Social inequality characterizes the relative position. Status types

Social inequality- conditions under which people have unequal access to such social goods as money, power and prestige; these are some types of relationships between people: personal inequality, inequality of opportunities to achieve desired goals (inequality of chances).

Social inequality is cause and effect social stratification . The main measure of inequality is the number of liquid values; in modern society, this function is usually provided by money. Amount of money determines the place of the individual or family in social stratification.

Social inequality in power relations manifested in the ability of a certain social subject (social stratum, or stratum) in their own interests to determine the goals and direction of the activities of other social subjects (regardless of their interests), dispose of material, informational and status resources society, to form and impose rules and norms of behavior. Key importance in measuring social inequality by power relations belongs to the disposal of resources, which allows the ruling subject to subjugate other people.

Social inequality by level of education and prestige of social status , profession, position, occupation is determined by the inequality of starting conditions or the inequality of conditions for the development of various social strata and strata (real injustice, infringement of natural human rights, creation of artificial social barriers, monopolization of conditions and rules of social production ) .

Social inequality characterizes not so much the functional spheres of society and their organization as the relative position of individual individuals and social groups. In itself, such an approach to identifying a social structure involves comparing, evaluating, concretizing and personifying subjects, as a result of which theories of social inequality are often not without ideological bias, value preferences and conflictological interpretations of the authors.

Theories of social inequality are divided into two principal directions: functionalist and conflictological (Marxist).

functionalism, in the tradition of E. Durkheim, derives social inequality from the division of labor: mechanical (natural, gender and age) and organic (arising as a result of training and professional specialization). Since stratification is seen as a product of the division of labor, functionalists believe that social inequality is determined primarily by the significance and prestige of the functions performed for society.

In modern society, the profession has become a defining criterion for social stratification and the professional status of a department of a person or social group. closely related to such bases of stratification as income, power and prestige. Therefore, education is considered as a source of increment of the social capital of the individual, the opportunity to get good. profession, provide higher standard of living, gain a new status.

Marxism focuses on the problems of class inequality and exploitation. Accordingly, in conflictological theories the dominant role in the system of social reproduction of differentiating (dividing society into groups and layers) relations of property and power is usually emphasized. This logic of describing inequality is well applicable to dynamic transitive societies undergoing revolutions and reforms, since the redistribution of the social structure and the change in the general “rules of the game” are always associated with the institutions of power - property. The nature of the formation of elites and the nature of the overflow of social capital (forced or trust, exploitative or equivalent) depend on who gets control over significant social resources and on what conditions.

Considering a person as an active creator of society (as a subject, producer, source of constant changes in society), one can imagine inequality as a social good, a way to equalize starting positions due to competition, as a mechanism for securing a newly won social position and the privileges that accompany it, an incentive system (reward and punishment). ), a condition for the priority of "passionarity", maintaining the potential for survival, social activity, creativity, innovation.

Inequality is unfair, since all people have equal rights; secondly, inequality is fair, as it allows differential and targeted compensation of the social costs of different people.

The classics of the "classics" (O. Comte, G. Spencer), "modern" (M. Weber, P. Sorokin, T. Parsons) and postmodernist society (for example, P. Bourdieu) speak directly about the fundamental and inviolable principle of the social inequality and its high functional significance for the organization of communities. Modifications undergo specific forms of inequality, the principle itself always manifests itself.

T. Parsons focuses on the unique and therefore fundamental functions social system which for this reason acquire the character of a social monopoly. The indispensability, obligatoriness and qualitative difference of these functions predetermine the specialization and professionalization (assignment) of separate social groups to them, where energetically saturated (economic, productive) communities are subject to information-saturated ones (political, law-supporting, cultural-reproducing).

M. Weber believed that the process of social stratification and the occupation of more advantageous positions in society is organized rather complicated, highlighting three coordinates that determine the position of people and groups in social space; wealth, power, social prestige. Such a model is not just multifactorial, it marks the transition from a focused and linear to a spatial exploratory vision of the problem, when the dynamics of social dispositions is actually seen as a system of vector displacements.

In the modern world, there is new system relations of inequality in social space. The ratio of forms of ownership, institutions of power are changing, some groups and strata are disappearing, others are emerging, others are fragmenting, the social role and status of the fourth are changing, and so on.

The trends in the transformation of the social structure in Russia are determined by: 1) the transformation of the institutional foundations, primarily the emergence of private property and the development of entrepreneurship on its basis; 2) profound changes in the employment system (the system of planned formation, distribution and use work force gives way to not just a free, but a "wild" labor market; 3) a decrease in the standard of living of the vast majority of the population; 4) social anomie (the destruction of one value-normative system and the unformedness of another) and 5) social deprivation, restriction or deprivation of access to material and spiritual resources necessary to meet basic life needs.

The basis of the modern social structure is still social groups Soviet society- the working class, the peasantry, the intelligentsia (although their social role and quantitative indicators have changed); new sociostructural layers appeared.

The main trends are the deepening of social inequality (economic, political, social) and the marginalization of a significant part of the population. Inequality between regions is deepening, reaching a ratio of 1:10.

The process of forming a new social structure and its composition proceeds in three ways, predetermined by basic changes in the forms of ownership.

The first way is the emergence of new social communities on the basis of pluralization of forms of ownership: these are specific strata of hired workers and engineering and technical workers employed in the semi-state and private sectors of the economy according to labor agreements or permanently under employment contracts, employees of mixed enterprises and organizations with the participation of foreign capital, etc.

The second way is to change the position of traditional class-group communities based on the transformation of the state form of ownership: their boundaries, quantitative and qualitative characteristics, the emergence of boundary and marginal layers, etc.

The third way is the emergence of layers-strata based on interaction various forms property: managers - a new managerial layer, a new elite, middle layers, etc.

social structure Russian society looks like a “triangle pressed to the base” (in contrast to the “lemon” in developed countries or "Eiffel Tower" - in Latin American); of particular importance in it is the state of marginality, which accompanies the forced transition of a person from one socio-professional group to another and significantly changes the characteristics of the socio-professional status.

The "new poor" have emerged. And earlier, in Soviet time, the country was quite low-income. But more skilled, more complex labor was paid higher than low-skilled. Education was one of the main structure-forming factors. A university diploma was a filter for promotion in the job hierarchy. This, in turn, led to higher wages, as well as the share of privileges in obtaining additional social benefits.

Social structure studies are now dominated by multidimensional stratification models using such criteria as property status and income, education, position in the power structure, social status and prestige, self-identification, i.e. a combination of objective and subjective criteria.

An important characteristic of each of the statuses is the range and freedom of other statuses. In any society, there is a certain hierarchy of statuses, which is the basis of its stratification. Certain statuses are prestigious, others are vice versa. Prestige is an assessment by society of the social significance of a particular status, enshrined in culture and public opinion.

This hierarchy is formed under the influence of two factors:

The real usefulness of those social functions that a person performs;

The system of values ​​characteristic of a given society. If the prestige of some statuses is unreasonably high or, conversely, underestimated, it is usually said that there is a loss of status balance. A society that tends to lose this balance cannot function normally.

There are statuses assigned (born) and achieved (acquired). A person receives the assigned status automatically - by ethnic origin, place of birth, family status - regardless of personal efforts (daughter, Buryat, Volzhanka, aristocrat). The achieved status - a writer, student, spouse, officer, laureate, director, deputy - is acquired by the efforts of the person himself with the help of various social groups - families, brigades, parties.

Assigned status does not coincide with innate. Only three social statuses are considered natural: sex, nationality, race. The Negro is a born status that characterizes the race. A man is an innate status that characterizes gender. Russian is an innate status that determines nationality. Race, gender and nationality are given biologically, a person inherits them against his will and consciousness.

V Lately scientists began to question whether birth status even existed if sex and skin color could be changed through surgery. The concepts of biological sex and socially acquired have appeared.

When parents are persons of different nationalities, it is difficult to determine what nationality the children should be. Often they themselves decide what to write in the passport.

Age is a biologically determined trait, but it is not an inborn status, since during a person’s life a person moves from one age to another, and people expect quite specific behavior from a specific age category: from the young, for example, they expect respect for the elders, from adults - care for children and old people.

The kinship system has a whole set of assigned statuses. Only some of them are natural. These include the statuses: “son”, “daughter”, “sister”, “nephew”, “grandmother” and some others expressing consanguinity. There are also non-blood relatives, the so-called legal relatives, who become as a result of marriage, adoption, etc.

Achieved status. Significantly different from the assigned status. If the assigned status is not under the control of the individual, then the status achieved is under control. Any status that is not automatically given to a person by the very fact of birth is considered to be achieved.

A person acquires the profession of a driver or engineer through his own efforts, training and free choice. He also acquires the status of world champion, doctor of science or rock star thanks to his own efforts, great work.

Achieved status requires making an independent decision and independent action. The status of a husband is achievable: in order to get it, a man makes a decision, makes a formal proposal to his bride, and performs a host of other actions.

Achievable status refers to the positions that people occupy due to their efforts or merit. "Postgraduate student" - the status that university graduates achieve by competing with others and showing outstanding academic success.

The more dynamic a society is, the more cells in its social structure are designed for achieved statuses. The more statuses achieved in a society, the more democratic it is.

Statuses can also be formalized or non-formalized, depending on whether within the framework of formalized or non-formalized social institutions and more widely - social interactions - this or that function is performed (for example, the status of a plant director and a leader of a company of close comrades).

Social status is the relative position of an individual or group in a social system. concept social status characterizes the place of the individual in the system public relations, its activities in the main areas of life and the assessment of the individual's activities by society, expressed in certain quantitative and qualitative indicators (salary, bonuses, awards, titles, privileges), as well as self-esteem.

Social status in the meaning of the norm and the social ideal has great potential in solving the problems of socialization of the individual, since the orientation towards achieving a higher social status stimulates social activity.

If a person's own social status is misunderstood, then he is guided by other people's patterns of behavior. There are two extremes in a person's assessment of his social status. Low status self-esteem is associated with weak resistance to external influence. Such people are not self-confident, more often subject to pessimistic moods. High self-esteem is more often associated with activity, enterprise, self-confidence, life optimism. Based on this, it makes sense to introduce the concept of status self-assessment as an essential personality trait that cannot be reduced to individual functions and actions of a person.

Personal status - the position that a person occupies in a small (or primary) group, depending on how he is assessed by his individual qualities.

Social status plays a dominant role among strangers, and personal status among familiar people. Acquaintances make up the primary, small group. Introducing ourselves to strangers, especially employees of any organization, institution, enterprise, we usually name the place of work, social status and age. For familiar people, these characteristics are not important, but our personal qualities, that is, informal authority.

Each of us has a set of social and personal statuses, because we are involved in many large and small groups. The latter include family, a circle of relatives and friends, a school class, a student group, an interest club, etc. In them, a person can have a high, medium or low status, that is, be a leader, an independent, an outsider. Social and personal status may or may not coincide.

mixed status. Sometimes it is very difficult to determine what type this or that status belongs to. For example, being unemployed is not a position that most people aspire to. On the contrary, they avoid it. Most often, a person finds himself unemployed against his will and desire. The reason is factors beyond his control: the economic crisis, mass layoffs, the ruin of the company, etc. Such processes are not under the control of an individual. It is in his power to make efforts to find work or not to do so, resigned to the situation.

Political upheavals, coups d'etat, social revolutions, wars can change (or even cancel) some statuses of huge masses of people against their will and desire. After the October Revolution of 1917, the former nobles turned into emigrants, remained or became officials, engineers, workers, teachers, having lost the attributed status of a nobleman, which had disappeared from the social structure.

Dramatic changes can also occur at the individual level. If a person becomes disabled at the age of 30, his socio-economic situation has changed significantly: if earlier he earned his own bread, now he is completely dependent on state assistance. It is difficult to call it an attainable status, since no one wants to become disabled of their own free will. It could be considered as ascribed, but a 30-year-old cripple is not born disabled.

The title of academician is at first an attainable status, but later it turns into an ascribed one, as it is considered lifelong, although not hereditary. The cases described above can be attributed to mixed statuses. A person who has received a doctorate in science cannot pass it on to his son, but he can enjoy certain advantages if he decides to advance along the scientific path. If socio-demographic restrictions are imposed on the occupation of a particular position, then it thereby ceases to act as a person. There are also formal and informal statuses, basic and episodic, independent and dependent statuses.

Test on the topic "Social sphere"

Teacher: Taran Elena Aleksandrovna

MOU secondary school No. 1, Gryazovets, Vologda region

Position: teacher of history, social studies

Note: You can use the test both in the base level class and in the profile level.

Option 1.

A 1. The assessment by society of the social significance of a particular status, enshrined in culture and public opinion, is called

1) value 2) adaptation 3) prestige 4) sanction

A 2. In history there is great amount examples of commoners becoming generals. In this case, the army acts as

1) social adaptation 3) social determinants

2) social lift 4) social control

A 3. After graduation, K. got a job as a manager in a small private company. After some time, he moved to work as a top manager in the largest holding company in the South of Russia. This situation can be seen as an example

1) horizontal social mobility 2) vertical social mobility

3) social stratification4) professional differentiation

A 4. Relations between people (or groups of people) that are carried out in accordance with laws social organization societies are called

1) social relations2) social structures

3) social integration4) social differentiation

A 5. The distribution of social groups in a hierarchically ordered sequence is called

1) adaptation 2) stratification 3) mobility 4) socialization

A 6. A democratic (partner) family, in contrast to a patriarchal (traditional) family, is characterized by

1) cohabitation of at least three generations

2) a fair division of household duties

3) the economic dependence of women on men

4) the dominant role of men in the family

A 7. The functions of the family are

1) education of law-abiding behavior in children

2) determination of the amount of utility bills

3) setting standards for school education

4) definition minimum size wages

A 8. Social control is a special mechanism for maintaining public order and includes two main elements:

1) power and actions 2) norms and sanctions

3) expectations and motives 4) statuses and roles

A 9. There are rules for ending a telephone conversation:

The caller hangs up first. The man who called the woman is waiting for the woman to hang up first.

If the boss called his subordinate, then the latter is waiting for the boss to hang up. What type of social norms can they be attributed to?

1) norms of etiquette 2) customs 3) norms of law 4) traditions

A 10. Social conditions under which people have different access to social benefits are called

1) social mobility 3) social inequality

2) social status 4) social relations

A. R. and P. got married, formed a family, began to live separately from their parents - this is an example of horizontal mobility.

B. An example of horizontal social mobility is the receipt of workers leadership position at the enterprise in connection with the graduation from the university.

A 12. Which judgment is correct?

A. Behavior that deviates from the values, norms, attitudes and expectations of society or a social group is called deviant.

B. Any manifestation of deviant behavior is a crime.

1) only A is true 3) both judgments are true

2) only B is correct 4) both judgments are wrong

IN 1. Analyze the data given in the social survey table reflecting the answer to the question "What is success?" What conclusion can be drawn from these data?

1) young people in all age groups singled out economic, independence, independence from others as the main criterion for success

2) young people under the age of 25 consider the creation of a strong family to be the most important thing in life

3) to be the best - a criterion characteristic of young people aged 18 to 25 years. This is due to their characteristic teenage maximalism.

4) the number of people who believe that career growth is the most important thing in life decreases with age

A. The development of interethnic relations in the modern world is associated with two trends - interethnic integration and national differentiation. B. In our opinion, they act constantly, but not without conflict. B. The aggravation of the national question is connected with the contradictions between the growing scientific and technological revolution, which requires maximum cooperation, international division labor, and the national identity of states and peoples. D. Contradictions arise between the nation-states themselves due to the presence of specific interests: the use of natural resources, transport communications. E. The reasons for the escalation of conflicts are political, economic, and demographic.

Determine what positions are

Social inequality characterizes the relative position of individuals and social ***(A). Specific group or individual ***(B) are recognized as members of society and in public opinion a certain significance is attributed to them. Social inequality in modern society most often understood as *** (B) - the distribution of social groups in a hierarchical order. The concept of "middle class" describes such a socially comfortable position as economic well-being, the availability of property valued in society *** (D), civil rights. Social inequality is determined primarily by the significance and *** (D) of the functions performed for society. In modern society, the profession becomes the defining criterion of social *** (E)

The words in the list are given in the nominative case. Each word can only be used once. Choose the words sequentially one by one, filling in each gap. Note that there are more words on the list than you need to fill in the gaps.

1) status 2) group 3) criterion

4) stratification 5) profession 6) prestige

Part 3 (level C tasks)

1. What is the meaning of social scientists in the concept of "social mobility"? Drawing on the knowledge of the social science course, make two sentences containing information about the factors affecting social mobility

Option 2.

A 1. The profession of a programmer today is especially in demand. Its degree of prestige is determined

1) higher educational institutions2) enterprise administration

3) society 4) laws

A 2. What social lift was limited by the Circular on Cook's Children, adopted in Russia in 1886?

1) army 2) church 3) school 4) marriage

A 3. An example of horizontal social mobility is

1) obtaining the next officer rank

2) transfer to a new, better paid position

3) retirement

4) moving to another city

A 4. The clash of opposing goals, opinions and views of the subjects of interaction is

1) social control 3) social integration

2) social adaptation 4) social conflict

A 5. Indicate a sign that is characteristic of all types of social norms.

1) fastening in the appropriate regulations, laws

2) transmission from generation to generation in the form of unwritten norms and rules

3) acting as a regulator of people's behavior

4) security with the power of state coercion

A 6. What sign must be indicated in order to confirm that the Vasiliev family is extended?

1) Vasiliev N. and M. have been living in a registered marriage for more than 15 years

2) N. and M. Vasilievs have two minor children

3) The Vasilyev family consists of the Vasilyev spouses, their children, as well as the parents of wife N.

4) The Vasilievs have their own business

A 7. A small group based on marriage or consanguinity, whose members are connected by a common life and mutual responsibility, is ...

1) clan 2) family 3) estate 4) elite

A 8. The activity of a society to prescribe and encourage the proper behavior of its members and the application of sanctions to violators of accepted norms is called

1) social control

2) social differentiation

3) social stratification

4) social progress

A 9. “While greeting a woman or a senior in position, a man should stand up. A woman in a business setting also greets an incoming employee by standing up if he is higher in position. What type of social norm does this norm belong to?

1) custom 2) rule of law 3) tradition 4) etiquette

A 10. Trends in the development of nations and interethnic relations are

1) centralization and decentralization2) bureaucratization and democratization

3) integration and differentiation4) collectivization and individualization

A 11. Which statement is correct?

A. A radical change or loss of a profession by a person always entails changes in his social status.

B. As a result of a change in social status, the social roles of a person change.

1) only A is true 3) both judgments are true

2) only B is correct 4) both judgments are wrong

A 12. Are the following statements about deviant behavior correct?

A. Deviant behavior can be beneficial to society.

B. A manifestation of positive deviant behavior in society is scientific and inventive activity.

1) only A is true 3) both judgments are true

2) only B is correct 4) both judgments are wrong

Q 1. Analyze data from a social survey on the topic "How often do you trust people?". What conclusion can be drawn from these data?

18-24

25-34

15-44

45-59

1) the older people are, the less they trust others

2) most people don't trust each other

3) the most distrustful are people whose generation graduated from school in the late 70s - the first half of the 80s of the twentieth century

4) young people from 18 to 24 years old are characterized by an absolute lack of trust in people

B 2. Read the text below, with each position marked with a letter.

A. In our opinion, deviant behavior is very different from the requirements of social norms. B. It entails the application of sanctions - from the desire to improve to the punishment and isolation of the offender from society. C. Evaluation of human behavior as "deviant" is extremely dependent on the era, the norms and values ​​that have developed in society: what is deviant today may become the norm tomorrow. D. In sociology, there are several reasons for deviant behavior: biological (congenital predisposition of some people to alcoholism, drug addiction, crime); psychological (associated with mental deviations of the personality); social (the impossibility of positive self-realization of the individual).

Determine which provisions of the text are worn

1) factual nature 2) nature of value judgments

Write under the letter of the position a number indicating its nature.

" V

B 3. Read the text below with a number of words missing. Choose from the proposed list of words to be inserted in place of spaces.

The aggravation of national relations results in *** (A). This is a form of conflict in which groups with opposing interests differ in *** (B) features. Their most common causes are violation of *** (C) representatives of a particular nation, violation of justice and *** (D) in interethnic relations. Interethnic conflicts can only be resolved by means of ***(D) - a system of measures implemented by the state aimed at taking into account, combining and realizing national interests, at resolving contradictions in the sphere of national relations. Its strategy in the Russian Federation was developed and substantiated in the Concept of National Policy and the State Program for the National Revival and Interethnic Cooperation of the Peoples of Russia. strategic goal is to strengthen the unity and cohesion of all peoples on the basis of national revival and interethnic cooperation, the strengthening of *** (E) and ties, the formation of a state-political and interethnic community ~~ Russians.

Words (phrases) in the list are given in the nominative case. Keep in mind that there are more words in the list than you need to fill in the gaps. Choose sequentially one word after another, mentally filling in each gap.

1) unitary state 2) ethnic conflicts.

3) human rights 4) national policy

5) ethnic 6) federal relations

7) state 8) administrative-command methods

9) tolerance

Part 3 (level C tasks)

1. What is the meaning of social scientists in the concept of "youth"? Make two sentences that reveal the essence of the problems of modern youth.

Additional task for the profile level:

2. To speak at the seminar, you need to prepare a detailed answer on the topic "Interethnic Relations". Make a plan according to which you will perform.

3. Text. Modern migration processes in Russia

External migration processes in Russia are characterized by qualitative features in relation to the emigrating contingent. Recall that over the past 15 years the country has lost at least 100 thousand people annually. Russia is leaving the most educated, professionally trained people, for whose training huge capital has been spent. "Brain drain" is an indicator that characterizes the socio-economic and political situation of the country. First of all, scientists, doctors, technical and creative intelligentsia, highly skilled workers are leaving Russia. Our citizens, leaving the country, significantly contribute to the growth of the scientific, technical and intellectual potential of Germany, Israel, the USA and a number of other countries.

"Brain drain" has a pronounced perspective character. According to the results of surveys of graduates of leading natural-technical universities (Moscow State University, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, Moscow Aviation Institute, etc.), more than 50% of them would like to emigrate, and 10-12% already have specific proposals for working abroad. Today, every fifth emigrant has a higher education, including among those who left for Israel - 30%, in the USA - more than 40% (the share of people with higher education in Russia is only 13.3%). The departure of a highly qualified specialist is equivalent to the loss of 300 thousand dollars a year for Russia. The damage caused by the departure of one specialist with a Ph.D. degree in some cases reaches $2 million. According to the most conservative estimates of experts on population migration, in the coming years Russia will suffer losses in the amount of $30-35 billion annually due to the departure of specialists with a high level of training.

The paradoxical nature of the qualitative side of the immigration-emigration balance is determined by the fact that, giving a number of countries its most highly qualified personnel, Russia acquires very low-skilled personnel from part of the excess labor potential of neighboring and even distant countries. There is no exact definition of the number of immigrants to Russia, according to many experts, illegal immigrants are at least 1 million people. In a number of regions of the country, illegal immigration has the most significant impact on the socio-economic, and often even on the state-political situation. For example, immigrants from Southeast Asian countries (mainly from China) are concentrated in the Far East. Taking into account the growing outflow of the Russian-speaking population from the regions Far East The increase in the proportion of Chinese in the total population creates not only ethnic and cultural problems, but also far-reaching economic, military-strategic and political difficulties.

Illegal immigrants occupy the most unprestigious jobs for the local population. A significant part of them agree to work outside their specialty and without formalizing their labor relations with an employer. This situation creates special social and economic consequences. Employers become less interested in improving working conditions and introducing new, more advanced technology; favorable conditions are created for the development of the shadow economy; the level of injuries and morbidity among migrants is growing.

Russia is unable today to avoid both legal and illegal immigration. Its inevitability is predetermined by the demographic situation in the country. For the sake of preserving the territory, the state will have to open the doors wide for immigrants. It is already extremely difficult to curb illegal migration today; we will have to respond by expanding legal opportunities for immigration. It is necessary, without delay, to develop a new migration legislation that takes into account today's and tomorrow's interests of Russia. But just changing the laws is not enough. Different attitudes towards nation and citizenship are urgently needed, it is necessary to control the structure of immigration. At the same time, new management schemes and aspirations should be aimed at optimizing the demographic situation of the people of Russia, it is necessary not tomorrow, but today, in reality, to take care of their well-being and health.

P. D. Pavlenok, L. I. Savinov. "Sociology"

C1. What is a "brain drain"? Why does the author consider it an indicator that characterizes the socio-economic situation in the country?

C2. Name at least three consequences of the brain drain.

SZ. What is the qualitative characteristic of illegal immigration? What social and economic problems arise in connection with it? (Name at least three.)

Some of the examples that we have given are a reflection of the existing inequality in society. Social inequality characterizes the position in relation to each other of various people and their associations. Inequality existed in society at different stages of its development, but for each period there were certain traits and signs inherent in this particular era. People in society, as we know from history, were not equal in their position, there was always a division into rich and poor, respected and despised, successful and unsuccessful.

The estate structure was more characteristic of the ancient and medieval society, which are usually called traditional. An estate is a group of people with certain rights and obligations that are inherited. Some of the estates had privileges - special rights that elevated these people and allowed them to live at the expense of others. So, in the Russian Empire, the nobility was a privileged estate. And, on the contrary, the vast majority of people in the country were deprived of even elementary human rights. The serfs were the property of the landlords, they could be sold and bought, and the parents even separately from the children.

With the beginning of the industrial revolution, the structure of society changed, classes appeared instead of estates. Class division is carried out, first of all, according to the place of people in economic system, in relation to property, in terms of the amount of income they receive. Belonging to a class is not inherited, the transition from one class to another is not regulated in any way, much depends on the person himself. In the 19th century, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat (wage workers) became the main classes in the leading countries of the world. It was then that the theory of K. Marx and F. Engels about the class division of society appeared. They believed that classes are always opposed to each other, are in a state of struggle, and this struggle between them is the driving force of history. First, the opposing classes were slaves and slave owners, then feudal lords and dependent peasants, and finally workers and the bourgeoisie.

Modern social science interprets the concept of class somewhat differently. An important sign of class affiliation is considered to be a certain way of life, due to the profession and income level. In the structure of society today, it is customary to distinguish three main classes:

The highest, which includes bankers, employers who own production and control it, top managers who perform leading management functions;

Medium - employees and skilled workers, businessmen with a certain level of income;

The lowest - workers without special education, service personnel.

A special group also includes people working on the land - farmers, peasants. Of course, such a division is extremely arbitrary, and the actual distribution of people into social groups is much more complicated.

In every society in different historical periods there were people who did not belong to established groups and strata. They occupied, as it were, a borderline, intermediate position. Such a state in science is called marginal, and these people themselves are called marginal.

Outcasts are people who, for various reasons, have fallen out of their usual social environment and are unable to join new groups. For example, with the beginning of the industrial revolution in Europe and in Russia, part of the peasants was forced to move to cities, look for work there, and adapt to a new life. But not every peasant likes urban conditions, the rhythm of urban life. The migrants feel like strangers in this new environment. Soul and mind they are still peasants living in a small village, with their own way of life.

Another example can be given. Some representatives of the Russian intelligentsia, who are radically minded and have a negative attitude towards autocracy, state and public order Russian Empire, renounced their belonging to the ruling strata in society and announced the transition to the positions of the oppressed people. They proclaimed themselves spokesmen for the interests of the peasants and workers. The position of such people can also be called marginal.

Over time, the outcasts can form a new stable group of people. In the modern world, where the framework of social groups is very mobile and people can move from one to another, the emergence of marginal groups is an important source of change and development of the social structure.

Even a superficial look at the people around us gives reason to talk about their dissimilarity. People are different by gender, age, temperament, height, hair color, intelligence level and many other features. Nature endowed one with musical abilities, the other with strength, the third with beauty, and prepared for someone the fate of a weak invalid. Differences between people, due to their physiological and mental characteristics, are called natural.

Natural differences are far from harmless, they can become the basis for the emergence of unequal relationships between individuals. The strong force the weak, the cunning triumph over the simpletons. Inequality resulting from natural differences is the first form of inequality, in one form or another manifested in some species of animals. However, in human main is social inequality, inextricably linked with social differences, social differentiation.

Social those are called differences, which generated social factors: way of life (urban and rural population), division of labor (mental and physical labor), social roles (father, doctor, politician), etc., which leads to differences in the degree of ownership of property, income received, power, achievement, prestige, education.

The different levels of social development are basis for social inequality, the emergence of rich and poor, the stratification of society, its stratification (a stratum layer that includes people with the same income, power, education, prestige).

Income- the amount of cash receipts received by a person per unit of time. It may be labor, or it may be the possession of property that “works”.

Education— a set of knowledge gained in educational institutions. Its level is measured by the number of years of study. Let's say, incomplete secondary school - 9 years. The professor has more than 20 years of education behind him.

Power- the ability to impose your will on other people, regardless of their desire. It is measured by the number of people to whom it applies.

Prestige- this is an assessment of the position of the individual in society, prevailing in public opinion.

Causes of social inequality

Can a society exist without social inequality? Apparently, in order to answer the question posed, it is necessary to understand the reasons that give rise to the unequal position of people in society. In sociology, there is no single universal explanation for this phenomenon. Various scientific and methodological schools and trends interpret it differently. We single out the most interesting and noteworthy approaches.

Functionalism explains inequality based on the differentiation of social functions performed by different layers, classes, communities. The functioning and development of society is possible only thanks to the division of labor, when each social group carries out the solution of the corresponding vital tasks for the entire integrity: some are engaged in the production of material goods, others create spiritual values, others manage, etc. For the normal functioning of society an optimal combination of all types of human activity is necessary. Some of them are more important, others less. So, on the basis of the hierarchy of social functions, a corresponding hierarchy of classes, layers is formed performing them. Those who carry out the general leadership and administration of the country are invariably placed at the top of the social ladder, for only they can support and ensure the unity of society, create the necessary conditions for the successful performance of other functions.

The explanation of social inequality by the principle of functional utility is fraught with a serious danger of a subjectivist interpretation. Indeed, why is this or that function considered as more significant, if society as an integral organism cannot exist without functional diversity. This approach does not allow explaining such realities as the recognition of an individual as belonging to the highest stratum in the absence of his direct participation in management. That is why T. Parsons, considering the social hierarchy as a necessary factor that ensures the viability of the social system, links its configuration with the system of dominant values ​​in society. In his understanding, the location of social strata on the hierarchical ladder is determined by the ideas that have formed in society about the significance of each of them.

Observations of the actions and behavior of specific individuals gave impetus to the development status explanation of social inequality. Each person, occupying a certain place in society, acquires his own status. is an inequality of status, resulting both from the ability of individuals to perform a particular social role (for example, to be competent to manage, to have the appropriate knowledge and skills to be a doctor, lawyer, etc.), and from the opportunities that allow a person to achieve one or another position in society (ownership of property, capital, origin, belonging to influential political forces).

Consider economic view to the problem. In accordance with this point of view, the root cause of social inequality lies in the unequal attitude to property, the distribution of material wealth. most brightly this approach appeared in Marxism. According to his version, the emergence of private property led to the social stratification of society, the formation antagonistic classes. The exaggeration of the role of private property in the social stratification of society led Marx and his followers to the conclusion that it is possible to eliminate social inequality by establishing public ownership of the means of production.

The lack of a unified approach to explaining the origins of social inequality is due to the fact that it is always perceived at least at two levels. First, as a property of society. Written history knows no societies without social inequality. The struggle of people, parties, groups, classes is a struggle for the possession of greater social opportunities, advantages and privileges. If inequality is an inherent property of society, then it carries a positive functional load. Society reproduces inequality because it needs it as a source of life support and development.

Secondly, inequality always perceived as unequal relations between people, groups. Therefore, it becomes natural to seek to find the origins of this unequal position in the peculiarities of a person's position in society: in the possession of property, power, in the personal qualities of individuals. This approach is now widely used.

Inequality has many faces and manifests itself in various parts of a single social organism: in the family, in an institution, at an enterprise, in small and large social groups. It is necessary condition organizations social life . Parents, having an advantage in experience, skills, financial means compared with their young children, have the opportunity to influence the latter, facilitating their socialization. The functioning of any enterprise is carried out on the basis of the division of labor into managerial and subordinate-executive. The appearance of a leader in the team helps to unite it, turn it into a stable education, but at the same time it is accompanied by the provision leader of special rights.

Any, organization strive to save inequalities seeing in it ordering beginning, without which it is impossible reproduction of social ties and integration of the new. The same property belongs to society as a whole.

Ideas about social stratification

All societies known to history were organized in such a way that some social groups always had a privileged position over others, which was expressed in an unequal distribution of social benefits and powers. In other words, social inequality is inherent in all societies without exception. Even the ancient philosopher Plato argued that any city, no matter how small it may be, is actually divided into two halves - one for the poor, the other for the rich, and they are at enmity with each other.

Therefore, one of the basic concepts of modern sociology is "social stratification" (from Latin stratum - layer + facio - I do). Thus, the Italian economist and sociologist V. Pareto believed that social stratification, changing in form, existed in all societies. At the same time, as the famous sociologist of the XX century believed. P. Sorokin, in any society, at any time, there is a struggle between the forces of stratification and the forces of leveling.

The concept of "stratification" came to sociology from geology, where they denote the location of the Earth's layers along a vertical line.

Under social stratification we will understand the vertical cut of the location of individuals and groups in horizontal layers (strata) according to such characteristics as income inequality, access to education, the amount of power and influence, and professional prestige.

In Russian, the analogue of this recognized concept is an social stratification.

The basis of stratification is social differentiation - the process of emergence of functionally specialized institutions and division of labor. A highly developed society is characterized by a complex and differentiated structure, a diverse and rich status-role system. At the same time, some social statuses and roles are inevitably preferable and more productive for individuals, as a result of which they are more prestigious and desirable for them, and some are considered by the majority as somewhat humiliating, associated with a lack of social prestige and a low standard of living in general. It does not follow from this that all statuses that have arisen as a product of social differentiation are arranged in a hierarchical order; some of them, such as age, do not contain grounds for social inequality. Thus, the status of a young child and the status of a nursing infant are not unequal, they are simply different.

Inequality between people exists in every society. This is quite natural and logical, given that people differ in their abilities, interests, life preferences, value orientations etc. In every society, there are poor and rich, educated and uneducated, enterprising and unenterprising, those in power and those without it. In this regard, the problem of the origin of social inequality, attitudes towards it and ways to eliminate it has always aroused increased interest, not only among thinkers and politicians, but also among ordinary people who consider social inequality as an injustice.

In the history of social thought, the inequality of people was explained in different ways: by the initial inequality of souls, divine providence, imperfection of human nature, functional necessity by analogy with the body.

German economist K. Marx linked social inequality with the emergence of private property and the struggle of interests of various classes and social groups.

German sociologist R. Dahrendorf also believed that the economic and status inequality underlying the ongoing conflict of groups and classes and the struggle for the redistribution of power and status is formed as a result of the market mechanism for regulating supply and demand.

Russian-American sociologist P. Sorokin explained the inevitability of social inequality the following factors: internal biopsychic differences of people; environment(natural and social), objectively placing individuals in an unequal position; the joint collective life of individuals, which requires the organization of relations and behavior, which leads to the stratification of society into the ruled and the managers.

American sociologist T. Pearson explained the existence of social inequality in every society by the presence of a hierarchical system of values. For example, in American society, success in business and career is considered the main social value, therefore, scientists of technological specialties, plant directors, etc., have a higher status and income, while in Europe the dominant value is “preservation of cultural patterns”, in connection with what society gives special prestige to humanities intellectuals, clergymen, university professors.

Social inequality, being inevitable and necessary, manifests itself in all societies at all stages of historical development; only the forms and degree of social inequality change historically. Otherwise, individuals would lose the incentive to engage in complex and laborious, dangerous or uninteresting activities, to improve their skills. With the help of inequality in income and prestige, society encourages individuals to engage in necessary, but difficult and unpleasant professions, encourages more educated and talented people, and so on.

The problem of social inequality is one of the most acute and topical in modern Russia. A feature of the social structure of Russian society is a strong social polarization - the division of the population into poor and rich in the absence of a significant middle stratum, which is the basis of an economically stable and developed state. Strong social stratification, characteristic of modern Russian society, reproduces a system of inequality and injustice, in which the opportunities for independent self-realization in life and raising social status are limited for a fairly large part of the Russian population.