Social mobility. Social mobility channels

Mobility channels

As channels of social mobility, they use the methods by which people are able to move up and down the ladder of the social hierarchy: “elevators”, “steps of the ladder”.

Mobility channels are:

• socio-political organizations;
• authorities;
• professional labor organizations (firms, work collectives with production property, corporate institutions, etc.);
• church;
• school;
• army;
• family-clan ties (social authority of the family, family support, private property, etc.).

Functions of social mobility channels

In the modern world, the role of some mobility channels is increasing, while others are decreasing. New forms of mobility are being developed within the framework of increasing channels.

Traditional channels of social mobility can be supplemented with channels such as:

• scientific and technical activities;
• financial and banking operations;
• activity in the field of computer technology and in the field of mass media;
• involvement in shadow or criminal activities (in a traditional society it is represented by gangsters and family-clan groups, in a developed society it is represented by transnational mafia associations in the field of distribution of drugs, weapons, etc.).

All channels of social mobility (with the exception of the criminal channel) are closely interconnected; they function simultaneously, complementing each other or confronting each other.

Note 1

Channels of social mobility form a system of organizational capabilities, institutional and legal requirements, specific rules for the movement of people up and down the social ladder, forming complex mechanisms of social selection of people for certain status roles and social positions.

Mechanisms of social selection

In some schools, the role of education and school in changing status was limited, with priority given to the religious or military environment. The personal qualities of the individual, the support of others, and the role of the family still remained important.

In modern society, the main approach to the mechanisms of social mobility is focused on educational and professional training. The role of a person’s individual qualities is increasing.

Social selection in scientific and creative activities

In order for society to recognize a young person as a scientist and to begin a scientific career, it is necessary that he have a diploma of higher education.

The professional environment only recognizes the scientific status of an individual when the results of his personal work are qualified as significant. These results will be constantly criticized and meticulously analyzed.

A young scientist must master the art

• find supporters;
• conduct scientific debate;
• strive for the practical implementation of their discoveries.

The following circumstances play a major role in the mechanisms of social selection:

1. Establishment in a professional environment through qualifications and job advancement. The main factor of recognition will be scientific results recognized by wide scientific and public circles.
2. Gaining supporters in practical areas (fame among the general public).
3. Help and support from family members.

Mobility channels

As channels of social mobility, they use the methods by which people are able to move up and down the ladder of the social hierarchy: “elevators”, “steps of the ladder”.

Mobility channels are:

• socio-political organizations;
• authorities;
• professional labor organizations (firms, work collectives with production property, corporate institutions, etc.);
• church;
• school;
• army;
• family-clan ties (social authority of the family, family support, private property, etc.).

Functions of social mobility channels

In the modern world, the role of some mobility channels is increasing, while others are decreasing. New forms of mobility are being developed within the framework of increasing channels.

Traditional channels of social mobility can be supplemented with channels such as:

• scientific and technical activities;
• financial and banking operations;
• activity in the field of computer technology and in the field of mass media;
• involvement in shadow or criminal activities (in a traditional society it is represented by gangsters and family-clan groups, in a developed society it is represented by transnational mafia associations in the field of distribution of drugs, weapons, etc.).

All channels of social mobility (with the exception of the criminal channel) are closely interconnected; they function simultaneously, complementing each other or confronting each other.

Note 1

Channels of social mobility form a system of organizational capabilities, institutional and legal requirements, specific rules for the movement of people up and down the social ladder, forming complex mechanisms of social selection of people for certain status roles and social positions.

Mechanisms of social selection

In some schools, the role of education and school in changing status was limited, with priority given to the religious or military environment. The personal qualities of the individual, the support of others, and the role of the family still remained important.

In modern society, the main approach to the mechanisms of social mobility is focused on educational and professional training. The role of a person’s individual qualities is increasing.

Social selection in scientific and creative activities

In order for society to recognize a young person as a scientist and to begin a scientific career, it is necessary that he have a diploma of higher education.

The professional environment only recognizes the scientific status of an individual when the results of his personal work are qualified as significant. These results will be constantly criticized and meticulously analyzed.

A young scientist must master the art

• find supporters;
• conduct scientific debate;
• strive for the practical implementation of their discoveries.

The following circumstances play a major role in the mechanisms of social selection:

1. Establishment in a professional environment through qualifications and job advancement. The main factor of recognition will be scientific results recognized by wide scientific and public circles.
2. Gaining supporters in practical areas (fame among the general public).
3. Help and support from family members.

How, within the framework of the stable social structure of society, does social mobility occur, that is, the movement of individuals within this very social structure? It is obvious that such movement within the framework of a complexly organized system cannot occur spontaneously, unorganized, or chaotically. Unorganized, spontaneous movements are possible only during periods of social instability, when the social structure is shaken, loses stability, and collapses. In a stable social structure, significant movements of individuals occur in strict accordance with a developed system of rules for such movements (stratification system). To change his status, an individual most often must not only have the desire to do so, but also receive approval from the social environment. Only in this case is a real change in status possible, which will mean a change in the individual’s position within the social structure of society. So, if a boy or girl decides to become students of a certain university (acquire student status), then their desire will be only the first step towards the status of a student of this university. Obviously, in addition to personal aspiration, it is also important that the applicant meets the requirements that apply to everyone who has expressed a desire to undergo training in this specialty. Only after confirmation of such compliance (for example, during entrance exams) does the applicant achieve the assignment of the desired status - the applicant becomes a student.
In modern society, the social structure of which is very complex and institutionalized, most social movements are associated with certain social institutions. That is, most statuses exist and have meaning only within the framework of specific social institutions. The status of a student or teacher cannot exist in isolation from the institution of education; statuses of a doctor or a patient - in isolation from the healthcare institute; Candidate or Doctor of Science status is outside the Institute of Science. This gives rise to the idea of ​​social institutions as unique social spaces within which most changes in status occur. Such spaces are called channels of social mobility.
In a strict sense, under channel of social mobility understands such social structures, mechanisms, methods that can be used to implement social mobility. As mentioned above, in modern society, social institutions most often act as such channels. Of primary importance are political authorities, political parties, public organizations, economic structures, professional labor organizations and unions, the army, the church, the education system, and family and clan ties. Organized crime structures are also of great importance today, which have their own system of mobility, but often have a strong influence on the “official” channels of mobility (for example, corruption).

Taken together, the channels of social mobility act as an integral system, complementing, limiting, and stabilizing each other’s activities. As a result, we can talk about a universal system of institutional and legal procedures for the movement of individuals along a stratification structure, which is a complex mechanism of social selection. In the case of any attempt by an individual to improve his social position, that is, to increase his social status, he will be, to one degree or another, “tested” for compliance with the requirements for a bearer of this status. Such a “test” can be formal (exam, testing), semi-formal (probation period, interview) and informal (the decision is made solely due to the personal inclinations of the test takers, but based on their ideas about the desired qualities of the test subject) procedures.
For example, to enter a university you must pass entrance exams. But in order to be accepted into a new family, you need to go through a long process of getting to know the existing rules and traditions, confirm your loyalty to them, and gain the approval of the leading members of this family. It is obvious that in each specific case there is both a formal need to meet certain requirements (level of knowledge, special training, physical data), and a subjective assessment of the individual’s efforts on the part of the examiners. Depending on the situation, either the first or the second component is more important.

Social connections: concept, structure, types.

Individuals, carrying out their actions, enter into connections (interconnections) and relationships (relationships) among themselves. Social connection- these are the actions of people taking into account the possible actions of other people. In another way it is called interaction. Social connection is determined by the collectivity of human life, the dependence of people on each other. It can be expressed as follows: “I depend on others when the objects, benefits, conditions that I require are at the disposal of others. And vice versa". For example, I get on the bus, pay the fare, and the driver takes me along the designated route.

Main elements social connection are: 1) different people (for example, passengers and drivers) with their motivational mechanisms (needs, values, norms, beliefs, roles); 2) situations of social connection (objects, money, power, law, status of people, etc.); 3) coordinated actions, the performance of roles (for example, passengers and drivers), the result (the benefit received and the associated satisfaction or dissatisfaction) of people. Thus, a social connection is a connection between the actions of people in a certain situation, prompted by some needs, motives, incentives (Scheme 1).

Depending on time and frequency, social communication is divided into (1) random and 2) necessary (sustainable). This affects the nature of regulation of the social degree of obligation and responsibility of its participants. You behave differently with your neighbor on the bus than with your housemate. With the latter you behave more obligatorily, i.e. taking into account all the various motivations for relationships, since your neighbor’s attitude towards you is largely determined by your attitude towards him.

Social communication can be formal or informal. Informal the relationship is characterized by a lack of subordination, a natural division of its participants into statuses and roles that express their needs, values, norms, beliefs, embodied in traditions. Such a social connection is characteristic of a traditional (agrarian) society and family and kinship ties. Within its framework, participants are not regulated by legal and administrative norms, and there is no governing body or leader. This is also a friendly conversation, scientific discussion, team work, etc.

Formal communication presupposes legal and administrative norms for its regulation; it divides those participating in it into statuses and roles that subordinate them. In such a social connection there is a governing body that develops norms, organizes people, controls the implementation of instructions, etc. Such a body could be, for example, a church or a state. Formal-impersonal communication is the basis of industrial society (in particular, capitalist and Soviet).

Exchange (according to D. Howmans) is a form of social communication in which people interact based on their experience and weigh possible profits and costs. Exchange occurs during purchase and sale, provision of services to each other, etc.

Conflict is a form of social connection, which is a struggle between opposing motives (intrapersonal), people (interpersonal), social formations - social institutions, organizations, communities (social).

Competition is a form of social connection in which people fight for favorable working conditions and sales of goods, for political programs and power, for new ideas and organizations. As a rule, it is carried out within the framework of moral and legal rules, is a source of wealth (according to A. Smith), and is a process of cognition, learning and discovery of new knowledge, as well as new goods, markets, technologies (according to F. Hayek).

Cooperation is a form of social connection when the statuses, roles, and actions of people are clearly coordinated: for example, in a family, in a factory, in a store, etc. In cooperation, a social connection takes the form of a social institution and organization, i.e., it is a system of sustainable , direct and indirect, formal and informal social connections. Cooperation can be forced (administrative) and voluntary (democratic). Social cooperation is characterized by the social capital of its participants, which represents a set of informal values ​​and norms such as truthfulness, honesty (fulfillment of obligations), cooperation.

Social connection (exchange, competition, conflict, cooperation) can be demographic, economic, political, spiritual, etc. depending on the subject, nature and subject of communication. For example: the subject of economic interaction is an economic good (money, profit, wealth, cost, shares, etc.); interaction is of a financial and economic nature and presupposes certain knowledge, actions, and experience; an economic subject has an economic need, a motive, a value orientation that prompts it to economic interaction.

Social interaction: social contacts and social action. Basic theories of social interaction: M. Weber on the types and types of social action, T. Parsons on the system of social action.

The essence of social action. For the first time in sociology, the concept of “social action” was introduced and scientifically substantiated by Max Weber. He called social action “a human action (regardless of whether it is external or internal, whether it comes down to non-interference or patient acceptance), which, according to the meaning assumed by the actor or actors, is correlated with the action of other people or is oriented towards it.”

Any social action is preceded by social contacts, but unlike them, social action is a rather complex phenomenon. Any social action must include: 1. an actor; 2. the need to activate behavior; 3. purpose of action; 4. method of action; 5. another actor to whom the action is directed; 6. the result of an action.

Under social interaction is understood as a system of interdependent social actions connected by a cyclical causal dependence, in which the actions of one subject are simultaneously the cause and consequence of the response actions of other subjects. This means that every social action is caused by a previous social action and at the same time is the cause of subsequent actions. Thus, social actions are links in an unbreakable chain called interaction. When communicating with friends, work colleagues, and relatives, a person constantly carries out social interactions, which are even more diverse in forms of manifestation than social actions.

Parsons continued to develop Weber's theory of social action. He considers the subject of sociology system of (social) action, which, unlike social action (individual action), includes the organized activity of many people. The action system includes subsystems that perform interrelated functions: 1) social subsystem (group of people) - the function of integrating people; 2) cultural subsystem - reproduction of a pattern of behavior used by a group of people; 3) personal subsystem - goal achievement; 4) behavioral organism - the function of adaptation to the external environment.

The subsystems of the social action system differ functionally, having the same structure. Social subsystem deals with the integration of the behavior of people and social groups. Varieties of social subsystems are societies (family, village, city, country, etc.). Cultural(religious, artistic, scientific) subsystem is engaged in the production of spiritual (cultural) values ​​- symbolic meanings that people, organized into social subsystems, realize in their behavior. Cultural (religious, moral, scientific, etc.) meanings orient human activity (give it meaning). For example, a person goes on the attack, risking his life, to defend his homeland. Personal the subsystem realizes its needs, interests, goals in the process of some activity in order to satisfy these needs, interests, and achieve goals. Personality is the main executor and regulator of action processes (sequences of some operations). Behavioral organism is a subsystem of social action, including the human brain, human organs of movement, capable of physically influencing the natural environment, adapting it to the needs of people. Parsons emphasizes that all of the listed subsystems of social action are “ideal types,” abstract concepts that do not exist in reality. Hence the well-known difficulty in interpreting and understanding T. Parsons.

Ideal types of social action according to Weber

Read also:

Social mobility, its types and factors. Channels of vertical mobility.

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The concept of social mobility means the movement of individuals (sometimes groups) between different positions in the hierarchy of social stratification, associated with a change in their status.

According to P. Sorokin’s definition, “social mobility is understood as any transition of an individual... from one social position to another,” There is two main types social mobility - m intergenerational And intragenerational, as well as two main types - vertical And horizontal. They, in turn, fall into subspecies and subtypes, which are closely related to each other.

Intergenerational mobility suggests that children reach the highest social position or fall to a lower position than their parents. Example: a worker's son becomes a professor.

Intragenerational mobility occurs where the same individual changes social positions several times throughout his life. Otherwise it is called a social career. Example: a turner becomes an engineer, and then a workshop manager, a plant director, and a minister.

Vertical mobility implies movement from one stratum (estate, class, caste) to another.

Depending on the direction of movement there is upward mobility(social uplift) and downward mobility(social descent, downward movement).

Promotion is an example of upward mobility, while demotion is an example of downward mobility.

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

An example is the movement of one labor collective to another, from one citizenship to another, from one family (parental) to another (one’s own, newly formed), from one profession to another. Such movements occur without a noticeable change in social position in the vertical direction.

A type of horizontal mobility is geograf physical mobility.

It does not imply a change in status or group, but a movement from one place to another while maintaining the same status.

An example is international and interregional tourism, moving from city to village and back.

If a change of location is added to a change of status, then geographic mobility becomes migration.

If a villager came to the city to visit relatives, then this is geographical mobility. If he moved to the city for permanent residence and found work here, then this is already migration. He changed his profession.

Social mobility can be classified according to other criteria. So, for example, they distinguish:

individual mobility, when movements down up or horizontally occur in one person independently of others;

group mobility, when movements occur collectively, for example, after a social revolution, the old class cedes its dominant position to a new class.

Sociologists include factors of individual mobility, i.e., reasons that allow one person to achieve greater success than another:

social status of the family;

level of education;

nationality;

physical and mental abilities, external data;

receiving education;

location;

profitable marriage.

Mobile individuals begin socialization in one class and end in another. They are literally torn between dissimilar cultures and lifestyles. They do not know how to behave, dress, talk from the point of view of the standards of another class. Often adaptation to new conditions remains very superficial.

Group mobility occurs when the social significance of an entire class, estate, or caste increases or decreases.

As P. Sorokin showed on vast historical material, the following factors served as the reasons for group mobility:

social revolutions;

foreign interventions, invasions;

interstate wars;

civil wars;

military coups;

change of political regimes;

replacing the old constitution with a new one;

peasant uprisings;

internecine war of aristocratic families;

creation of an empire.

Group mobility takes place where there is a change in the stratification system itself.

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Social mobility, its types and channels

Social mobility- this is an opportunity to change the social layer. Social mobility can be high or low. An example of high social mobility is the United States of America, and an example of low social mobility is India. The concept of social mobility is close in meaning to the concept of a social elevator.

Social mobility- a change by an individual or group in 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).

Social mobility and its channels

Sharply limited in a caste and class society, social mobility increases significantly in an industrial society.

Types of social mobility

• Vertical - movement from one stratum (estate, class) to another.
• Horizontal - the transition of an individual from one social group to another, located at the same level (For example: moving from an Orthodox to a Catholic religious group, from one citizenship to another). Such movements occur without a noticeable change in social position in the vertical direction.
• Organized - the movement of a person or entire groups up, down or horizontally is controlled by the state with or without the consent of the people themselves.
• Structural - changes in the structure of the national economy. It occurs beyond the will and consciousness of individual individuals.
• Rising - social rise, upward movement (For example: promotion).
• Descending - social descent, downward movement (For example: demotion).
• Geographically I - moving from one place to another while maintaining the same status (For example: international and interregional tourism, moving from city to village and back).
• Intergenerational - comparative change in social status among different generations (For example: the son of a worker becomes president).
• Intragenerational mobility (social career) - a change in status within one generation (For example: a turner becomes an engineer, then a shop manager, then a plant director).

Social mobility channels

Since upward mobility is present to varying degrees in every society, there are certain paths, or channels, through which individuals are able to most effectively move up or down the social ladder. They are called channels of social mobility or social elevator.

The most important channels of social mobility, according to P. Sorokin, are:

ü church,

ü political, economic and professional organizations.

Factors of social mobility on at the micro level are the individual’s immediate social environment, as well as his total life resource, and at the macro level - the state of the economy, the level of scientific and technological development, the nature of the political regime, the prevailing stratification system, the nature of natural conditions, etc.

Social mobility is measured using indicators:

• volume of mobility - the number of individuals or social classes that have moved vertically up the social ladder over a certain period of time,
• mobility distance - the number of steps that an individual or group managed to climb or descend.

However, in order to completely change the social status, individuals often face the problem of entering a new subculture of a group with a higher status, as well as the related problem of interactions with representatives of the new social environment. To overcome the cultural barrier and communication barrier, there are several methods that, one way or another, individuals resort to in the process of social mobility.

Types and channels of social mobility

The beginning of the study of social mobility is associated with the name of P. Sorokin (1927 “Social mobility”). According to Sorokin, social mobility is understood as any transition of an individual or a social object (value, direction), i.e. everything that is created or modified by human activity, from one social position to another.

The following types of mobility are distinguished::

1) horizontal and vertical.

Horizontal mobility is the movement of an individual or social object from one social group to another, located at the same level (for example, a change of religion, family, views). Vertical mobility is movement from one social layer to another. Depending on the direction of vertical mobility, there are:

a) upward mobility (social rise, increase in social status)

b) downward (lower social status).

2) individual and group.

3) intergenerational (intergenerational mobility - a change in the position of the individual in comparison with the position of the parents) and intragenerational (intragenerational - a change in the position of the individual in comparison with his previous position).

4) organized - movement vertically and horizontally, controlled by the state). May be voluntary or involuntary.

5) structural - movement caused by changes in the economy and occurring beyond the will and consciousness of individuals and groups.

Social mobility channels

The availability of pathways for social mobility depends both on the individual and on the structure of the society in which he lives. Individual ability matters little if society distributes rewards based on prescribed roles. On the other hand, an open society is of little help to an individual who is not prepared to struggle for advancement to higher statuses.

In some societies, the ambitions of young people may find one or two possible channels of mobility open to them. At the same time, in other societies, youth can take a hundred paths to achieve higher status. Some paths to achieving higher status may be closed due to ethnic or social-caste discrimination, others due to the fact that the individual, due to individual characteristics, is simply not able to apply his talents.

However, in order to completely change their social status, individuals often face the problem of entering a new subculture of a group with a higher status, as well as the related problem of interactions with representatives of the new social environment. To overcome the cultural and communication barriers, there are several methods that individuals resort to in one way or another in the process of social mobility.

1. Lifestyle changes.

Can not understand anything?

It is not enough to simply earn and spend a lot of money in the case when an individual is equal in income to representatives of a higher social stratum. To assimilate a new status level, he needs to accept a new material standard corresponding to this level. Setting up an apartment, buying books, a TV, a car, etc. - everything must correspond to a new, higher status. Material everyday culture is not very noticeable, but a very significant way of joining a higher status level. But the material way of life is only one of the moments of familiarization with a new status and in itself, without changing other components of culture, means little.

2. Development of typical status behavior. A person oriented toward vertical mobility will not be accepted into a higher social class stratum until he has mastered the behavioral patterns of this stratum enough to follow them without any effort. Samples of clothing, verbal expressions, leisure time, manner of communication - all this is subject to revision and should become habitual and the only possible type of behavior. Children are often prepared specifically for high-class behavior by teaching them music, dancing, and good manners. True, not all aspects of the subculture of a social stratum or group can be mastered as a result of deliberate training and conscious imitation, but such efforts can speed up the process of an individual's acceptance of a subculture of a higher social stratum.

3. Change in social environment. This method is based on establishing contacts with individuals and associations of the status group into which the mobile individual is socialized. The ideal condition for entering a new layer is position? when an individual is completely surrounded by representatives of the layer to which he strives to get. In this case, the subculture is mastered very quickly. However, the positive aspect of networking is always that a new acquaintance can create a favorable social

opinion in favor of the newbie.

4. Marriage with a representative of a higher status stratum. At all times, such a marriage has served as the best means of overcoming barriers to social mobility. Firstly, it can greatly contribute to the manifestation of talents if it provides material well-being. Secondly, it provides the individual with the opportunity to rise quickly, often bypassing several status levels. Thirdly, marriage with a representative or

a representative of a higher status significantly resolves the problems of the social environment and the rapid assimilation of cultural samples of a higher status layer. This kind of marriage allowed people to overcome the most difficult social barriers in caste society, as well as penetrate into the elite strata. But such a marriage can only be useful if an individual from a lower status layer is prepared to quickly assimilate new patterns of behavior and lifestyle in a new social environment; if he cannot quickly assimilate new cultural statuses and standards, then this marriage is nothing will, since representatives of the higher status layer will not consider the individual “one of their own.”

In societies with an open stratification system, there are established channels of social mobility. For example, obtaining a higher education is the simplest and most reliable channel through which a person from an uneducated family can improve his status and get the opportunity to engage in

skilled, prestigious work. Girls seeking to get married advantageously try to use another channel of mobility - to increase their status through marriage. Service in remote or dangerous places is a channel of mobility for the military because it allows you to quickly rise to high ranks.

Closed systems also have their own - very close - mobility channels. For example, the fate of Cinderella from the fairy tale by Charles Perrault or the serf actress Zhemchugova, who became Countess Sheremeteva, suggests that dizzying leaps were occasionally possible thanks to inter-class marriage. Another channel could be a spiritual career. For example, the great philosopher Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa was born into a poor fishing family, but became a monk, received an education and acquired a high social status, joining the upper class. In Tsarist Russia, obtaining a higher education automatically entailed receiving personal nobility.

Belonging to the dominant class is largely determined by the presence of family capital in various forms, such as large financial and industrial enterprises, a network of economic, political, social and family relationships, privileged access to cultural resources, etc. Members of the dominant class most often marry each other, study at the same schools and prestigious universities, serve on the same administrative boards at enterprises, etc. It is these three basic elements - a significant economic inheritance, a wide range of relationships and significant family support - that ensure that the ruling classes have political and economic power. For example, D. Berto notes the presence of a financial oligarchy in France - a limited number of families who own fantastic wealth and have enormous power in French society. These people are connected to each other by money and kinship. Experts in the history of banking and oligarchy point out that for more than 200 years (since the coup d'etat that brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power in 1799 and was financed by the founders of the state) in France, money, and therefore real political power, has been in the hands of only the same families.

In the modern situation, the poor sections of the population find themselves completely excluded from the range of opportunities for obtaining a quality education as the basis for further success in life, and the needy and low-income only in rare cases can send their children to paid clubs or attend paid courses for adults. The main consumers of paid educational services are the wealthy segments of the population.

Sometimes this situation is blamed on the low-income people themselves, who simply do not strive to do everything possible to receive a quality education. However, data from recent sociological studies refute such statements: the majority of not only the low-income, but also the poor would like to receive a quality education, but their chances of this are much less than those of the prosperous.

Social mobility is greatly influenced by the situation (crisis or economic growth) and the structure of society.

Today in Russia, with the declared equality of all before all, the channels of vertical mobility for a significant part of the population are limited, which corresponds to the strong social differentiation of Russian society along economic and social lines and the growth of social inequality. The attention of researchers is often drawn to youth as the most mobile social group and the future of any state and society. The mobility and effectiveness of realizing the life potential of young people depends on how effective the mobility system in society and the effectiveness of social mobility channels are.

The data obtained during the study “Youth of Russia: a sociological portrait” allowed scientists to create a typology of Russian youth:

• proactive - that part of young people who are inclined to participate in business, take entrepreneurial risks, participate in civil and political initiatives, and become leaders;
• executive - law-abiding “followers” ​​who prefer to participate in the life of society as qualified executive specialists;
• speculative - focused on working life, but not through professional competition, but through a “lucrative” position or type of activity;
• socially dependent - inclined to perform feasible work or function, without showing individual initiative and counting on social protection and state guarantees;
• oppositional - those who have not yet found their own place in the social relations of today's Russia and are inclined to active or passive social protest;
• anarchistic - individualistic, skeptical of the principle of law-abiding, prone to marginal behavior (rockers, skinheads, fans);
• passive - law-abiding youth, but who have not yet completely determined their life trajectory, who will ultimately make their life choices under the influence of some public opinion leader (family, friends, mass media, idols).

This typology reflects the transformational nature of the development of Russian society, where young people develop their own life strategies, which are determined by a strict system of restricting channels of social mobility for the majority of young people. Under these conditions, the importance of such individual factors as will, energy, talent, determination, enterprise, optimism, family environment and, of course, luck increases.

The term social mobility refers to the totality of movements within the social structure of society.

Social mobility – This is any transition of an individual or group from one social position to another.

Pitirim Sorokin was the first to turn to the analysis of social mobility.

There are many forms of social mobility:

v Vertical and horizontal. Vertical mobility is a change in the position of an individual that causes an increase or decrease in his social status. For example, moving up the career ladder. Horizontal mobility is a change in social status that does not lead to an increase or decrease in social status. For example, a change in marital status or place of residence.

v Intergenerational and intragenerational. Intergenerational mobility is determined by comparing the social status of parents and their children at a certain point in the careers of both (for example, by the rank of their profession at approximately the same age). Intragenerational mobility involves comparing the social status of an individual over time.

v Individual and group. The following pattern is associated with the identification of these forms of mobility: in a society where the main importance is attached to the assigned status, there is a tendency towards group mobility; in an open society, characterized by the predominance of achieved statuses, there is a tendency towards individual mobility.

For quantitative research of social mobility, the following indicators are used:

Speed- vertical social distance or the number of layers - economic, political, professional - traversed by an individual in his upward or downward movement over a certain period of time.

Volume– the number of individuals who changed their social position in vertical or horizontal directions over a certain period of time.

The ways and mechanisms by which people rise to the top are called vertical mobility channels. The most famous channels are the army, church, school, family, property.

The army functions as a channel not in peacetime, but in wartime. Large losses among the command staff lead to filling vacancies from lower ranks. In wartime, soldiers advance through talent and courage. Having risen in rank, they use the resulting power as a channel for further advancement and accumulation of wealth. The church, as a channel of social mobility, has moved a large number of people from the bottom to the top of society. Institutions of education and upbringing, no matter what specific form they take, have served in all centuries as a powerful channel of social circulation. Democratic countries are societies where schools are accessible to all members. High competition for admission to colleges and universities in many countries is explained by the fact that education is the fastest and most accessible channel of upward mobility. Property manifests itself most clearly in the form of accumulated wealth and money. They are one of the simplest and most effective ways of social promotion. Family and marriage become channels of vertical circulation if representatives of different social statuses enter into an alliance. In European society, the marriage of a poor but titled partner with a rich but not noble one was common. As a result, both moved up the social ladder, getting what each wanted.

The intensification of social mobility processes in modern societies gives rise to the phenomenon of marginality.