Summary: The social structure of society. Topic
1. Social structure: concept, main features
2. Basic elements of social structure
3. Types of social structure: socio-demographic, social class, socio-ethnic, socio-professional
Literature
Social structure: concept, main features
Being a structurally complex social system, society consists of interconnected and relatively independent parts. Interaction in society usually leads to the formation of new social relations. The latter can be represented as relatively stable and independent links between individuals and social groups.
In sociology, the concepts of "social structure" and "social system" are closely related. A social system is a set of social phenomena and processes that are in relationships and connections with each other and form some integral social object. Separate phenomena and processes act as elements of the system.
The concept of "social structure" is part of the concept of a social system, and combines two components - social composition and social ties. Social composition is a set of elements that make up a given structure. The second component is a set of connections of these elements. Thus, the concept of social structure includes, on the one hand, the social composition, or a combination of various types of social communities as the system-forming social elements of society, on the other hand, the social connections of the constituent elements that differ in the breadth of their action, in their significance in the characteristics of the social structure of society at a certain stage of development.
Social structure means the objective division of society into separate strata, groups, different in their social position, in their relation to the mode of production. This is a stable connection of elements in a social system. The main elements of the social structure are such social communities as classes and class-like groups, ethnic, professional, socio-demographic groups, socio-territorial communities (city, village, region). Each of these elements, in turn, is a complex social system with its own subsystems and connections. The social structure reflects the characteristics of the social relations of classes, professional, cultural, national-ethnic and demographic groups, which are determined by the place and role of each of them in the system of economic relations. The social aspect of any community is concentrated in its connections and mediations with production and class relations in society.
In the most general way, social structure can be defined as the features of a social whole (a society or groups within a society) that have a certain constancy over time, are interconnected and determine or determine to a large extent the functioning of this integrity as such and the activities of its members.
From this definition one can deduce several ideas contained in the concept of social structure. The concept of social structure expresses the idea that people form social relationships that are not arbitrary and random, but have some regularity and constancy. Further, social life is not amorphous, but differentiated into social groups, positions and institutions that are interdependent or functionally interconnected.
These differentiated and interrelated characteristics of human groups, although formed by the social actions of individuals, are not the direct consequence of their desires and intentions; on the contrary, individual preferences are formed and limited by the social environment. In other words, the concept of social structure implies that people are not completely free and autonomous in choosing their actions, but are limited by the social world in which they live and the social relations they enter into with each other.
Social structure is sometimes simply defined as established social relations—the regular and recurring aspects of interaction between the members of a given social whole. The social structure covers the placement of all relations of dependencies of interactions between individual elements in social systems of different ranks.
The social structure as a kind of framework for the entire system of social relations, that is, as a set of economic, social and political institutions that organize social life. On the one hand, these institutions set a certain network of role positions and normative requirements in relation to specific members of society. On the other hand, they represent certain rather stable ways of the socialization of individuals.
The main principle of determining the social structure of society should be the search for real subjects of social processes. Individuals can be subjects, as well as social groups of various sizes, singled out for various reasons: youth, the working class, a religious sect, and so on.
From this point of view, the social structure of society can be represented as a more or less stable correlation of social strata and groups. The theory of social stratification is called upon to study the diversity of hierarchically arranged social strata.
Initially, the idea of a starting representation of the social structure had a pronounced ideological connotation and was intended to neutralize Marx's idea of the class idea of society and the dominance of class contradictions in history. But gradually the idea of separating social strata as elements of society was established in social science, because it really reflected the objective differences between different groups of the population, within a single class.
The main features of the social structure are:
The social position of elements in the social system, depending on the degree of possession of power, income, etc.;
The relationship of structural elements through the exchange of information, resources, etc.;
Social activity of structural elements in public life.
Thus, the social structure as the division of society into certain groups and the differentiation of people according to their position in society is a key concept for explaining our reality, both in the sphere of high politics and the daily life of the population. It is here that the social base is being formed, on the support of which public leaders, parties and movements are counting.
The social structure of society is always a formalized system of differences in the position, living conditions and ways of existence of people. These differences, in turn, form the most complex world of relations - economic, socio-political, national, which together form a social system. On the whole, it can be said that the social structure of a society fixes stability and presupposes a relative order. But the diversity of attitudes, interests and positions leads to social differences between people in each particular society, i.e. to social inequality.
Basic elements of social structure
The main elements of the social structure are social groups, social communities, social classes, social strata, social institutions, social organizations.
A social group is a collection of people who interact with each other in a certain way, are aware of their belonging to this group and are considered members of it from the point of view of other people. Traditionally, primary and secondary groups are distinguished. The first group includes small groups of people, where direct personal emotional contact is established. This is a family, a group of friends, work teams and others. Secondary groups are formed from people between whom there is almost no personal emotional relationship, their interactions are due to the desire to achieve certain goals, communication is predominantly formal, impersonal.
During the formation of social groups, norms and roles are developed, on the basis of which a certain order of interaction is established. The size of the group can be very diverse, starting from 2 people.
Social communities (large groups of people (meso- and macrolevels)) are social associations of people that are characterized by a common feature, more or less strong social ties, goal-setting and a common type of behavior. As an example, one can cite natural historical communities - clan, tribe, family, community, nationality, nation; mass associations of people - a concert or television audience, etc.
Social classes (social classes) are communities distinguished in relation to property and the social division of labor.
Social classes are distinguished according to four main features (K. Marx, V. Lenin):
A place in a historically defined system of social production;
Attitude to ownership of the means of production;
Roles in the production process (foreman, skilled worker, etc.);
Income level.
Of these, the main class-forming feature is the attitude towards ownership of the means of production (bourgeoisie - working class).
A social stratum is an intermediate or transitional social group that does not have all the characteristics of a class (often called a stratum), for example, the intelligentsia, or a part of a class that has some characteristic features within its internal structure, for example, skilled and unskilled workers.
Social institutions are stable forms of organization and regulation of public life, ensuring the consolidation of ties and relationships within society.
The social institution includes:
social need (on the basis of which it arises),
function (or the set of functions it performs),
a system of norms (that regulate and ensure its functioning),
a set of roles and statuses (the so-called "staff" of participants),
and organizations (within which one or another social action is carried out aimed at satisfying social needs).
BPA, Camsions, MOPABLNES, WORTERS, CHATINE CAUTLY, PYNOK, GOCYDAPCTVO, APMIA, CYD and DPYGE EXPERIENCE IN OWNERS - ALL ETO NAPYNE POPIES YZE YVEPDIVED IN NEM INCTITYSOINFLES FOPM. With their help, communications and relations between people are streamlined and standardized, their activities and behavior in society are regulated. This ensures a certain organization and stability of social life.
A social organization is an association of people who jointly implement a certain program or goal and act on the basis of certain procedures and rules. Social organizations vary in complexity, specialization of tasks, and formalization of roles and procedures.
The main difference between a social organization and a social institution is that the institutional form of social relations is fixed by the norms of law and morality, and the organizational form includes, in addition to the institutional ones, also ordered relations, but which are not yet fixed by existing norms.
There are production, labor, socio-political and other social organizations. The main features of social organization: the presence of a single goal; the presence of a system of power; distribution of functions.
Types of social structure: socio-demographic, socio-class, socio-ethnic, socio-professional
social society ethnic territorial
In sociology, there are a large number of concepts of the social structure of society, historically one of the first is the Marxist doctrine. In Marxist sociology, the leading place is given to the social class structure of society. The social class structure of society, according to this direction, is the interaction of three main elements: classes, social strata and social groups. Classes are the core of the social structure.
The social class structure of society is the ordered and stable links between the elements of the social system, due to the relations of social groups, which are characterized by a certain place and role in material, spiritual production and in political life. Traditionally, the class division of society was considered the core of the social class structure. The definition of the concept of "class" is given in the work of V. I. Lenin "The Great Initiative".
Classes are large groups of people who differ in place in a historically defined system of social production, in their attitude to the means of production, in their role in the social organization of labor, and, consequently, in the methods of obtaining and the size of the share of social wealth that they dispose of. It should be noted that some scientists consider the class approach to be outdated, inapplicable to modern society, the social structure of which has become much more complicated.
In the social class structure of society, the main (the existence of which directly follows from the economic relations prevailing in a given socio-economic formation) and non-main classes (the remnants of the former classes in a new formation or emerging classes), as well as various strata of society, are distinguished.
The main elements of the socio-ethnic structure of society (taking into account the evolution of human society) are the clan, tribe, nationality, nation. Consider the components of the ethnic substructure.
The clan, as the first association of people, was a unity of blood relatives with a common origin, a common place of settlement, a common language, common customs and beliefs. The economic basis of the clan was communal ownership of land, hunting and fishing grounds.
The society developed, and the clan was replaced by the tribe as an association of clans that came out of the same root, but subsequently separated from each other. The tribe performed only part of the social functions, and for example, the household functions were performed by the tribal community.
The next, higher form of community - nationality - was based not on consanguinity, but on territorial, neighborly ties between people. A nationality is a historically formed community of people that has its own language, territory, a certain common culture, and the beginnings of economic ties.
An even more complex nationality is the nation. The nation is characterized by the following features. First, it is a common territory. Secondly, to the commonality of the territory, in order to be able to talk about a nation, a common language must also be added. The third sign of a nation is the community of economic life. On the basis of the historically long commonality of territory, language, and economic life, the fourth sign of a nation is formed - common features of the mental warehouse, enshrined in the culture of a given people. Special attention requires such a sign as national self-consciousness, or conscious attribution of oneself to one or another national community, identification with it.
In today's world, more than 90% of the population are nations. In the scientific and political literature, the concept of "nation" is used in several meanings. In Western sociology, the prevailing view is that a nation is a collection of citizens of the state, and, therefore, it is a people that has reached a high level of culture and a high degree of political organization, constituting a community with a single language and culture and united on the basis of a system of state organizations. Thus, in the understanding of Western sociologists, a nation is a co-citizenship, that is, a territorial-political community.
The socio-territorial structure of society is based on its division into territorial communities of various types (urban, rural, settlement, etc.). Territorial communities operate in different conditions of the natural and artificial environment, their historical past is different. All this creates unequal conditions for the life and development of people, especially if we compare life in the countryside and the metropolis. Territorial communities differ in the social composition of the population, the level of its education, general culture and professional training. Many social problems stem from the uneven development of territorial structures, such as uneven provision of the population with housing, hospitals, clubs, theaters, different opportunities for education and decent work, different accessibility to socio-economic infrastructure.
The demographic structure of the country is determined by its gender and age characteristics, but climatic conditions, confessional features, industrial specialization of the state, the nature of migration processes, etc., are also of great importance.
One of the subsections of the demographic structure of the state is the socio-professional structure, determined by the distribution of social characteristics of the population, divided into appropriate conditional groups, which are based on criteria such as the nature and amount of income derived by each citizen, the level of education, as well as the content and intensity of labor.
On the basis of the state of social labor, groups of people engaged in mental and physical labor, managerial and executive labor, industrial and agricultural (distribution and division of labor) are distinguished.
The able-bodied population and two groups of people not employed in social production:
1) before inclusion in socially necessary labor
2) pensioners who have left active socially productive labor and are not employed in social production.
The socio-professional structure is based on the professional division of labor, its sectoral structure. The presence of highly developed, medium developed and underdeveloped branches of production predetermines the unequal social status of workers. This specifically depends on the level of technical development of industries, the degree of complexity of labor, the level of qualifications, working conditions (severity, harmfulness, etc.).
The national-confessional structure presupposes the division of the country along ethnic and religious confessional lines, which determine the content of the social, national and cultural policy of the state. The national-confessional structure is capable of influencing the choice of the form of the state structure of the country and even the form of its government. The diversity of ethnic and religious composition accompanies the processes of segregation in society and should be taken into account in choosing a model of local government.
Thus, the social structure is considered in the broad and narrow sense of the word. The social structure in the broad sense of the word includes various types of structures and is an objective division of society according to various, vital signs. The most important sections of this structure in the broadest sense of the word are social-class, socio-professional, socio-demographic, ethnic, settlement, etc.
Social structure in the narrow sense of the word is a social class structure, a set of classes, social strata and groups that are in unity and interaction. Historically, the social structure of society in the broad sense of the word appeared much earlier than the social class structure. So, in particular, ethnic communities appeared long before the formation of classes, in the conditions of primitive society. The social class structure began to develop with the advent of classes and the state. But, one way or another, throughout history there has been a close relationship between the various elements of the social structure.
Literature
Sociology: textbook.-method. complex / L.I. Podgayskaya. - Minsk: Modern school, 2007.
General sociology: textbook. A manual for university students / E.M. Babosov. - 2nd ed., erased. – Minsk: TetraSystems, 2004.
Lukina L.V. Sociology. Lecture notes: educational met. allowance / L.V. Lukina, E.I. Malchenko, Vitebsk: VGAVM, 2008.
Kravchenko A.I. Sociology: Textbook for university students - Yekaterinburg, 1999.
Sociological Encyclopedic Dictionary / Edited by G.V. Osipov. - Moscow, 1998.
Sociological Encyclopedia / ed. ed. A.N. Danilova. – Minsk, 2003.
Topic 6. Social institutions: essence, origin,forms. Institute of family and marriage.
Task number 1. Define the following terms.
Social institution; institution dysfunction; latent function; social need; family; marriage; monogamy; polygamy; nuclear family; matriarchy; patriarchy; kinship.
Task number 2. Test.
1. What is a social institution?
A. an institute where sociologists are trained;
B. higher educational institution;
B. a complex of scientific and technical buildings;
D. a set of norms, statuses that serve to meet needs;
2. What relationships within the family are called "marriage":
A. poor quality and unfriendly;
B. binding parents and children;
B. binding spouses with rights and obligations;
G. uniting all family members?
3. What characterizes a polygamous marriage:
A. association in one family of several generations;
B. the presence of a large number of children;
B. by prior agreement of the parents of the spouses;
D. the presence of a person with several spouses / spouses?
3. What functions should the family not perform as a special social institution:
A. economic;
B. political;
V. educational;
G. reproductive?
4. What is not a social institution:
B. religion;
G. education?
5. What family is called nuclear:
A. consisting of same-sex partners;
B. newlyweds living separately from their parents;
B. including only parents and children;
G. connecting nuclear physicists;
6. A religious institution is:
A. beliefs;
B. temple complex;
In church;
D. the rite of baptism;
7. What is the most important function of a political institution:
A. regulation of political behavior;
B. communicative;
V. integrative;
D. leadership training;
Task number 3. Determine what type (social group, community, organization, social institution) the following associations of people belong to: enterprise, city bank, trade union, village, writers' union, research institute, military unit, religious community, autonomous region, school, family , club of football fans, graduates of the Faculty of Economics, friends, state traffic police, accurate time service.
Literature.
but) Educational
Radugin A.A. Radugin K.A. Sociology: Course of lectures.-M.: Vlados, 2003.
Rudenko R.I. Workshop on sociology. -M.: UNITI, 1999.
Sociology: Course of lectures: Textbook for universities. Responsible editor Yu.G. Volkov.- Rostov-on-Don.: Phoenix, 1999.
Sociology: Fundamentals of General Theory: A Textbook for High Schools. Responsible editors G.V. Osipov, L.N. Moskvichev.-M .: Norma Publishing House, 2002.
Sociology: Textbook for universities. / edited by Professor V.N. Lavrinenko.-M.: UNITY-DANA, 2000.
Frolov S.S. Sociology: Textbook.-M.: Gardariki, 1999
b) Additional
4; 15; 19; 22; 50; 70; 72; 82; 86; 87.
Answers:
1) A social institution is a social structure or order of social order that determines the behavior of a certain set of individuals of a particular community. Institutions are characterized by their ability to influence people's behavior through the established rules that govern that behavior.
2) Dysfunction of the institution - a violation of the normal interaction of a social institution with the social environment, which is society.
3) Latent function - a term denoting the unintended and unrecognized consequences of social actions in relation to other social actors or institutions.
4) Social need - a special kind of human needs. Needs, the need for something necessary to maintain the vital activity of the organism of a human person, a social group, society as a whole, is an internal stimulus of activity.
5) Family - a small group based on family ties and regulating relations between spouses, parents and children, as well as close relatives. A distinctive feature of the family is the joint conduct of the household.
6) Marriage is a union concluded in compliance with certain rules established by law. Proper registration of marriage is proof of the entry of citizens into a marriage community, which the state takes under its protection.
7) Monogamy - monogamy, a historical form of marriage and family, in which two representatives of opposite sexes are in a marriage union.
8) Polygamy - polygamy - a form of marriage in which a marriage partner of one sex has more than one marriage partner of the opposite sex.
9) Nuclear family - a family consisting of parents and children who are dependent on them and are not married. In the nuclear family, the relationship of husband and wife is brought to the fore, and not blood ties.
10) Matriarchy - is a form of society in which the leading role belongs to women, especially the mothers of the families of this society.
11) Patriarchy - a society in which men are the "dominant element" in family, economic and social life.
12) Kinship - a relationship between individuals based on descent from a common ancestor, organizing social groups and roles. Task No. 2GVGBAVVA
Task No. 3Enterprise - organization City bank - organization Trade union - community Village - community Writers' Union - social group Research Institute - social institution Military unit - social institution Religious community - social group Autonomous region - community School - social institution Family - social institution Football fan club - social group Graduates of the Faculty of Economics - social group Friends - social group State traffic police - organization Precise time service - organization
SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL STRATIFICATION OF SOCIETY
The concept of social structure and stratification.
Theories of social structure and social stratification, their main differences.
Historical systems of social stratification.
Social mobility: concept, types, types.
The social structure of modern Belarusian society
concept social structure and stratification.
People differ among themselves in many ways: gender, age, skin color, religion, ethnicity, etc. But these differences become social only when they affect the position of a person, a social group on the ladder of the social hierarchy. Social differences determine social inequality, which implies the existence of discrimination on various grounds: skin color - racism, gender - sexism, ethnicity - ethno-nationalism, age - ageism.
Between people in society there are differences of a social, biological, psychological nature. Social differences are called differences that are generated by social factors, such as: division of labor, lifestyle, functions performed, level of prosperity, etc. Modern society is characterized by the multiplication (growth) of social differences. Society is not only extremely differentiated and consists of many social groups, classes, communities, but also hierarchized: some layers have more power, more wealth, have a number of obvious advantages and privileges compared to others. Therefore, we can say that society has a social structure.
social structure- this is a stable set of elements, as well as connections and relationships that groups and communities of people enter into regarding the conditions of their life .
The initial element of the social structure of society is a person. The main elements of the social structure are:
Social communities (large and small groups).
professional groups.
Socio-demographic groups (societies distinguished by gender and age),
Socio-territorial communities (these are aggregates of people permanently residing in a certain territory, formed on the basis of socio-territorial differences, having a similar lifestyle),
Socio-ethnic groups (races, nations, nationalities, tribes),
Social classes and social strata (these are aggregates of people who have common social characteristics and perform similar functions in the system of social division of labor).
Classes stand out in connection with the attitude to the ownership of the means of production and the nature of the appropriation of goods. Social strata (or strata) are distinguished on the basis of differences in the nature of work and lifestyle (it is the differences in lifestyle that are most obvious).
The largest unit in the social structuring of society is the class. In sociology, there are various definitions of this concept. V. Lenin gave the best definition of classes, showing that classes are large groups of people that differ in their place in the system of production, in their attitude to the means of production, in their role in the social organization of labor, in the methods of obtaining and the size of that share of social wealth which they have.
The social class structure of society is always mobile. Some classes and social groups disappear, new ones appear. At the same time, there is always a class in society that performs the functions of a leader. In the conditions of the scientific, technological and information revolution, the emerging transition to a post-industrial society, those social groups become such, in which the potential for a qualitative breakthrough in the development of society accumulates. One can definitely say that with the development of society, its social structure becomes more and more complicated and individual groups of people are, as it were, at the junctions of different classes and social groups.
Important elements of the social structure of society are social communities and groups. Unlike mass communities, social groups are characterized by: stable interaction, which contributes to the strength and stability of their existence; a relatively high degree of unity and cohesion, the ability to enter into broader social ranks as structural units.
Sociologists define a social group as a set of people who interact with each other in a certain way, are aware of their belonging to this group and are considered members of it from the point of view of other people.
There are the following types of social groups:
aggregation- a certain number of people gathered in a certain physical space and not performing conscious interactions (queuing in a store, fellow travelers on a train). It happens that the whole aggregation can become a group.
Big a group is a collection of people united by a common feature that determines its existence as a relatively independent stable entity, all members of which cannot enter into direct communication due to their large number. Large groups are represented by states, nations, nationalities, parties, classes, and other social communities distinguished by professional, economic, religious, cultural, educational, age, gender, and various other characteristics. Through these groups, the impact of the ideology of society on the psychology of their constituent people is indirectly carried out.
The direct conductor of the influence of society and large social groups on the individual is small group. It is a small association of people (from 2-3 to 20-30 people) engaged in some common cause and in direct relationship with each other. A small group is a small number of directly contacting individuals who carry out joint activities. Small groups are characterized by the following features: small and stable composition (as a rule, from three to thirty people); spatial proximity of group members; stability and duration of functioning, intensity of interpersonal interactions; a high degree of coincidence of group values, norms and rules of behavior; a developed sense of belonging to a group; informal control and information saturation of communication.
According to the nature of interaction, social groups are divided into primary and secondary. Under primary a social group is understood as a group in which interaction is direct, interpersonal in nature and involves mutual support. The concept of "primary group" was introduced into scientific circulation by the American sociologist and social psychologist Charles Cooley (1864-1929) in relation to the family, where the individual receives the first experience of social communication. Later, this term was used by sociologists in the study of any group in which close personal relationships have developed (a group of friends, peers, neighbors, etc.). The primary group is a kind of initial link between the individual and society. As secondary a group acts, the interaction in which is due to the achievement of a specific goal and is of a formal business nature. In such groups, the main importance is attached not to the personal qualities of the members of the group, but to their ability to perform certain roles and functions. Secondary groups have an institutionalized system of relations, and their activities are regulated on the basis of formalized rules. Examples of such groups are industrial and economic organizations, trade unions, educational teams, political parties, etc.
In addition, the groups are divided into conditional (nominal) and real. conditional, or nominal- these are groups that are distinguished, as a rule, for the purposes of sociological research on the basis of random signs that do not have special social significance. For example, the nominal group would be a population of single mothers, or a population of people who know how to use a computer. In contrast to the nominal groups, there are real. They are really existing associations of people that fully meet the definition of a small group.
Formal and informal(another name - official and unofficial). formal group- this is a group with a legal status, interaction in which is determined by a system of formalized norms and rules. These groups have a normatively fixed hierarchical structure and act in accordance with the established administrative and legal order. informal group is a non-legal group that arises on the basis of interpersonal interactions. Such groups are deprived of official regulation and are held together by a commonality of views and interests of individuals. These groups are usually led by informal leaders.
Small groups can be reference And non-referential. A reference group is any real or conditional (nominal) small group to which a person voluntarily classifies himself or of which he would like to become a member. Otherwise, this group can be called a reference group. In the reference group, the individual finds role models for himself. Its goals and values, norms and forms of behavior, thoughts and feelings, judgments and opinions become significant models for him to follow and follow. A non-reference group is considered to be such a small group, the psychology and behavior of which are alien to the individual or indifferent to him.
All natural groups can be divided into highly developed And underdeveloped. Underdeveloped groups are characterized by the fact that they do not have sufficient psychological community, well-established business and personal relationships, an established structure of interaction, a clear distribution of responsibilities, recognized leaders, and effective teamwork. The latter are socio-psychological communities that meet all the requirements listed above. Underdeveloped, by definition, are, for example, conditional and laboratory groups (the latter often only at the first stages of their functioning). Collectives stand out among the highly developed groups. In a team, interpersonal relationships are based on mutual trust of people, openness, honesty, decency, mutual respect, etc.
In order to call a social group a collective, it must meet a number of very high requirements: to successfully cope with the tasks assigned to it (to be effective in relation to its main activity), to have high morals, good human relations, to create for each of its members the opportunity to develop as personality, to be capable of creativity, i.e. how a group can give people more than the sum of the same number of individuals working individually can give.
The concept of social stratification.
The social structure reflects the “vertical section” of society, however, all the constituent elements in society are located in a certain hierarchy, it is reflected by social stratification (“horizontal section”). The term "stratum" was borrowed from geology (a layer of the earth's crust), and was first used in sociology by Pitirim Sorokin in the 1920s.
Social stratification is a hierarchically organized structure of social inequality that exists in a certain society in a certain historical period.
The concept of "stratification" is different from the term "stratification". Stratification means rank stratification, i.e. the upper strata are in a privileged position in comparison with the lower ones. In addition, as a rule, the upper strata are much smaller in number than the lower ones. However, in a modern developed society, this proportion is broken, and the middle class prevails in the social structure.
Rice is a pyramid and a rhombus. Pyramid of the Commonwealth.
Stratification implies that certain social differences between people acquire the character of a hierarchical ranking. In the most general way inequality means that people live in conditions in which they have unequal access to limited resources of material and spiritual consumption.
In the theory of stratification, the problem of equality - inequality is constantly discussed. At the same time, under equality understand:
1. personal equality;
2. equality of opportunities to achieve the desired goals (equality of chances);
3. equality of living conditions (welfare, education, etc.);
4. equality of results.
Inequality, obviously, implies the same four types of human relationships, but with the opposite sign. In the real practice of studying social life, sociologists pay special attention to the distribution of income and wealth, differences in the duration and quality of education, participation in political power, ownership of property, and the level of prestige.
Consider now main inequality components.
Let's start with the concept "power". The classic definition of power was proposed by Max Weber. Power is any possibility to carry out (to exercise) one's own will within given social relations, even in spite of resistance and regardless of what this possibility is based on.
Power relations mean that there are such interrelations between social subjects in which one subject acts as an object of action of another subject, or rather turns (imposes) another subject into an object of its action. In the structure of power relations, the key role belongs to the disposal of resources, which allows the ruling subject to subjugate other people.
"Property" - this is the main economic relationship between individual and group participants in the production process, mediated by their relationship to the means of production, one of the most important social institutions. Ownership can be private, group, public, its forms are very diverse. But in any case, property relations reveal who decides: where, what and how to produce; how to distribute what is produced; whom and how to reward, stimulate for work, creativity and organizational and managerial activities. In other words, property is actually revealed as a process of disposal, possession and appropriation. This means that property is a form of economic power.
As a rule, along with power and property, the third indispensable component of measuring inequality is social prestige . This concept reveals a comparative assessment by society, a community or any other group and its members of the social significance of various objects, phenomena, activities in accordance with the prevailing social norms and values generally accepted in a given culture, a given community. On the basis of such an assessment, the place of a group or individual in the social hierarchy of prestige is determined. They are endowed with a certain honor, privileges, power, special symbols, etc. Prestige ratings are one of the most effective regulators of social behavior. At least since the 1920s, the prestige of professions in various societies and, on its basis, professional inequality has been especially widely studied.
Education is the fourth component of inequality.
In sociology, scientists offer different stratification criteria. R. Dahrendorf introduces "authority" into the basis of stratification, and on this basis divides the whole society into managers and managed. The American scientist L. Warner determined the social positions of all people according to 4 parameters: 1) income; 2) professional prestige; 3) education; 4) ethnicity. B. Barber stratified society according to 6 indicators: the prestige of the profession, power, wealth, education, religious purity, ethnicity. The French scientist A. Touraine believed that in modern society stratification takes place not in relation to property, power, prestige, but in terms of access to information.
Modern scientists have come to the conclusion that when analyzing the social stratification of society, it is advisable to use several criteria. Thus, use multilevel stratification, which, unlike single-level, represents the division of society according to two or more criteria. The differentiation of people (or social groups) in society into social strata is characterized by inequality in income, education, profession, participation in power structures, etc. Sociologists take into account the following features of stratification.
1. In the process of stratification, people are differentiated into hierarchically formed groups (layers, classes, strata).
2. Social stratification divides people not only into upper and lower strata, but also into a privileged minority and an infringed majority.
3. When stratifying, the possibility of movement is taken into account.
Modern society can be differentiated (structured) according to various criteria.
Society differentiation criteria:
ethno-national,
worldview,
Religious-confessional,
educational,
spiritual and cultural,
Value-oriented (religious, secular morality).
Economic (ownership of capital, level of personal income and consumption);
Ideological and political (involvement in the management of society, involvement in the processes of redistribution of social wealth).
A number of Western sociologists distinguish 3 classes in the social structure of society: top class(usually 1-2% of the population, these are the owners of big capital, the highest bureaucracy, the elite); lower class(low-skilled and unskilled workers with low levels of education and income); middle class(a set of groups of independent and wage labor occupying a middle, intermediate position between the highest and lowest strata in most status hierarchies and having a common identity). The middle class in developed countries is 60% of the population (for example, in the USA). According to some sociologists, in Belarus it is no more than 20%.
Within the distinguished classes, differentiation is also possible. For example, within the middle class there are upper middle(owners of middle capital, middle-level administrative and political elite, representatives of higher intellectual professions); average average(representatives of small business, farmers, businessmen, persons of “liberal professions”); lower middle(the average composition of the provision of education, health care and social services, workers of mass trade and service professions, highly skilled workers).
The social structure can have a "pyramidal" or "diamond" shape. With a pyramidal form of social structure, the middle class in society is quite small, but a significant part of society belongs to the lower strata. With a diamond structure, the middle class is large. It is believed that the larger the middle class, the more stable the society.
Some sociologists study the social structure from the point of view of status and role differences that affect the content and direction of social relations. Others analyze the social structure on the basis of various models of social relations, from which role differences between people are derived. If perceived social structure as a set of different in size, social position in the system of social relations relatively stable forms of social groups, communities, their social positions and interactions between them, it becomes probable to determine such elements as: individuals, norms, values, social statuses, roles, positions and etc.
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, sex 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.
If stable societies of the modern type are analyzed from this angle, this conclusion will be confirmed to a high degree. Indeed, the profession has become a defining criterion of social stratification, and the professional status of an individual or social group is closely related to such grounds for stratification as income (property), power (position in the management system) and prestige (recognition of the social significance of this work). Therefore, education is seen as a source of increment of the social capital of the individual, the opportunity to get a good profession, to provide a higher standard of living, to acquire a new status.
Marxism focuses on the problems of class inequality and exploitation. In a corresponding way, conflictological theories usually emphasize the dominant role in the system of social reproduction of differentiating (dividing society into groups and layers) relations of property and power. 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.
The modern understanding of conflict was laid down by Dahrendorf and Koser.Dahrendorf believed that conflict is a natural result of any system of government. The essence of social conflict lies in the difference in social positions and roles in society: some have power and the right to govern, while others do not have such privileges. As a result, the aggravation of contradictions within society can be due to a number of reasons: the disproportion in the distribution of power and the lack of free channels for the redistribution of power.
However, conflicts in society can be regulated and managed. To do this, there are social institutions that develop rules of conduct for the conflicting parties. Overcoming the conflict is divided into several stages: awareness of their interests by opposing groups, unification and redistribution of power. The result of any conflict situation is social changes in society.
Koser criticized Dahrendorf for not attaching due importance to the positive functions of conflict. According to Coser, conflict performs integrative and adaptive functions in the social system.. Like Simmel, Koser believed that conflict contributed to the stability and vitality of the organization. Conflict can help to sharpen the demarcation between groups, help to centralize decision-making, strengthen group unity, and increase social control.
Types of stratification systems.
There are many stratification criteria by which any society can be divided. The nature of social stratification and the way it is established in their unity form what we call the stratification system.
Exists nine types of stratification systems.
Based on the first type physical-genetic stratification system- lies the differentiation of social groups according to "natural", socio-demographic characteristics. Here, the attitude towards a person or group is determined by gender, age and the presence of certain physical qualities - strength, beauty, dexterity. Accordingly, the weaker, those with physical disabilities are considered defective and occupy a humbled social position. Inequality is also affirmed in this case by the existence of the threat of physical violence or its actual use, and then it is fixed in customs and rituals. This "natural" stratification system dominated the primitive community, but continues to be reproduced to this day. It is especially strong in communities struggling for physical survival or expansion of their living space.
The second stratification system - slaveholding- is also based on direct violence. But inequality here is determined not by physical, but by military-legal coercion. Social groups differ in the presence or absence of civil rights and property rights. Certain social groups are completely deprived of these rights and, moreover, along with things, are turned into an object of private property. Moreover, this position is most often inherited and thus fixed in generations. Examples of slaveholding systems are quite diverse. This is ancient slavery, where the number of slaves sometimes exceeded the number of free citizens, and servility in Russia during the Russkaya Pravda, this is plantation slavery in the south of the North American United States before the civil war of 1861-1865, and, finally, the work of prisoners of war and deported persons on German private farms during the Second World War. The methods of reproduction of the slave-owning system are also characterized by considerable diversity. Ancient slavery was maintained mainly by conquest. For early feudal Russia, debt, enslavement was more characteristic. The practice of selling one's own children into slavery without being able to feed them existed, for example, in medieval China. In the same place, various kinds of criminals (including political ones) were turned into slaves. This practice was practically reproduced much later in the Soviet GULAG (although private slavery was carried out here in hidden non-legal forms).
The third type of stratification system - caste. It is based on ethnic differences, which, in turn, are reinforced by the religious order and religious rituals. Each caste is a closed, as far as possible, endogamous group, which is assigned a strictly defined place in the social hierarchy. This place appears as a result of the isolation of the special functions of each caste in the system of division of labor. There is a clear list of occupations that members of this caste can engage in: priestly, military, agricultural. Since the position in the caste system is inherited, the possibilities of social mobility are extremely limited here. And the stronger caste is expressed, the more closed this society turns out to be. India is considered to be a classic example of a society dominated by the caste system (legally, this system was abolished here only in 1950). Today, although in a smoother form, the caste system is reproduced not only in India, but, for example, in the clan system of the Central Asian states. Explicit features of caste were affirmed in the middle of the twentieth century by the policy of fascist states (the Aryans were assigned the position of the highest ethnic caste, called to dominate the Slavs, Jews, etc.). The role of binding theological doctrines in this case is assumed by the nationalist ideology.
The social structure is a fairly constant interconnection of social elements, for example, the social class structure of society. The social structure of society is a relatively permanent pattern of social classifications in a given society, such as the social structure of contemporary Russian society.
The main elements of the social structure of society: social groups, social strata, social communities and social institutions are interconnected by social relations carried by people. There is also a classification that distinguishes such components of the social structure of society as: estates, castes, classes.
11. Social connections and relationships.
social connection- a social action expressing the dependence and compatibility of people or groups. This is a set of special dependencies of some social subjects on others, their mutual relations that unite people into the corresponding social communities and testify to their collective existence. This is a concept that denotes any socio-cultural obligations of individuals or groups of individuals. relative to each other.
social relations- these are relatively stable ties between individuals and social groups, due to their unequal position in society and roles in public life
The subjects of social relations are various social communities and individuals
1 - social relations of socio-historical communities (between countries, classes, nations, social groups, town and countryside);
2 - social relations between public organizations, institutions and labor collectives;
3 - social relations in the form of interpersonal interaction and communication within labor collectives
There are different types of social relations:
by the scope of power: horizontal relations and vertical relations;
according to the degree of regulation: formal (certified) and informal;
by the way individuals communicate: impersonal or indirect, interpersonal or direct;
for subjects of activity: between organizational, intraorganizational;
according to the level of justice: fair and unfair
The basis of the differences between social relations are motives and needs, the main of which are primary and secondary needs.
As a result of the contradiction of social relations, social conflict becomes one of the forms of social interaction.
12. Social groups: essence and classification.
social group is a set of individuals interacting in a certain way based on the shared expectations of each member of the group in relation to others.
In this definition, one can see two essential conditions necessary for a set to be considered a group: 1) the existence of interactions between its members; 2) the emergence of shared expectations of each member of the group regarding its other members. The social group is characterized by a number of specific features:
stability, duration of existence;
certainty of composition and boundaries;
general system of values and social norms;
awareness of one's belonging to a given social community;
the voluntary nature of the association of individuals (for small social groups);
the unification of individuals by external conditions of existence (for large social groups);
the ability to enter as elements in other social communities.
social group- a relatively stable set of people connected by common relationships, activities, its motivation and norms Group classification, as a rule, is based on the subject area of analysis, in which the main feature that determines the stability of a given group formation is singled out. Seven main signs of classification:
based on ethnicity or race;
based on the level of cultural development;
based on the types of structure that exists in groups;
based on the tasks and functions performed by the group in wider communities;
based on the prevailing types of contacts between group members;
on the basis of various types of connections that exist in groups;
on other principles.
13. Social institutions: essence, typology, functions.
social institution- a historically established stable form of organization of joint activities and relations of people, performing socially significant functions.
Typology social institutions can be composed on the basis of the idea that each institution satisfies one or another fundamental social need. The five fundamental social needs (in the reproduction of the family; in security and social order; in obtaining a livelihood; in the socialization of the younger generation; in solving spiritual problems) correspond to five basic social institutions: the institution of the family, the political institution (state), the economic institution (production) , education, religion.
The function of consolidation and reproduction of social relations. Each social institution is created in response to the emergence of a certain social need in order to develop certain standards of behavior among its members.
The adaptive function lies in the fact that the functioning of social institutions in society ensures the adaptability, adaptability of society to changing conditions of the internal and external environment, both natural and social.
The integrative function consists in the fact that the social institutions existing in the society, through their actions, norms, prescriptions, ensure interdependence, mutual responsibility, solidarity and cohesion of the individuals and / or all members of this society that make up them.
The communicative function lies in the fact that information (scientific, artistic, political, etc.) produced in one social institution is distributed both within this institution and outside it, in interaction between institutions and organizations operating in society.
The socializing function is manifested in the fact that social institutions play a decisive role in the formation and development of the individual, in the assimilation of social values, norms and roles, in the orientation and realization of her social status.
The regulatory function is embodied in the fact that social institutions in the process of their functioning ensure the regulation of interactions between individuals and social communities through the development of certain norms and standards of behavior, a system of rewards for the most effective actions that comply with the norms, values, expectations of society or the community, and sanctions (punishments). ) for actions that deviate from these values and norms.
Society is a complex social system, structurally organized integrity, which is formed by different elements, components. In turn, they also have a certain level of organization and order in their own structure. This gives grounds to assert that the social structure of society is a complex, multidimensional formation.
The social structure of society is the basis for the study of all processes and phenomena in social life, since changes in the social structure are the main indicator of changes in the social system of society.
The concept of "social structure" has several interpretations. Most often, this term is used to divide society into different social groups, systems of stable ties between them, and also to determine the internal structure of certain social communities.
There are two main levels of structural organization: 1) microstructure, 2) macrostructure. microstructure means stable ties in small groups (work collective, student group, etc.). The elements of structural analysis are individuals, social roles, statuses, group norms and values. The microstructure significantly affects the processes of social life, such as socialization, the formation of social thought.
macrostructure- this is the composition of classes, strata, ethnic groups and social categories characteristic of a given society, the totality of stable relations between them and the peculiarity of their structural organization. The main aspects of the macrostructure of society are the social-class, socio-professional, socio-demographic, socio-territorial and socio-ethnic substructures.
social structure- an ordered set of individuals, social groups, communities, organizations, institutions, united by ties and relationships that differ from each other in the position in the economic, political, spiritual spheres of their life.
In other words, this is the internal structure of society, which consists of ordered elements that are interconnected: individuals, social groups, social strata, classes, estates, social communities (socio-ethnic, socio-professional, socio-demographic, socio-territorial).
A person is almost never included in the structure of society directly. He always belongs to a certain group whose interests and norms of behavior influence him. And already these groups form a society.
The social structure has certain features:
1) the stability of the connection between any elements of society, i.e. stable interdependencies, correlations;
2) regularity, stability and repeatability of these interactions;
3) the presence of levels or "floors" according to the significance of the elements that are part of the structure;
4) regulatory, initiated and dynamic control over the behavior of elements, including various norms and sanctions adopted in a given society.
The social structure has a "horizontal projection" and a "vertical projection" - a hierarchically organized set of statuses, groups, classes, strata, etc.
The concept of "social structure" covers the system-organizational and stratification aspects. According to the system-organizational aspect, the main content of the social structure is formed by social institutions, primarily such as: the economy, politics (the state), science, education, family, saving and maintaining the relations and ties existing in society. These institutions normatively regulate, control and direct the behavior of people in vital areas, and also determine stable, regularly reproduced role positions (statuses) in various types of social organizations.
Social status is the primary element of the social structure of society, which determines the place of a person in the social structure of society. It is determined by the profession, age, education, financial situation. Social positions (statuses) and connections between them determine the nature of social relations.
social status- this is the social position (position) of the individual in the social structure of society, associated with belonging to any social group or community, the totality of its social roles.
Social status- a generalized characteristic covering the profession, economic situation, political opportunities and demographic characteristics of a person. For example, "builder" is a profession; “employee” is an economic trait; "member of the party" - a political characteristic; “a man of 30 years old” is a demographic feature. All these characteristics describe the social status of one person, but from different angles.
It is necessary to distinguish personal and social types of status. social status has two meanings - wide and narrow. Status in a broad sense is the social position of a person in society, which gives him a generalized description. In a narrow sense, this is the position of a person, which he automatically occupies as a representative of a large social group (professional, class, national).
personal status- this is the position that a person occupies in a small social group (family, among acquaintances, in a team, sports team, student group, etc.), depending on how he is assessed by his individual qualities. In them, everyone can occupy a high, medium or low status, i.e. be a leader, an independent or an outsider.
Status can be prescribed(surname, family tree), reached or mixed.
Prescribed cannot be identified with born. Only three biologically inherited statuses are considered innate: gender, nationality, race, which a person inherits regardless of his will and consciousness.
Achieved status a person receives through his own efforts, desire, free choice. The more statuses achieved in a society, the more dynamic and democratic it is.
mixed status simultaneously has the features of both prescribed and achieved. For example, the title of professor is at first a status that is achieved, but over time becomes prescribed, because. is eternal, though not inherited.
Social role - typical behavior of a person associated with his social status, which does not cause negative reactions from others. An individual can fulfill several social roles. For example: friend, athlete, public figure, citizen, student. Each person has several social roles and statuses.
Any society can be represented as a set of status-role positions, and the more of them, the more complex the society. However, status-role positions are not a simple heap, devoid of inner harmony. They are organized, interconnected by countless threads. Organization and orderliness are ensured thanks to more complex structural formations - social institutions, communities, organizations - which link status-role positions to each other, ensure their reproduction, and create guarantees for their stability.
On the basis of close social statuses, which establish the potential possibility of an individual's participation in the corresponding types of activity, more complex structural elements of society are formed - social groups.
social group- a relatively stable, historically established set of people united on the basis of common characteristics, interests, values, group consciousness.
The concept of "social group" is generic in relation to the concepts of "class", "social stratum", "collective", "nation", "community", as it fixes social differences between individual sets of people in the process of distribution of labor and their results. These differences are based on relations with the means of production, power, specifics of labor, specialty, education, income level, gender, age, nationality, place of residence, etc.
Class- any social stratum in modern society that differs from others in income, education, prestige, attitude to power.
Social layer- a group of individuals engaged in equivalent types of labor and receiving approximately equal remuneration.
Social community - a set of people united by relatively stable social ties, relationships, having common features that give it a unique identity.
In every society there is a certain number of social groups, the creation of which is due to:
General activities (for example, professional groups, collectives);
Common space-time existence (environment, territory, communication);
Group settings and orientations.
It is necessary to distinguish social groups from random unstable associations such as: bus passengers, readers in the library, viewers in the cinema.
Social groups arose on the basis of objective conditions of existence, a certain level of development of society. Thus, at the dawn of mankind, a clan and a tribe arose. With the division of labor, professional groups appeared (artisans, farmers, hunters, gatherers, etc.). With the advent of private property - classes.
The formation of a social group is a long and complex process of its social maturation, which is associated with the awareness of one's position, commonality and interests, values, the formation of group consciousness and norms of behavior. A social group becomes socially mature when it realizes its interests, values, forms norms, goals and objectives of activities that are aimed at maintaining or changing its position in society. R. Dahrendorf in this regard distinguishes hidden and open group interests. It is the awareness of interests that turns a group of people into an independent subject of social action.
Social groups of different sizes interact in the social structure. Traditionally, they are divided into small and large.
Small social group- a small group of people whose members are united by common activities and enter into direct communication, which is the basis for the emergence of emotional relationships and special group values and norms of behavior.
A generic feature of a small social group is the presence of directly long-term personal contacts (communication, interaction), which are typical, for example, of a family, a team of workers, a group of friends, a sports team, etc.
Large social group- a large group of people united for a common activity, but the relationship between them is predominantly formal.
These include professional, demographic, national communities, social classes.
The social structure of modern Ukrainian society depends on the direction of the essence of social transformations, the essence of which is to change the functional ties in society. Its basis is:
1. Changing the social form of all major social institutions - economic, political, cultural, educational; a deep social upheaval and the reform of those social regulators that form the social structure of society (it has become less rigid, more mobile).
2. Transformation of the social nature of the main components of the social structure - classes, groups and communities; their renewal as subjects of property and power; the emergence of economic classes, strata and strata with a corresponding system of social conflicts and contradictions.
3. The weakening of the stratification restrictions existing in society. The emergence of new channels for raising statuses, strengthening the horizontal and vertical mobility of Ukrainians.
4. Activation of marginalization processes.
Marginalization- (lat. margo - edge, border) - the process of losing an individual's objective belonging to a certain social group, without subsequent subjective entry into another community, stratum.
This is the process of changing the subject of one socio-economic status to another. In Ukrainian society at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries, it is characterized by a transition mainly to the lower strata of the population (the phenomenon of the "new poor", social groups of military personnel, intelligentsia).
5. Changing the comparative role of the components of social status. If the stratification of Soviet society was dominated by the administrative-official criterion associated with the place in the system of power and management, then in modern society the criterion of property and income is decisive. Previously, the political status determined the financial situation, now the amount of capital determines the political weight.
6. Increasing the social prestige of education and qualifications, strengthening the role of the cultural factor in the formation of high-status groups. This is due to the formation of the labor market. However, this applies to specialties that are in demand in the market, primarily economic, legal and managerial.
7. Changes in the qualitative and quantitative parameters of the social structure. It is known that the more progressive the sex and age structure, the more development opportunities it is endowed with, the more stable the social (labor, intellectual, cultural) potential of the population. Due to negative demographic trends, the population of Ukraine is decreasing by 400 thousand people every year, against the background of a general depopulation of the population (every fifth Ukrainian family has no children), the birth rate is decreasing, the average life expectancy is decreasing (if in the early 90s of the twentieth century health Ukraine occupied the 40th place in the world, ten years later it moved into the second hundred).
8. Deepening the social polarization of society. The property indicator is the core of transformations. The economic status and way of life of the elites, the upper stratum, have risen sharply, while those of the majority of the population have sharply declined. The boundaries of poverty and poverty have expanded, the social "bottom" has stood out - homeless, declassed elements.
The structure of Ukrainian society, which has received significant changes compared to Soviet society, continues to retain its features. For its significant transformation, a systemic transformation of the institutions of property and power is necessary, which requires a long time. The stratification of society will continue to lose stability and unambiguity. The boundaries between groups and strata will become more transparent, and many marginalized groups will emerge with uncertain or conflicting status.
The social structure of Ukrainian society, based on the sociological research of N. Rimashevskaya, can be represented in general terms as follows.
one." All-Ukrainian elite groups", which unite in their hands the property in the amount equivalent to the largest Western countries, and also own the means of power influence at the national level.
2. " Regional and corporate elites”, which have a significant Ukrainian position and influence at the level of regions and entire industries or sectors of the economy.
3. The Ukrainian "upper middle class", which owns property and incomes that provide Western standards of consumption as well. Representatives of this stratum strive to improve their social status, focus on the established practice and ethical standards of economic relations.
4. The Ukrainian "dynamic middle class", which owns incomes that ensure the satisfaction of average Ukrainian and higher standards of consumption, and is also characterized by a relatively high potential adaptability, significant social aspirations and motivations, and an orientation towards legal ways of its manifestation.
5. "Outsiders", which are characterized by low adaptation and social activity, low incomes and orientation towards legal ways of obtaining it.
6. "Marginals", which are characterized by low adaptation, as well as asocial and antisocial attitudes in their socio-economic activities.
7. "Criminal society", which is characterized by high social activity and adaptability, but at the same time fully consciously and rationally opposes the legal norms of economic activity.
Sociology studies society at its various scales. It is not limited to social formations that function within the boundaries of modern nation-states, but studies everything social, from the individual to humanity as a whole. At the middle levels of the social order, between the individual and the global, sociology deals with individual elements of the social structure.
The social structure of society is a stable set of its elements, as well as connections and relationships that groups and communities of people enter into regarding the conditions of their life. The structure of society is represented by a complex interconnected system of statuses and roles. Although the social structure is formed through the functioning of social institutions, it is not the whole social organization, but only its form. The social structure is based on the social division of labor, property relations, and other factors of social inequality. The advantages of social inequality lie in the opportunities for professional specialization and the prerequisites for the growth of labor productivity. The disadvantages of social inequality are related to the social conflicts that it generates. An empirical indicator of social inequality is decile coefficient of income differentiation, or the ratio of the incomes of the richest 10% to the incomes of the poorest 10% in society. In highly developed industrial countries it ranges from 4 to 8. Today in Belarus it is in the range of 5.6-5.9. For comparison: in Kazakhstan the decile coefficient is 7.4, in Ukraine - 8.7, in Poland - 16.5, in Russia - 16.8.
The initial element of the social structure of society as an integral system is a person and diverse social communities in which people are united by family, economic, ethnic, religious, political and other ties. Integration and coordination of the actions of many people and various groups is carried out through social institutions.
The concept of "social structure" reflects social inequality in all its manifestations, and the concept of "social stratification" - only in a vertical section.
The signs by which people unite into strata are, first of all, the level of income, the level of education and qualifications, the prestige of the profession and access to power. In accordance with the place in the social hierarchy, various social strata can be grouped into classes. An indicator of a person's position in the class structure of society is life style- a set of actions and objects of property that are perceived by the individual and others as symbols of his social status.
In Marxist theory classes - These are large groups of people that differ:
By place in a historically defined system of social production;
- in relation to the means of production (for the most part, fixed and formalized in laws);
- by role in the social organization of labor;
- according to the methods of obtaining and the size of the share of social wealth that they have.
Allocate main(dominant within a certain socio-economic formation) and non-core classes(the existence of which is due to the preservation in a given socio-economic formation of the remnants of the former or the emergence of the beginnings of new production relations). Such an understanding presents the class structure of society less rigidly and brings the analysis of social structure closer to stratification analysis. However, the allocation of excessively large groups of the population within the framework of the social structure makes social analysis too abstract and does not allow one to take into account quite significant intra-class differences. In part, this lack of class analysis was overcome by M. Weber, who Class - a set of individuals with a relatively equal share of power, wealth and prestige. The social structure is presented in more detail in the theory of social stratification. A class can also be defined as a group that is united by professional, property, and social and legal interests.
Weber's interpretation of classes was developed within the framework of the functional (status) concept of classes (R. Aron, D. Bell, T. Parsons, W. Warner, X. Schelsky, etc.), in which the following class-forming features are distinguished: income level, level of education and qualifications, the prestige of the profession, access to power.
Top class (usually 1-2% of the population) - these are the owners of big capital, the industrial and financial elite, the highest political elite, the highest bureaucracy, the generals, the most successful representatives of the creative elite. They usually own a significant part of the property (in industrialized countries - about 20% of public wealth) and have a serious impact on politics, the economy, culture, education and other areas of public life.
lower class - low-skilled and unskilled workers with a low level of education and income, marginalized and lumpenized layers, many of which are characterized by significant discrepancies between relatively high expectations, social aspirations and a low assessment of their real capabilities and personal results achieved in society. Representatives of such strata are integrated into market relations and achieve the living standards of the middle class with great difficulty.
Middle class - a set of groups of self-employed and wage labor occupying a "middle", intermediate position between the highest and lowest strata in most status hierarchies (property, income, power) and having a common identity.