups and its complete replacement by another.

The reason for social mobility P.A. Sorokin saw the implementation in society of the principle of distribution of benefits in proportion to the merits of each member, because even partial implementation of this principle leads to increased social mobility and a renewal of the composition of the upper strata. Otherwise, over time, a large number of sluggish, incapable people accumulate in these strata, and, on the contrary, talented people in the lower strata. This creates socially combustible material in the form of discontent and protest in the lower strata, which can lead to revolution. To prevent this from happening, society must abandon the rigid social structure, constantly and timely implement social mobility, improve and control it.

Factors influencing social mobility:

Level of economic development (for example, during a period of economic depression – downward mobility);

Historical type of stratification (class and caste societies limit social mobility);

Demographic factors (gender, age, birth rate, death rate, population density). 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.

Indicators (parameters) of social mobility.

Social mobility is measured using two main indicators:

distance

volume.

Mobility distance– the number of steps that individuals managed to climb or had to descend. Normal distance moving one or two steps up or down is considered. Abnormal distance- an unexpected rise to the top of the social ladder or a fall to its base.

Volume of mobility is the number of individuals who have moved vertically up the social ladder over a certain period of time. If the volume is calculated by the number of individuals who have moved, then it is called absolute, and if the ratio of this quantity to the entire population, then – relative and is indicated as a percentage.

So, social mobility- this is the movement of an individual or social group from one social layer to another, or within a social layer, a change in the place of a particular social subject in the social structure.

Types of social mobility

Exists two main types of social mobility:

Intergenerational

Intragenerational

And two main types:

Vertical

Horizontal.

They, in turn, fall into subspecies and subtypes, which are closely related to each other.

Intergenerational mobility– when children reach a higher social position or fall to a lower level than their parents.

Intragenerational mobility– the same individual changes social positions several times throughout his life. Otherwise it is called a social career.

Vertical mobility represents the movement of an individual or social group from one stratum to another, and a change in social status occurs. Depending on the movement directions highlight the following types of vertical mobility:

Rising (social rise);

Descending (social descent).

There is a well-known asymmetry between ascent and descent: everyone wants to go up and no one wants to go down the social ladder. As a rule, ascension is a voluntary phenomenon, and descent is forced.

Channels of vertical mobility.

According to P.A. Sorokina, in any society there are between strata channels(“elevators”) through which individuals move up and down. Of particular interest are social institutions - army, church, school, family, property, which are used as channels of social mobility.

Army functions most intensively as such a channel in wartime. Large losses among the command staff lead to filling vacancies from lower ranks.

Church moved a large number of people both from the bottom to the top of society and vice versa. The institution of celibacy obliged the Catholic clergy not to have children. Therefore, after the death of officials, the vacant positions were filled by new people. At the same time, thousands of heretics were put on trial and destroyed, among them were many kings and aristocrats.

School: the institution of education has at all times served as a powerful channel of social mobility, because Education has always been valued, and educated people have a high status.

Own manifests itself most clearly in the form of accumulated wealth and money, which are one of the simplest and most effective ways of social advancement.

Family and marriage become a channel of vertical mobility if representatives of different social statuses join the union.

Horizontal mobility– is the transition of an individual or social group from one social group to another, located at the same level, i.e. without changing social status.

A type of horizontal mobility is geographic mobility. It does not imply a change in status or group, but a movement from one place to another while maintaining the same status. Examples include tourism, moving from city to village and back, moving from one enterprise to another.

If a change of location is added to a change of status, then geographic mobility turns into migration.

Also distinguish individual And group mobility.

Individual mobility– moving down, up or horizontally occurs for each person independently of others.

TO factors of individual mobility, those. reasons that allow one person to achieve greater success than another include: social status of the family; level of education received; nationality; physical and mental abilities; external data; education received; location; profitable marriage.

Group mobility– movements occur collectively. For example, after a revolution, the old class cedes its dominant position to the new class. According to P.A. Sorokina reasons for group mobility the following factors serve: social revolutions; foreign interventions; invasions; interstate wars; civil wars; military coups; change of political regimes, etc.

You can also highlight organized And structural mobility.

Organized mobility occurs when the movement of an individual or social group up, down or horizontally is controlled by the state. This process can occur with the consent of the people themselves (for example, public calls for Komsomol construction projects) and without their consent (resettlement of small nations, dispossession).

Structural mobility caused by changes in the structure of the national economy and occurs beyond the will and consciousness of individuals. For example, the disappearance or reduction of industries or professions leads to the displacement of large masses of people employed in them.

During mobility, a condition may arise marginality. This is a special sociological term to designate a borderline, transitional, structurally uncertain social state of a subject. People who, for various reasons, fall out of their usual social environment and are unable to join new communities (often for reasons of cultural incongruity), who experience great psychological stress and are experiencing a kind of crisis of self-awareness, are called marginalized. Among the marginalized there may be ethnomarginal, biomarginal, economic marginal, religious marginal.

The process of migration in society

Migration is the process of changing the permanent place of residence of individuals or social groups, expressed in moving to another region, geographical area or another country.

The migration process is closely related to both horizontal and vertical mobility, since each migrating individual strives to find better economic, political or social conditions of existence in a new place.

Migration mechanism. In order for people to want to change their usual place of residence, conditions are necessary that force them to do this. These conditions are usually divided into three main groups:

Pushing

Attraction

Migration routes.

Pushing associated with the difficult living conditions of the individual in his native place. The expulsion of large masses of people is associated with serious social upheavals (interethnic conflicts, wars), economic crises, and natural disasters (earthquakes, floods). In case of individual migration, the pushing force can be career failure, death of relatives, or loneliness.

Attraction– a set of attractive features or conditions for living in other places (higher wages, the opportunity to occupy a higher social status, greater political stability).

Migration routes is a characteristic of the direct movement of a migrant from one geographical location to another. Migration routes include the accessibility of the migrant, his luggage and family to another region; the presence or absence of barriers to the way; information to help overcome financial obstacles.

Distinguish international(moving from one state to another) and internal(moving within one country) migration.

Emigration– travel outside the country . Immigration- entry into this country.

Seasonal migration– depends on the time of year (tourism, study, agricultural work).

Pendulum migration– regular movements from a given point and return to it.

Migration is considered normal up to certain limits. If the number of migrants exceeds a certain level, it is said that migration becomes excessive. Excessive migration can lead to a change in the demographic composition of the region (the departure of young people and the “aging” of the population; the predominance of men or women in the region), to a shortage or excess of labor, to uncontrolled urban growth, etc.

Literature

Volkov Yu.G., Dobrenkov V.I., Nechipurenko V.N., Popov A.V.

Sociology: textbook / ed. prof.

SOUTH. Volkova. – M.: Gardariki, 2007.- Ch. 6.

Kravchenko A.I. Sociology: textbook for universities. – M., 2003. – Ch. eleven.

Raduev V.V., Shkaratan O.I. Social stratification: a textbook. M., 1996.

Radugin A. A., Radugin K. A. Sociology: a course of lectures. M., 1996. – Topic 8.

Smelser N. Sociology. M., 1994. – Ch. 9.

Frolov S.S. Sociology: textbook. – M.: Gardariki, 2006. – Chapter 17.

Test tasks on the topic “Social mobility”

1. Social mobility is:

1. a person changes his place of permanent residence

2. change in the value orientations of the individual

3. change in the social status of an individual or group

4. expansion of professional and general cultural horizons

2. The main types of social mobility are:

1. vertical and horizontal

2. intergenerational and intragenerational

3. ascending and descending

4. individual and group

3. Geographic mobility turns into migration when:

1. a person moves from one place to another, while maintaining his social status

2. a person moves from one place to another, while changing his social status

3. a person moves from one citizenship to another

4. a person temporarily moves from one socio-geographical zone to another

4. An example of downward social mobility can be considered:

1. promotion

2. change of religion

3. dismissal due to staff reduction

4. change of profession

5. A social career should be understood as:

1. increasing the social status of representatives of subsequent generations compared to the status of the current one

2. achievement of a higher social position by the individual compared to parents

3. a change by an individual, beyond comparison with his father, several times during his life of his social positions

4. an individual’s change in his position in the social and professional structure

The concept of “social mobility” was introduced into sociology
P. A. Sorokin. He viewed social mobility as any change in social status.

A change in place in the social system can occur horizontally, when movement occurs at one level, or vertically, when movement occurs to another social stratum.

The transition of an individual from one social group to another, located in the same social stratum, and, therefore, without changing his social status is called horizontal mobility. Maintaining the previous social status during horizontal social mobility is often associated with the movement of an individual in physical space - moving to work in another company or in another department for a similar position with the same salary and authority, moving from one outskirts of the city to another, etc. But a change in position in social space can also occur, for example, marriage with a representative of the same social stratum.

Vertical mobility represents a movement from one stratum (estate, class, caste) to another, which is associated with a change in social status. There are upward and downward social mobility. Upward mobility means moving to a higher social stratum, acquiring a higher social status (promotion, enrichment, defense of a dissertation, moving to the capital from the province, etc.). Downward mobility characterized by moving to a lower social stratum and associated with a decrease in social status (loss of job, ruin during competition in the market, retirement, loss of authority, etc.)

The subjects of social mobility can be both individuals and social groups. In this regard, they talk about individual and group mobility. Individual mobility associated with human activity, his consciously committed actions. At the same time, downward mobility can also be caused by inactivity, for example, when an individual does not improve his professional qualifications, does not show initiative, or is passive in business and personal contacts.

Among the types of social mobility, there are two types that characterize changes in the social positions of people belonging to different generations of the same family, as well as individuals within their own generation in a given society. Intergenerational mobility means that children achieve a different social position than their parents. A intragenerational mobility is defined as a repeated change in an individual’s social positions throughout life. Sometimes it is called a social career. Intergenerational mobility shows what happens to the prescribed social status of an individual, inherited from his parents: whether it is possible to maintain it at the same level, or acquire a new, more or less high one. Social mobility within a generation is associated with the acquisition of statuses in the process of life and professional competition with representatives of one’s generation. This is a struggle not only for material security, the success of one’s own entrepreneurial activity, a position with a high salary, but also for social guarantees of one’s current and future position in society, competition in the marriage system for a successful marriage, the struggle for acquiring education and high professional qualifications, for the right to make decisions and lead other people, for the authority that allows minimizing efforts to impose one’s will. Intragenerational mobility shows how successfully a person realizes himself and how successfully he creates comfortable conditions for his existence in society.

Intergenerational mobility, like intragenerational mobility, depends on many factors. Not the least important role among them is played by the so-called “starting conditions”. They refer to the positions that young people occupy at the beginning of their independent lives. Politicians and ideologists, including in our country, often talk about the same starting positions and equal opportunities for young people from families belonging to different social communities. However, modern society is able to provide only limited legal guarantees of equality, but not secured by social conditions. Young people from the upper strata of society objectively have more opportunities for a successful social career based on the best education received in elite, prestigious educational institutions, as well as thanks to family and business connections of their parents. American sociologists rank the factors that determine the possibility of increasing social status in the society of the United States: in the first place is social origin (taking into account family income), in the second place is race, in third place is education, in fourth place is the occupation of parents, and only in fifth place is where personal abilities lie.

Group mobility is a form of vertical mobility and manifests itself in an increase or decrease in the social position of a particular social group, its movement to another social stratum. Group mobility occurs where, under the influence of circumstances, a change in the stratification system occurs. Its causes can be social revolution, war, foreign military intervention, occupation of a country, coup d'etat, civil war, economic crisis, change in political regime, etc. For some social groups, these factors open the way “up”, and for others - “down” . So, for example, during bourgeois revolutions, the class system of social stratification is destroyed, and the bourgeoisie becomes the ruling class, while the nobility, having lost its economic and political foundations and state support, disappears.

Economic crises, accompanied by a fall in living standards, rising unemployment, and a sharp increase in the income gap between the poor and the rich, lead to an increase in the number of the disadvantaged part of the population. Many socially significant socio-professional groups (workers in the sphere of material production, doctors, teachers, military, police, etc.) descend into even lower social strata. Such degradation of the status of a social group may be temporary, or it may become irreversible.

In times of crisis, increased social differentiation also affects the upper strata of society. This is manifested in changes in the composition of power structures, the ruin of some entrepreneurs and the enrichment of others. For example, in Russia, the economic crisis at the end of the first decade of the 21st century led to an actual doubling of the number of dollar millionaires.

Whatever the direction of social movement, individuals and entire social groups have to adapt to their new place in the social hierarchy.

In the new conditions, members of society are massively reconsidering their situational priorities, preferences, and even life ideals. Wealth and power are seen even more strongly than before as guarantors of stable or upward social development, and prestige continues to be given to these areas of activity. There is a gradual awareness of the correspondence and non-compliance of new own indicators of wealth, power and prestige with one’s ideas about them, about what they should be and about social justice in general. In each vertically displaced social group, some individuals initiate the process of resocialization, while the rest (at the initial stage they constitute the majority) continue to make efforts to socially adapt.

During periods of dramatic social change, the impact of social differentiation on social mobility increases. It is manifested, firstly, in unequal opportunities to influence the establishment of new rights and relations, which will subsequently be protected by the power of the state, will be mandatory and will become guidelines for socialization.

Secondly, there is a significant difference in the opportunities to take advantage of new rights and freedoms. Some groups carry out this without hindrance, while others cannot implement them due to the opposition of social groups with a higher status, lack of connections in the business and political communities, sufficient cash savings, the ability to take out a loan, information, knowledge, education, experience, etc. .

Thirdly, it is necessary for individuals occupying lower social positions to expend more effort, overcome more restrictions and barriers in order to take advantage of the same right than individuals with a higher social status.

All this creates significant social tensions and conflicts both within social groups and in society as a whole. A significant part of society members become maladapted to their new statuses and new living conditions. They are said to have group affiliation without group identification. That is, in society they are assigned to a certain social group, but the group itself perceives them as some kind of alien elements. The reason for this phenomenon is the incomplete manifestation by these people of the signs of the group (common goals, activities, consciousness of group interest, common lifestyle, level of income, power, prestige) that these people should have. In sociology they are called marginals (from the Latin “margo” - edge), i.e. located on the “edge” of the group, its border, the junction with others.

Channels (elevators) of social mobility are social institutions and organizations through which an individual changes his position in the social hierarchy.

Channels, “elevators” are available in various social subsystems (spheres of social life). All of them, one way or another, and each of them in its own way, influence the intensity of the manifestation of the main stratification signs of wealth, power and prestige. The main channels of social mobility include the following.

Entrepreneurship, commercial organizations. They allow, if successful, to occupy a higher position in society, to be recognized as a leader in achieving the main goal of entrepreneurship - generating profit as the basis of wealth. People who have achieved positive results in business have demonstrated the ability to manage capital, control production processes and win the competition. They are perceived by society as an elite, that is, they have passed a certain selection into the upper class. This includes the most successful people in various areas of business from industry and banking to show business.

Political institutions: state, political parties. Within their framework, individuals can build their political careers by competing for the highest positions in these organizations or through public service. Elections to government bodies and the governing bodies of a political party are an effective mechanism that puts the chosen one above the masses.

Professional organizations such as trade unions, scientific, literary, and creative organizations also provide the opportunity for vertical movement of individuals.

Military service in wartime, as well as service in other law enforcement agencies due to their special importance for the preservation of society and the state, they are effective elevators of social mobility.

Mass media, as a specific type of professional institutions, are a channel of vertical circulation for people engaged in this type of activity.

Religious institutions provide their employees with the opportunity to move vertically in the organizational hierarchy system.

Education and professional development. Getting an education, something that parents quite rightly set their children up for, has now become a universal, publicly accessible elevator for upward social mobility. In our country, the idea of ​​the need for compulsory acquisition of higher education has become firmly established in the mass consciousness. This is also supported by the current hiring practice, when the presence of an appropriate diploma is required for positions that are not objectively related to higher education (courier, driver, cashier, salesperson, now proudly called a manager, who, however, does not manage anything or anyone, etc.) .P.). Naturally, for higher positions, “diploma competition” is envisaged, when the prestige of the universities that issued them is compared. Some individuals do not limit themselves to higher education to improve their status competitiveness. And this has become quite common.

Family and marriage. The family provides the individual with a prescribed status, which characterizes, among other things, the possibilities of his social movement, determined by the opportunities inherent in this status. For example, for representatives of upper-class families, these are opportunities to obtain basic education and upbringing, preserve and maintain health, enter a prestigious university and professional career in prestigious fields of activity, enter the social circles of “high” society, enter into a family-approved marriage of convenience in the interests of maintaining and enhancing status. Marriage to a person of a different social status implies for one of the spouses the possibility of social advancement up or down.

Criminal activity also serves as a kind of channel for social mobility. Here we can even talk about not one, but two channels of movement of individuals. The first makes it possible to move up the social ladder within the framework of the public stratification system until the criminal nature of the activity is revealed by law enforcement agencies, that is, according to the principle “if not caught, not a thief!”, and down when the criminal is exposed. The second is associated with a criminal career within a criminal community.

All channels of social mobility provide the opportunity for both upward and downward movement. At the same time, to move downward and degrade, no significant, and often no, effort is required. People say about such a situation: “sink to the bottom.” Society guarantees the possibility of downward mobility for everyone, with the exception, of course, of the lowest social stratum. With upward mobility, things are different: manifestations of human nature, the individual’s desire for self-realization, for a prosperous life in conditions of scarcity of vital resources, the orientation of the masses and the individual towards prestigious values, the very system of social inequality and the competition of private and group interests - all this creates the need regulation of upward mobility flows. In other words, all members of society (group) cannot be at the top, and therefore the advancement of individuals up the channels of social mobility is limited by social barriers and filters. Such obstacles are role requirements corresponding to high social statuses, which receive institutional and legal formalization.

There are differences in the use of social mobility channels and the application of barriers and filters in the so-called "open" And "closed" societies. “Closed” is a society in which movement from lower to higher social strata is completely prohibited or significantly limited. Such societies are characterized by slave, caste and class systems of social stratification, as well as a specific organization of industrial society with a totalitarian political regime. An “open” society is considered to be one where movement from one stratum to another is not officially limited.

In a “closed” society, barriers to advancement up the social ladder may include the requirements of an individual’s social origin from the upper strata of society, membership in the ruling political party, belonging to an ethnic or religious majority, etc.

An “open” society officially, through the state, the legal system, and also through the dominant ideology, justifies the removal of barriers inherent in a “closed” society. Some of them are eliminated by establishing formal equality of citizens and the functioning of the social state, and some are modified and modernized. At the same time, complex mechanisms of social selection of people for high social positions are being created.

Representatives of the upper strata strive to maintain their positions in the social hierarchy and establish obstacles to the penetration of people from lower strata into the higher strata. They use their dominant position in society to create legal and social guarantees for the security of their own position. Various “selection” criteria are established, both public and tacit (education, wealth, communication culture, talent, competence, experience, age, gender, connections in public and political circles, etc.). It turns out that, along with the officially proclaimed equal rights, there is a system of unspoken “status” rights, rights with unwritten laws and sanctions, with their own freedoms and restrictions. Thus, in an “open” society, a tendency towards its “closing”, noted by M. Weber, manifests itself.

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