Social stratification. Typology of strata. The concept of class. Social stratification definition

Introduction

Human society at all stages of its development was characterized by inequality. Sociologists call structured inequalities between different groups of people stratification.

Social stratification is the differentiation of a given set of people (population) into classes in a hierarchical rank. Its basis and essence lies in the uneven distribution of rights and privileges, responsibilities and duties, the presence and absence of social values, power and influence among members of a particular community. Specific forms of social stratification are varied and numerous. However, all their diversity can be reduced to three main forms: economic, political and professional stratification. As a rule, they are all closely intertwined. Social stratification is a constant characteristic of any organized society.

In real life, human inequality plays a huge role. Inequality is a specific form of social differentiation in which individuals, layers, classes are at different levels of the vertical social hierarchy and have unequal life chances and opportunities to satisfy needs. Inequality is the criterion by which we can place some groups above or below others. Social structure arises from the social division of labor, and social stratification arises from the social distribution of the results of labor, i.e. social benefits.

Stratification is closely related to the prevailing value system in society. It forms a normative scale for assessing various types of human activity, on the basis of which people are ranked according to the degree of social prestige.

Social stratification performs a double function: it acts as a method of identifying the layers of a given society and at the same time represents its social portrait. Social stratification is characterized by a certain stability within a specific historical stage.

1. Stratification term

Social stratification is a central theme in sociology. It describes social inequality in society, the division of social strata by income level and lifestyle, by the presence or absence of privileges. In primitive society, inequality was insignificant, so stratification was almost absent there. In complex societies, inequality is very strong; it divides people according to income, level of education, and power. Castes arose, then estates, and later classes. In some societies, transition from one social layer (stratum) to another is prohibited; There are societies where such a transition is limited, and there are societies where it is completely permitted. Freedom of social movement (mobility) determines whether a society is closed or open.

The term "stratification" comes from geology, where it refers to the vertical arrangement of the Earth's layers. Sociology has likened the structure of society to the structure of the Earth and placed social layers (strata) also vertically. The basis is an income ladder: the poor occupy the lowest rung, the affluent groups the middle, and the rich the top.

Each stratum includes only those people who have approximately the same income, power, education and prestige. Inequality of distances between statuses is the main property of stratification. The social stratification of any society includes four scales - income, education, power, prestige.

Income is the amount of cash receipts of an individual or family for a certain period of time (month, year). Income is the amount of money received in the form of wages, pensions, benefits, alimony, fees, and deductions from profits. Income is measured in rubles or dollars, which is received by an individual (individual income) or a family (family income) over a certain period of time, say one month or year.

Income is most often spent on maintaining life, but if it is very high, it accumulates and turns into wealth.

Wealth is accumulated income, i.e. amount of cash or materialized money. In the second case, they are called movable (car, yacht, securities, etc.) and immovable (house, works of art, treasures) property. Wealth is usually inherited. Both working and non-working people can receive inheritance, but only working people can receive income. Besides them, pensioners and the unemployed have income, but the poor do not. The rich can work or not work. In both cases they are owners because they have wealth. The main asset of the upper class is not income, but accumulated property. The salary share is small. For the middle and lower classes, the main source of existence is income, since the first, if there is wealth, is insignificant, and the second does not have it at all. Wealth allows you not to work, but its absence forces you to work for a salary.

Wealth and income are distributed unevenly and represent economic inequality. Sociologists interpret it as an indicator that different groups of the population have unequal life chances. They buy different quantities and qualities of food, clothing, housing, etc. People who have more money eat better, live in more comfortable homes, prefer a personal car to public transport, can afford expensive vacations, etc. But in addition to obvious economic advantages, the wealthy strata have hidden privileges. The poor have shorter lives (even if they enjoy all the benefits of medicine), less educated children (even if they go to the same public schools), etc.

Education is measured by the number of years of education in a public or private school or university. Let's say primary school means 4 years, junior high – 9 years, high school – 11, college – 4 years, university – 5 years, graduate school – 3 years, doctoral studies – 3 years. Thus, a professor has more than 20 years of formal education behind him, while a plumber may not have eight.

Power is measured by the number of people who are affected by the decision you make (power is the ability to impose your will or decisions on other people regardless of their wishes).

The essence of power is the ability to impose your will against the wishes of other people. In a complex society, power is institutionalized, i.e. protected by laws and tradition, surrounded by privileges and wide access to social benefits, allows decisions vital for society to be made, including laws that usually benefit the upper class. In all societies, people who have some form of power - political, economic or religious - constitute an institutionalized elite. It represents the domestic and foreign policy of the state, directing it in a direction beneficial to itself, which other classes are deprived of.

The three scales of stratification - income, education and power - have completely objective units of measurement: dollars. Years, people. Prestige stands outside this series, since it is a subjective indicator.

Prestige is the respect that a particular profession, position, or occupation enjoys in public opinion. The profession of a lawyer is more prestigious than the profession of a steelmaker or plumber. The position of president of a commercial bank is more prestigious than the position of cashier. All professions, occupations and positions existing in a given society can be ranked from top to bottom on the ladder of professional prestige. As a rule, professional prestige is determined by us intuitively, approximately.

2. Systems of social stratification

Regardless of the forms that social stratification takes, its existence is universal. There are four main systems of social stratification: slavery, castes, clans and classes.

Slavery is an economic, social and legal form of enslavement of people, bordering on complete lack of rights and extreme inequality. An essential feature of slavery is the ownership of some people by others.

Three reasons for slavery are usually cited. Firstly, a debt obligation, when a person who was unable to pay his debts fell into slavery to his creditor. Secondly, violation of laws, when the execution of a murderer or robber was replaced by slavery, i.e. the culprit was handed over to the affected family as compensation for the grief or damage caused. Thirdly, war, raids, conquest, when one group of people conquered another and the winners used some of the captives as slaves.

Conditions of slavery. Conditions of slavery and slavery varied significantly in different regions of the world. In some countries, slavery was a temporary condition of a person: after working the allotted time for his master, the slave became free and had the right to return to his homeland.

General characteristics of slavery. Although slaveholding practices varied in different regions and in different eras, whether slavery was the result of unpaid debt, punishment, military captivity, or racial prejudice; whether it was lifelong or temporary; hereditary or not, a slave was still the property of another person, and a system of laws secured the status of a slave. Slavery served as a basic distinction between people, clearly indicating which person was free (and legally entitled to certain privileges) and which person was a slave (without privileges).

Slavery has evolved historically. There are two forms:

Patriarchal slavery - the slave had all the rights of the youngest member of the family: he lived in the same house with the owners, participated in public life, married free people; it was forbidden to kill him;

Classical slavery - the slave lived in a separate room, did not participate in anything, did not marry and did not have a family, he was considered the property of the owner.

Slavery is the only form of social relations in history when one person is the property of another, and when the lower stratum is deprived of all rights and freedoms.

Caste is a social group (stratum) whose membership a person owes solely to his birth.

The achieved status is not able to change the individual’s place in this system. People who are born into a low status group will always have that status, no matter what they personally achieve in life.

Societies characterized by this form of stratification strive to clearly maintain boundaries between castes, so endogamy is practiced here - marriages within one's own group - and there is a ban on intergroup marriages. To prevent contact between castes, such societies develop complex rules regarding ritual purity, according to which interaction with members of lower castes is considered to pollute the higher caste.

Clan is a clan or related group connected by economic and social ties.

The clan system is typical of agrarian societies. In such a system, each individual is connected to an extensive social network of relatives - a clan. A clan is something like a very extended family and has similar characteristics: if the clan has a high status, the individual belonging to this clan has the same status; all funds belonging to the clan, meager or rich, belong equally to each member of the clan; Loyalty to the clan is the lifelong responsibility of each member.

Clans also resemble castes: membership in a clan is determined by birth and is lifelong. However, unlike castes, marriages between different clans are quite permitted; they can even be used to create and strengthen alliances between clans, since the obligations imposed by marriage on the in-laws can unite members of two clans. Processes of industrialization and urbanization transform clans into more fluid groups, eventually replacing clans with social classes.

Clans especially unite during times of danger, as can be seen from the following example.

A class is a large social group of people who do not own the means of production, occupying a certain place in the system of social division of labor and characterized by a specific way of generating income.

Stratification systems based on slavery, castes and clans are closed. The boundaries separating people are so clear and rigid that they leave no room for people to move from one group to another, with the exception of marriages between members of different clans. The class system is much more open because it is based primarily on money or material possessions. Class membership is also determined at birth - an individual receives the status of his parents, but an individual's social class during his life can change depending on what he managed (or failed) to achieve in life. In addition, there are no laws defining an individual's occupation or profession based on birth or prohibiting marriage with members of other social classes.

Consequently, the main characteristic of this system of social stratification is the relative flexibility of its boundaries. The class system leaves opportunities for social mobility, i.e. to move up or down the social ladder. Having the potential to improve one's social status, or class, is one of the main driving forces that motivates people to study well and work hard. Of course, the family status inherited by a person from birth can determine extremely unfavorable conditions that will not leave him a chance to rise too high in life, and provide the child with such privileges that it will be almost impossible for him to “slide down” the class ladder.

Whatever typologies of classes scientists and thinkers have come up with. The ancient philosophers Plato and Aristotle were the first to propose their model.

Today in sociology they offer different typologies of classes.

More than half a century has passed since Lloyd Warner developed his concept of classes. Today it has been replenished with another layer and in its final form it represents a seven-point scale.

The upper - upper class includes the "aristocrats by blood" who emigrated to America 200 years ago and over the course of many generations accumulated untold wealth. They are distinguished by a special way of life, high society manners, impeccable taste and behavior.

The lower – upper class consists mainly of the “new rich”, who have not yet managed to create powerful clans that have seized the highest positions in industry, business, and politics. Typical representatives are a professional basketball player or a pop star, receiving tens of millions, but in a family that does not have “aristocrats by blood.”

The upper-middle class consists of the petty bourgeoisie and highly paid professionals, such as large lawyers, famous doctors, actors or television commentators. Their lifestyle is approaching that of high society, but they still cannot afford a fashionable villa in the most expensive resorts in the world or a rare collection of artistic rarities.

The middle class represents the most massive stratum of a developed industrial society. It includes all well-paid employees, moderately paid professionals, in a word, people in intellectual professions, including teachers, teachers, and middle managers. This is the backbone of the information society and the service sector.

The lower-middle class consisted of low-level employees and skilled workers, who, by the nature and content of their work, gravitated toward mental rather than physical labor. A distinctive feature is a decent lifestyle.

The upper-lower class includes medium- and low-skilled workers employed in mass production, in local factories, living in relative prosperity, but with a behavior pattern significantly different from the upper and middle class. Distinctive features: low education (usually complete and incomplete secondary, specialized secondary), passive leisure (watching TV, playing cards or dominoes), primitive entertainment, often excessive consumption of alcohol and non-literary language.

Lower - the lowest class consists of inhabitants of basements, attics, slums and other places less suitable for living. They do not have any or primary education, most often survive by doing odd jobs or begging, and constantly feel an inferiority complex due to hopeless poverty and constant humiliation. They are usually called the “social bottom”, or underclass. Most often, their ranks are recruited from chronic alcoholics, former prisoners, homeless people, etc.

The term "upper class" means the upper stratum of the upper class. In all two-part words, the first word denotes the stratum or layer, and the second – the class to which the given layer belongs. "Upper-lower class" is sometimes called as it is, and sometimes it is used to designate the working class.

In sociology, the criterion for assigning a person to one or another layer is not only income, but also the amount of power, level of education and prestige of the occupation, which presuppose a specific lifestyle and style of behavior. You can get a lot, but spend all the money or drink it on drink. It is not only the income of money that is important, but its expenditure, and this is already a way of life.

The working class in modern post-industrial society includes two layers: lower - middle and upper - lower. All intellectual workers, no matter how little they earn, are never classified in the lower class.

The middle class is always distinguished from the working class. But the working class is distinguished from the lower class, which may include the unemployed, the unemployed, the homeless, the beggars, etc. As a rule, highly skilled workers are included not in the working class, but in the middle, but in its lowest stratum, which is filled mainly by low-skilled mental workers - white-collar workers.

Another option is possible: workers are not included in the middle class, but constitute two layers in the general working class. Specialists are part of the next layer of the middle class, because the very concept of “specialist” presupposes at least a college-level education. The upper stratum of the middle class is filled mainly by “professionals”.

3. Stratification profile

and stratification profile.

Thanks to the four scales of stratification, the sociologist is able to create such analytical models and tools with which it is possible to explain not only the individual status portrait, but also the collective one, that is, the dynamics and structure of society as a whole. For this purpose, two concepts are proposed that are similar in appearance. But they differ in internal content, namely the stratification profile and the stratification profile.

Thanks to the stratification profile, it is possible to examine the problem of status incompatibility more deeply. Status incompatibility is a contradiction in the status set of one person, or a contradiction in the status characteristics of one status set of one person. Now, to explain this phenomenon, we have the right to connect the category of stratification and express status incompatibility in stratification characteristics. If some concepts of a specific status, for example, professor and policeman, go beyond the boundaries of their (middle) class, then status incompatibility can also be interpreted as stratification incompatibility.

Stratification incompatibility causes a feeling of social discomfort, which can turn into frustration, frustration into dissatisfaction with one’s place in society.

The fewer cases of status and stratification incompatibility in a society, the more stable it is.

So, a stratification profile is a graphic expression of the position of individual statuses on four stratification scales.

It is necessary to distinguish another concept from the stratification profile - the stratification profile. Otherwise known as the economic inequality profile.

A stratification profile is a graphical expression of the percentage shares of the upper, middle and lower classes in the composition of the country's population.

Conclusion

According to the evolutionary theory of stratification, as culture becomes more complex and develops, a situation arises in which no individual can master all aspects of social activity, and a division of labor and specialization of activity occurs. Some types of activities turn out to be more important, requiring lengthy training and appropriate remuneration, while others are less important and therefore more widespread and easily replaceable.

The concepts of stratification, in contrast to the Marxist idea of ​​classes and the construction of a classless society, do not postulate social equality; on the contrary, they consider inequality as the natural state of society, therefore strata not only differ in their criteria, but are also located in a rigid system of subordination of some layers to others, privileged the position of the superiors and the subordinate position of the inferiors. In a dosed form, even the idea of ​​some social contradictions is allowed, which are neutralized by the possibilities of vertical social mobility, i.e. it is assumed that individual talented people can move from lower to higher strata, as well as vice versa, when inactive people who occupy places in the upper strata of society due to the social position of their parents can go bankrupt and find themselves in the lowest strata of the social structure.

Thus, the concepts of social layer, stratification and social mobility, complementing the concepts of class and class structure of society, concretize the general idea of ​​the structure of society and help to detail the analysis of social processes within the framework of certain economic and socio-political formations.

This is why the study of stratification is one of the most important areas of social anthropology. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Sociology, there are three main objectives of such research: "The first objective is to establish the extent to which class or status systems dominate at the level of society, establishing modes of social action. The second objective is to analyze class and status structures and factors that determine the process of class and status formation. Lastly, social stratification documents the inequality of conditions, opportunities and incomes, and the ways in which groups maintain class or status boundaries. In other words, it raises the question of social closure (clousure) and examines the strategies by which some groups maintain their privileges and others seek access to them.”

List of used literature

Avdokushin E.F. International economic relations: Textbook - M.: Economist, 2004 - 366 p.

Bulatova A.S. World economy: Textbook - M.: Economist, 2004 – 366 p.

Lomakin V.K. World economy: Textbook for universities. – 2nd ed., revised. and additional – M.: UNITY-DANA, 2001. – 735 p.

Moiseev S.R. International monetary relations: Textbook. - M.: Publishing house "Delo and Service", 2003. - 576 p.

Radjabova Z.K. World Economy: Textbook. 2nd ed., revised. and additional – M.: INFRA-M, 2002. – 320 p.

1. Social stratification (12)

   Abstract >> Sociology

   Widely used in sociology concept“social stratification" When considering the problem social inequalities are quite justifiable to proceed from... the principle, then they are social layers. IN social stratification tends to inherit positions. ...

2. Social stratification (11)

   Abstract >> Sociology

   Groups of people are widely used in sociology concept « social stratification". Social stratification- (from lat. stratum - ... three fundamental concepts sociology - social structures, social composition and social stratification. In the domestic...

3. Social stratification as a tool social analysis

   Coursework >> Sociology

   Between concepts « social stratification" And " social structure”, V. Ilyin also draws a parallel between concepts « social stratification" And " social inequality". Social

Where it denotes the location of the layers of the earth. But people initially likened the social distances and partitions that existed between them to layers of earth, floors of buildings, objects, tiers of plants, etc.

Stratification- this is the division of society into special layers (strata) by combining different social positions with approximately the same social status, reflecting the prevailing idea of ​​social inequality, built horizontally (social hierarchy), along its axis according to one or more stratification criteria (indicators of social status). The division of society into strata is carried out on the basis of the inequality of social distances between them - the main property of stratification. Social strata are built vertically and in strict sequence according to indicators of well-being, power, education, leisure, and consumption.

IN social stratification a certain social distance is established between people (social positions) and a hierarchy of social layers is built. In this way, unequal access of members of society to certain socially significant scarce resources is recorded by establishing social filters at the boundaries separating social strata. For example, social strata can be distinguished by levels of income, education, power, consumption, nature of work, and leisure time. The social strata identified in society are assessed according to the criterion of social prestige, which expresses the social attractiveness of certain positions.

The simplest stratification model is dichotomous - dividing society into elites and masses. In some of the earliest, archaic social systems, the structuring of society into clans was carried out simultaneously with the establishment of social inequalities between and within them. This is how “initiates” appear, i.e. those who are initiated into certain social practices (priests, elders, leaders) and the uninitiated - “profane” (profan - from lat. pro fano- deprived of holiness, uninitiated; laymen - all other members of society, ordinary members of the community, fellow tribesmen). Within them, society can further stratify if necessary.

As society becomes more complex (structuring), a parallel process occurs - the integration of social positions into a certain social hierarchy. This is how castes, estates, classes, etc. appear.

Modern ideas about the stratification model that has developed in society are quite complex - multi-layered (polychotomous), multidimensional (carried out along several axes) and variable (sometimes allowing the existence of multiple stratification models): qualifications, quotas, certification, determination of status, ranks, benefits, privileges, other preferences.

The most important dynamic characteristic of society is social mobility. According to P. Sorokin’s 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.” However, social agents do not always move from one position to another; it is possible to move the social positions themselves in the social hierarchy; such movement is called “positional mobility” (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum (horizontal mobility). Along with social filters that set barriers to social movement, there are also “social elevators” in society that significantly accelerate this process (in a crisis society - revolutions, wars, conquests, etc.; in a normal, stable society - family, marriage, education ,property, etc.). The degree of freedom of social movement from one social layer to another largely determines what kind of society it is - closed or open.

• Ilyin V.I. Theory of social inequality (structuralist-constructivist paradigm). M., 2000.
• Sushkova-Irina Ya. I. Dynamics of social stratification and its representation in pictures of the world // Electronic magazine “Knowledge. Understanding. Skill ». - 2010. - No. 4 - Culturology.

Notes

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• Social stratification
• Social structure

See what “Social stratification” is in other dictionaries:

Social stratification- (social stratification) The study of classes and strata in society, primarily the social gradation of professions. Sometimes relationships to the means of production are taken as a basis (See: class). However, more often stratification is carried out on the basis of a combination... ... Political science. Dictionary.

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION- (from Latin stratum layer and facio do), one of the main. bourgeois concepts sociology, denoting a system of signs and criteria of social stratification, inequality in society, the social structure of society; bourgeois industry sociology. Theories of S. s.... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION Modern encyclopedia

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION- a sociological concept denoting: the structure of society and its individual layers; system of signs of social differentiation; branch of sociology. In theories of social stratification based on such characteristics as education, living conditions,... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION- a concept by which sociology refers to the uneven distribution of material wealth, power functions and social prestige between individuals and social groups (see STRATA) in modern industrial society,... ... The latest philosophical dictionary

Social stratification- a sociological concept denoting the structure of society and its layers, a system of signs of social differentiation (education, living conditions, occupation, income, psychology, religion, etc.), on the basis of which society is divided into classes and... ... Dictionary of business terms

Social stratification- SOCIAL STRATIFICATION, a sociological concept denoting the structure of society and its layers, a system of signs of social differentiation (education, living conditions, occupation, income, psychology, religion, etc.), on the basis of which society... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION- (social stratification) hierarchically organized structures of social inequality (ranks, status groups, etc.) that exist in any society (cf. class, especially 1 5). As in geology, the term refers to layered structuring or... Large explanatory sociological dictionary

social stratification- a sociological concept denoting: the structure of society and its individual layers; system of signs of social differentiation; branch of sociology. In theories of social stratification based on such characteristics as education, living conditions,... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Social stratification- (according to Pitirim Sorokin) differentiation of a certain given set of people (population) into classes in a hierarchical rank (including higher and lower layers). Its essence lies in the uneven distribution of rights and privileges, responsibilities and... ... Geoeconomic dictionary-reference book

Books

• Theoretical sociology. Textbook, Bormotov Igor Vladimirovich. The textbook is devoted to the basics of theoretical sociology. It outlines the history, methods, basic concepts and categories, analyzes such social phenomena as: social structure,...

Human society is uneven: it has different groups, layers, or in other words, strata. This division of people is called social stratification of society. Let's try to briefly study this concept.

Definition

In essence, social stratification has a similar meaning to the social stratification of society. Both of these concepts denote differentiation, the division of people into different groups. For example, the rich and the poor.

Stratification carries the meaning of the formation of layers and groups in society. The only difference is that the concept of stratification is enshrined in science, and the term “social stratification” is more used in everyday speech.

Origin of the term

The word "stratification" was originally used by geologists. It denoted layers of various rocks: fertile layer, clay, sand, and so on. Then this concept was transferred to sociological science. This is how the concept of horizontal social stratification emerged, and now we imagine human society, like the structure of the Earth, in the form of layers.

The division into strata occurs according to the following criteria: income, power, prestige, level of education. That is, society is divided into groups on the following basis: by income level, by the ability to manage other people, by level of education and by prestige.

• Classes

Large strata that include many representatives are called classes, which are divided into layers. For example, the rich class is divided into upper and lower (Depending on income - very large and smaller).

TOP 4 articleswho are reading along with this

• Income

Income is understood as the amount of money that a person receives over a certain period of time. As a rule, money is spent to meet the needs of a person and his family. If income grows and money does not have time to be spent, accumulation occurs, which ultimately leads to wealth.

• Education

This criterion is measured by the number of years a person has spent studying. For example, if for a scientist it is 20 years, then for a worker it is only 9.

• Power

By receiving power, a person discovers the opportunity to impose his will and decisions. Moreover, power can extend to a different number of people. Let us give examples that are typical for modern Russian society. Decrees of the President of the Russian Federation are mandatory for all residents of our country, and orders of the director of the private company Computer-Doctor are only for his subordinates.

• Prestige

This concept means respect for a person’s status, his position. For example, in Russian society, banker, lawyer, and doctor are considered prestigious professions, but janitor, driver, and plumber are not respected.

The history of the emergence of social stratification

The theory of social stratification has come a long way in its development, since this phenomenon has a fairly long history:

• In primitive society there was practically no stratification, since inequality had not yet acquired pronounced forms;
• As society became more complex, castes, estates, and then classes began to emerge;
• In Europe in the 17th-19th centuries, classes replaced the feudal class society. For a long time there was a class hierarchy: clergy, nobility, peasantry. But society does not stand still. Industry developed, new professions appeared, whose representatives no longer fit into the previous classes. Workers and entrepreneurs were not satisfied with this situation, which led to uprisings and even revolutions (for example, in England and France). As a result of these events, classes emerged.

In the post-industrial and modern period, the concept of social stratification has not lost its significance, as the structure of society continues to become more complex.

Ways to solve the problem

Features of social stratification in modern Russia, the severity of this problem gives rise to debate about the origin and ways to solve it :

• Some people believe that social inequality is inevitable; it exists in any society: there are particularly important functions that are performed by the most talented people. They are provided with rare valuable benefits;
• Others believe that stratification in society is unfair, since some people appropriate more benefits to themselves to the detriment of others. Which means it must be destroyed.

Features of social stratification

One of the signs and features of social stratification is that a person can change his roles and move. This phenomenon is called social mobility. She has two varieties :

• Horizontal : change of position in the same stratum (For example, the director of an oil company became a director of a large bank)
• Vertical : movement along the social ladder, both up and down (For example, a history teacher became a school director - ascent, or a teacher lost his job and became unemployed - decline in status

What have we learned?

Social stratification of society is its division into separate groups. It has special criteria such as power, income and prestige. The differentiation of society appeared a long time ago and continues to exist in the modern world. One of its features is social mobility, that is, the movement of people from one stratum to another.

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Social stratification - This is a system of social inequality, consisting of hierarchically located social layers (strata). A stratum is understood as a set of people united by common status characteristics.

Considering social stratification as a multidimensional, hierarchically organized social space, sociologists explain its nature and reasons for its origin in different ways. Thus, Marxist researchers believe that the basis of social inequality, which determines the stratification system of society, lies in property relations, the nature and form of ownership of the means of production. According to supporters of the functional approach (K. Davis and W. Moore), the distribution of individuals among social strata occurs in accordance with their contribution to achieving the goals of society, depending on the importance of their professional activities. According to the theory of social exchange (J. Homans), inequality in society arises in the process of unequal exchange of the results of human activity.

To determine belonging to a particular social stratum, sociologists offer a variety of parameters and criteria. One of the creators of the stratification theory, P. Sorokin, distinguished three types of stratification:

1) economic (according to the criteria of income and wealth);

2) political (according to the criteria of influence and power);

3) professional (according to the criteria of mastery, professional skills, successful performance of social roles).

In turn, the founder of structural functionalism T. Parsons identified three groups of signs of social stratification:

Qualitative characteristics of members of society that they possess from birth (origin, family ties, gender and age characteristics, personal qualities, congenital characteristics, etc.);

Role characteristics determined by the set of roles that an individual performs in society (education, profession, position, qualifications, various types of work activities, etc.);

Characteristics associated with the possession of material and spiritual values ​​(wealth, property, works of art, social privileges, the ability to influence Other people, etc.).

The nature of social stratification, the methods of its determination and reproduction in their unity form what sociologists call stratification system.

Historically, there are 4 types of stratification systems: - slavery, - castes, - estates, - classes.

The first three characterize closed societies, and the fourth type is an open society. In this context, a closed society is considered to be a society where social movements from one stratum to another are either completely prohibited or significantly limited. An open society is a society where transitions from lower to higher strata are not officially limited in any way.

Slavery- a form of the most rigid consolidation of people in the lower strata. This is the only form of social relations in history when one person acts as the property of another, deprived of all rights and freedoms.

Caste system- a stratification system that presupposes the lifelong assignment of a person to a certain stratum on ethnic, religious or economic grounds. A caste is a closed group that was assigned a strictly defined place in the social hierarchy. This place was determined by the special function of each caste in the system of division of labor. In India, where the caste system was most widespread, there was detailed regulation of the types of activities for each caste. Since membership in the caste system was inherited, opportunities for social mobility were limited.

Class system- a stratification system that involves the legal assignment of a person to a particular stratum. The rights and duties of each class were determined by law and sanctified by religion. Belonging to the class was mainly inherited, but as an exception it could be acquired for money or granted by power. In general, the class system was characterized by a branched hierarchy, which was expressed in inequality of social status and the presence of numerous privileges.

The class organization of European feudal society included a division into two upper classes (nobility and clergy) and an unprivileged third class (merchants, artisans, peasants). Since inter-class barriers were quite strict, social mobility existed mainly within classes, which included many ranks, ranks, professions, strata, etc. However, unlike the caste system, inter-class marriages and individual transitions from one stratum to another were sometimes allowed.

Class system- an open stratification system that does not imply a legal or any other way of assigning an individual to a specific stratum. Unlike previous closed-type stratification systems, class membership is not regulated by the authorities, is not established by law, and is not inherited. It is determined, first of all, by the place in the system of social production, ownership of property, as well as the level of income received. The class system is characteristic of a modern industrial society, where there are opportunities for free transition from one stratum to another.

The identification of slave, caste, estate and class stratification systems is generally accepted, but not the only classification. It is complemented by a description of such types of stratification systems, a combination of which is found in any society. Among them the following can be noted:

physical-genetic stratification system, which is based on ranking people according to natural characteristics: gender, age, the presence of certain physical qualities - strength, dexterity, beauty, etc.

etacratic stratification system, in which differentiation between groups is carried out according to their position in power-state hierarchies (political, military, administrative and economic), according to the possibilities of mobilization and distribution of resources, as well as the privileges that these groups have depending on their rank in the structures of power.

socio-professional stratification system, in accordance with which groups are divided according to content and working conditions. Ranking here is carried out using certificates (diplomas, ranks, licenses, patents, etc.), fixing the level of qualifications and the ability to perform certain types of activities (rank grid in the public sector of industry, a system of certificates and diplomas of education, a system for awarding scientific degrees and titles, etc.).

cultural-symbolic stratification system, arising from differences in access to socially significant information, unequal opportunities to select, preserve and interpret this information (pre-industrial societies are characterized by theocratic manipulation of information, industrial ones - partocratic, post-industrial - technocratic).

cultural-normative stratification system, in which differentiation is based on differences in respect and prestige that arise as a result of comparison of existing norms and lifestyles inherent in certain social groups (attitudes towards physical and mental work, consumer standards, tastes, methods of communication, professional terminology, local dialect, - all this can serve as a basis for ranking social groups).

socio-territorial stratification system, formed due to the unequal distribution of resources between regions, differences in access to jobs, housing, quality goods and services, educational and cultural institutions, etc.

In reality, all these stratification systems are closely intertwined and complement each other. Thus, the socio-professional hierarchy in the form of an officially established division of labor not only performs important independent functions for maintaining the life of society, but also has a significant impact on the structure of any stratification system. Therefore, the study of the stratification of modern society cannot be reduced only to the analysis of any one type of stratification system.

The concept of social stratification. Social stratification- a historically specific, hierarchically organized structure of social inequality, presented in the form of a division of society into strata (Latin - stratum - layer), differing from each other in that their representatives have an unequal amount of material wealth, power, rights and responsibilities, privileges, prestige. Thus, social stratification can be represented as hierarchically structured social inequality in society.

The fundamental importance of the principle of social inequality is generally recognized in sociological science, but explanatory models of the nature and role of social inequality differ significantly. Thus, the conflictological (Marxist and neo-Marxist) direction believes that inequality gives rise to various forms of alienation in society. Representatives of functionalism argue that the existence of inequality is an effective way of leveling the starting positions of individuals due to competition and stimulation of social activity; universal equality deprives people of incentives for advancement, the desire to make maximum efforts and abilities to fulfill their duties.

Inequality is perpetuated in any society through social institutions. At the same time, a system of norms is created according to which people must be included in relations of inequality, accept these relations, and not oppose them.

Systems of social stratification. Social stratification is a constant characteristic of any organized society. The processes of social stratification play an important regulatory and organizing role, helping society at each new historical stage to adapt to changing conditions, developing those forms of interaction that allow it to respond to new requirements. The stratified nature of human interaction makes it possible to maintain society in an orderly state and thereby maintain its integrity and boundaries.

In sociological science, four historically existing systems of stratification are most often described: slave, caste, estate and class. The famous English sociologist Anthony Giddens paid special attention to the development of this classification.

Slave stratification system based on slavery - a form of inequality in which some people, deprived of freedom and any rights, are the property of others, legally endowed with privileges. Slavery originated and spread in agrarian societies: from ancient times it existed until the nineteenth century. With primitive technology requiring significant human labor, the use of slave power was economically justified.

Caste stratification system characterized by the fact that a person’s social position is strictly determined from birth, does not change throughout life and is inherited. There are practically no marriages between individuals belonging to different castes. Caste (from the port. casta - “race”, or “pure breed”) is a closed endogamous group of people, which is assigned a strictly defined place in the social hierarchy depending on its functions in the system of division of labor. The purity of caste is maintained by traditional rituals, customs, and rules, according to which communication with representatives of lower castes defiles the higher caste.

For almost three millennia, until 1949, the caste system existed in India. There are still thousands of castes there, but they are all grouped into four main castes, or Varnas (from Sanskrit “color”): the Brahmins, or priestly caste, are landowners, clergy, scientists, village clerks, numbering from 5-10% of the population; Kshatriyas - warriors and noble people, Vaishyas - traders, merchants and artisans, who together made up about 7% of Indians; Shudras - simple workers and peasants - about 70% of the population, the remaining 20% ​​are Harijans (“children of God”), or untouchables, outcasts engaged in degrading work, who were traditionally cleaners, scavengers, tanners, swineherds, etc.

Hindus believe in reincarnation and believe that those who follow the rules of their caste will rise to a higher caste by birth in a future life, while those who violate these rules will lose social status. Caste interests became an important factor during election campaigns.

Class stratification system, in which inequality between groups of individuals is enshrined in law, became widespread in feudal society. Estates are large groups of people, differing in rights and responsibilities to the state, legislated and inherited, which contributed to the relative closedness of this system.

Developed class systems were feudal Western European societies, where the upper class consisted of the aristocracy and gentry (small nobility). In tsarist Russia, some classes were required to perform military service, others - bureaucratic service, and others - “tax” in the form of taxes or labor duties. Some echoes of the estate system survive in Britain today, where titles of nobility are still inherited and honored, and where leading businessmen, government officials and others can be given peerages or knighted as rewards for special services.

Class stratification system is established in a society based on private property and is associated with differences in the economic status of groups of people, with inequalities in the ownership and control of material resources, while in other systems of stratification non-economic factors (for example, religion, ethnicity, profession). Classes are social groups of legally free people who have equal fundamental (constitutional) rights. Unlike previous types, class membership is not regulated by the state, is not established by law, and is not inherited.

Basic methodological interpretations of the concept of “class”. The greatest contribution to the theoretical development of the concept of “class” and social class stratification was made by Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Max Weber (1864-1920).

Having linked the existence of classes with certain historical phases of the development of production, Marx created his concept of “social class”, but without giving it a holistic, detailed definition. For Marx, a social class is a group of people who stand in the same relation to the means of production with which they ensure their existence. The main thing in characterizing a class is whether it is an owner or not.

The most complete definition of classes in accordance with Marxist methodology was given by V.I. Lenin, according to which classes are characterized by the following indicators:

1. possession of property;

2. place in the system of social division of labor;

3. role in organizing production;

4. income level.

Essentially important in the Marxist methodology of class is the recognition of the indicator “possession of property” as a fundamental criterion for class formation and the very nature of class.

Marxism divided classes into basic and non-basic. The main classes were those whose existence directly follows from the economic relations prevailing in a given society, primarily property relations: slaves and slave owners, peasants and feudal lords, proletarians and the bourgeoisie. Minor ones are the remnants of the former main classes in a new socio-economic formation or the emerging classes that will replace the main ones and form the basis of the class division in the new formation.

In addition to the main and minor classes, social strata are the structural element of society. Social strata are intermediate or transitional social groups that do not have a clear relationship to the means of production and, therefore, do not have all the characteristics of a class (for example, the intelligentsia).

Max Weber, agreeing with Marx's ideas about the connection between class and objective economic conditions, discovered in his research that the formation of a class is influenced by a much larger number of factors. According to Weber, class division is determined not only by the presence or absence of control over the means of production, but also by economic differences not directly related to property.

Weber believed that qualification certificates, academic degrees, titles, diplomas and the professional training received by specialists put them in a more advantageous position in the labor market compared to those who do not have the appropriate diplomas. He proposed a multidimensional approach to stratification, believing that the social structure of a society is determined by three autonomous and interacting factors: property, prestige (meaning respect for an individual or group based on their status) and power.

Weber associated the concept of class only with capitalist society. He argued that property owners are a “positively privileged class.” At the other extreme is the “negatively privileged class,” which includes those who have neither property nor qualifications to offer on the market. This is the lumpen proletariat. Between the two poles there is a whole spectrum of the so-called middle classes, which consist of both small owners and people who are able to offer their skills and abilities on the market (officials, artisans, peasants).

According to Weber, belonging to one or another status group is not necessarily determined by belonging to a certain class: a person who enjoys honor and respect may not be an owner; both the haves and the have-nots can belong to the same status group. Differences in status, Weber argues, generally lead to differences in lifestyle. Lifestyle is determined by the subculture common to the group and is measured by status prestige. The separation of groups by prestige can occur for various reasons (belonging to a certain profession, etc.), but it always acquires a ranking character: “higher - lower”, “better - worse”.

Weber's approach made it possible to distinguish in the social structure not only such large analytical units as “class”, but also more specific and flexible ones - “strata” (from lat. stratum-layer). A stratum includes many people with some common status sign of their position, who feel connected to each other by this community. In the existence of strata, evaluative factors play an important role: a person’s line of behavior in a given situation, his attitudes based on certain criteria that help him rank himself and those around him.

When studying social structure, social strata are distinguished, whose representatives differ from each other in the unequal amount of power and material wealth, rights and responsibilities, privileges and prestige.

Thus, Weber’s stratification methodology allows us to obtain a more voluminous, multidimensional understanding of the social structure of modern society, which cannot be adequately described in coordinates by Marx’s bipolar class methodology.

Social class stratification by L. Warner. The social stratification model of the American sociologist Warner (1898-1970) has become most widespread in practice.

Social stratification was considered by him as a functional prerequisite for the existence of modern industrial society, its internal stability and balance, ensuring the self-realization of the individual, his success and achievements in society. Position in class stratification (or status) is described by Warner using characteristics such as level of education, occupation, wealth and income.

Initially, Warner's stratification model was represented by six classes, but later the “middle middle class” was introduced into it and currently it has acquired the following form:

Highest-highest class are “aristocrats by blood”, representatives of influential and wealthy dynasties with very significant resources of power, wealth and prestige throughout the state. They are distinguished by a special way of life, high society manners, impeccable taste and behavior.

Low-high class includes bankers, prominent politicians, owners of large firms who achieved higher status through competition or due to various qualities.

Upper-middle class consists of representatives of the bourgeoisie and highly paid professionals: successful businessmen, hired company managers, prominent lawyers, famous doctors, outstanding athletes, and the scientific elite. They enjoy high prestige in their fields of activity. Representatives of this class are usually spoken of as the wealth of the nation.

Middle-middle class represents the most massive stratum of industrial society. It includes all well-paid employees, moderately paid professionals, people of intelligent professions, including engineers, teachers, scientists, heads of departments at enterprises, teachers, and middle managers. Representatives of this class are the main support of the existing government.

Lower-middle class consists of lower employees and skilled workers, whose work is predominantly mental in content.

Upper-lower class consist mainly of medium- and low-skilled wage workers employed in mass production, in local factories, living in relative prosperity, who create surplus value in a given society.

Low-low class comprised of the poor, the unemployed, the homeless, foreign workers and other representatives of marginalized groups of the population. They have only primary or no education and most often do odd jobs. They are usually called the “social bottom”, or underclass.

Social mobility and its types. Under social mobility (from lat. mobilis- capable of movement, action) is understood as a change in place by an individual or group in the social structure of society. The study of social mobility was started by P.A. Sorokin, who understood social mobility not only as the movement of individuals from one social group to another, but also the disappearance of some and the emergence of other social groups.

According to the directions of movement they distinguish horizontal And vertical mobility.

Horizontal mobility implies the transition of an individual from one social group or community to another, located at the same social level, at one social position, for example, a transition from one family to another, a movement from an Orthodox to a Catholic or Muslim religious group, from one citizenship to another, from one profession to another. An example of horizontal mobility is a change of place of residence, moving from a village to a city for permanent residence or vice versa, moving from one state to another.

Vertical mobility call movement from one layer to another, higher or lower located in the hierarchy of social relations. Depending on the direction of movement we talk about rising or descending mobility. Upward mobility implies an improvement in social status, social advancement, for example, promotion, higher education, marriage with a person of a higher class or with a wealthier person. Downward mobility- this is a social descent, i.e. moving down the social ladder, for example, dismissal, demotion, bankruptcy. According to the nature of stratification, there are downward and upward currents of economic, political and professional mobility.

In addition, mobility can be group or individual. Group This is called mobility when an individual moves down or up the social ladder together with his social group (estate, class). This is the collective rise or fall in the position of an entire group in the system of relations with other groups. The reasons for group mobility are wars, revolutions, military coups, and changes in political regimes. Individual mobility is the movement of an individual that occurs independently of others.

The intensity of mobility processes is often considered as one of the main criteria for the degree of democratization of society and liberalization of the economy.

Range of mobility, characterizing a particular society depends on how many different statuses exist in it. The more statuses, the more opportunities a person has to move from one status to another.

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

An industrial society is characterized by a wider range of mobility, since there are many more different statuses in it. The main factor of social mobility is the level of economic development. During periods of economic depression, the number of high-status positions decreases and low-status positions expand, so downward mobility dominates. It intensifies during 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 keep them busy is the main reason for upward mobility.

The main trend in the development of 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.

Caste and class societies limit social mobility, placing severe restrictions on any change in status. Such societies are called closed.

If most statuses in a society are prescribed, then the range of mobility in it is much lower than in a society built on individual achievement. In pre-industrial society, there was little upward mobility, since legal laws and traditions practically denied peasants access to the landowning class.

In an industrial society, which sociologists classify as an open society, individual merit and achieved status are valued above all. In such a society, the level of social mobility is quite high. A society with open borders between social groups gives a person a chance to rise, but it also creates in him the fear of social decline. Downward mobility can occur both in the form of pushing individuals from high social statuses to lower ones, and as a result of lowering the social statuses of entire groups.

Channels of vertical mobility. The ways and mechanisms by which people climb the social ladder were named by P. A. Sorokin channels of vertical circulation, or mobility. Since vertical mobility exists to one degree or another in any society, between social groups or strata there are various “elevators”, “membranes”, “holes” through which individuals move up and down. For an individual, the possibility of upward mobility means not only an increase in the share social benefits he receives, it contributes to the realization of his personal data, makes him more flexible and versatile.

The functions of social circulation are performed by various institutions.

The most well-known channels are the family, school, army, church, political, economic and professional organizations.

Family becomes a channel of vertical social mobility if a marriage is concluded by representatives of different social statuses. So, for example, in many countries at one time there was a law according to which if a woman married a slave, then she herself became a slave. Or, for example, an increase in social status from marriage with a titled partner.

Family socioeconomic position also influences career opportunities. Sociological studies conducted in Great Britain showed that two-thirds of the sons of unskilled and semi-skilled workers were, like their fathers, engaged in manual labor, that less than 30% of specialists and managers came from the working class, i.e. rose, 50% of specialists and managers took the same positions as their parents.

Ascending mobility is observed much more often than downward mobility, and is characteristic mainly of the middle strata of the class structure. People from the lower social classes, as a rule, remained at the same level.

School, being a form of expression of the processes of education and upbringing, at all times it has served as a powerful and fastest channel of vertical social mobility. This is confirmed by large competitions for admission to colleges and universities in many countries. In societies where schools are available to all members, the school system represents a “social elevator”, moving from the very bottom of society to the very top. The so-called “long elevator” existed in ancient China. During the era of Confucius, schools were open to everyone. Exams were held every three years. The best students, regardless of the status of their families, were transferred to higher schools and then to universities, from where they ended up in high government positions.

In Western countries, many social spheres and a number of professions are practically closed to a person without an appropriate diploma. The work of graduates of higher educational institutions is paid higher. In recent years, the desire of young people who have received a university diploma to study in graduate school has become widespread. This significantly changes the ratio of undergraduate and graduate students studying at universities. Universities where there are more undergraduates than graduate students are called conservative, moderate - have a 1:1 ratio, and, finally, progressive - are those where there are more graduate students than undergraduates. For example, at the University of Chicago there are 7 thousand graduate students for every 3 thousand undergraduates.

Government groups, political organizations and political parties also play the role of an “elevator” in vertical mobility. In Western Europe during the Middle Ages, servants of various rulers, being involved in the state sphere, often became rulers themselves. This is the origin of many medieval dukes, counts, barons and other nobility. As a channel for social mobility, political organizations now play a particularly important role: many functions that previously belonged to the church, government and other social organizations are now taken over by political parties. In democratic countries, where the institution of elections plays a decisive role in the formation of the highest authorities, the easiest way to attract the attention of voters and get elected is through political activity or participation in a political organization.

Army as a channel of social mobility functions not in peacetime, but in wartime. Losses among the command staff lead to vacancies being filled by people of lower ranks. During the war, soldiers, showing courage and bravery, are awarded another title. It is known that out of 92 Roman emperors, 36 achieved this rank, starting from the lower ranks; out of 65 Byzantine emperors, 12 advanced through their army careers. Napoleon and his entourage, marshals, generals and the kings of Europe appointed by him belonged to the class of commoners. Cromwell, Washington, and many other commanders rose to the highest positions through military careers.

Church as a channel of social mobility has elevated a large number of people. Pitirim Sorokin, having studied the biographies of 144 Roman Catholic popes, found that 28 of them came from the lower strata, and 27 from the middle strata. The rite of celibacy (celibacy), introduced in the 11th century by Pope Gregory VII, did not allow the Catholic clergy to have children, so the vacant high positions of the clergy were occupied by lower-ranking persons. After the legalization of Christianity, the church begins to serve as the ladder along which slaves and serfs began to climb, sometimes to the highest and most influential positions. The church was not only a channel of upward mobility, but also downward: many kings, dukes, princes, lords, nobles and other aristocrats of various ranks were ruined by the church, put on trial by the Inquisition, and destroyed.

Social marginality. The process of individuals losing their identification with certain social communities and classes is expressed by the concept marginalization.

Social mobility can lead to the fact that an individual has left the confines of one group, but finds himself rejected or only partially included in another. Thus, individuals and even groups of people appear who occupy marginal positions (from lat. marginalis- located on the edge) of a position, without integrating for a certain time into any of the social groups to which they are oriented.

In 1928, the American psychologist R. Park first used the concept of “marginal person.” Research on the characteristics of individuals located on the border of different cultures, conducted by the Chicago sociological school, laid the foundation for the classical concept of marginality. Subsequently, it was picked up and reworked by researchers studying boundary phenomena and processes in society.

The main criterion that determines the state of marginality of an individual or social group is the state associated with the state of transition, represented as a crisis.

Marginality can arise for various reasons, both personal and social. The phenomenon of marginality turns out to be quite common during the transition of society from one economic and political system to another, with a different type of stratification. In this case, entire groups or social strata find themselves in a marginal position, unable, or unable, to adapt to the new situation and integrate into the new stratification system. A marginal situation can cause conflicts and deviant behavior. This situation can create anxiety, aggressiveness, doubt in personal worth, and fear in making decisions in an individual. But a marginal situation can become a source of socially effective creative action.

Stratification of modern Russian society. Modern Russian society is characterized by profound changes in the social and class structure of society and its stratification. In the new conditions, the former status of social groups is changing. The upper elite strata, in addition to traditional management groups, include large owners - new capitalists. A middle layer appears - relatively financially secure and well-established representatives of various social and professional groups, mainly entrepreneurs, managers and some qualified specialists.

The dynamics of social stratification of modern Russian society are characterized by the following main trends:

- significant social stratification;

― slow formation of the “middle class”;

― self-reproduction of the middle class, narrow sources of its replenishment and expansion;

― significant redistribution of employment across economic sectors;

― high social mobility;

- significant marginalization.

The middle class of Russian society. In the social-class structure of modern society, an important place belongs to the “middle class” (“middle classes”). The scale and quality of this social group significantly determine the socio-economic, political stability and nature of the systemic integration of society as a whole. For modern Russia, the formation and development of the “middle class” essentially means the creation of the foundations of civil society and democracy. Russian sociologists have compiled a generalized portrait of representatives of the middle class (MC) of Russia and its strata.

The upper layer of the middle class are, for the most part, highly educated people. 14.6% of them have an academic degree or have completed graduate school, another 55.2% have higher education, and 27.1% have secondary specialized education. The middle layer of the middle class is also quite highly educated. And although only 4.2% here already have an academic degree, the majority are people with higher education (the number of people with secondary specialized education is 31.0%, and with secondary and incomplete secondary education is only 9.8%). In the lower layer of the middle class, the number of people with secondary and special secondary education reaches a total of 50.2%.

In terms of job status, more than half (51.1%) of the representatives of the upper layer of the middle class are senior managers and entrepreneurs with employees. Qualified specialists in this stratum accounted for 21.9%.

The middle layer of the middle class is clearly dominated by qualified specialists (30.1%) and workers (22.2%); the share of managers is only 12.9%, entrepreneurs with employees - 12.1%. But in this group, the proportion of those who have a purely family business is one and a half times higher than in the middle class as a whole (6.4% versus 4.3%).

In general, using the terminology adopted in studies of the middle class in Western European countries, based on the results of the study, we can say that the backbone of the upper layer of the middle class consists of senior managers and businessmen who have their own companies with hired employees. The presence of highly qualified specialists is clearly noticeable in it, fairly evenly representing the humanitarian intelligentsia and the military, and to a lesser extent, engineers. The presence of “white” and “blue collar” workers is weak.

The backbone of the middle layer of the middle class consists, first of all, of qualified specialists, and, to a somewhat lesser extent, “blue collar workers” - skilled workers. A prominent place in its composition is also occupied by managers and entrepreneurs, including representatives of family businesses and those engaged in self-employed activities.

According to data from the All-Russian Center for Living Standards for 2006, the middle class in our country includes families where the cash income for each family member per month ranges from 30 thousand to 50 thousand rubles. Representatives of this class are characterized not only by the ability to eat normally and purchase necessary durable goods, but also to have decent housing (at least 18 square meters per person) or a real possibility of improving it, plus a country house or the possibility of purchasing one in the foreseeable future. Of course, there must be a car or cars. It is also necessary to have funds for treatment, surgery, payment for children’s education, and legal fees, if necessary. Such a family can vacation at our resorts or abroad.

The listed requirements for the whole country in 2006 were met by average per capita consumer spending of 15 to 25 thousand rubles per month. Plus your monthly savings should be about the same. Naturally, each territory has its own characteristics, and the amounts of income and savings will be different. For Moscow, for example, these limits are 60-80 thousand rubles. Above this bar are the wealthy and wealthy. In total, as these studies have shown, about 10 percent of the country's population, or approximately 13.5 million Russians, can be classified as middle class. This means approximately 6-7 million families.

Approximately 90% of the Russian middle class have substantial savings. It also includes private shareholders who have invested in securities - no more than 400 thousand people. Taking into account their family members, this turns out to be about one and a half million Russians - 1% of the population. This is the upper middle class. For comparison: in the USA the number of such shareholders is tens of millions, almost half of American families. Their efficient activities, property and income created the basis for the stable functioning of the market without deep government intervention.

In Western Europe and the USA and other countries, an influential “middle class” has existed for several centuries and makes up from 50 to 80% of the population. It consists of various groups of entrepreneurs and businessmen, skilled workers, doctors, teachers, engineers, clergy, military personnel, government officials, and middle staff of firms and companies. There are also significant political, economic and spiritual differences between them.

There are not so many wealthy and wealthy citizens with incomes higher than the middle class in our country. That's 4 million people, or 3 percent of the total population. The very rich - dollar millionaires - from 120 to 200 thousand.

With a 60-million-strong army of poor people (taking into account not only their income, but also their housing conditions) and a small middle class, it is difficult today to talk about long-term stability in society.

New marginalized groups. As a result of the changes that have occurred in Russia in the last decade in the economic, political and social spheres of public life, new marginal groups have emerged:

- “post-specialists” are professional groups of the population that are released from the economy and have no job prospects due to their narrow specialization in the new economic situation in Russia, and retraining is associated with a loss of skill level, loss of profession;

- “new agents” - private entrepreneurs, so-called. the self-employed population, previously not oriented toward private entrepreneurial activity, but forced to look for new ways of self-realization;

- “migrants” - refugees and forced migrants from other regions of Russia and from “near abroad” countries. The peculiarities of the situation of this group are due to the fact that it objectively reflects a situation of multiple marginality, caused by the need to adapt to a new environment after a forced change of place of residence.