High mobility. What is social mobility: examples, factors

Horizontal and vertical are categories related to the variability and stratification of societies. In the environment of any social group or a vast social organism, quantitative and qualitative changes occur, as a result of which the character of

of this organism, new social classes appear and disappear in various sections: national, subcultural, property, and so on. Examples of vertical social mobility - the best of that practical proof. Such a dynamic society will necessarily be accompanied by permanent status of specific individuals. In fact, these transformations are examples of vertical social mobility. Less often - horizontal, since it is not always accompanied by a change in social position.

Types of social mobility

As the main variants of this process, modern scientists distinguish two

the following types.

horizontal mobility. Examples

In this case, the transition of a person from one social group to another, but equal in status to the previous one. The most banal examples may be moving to a new place of residence, switching to an alternative job or position, approximately equal to the previous one in terms of prestige and income. Migrants are another special case of this form, since when they move to a new country for themselves, they turn from into foreigners for society. By the way, horizontal mobility can sometimes give rise to examples of vertical social mobility. As often happens in the situation with the same migrants.

Vertical social mobility. Examples

Here everything is quite clear on an intuitive level. This is a decrease or increase in personal status in a particular social group or society as a whole. Examples of vertical social mobility: an increase in material income (or vice versa - a decrease or even ruin), moving up or down a step career ladder, the acquisition of large-scale popularity, which comes to musicians, artists, athletes, and so on (or, which is also not uncommon, oblivion).

elevators

Social mobility as a phenomenon provides for the presence in society of mechanisms that ensure its very existence. These mechanisms

scientists called social elevators. These may be: army, school, church, political parties, family, government groups, official bodies and so on.

Degree of social mobility

An important point is also the fact that the ability of an individual to change his status throughout life can differ sharply in different public systems. The so-called are characterized by an extreme degree of traditionality and taboo. Here, social status is often not only inherited, but its preservation is also ensured whole system and rules, the violation of which can be punished by penalties ranging from public censure to legal liability.

2.2 Structural mobility

1. Open and closed mobility

5.1 Intergenerational mobility

7. Migration

7.1 Labor migration

Conclusion

Introduction

Sociology as a whole (i.e. general sociology) is a science that studies the relationship between groups of people occupying different positions in society, taking unequal participation in economic, social and political life, differing not only in level, but also in the source of their income, structure consumption, way, quality and style of life, as well as the structure of value orientations, motives and type of behavior.

A society is a combination of all ways of interaction and forms of unification of people, having a common territory, common cultural values ​​and social norms. Society is a term denoting the collectivist integrity of the population of a particular country.

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.

Social mobility refers to the movement of an individual or group up, down, or horizontally. Social mobility is characterized by the direction, variety and distance of social movements of people in society (individually and in groups).

1. Vertical and horizontal mobility

The following types of social mobility are distinguished: vertical and horizontal mobility.

The movement up and down is called vertical mobility, it is of two types: downward (from top to bottom) and upward (from bottom to top). Horizontal mobility is a movement in which an individual changes social status or a profession of equal value. A special variety is represented by intergenerational, or intergenerational, mobility. It refers to the change in the status of children compared to the status of parents. Intergenerational mobility was studied by A.V. Kirch, and in the global historical aspect - A. Pirenne and L. Febvre. P. Sorokin was one of the founders of the theories of social stratification and social mobility. Foreign sociologists usually link these two theories.

There are two main types of social mobility - intergenerational and intragenerational, and two main types - vertical and horizontal. They, in turn, break up into subspecies and subtypes.

Vertical mobility means moving from one stratum to another. Depending on the direction of movement, one speaks of upward mobility (social ascent, upward movement) and downward mobility (social descent, downward movement). There is a certain asymmetry between ascent and descent: everyone wants to go up and no one wants to go down the social ladder. As a rule, ascent is a voluntary phenomenon, and descent is forced.

Promotion is an example of upward mobility of an individual, dismissal, demotion is an example of downward mobility. Vertical mobility is a person's change during life of a high status to a low one, or vice versa. Let's say the movement of a person from the status of a plumber to the position of president of a corporation, as well as the reverse movement, is an example vertical mobility.

Horizontal mobility implies the transition of an individual from one social group to another, located at the same level. An example is the movement from an Orthodox to a Catholic religious group, from one citizenship to another, from one family (parental) to another (one's own, newly formed), from one profession to another. Such movements occur without a noticeable change in social position in the vertical direction. Horizontal mobility implies a change by a person during his life of one status to another, which is approximately equivalent. Let's say a person was first a plumber and then became a carpenter.

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

If a change of status is added to a change of place, then geographic mobility turns into migration. If a villager comes to the city to visit relatives, then this is geographic mobility. If he moved to the city for permanent residence and got a job here, then this is migration.

2. Individual and group mobility

Classification of social mobility can be carried out according to other criteria. So, for example, they distinguish between individual mobility, when movements down, up, or horizontally occur in an individual independently of others, and group mobility, when movements occur collectively, for example, after a social revolution, the old ruling class cedes its positions to the new ruling class. Individual mobility is inherent in democratic civilized states. Group mobility is a painful process, a consequence of social catastrophes.

2.1 Spontaneous and organized mobility

On other grounds, mobility may be classified, say, as spontaneous or organized. An example of spontaneous mobility is the movement of residents of the near abroad to large cities of Russia for the purpose of earning money. Organized mobility (moving a person or entire groups up, down or horizontally) is controlled by the state. These movements can be carried out: a) with the consent of the people themselves, b) without their consent. An example of organized voluntary mobility in Soviet times is the movement of young people from different cities and villages to Komsomol construction sites, the development of virgin lands, etc. An example of organized involuntary mobility is the repatriation (resettlement) of Chechens and Ingush during the war against German Nazism.

2.2 Structural mobility

Structural mobility should be distinguished from organized mobility. It is caused by changes in the structure National economy and occurs beyond the will and consciousness of individual individuals. For example, the disappearance or reduction of industries or professions leads to the displacement of large masses of people.

3. System of indicators of social mobility

Social mobility can be measured using two metrics. In the first system, the unit of account is the individual, in the second, the status. Consider the first system first.

The volume of mobility is understood as the number of individuals who have moved up the social ladder in a vertical direction over a certain period of time. If the volume is calculated by the number of displaced individuals, then it is called absolute, and if the ratio of this number over the entire population, then the relative volume is indicated as a percentage.

The total volume, or scale, of mobility determines the number of movements across all strata together, and the differentiated volume determines the number of movements across individual strata, layers, and classes. The fact that in an industrial society two-thirds of the population is mobile refers to the total volume, and 37% of the children of workers who have become employees belongs to the differentiated volume.

The scale of social mobility is defined as the percentage of those who have changed, in comparison with their fathers, their social status.

The change in mobility for individual layers is described by two indicators. The first is the coefficient of mobility of leaving the social stratum. It shows, for example, how many sons of skilled workers became intellectuals or peasants. The second is the coefficient of mobility of entry into the social stratum, indicating from which strata, for example, the stratum of intellectuals is replenished. It reveals the social origin of people.

The degree of mobility in a society is determined by two factors: the range of mobility in a society and the conditions that allow people to move.

The range of mobility (amount mobiliti) that characterizes a given society depends on how many different statuses exist in it. The more statuses, the more opportunity a person has to move from one status to another.

In traditional society, the number of high-status positions remained approximately constant, so there was a moderate downward mobility of offspring from high-status families. Feudal society is characterized by a very small number of vacancies for high positions for those who had a low status. Some sociologists believe that, most likely, there was no upward mobility.

Industrial society has expanded the range of mobility. It is characterized by a much larger number of different statuses. The first decisive factor in social mobility is the level of economic development. During periods of economic depression, the number of high-status positions decreases, while low-status positions expand, so downward mobility dominates. It intensifies in those periods when people lose their jobs and at the same time new layers enter the labor market. On the contrary, during periods of active economic development, many new high-status positions appear: Increased demand for workers to fill them is the main reason for upward mobility.

The main trend in the development of an industrial society is that it simultaneously increases wealth and the number of high-status positions, which in turn leads to an increase in the size of the middle class, whose ranks are replenished by people from lower strata.

4. Open and closed mobility

The second factor of social mobility is historical type stratification. Caste and estate societies restrict social mobility by imposing severe restrictions on any change in status.

Closed mobility is characteristic of totalitarian regimes, which create significant obstacles to social movements. If most of the statuses in a society are ascribed or prescribed, then the range of mobility in it is much lower than in a society based on individual achievement. In a pre-industrial society, upward mobility was not great, since legal laws and traditions practically closed the peasants' access to the estate of landowners. There is a well-known medieval saying: "Once a peasant, forever a peasant."

In an industrial society, which sociologists refer to as a type of open society, individual merits and achieved status are valued above all. Open mobility is characteristic of democratic societies and means that there are no legislative obstacles in the process of social movement. In such a society, the level of social mobility is quite high.

Sociologists also note the following pattern: the wider the opportunities for moving up, the stronger people believe in the availability of vertical mobility channels for them, and the more they believe in this, the more they strive to advance, i.e. the higher the level of social mobility in society. Conversely, in class society people do not believe in the possibility of changing their status without having wealth, pedigree or the patronage of the monarch.

When studying social mobility, sociologists pay attention to the following characteristics:

Number and size of classes and status groups;

The amount of mobility of individuals and families from one group to another;

The degree of differentiation of social strata by types of behavior (lifestyle) and the level of class consciousness;

The type or amount of property owned by a person, occupation, as well as the values ​​that determine one or another status;

Distribution of power between classes and status groups. Of the listed criteria, two are especially important: the amount (or amount) of mobility and the differentiation of status groups. They are used to distinguish one type of stratification from another.

Upward movement is mainly due to education, wealth or membership in a political party. Education plays an important role not only when an individual receives a higher income or more prestigious profession: the level of education is one of the hallmarks of belonging to a higher stratum. Wealth is a hallmark of status in the higher strata. American society is a stratified system with open classes. Although it is not a classless society, it retains the differentiation of people according to social status. It is an open class society in the sense that a person does not remain all his life in the class in which he was born.

5. The second system of indicators of mobility

The second system of indicators of mobility, where the status or step in the social hierarchy is taken as the unit of account. In this case, social mobility is understood as a change by an individual (group) of one status to another, located vertically or horizontally.

The volume of mobility is the number of people who have changed their previous status to another one down, up or horizontally. Ideas about the movement of people up, down and across the social pyramid describe the direction of mobility. Varieties of mobility are described by the typology of social movements. The measure of mobility is indicated by the step and volume of social movements.

Mobility distance is the number of steps that individuals managed to climb or had to descend. The normal distance is considered to be moving one or two steps up or down. Most social transitions happen this way. Abnormal distance - an unexpected rise to the top of the social ladder or fall to its bottom.

The unit of mobility distance is the movement step. To describe the step of social movements, the concept of status is used: moving from a lower to a higher status is upward mobility; moving from higher to lower status is downward mobility. Movement can be one step (status), two or more steps (statuses) up, down and horizontally. A step can be measured in 1) statuses, 2) generations. Therefore, the following types are distinguished:

intergenerational mobility;

Intragenerational mobility;

Interclass mobility;

Intraclass mobility.

The concept of "group mobility" characterizes a society that is undergoing social changes, where there is an increase or decrease in public importance whole class, estate, stratum. For example, the October Revolution led to the rise of the Bolsheviks, who previously did not have a recognized high position, and the Brahmins in ancient India became the highest caste as a result of stubborn struggle, while previously their caste was on the same level as the Kshatriya caste.

5.1 Intergenerational mobility

Intergenerational mobility implies that children reach a higher social position or fall to a lower level than their parents occupied. Example: A miner's son becomes an engineer. Intergenerational mobility is a change in the status of children relative to the status of their fathers. For example, the son of a plumber becomes the president of a corporation, or conversely, the son of the president of a corporation becomes a plumber. Intergenerational mobility is the most important form of social mobility. Its scale indicates the extent to which, in a given society, inequality passes from one generation to another. If intergenerational mobility is low, then this means that inequality has taken root in this society, and a person’s chances to change his fate do not depend on himself, but are predetermined by birth. In the case of significant intergenerational mobility, people achieve a new status through their own efforts, regardless of their origin. The general direction of intergenerational youth mobility is from the group of manual workers to the group of mental workers.

5.2 Intragenerational mobility

Intragenerational mobility takes place where the same individual, beyond comparison with his father, changes social positions several times throughout his life. Otherwise, it is called a social career. Example: a turner becomes an engineer, and then a shop manager, plant director, minister of the engineering industry. The first type of mobility refers to long-term, and the second - to short-term processes. In the first case, sociologists are more interested in interclass mobility, and in the second, the movement from the sphere of physical labor to the sphere of mental labor. Intra-generational mobility depends less on factors of origin in a changing society than in a stable one.

Class immobility occurs when the rank of a social class is reproduced unchanged from generation to generation. Researchers find in modern society high level of class immobility. The bulk of intra- and intergenerational mobility occurs gradually, without dramatic changes. Only certain individuals rise or fall sharply, for example, outstanding athletes or rock stars.

Stratification symbols also differ in the degree of openness of professional cells for beginners. To a large extent, the social rank of a married woman is determined by the status of her husband, and her mobility is measured by the difference between the professional status of her father and her husband.

Since the traits attributed are sex, race, social class by birth - outweigh individual talent and intelligence in determining the length of education and the type of first job, analysts believe that there is hardly any reason to talk about a truly open class system.

6. Channels of vertical mobility

The most complete description of vertical mobility channels was given by P. Sorokin, who called them "vertical circulation channels". According to Sorokin, since vertical mobility exists to some extent in any society, even in primitive ones, there are no impassable boundaries between strata. Between them there are various "holes", "plays", "membranes" through which individuals move up and down.

Sorokin attracted special attention social institutions- army, church, school, family, property, which are used as channels of social circulation.

The army functions in this capacity not in peacetime, but in wartime. Large losses among the command staff lead to the filling of vacancies from the lower ranks. In times of war, soldiers advance through talent and bravery. Once promoted, they use the power they gain as a channel for further advancement and wealth accumulation. They have the opportunity to rob, loot, seize trophies, take indemnities, take away slaves, surround themselves with pompous ceremonies, titles, and transfer their power by inheritance.

The Church as a channel of social circulation has moved a large number of people from the bottom to the top of society.

The church was a channel not only for an upward, but also for a downward movement. Thousands of heretics, pagans, enemies of the church were brought to justice, ruined and destroyed. Among them were many kings, dukes, princes, lords, aristocrats and nobles of high ranks.

School. The institutions of upbringing and education, no matter what concrete form they take, have served in all ages as a powerful channel of social circulation. The USA and the USSR belong to societies where schools are available to all its members. In such a society, the "social elevator" moves from the very bottom, passes through all floors and reaches the very top.

The USA and the USSR are the most striking examples of how one can achieve impressive success, become the great industrial powers of the world, adhering to opposite political and ideological values, but equally providing their citizens with equal opportunities to receive an education.

Large competitions for colleges and universities in many countries are explained by the fact that education is the fastest and most accessible channel of vertical mobility.

Ownership is most clearly manifested in the form of accumulated wealth and money. They are one of the simplest and most effective ways of social promotion.

Family and marriage become channels of vertical circulation if representatives of different social strata join the union. In European society, the marriage of a poor, but titled partner with a rich, but not noble, was common. As a result, both moved up the social ladder, getting what they lacked.

7. Migration

Migration is a kind of horizontal mobility. Population migration is the movement of people associated, as a rule, with a change of residence (resettlement of people from country to country, from district to district, from city to village and vice versa, from city to city, from village to village). It is subdivided into irrevocable (with a final change of permanent place of residence), temporary (resettlement for a sufficiently long, but limited period), seasonal (movement during certain periods of the year), depending on the season (tourism, treatment, study, agricultural work), pendulum - regular movement of the published point and return to it.

Migration is a very broad concept that covers all types of migration processes, i.e. population movements both within one country and between countries - around the world (international migration). Migration can be external (outside the country) and internal. External includes emigration, immigration, and internal - movement from the village to the city, inter-district resettlement, etc. Migration does not always take mass forms. In calm times, it affects small groups or individuals. Their movement occurs, as a rule, spontaneously. Demographers identify two main flows of migration within one country: city-rural and city-city. It has been established that as long as industrialization is going on in the country, people move mainly from the village to the city. Upon its completion, people move from the city to suburban areas and rural areas. An interesting pattern is revealed: migrant flows are directed to those places where social mobility is highest. And one more thing: those who move from city to city arrange their lives easier and achieve greater success than those who move from village to city, and vice versa.

Two types of migration occupy an important place - immigration and emigration. Emigration - leaving the country for permanent residence or long-term residence. Immigration - entry into this country for permanent residence or long-term residence. Thus, immigrants are moving in, and emigrants are moving out (voluntarily or involuntarily). Emigration reduces the population. If the most capable and qualified people leave, then not only the number, but also the qualitative composition of the population decreases. Immigration increases the population. The arrival of a highly skilled labor force in the country increases the qualitative composition of the population, while the arrival of a low-skilled labor force has the opposite effect.

Thanks to emigration and migration, new cities, countries and states arose. It is known that in cities the birth rate is low and constantly decreasing. Consequently, all large cities, especially cities with millionaires, arose due to immigration.

Emigration is the larger, the less the population has the opportunity to satisfy their needs in their country, including through internal resettlement. The proportions between internal and external migration are determined by the economic situation, the general social background, and the degree of tension in society. Emigration occurs where living conditions worsen and opportunities for upward mobility narrow. The peasants left for Siberia and the Don, where the Cossacks had developed, because of the tightening of serfdom. It was not aristocrats who left Europe, but social outsiders.

Horizontal mobility in such cases acts as a means to solve the problems that arise in the field of vertical mobility. The fugitive serfs who founded the Don merchant class became free and prosperous; raised their political and economic status at the same time. At the same time, their professional status could remain unchanged: the peasants continued to engage in arable farming on the new lands.

7.1 Labor migration

Under labor migration is understood, firstly, the turnover of personnel, i.e. individual movements from one enterprise to another within the same city or region, and secondly, individual and group movements of citizens of one state from one region to another in order to get work and earnings, as well as citizens of different states from one country to another with the same purpose. In the latter case, the term "economic migration" is also used. If a Ukrainian comes to Russia to work, and a Russian goes to work in America, then such movements are called both labor and economic migration.

The differences between these two types of migration are rather vague, but the following circumstance can be taken into account as a conditional criterion. Economic migration should include only such types of horizontal mobility, the reason for which is only the need to earn a living in general or more than in one's own country. It is more correct to refer to labor migration such types of social movements that are caused by a complex of reasons, including, in addition to earnings, the desire to improve working conditions, bring the place of work closer to the place of residence, change the socio-psychological atmosphere that has developed at the previous place of work, improve qualifications, get more interesting and promising work etc. A variety of labor migration is staff turnover and a broader concept - "labor turnover".

Labor turnover - individual unorganized movement of workers between enterprises (organizations). One form of movement labor resources, which manifests itself in the form of dismissals of employees of enterprises mainly due to their dissatisfaction with any parties labor activity or life. This dissatisfaction is formed under the influence of a system of factors of an objective and subjective order.

The scale of labor turnover is characterized by the number of employees who left the enterprises, terminated labor contract on a certain range of legal grounds (absolute turnover rates), and the ratio of the number of dropouts to average headcount workers, expressed as a percentage (relative size, turnover rate). Along with organized forms of redistribution of labor resources (organizational recruitment for agricultural resettlement, public calls for youth), labor turnover serves as a channel for the movement of workers between enterprises, industries, regions of the country, professional and skill groups, i.e. performs certain socio-economic functions.

Staff turnover is a type of horizontal mobility in industry. It is the unorganized movement of workers from one enterprise to another. It is based on the discrepancy or contradiction between the interests of the individual and the ability of the enterprise to realize them. Staff turnover includes all dismissals of employees due to conscription, illness, retirement, as well as dismissals for violations of labor discipline.

Conclusion

For sociology, it is very important to know how people are aware (spontaneously or deliberately) of their social position and how they, by their actions, seek to make adjustments that allow them to change their positions in society. public life. This awareness is often contradictory, because the goals set by a person, individual layers and groups do not always coincide with objective laws. It is obvious that the limited ability to harmonize subjective aspirations with the objective course of development gives rise to collisions between the personal (group) and the public.

From a sociological point of view, it is important that people's actions to change their social position are associated with the desire to have such market relations that would allow them to take their rightful place in society. However, with great difficulty, they realize that under the new conditions, incentives are starting to operate not just for work, albeit skilled and high-quality, but for work, the results of which have been publicly tested on the market.

At the forefront, when assessing one's position, comes awareness social guarantees, actual civil status, the degree of confidence in the current and future social and personal life.

Currently on the rise rural population in the North Caucasus, in the southern regions of the country. At the same time, the situation in the center of the European part remains tense. The issue of creating a mechanism that affects social behavior people: it is necessary to weaken their outflow to the cities and find a way to attract rural residents from labor-surplus areas of the country to this zone. In the meantime, it can be recognized that the development of relations between the city and the countryside is seriously hampered by the action of factors that need to be changed or weakened: to create conditions for the transformation of the peasant into the owner of the land, to make the labor process more attractive, to provide access to cultural values ​​to a greater extent and without significant restrictions. and education.

In our time, market relations seriously affect the social structure of society. Their impact can also be traced in the fact that group egoism has spread, which is based on opposing one's own interest to public interests at the expense of infringing on the rights and position of other social groups. This phenomenon has become a serious brake on progressive changes in the social structure of society. In such a situation, belonging to one class or another, to one or another social group is determined not by civil, but by utilitarian interests, by the desire to find a place where one can earn more and faster. This, unfortunately, often coexists with the desire to snatch more from society, to neglect public interests, to switch to an area where the opportunities for personal enrichment are more favorable.

In conditions when the mechanism of market relations affects the social position of a person, it is obvious that the entire social structure experiences their direct and indirect impact. Tension in the social structure of society often develops under the influence of not only objective trends in the development of market relations, but also changes taking place in the public consciousness, which is manifested in the corresponding attitudes and behavior of people. At the same time, as life shows, complex problems of the social structure are solved the more effectively, the more fully the objective logic of its functioning coincides with the subjective activity of people, when the material aspect is supplemented by the spiritual, moral. One thing is certain: the social structure reflects the social position of a person, which has a clearly expressed tendency for his assessment to correlate, firstly, with a person’s real contribution to social production, secondly, with his creative potential and, thirdly, with his professional training, skills and activity.

List of used literature

1. Dobrenkov V.I., Kravchenko A.I. Sociology: Textbook. - M.: INFRA-M, 2001. - 624 p.;
2. Toshchenko Zh.T. Sociology: General course. - 2nd ed., add. and reworked. - M.: Wright-M. 2001. - 527p.

Social inequality and the resulting social stratification are not permanent. As mentioned above, they fluctuate, and the stratification profile is constantly changing. These processes are associated with the movements of individuals and groups in social space - social mobility, which is understood as the transition of individuals or groups from one social position to another.

One of the first researchers of social mobility, who introduced this term into sociology, was P. A. Sorokin. He devoted to the processes of social mobility special work: "social stratification and mobility". He distinguishes two main types of social mobility - horizontal and vertical.

Under horizontal mobility implies the transition of an individual from one social group to another, located at the same social level (remarriage, change of job, etc.), while maintaining the same social status.

Vertical social mobility - it is the movement of an individual from one social level to another, with a change in social status. Vertical mobility can be either upward, associated with an increase in status, or downward, involving a decrease in status.

Vertical and horizontal mobility are interconnected: the more intense the movement "along the horizontal", albeit without a noticeable increase in social status, the more opportunities (connections, knowledge, experience, etc.) are accumulated for subsequent climbing the social ladder.

Mobility, both horizontal and vertical, can be individual, associated with a change in the social status and position in the social space of an individual, and group, involving the movement of entire groups. All types of mobility can occur voluntarily, when an individual or purposefully changes his position in the social space, and forcibly, when movements and status changes occur regardless of the will of people or even contrary to it. Usually, upward individual voluntary mobility is associated with strong-willed efforts and vigorous activity to improve social status. However, there is also downward voluntary mobility due to the personal decision of the individual to give up high status for the benefits that low status can provide. An example of such mobility in modern society is downshifting - a conscious and voluntary lowering of professional and economic status in order to increase the amount of free time that can be spent on hobbies, self-development, raising children, etc.

According to the degree of accessibility of social mobility and the intensity of movement of individuals, they differ open and closed society. In open societies, mobility is available to most individuals and groups. The intensity of vertical mobility can be used to judge the democratic nature of society - the intensity of vertical mobility is less in closed, non-democratic countries and vice versa. In real life, there are neither absolutely open nor absolutely closed societies - always and everywhere there are both diverse channels and elevators mobility, and filters, restricting access to them. The channels of social mobility usually coincide with the grounds for stratification and are associated with changes in economic, political, professional status, and prestige. Social elevators make it possible to quickly change social status - its increase or decrease. The main social elevators include such activities and related social institutions as entrepreneurial and political activity, education, church, military service. The level of social justice in modern societies is judged by the availability of mobility channels and social lifts.

Social filters (P. A. Sorokin used the concept of "social sieve") are institutions that restrict access to upward vertical mobility so that the most deserving members of society get to the highest levels of the social hierarchy. An example of a filter is an examination system designed to select the most prepared and professionally fit individuals for training.

In addition, penetration into high-status social groups is usually limited by various filters, and the higher the status of the group, the more difficult and difficult it is to penetrate. It is not enough to correspond to the level of the upper class in terms of income and wealth, in order to be a full-fledged member, one must lead an appropriate lifestyle, have an adequate cultural level, and so on.

Upward social mobility exists in any society. Even in societies dominated by prescribed social status, inherited and sanctioned by tradition, such as the Indian caste society or the European estate, there were channels of mobility, although access to them was very limited and difficult. In the Indian caste system, which is rightly considered an example of the most closed society, researchers trace the channels of individual and collective vertical mobility. Individual vertical mobility was associated with leaving the caste system in general, i.e. with the adoption of another religion, such as Sikhism or Islam. And group vertical mobility was also possible within the framework of the caste system, and is associated with a very complex process of raising the status of the entire caste through the theological justification of its higher religious charisma.

It should be remembered that in closed societies restrictions on vertical mobility are manifested not only in the difficulty of raising status, but also in the presence of institutions that reduce the risks of lowering it. These include communal and clan solidarity and mutual aid, as well as patron-client relationships that prescribe patronage to subordinates in exchange for their loyalty and support.

Social mobility tends to fluctuate. Its intensity varies from society to society, and within the same society relatively dynamic and stable periods are noted. Thus, in the history of Russia, the periods of clearly expressed movements were the periods of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the reign of Peter I, the October Revolution. During these periods, throughout the country, the old government elite was practically destroyed, and people from the lower social strata occupied the highest managerial positions.

Significant characteristics of the closed (open) society are intragenerational mobility and intergenerational mobility. Intragenerational mobility shows the changes in social status (both rising and falling) that occur within one generation. Intergenerational mobility demonstrates changes in the status of the next generation relative to the previous one ("children" relative to "fathers"). It is widely believed that in closed societies with strong traditions and a predominance of prescribed statuses, “children” are more likely to reproduce social positions, professions, and the way of life of their “fathers”, while in open societies they choose their own. life path often associated with a change in social status. In some social systems following the path of parents, creating a professional dynasty is seen as a morally approved course of action. Thus, in Soviet society, with real opportunities for social mobility, open access to such elevators as education, a political (party) career for people from lower social groups, the creation of "working dynasties" was especially encouraged, reproducing from generation to generation professional affiliation and providing transfer of specific professional skills. However, it should be noted that in open society belonging to a high-status family already creates the preconditions for the reproduction of this status in future generations, and the low status of parents imposes certain restrictions on the possibilities of vertical mobility of children.

Social mobility manifests itself in various forms and, as a rule, is associated with economic mobility, those. fluctuations in the economic position of an individual or group. Vertical socio-economic mobility is associated with an increase or decrease in well-being, and the main channel is economic and entrepreneurial, professional activity. In addition, other forms of mobility can also affect economic mobility, for example, the growth of power in the context of political mobility usually entails an improvement in the economic situation.

Historical periods, accompanied by the growth of socio-economic mobility in society, coincide with intense socio-economic changes, reforms, revolutions. Thus, in Russia at the beginning of the 18th century, during the reforms of Peter I, social mobility in general increased, and elites rotated. For the Russian trade and economic class, the reforms were associated with fundamental changes in the composition and structure, which led to the loss of the economic status (downward mobility) of a significant part of the former large entrepreneurs, and the rapid enrichment (vertical mobility) of others, who often came to large business from small crafts ( for example, the Demidovs) or from other fields of activity. In the era of revolutionary changes at the beginning of the 20th century. there was a sharp downward mobility of almost the entire economic elite of Russian society, caused by the violent actions of the revolutionary authorities - expropriations, nationalization of industry and banks, mass confiscations of property, alienation of land, etc. At the same time, non-entrepreneurial, but belonging to professional elites and therefore possessing a relatively high material status, groups of the population - generals, professors, technical and creative intelligentsia, etc., also lost their economic positions.

From the above examples, it is clear that economic mobility can be carried out as follows:

• individually, when individuals change their economic situation regardless of the position of the group or society as a whole. Here the most important social "elevators" are both the creation economic organizations, i.e. entrepreneurial activity, professional development, and social mobility associated with the transition to a group with a higher material status. For example, during the period of post-Soviet reforms in the economy in Russia in the 90s. 20th century the transition of officers or scientists into management meant an increase in well-being;
• in group form in connection with the growth of the material well-being of the group as a whole. In Russia in the 1990s many social groups that were considered economically wealthy in the Soviet period - officers, scientific and technical intelligentsia, etc. lost their former high salaries and made a sharp downward economic mobility without changing their social, professional, political status. A number of other groups, by contrast, have improved their material well-being without actually changing other aspects of their status. These are, first of all, civil servants, lawyers, some categories of creative intelligentsia, managers, accountants, etc.

Both forms of economic mobility intensify during periods of reform and transformation, but are also possible in calm periods.

As we have already noted, there are no absolutely closed societies, and there are opportunities for vertical economic mobility even in totalitarian societies, however, they may be associated with restrictions on economic stratification in general: welfare growth is possible due, for example, to obtaining a highly paid profession, but this growth will be small relative to other professional groups. The ban on entrepreneurial activity, of course, significantly limits both the absolute and relative opportunities for vertical economic mobility in Soviet-type societies. However, downward mobility in the form of loss of livelihoods, housing, etc. here is limited due to the presence of social guarantees and the general leveling policy. Democratic societies with developed economic freedoms present opportunities for enrichment through entrepreneurial activity However, they impose on the individual the burden of risk and responsibility for the decisions made. Therefore, there is also a danger of downward mobility associated with the risks of economic fluctuations. It can be both individual losses and group downward mobility. For example, the 1998 default in Russia (as well as in the UK and a number of countries South-East Asia) led not only to the ruin of individual entrepreneurs, but also to a temporary decrease in the material level (downward mobility) of entire professional groups.

Social mobility is a change by an individual or group of their social position in social space. The concept was introduced into scientific circulation by P. Sorokin in 1927. He singled out two main types of mobility: horizontal and vertical.

Vertical mobility implies a set of social movements, which is accompanied by an increase or decrease in the social status of an individual. Depending on the direction of movement, there are upward vertical mobility(social uplift) and downward mobility(social decline).

Horizontal mobility- this is the transition of an individual from one social position to another, which is at the same level. An example is the movement from one citizenship to another, from one profession to another, which has a similar status in society. Mobility is often referred to as horizontal mobility. geographical, which implies moving from one place to another while maintaining the existing status (moving to another place of residence, tourism, etc.). If social status changes when moving, then geographic mobility turns into migration.

There are the following types of migration on:

• character - labor and political reasons:
• duration - temporary (seasonal) and permanent;
• territories - domestic and international:
• status - legal and illegal.

By types of mobility sociologists distinguish between intergenerational and intragenerational. Intergenerational mobility suggests the nature of changes in social status between generations and allows you to determine how much children rise or, conversely, fall on the social ladder compared to their parents. Intragenerational mobility associated with social career,, which means a change in status within one generation.

In accordance with the change by the individual of his social position in society, they distinguish two forms of mobility: group and individual. group mobility takes place in the case when movements are made collectively, and entire classes, social strata change their status. Most often this happens during periods of fundamental changes in society, such as social revolutions, civil or interstate wars, military coups, political regime changes, etc. Individual mobility means the social movement of a particular person and is associated primarily with the achieved statuses, while the group - with the prescribed, ascriptive.

Can speak: school, education in general, family, professional organizations, army, political parties and organizations, church. These social institutions serve as mechanisms for the selection and selection of individuals, placing them in the desired social stratum. Of course, in modern society, education is of particular importance, the institutions of which perform the function of a kind of "social lift" providing vertical mobility. Moreover, in the context of the transition from an industrial society to a post-industrial (information) one, where the decisive factor of economic and social development become scientific knowledge and information, the role of education increases significantly (Appendix, scheme 20).

At the same time, it should be noted that the processes of social mobility can be accompanied by the marginalization and lumpenization of society. Under marginality is understood as an intermediate, "borderline" state social subject.Marginal(from lat. marginalis- on the edge) while moving from one social group to another, retains the old system of values, connections, habits and cannot learn new ones (migrants, unemployed). On the whole, marginal people seem to lose their social identity and therefore experience great psychological stress. lumpen(from him. Lumpen- rags), trying in the process of social mobility to move from the old group to the new one, finds himself outside the group altogether, breaks social connections and over time loses the main human qualities- the ability to work and the need for it (beggars, homeless people, declassed elements). It should be noted that at present the processes of marginalization and lumpenization have become noticeably widespread in Russian society, and this may lead to its destabilization.

To quantify the processes of social mobility, indicators of the speed and intensity of mobility are usually used. P. Sorokin defined the rate of mobility as a vertical social distance or the number of economic strata. professional, political, which the individual goes through in his movement up or down for a certain period of time. The intensity of mobility is understood as the number of individuals changing their positions in the vertical or horizontal direction in a certain period of time. The number of such individuals in any social community gives the absolute intensity of mobility, and their share in the total number of this social community shows relative mobility.

Combining the indicators of speed and intensity of mobility, we get aggregate mobility index, which can be calculated for the economic, professional or political field of activity. It also allows you to define and compare mobility processes occurring in different societies. Thus, the processes of social mobility can take various forms and even contradictory. But at the same time, for a complex society, the free movement of individuals in social space is the only way of development, otherwise it can be expected by social tension and conflicts in all spheres of public life. Generally social mobility is an important tool for analyzing the dynamics of society, changing its social parameters.

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Social stratification and social mobility

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3.1 Social stratification and mobility 📚 USE in SOCIAL STUDIES

Social sphere: Social mobility and social elevators. Foxford Online Learning Center

Alexander Filippov - Social mobility

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scientific definition

social mobility- change by an individual or group of the place occupied in the social structure (social position), moving from one social stratum (class, group) to another (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum (horizontal mobility). Sharply limited in a caste and estate society, social mobility increases significantly in an industrial society.

Horizontal mobility

Horizontal mobility- the transition of an individual from one social group to another, located at the same level (example: transition to another religious community, change of citizenship). Distinguish between individual mobility - the movement of one person independently of others, and group mobility - the movement occurs collectively. In addition, geographical mobility is distinguished - moving from one place to another while maintaining the same status (example: international and interregional tourism, moving from city to village and back). As a kind of geographical mobility, the concept of migration is distinguished - moving from one place to another with a change in status (example: a person moved to a city for permanent residence and changed his profession).

Vertical mobility

Vertical mobility- the promotion of an individual up or down the career ladder.

• Upward mobility- social uplift, upward movement (For example: promotion).
• Downward mobility- social descent, downward movement (For example: demotion).

social lift

social lift- a concept similar to vertical mobility, but more often used in the modern context of discussing the theory of elites as one of the means of rotation of the ruling elite or, in a broader context, a change of position in the social hierarchy, and not in the official one. A more rigid definition of rotation, reminiscent of the fact that social elevators work in both directions, is the concept of the wheel of fortune.

Generational mobility

Intergenerational mobility is a comparative change in social status among different generations (example: the son of a worker becomes president).

Intragenerational mobility (social career) - a change in status within one generation (example: a turner becomes an engineer, then a shop manager, then a factory director). Vertical and horizontal mobility are influenced by gender, age, birth rate, death rate, population density. In general, men and young people are more mobile than women and the elderly. Overpopulated countries are more likely to experience the consequences of emigration (relocation from one country to another for economic, political, personal reasons) than immigration (moving to a region for permanent or temporary residence of citizens from another region). Where the birth rate is high, the population is younger and therefore more mobile, and vice versa.

The theory of social mobility by Pitirim Alexandrovich Sorokin

group mobility

You can make a career alone or in a group. There is individual and group mobility. When there are collective (caste, estate, racial, etc.) privileges or restrictions on mobility, then members of the lower groups may try to organize a rebellion in order to achieve the removal of these restrictions and, as a group, climb up the rungs of the social ladder. Examples of group mobility:

• In ancient India, the varna of the brahmins (priests) achieved superiority over the varna of the kshatriyas (warriors). This is an example of collective ascent.
• The Bolsheviks before the October Revolution were insignificant, after it they all rose together to the status that the tsarist aristocracy used to hold. This is an example of collective ascent.
• The social status of the Roman Pope and bishops has declined over the past three centuries. This is an example of a collective descent.

Mobile and immobile types of societies.

In a mobile type of society, the degree of vertical mobility is very high, and in a fixed type of society, it is very small. An example of the second kind is the caste system in India, although the degree of vertical mobility is never 0, even in ancient India. The degree of vertical mobility should be limited. On each "floor" there must be a "sieve" that sifts through individuals, otherwise people who are unsuitable for this role may turn out to be in leadership positions, and the whole society may die because of this during the war or as a result of the lack of reforms. The degree of vertical mobility can be measured, for example, by the proportion of "upstarts" among rulers and senior officials, calculated as a percentage. These "upstarts" began their careers from among the poor and ended up as rulers. Sorokin showed the difference between countries (according to the last three data, of course, until the second half of the 20th century) in terms of the degree of vertical mobility:

• Western Roman Empire - 45.6%
• Eastern Roman Empire - 27.7%
• Russia before the October Revolution - 5.5%
• USA - 48.3%

Sieve testing

In any society, there are many who want to move up, but few succeed in achieving this goal, since this is prevented by the "sieves" on each level of the social hierarchy. When a person comes to get a job, he is evaluated according to several criteria:

• family background. A good family is able to give its child a good heredity and good level education. In practice, this criterion was applied in Sparta, Ancient Rome, Assyria, Egypt, Ancient India and China, where the son inherited the status and profession of his father. The modern family is unstable, therefore, today the norm is beginning to take shape to evaluate a person not by family origin, but by personal qualities. Even Peter I in Russia introduced a table of ranks, according to which promotion did not depend on "breed", but on personal merits.
• The level of education. The function of the school is not only to “inject” knowledge, but also to determine, with the help of examinations and observations, who is talented and who is not, in order to weed out the latter. If the school tests the intellect of students, then the church tests moral qualities. Heretics and pagans were not allowed to positions of responsibility.

Professional organizations double-check the conformity of a person's abilities with an entry in a diploma of education, they test the specific qualities of people: a voice for a singer, strength for a wrestler, etc. At work, every day and every hour becomes an exam for professional suitability for a person. This test can be considered final.

What leads to overproduction or underproduction of the elite?

There is an optimal ratio between the number of people in the elite and the total population. An overproduction of the number of people in the elite leads to a civil war or revolution. For example, the sultan in Turkey had a large harem and many sons who ruthlessly began to destroy each other after the death of the sultan in the struggle for the throne. The overproduction of the elite in modern society leads to the fact that the losers from the elite begin to organize underground organizations in order to organize an armed seizure of power.

The underproduction of the elite due to the low birth rate among the upper strata leads to the need to give some of the elite positions to people who have not passed the selection. This causes social instability and deep contradictions within the elite between "degenerates" and "upstarts". Too strict control in the selection of the elite often leads to a complete stop of the “elevators”, to the degeneration of the elite and to the “subversive” activity of low-ranking rulers by vocation, who cannot make a legal career and seek to physically destroy the “degenerates” and take their elite positions.

List of social mobility elevators

The choice of the elevator (channel) of social mobility has great importance when choosing a profession and when recruiting personnel. Sorokin named eight elevators of vertical mobility, which people move up or down the steps of the social ladder in the course of their personal career:

• Army. 36 Roman emperors (Julius Caesar, Octavian August, etc.) out of 92 reached their position thanks to military service. 12 Byzantine emperors out of 65 achieved their status for the same reason.
• Religious organizations. The significance of this lift reached its apogee in the Middle Ages, when the bishop was also a landlord, when the Pope of Rome could dismiss kings and emperors, for example, Gregory VII  (Pope of Rome) in 1077 deposed, humiliated and excommunicated the Emperor Holy Roman Empire Henry IV. Of the 144 popes, 28 were of simple origin, 27 came from the middle classes. The institution of celibacy forbade Catholic priests to marry and have children, therefore, after their death, the vacant positions were occupied by new people, which prevented the formation of a hereditary oligarchy and accelerated the process of vertical mobility. The Prophet Muhammad was at first a simple merchant, and then became the ruler of Arabia.
• School and scientific organizations . In ancient China, the school was the main elevator in society. According to the recommendations of Confucius, a system of educational selection (selection) was built. Schools were open to all classes, the best students were transferred to higher schools, and then to universities, from there the best students got into the government and to the highest state and military posts. There was no hereditary aristocracy. The Mandarin government in China was a government of intellectuals who knew how to write literary compositions, but did not understand business and did not know how to fight, so China more than once became an easy prey for nomads (Mongols and Manchus) and European colonizers. In modern society, business and politics should be the main elevators. The school elevator was also of great importance in Turkey under Suleiman the Magnificent (1522-1566), when talented children from all over the country were sent to special schools, then to the Janissary corps, and then to the guard and state machine. In ancient India, the lower castes did not have the right to receive an education, that is, the school elevator moved only along the upper floors. Today in the United States, one cannot hold a public office without a university degree. Of the 829 British geniuses, 71 were the sons of unskilled workers. 4% of Russian academicians came from peasants, for example, Lomonosov Trimalchio, Pallady, Narcissus. King Jugurtha of Numidia through bribery officials Rome sought the support of Rome in his struggle for the throne at the end of the 2nd century. BC e. Expelled eventually from Rome, he called the "eternal" city a corrupt city. R. Gretton wrote about the rise of the English bourgeoisie: destroyed and ruined each other, the middle class went uphill, accumulating wealth. As a result, the nation once woke up, seeing new masters. The middle class used money to buy all the desired titles and privileges.
• Family and marriage. According to ancient Roman law, if a free woman married a slave, then her children became slaves, the son of a slave and a free man became a slave. Today there is a "pull" of rich brides and poor aristocrats, when in the event of marriage, both partners receive mutual benefit: the bride receives the title, and the groom - wealth.