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COURSE WORK

on the topic: "Vertical and horizontal social mobility»

Introduction

1. The concept, essence and nature of social mobility

2. Main types and types of social mobility

2.1 Horizontal social mobility

2.1 Vertical social mobility

3. Factors affecting horizontal and vertical mobility

Conclusion

Literature

Introduction

Modern Russian society is developing and changing especially rapidly due to the fact that the reforms of the 1990s, along with a sharp aggravation social problems, the rapid growth of social inequality and painful transformations of the social structure, opened up new economic, technological and social opportunities for the country.

Along with changes in the socio-economic system, factors associated with changes in the social identity of people, their value orientations, consumer behavior, material and symbolic world.

The state of the social structure of society and its social stratification most fully reflects the social mobility of the population, which characterizes the directions and existing mechanisms for changing the social status of individuals. 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. This topic has interested humanity for a long time. social horizontal mobility society

The relevance of the research topic of the nature of social mobility is determined by the strengthening of the role of social mobility in modern society. Social mobility is an integral part of the culture in any modern democratic society. Mobile individuals begin socialization in one class and end in another. Moreover, any social movement does not occur without hindrance, but by overcoming more or less significant barriers. Social mobility is an integral and necessary process in society, which is significantly influenced by constantly emerging new circumstances of social life, factors of social differentiation and integration. Their influence on the social structure of society and on social mobility has not yet been studied and constitutes a research problem. At present, there is a need for a thorough study of the processes of social mobility, as well as factors influencing the dynamics of social mobility.

The purpose of this work is to study the nature of social mobility of the population and consider the main types and types of social mobility: horizontal and vertical.

The following tasks were set during the study:

Find out the nature and essence of social mobility;

Determine and analyze the types and forms of social mobility;

Identify problems of transition from one status group to another.

1. The concept, essence and nature of social mobility

The problem of the socio-economic division of society, as a scientific problem, was studied by ancient Greek philosophers. The analysis of estates is already found in Plato's "Laws" and "State", as well as in Aristotle's "Politics". The reasoning of Plato and Aristotle had a significant impact on the formation of the theory of stratification as a component of socio-political philosophy. Within the framework of the school of social stratification, the theory of social mobility is born, the founder of which is considered to be Pitirim Sorokin. His first major work on this issue was published in 1927. This work, entitled "Social Mobility", belongs to the sociological classics, and its most important provisions have long been included in numerous social science textbooks.

P. Sorokin singled out three forms at the basis of social stratification: economic stratification, political and professional differentiation. Sorokin's attention to the hierarchy of professional groups was revealing. Shortly after him whole line researchers took up the problems of social stratification of social mobility.

Let's take a look at what social mobility is. Each person moves in the social space, in the society in which he lives. Sometimes these movements are easily felt and identified, for example, when an individual moves from one place to another, the transition from one religion to another, a change in marital status. This changes the position of the individual in society and speaks of his movement in the social space.

However, there are such movements of the individual that are difficult to determine not only for the people around him, but also for himself. For example, it is difficult to determine the change in the position of an individual in connection with an increase in prestige, an increase or decrease in the possibilities for the use of power, a change in income. At the same time, such changes in a person's position ultimately affect his behavior, the system of relations in the group, needs, attitudes, interests and orientations.

In this regard, it is important to determine how the processes of movement of individuals in the social space are carried out, which are called mobility processes.

There are barriers between strata and classes that prevent the free transition of individuals from one status group to another. One of the biggest barriers comes from the fact that social classes have subcultures that prepare the children of each class to participate in the class subculture in which they are socialized.

All social movements of the individual or social group included in the mobility process. According to the definition of P. Sorokin, “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.”

When an individual moves from one social plane to another, the problem of entering a new subculture of a group with a higher status often arises, as well as the related problem of interactions with representatives of a new social environment. To overcome the cultural barrier and the barrier of communication, there are several ways that, one way or another, resort to individuals in the process of social mobility.

1. Lifestyle change. For example, it is not enough just to earn and spend big money in the case when an individual has caught up in income with representatives of a higher social stratum. To assimilate a new status level, he needs to accept a new material standard corresponding to this level. At the same time, changing the material way of life is only one of the moments of initiation to a new status, and in itself, without changing other components of culture, means little.

2. Development of typical status behavior. A person will not be accepted into a higher social class stratum until he has assimilated the patterns of behavior of this stratum to such an extent that he can follow them without any effort. Clothing patterns, verbal expressions, leisure activities, manner of communication - all this is being revised and should become the usual and only possible type of behavior.

3. Change in the social environment. This method is based on establishing contacts with individuals and associations of the status stratum into which the mobile individual is socialized.

4. Marrying a representative of a higher status stratum. At all times, such a marriage has served as the best means of overcoming the barriers that stand in the way of social mobility. First, it can greatly contribute to the manifestation of talents if it gives material well-being. Secondly, it provides the individual with the opportunity to quickly rise, often bypassing several status levels. Thirdly, marriage to a representative or representative of a higher status largely resolves the problems of the social environment and the rapid assimilation of culture samples of a higher status layer.

The social mobility of society is a contradictory process. Even if society allows individuals relatively freely to bypass the barriers between social classes and strata, this does not mean at all that any individual with talents and motivation can painlessly and easily move up the steps of the ladder of social ascent. Mobility is always difficult for all individuals, as they have to adapt to a new subculture, make new connections and fight the fear of losing their identity. new status. At the same time, an open way to the top, a large number of achieved statuses is the only way for the development of society, because otherwise social tensions and conflicts arise.

To characterize mobility processes, indicators of the speed and intensity of social mobility are used. They are commonly used to quantify mobility processes.

The speed of mobility is understood as "the vertical social distance or the number of strata - economic, professional or political, that an individual passes in his movement up or down in a certain period of time." For example, within three years after graduating from the institute and starting work in the specialty, a certain individual manages to take the position of the head of a department, and his colleague, who graduated from the institute with him, takes the position of a senior engineer. It is obvious that the speed of mobility is higher for the first individual, since during the indicated period of time he has overcome more status levels.

The intensity of mobility is understood as the number of individuals who change social positions in a vertical or horizontal direction over a certain period of time. The number of such individuals social community gives the absolute intensity of mobility, and their share in the total number of a given social community shows relative mobility. For example, if we take into account the number of individuals under the age of 30 who are divorced and moved to other families, then we will talk about the absolute intensity of horizontal mobility in this age category. If we consider the ratio of the number of people who moved to other families to the number of all individuals under the age of 30, then we will talk about relative social mobility in a horizontal direction.

Often there is a need to consider the process of mobility from the point of view of the relationship between its speed and intensity. In this case, the aggregate mobility index for a given social community is used. In this way, for example, one society can be compared with another in order to find out in which of them or in which period mobility is higher in all indicators.

2. Main types and types of social mobility

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

Intergenerational mobility implies that children achieve a higher social position or move down to a lower level than their parents, i.e. this is a change in the social status of people, especially young people, in various spheres of public life in comparison with the status of their parents. Intergenerational mobility is an important factor social changes and expression of social activity of individuals.

Intragenerational mobility takes place where the same individual, unlike, for example, his father, changes social positions several times throughout his life. Otherwise, such mobility is called a social career.

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.

There is also a classification of social mobility according to other criteria. So, for example, they distinguish between individual mobility, when movements down, up, or horizontally occur for each person independently of others, and group mobility, when movements occur collectively, for example, after a social revolution, the old class cedes dominant positions to the new class.

In addition to these types, there are two more types of social mobility: horizontal and vertical. Let's consider them in more detail.

2.1 Horizontal social mobility

Horizontal mobility is the transition of an individual or social object from one social position to another, lying on the same level. In all these cases, the individual does not change the social stratum to which he belongs, or social status. Examples of horizontal mobility are movements from one citizenship to another, from an Orthodox religious group to a Catholic one, from one labor collective to another, and so on.

Such movements occur without a noticeable change in the social position in the upright position.

A variation of horizontal mobility is geographic mobility. It does not imply a change in status or group, but a movement from one place to another while maintaining the same status.

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 a permanent place of residence and got a job, then this is migration.

Consequently, horizontal mobility can be territorial, religious, professional, political (when only the political orientation of the individual changes). Horizontal mobility is described by nominal parameters and can only exist with a certain degree of heterogeneity in society.

P. Sorokin, regarding horizontal mobility, only says that it means the transition of people from one social group to another without changing their social standing. But if we proceed from the principle that all differences without exception in the world of people have some kind of unequal significance, it will be necessary to recognize that horizontal social mobility must also be characterized by a change in social position, only not ascending or descending, but progressive or retreating (regressing) . Thus, horizontal mobility can be considered any process that leads to the formation or change of class social structures - in contrast to the starting ones, which are formed and changed as a result of vertical social mobility.

Today, it is horizontal mobility that is gaining momentum in society, especially among residents of large cities. For young people, it becomes a rule to change jobs every 3-5 years. At the same time, most sociologists welcome this, believing that such an approach allows a person not to be “conserved” in one place and an invariable range of tasks. Secondly, a considerable part of workers prefers to master related specialties or even radically change their field of activity.

A change of residence - and it is also a type of lateral mobility - often complements a change of job, even if new job located in the same city - there are people who prefer to rent an apartment closer, just not to spend two and a half hours a day on the road.

The meaning of vertical mobility is completely transparent - many people want to improve their situation. Much more interesting is the question of what drives horizontal social mobility.

First of all, it becomes clear that in last years the so-called social elevators stop working: that is, the number of opportunities to take and jump to a higher social level in one fell swoop decreases. Isolated cases are possible, but for the majority this move is closed. And horizontal mobility is, in principle, available to almost everyone.

Horizontal mobility allows you to significantly expand your horizons, it does not force you to significantly change your habits, lifestyle.

2.2 Vertical social mobility

The most important process is vertical mobility, which is a set of interactions that facilitate the transition of an individual or a social object from one social stratum to another. Vertical mobility involves the movement of an individual or group from one social stratum to another.

Depending on the direction of movement, upward mobility, or social ascent, and downward mobility, or social descent, are distinguished. Thus, promotion, rank and demolition show respectively these types of vertical social mobility. Both types manifest themselves in economic, political and professional mobility, which is another option for structuring social mobility. Vertical upward mobility can in this case be shown as the acquisition of property by a person, election as a deputy, obtaining a higher position.

Society can elevate the status of some individuals and lower the status of others. And this is understandable: some individuals who have talent, energy, youth should force out other individuals who do not possess these qualities from the highest statuses. Depending on this, they distinguish between upward and downward social mobility, or social upsurge and social decline.

The upward currents of professional, economic and political mobility exist in two main forms:

1) as an individual rise, or infiltration of individuals from their lower stratum into a higher one;

2) and as the creation of new groups of individuals with the inclusion of groups in the upper layer next to the existing groups of this layer or instead of them.

Consider the mechanism of infiltration in vertical mobility.

In order to understand how the process of ascension occurs, it is important to study how an individual can overcome barriers and boundaries between groups and rise up, that is, increase his social status. This desire to achieve a higher status is due to the achievement motive, which, to one degree or another, each individual has and is associated with his need to achieve success and avoid failure in the social aspect.

The actualization of this motive ultimately generates the strength with which the individual strives to achieve the highest social position or to stay on the existing one and not slide down. The realization of the power of achievement depends on many factors, in particular, on the situation in society.

In order to achieve a higher status, an individual who is in a group with lower statuses must overcome the barriers between groups or layers. An individual striving to get into a higher status group has a certain energy aimed at overcoming these barriers and expended on walking the distance between the statuses of a higher and lower groups. The energy of the individual striving for a higher status finds expression in the strength with which he tries to overcome the barriers in front of the higher stratum. Successful passage of the barrier is possible only if the force with which the individual seeks to achieve high status is greater than the repulsive force. By measuring the force with which an individual seeks to penetrate into the upper layer, one can predict with a certain probability that he will get there. The probabilistic nature of infiltration is due to the fact that when evaluating the process, one should take into account the constantly changing situation, which consists of many factors, including their personal relationships individuals.

Similarly, downward mobility exists in the form:

1) pushing individual individuals from high social statuses to lower ones;

2) and lowering the social status of the whole group.

An example of the second form of downward mobility can be the decline in the social status of a group of engineers that once occupied very high positions in our society, or the decline in the status of a political party that is losing real power in the figurative expression of P. Sorokin, “the first case of decline resembles the fall of a man from a ship; the second is a ship that sank with all on board.

3. Factors affecting horizontal and vertical mobility

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

Professional mobility is typical for the young, economic mobility for adults, and political mobility for the elderly. The birth rate is unevenly distributed across classes. The lower classes tend to have more children, while the upper classes tend to have fewer. There is a pattern: the higher a person climbs the social ladder, the fewer children he has.

Even if every son of a rich man follows in the footsteps of his father, voids form on the upper steps of the pyramid, which are filled by people from the lower classes. In no class do people plan for the exact number of children needed to replace parents. The number of vacancies and the number of applicants for the occupation of certain social positions in different classes is different.

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

High and low birth rates in different classes have the same effect on vertical mobility as population density in different countries has on horizontal mobility. Strata, like countries, can be undersalted or overpopulated.

Conclusion

Having considered the essence, nature and types of social mobility, we can draw the following conclusions:

1. Social mobility is a change by an individual or a group of persons of the place occupied in the social structure, or movement from one social stratum to another. The nature of social mobility is directly related to the subculture in which a person was born and raised. For advancement from one stratum to another, or from one social class to another, "difference in starting opportunities" matters.

2. In modern sociology, there are various ways to quantify social mobility, mobility indices, mobility coefficients related to gender, education level, nationality, etc. This is one of the main areas of study of the social structure of society, a comparative analysis of various countries.

3. All social movements of an individual or group are accompanied by the overcoming of serious barriers, and to overcome these barriers there are a number of techniques and ways of adapting to a new social space (changing lifestyle, developing typical status behavior, changing social behavior, etc.).

4. There are several variants of social mobility, but the main ones are considered to be horizontal and vertical social mobility. Horizontal mobility implies the movement of an individual from one social group to another, with both groups being approximately at the same level. Vertical mobility involves the movement of an individual or group from one social stratum to another. Moreover, moving up in the corresponding status hierarchy represents an upward mobility, downward - downward. Lliterature

1. Babosov E.M. General Sociology: A Textbook for High Schools. - M. NORMA, 2008. - 560s.

2. Grigoriev S.I. Fundamentals of modern sociology: Tutorial. - M.: Jurist, 2002. - 370s.

3. Efimova O.Yu. Factors that ensure the social mobility of youth // Collection of scientific articles, Publishing house N. Novg. state university., 2005. - 152p.

4. Kulikov L.M. Fundamentals of sociology and political science: Textbook. - M.: Finance and statistics, 2002. - 336s.

5. Marshak A.L. Sociology: Textbook. - M.: UNITI - DANA, 2002. - 380s.

6. Sorokin P.A. Social mobility, its forms and fluctuations / Kravchenko A.I. Sociology: Reader for universities. M.: Academic project; Yekaterinburg: Business book, 2002.- 825p.

7. Sociology. Textbook for universities / Ed. A.I. Kravchenko, V.M. Anurina. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2003. - 435p.

8. Sociology. Textbook / ed. V.N. Lavrinenko. - M.: UNITI - DANA, 2002. - 344 p.

9. Toshchenko Zh.T. Sociology: Textbook for universities. - M.: UNITI-DANA, 2005. - 640s.

10. Frolov S.S. Sociology. Textbook for higher educational institutions. - M.: Nauka, 2006. - 420s.

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The concept of social mobility

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

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

Types of social mobility

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Social mobility examples

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

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

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

Vertical social mobility

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

Channels of social mobility

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

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

There are such types of marginals:

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

Social mobility in society

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

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

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

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

Social stratification and mobility

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

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

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

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Horizontal mobility implies the transition of an individual from one social group to another, located at the same level.

Horizontal mobility means the transition of a person from one social group to another, which is generally at the same level of social stratification, for example, when a rural resident becomes an urban one, but his profession and income level remain the same. Vertical mobility is the transition of people from one social stratum to another in a hierarchical order, for example, from the lower stratum of society to a higher stratum or vice versa - from a higher stratum to a lower one.

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.

Sorokin distinguishes between two types of social mobility: horizontal and vertical. Horizontal mobility is the transition of an individual or social object from one social position to another, lying on the same level, for example, the transition of an individual from one family to another, from one religious group to another, as well as a change of residence. In all these cases, the individual does not change the social stratum to which he belongs, or social status. But the most important process is vertical mobility, which is a set of interactions that facilitate the transition of an individual or a social object from one social stratum to another.

SOCIAL MOBILITY - movement of people from one social strata to another under the influence of various objective and subjective factors; reflecting these processes, the theory of social mobility points to horizontal and vertical mobility. Horizontal mobility means the transition of people from one social group to another, located, so to speak, at the same level of the social structure of society. For example, when a rural resident becomes an urban resident, however, his profession and income level remain the same. Vertical mobility is the social movement of people in a hierarchical order, for example, from a lower stratum to a higher one in terms of social status and wages, or vice versa - from a higher stratum to a lower one. The theory of social mobility is based on the works of P. A. Sorokin, widely used in Western sociology, primarily American.

The social space of society is multidimensional. The main thing in it is vertical and horizontal mobility. Horizontally, all people are equal, while vertically, layers stand out.

Researchers studying utopian movements in medieval Europe, determined that utopian fantasies were most prevalent among former peasants who were driven from their land and became urban artisans, workers, the unemployed, or simply beggars. These people were involved in the process of geographical, horizontal mobility and, in addition, in the process of vertical mobility. It turned out that if combined mobility covers a significant mass of people, then this always leads to the emergence of social movements.

Horizontal mobility is the physical movement of an individual or group from one region to another. In the analysis of vertical mobility, sociologists study both the mobility of the individual within his own career and the differences in the social position of the individual and his parents.

Pitirim Alexandrovich Sorokin (1889 - 1968) - one of the greatest sociologists of the 20th century. Horizontal mobility is the actual movement in physical space, migration; vertical - change in social status, movement up and down the social ladder (Sorokin P.A. Social Mobility. In different types society, this movement is different in form and speed. In every society there are so-called elevators through which this movement is carried out. The classic examples of these are the army, the school, the bureaucracy, professional and theological organizations. They are just as necessary to the social organism as the organs for controlling blood flow in a complex biological body. Sorokin came to the conclusion that mobility contributes to the development of mental flexibility and the versatility of intelligence in general, but, in turn, gives rise to skepticism, cynicism, leads to pathological isolation, moral decline and suicide.

Stratification is a differentiation of people in a hierarchical order based on unequal distribution between members of a group of social capitals - rights, power, influence, opportunities, privileges and benefits, income, etc. There are three main forms of social stratification: economic, political and professional. Between strata and within them there are movements of individuals, which are called social mobility. Social mobility can be horizontal and vertical. Horizontal mobility is the movement from one social group to another, located in the same plane. Vertical - movement from one social level to another.

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Horizontal mobility is the transition of an individual from one social group to another, located on the same level (example: moving from an Orthodox to a Catholic religious group, from one citizenship to another). 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 is distinguished migration- moving from one place to another with a change in status (example: a person moved to the city for permanent residence and changed his profession).

Vertical mobility

Vertical mobility is the movement of a person up or down the career ladder.

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

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

Generational mobility

Intergenerational mobility - 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.

20. Stratification of modern Russian society

Modern studies of the factors, criteria and patterns of stratification of Russian society make it possible to single out layers and groups that differ both in social status and place in the process of reforming Russian society. According to hypothesis put forward by Academician T.I. Zaslavskaya, Russian society consists of four social strata: upper, middle, basic and lower, as well as a desocialized “social bottom”. The upper stratum includes, first of all, the real ruling stratum, which acts as the main subject of the reforms. It includes elite and sub-elite groups that occupy the most important positions in the system of state administration, in economic and law enforcement agencies. They are united by the fact of being in power and the ability to directly influence the reform processes. The middle layer is the germ of the middle layer in the Western sense of the term. True, the majority of its representatives do not possess either the capital that ensures personal independence, or the level of professionalism that meets the requirements of a post-industrial society, or high social prestige. Moreover, this stratum is still too small and cannot serve as a guarantor of social stability. In the future, a full-fledged middle stratum in Russia will be formed on the basis of social groups that today form the corresponding proto-stratum. These are small entrepreneurs, managers of medium and small enterprises, the middle link of the bureaucracy, senior officers, the most qualified and capable specialists and workers. The basic social stratum covers more than 2/3 of Russian society. Its representatives have an average professional and qualification potential and a relatively limited labor potential. The basic stratum includes the main part of the intelligentsia (specialists), semi-intelligentsia (assistant specialists), technical personnel, workers in the mass professions of trade and service, and most of the peasantry. Although the social status, mentality, interests and behavior of these groups are different, their role in the transition process is quite similar - it is primarily an adaptation to changing conditions in order to survive and, if possible, maintain the achieved status. The bottom layer closes the main, socialized part of society, its structure and functions seem to be the least clear. Distinctive features of its representatives are low activity potential and inability to adapt to the harsh socio-economic conditions of the transition period. Basically, this layer consists of elderly, poorly educated, not too healthy and strong people, from those who do not have professions, and often a permanent occupation, place of residence, unemployed, refugees and forced migrants from areas of interethnic conflicts. Signs of representatives of this stratum are very low personal and family income, low level of education, unskilled work or lack of permanent work. The social bottom is characterized mainly by isolation from the social institutions of a large society, compensated by inclusion in specific criminal and semi-criminal institutions. This implies the isolation of social ties mainly within the stratum itself, desocialization, and the loss of the skills of a legitimate social life. Representatives of the social bottom are criminals and semi-criminal elements - thieves, bandits, drug dealers, owners of brothels, small and large crooks, hired killers, as well as degraded people - alcoholics, drug addicts, prostitutes, vagrants, homeless people, etc. Other researchers present a picture of the social strata in modern Russia as follows: the economic and political elite (no more than 0.5%); top layer (6.5%); middle layer (21%); other layers (72%). The top layer includes the top of the state bureaucracy, most of the generals, large landowners, heads of industrial corporations, financial institutions, large and successful entrepreneurs. A third of the representatives of this group are not older than 30 years old, the proportion of women is less than a quarter, the proportion of non-Russians is one and a half times higher than the national average. In recent years, a noticeable aging of this layer has been noted, which indicates its closure within its boundaries. The level of education is very high, although not much higher than that of the middle class. Two thirds live in large cities, one third owns their own enterprises and firms, one fifth is engaged in highly paid mental work, 45% are employed, most of them in the public sector. The incomes of this stratum, in contrast to the incomes of the rest, grow faster than prices, i.e. there is further accumulation of wealth. The material position of this stratum is not only higher, it is qualitatively different from that of the others. Thus, the upper stratum has the most powerful economic and energy potential and can be regarded as the new master of Russia, on whom, it would seem, one should pin hopes. However, this stratum is highly criminalized, socially selfish and short-sighted, showing no concern for strengthening and maintaining the current situation. In addition, he is in a defiant confrontation with the rest of society, partnerships with other social groups are difficult. Using their rights and the opportunities that have opened up, the upper layer does not adequately realize the responsibilities and obligations that accompany these rights. For these reasons, there is no reason to associate hopes for Russia's development along the liberal path with this layer. The middle layer is the most promising in this sense. It is developing quite rapidly (in 1993 it was 14%, in 1996 it was already 21%). In social terms, its composition is extremely heterogeneous and includes: the lower business layer - small businesses (44%); qualified specialists - professionals (37%); the middle link of employees (middle bureaucracy, military, workers in the non-productive sphere (19%). The number of all these groups is growing, and the fastest of all are professionals, then businessmen, slower than others - employees. The selected groups occupy the position of higher or lower, therefore it is more correct to consider not their middle strata, but groups of one middle stratum or, more precisely, groups of the protolayer, since many of its features are only being formed (the boundaries are still blurred, political integration is weak, self-identification is low). The material situation of the protostratum is improving: from 1993 to 1996, the proportion of the poor decreased from 23 to 7%. However, the social well-being of this group is subject to the most dramatic fluctuations, especially for employees. At the same time, it is precisely this protolayer that should be considered as a potential source of formation (probably in two or three decades) of a real middle stratum - a class that is able to gradually become a guarantor of the social stability of society, uniting that part of Russian society that has the greatest socially active innovative potential and more than others interested in the liberalization of public relations.(Maksimov A. Middle class translated into Russian//Open policy. 1998. May. pp. 58-63.)

21. Personality- a concept developed to display the social nature of man, considering it as a subject of socio-cultural life, defining it as a carrier of an individual principle, self-revealing in the contexts of social relations, communication and objective activity . By “personality” is meant: 1) a human individual as a subject of relations and conscious activity (“person” - in the broad sense of the word) or 2) a stable system of socially significant features that characterize an individual as a member of a particular society or community. Although these two concepts - the person as the integrity of a person (Latin persona) and the personality as his social and psychological appearance (Latin parsonalitas) - are terminologically quite distinguishable, they are sometimes used as synonyms.

22. Sociological theories of personality. Status-role concept of personality.

There are psychodynamic, analytical, humanistic, cognitive, behavioral, activity and dispositive theories of personality.

The founder of the psychodynamic theory of personality, also known as "classical psychoanalysis", is the Austrian scientist Z. Freud. Within the framework of psychodynamic theory, personality is a system of sexual and aggressive motives, on the one hand, and defense mechanisms, on the other, and personality structure is an individually different ratio of individual properties, individual blocks (instances) and defense mechanisms.

The analytical theory of personality is close to the theory of classical psychoanalysis, as it has many common roots with it. The most prominent representative of this approach is the Swiss researcher K. Jung. According to the analytical theory, a personality is a set of innate and realized archetypes, and the personality structure is defined as an individual peculiarity of the correlation of individual properties of archetypes, individual blocks of the unconscious and conscious, as well as extraverted or introverted attitudes of the personality.

Supporters of the humanistic theory of personality in psychology (K. Rogers and A. Maslow) consider innate tendencies towards self-actualization to be the main source of personality development. In the framework of the humanistic theory, personality is the inner world of the human "I" as a result of self-actualization, and the structure of personality is the individual ratio of "real I" and "ideal I", as well as the individual level of development of needs for self-actualization.

The cognitive theory of personality is close to the humanistic one, but it has a number of significant differences. The founder of this approach is the American psychologist J. Kelly. In his opinion, the only thing a person wants to know in life is what happened to him and what will happen to him in the future. According to cognitive theory, a personality is a system of organized personal constructs in which it is processed (perceived and interpreted) personal experience person. The structure of personality within the framework of this approach is considered as an individually peculiar hierarchy of constructs.

The behavioral theory of personality also has another name - “scientific”, since the main thesis of this theory is that our personality is a product of learning. Within the framework of this approach, personality is a system of social skills and conditioned reflexes, on the one hand, and a system of internal factors: self-efficacy, subjective significance and accessibility, on the other. According to the behavioral theory of personality, personality structure is a complexly organized hierarchy of reflexes or social skills, in which the internal blocks of self-efficacy, subjective significance and accessibility play a leading role.

The activity theory of personality has received the greatest distribution in domestic psychology. Among the researchers who made the greatest contribution to its development, one should name, first of all, S. L. Rubinshtein, K. A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, A. V. Brushlinsky. In the framework of the activity theory, a person is a conscious subject occupying a certain position in society and performing a socially useful public role. The structure of a personality is a complexly organized hierarchy of individual properties, blocks (orientation, abilities, character, self-control) and systemic existential-existential properties of a personality.

Proponents of the dispositional theory of personality consider the factors of gene-environment interaction to be the main source of personality development, with some directions emphasizing mainly influences from genetics, others from the environment. In the framework of the dispositional theory, personality is a complex system of formal dynamic properties (temperament), traits and socially determined properties. The personality structure is an organized hierarchy of individual biologically determined properties that are included in certain ratios and form certain types of temperament and traits, as well as a set of meaningful properties.

Status-role concept of personality.

The role theory of personality describes its social behavior with 2 basic concepts: “social status” and “social role”.

Each person in the social system occupies several positions. Each of these positions, which implies certain rights and obligations, is called a status. A person can have multiple statuses. But more often than not, only one determines his position in society. This status is called the main or integral. It often happens that the main status is due to his position (for example, director, professor). Social status is reflected both in external behavior and appearance (clothes, jargon), and in internal position (in attitudes, values, orientations).

Distinguish between prescribed and acquired statuses. The prescribed status is determined by society, regardless of the efforts and merits of the individual. It is determined by origin, place of birth, family, etc. The acquired (achieved) status is determined by the efforts, abilities of the person himself (for example, a writer, a doctor, an expert, a management consultant, a doctor of science, etc.).

There are also natural and professional-official statuses. The natural status of a person presupposes essential and relatively stable characteristics of a person (man, woman, child, youth, old man, etc.). Professional and official status is the basic status of an individual; for an adult, it is most often the basis of social status. It fixes the social, economic and organizational-production, managerial position (engineer, chief technologist, shop manager, personnel manager, etc.). Two forms of profession status are usually noted: economic and prestigious. The economic component of the social status of a profession (economic status) depends on the level of material remuneration assumed when choosing and implementing a professional path (choosing a profession, professional self-determination). The prestigious component of social status depends on the profession (prestigious status, prestige of the profession).

Social status denotes the specific place that an individual occupies in a given social system. The totality of requirements imposed on the individual by society forms the content of the social role. A social role is a set of actions that a person holding a given status in the social system must perform. Each status usually includes a number of roles.

One of the first attempts to systematize roles was made by T. Parsons. He believed that each role is described by 5 main characteristics:

1. emotional - some roles require emotional restraint, others - looseness

2. method of obtaining - some are prescribed, others are won

3. scale - part of the roles is formulated and strictly limited, the other is blurred

4. normalization - action in strictly established rules, or arbitrarily

5. motivation - for personal gain, for the common good

The social role should be considered in 2 aspects:

Role expectation

Role play.

There is never a complete match between them. But each of them is of great importance in the behavior of the individual. Our roles are defined primarily by what others expect of us. These expectations are associated with the status that the person has.

In the normal structure of a social role, 4 elements are usually distinguished:

1. description of the type of behavior corresponding to this role

2. prescription (requirements) associated with this behavior

3. assessment of the performance of the prescribed role

4. Sanctions - the social consequences of a particular action within the framework of the requirements of the social system. Social sanctions by their nature can be moral, implemented directly by the social group through its behavior (contempt), or legal, political, environmental.

It should be noted that any role is not a pure model of behavior. The main link between role expectations and role behavior is the character of the individual, i.e. the behavior of a particular person does not fit into a pure scheme.

Start developing problems social mobility was proposed by P. A. Sorokin in the book "Social Stratification and Mobility" (1927). The term gained recognition first in American and then in world sociology.

Under social mobility, understand the transition of an individual (group) from one social position to another. There are two main types of social mobility.

1. Horizontal mobility associated with the transition of an individual from one social group to another, located at the same level. At the same time, the secondary ones change and the main indicators of the status position of the individual (prestige, income, education, power) remain unchanged. Such is the nature of moving for residence from one locality to another of the same rank, changing religion or citizenship, moving from one family to another (in case of divorce or remarriage), from one enterprise to another, etc. In all these cases, there are no noticeable changes in the social position of the individual in the vertical direction.
2. Vertical mobility implies a situation that develops as a result of the movement of an individual (group) from one level of the social hierarchy to another. Vertical mobility can be ascending And descending.

Depending on the factors that caused the social displacement of citizens, there are organized And structural mobility.

Organized mobility due to the fact that changes in the social status of a person and entire groups of people are directed by the state and various public institutions(parties, church, trade unions, etc.). Such activities may be:

voluntary in the case when it is carried out with the consent of citizens (for example, the practice of sending to study at higher and secondary specialized educational institutions);

forced, if it is carried out under the influence of any circumstances beyond our control (moving from places where there is no work to where it is available; moving from places where there was a natural disaster, man-made disaster);

forced if it is connected with the direction of citizens by a court decision to places of deprivation of liberty.

Structural mobility is determined by changes caused by social transformations (nationalization, industrialization, privatization, etc.) and even by a change in the types of social organization (revolution). These changes result in:

a) mass movement of people and entire social groups;
b) changing the principles of social stratification;
c) reorientation of the directions along which the social movement of people takes place for a long historical period.

Vivid examples illustrating the nature of such processes are the French Revolution of 1789 and the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia. Their result was not only the seizure of power by certain political forces, but also a change in the very type of social structure, the entire social structure of society.

The relationship between horizontal and vertical mobility can be quite complex. For example, when moving to live from a village to a city, from a small city to a large one, from a province to a capital, an individual raises his social status, but at the same time, for some other parameters, he can lower it: a lower level of income, housing disorder , lack of demand for the former profession and qualifications, etc.

In the event that territorial movements are combined with a change in status, we are talking about migration(from lat. migratio - movement). Migration can be external(between different countries) And internal(between regions of the same country). There are also emigration, i.e. departure of citizens from the country, and immigration, i.e. entry of foreigners into the country. Both types involve the movement of citizens for long periods or even permanently. There are various migration forms: economic, political, migration of victims of war and natural disasters, etc.

Mass migrations also took place in the past (the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Russia, Crusades, colonization of the New World, etc.). However, only at the end of the 19th century, when migration flows became stable, the main directions of movement were identified. In addition, the following has been established:

1. Migration is carried out from south to north and from east to west.
2. Millions of migrants seek to leave countries and territories plunged into the sphere of hostilities, ethnic and religious conflicts, natural disasters (droughts, floods, earthquakes, etc.).
3. The final destinations of migration are Western countries with stable economies and developed democracies (North America, Western Europe, Australia).

Russia in the 20th century experienced three waves of emigration.

At the same time, Russia itself has become a place where, according to various sources, from 5 to 15 million illegal immigrants live, of which more than a million and a half are citizens of the PRC.

The processes of social mobility (mobility) are present in any society. Another thing is that its scales and distances can be different. Both upward and downward mobility is equally near and far.

The more open a particular society, the more people are able to move up the social ladder, making, in particular, an upward movement up to the highest positions. One of important points American social mythology turns out to be the idea of the so-called societies of equal opportunity, where anyone can become a millionaire or the President of the United States. The example of Bill Gates, the founder and head of Microsoft, suggests that this myth has a real basis.

closeness traditional society(caste, class) limits the prospects of people, reducing long-distance mobility to almost zero. Social mobility here serves the purpose of reproducing the dominant model of stratification. Thus, in India, movements are traditionally limited by the caste to which an individual belongs, and mobility has rigidly set parameters (in a totalitarian society, an ideological moment is also added).

Most models of social organization of the past and present equally demonstrate the characteristics of openness and closeness. For example, the class division of Russian society in the 18th - early 20th centuries was combined with the Law on Order signed by Peter I. public service(1722), better known as the "Table of Ranks". He legitimized the very possibility of a person acquiring a higher status in accordance with personal merits. Thanks to this law, the Russian state received hundreds and thousands of gifted administrators, statesmen, military leaders, etc.

In addition to upward and downward mobility, intergenerational and intragenerational mobility are distinguished.

Intergenerational mobility indicates the ratio of the positions achieved by children with the positions occupied by their parents. By comparing indicators that characterize the social position of different generations (fathers and sons, mothers and daughters), sociology gains an idea of the nature and direction of changes in society.

Intragenerational mobility characterizes the ratio of positions occupied by the same individual at different moments of his life, during which he can repeatedly acquire or lose certain statuses, occupying a more privileged position in some, losing it in others, making ascents or descents.

Factors of social mobility. Vertical mobility in society is possible due to the presence of special channels of social mobility. P. A. Sorokin, who first described their action, speaks of them as “certain “membranes”, “holes”, “stairs”, “elevators” or “paths”, along which individuals are allowed to move up or down from one layer to another". All these formulations are rooted in the sociological literature and are used to explain the factors by which some individuals and entire groups rise up, while others fall down at the same time.

Mobility channels traditionally include the institutions of education, property, marriage, the army, etc. professional activity or for a relevant position. Profitable investment funds for the purchase of a land plot may eventually lead to a significant increase in its value or the discovery of some valuable natural resource (oil, gas, etc.) on it, which will give its owner the status of a wealthy person.

As P. A. Sorokin notes, mobility channels also act as a "sieve", "filters" through which society "tests and sifts, selects and distributes its individuals among various social strata and positions." They provide a process social selection(selection), restricting access to the upper floors of the hierarchy in various ways. The latter is connected with the interests of those who have already reached a privileged position, i.e. upper class. Western sociologists argue that "existing systems of classification do not define this group at all." Meanwhile, it exists and has its own features:

1) hereditary wealth, transmitted and increased from generation to generation. This sign unites the owners of "old" money, the legitimacy of which no one doubts. The basis of capital, as a rule, is a family business;
2) similar educational experience and level of culture. Thus, in the UK, 73% of directors of large companies, 83% of heads of financial institutions and 80% of judges attended privileged schools, although only 8.2% of British schoolchildren study in them;
3) maintaining personal contacts established since the time of study, which extend to the sphere business relations, business and politics, public service;
4) a high percentage of marriages within the class, which is called homogamy(from the Greek homos - equal and gamos - marriage), as a result of which the internal cohesion of the group is enhanced.

These features characterize the constant component of this group, called the establishment(English, establishment - the ruling elite). At the same time, a layer of people stands out who have penetrated the upper class by making their own careers. Of course, the upper class needs to be replenished with fresh forces, those who, thanks to their own efforts, are able to climb the social ladder. The idea of updating and replenishing the upper class with the most capable people who confirmed their merits found justification in the writings of the Italian sociologist Vilfredo Pareto (1848–1923). His approach, called meritocratic(from Latin meritus - worthy and Greek kratos - power), is that if the elite of society does not co-opt the most worthy representatives of the lower classes into its composition, then it will inevitably collapse. In modern interpretations, for example, by the American scientist Daniel Bell, the upper class also includes groups of professionals with higher education who use their special knowledge as a means of asserting their own power status.

In sociology, when describing the forms of social hierarchy, one often resorts to geometric images. So, P. A. Sorokin presented the model of stratification of society, created according to economic parameters, in the form of a cone, each of the levels of which fixes a certain position of wealth and income. In his opinion, in different periods, the shape of the cone can change, either becoming excessively sharpened when social stratification and inequality in society grows, or, on the contrary, becoming more squat, up to turning into a flat trapezoid during egalitarian communist experiments. Both the first and the second are dangerous, threatening social explosion and collapse in one case and complete stagnation of society in another.

The representative of American functionalism B. Barber believes that depending on the greater or lesser degree of hierarchy in society, i.e. more or less sharp pointed to the top, the stratification of society can be depicted in the form of a pyramid and a rhombus. These figures show that there is always a minority in society, i.e. the highest class, having ranks closer to the top. With a pyramidal structure, there is a very small stratum of the middle class, and the majority is the lower class. With a diamond-shaped structure, the predominance of the middle class, which gives balance to the entire system, is characteristic, while the minority is represented in the upper and lower sharp corners of the diamond.

TO middle class, as a rule, include those who have economic independence, i.e. has his own business (small business, workshop, gas station, etc.); they are most often described as old middle class. There is an upper layer of the middle class, which is made up of managers and professional specialists (doctors, college teachers, highly qualified lawyers, etc.), as well as a lower layer (clerical and commercial employees, nurses, and many others). The position of the middle class is extremely heterogeneous. Being located in the system of hierarchy between the "tops" and the social "bottoms", it turns out to be the most mobile. In modern society, the middle class, on the one hand, nourishes the elite with talented and enterprising people, and on the other hand, ensures the stability of the main social structures.

lower class, in Marxist terminology, working class, made up of people who are busy physical labor. It is as deeply structured as all other components of the social hierarchy.

The difference between highly skilled workers and representatives of the so-called underclass(eng. underclass - lower class) is very high in all major indicators (income, professional training, education, etc.). Representatives of the latter have poor working conditions, their standard of living is much lower than that of the majority of the population. Many of them remain unemployed for a long time or periodically lose it. The formation of the underclass is carried out mainly at the expense of ethnic minorities and various kinds of marginal elements. For example, in the UK, they are dominated by black and colored people from the former British colonies, in France - immigrants from North Africa, and in Germany - Turks and Kurds.

In recent years, Western governments have been striving to more actively filter migration flows into these countries, potentially multiplying the size of the underclass. For example, in Canada, the legal requirements for immigrants require that they have vocational education, qualifications and work experience in the specialty. Satisfying these requirements in practice means that the migrants will be able to more successfully fit into the existing system of stratification of society.