What is social mobility? A lot of students sooner or later begin to ask this question. And the answer to it is quite simple - it is a change in the social stratum. This concept is very easy to express through two similar ones - a social lift or a lighter, everyday one - a career. In this article, we will consider in more detail the concept of social mobility, its types, factors and other categories of this topic.
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To get started, you need consider this concept. like social stratification. In simple terms, the structure of society. Each person occupies some place in this structure, has a certain status, amount of money, and so on. Mobility occurs when a person's position in society changes.
Social mobility - examples
You don't have to look far for examples. When a person started as an ordinary schoolboy and became a student, this is an example of social mobility. Or a person was without a permanent place of residence for 5 years, and then got a job - an example of social mobility. And when a person changes a profession to a similar one in status (for example, a freelancer doing Photoshop and a copywriter) - this is also an example of mobility.
Perhaps you know the proverb “from rags to riches”, which also expresses the transition from one status to another noticed by the people.
Types of social mobility
Social mobility can be both horizontal and vertical. Let's take a closer look at each type.
is a change in social group while maintaining the same social status. Examples of horizontal mobility are a change in the religious community or the university in which a person studies. There are such types horizontal social mobility:
Vertical mobility
Vertical mobility is what a huge number of people dream about. And in the same way, sometimes it happens that it hurts. How does it work? And everything is very simple. But let's keep the intrigue a little and give a definition that you could logically derive a little earlier. If horizontal mobility is a change in social group, job, religion, and so on without changing status, then vertical mobility is the same, only with an increase in status.
However, vertical mobility may not imply a change in social group. A person can grow inside her. For example, he became the boss among his frustrated colleagues.
Vertical mobility happens:
- Upward social mobility. This is when status rises. For example, promotion.
- Downward social mobility. Accordingly, the status is lost. For example, a person became homeless.
There is also a concept like a social lift. These are very fast social ladders. Although many researchers do not really like this term, because it does not describe the specifics of moving up very well. Nonetheless, social elevators exist. These are structures in which a person will in any case reach heights if he is a responsible executor for many years. An example of a social lift is the army, where ranks are given for the number of years spent in the service.
Speed ladders of social mobility
It's not quite elevators, but not quite stairs. A person will have to make efforts in order to break through, but not so intense. Speaking more down to earth, these are the factors of social mobility that contribute to moving up in any modern society. Here they are:
Thus these points, if followed, open up many possibilities for you. The main thing is to start taking action.
Examples of social elevators
Examples of social lifts include marriage, the army, upbringing, climbing religious organization And so on. Here is the complete list given by Sorokin:
Don't miss: concept, its problems and functions in philosophy.
Social mobility in modern society
There are a lot of opportunities open up for people right now. It's easy to get to the top right now. And all thanks to the market economy and democracy. The modern political system in most countries encourages people to become successful. As for our realities, everything is much more optimistic than in Soviet times, where the actual only social elevators there was an army and a party, but worse than in America due to high tax rates, poor competition (a lot of monopolists), high credit rates for entrepreneurs.
Problem Russian legislation is that entrepreneurs often have to teeter on the edge to get ahead in their careers. But you can't say it's impossible. You just have to push harder.
Examples of Rapid Social Mobility
There are a huge number of people who were able to quickly achieve great heights. However, everyone has their own concept of "fast". For some, success in ten years is fast enough (which is objectively true), and for some, even two years is an unaffordable luxury.
Usually, when people look for examples of people who have quickly become successful, they hope that their example will show them that it is not necessary to do something. But this is disastrously wrong.. You will have to work, and a lot, and even make a bunch of failed attempts. So, Thomas Edison, before making a cheap light bulb, tried 10 thousand different combinations, his company suffered losses for 3 years, and only in the fourth year he achieved a resounding success. Is it fast? The author of the article thinks so. It is possible to achieve social success quickly only if you make a very large number of thoughtful actions and attempts every day. And for this you need remarkable willpower.
conclusions
So, social mobility is a change of place in the structure of society. Moreover, according to the status, a person can remain the same (horizontal mobility), higher or lower (vertical mobility). The elevator is an institution within which it becomes available fast enough moving up the ladder of success. Allocate elevators such as the army, religion, family, politics, education, and so on. The factors of social mobility are education, money, entrepreneurship, connections, skill, reputation, and so on.
Types of social mobility: horizontal and vertical (ascending and descending).
Recently, greater mobility has been characteristic than before, especially in the post-Soviet space, but there is still room for improvement. Features of social mobility are such that everyone can become successful, but not always - in the desired area. It all depends on the society where a person wants to move in an upward direction.
The growth of spatial mobility of the population is one of the most important phenomena of the modern world. It is associated with economic development, increased speed and reliability of transport, demographic pressure in individual countries of the world, an increase in the level of education of the population and the dissemination of information. The level of spatial mobility characterizes the ability of the population to adapt to social economic conditions. Despite different approaches to the typology of spatial mobility, migration invariably stands out in its composition, which involves a change by an individual of a permanent place of residence. Another group includes temporary and episodic movements. Significant scales of temporary movements are characteristic of developing countries. In highly urbanized countries, especially with a small territory, pendulum movements are developed.
Over a relatively short period of time, significant changes have occurred in the spatial mobility of the Russian population. They follow the general rules social activities, the essence of which is the increased orientation of the population to their own strengths and capabilities, greater freedom in the choice of decisions by the individual, rationalization of individual and social needs2. One of the features of spatial mobility is its diversification.
Spatial mobility is characterized by the increased role of temporary movements, both internal and external. New groups of international and internal migrants have emerged. Among them are labor migrants, entrepreneurs, the unemployed demobilized from the army in connection with its reform, environmental migrants, etc. Among the reasons for diversification are the departure from standard forms of employment in large and medium-sized enterprises (the latter was especially characteristic of migrants of past years), a decrease in economic activity of the population, the growth of self-employment, the liberalization of movement in terms of personal ownership of housing.
Despite the tough administrative regulation migration, the problem of its accounting in the Soviet period was not solved. Domestic population censuses from this point of view, unlike most countries, were not effective enough. With the exception of the censuses of 1897, 1926 and 1970, censuses cannot be used to study the most important characteristics of migration - its volume, directions and results. The current record of migration, officially recognized in the early 1930s as the main source of data on migration and based on registration (extract) of the population, has never been complete, primarily in countryside, as not passportized, and passportized. The possibilities of migration analysis were limited by the data of current accounting in urban settlements. Only in 1992, that is, almost 60 years after the introduction of current accounting, data on migration in rural areas of Russia were officially published, that is, relatively complete data on internal migration in the territorial context were obtained. This means a significant improvement in the recording of internal migration. At the same time, the requirements for the state of current accounting have increased. The point of view about the leading role of sample surveys in the study of migration and the "crisis" of traditional data sources, found in Western European literature, is hardly applicable to the conditions in Russia. In Western European countries, this point of view is based on a solid foundation - taking into account the main parameters of migration in registers and censuses.
Law Russian Federation"On the right of citizens of the Russian Federation to freedom of movement, choice of place of stay and residence within the Russian Federation" made significant changes to the concept of migration. Since 1996, Russia has introduced registration of the population "at the place of residence" and "at the place of stay." The first group of movements includes migrants who have changed their permanent (usual) place of residence. The second group includes movements classified a priori as temporary by the current registration rules. The allocation in the law of the right to choose a "place of stay" is assessed as an "invention" of the Russian legislator, which has no analogue in international legal acts5. It is the accounting of this category that primarily characterizes the crisis state of the current accounting of migration, which, apparently, is dominated by international migrants. The duration of residence of a part of this group of migrants obviously exceeds the officially permitted period of up to six months. These are the so-called quasi-temporary migrants. Among the reasons for the low efficiency of registration "at the place of stay" are the changing registration rules, as well as the negative attitude of a significant part of migrants towards the registration procedure itself as prohibitive, often expensive and time-consuming.
The results of the All-Russian population census of 2002 revealed an "additional" almost 2 million people in the permanent population of Russia. The bulk of this population is made up of so-called quasi-temporary migrants registered "at the place of stay", whose duration of residence in Russia exceeded one year - the criterion established by the 2002 population census to identify the permanent population. At the same time, due to the underestimation of internal migration, discrepancies between the census data and the estimated population in areas of mass outflow (Kamchatka and Sakhalin regions, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, etc.) and inflow areas (Stavropol Territory, regions of the Central Federal District) turned out to be noticeable. Characteristically, the population, migrating over a considerable distance and remaining registered in the exit areas, did not violate Russian laws.
Improving registration "at the place of residence" implies full coverage and timely registration of arrivals and departures, improving the quality of primary material. Publications containing information on migration need improvement (for example, the yearbook "Population and Migration"). Currently, they mainly include only quantitative information and do not contain the necessary methodological explanations. Since open migration statistics, primarily international migration, is a relatively new and dynamically developing phenomenon in Russia, there is a need for a more complete description of the methodology for collecting published data. The solution of these problems will improve the quality of current accounting of internal and external migration, create a basis for monitoring migration at various levels, and increase the reliability of the information and methodological base for making decisions on the development of migration policy.
In general, sources of data on migration have received increasing attention in recent years. Despite the problems noted above, the assessment of their condition in Russia corresponds to the universal scheme known in the world: the natural movement of the population is taken into account better than migration, while data on internal migration are more reliable than data on external migration.
Dynamics of the scale of migration. It is known that in the dynamics of migration in modern Russia 1994 was a turning point. It was from this time that the trend towards a reduction in the scale and results of migration became noticeable (see Table 1).
Table 1. Dynamics of arrivals, departures and migration growth of the Russian Federation in 1992-2002
|
Arrivals, thousand people |
Share of international migrants in arrivals, in % |
Dropouts, thousand people |
Share of international migrants among those who left, in % |
Migration growth, thousand people |
||||
|
including to the CIS and Baltic countries |
including from the CIS and Baltic countries |
|||||||
Source: Number, natural movement and migration of the population of the Russian Federation for 1992. stat. bulletin. M, 1993. S. 97; Number and migration of the population of the Russian Federation in 1994. stat. bulletin. M., 1995. S. 27; Number and migration of the population of the Russian Federation in 1995. stat. bulletin. M, 1996. S. 27; Number and migration of the population of the Russian Federation in 1997. stat. bulletin. M, 1998. S. 27; Number and migration of the population of the Russian Federation in 1998. stat. bulletin. M., 1999. S. 27; Number and migration of the population of the Russian Federation in 2000. stat. bulletin. M., 2001. S. 37; Number and migration of the population of the Russian Federation in 2002. stat. bulletin. M., 2003. S. 15.
Table 1 shows that the reduction in the scale of migration in Russia is accompanied by a change in its structure. The share of migrants from the CIS and Baltic countries in the total number of arrivals decreased from 26.7% in 1994 to 8.1% in 2002, among those who left - from 7.9% in 1994 to 2.5% in 2002, migration increase - respectively from 914.6 thousand people to 124.3 thousand. At the same time, migration flows from Russia to these countries decreased.
The decrease in the migration growth of Russia is explained, firstly, by the stabilization of the socio-economic situation in the CIS countries, primarily in the countries of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, from where the main flows of migrants were sent, as well as by the decrease in the attractiveness of Russia for potential forced migrants. It is also obvious that in Russia, secondly, the conditions for "normal" and not "stressful" migration from the CIS countries were not formed. Thirdly, in the second half of the 1990s, in the context of the rise of the Russian economy, the role of temporary displacement increased, apparently replacing migration in part. Russia, first of all, experienced the whole range of problems associated with the initial stage of the formation of a single labor market within the borders of the CIS. Fourth, registration rules play a significant role in assessing the dynamics of migration. Until October 1, 2001, citizens of the CIS and the Baltic States could register at their place of residence under the same conditions as citizens of the Russian Federation. Since October 1, 2001, the procedure for obtaining a residence permit and registration at the place of stay has been extended to immigrants from the CIS and the Baltic States.
The structure of migration flows. In spite of big role international migration, internal movements dominated in Russia in 1992-2002. In recent years, they account for about 90% of the flows of arrivals and departures.
The dynamics of internal migration in Russia can be assessed on the basis of data on arrivals, since theoretically the number of arrivals and departures in intraregional and interregional movements in the country as a whole should coincide. In addition, the status of accounting for arrivals (mostly intra-regional) is more reliable than for those who left. The same remark applies to data on intra-regional migrants. In accordance with the accepted classification, intra-regional migration means movement within the subject of the Russian Federation, that is, within the region, territory, republic, national district. Accordingly, interregional migration is between the constituent entities of the Russian Federation (see Table 2).
Table 2. Dynamics of arrivals within Russia in 1992-2002
|
Number of arrivals within Russia, thousand people |
including |
Specific gravity |
||
|
within the region |
between regions |
intra-regional migration, in % |
||
Source: see table 1.
The data” given in Table 2 confirm the indirect impact of external migration on internal displacement. A significant influx of migrants from the CIS and Baltic countries in 1993-1994 increased the number of intraregional and interregional migrants. At the same time, the reduction in the scale of internal migration turned out to be stable: intra-regional - by 1.6 times in 2002 compared with 1992, inter-regional - by 1.7 times, respectively. Note, firstly, that the decrease in the scale of migration occurs after the introduction of new registration rules that ensure comparability of accounting for internal migration after 1996. Second, the downsizing is sustainable despite changing economic conditions. Recorded for the first time in the 1990s, statistically significant growth in GDP and industrial production in 1999 and in subsequent years in Russian economy was not reflected in the official data on migration.
Internal migration is determined by intra-regional flows (56.1%), the share of which is slowly growing. The reasons for this growth are a faster reduction in interregional migration, the influx of population into the inhabited regions of the European part of Russia with a relatively small territory. The relatively high share of interregional movements is determined, apparently, to a greater extent by migration flows to neighboring regions.
The ratio of intraregional and interregional movements - the most important feature migration in terms of the composition of migrants, the distance of their movement, the causes and consequences of migration, including the impact of migration on labor markets. As a general rule, movements over relatively short distances are less sensitive to economic conditions than movements over long distances--. Consequently, in a crisis, this type of movement turned out to be less vulnerable.
Attention should be paid to significant differences in the composition of intraregional and interregional migrants. In 2002, the proportion of migrants with higher education in the composition of intra-regional migrants was 13.6%, while among inter-regional migrants - 20.4%, with incomplete higher education - 3.4 and 3.6%, respectively, with secondary vocational education - 26.5 and 27.5%. Among intra-regional migrants, the proportion of people with a lower level of education is higher: general secondary, basic and primary. In intraregional migration, the proportion of those who indicated “study” as the reason for migration is higher (13.2% compared to 8.2% in interregional migration), “return to former place residence” (19.1 and 15.1%, respectively).
As a result of the reduction in interregional flows, including movements between federal districts, the index of population redistribution between federal districts in 2002 amounted to only 0.58%. The dynamics of the scale of migration, especially interregional, means a decrease in the impact of migration on quantitative parameters suggestions work force, employment, unemployment rate, etc. The consequence of the predominance of intra-regional migration is the spatial localization of movements and their consequences, the relative isolation of local labor markets, a decrease in the impact of inter-regional migration on socio-economic development as a result of a reduction in the redistribution of labor to regions where there are opportunities to increase employment, wages, the growth of social mobility. The high intercompany mobility of the labor force was mostly concentrated within the regions without crossing their borders. As a result, one should agree with the conclusions about the difficulties existing in modern conditions analysis of the situation in Russia in "terms of a single labor market" and recognition of "the fact of the existence of relatively closed, independent and autonomously developing labor markets."
The consequences of the dynamics and structure of internal migration can be considered within the "classical" situation. The imbalance in the need for labor in the regional labor market is overcome with the help of migrants from other regions of the country, if there is an excess of labor in these regions and the labor force has a certain migration potential. If there is no such labor force, then the labor market is replenished by international migrants. This example once again shows the need to approach spatial movements as a holistic process. Undoubtedly, trends in internal, especially interregional, migration create opportunities for migration from the CIS countries.
gender mobility. It is known that the indicators discussed above are aggregated: the actual migration behavior of different groups of the population in similar conditions differs significantly. Let us therefore dwell in more detail on the dynamics of the mobility of various sex and age groups of the population (see Table 3).
Table 3. Dynamics of aggregated age groups of internal Russian migrants registered as "arrivals" in 1998 and 2002
|
Men, thousand people |
Women, thousand people |
|||||||||||
|
Within the region |
From other regions |
Within the region |
From other regions |
|||||||||
|
including aged: younger than able-bodied |
||||||||||||
|
able-bodied |
||||||||||||
|
older than able-bodied |
Source. Number and migration of the population in the Russian Federation in 1998. Stat Bulletin. M., 1999. S. 60; Number and migration of the population in the Russian Federation in 2002. stat. bulletin. M, 2003. S. 52.
In 2002, compared with 1998, the total number of male and female migrants decreased by more than 20% (in interregional flows compared to intraregional flows), including almost 1/3 of those younger than working age and no more than 20 % - over the working age. Migration flows of women (within the region and between regions) have decreased more significantly compared to the migration flows of men. And yet, in 2002, women dominated in intra-Russian movements: they were 109.6 thousand people more in intra-regional and 21.1 thousand people in inter-regional flows.
In the diagrams shown in fig. 1-4, the dynamics of the age groups of migrants is considered in more detail.
Rice. one.
Rice. 2. Number of women in intra-regional flows in Russia in 1998 and 2002
Rice. 3. Number of men in interregional flows in Russia in 1998 and 2002
Rice. four.
As can be seen from the diagrams, the scale of migration of all ages, with the exception of the group of 50-54 years old, has decreased, but it is especially noticeable at the age of 6-13 years and 30-39 years. The number of migrants aged 65 years and older turned out to be relatively stable. The size of groups of migrants depends on the age structure of the population, which has an undulating character, as well as migratory behavior. The trend in the number of migrants under the working age is the result of a decline in the birth rate since the late 1980s, while the number of migrants over the working age is closely related to the aging of the population. Let us pay attention to the fact that the decrease in the number of migrants aged 18-19 by 20-25% refers to the cohorts that increased in number in 1983-1984, when the number of those born in Russia reached 2,478.3 thousand and 2,409.6 thousand, respectively. Since fairly large generations of the late 1980s enter working age in 2002-2005, the scale of youth migration may increase, provided that the indicators of its mobility remain, at least at the current level. After 2005, generations of young people will be less and less numerous. This can significantly limit the potential for internal migration.
Taking into account fluctuations in the number of migrants and the age groups that form them, let us consider the age-specific coefficients of migration intensity. Note that the designations in Figure 5 V-R M and V-R G refer respectively to intra-regional migration of men and women, and in Figure 6 M-R M and M-R W - to inter-regional migration of men and women.
Rice. 5.
Source for Figure 5 and Figure 6: Population size and migration in the Russian Federation in 1998. stat. bulletin. M, 1999. S. 60; Number and migration of the population in the Russian Federation in 2002. stat. bulletin. M, 1999. S. 52; Population of the Russian Federation by sex and age as of January 1, 1998. stat. bulletin. M., 1999. S. 12; Population of the Russian Federation by sex and age as of January 1, 2002. stat. bulletin. M., 2002. S. 5-7.
Figures 5 and 6 confirm the basic law of migration - its selectivity, which means that individuals with certain characteristics are more likely to migrate than other individuals: both figures show higher rates of migration for men and women at younger ages. Modern mobility has three lifts. They are typical mainly for intra-regional mobility. In 2002, the peak of mobility reached 16.93‰ in men aged 20-24, and 28.63‰ in women aged 18-19. The second peak falls on the group of 0-5 years old, which indicates the migration of some young families with children. The third rise is noticeable at the age of 55-59 years and older than 65 years. Indicators of interregional mobility are noticeably lower: for men and women aged 20-24, they reached 14.47% and 14.33%, respectively. Higher rates of youth migration activity are traditionally explained by the search for a place in life, the need to get an education and acquire certain professional skills, the desire to see the world, start a family, etc.
Drawings. Figures 5 and 6 show a marked decline in almost all age-specific rates in 2002 compared to 1998. In general, the intensity of intra-regional migration of men decreased from 9.39%o in 1998 to 7.59%o in 2002, women - from 9.81 to 8.09%o. Accordingly, the indicators of the intensity of interregional migration have changed for men from 8.38 to 6.42%o, for women - from 7.48 to 5.91%o. Attention is drawn to the decrease in mobility indicators at young ages, especially in the group of 18-19 years. Figure 5 clearly shows a decrease in intra-regional migration of women aged 18-19 (from 45.44 to 28.63%o). The indicators of mobility of men and women aged 20-24 also decreased.
An important place in the study of the social structure is occupied by the issues of social mobility of the population, that is, the transition of a person from one class to another, from one intraclass group to another, social movements between generations. Social movements are massive and become more intense as society develops. Sociologists study the nature of social movements, their direction, intensity; movement between classes, generations, cities and regions. They can be positive and negative, encouraged or, conversely, restrained. The sociology of social displacement studies the main stages professional career, the social status of parents and children is compared. Moreover, such a difficulty arises: there are two parents and they can belong to different social class groups, that is, families are socially homogeneous, or socially homogeneous, and socially heterogeneous. In heterogeneous families, as a rule, social movements are viewed according to the scheme: mother - daughter, father - son. The social status of children and parents at the very beginning of the career of the younger generation is compared. At the same time, one has to take into account that this problem has always been overly politicized and ideologized. In our country, for decades, social origin was put in the forefront in characterization, biography, and people with worker-peasant roots received an advantage. For example, young people from intelligent families, in order to enter a university, initially went to work for a year or two, get seniority to change social position. Thus, having received a new social status of a worker, they were, as it were, cleansed of their "flawed" social origin. In addition, applicants with seniority received benefits upon admission, were enrolled in the most prestigious specialties with virtually no competition.
The main focus of intergenerational social movements is from physical to mental labor, from the countryside to the city. Sociological studies have shown that in heterogeneous families, the social group of the mother is more often inherited. She is a professional educator. According to research, from families where the father was employed physical labor, and the mother - mental, VN composition of the intelligentsia came to more than 40 percent of the children, and, the opposite situation - 15 percent. Perhaps the point is also that social origin was designated mainly by the social position of the father.
The social biography of people from working-class families is characterized by the fact that the vast majority begin labor activity from low-skilled physical labor - more than 80 percent. Only a tenth goes over to the intelligentsia group. Only 70 percent of people from heterogeneous families start with unskilled physical labor, and about a fifth of them go to the intelligentsia group. Among people from intelligent families, two-thirds began their careers with physical labor, and one third with mental labor, despite the fact that there were mechanisms for regulating this process.
In Western sociology, the problem of social mobility is also very widely studied. Strictly speaking, social mobility is a change in social status. There is a status - real and imaginary, attributed. Any person receives a certain status already at birth, depending on belonging to a particular race, gender, place of birth, parental status.
In all social systems, the principles of both imaginary and real merit operate. The more imaginary merit prevails in determining social status, the tougher the society, the less social mobility (medieval Europe, castes in India). Such a situation can only be maintained in an extremely simple society, and then up to a certain level. Further, it simply hinders social development. The fact is that, according to all the laws of genetics, talented and gifted young people are found equally evenly in all social groups ah population.
The more developed a society, the more dynamic it is, the more the principles of real status and real merit work in its system. Society is interested in this.
Sociologists do not confine themselves to describing objective processes, but seek to influence the social orientation of young people, the choice of a profession, taking into account social needs. Following P. Sorokin, we will distinguish between two types of social mobility: horizontal and vertical. Horizontal mobility is the transition of an individual or social group from one social position to another at the same level. But the most important seems to be vertical mobility, for example, promotion, a significant increase in material well-being, a transition to another level of power, etc.
Society can raise 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 individuals who do not possess these qualities from higher status positions. Thus, it is possible to distinguish between upward and downward social mobility. Of course, when a person retires, his status almost always goes down.
In social movements, group and individual social mobility are distinguished. Group mobility is observed when, due to major changes in society, often in conditions of instability, large social groups quickly move, the political and economic elite changes. A typical example is when Ye. Gaidar's team was placed at the helm of the state in our country. In the same way, the situation connected with E. Gaidar can serve as an example of a decline in social status, downward social mobility.
Of course, group social mobility consists of individual movements, but the latter always has its own characteristics. These movements are regulated by social institutions, establishing certain rules of the game. For example, the education system represented by prestigious universities, political parties act as social elevators for the formation of a managerial and political elite.
In the view of many, success in life is associated with the achievement of certain heights in the social hierarchy, that is, upward social mobility. But, first of all, you need to understand the rules of the game: that is, in what society you live and on what principles its stratification structure is built. It is clear that if the basis life success lies the title, origin or high position of your parents, and you do not have "blue blood", influential relatives, then your chances of advancement in life are low.
If a person's monetary potential is highly valued in society, it is necessary to evaluate one's entrepreneurial abilities; if the power is in power, then one must engage in political activity. But at the same time, it should be borne in mind that in a particular society everything is interconnected: it is easier to get political power, influence, having money. The "new Russians" - Mavrodi, Berezovsky, Gusinsky and many others - having acquired big money no matter which way, break through to political power. Such social elevators as a successful and profitable marriage, participation in mafia groups, religious communities, etc. can also work.
As a result of social displacement, a person finds himself in a new social group, which often means a new socio-cultural environment, to which he will not always be able to adapt. something reasons down? It is no coincidence that the common word "scourge" stands for "former intelligent person". It is as a result of the inability to adapt to the new socio-cultural environment that marginalized groups are formed.
Thus, the study of the social class structure of society, the processes associated with its change, occupies an important place in sociological practice. Moreover, not only domestic sociologists analyze stratification processes in society, but Western scientists also pay great attention to this issue.
Social mobility is a situation in which a person or group of people changes their social status. In this case, a person can change his social stratum or remain in the same stratum and only the status will change.
Social status (or social position) is the position in society, in society, occupied by a person (individual) or a group of individuals.
Social stratum - the division of people into classes or groups. The process of dividing society into layers or strata (lat. stratum - layer, layer) is called social stratification.
Types of social mobility
Vertical and horizontal
With a vertical one, a person changes his social stratum. Vertical mobility is divided into:
- individual (the status changes in an individual);
- group (the status changes in a group of people);
- professional (a person changes his position at work - with an increase or decrease);
- economic (a person's level of well-being changes);
- political (when a person is promoted by public service, i.e., his level of power changes);
- ascending (raising the social level);
- descending (lowering the social level);
- immobility (social status and position remain unchanged);
- intergenerational (children have a different social status than their parents);
- intragenerational (affects one person, his status changes throughout his life).
With horizontal mobility, there is no change in the social stratum, a person changes only his social group. An example would be a situation where a person changes their place of residence, i.e. moves to another district or city. Or when he changes jobs. Social status does not change. In this case, we are talking about geographic mobility.
If a person moves and, in addition, his social status changes, this situation is called geographic migration.
Elevators of social mobility
Russian and American sociologist and culturologist Pitirim Alexandrovich Sorokin spoke about "elevators", "ladders" or "paths" by which people move and change their social status and (or) social stratum. Sorokin identified 7 main such paths:
- army (especially war time when a successful military operation can lift a person up the social ladder, and vice versa, a loss can cause a loss of a social position);
- the church (there are cases in history when a low-class person became the pope of the Roman Catholic Church);
- schools (in some countries, schools allowed promising children from poor families to reach great heights (for example, China), in others, people from the lower strata were not allowed to receive an education (for example, India, England));
- political organizations/parties/groups (movement within a political organization or between different organizations as an example career development and changes in social status);
- professional organizations / associations (for example, associations of medical workers, literary organizations, associations of musicians, scientists, lawyers, etc. The media have a special influence, which can quickly promote a person or just as quickly harm his social status);
- organizations to create material assets(in other words, groups of people who achieved success or moved up the social ladder due to the fact that they accumulated capital: gold, money and other valuables. Titles, titles, privileges were bought with the help of this capital);
- family and marriage (for example, marriage to a person from a higher social stratum will open access to this stratum, from a lower one - it can lead to a loss of social status).
Social mobility and education
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the social mobility of children depends on the education and profession of their parents. As a rule, if the family has a low level of education, then the child, most likely, will not receive higher education either.
If the parents are engaged in physical labor, then the likelihood that the child will take a managerial position is small.
What influences social mobility?
Among the factors that influence social mobility, i.e. the number of movements between social strata or the frequency of changes in social status, the following main ones can be distinguished:
- economic;
- historical;
- demographic;
- migratory;
- place of residence;
- nationality;
- the level of education;
- abilities and personal qualities of the individual (physical and mental).
Economic factor
The economic situation in the country directly affects the availability of jobs and professions in demand. If the economy requires, for example, highly qualified specialists, then this will lead to the fact that people will seek to take vacant positions. Social mobility will become more active.
historical factor
Historical events such as wars, revolutions have a direct impact on mobility. At such a time, some people quickly climbed the social ladder, receiving great power in their hands or great wealth. That is, there was political and economic mobility. Others have lost their status. The most well-born nobles were deprived of their savings and privileges.
Mobility also depends on the type of society historically present in a given country. There are three types of society: closed, open and intermediate.
In a closed society, as a rule, the status is assigned to a person at birth and its change is extremely difficult or impossible. In the open - people actively move between social strata and change their status throughout their lives.
An example of an intermediate type is the feudal society, in which transfers between classes or estates were not officially allowed, but they did occur.
Demographic factor
Population growth affects social mobility. If a country's population increases, then so does mobility. Because young people are more willing to change their social stratum or status.
Adults are more likely to be economically mobile. Having accumulated money, they seek to change the conditions of their lives in better side: move to a better area (geographical mobility) or take up a high position (professional mobility).
It is a fact that the lower classes have higher birth rates. If there is a shortage of people in the upper strata, then their places are taken by people who have climbed the social ladder, and not born representatives of this class.
migratory
In countries with high rates of migration, as a rule, active social mobility. Migrants compete with local residents. Cheap labor creates an overabundance of workers, which forces locals to create competitive advantages and move up the social ladder.
Place of residence
Cities have more opportunities for advancement career ladder to change their financial situation. Young people tend to move to big cities in search of such opportunities. In this case, one can also speak of intergenerational mobility, when children achieve a higher status compared to the status of their parents.
Nationality
Even in a multinational state, preference is given to precisely that nation, the number of which prevails in this state. People of this nationality are more likely to high positions and are promoted.
The level of education
The level of education may be competitive advantage regardless of the layer in which a person was born. People with more high level education are more likely to advance. At the same time, they can also create competition for people from the upper strata who have not paid due attention to their education, relying on their privileges or connections to get a job, position, title.
scientific definition
social mobility- change by an individual or group of the place occupied in the social structure (social position), moving from one social stratum (class, group) to another (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum (horizontal mobility). Sharply limited in a caste and estate society, social mobility increases significantly in an industrial society.
Horizontal mobility
Horizontal mobility- the transition of an individual from one social group to another, located 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 of migration is distinguished - moving from one place to another with a change in status (example: a person moved to a city for a permanent place of residence and changed his profession). And it is similar to castes.
Vertical mobility
Vertical mobility- moving a person up or down the corporate ladder.
- Upward mobility- social uplift, upward movement (For example: promotion).
- Downward mobility- social descent, downward movement (For example: demotion).
social lift
social lift- a concept similar to vertical mobility, but more often used in the modern context of discussing the theory of elites as one of the means of rotation of the ruling elite.
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.
Literature
- - article from the Newest Philosophical Dictionary
- Sorokin R. A. Social and cultural mobility. - N. Y. - L., 1927.
- Glass D.V. Social mobility in Britain. - L., 1967.
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See what "Social mobility" is in other dictionaries:
- (social mobility) Movement from one class (class) or, more often, from a group with a certain status to another class, to another group. Social mobility both between generations and within professional activity individuals is … Political science. Dictionary.
Change by an individual or group of a social position, a place occupied in social structure. S. m. is connected both with the operation of the laws of societies. development, class struggle, causing the growth of some classes and groups and a decrease ... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia
SOCIAL mobility, change by an individual or group of the place occupied in the social structure, movement from one social stratum (class, group) to another (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum ... ... Modern Encyclopedia
Change by an individual or group of the place occupied in the social structure, moving from one social stratum (class, group) to another (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum (horizontal mobility). ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
social mobility- SOCIAL MOBILITY, change by an individual or group of the place occupied in the social structure, movement from one social stratum (class, group) to another (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
The concept by which the social movements of people are indicated in the direction of social positions, characterized by a higher (social ascent) or lower (social degradation) level of income, prestige and degree ... ... The latest philosophical dictionary
See SOCIAL MOBILITY. Antinazi. Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2009 ... Encyclopedia of Sociology
SOCIAL MOBILITY- SOCIAL MOBILITY, a term used (along with the concepts of social displacement and social mobility) in sociology, demography and economics. sciences to denote the transitions of individuals from one class, social group and stratum to another, ... ... Demographic Encyclopedic Dictionary
- (vertical mobility) See: labor overflow (mobility of labor). Business. Dictionary. Moscow: INFRA M, Ves Mir Publishing House. Graham Bets, Barry Brindley, S. Williams et al. Osadchaya I.M.. 1998 ... Glossary of business terms
social mobility - personal quality acquired in the process learning activities and expressed in the ability to quickly master new realities in various spheres of life, find adequate ways to resolve unforeseen problems and fulfill ... ... Official terminology
