The class system of stratification is typical of a traditional society. Historical systems of social stratification: slavery, castes, estates, classes

The basis of social stratification is social differentiation - the division of people into groups that are correlated with each other both horizontally and vertically. The most common is the social stratification of society based on the following criteria:

1) income - the amount of money that a family or a certain individual received for a certain period of time;
2) wealth - movable and immovable property, as well as the presence of accumulated income in the form of monetary savings;
3) power - the ability and ability to control other people;
4) prestige - the degree of respect in society for a particular profession.

History knows various systems of social stratification.

AT open systems individuals simply need to change their social status. The openness of the system means the possibility for any member of society to rise (fall) on the social ladder in accordance with his abilities and efforts. In such systems, the status achieved means no less than the status assigned to a person from birth. In modern society, any individual, regardless of gender and origin, can, at the cost of more or less effort, significantly increase their initial status, for example, starting from zero, becoming the president of the country.

Closed systems stratifications, on the other hand, presuppose the unconditional primacy of assigned status. Here it is almost impossible for an individual to change the status received by virtue of descent. Such systems are characteristic of traditional societies, especially in the past. For example, the caste system that operated in India until 1950 prescribed rigid boundaries between four castes, the belonging of individuals to which was determined by origin. At the same time, the members of each caste were prescribed a strictly defined occupation, their own rituals, food system, rules for dealing with each other and with a woman, and a way of life. Reverence for representatives of the higher castes and contempt for the lower castes was enshrined in religious institutions and traditions. There were cases of transition from caste to caste, but as single exceptions to the rules.

Four main systems of social stratification are known: slavery, castes, estates and classes.

Slavery characterized by the possession of some people by others. Slavery was most prevalent in agrarian societies, and slavery was least common among nomadic peoples, especially hunter-gatherers.

Conditions of slavery and slaveholding varied significantly in different regions of the world. In ancient Greece, slaves were engaged in physical labor, thanks to which free citizens had the opportunity to express themselves in politics and the arts. In some countries, slavery was a temporary condition of a person: having worked for his master for the allotted time, the slave became free and had the right to return to his homeland. The Israelites freed their slaves in the year of jubilee - every 50 years. In ancient Rome, slaves were generally able to buy their freedom; in order to collect the amount necessary for the ransom, they entered into a deal with the owner and sold their services to other people (this is exactly what some educated Greeks who fell into slavery to the Romans did). There are cases in history when a wealthy slave began to lend money to his master, and in the end the master fell into slavery to his former slave. In many cases, slavery was for life; in particular, criminals sentenced to hard labor were turned into slaves and worked on Roman galleys as rowers until their death.

The status of a slave was not always inherited. In ancient Mexico, the children of slaves were always free people. But in most countries the children of slaves automatically became slaves too. In some cases, the child of a slave who served all his life in a rich family was adopted by this family, he received the surname of his masters and could become one of the heirs along with the other children of the masters.

Castes. In the caste system, status is determined by birth and is lifelong; in other words, the basis of the caste system is prescribed status. The achieved status is not able to change the place of the individual in this system. Those who are born into a low-status group will always have that status, no matter what they personally manage to achieve in life.

Societies that are characterized by this form of stratification strive to clearly preserve the boundaries between castes, therefore endogamy (marriages within their own group) is practiced here and intergroup marriages are prohibited, complex rules have been developed according to which communication with representatives of the lower castes defiles the higher caste.

estate system was most widespread in feudal Europe and some traditional Asian societies, such as Japan. Its main characteristic is the presence of several (usually three) stable social strata to which individuals belong by origin and the transition between which is very difficult, although in exceptional cases it is possible. The basis of the estate system was the legal organization of society, which provided for the inheritance of titles and statuses, so marriages were usually concluded within the same estate. The fundamental difference between the estates was not so much in economic well-being, but in access to political and social power and socially significant knowledge. Each estate had a monopoly on certain types of occupations and professions. The estate system is a closed system, although occasionally an individual change of status was allowed: as a result of inter-class marriages, at the will of the monarch or feudal lord - as a reward for special merit, upon taking the monastic vows or receiving the rank of clergyman.

Cash system far more open than systems of stratification based on slavery, caste, and class, where the boundaries separating people are so clear and rigid that they leave no way for people to move from one group to another, except for marriages between members of different clans. The class system is based primarily on money or material possessions. Although class membership is also determined at birth - the individual receives the status of his parents, however, the social class of the individual during his life can change depending on what he managed (or failed) to achieve in life. In addition, there are no laws that determine the occupation or profession of an individual depending on birth or prohibit marriage with members of other social classes. Consequently, this system of social stratification is characterized by the relative flexibility of its boundaries. The class system leaves room for social mobility, i.e. to move up (down) the social ladder. Having the potential to advance social standing, or class, is one of the main driving forces that motivate people to study well and work hard. Of course, marital status, inherited by a person from birth, may determine extremely disadvantageous conditions that will not leave him a chance to rise too high in life, or provide him with such privileges that it will be almost impossible for him to “slide down” the class ladder.

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.

Hosted at http://www.allbest.ru/

social stratification

INTRODUCTION

Stratification:

1. Social differentiation and inequality based on such criteria as social prestige, self-identification, profession, income, education, participation in power relations, etc.

2. Stratification is a hierarchically organized structure of social inequality that exists in a certain society, in a certain historical period of time. Moreover, social inequality is reproduced in fairly stable forms as a reflection of the political, economic, cultural and normative structure of society.

Most societies are organized in such a way that their institutions distribute benefits and responsibilities unequally among different categories people and social groups. Sociologists call social stratification the location of individuals and groups from top to bottom in horizontal layers, or strata, on the basis of inequality in income, level of education, amount of power, professional prestige. From this point of view social order is not neutral, but serves to achieve the goals and interests of some people and social groups to a greater extent than others.

The question “who gets what and why?” has always interested mankind. The first Jewish prophets, who lived 800 B.C.E., in particular Amos, Micah and Isaiah, invariably condemned the rich and powerful members of society. Micah, for example, blamed them for taking over the fields and houses of their neighbors; were “full of violence”, demanded bribes and committed dishonorable and treacherous acts. Ancient Greek philosophers, including Plato and Aristotle, discussed at length the institution of private property and slavery. In his dialogue "The State" in 370 BC. e. Plato wrote: “Any city, no matter how small, is actually divided into two halves: one for the poor, the other for the rich, and they are at enmity with each other.” In the Indian Laws of Manu, compiled around 200 BC, a description of the creation of the world is given, in which social inequality is considered to be sent down by the gods for the common good.

Thus, polar opposite views on social stratification are known: some, like Micah and Plato, criticized existing system distribution, others, like the Brahmins, supported it.

In real life, the inequality of people plays a huge role. Inequality- a specific form of social differentiation, in which individual individuals, strata, classes are at different levels of the vertical social hierarchy, have unequal life chances and opportunities to meet needs. Inequality is the criterion by which we can place some groups above or below others. Social structure arises from the social division of labor, and social stratification arises from the social distribution of the results of labor, i.e. social benefits.

1. MODELSSOCIAL STRATIFICATION

social stratification society inequality

1.1 Social differentiation

Social stratification is based on social differentiation, but is not identical to it.

Social differentiation- the division of the social whole or its part into interconnected elements that appear as a result of evolution, the transition from simple to complex. Differentiation primarily includes the division of labor, the emergence of various professions, statuses, roles, groups. Social differentiation is a process of emergence of functionally specialized institutions and division of labor. Even at the dawn of their history, people discovered that the division of functions and labor increases the efficiency of society, so in all societies there is a division of status and roles. At the same time, the members of society must be distributed within the social structure in such a way that different statuses are filled and the roles corresponding to them are fulfilled.

1.2 Open andclosed stratification systems

Distinguish between open and closed systems of stratification. A social structure whose members can change their status relatively easily, called an open system of stratification. A structure whose members can change their status with great difficulty is called closed system of stratification. A somewhat similar distinction is reflected in the concepts of achieved and prescribed status: achieved statuses are acquired by individual choice and competition, while prescribed statuses are given by a group or society.

In open systems of stratification, each member of society can change his status, rise or fall on the social ladder based on his own efforts and abilities.

An example of a closed system of stratification is the caste organization of India (it functioned until 1900).

Traditionally, Hindu society was divided into castes, and people inherited social status at birth from their parents and could not change it during their lifetime. In India, there were thousands of castes, but they were all grouped into four main ones: the Brahmins, or caste of priests, numbering about 3% of the population; Kshatriyas, descendants of warriors, and Vaishyas, merchants, who together made up about 7% of Indians; sudras, peasants and artisans - about 70% of the population, the remaining 20% - Harijans, or untouchables, who were traditionally cleaners, scavengers, tanners and swineherds.

Representatives of the higher castes despised, humiliated and oppressed members of the lower castes, regardless of their behavior and personal merit. Strict rules did not allow representatives of higher and lower castes to communicate, because it was believed that this spiritually defiles members of a higher caste.

1.3 Stratification measurements

Karl Marx and Max Weber were the first to try to explain the nature of social stratification. Marx He believed that in capitalist societies the cause of social stratification is the division into those who own and manage the most important means of production - the class of capitalist oppressors, or the bourgeoisie, and those who can only sell their labor - the oppressed working class, or the proletariat.

Believing that Marx oversimplified the picture of stratification, Weber argued that there are other dividing lines in society that do not depend on class or economic position, and proposed a multidimensional approach to stratification, highlighting three dimensions: class (economic position), status (prestige) and party (power). Each of these dimensions is separate aspect social gradation. However, for the most part, these three dimensions are interconnected; they feed and support each other, but still may not be the same. Thus, individual prostitutes and criminals have great economic opportunities, but do not have prestige and power. The teaching staff of universities and the clergy enjoy high prestige, but in terms of wealth and power they are usually evaluated relatively low. Some officials may wield considerable power and at the same time receive little wages and no prestige.

P. Sorokin- the man who was the first in the world to give a complete theoretical explanation of social stratification - represented it as a social space in which vertical and horizontal distances are not equal.

The inequality of distances between statuses is the main property of stratification. She has four measuring rulers, or coordinate axes. All of them are located vertically and next to each other: income, power, education, prestige.

Income It is measured in rubles or dollars that an individual or family receives during a certain period of time, say, one month or a year.

Education measured by the number of years of education in a public or private school or university.

Power measured by the number of people affected by the decision you make

Prestige- respect for the status that has developed in public opinion.

In sociology, there are three basic types of stratification:

economic (income),

political (power)

professional (prestige)

and many non-basic ones, for example, cultural and speech and age.

social status- this is that relative rank, with all the rights, duties and life styles that follow from it, which the individual occupies in the social hierarchy. Status may be assigned to individuals at birth, regardless of the qualities of the individual, as well as on the basis of gender, age, family relationships, origin, or may be achieved in a competitive struggle, which requires special personal qualities and one's own efforts.

Achieved status may be based on education, profession, advantageous marriage, etc. In most Western industrial societies, such attributes as a prestigious profession, possession of material goods, appearance and style of dress, manners, have gained more weight in determining personal social status than origin.

vital status suggests the presence of social stratification along a vertical scale. Thus, a person is said to be in a high position if he has the ability to control the behavior of other people, by command or by influence; if the basis of his prestige is the important post he holds; if he earned the respect of his colleagues by his actions. Relative status is the main determinant of people's behavior towards each other. The struggle for status can be considered the primary goal of people.

2. SISTEMS OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

Regardless of the forms that social stratification takes, its existence is universal. Four main systems of social stratification are known: slavery, castes, clans and classes.

2.1 Slavery

Slavery- an economic, social and legal form of enslavement of people, bordering on complete lack of rights and an extreme degree of inequality ..

Reasons for slavery. An essential feature of slavery is the possession of some people by others. Both the ancient Romans and the ancient Africans had slaves. In ancient Greece, slaves were engaged in physical labor, thanks to which free citizens had the opportunity to express themselves in politics and the arts. Slavery was the least common among nomadic peoples, especially hunter-gatherers, and most prevalent in agrarian societies.

Usually point to three causes of slavery. First of all, a debt obligation, when a person who was unable to pay his debts fell into slavery to his creditor. Secondly, violation of laws, when the execution of a murderer or a robber was replaced by slavery, i.e. the culprit was handed over to the affected family as compensation for the grief or damage caused. Thirdly, war, raids, conquest, when one group of people conquered another and the winners used some of the captives as slaves.

conditions of slavery. Conditions of slavery and slaveholding varied significantly in different regions of the world. In some countries, slavery was a temporary condition of a person: having worked for his master for the allotted time, the slave became free and had the right to return to his homeland. Thus, the Israelites freed their slaves in the year of Jubilee, every 50 years. Slaves in ancient Rome generally had the ability to buy their freedom; in order to collect the amount necessary for the ransom, they made a deal with their master and sold their services to other people. However, in many cases, slavery was for life; in particular, criminals sentenced to life work were turned into slaves and worked on Roman galleys as rowers until their death.

Not everywhere the status of a slave was inherited. In ancient Mexico, the children of slaves were always free people. But in most countries, the children of slaves automatically also became slaves, although in some cases the child of a slave who served all his life in a rich family was adopted by this family, he received the surname of his masters and could become one of the heirs along with the rest of the children of the masters. As a rule, slaves had neither property nor power. However, for example, in ancient Rome, slaves had the opportunity to accumulate some kind of property and even achieve a high position in society.

General characteristics of slavery. Although slaveholding practices varied in different regions and in different eras, but regardless of whether slavery was the result of unpaid debt, punishment, military captivity or racial prejudice; whether it was permanent or temporary; hereditary or not, the slave was still the property of another person, and the system of laws secured the status of a slave. Slavery served as the main distinction between people, clearly indicating which person is free (and legally receives certain privileges) and which is a slave (without privileges).

Slavery has historically evolved. There are two forms of it:

patriarchal slavery- the slave had all the rights of a younger member of the family: he lived in the same house with the owners, participated in public life, married free people; it was forbidden to kill him;

classic bondage- the slave was finally enslaved; he lived in a separate room, did not participate in anything, did not enter into marriage and had no family, he was considered the property of the owner.

Slavery- the only form in history social relations when one person acts as the property of another, and when the lower stratum is deprived of all rights and freedoms.

2.2 castes

Castoy called a social group (stratum), membership in which a person owes solely to his birth.

The achieved status is not able to change the place of the individual in this system. People who are born into a low-status group will always have this status, no matter what they personally manage to achieve in life.

Societies that are characterized by this form of stratification strive for a clear preservation of the boundaries between castes, therefore, it is practiced here endogamy- marriages within one's own group - and there is a ban on inter-group marriages. To prevent inter-caste contact, such societies develop complex rules regarding ritual purity, according to which it is considered that communication with members of the lower castes defiles the higher caste.

Indian society is the most striking example of the caste system. Based not on racial, but on religious principles, this system lasted for almost three millennia. The four main Indian castes, or varnas, are subdivided into thousands of specialized sub-castes (jatis), with representatives of each caste and each jati engaged in some particular craft; thus, brahmins can only be priests or scientists, the kshatriya caste is made up of noble people and warriors; all vaishyas are merchants and skilled artisans; sudras - simple workers and peasants; harijans - outcasts, untouchables, engaged in humiliating labor.

Although in 1949 the government of India announced the abolition of the caste system, the strength of age-old traditions cannot be overcome so easily, and the caste system continues to be a part of daily life in India. For example, the rituals that a person goes through at his birth, marriage, death, are dictated by caste laws. However, industrialization and urbanization are destroying the caste system, since it is difficult to maintain caste distinctions in a city crowded with strangers.

Until recently, South Africa was another example of a society in which social stratification was based on the caste system. Europeans of Dutch origin - a large national minority calling themselves Afrikaners, exercising control over the government, police and army, put into practice the ideas of their own system of stratification, which they defined as apartheid - the separation of races. The country's population was divided into four racial groups: Europeans (whites), Africans (blacks), coloreds (mixed race) and Asians. Belonging to a particular group determined where this or that person has the right to live, study, work; where a person has the right to swim or watch a movie - whites and non-whites were forbidden to be together in public places. After decades of international trade sanctions, sports boycotts and the like. The Afrikaners were forced to abolish their caste system.

After the abolition of slavery in the United States (January 1, 1863), it was “replaced” by a racial caste system - the birth of a person imposed a lifetime mark on him, and all white Americans, including the poor and uneducated, considered themselves better and higher than any African Americans. origin. This attitude persisted even in the first half of the 20th century, many years after the abolition of slavery. Just as in India and South Africa, upper-caste whites were afraid to get dirty from communicating with blacks, insisting on the existence of separate schools, hotels, restaurants, and even toilets and drinking fountains in public places.

2.3 Clans

Clan- a genus or a kindred group connected by economic and social ties.

The clan system is typical of agrarian societies. In such a system, each individual is connected to a vast social network relatives - clan. Clan represents something like a very branched family and has similar features: if the clan has a high status, the individual belonging to this clan has the same status; all funds belonging to the clan, whether meager or rich, belong equally to each member of the clan; loyalty to the clan is a lifelong obligation of each of its members.

Clans are also reminiscent of castes: belonging to a clan is determined by birth and is lifelong. However, unlike castes, marriages between different clans are quite allowed; they can even be used to create and strengthen alliances between clans, since the obligations that marriage imposes on spouses' relatives can unite members of two clans. Processes of industrialization and urbanization turn clans into more fluid groups, eventually replacing clans with social classes. Clans especially rally in times of danger.

2.4 Classes

Class- big social group people who do not own the means of production, occupying a certain place in the system of social division of labor and characterized by a specific way of generating income.

The systems of stratification based on slavery, castes and clans are closed. The boundaries separating people are so clear and rigid that they leave no room for people to move from one group to another, with the exception of marriages between members of different clans. The class system is much more open because it is based primarily on money or material possessions. Class is also determined at birth - an individual receives the status of his parents, but the social class of an individual during his life can change depending on what he managed (or failed) to achieve in life. In addition, there are no laws that determine the occupation or profession of an individual depending on birth or prohibit marriage with members of other social classes.

Consequently, the main characteristic of this system of social stratification is the relative flexibility of its boundaries. The class system leaves room for social mobility, i.e. to move up or down the social ladder. Having the potential to advance one's social position, or class, is one of the main driving forces that motivate people to study well and work hard. Of course, marital status, inherited by a person from birth, can also determine extremely unfavorable conditions that will not leave him a chance to rise too high in life, and provide the child with such privileges that it will be practically impossible for him to “slide down” the class ladder.

3. CLASS SYSTEM MODERNSOCIETIES

3.1 social classes

Sociologists disagree on the sources of social stratification, but they agree that social inequality is a structural aspect of modern life. When talking about the structuring of social inequality, sociologists have in mind not only that individuals and social groups differ in the privileges they have, the prestige they receive, and the power they wield. Structuring means that inequality is institutionalized. Inequality does not form randomly, but according to repetitive, relatively consistent and stable patterns; it is usually passed on from generation to generation, for which individuals and groups with advantages, as a rule, find appropriate ways.

Class- this is a large social group that differs from others in terms of access to public wealth (distribution of goods in society), power, social prestige, and has the same socio-economic status. The term "class" was introduced into scientific circulation in the early 19th century, replacing such terms as "rank" and "order" used to describe the main hierarchical groups in society.

Sociologists take a unified view of the characteristics of the main social classes in modern societies and usually distinguish three classes: higher, lower and middle.

Top class in modern industrial societies it consists mainly of representatives of influential and wealthy dynasties. For example, in the United States, more than 30% of all national wealth is concentrated in the hands of the top 1% of the owners. Ownership of such a significant property provides representatives of this class with a solid position that does not depend on competition, depreciation valuable papers etc. They have the opportunity to influence economic policy and political decisions, which often helps to maintain and increase family well-being.

Middle class includes employees - middle and top-level officials, engineers, teachers, middle managers, as well as owners of small shops, enterprises, farms.

Working class industrial societies traditionally includes wage laborers engaged in manual labor in the extractive and manufacturing sectors of the economy, as well as those who perform low-paid, low-skilled, unorganized work in the service industry and retail. There is a division of workers into skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled, which, of course, is reflected in the level wages. In general, the working class is characterized by lack of property and dependence on the upper classes for their livelihood - wages. Associated with these conditions are relatively low living standards, limited access to higher education and exclusion from important decision-making areas.

These changes have generally led to a decrease in the popularity of class ideologies and a reduction in class conflicts. Representatives of the middle class have become the guarantor of economic, political and social stability in society, the basis for supporting the existing government.

3.2 Significance of social classes

Belonging to a particular social class influences the behavior and thinking of people to a much greater extent than other aspects of social life, it determines their life chances.

First of all, To survive, members of the upper strata of society need to spend a smaller share of available resources than members of the lower social classes. According to research by sociologist Paul Bloomberg, Americans in the top 10 out of 100 of the class hierarchy spend about 11% of their income on food, while those in the bottom 10 use more than 40% of their money for this purpose.

Secondly, representatives of the upper classes have more intangible benefits. Their children are more likely to attend prestigious schools and are more likely to perform better than the children of less socially placed parents. It can also be added here that the children of parents from the upper classes are more likely to survive than the children of parents from the lower strata of society.

Thirdly Wealthy people have a higher average active life expectancy than poor people. And according to the American Cancer Society, low-income people are at greater risk of getting cancer and dying from it, which is mainly determined by lifestyle. After cancer is diagnosed, about 37% of low-income patients and about 50% of middle- and high-income patients can live for 5 years.

Fourth, people with higher incomes experience greater satisfaction from life than people with less wealth, since belonging to a certain social class affects the lifestyle - the amount and nature of consumption of goods and services. Convenience foods - quick meals, potato chips, frozen pizza and hamburgers - are more often on the menu of low-income families. People from less affluent sections of society drink less vodka, expensive whiskey and imported wine, but consume more beer and cheap spirits. Compared to affluent families, low-income families spend more free time watching television.

4. SOCIAL MOBILITY

4.1 Forms of social mobility

In a stratification system, individuals or groups can move from one level (layer) to another. This process is called social mobility. Social inequality implies differences in the distribution of benefits and responsibilities, and social stratification - a structured system of inequality, social mobility is manifested in the movement of individuals or groups from one social status to another.

There are at least two main reasons for the existence of social mobility in society. First of all, societies change and social change modify the division of labor, creating new statuses and undermining the old ones. Secondly, while the elite may monopolize educational opportunities, they are unable to control the natural distribution of talents and abilities. Therefore, the upper strata are inevitably replenished with talented people from the lower strata.

Allocate set forms of social mobility: vertical and horizontal, intergenerational and intragenerational, etc.

Vertical mobility- a change in the position of the individual, which causes an increase and decrease in his social status. Horizontal mobility - a change in social position that does not lead to an increase or decrease in social status.

Intergenerational mobility is determined by comparing the social status of parents and their children at a certain point in the career of both.

Intragenerational mobility involves comparing the social status of an individual over a long period of time.

CONCLUSION

Social stratification expresses the social heterogeneity of society, the inequality that exists in it, the unequal social status of people and their groups. Social stratification is understood as the process and result of the differentiation of society into various social groups (strata, strata) that differ in their social status. The criteria for dividing society into strata can be very diverse, moreover, both objective and subjective. But most often today, profession, income, property, participation in power, education, prestige, self-assessment of one's social position are singled out. According to researchers, the middle class of modern industrial society determines the stability social system and at the same time provides it with dynamism, since the middle class is primarily a highly productive and highly skilled, enterprising and enterprising worker. Russia is classified as a mixed type of stratification. Our middle class is in its infancy, and this process is of key and broad significance for the formation of a new social structure.

Hosted on Allbest.ru

Introduction

Relevance: Society - a complex system, existing over a sufficiently large time period, dynamically developing throughout the entire time of its existence. One of the natural processes taking place in society is the division of individuals according to various characteristics, in a broad sense called social stratification.

The reasons, goals and objectives can be completely different, depending on the society in which we observe this process, but it is one of the main signs of the existence of society. The topic of social stratification was relevant and remains so in any society. However, the theory of social stratification was proposed only at the beginning of the 20th century, and therefore, at the moment, it has not yet been sufficiently studied.

The study of the issue of social stratification was carried out by such scientists as Pitirim Aleksandrovich Sorokin, Vladimir Ivanovich Ilyin, Maximilian Carl Emil Weber, Baron Anthony Giddens and others. Each of them contributed to the study of the concept of social stratification.

The purpose of this work is to highlight the topic of stratification of society, the concept of stratification of society, its types and tasks. According to the goal, the following tasks of the work can be distinguished:

To reveal the concept of stratification of society, its types and essence.

Identify the causes of inequality, as well as reveal the historical types of stratification.

Show the attitude of the individual to social inequality.

Systems of social stratification

Distinguish between open and closed systems of stratification.

A social structure whose members can change their status relatively easily is called an open system of stratification. In open systems of stratification, each member of society can change his status, rise or fall on the social ladder based on his own efforts and abilities. Modern societies, experiencing the need for qualified and competent specialists capable of managing complex social, political and economic processes, provide a fairly free movement of individuals in the stratification system.

An open society is also called a society of equal opportunities, where everyone has a chance to rise to the highest levels of the social hierarchy.

A structure whose members can change their status with great difficulty is called a closed stratification system. An example of a closed system of stratification is the caste organization of India. A closed society is characterized by a rigid social structure that prevents people from moving not only up the social ladder, but also down. In such a society, social movements from the lower to the higher strata are either completely prohibited or significantly limited. Everyone knows their place in society, and this knowledge is passed down from generation to generation. Social statuses become heritable. Thanks to this centuries-old habituation to one's social position, not only a special psychology of fatalism, resignation to one's fate, but also a special kind of solidarity with the class and estate is formed. Corporate spirit, class ethics, code of honor - these concepts came from a closed society.

In sociology, four main types of stratification are known - slavery, castes, estates and classes. The first three characterize closed societies, the last type - open ones.

Slavery is historically the first system of social stratification. Slavery arose in ancient times in Egypt, Babylon, China, Greece, Rome and has survived in a number of regions almost to the present day. It has existed in the United States since the 19th century. Slavery was the least common among nomadic peoples, especially hunter-gatherers, and most prevalent in agrarian societies.

Slavery is an economic, social and legal form of enslavement of people, bordering on complete lack of rights and an extreme degree of inequality.

Slavery has historically evolved. The primitive form, or patriarchal slavery, and the developed form, or classical slavery, differ substantially. In the first case, the slave had all the rights of the youngest member of the family: he lived in the same house with the owners, participated in public life, married the free, inherited the property of the owner. It was forbidden to kill him. An example is serfdom in Russia in the 10th-12th centuries. At the mature stage (during classical slavery), the slave was finally enslaved: he lived in a separate room, did not participate in anything, did not inherit anything, did not marry and had no family. He was allowed to be killed. He did not own property, but he himself was considered the property of the owner ("talking tool"). This form includes ancient slavery in Ancient Greece and plantation slavery in the United States.

Usually indicate the following causes of slavery.

First, a debt obligation, when a person who was unable to pay his debts fell into slavery to his creditor.

Secondly, the violation of laws, when the execution of a murderer or a robber was replaced by slavery, i.e. the culprit was handed over to the affected family as compensation for the grief or damage caused.

Thirdly, war, raids, conquest, when one group of people conquered another, and the winners used some of the captives as slaves. Historian Gerda Lerner notes that there were more women among the slaves captured in the war effort; they were used as concubines, in order to reproduce offspring and as an additional labor force.

Thus, slavery was the result of a military defeat, a crime, or an unpaid debt, and not a sign of some inherent natural quality of some people.

Castes, like slavery, the caste system characterizes a closed society and rigid stratification. It is not as old as the slave system, and less common. If almost all countries went through slavery, of course, in varying degrees, then castes are found only in India and partly in Africa. India is a classic example of a caste society. It arose on the ruins of the slave system in the first centuries new era. A caste is a social group (stratum) in which a person owes membership solely to birth. He cannot move from one caste to another during his lifetime. To do this, he needs to be born again. The caste position of a person is fixed by the Hindu religion (now it is clear why castes are not widespread). According to its canons, people live more than one life. The previous life of a person determines the nature of his new birth and the caste into which he falls in this case - the lowest or vice versa.

Since in the caste system status is determined by birth and is lifelong, the basis of the caste system is prescribed status. The achieved status is not able to change the place of the individual in this system. People who are born into a low-status group will always have this status, no matter what they personally manage to achieve in life.

Societies characterized by this form of stratification strive for a clear preservation of the boundaries between castes, therefore endogamy is practiced here - marriages within one's own group - and there is a ban on inter-group marriages. To prevent inter-caste contact, such societies develop complex rules regarding ritual purity, according to which it is considered that communication with members of the lower castes defiles the higher caste. Estates The form of stratification that precedes classes is estates. In the feudal societies that existed in Europe from the 4th to the 14th centuries, people were divided into estates. An estate is a social group that has fixed custom or legal law and inherited rights and obligations.

The estate system, which includes several strata, is characterized by a hierarchy, expressed in the inequality of their position and privileges. A classic example of class organization was feudal Europe, where at the turn of the 14th-15th centuries society was divided into upper classes (nobility and clergy) and an unprivileged third estate (artisans, merchants, peasants). And in the X-XIII centuries there were three main estates: the clergy, the nobility and the peasantry. In Russia, from the second half of the 18th century, a class division into nobility, clergy, merchants, peasantry and philistinism (middle urban strata) was established.

Estates were based on landed property. The rights and obligations of each estate were enshrined in legal law and consecrated by religious doctrine. Membership in the estate was determined by inheritance. Social barriers between the estates were quite rigid, so social mobility existed not so much between as within the estates. Each estate included many layers, ranks, levels, professions, ranks. So, only nobles could engage in public service. The aristocracy was considered a military estate (chivalry).

A characteristic feature of the estates is the presence of social symbols and signs: titles, uniforms, orders, titles. Classes and castes did not have state distinctive signs, although they were distinguished by clothing, jewelry, norms and rules of conduct, and a ritual of conversion. In a feudal society, the upper class - the nobility - had their own symbols and signs given to them by the state.

Titles - verbal designations of the official and estate-generic position of their holders, established by law, briefly defining legal status. In Russia in the 19th century, there were such titles as "general", "state councilor", "chamberlain", "count", "adjutant wing", "secretary of state", "excellency" and "lordship". The core of the title system was the rank - the rank of each civil servant (military, civilian or courtier). Before Peter I, the concept of "rank" meant any position, honorary title, social status of a person. In 1722, Peter I established a new system of ranks, known as the "Table of Ranks". Each type of public service - military, civilian and court - was divided into 14 ranks. The class denoted the rank of the position, which was called the class rank. The name "official" was assigned to its owner.

To public service only the nobility was allowed - local and service. Both were hereditary: the title of nobility was passed on to the wife, children and distant descendants through the male line. Noble status was usually formalized in the form of genealogy, family coat of arms, portraits of ancestors, legends, titles and orders. Thus, a sense of the continuity of generations, pride in one's family and a desire to preserve its good name gradually formed in the minds. Together, they constituted the concept of "noble honor", an important component of which was the respect and trust of others in a spotless name. The noble origin of a hereditary nobleman was determined by the merits of his family before the Fatherland.

Classes of the Stratification System based on slavery, castes and estates are closed. The boundaries separating people are so clear and rigid that they leave no room for people to move from one group to another, with the exception of marriages between members of different clans. The class system is much more open because it is based primarily on money or material possessions.

Class is also determined at birth - the individual receives the status of his parents, but the social class of the individual during his life can change depending on what he managed (or failed) to achieve in life.

Belonging to a social stratum in slave-owning, caste and estate-feudal societies was officially fixed - by legal or religious norms. In a class society, things are different: no legal documents do not regulate the place of the individual in social structure. Every person is free to move, with ability, education or income, from one class to another.

In sociology, the class is understood in two aspects - broad and narrow.

In a broad sense, a class is understood as a large social group of people who own or do not own the means of production, occupying a certain place in the system of social division of labor and characterized by a specific way of earning income.

Since private property arises during the period of the birth of the state, it is believed that already in the Ancient East and in ancient Greece there were two opposite classes - slaves and slave owners. Feudalism and capitalism are no exception - and here there have been and still are antagonistic classes: the exploiters and the exploited. This is the point of view of K. Marx, which is adhered to today not only by domestic, but also by many foreign sociologists.

In a narrow sense, a class is any social stratum in modern society that differs from others in income, education, power and prestige (see 13.2. Criteria for belonging to a stratum). This point of view prevails in foreign sociology, and now acquires the rights of citizenship also in domestic.

So, we can draw a very important conclusion: in the historical sense, classes are the youngest and most open type of stratification.

Indeed, belonging to a social stratum in slave-owning, caste and estate-feudal societies was fixed by legal or religious norms. In pre-revolutionary Russia, every person knew what class he was in. People, as they say, were assigned to one or another social stratum. In a class society, things are different. No one is assigned anywhere. The state does not deal with the issues of social consolidation of its citizens. The only controller is the public opinion of people, which is guided by customs, established practices, income, lifestyle and standards of behavior. Therefore, it is very difficult to accurately and unambiguously determine the number of classes in a particular country, the number of strata or layers into which they are divided, and the belonging of people to strata is very difficult.

From top to bottom in society are the strata of the rich, wealthy (middle class) and poor people. Large social strata are also called classes, within which we can find smaller divisions, which are actually called layers, or strata.

The rich occupy the most privileged positions and have the most prestigious professions. As a rule, they are better paid and are associated with mental work, performance managerial functions. Leaders, kings, kings, presidents, political leaders, big businessmen, scientists and artists are the elite of society.

The wealthy strata (middle class) in modern society include doctors, lawyers, teachers, qualified employees, the middle and petty bourgeoisie.

To the lower strata - unskilled workers, the unemployed, the poor. working class, according to modern ideas, constitutes an independent group, which occupies an intermediate position between the middle and lower classes.

The wealthy of the upper class have a higher level of education and a greater amount of power. The lower class poor have little power, income or education. Thus, the prestige of the profession (occupation), the amount of power and the level of education are added to income as the main criterion for stratification.

In general, the main characteristic of the class system of social stratification is the relative flexibility of its boundaries. The class system leaves room for social mobility, i.e. to move up or down the social ladder. Having the potential to advance one's social position, or class, is one of the main driving forces that motivates people to study well and work hard. Of course, marital status, inherited by a person from birth, can also determine extremely unfavorable conditions that will not leave him a chance to rise too high in life, and provide the child with such privileges that it will be practically impossible for him to "slide down" the class ladder.

In addition to the presented stratification systems, there are also physical-genetic, etacratic, socio-professional; cultural-symbolic and cultural-normative.

The basis of the physical-genetic stratification system is 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 affirmed in this case by the existence of the threat of physical violence or its actual use, and then 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 greatest prestige here belongs to the one who is able to carry out violence against nature and people or resist such violence: a healthy young male breadwinner in a peasant community living on the fruits of a primitive manual labor; courageous warrior of the Spartan state; a true Aryan of the National Socialist army, capable of producing healthy offspring.

The etacratic system (from French and Greek - "state power") has some similarities with the estate system. In it, differentiation between groups occurs, first of all, according to their position in the power-state hierarchies (political, military, economic), according to the possibilities of mobilizing and distributing resources, as well as according to the privileges that these groups are able to derive from their positions of power. The degree of material well-being, the lifestyle of social groups, as well as the prestige they feel are connected here with the formal ranks that these groups occupy in the respective power hierarchies. All other differences - demographic and religious-ethnic, economic and cultural - play a secondary role.

The scale and nature of differentiation (volumes of power) in the etacratic system are under the control of the state bureaucracy. At the same time, hierarchies can be fixed formally legally - through bureaucratic tables of ranks, military regulations, assignment of categories to state institutions - or they can remain outside the sphere of state legislation (a good example is the system of the Soviet party nomenklatura, the principles of which are not spelled out in any laws). The formal freedom of members of society (with the exception of dependence on the state), the absence of automatic inheritance of positions of power also distinguish the etacratic system from the system of estates.

The etacratic system is revealed with the fact greater strength the more authoritarian character the government takes. In ancient times, striking examples of the etacratic system were observed in the societies of Asian despotism (China, India, Cambodia), located, however, by no means only in Asia (but, for example, in Peru, Egypt). In the twentieth century, it is actively asserting itself in the so-called "socialist societies" and, perhaps, even plays a decisive role in them.

In the socio-professional stratification system, groups are divided according to the content and conditions of their work. They play a special role qualification requirements required for a particular professional role - the possession of relevant experience, skills and abilities. Approval and maintenance of hierarchical orders in this system is carried out with the help of certificates (diplomas, grades, licenses, patents), fixing the level of qualification and ability to perform certain types of activities. The validity of qualification certificates is supported by the power of the state or some other sufficiently powerful corporation (professional workshop). Moreover, these certificates are most often not inherited, although there are exceptions in history.

The socio-professional division is one of the basic stratification systems, various examples of which can be found in any society with any developed division of labor. This is a system of craft workshops of a medieval city and bit grid in modern state industry, a system of certificates and diplomas of education received, a system of scientific degrees and titles that open the way to more prestigious jobs.

In the cultural-symbolic stratification system, differentiation arises from differences in access to socially significant information, unequal opportunities to filter and interpret this information, and the ability to be a bearer of sacred knowledge (mystical or scientific). In ancient times, this role was assigned to priests, magicians and shamans, in the Middle Ages - to the servants of the Church, interpreters of sacred texts, who make up the bulk of the literate population, in modern times - to scientists, technocrats and party ideologists. Claims for communion with divine forces, for the possession of scientific truth, for the expression of the state interest have existed always and everywhere. And a higher position in this regard is occupied by those who have the best opportunities to manipulate the consciousness and actions of other members of society, who can prove their rights to true understanding better than others, who own the best symbolic capital.

The cultural-normative type of stratification system is characterized by differentiation built on differences in respect and prestige arising from a comparison of lifestyles and norms of behavior followed by a given person or group. Attitudes towards physical and mental labor, consumer tastes and habits, manners of communication and etiquette, a special language (professional terminology, local dialect, criminal jargon) - all this forms the basis of social division. Moreover, there is not only a distinction between “us” and “them”, but also a ranking of groups (“noble - not noble”, “decent - not decent”, “elite - ordinary people-- bottom").

The noble manners of a gentleman, the idle pastime of an aristocrat, the selfless asceticism of a religious ascetic, oratory an ideological leader are not only signs of a high social position. They often turn into normative guidelines, models of social action and begin to perform the functions of moral regulation, which determines this type of stratification relations. And this applies not only to the isolation of the elite, but also to the differentiation of all the middle and lower strata. In the peasant community, where formally everyone is equal, there are "serviceable owners" who live "according to custom", "according to conscience", and loafers, renegades, "tumbleweeds". There is its own normative culture, its own patterns of behavior and its own "aristocracy" at the very "bottom", inside the criminal world. The emergence of countercultures and so-called "anti-social behavior" is also largely a product of moral regulation and ideological control carried out in a given community.

In reality, stratification types are intertwined and complement each other. So, for example, the socio-professional hierarchy in the form of an officially fixed division of labor not only plays an independent role, but significantly affects the structure of almost any other stratification system.

income-the amount of money that a family or a certain individual received for a certain period of time;
wealth- movable and immovable property, as well as the availability of accumulated income in the form of cash savings;
power- the ability and ability to manage other people;
prestige- the degree of respect in society for a particular profession.

History knows various systems of social stratification.

AT open systems individuals simply need to change their social status. The openness of the system means the possibility for any member of society to rise (fall) on the social ladder in accordance with his abilities and efforts. In such systems, the status achieved means no less than the status assigned to a person from birth. In modern society, any individual, regardless of gender and origin, can, at the cost of more or less effort, significantly increase their initial status, for example, starting from zero, becoming the president of the country.

Closed systems stratifications, on the other hand, presuppose the unconditional primacy of assigned status. Here it is almost impossible for an individual to change the status received by virtue of descent. Such systems are characteristic of traditional societies, especially in the past. For example, the caste system that operated in India until 1950 prescribed rigid boundaries between four castes, the belonging of individuals to which was determined by origin. At the same time, the members of each caste were prescribed a strictly defined occupation, their own rituals, food system, rules for dealing with each other and with a woman, and a way of life. Reverence for representatives of the higher castes and contempt for the lower castes was enshrined in religious institutions and traditions. There were cases of transition from caste to caste, but as single exceptions to the rules.

There are four main systems of social stratification:

slavery;
castes;
estates;

Slavery characterized by the possession of some people by others. Slavery was most prevalent in agrarian societies, and slavery was least common among nomadic peoples, especially hunter-gatherers.

Conditions of slavery and slaveholding varied significantly in different regions of the world. In ancient Greece, slaves were engaged in physical labor, thanks to which free citizens had the opportunity to express themselves in politics and the arts. In some countries, slavery was a temporary condition of a person: having worked for his master for the allotted time, the slave became free and had the right to return to his homeland. The Israelites freed their slaves in the year of Jubilee—every 50 years. In ancient Rome, slaves were generally able to buy their freedom; in order to collect the amount necessary for the ransom, they entered into a deal with the owner and sold their services to other people (this is exactly what some educated Greeks who fell into slavery to the Romans did). There are cases in history when a wealthy slave began to lend money to his master, and in the end the master fell into slavery to his former slave. In many cases, slavery was for life; in particular, criminals sentenced to hard labor were turned into slaves and worked on Roman galleys as rowers until their death.

Castes. In the caste system, status is determined by birth and is lifelong; in other words, the basis of the caste system is prescribed status. The achieved status is not able to change the place of the individual in this system. Those who are born into a low-status group will always have that status, regardless of what they have personally achieved in life.

estate system was most widespread in feudal Europe and some traditional Asian societies, such as Japan. Its main characteristic is the presence of several (usually three) stable social strata to which individuals belong by origin and the transition between which is very difficult, although in exceptional cases it is possible. The basis of the estate system is the legal organization of society, which provided for the inheritance of titles and statuses, so marriages were usually concluded within the same estate. The fundamental difference between the estates was not so much in economic well-being, but in access to political and social power and socially significant knowledge. Each estate had a monopoly on certain types of occupations and professions. The class system is a closed system, although occasionally an individual change of status was allowed: as a result of inter-class marriages, at the behest of a monarch or feudal lord - as a reward for special merits, when tonsured into monasticism or received the rank of clergyman.

class system far more open than systems of stratification based on slavery, caste, and class, where the boundaries separating people are so clear and rigid that they leave no way for people to move from one group to another, except for marriages between members of different clans. The class system is based primarily on money or material possessions. Although class is also determined at birth - the individual receives the status of his parents, however, the social class of the individual during his life can change depending on what he managed (or failed) to achieve in life. In addition, there are no laws that determine the occupation or profession of an individual depending on birth or prohibit marriage with members of other social classes. Consequently, this system of social stratification is characterized by the relative flexibility of its boundaries. The class system leaves room for social mobility, i.e. to move up (down) the social ladder. Having the potential to advance social position, or class, is one of the main driving forces that motivates people to study well and work hard. Of course, marital status, inherited by a person from birth, may determine extremely disadvantageous conditions that will not leave him a chance to rise too high in life, or provide him with such privileges that it will be almost impossible for him to “slide down” the class ladder.

Ideas about social mobility

The concept of social mobility was first introduced by P. Sorokin, who defined it as "any transition of an individual, social object or value created or modified through activity, from one social position to another." Sorokin considered mobility as one of the necessary social functions. Downward mobility is due to the exclusion of less fortunate and less capable individuals in the competitive struggle, and at the level of group mobility it is due to a decrease in the social prestige of specific professions due to objective factors, the loss of popularity of political parties, etc.

social mobility called the movement of individuals in the system of social stratification from one layer to another. There are at least two reasons for the existence of social mobility in society. First, societies change, and social change alters the division of labor, creating new statuses and undermining old ones. Second, although the elite may monopolize educational opportunities, it is unable to control the natural distribution of talent and ability, so the upper strata are inevitably replenished with talented people from the lower strata.

Social mobility comes in many forms. She may be:

vertical - this is a change in the position of the individual, which causes an increase or decrease in his social status. For example, if an auto mechanic becomes the director of a car service, this is an indication of upward mobility, and if an auto mechanic becomes a cleaner, such a movement will be an indicator of downward mobility;
horizontal - a change in the position of the individual, which does not lead to an increase or decrease in social status. For example, if an auto mechanic gets a job as a locksmith, such movement would mean horizontal mobility;
intergenerational (intergenerational), determined by comparing the social status of parents and their children at a certain point in the career of both (for example, by the rank of their profession at approximately the same age). Studies show that a significant proportion, perhaps even most, Russian population moves at least slightly up or down in the class hierarchy in each generation;
intragenerational (intragenerational), which involves comparing the social status of an individual over a long period of time. As evidenced by the results of studies, many Russians changed their occupation during their lives. However, the mobility of the majority is limited. Traveling short social distances is the rule, long distances are the exception.

For open stratification systems, vertical mobility is a fairly common phenomenon, if we are not talking about dizzying jumps from the bottom to the elite, but about moving step by step. For example, the grandfather is a peasant, the father is a rural teacher, the son moves to the city and defends his dissertation.

In closed systems, social mobility is practically excluded. For example, in caste and class societies, the social norm was, on the one hand, dozens of generations of shoemakers, tanners, merchants, serfs, and on the other hand, long genealogical chains of noble families. The monotony of such social reality is evidenced by the street names given in historical sources, for example Khlebny Lane, Kuznetsky Most Street in Moscow. Craftsmen passed on their status and profession from generation to generation and even lived side by side.

Types of stratification systems

Social inequality can be represented as a scale, where at one pole - the rich, people who own the maximum amount of scarce resources, at the other - the poor, respectively, with minimal access to public goods. Distinguish between absolute and relative poverty. Under absolute poverty is understood as such a state in which an individual is not able to satisfy even basic needs (for food, clothing, housing) on the income received, or to satisfy them in an amount that ensures only biological survival. The inability to maintain the “decent” living standards accepted in society is considered as relative poverty.

Poverty is not only the economic and social condition of people, but also a special way, a lifestyle that is passed down from generation to generation and limits the possibilities for normal civilized development. In Russia, for characterization poverty level, which is determined by the proportion of the population of the country, located at the officially fixed traits, or poverty line. commonly used indicator living wage. Given that currently about 30% of the Russian population lives at or below the poverty line. an important task of the state is to reduce poverty.

To measure inequality, P. Sorokin introduced two parameters:

stratification height - the magnitude of the social distance between the highest and lowest status in a given society;
stratification profile - the ratio of the number of social positions occupied in the hierarchy of values of the status layer (stratum).

It should be noted that there is the following pattern: the higher the level of development of society, the lower the height of stratification, and vice versa. So. in developed societies profile stratification approaching diamond-shaped form due to the large middle class, and in the backward - to the pyramidal, or "conical". The Russian stratification profile rather resembles a triangle with a vertically protruding acute angle.

An important empirical indicator of social inequality is decile coefficient, which is understood as the ratio of incomes of the 10% richest to the 10% of the lowest paid groups. So, in highly developed industrialized countries it is 4-7, where even the approach of this coefficient to 8 is considered as an indicator of future social upheavals.

In general, despite the differences in the views of different sociological schools and trends, it can be noted that social inequality performs a positive function in society, since it serves as an incentive for the progress of social development.

Under social stratification system It is customary to understand the totality of ways that support the unevenness of this distribution in a particular society. In sociology, four main historical types of stratification systems are distinguished: slavery, castes, estates and classes. The first three characterize closed societies in which social movement from one stratum to another is either completely prohibited or significantly restricted. The fourth type belongs to open a society where transitions from the lower to the higher strata are quite real.

1. Slavery is a form of economic, social and legal enslavement of people. This is the only form of social relations in history in which one person is the property of another, deprived of all rights and freedoms.

2. Caste system - stratification system, which involves the life-long assignment of a person to a certain stratum on an ethnic-religious or economic basis. Man owes his membership in this system solely to his birth. A classic example of a caste system is India, where there was a detailed regulation for each caste. So. according to the canons of this system, belonging to one or another caste was inherited, and therefore the possibility of moving from one caste to another was prohibited.

3. The estate system is a stratification system that involves the legal assignment of a person to a certain stratum. At the same time, the rights and obligations of each stratum were determined by law and consecrated by religion. Membership in the estate was mainly inherited, but as an exception it could be acquired for money or bestowed.

The class organization of European feudal society was divided into two upper classes(nobility and clergy) and unprivileged third estate(merchants, artisans, peasants). The barriers between the estates were quite rigid, so social mobility was carried out not so much between, but within the estates, which included many ranks, ranks, layers, professions.

4. Class system - an open-type stratification system, where, unlike previous closed-type systems, belonging to classes is determined primarily by place in the system social production, ownership of property, as well as the availability of abilities, education, income level.

The considered stratification system is generally recognized, but not the only classification. In reality, all stratification systems are closely intertwined and complement each other.

Regardless of the forms that social stratification takes, its existence is universal. Four main systems of social stratification are known: slavery, castes, clans and classes.

Slavery - an economic, social and legal form of enslavement of people, bordering on complete lack of rights and an extreme degree of inequality ..

Reasons for slavery . An essential feature of slavery is the possession of some people by others. Both the ancient Romans and the ancient Africans had slaves. In ancient Greece, slaves were engaged in manual labor, thanks to which free citizens had the opportunity to express themselves in politics and the arts. Slavery was least typical of nomadic peoples, especially hunter-gatherers, and most prevalent in agrarian societies.

Usually point to three causes of slavery. First, a debt obligation, when a person who was unable to pay his debts fell into slavery to his creditor. Secondly, the violation of laws, when the execution of a murderer or a robber was replaced by slavery, i.e. the culprit was handed over to the affected family as compensation for the grief or damage caused. Thirdly, war, raids, conquest, when one group of people conquered another and the winners used some of the captives as slaves.

conditions of slavery. Conditions of slavery and slaveholding varied significantly in different regions of the world. In some countries, slavery was a temporary condition of a person: having worked for his master for the allotted time, the slave became free and had the right to return to his homeland. Thus, the Israelites freed their slaves in the year of Jubilee, every 50 years. Slaves in ancient Rome generally had the ability to buy their freedom; in order to collect the amount necessary for the ransom, they entered into a deal with their master and sold their services to other people (this is exactly what some educated Greeks who fell into slavery to the Romans did). However, in many cases, slavery was for life; in particular, criminals sentenced to life work were turned into slaves and worked on Roman galleys as rowers until their death.

Slavery in the New World originates from the service of Europeans under the contract. This service in the New World was a cross between a labor contract and slavery.

Many Europeans who decided to start a new life in the American colonies were unable to pay for a ticket. The captains of ships sailing for America agreed to carry such passengers on credit, provided that after their arrival there would be someone who would pay their debt to the captain. Thus, the poor were able to get to the American colonies, the captain received payment for their transportation, and wealthy colonists received free servants for a certain period.

General characteristics of slavery . Although slaveholding practices varied from region to region and from era to era, whether slavery was the result of unpaid debt, punishment, military captivity, or racial prejudice; whether it was permanent or temporary; hereditary or not, the slave was still the property of another person, and the system of laws secured the status of a slave. Slavery served as the main distinction between people, clearly indicating which person is free (and legally receives certain privileges) and which is a slave (without privileges).

Slavery has historically evolved. There are two forms of it:

patriarchal slavery - a slave had all the rights of a younger family member: he lived in the same house with his masters, participated in public life, married freemen; it was forbidden to kill him;

classical slavery - the slave was finally enslaved; he lived in a separate room, did not participate in anything, did not enter into marriage and had no family, he was considered the property of the owner.

Slavery- the only form of social relations in history when one person acts as the property of another, and when the lower stratum is deprived of all rights and freedoms.

Castoy called a social group (stratum), membership in which a person owes solely to his birth.

Societies that are characterized by this form of stratification strive for a clear preservation of the boundaries between castes, therefore endogamy is practiced here - marriages within their own group - and there is a ban on intergroup marriages. To prevent inter-caste contact, such societies develop complex rules regarding ritual purity, according to which it is considered that communication with members of the lower castes defiles the higher caste.

After the abolition of slavery in the United States (January 1, 1863), it was "replaced" by a racial caste system - the birth of a person imposed a lifetime mark on him, and all white Americans, including the poor and uneducated, considered themselves better and higher than any African Americans. origin. This attitude persisted even in the first half of the 20th century, many years after the abolition of slavery. Just as in India and South Africa, upper-caste whites were afraid to get dirty from communicating with blacks, insisting on the existence of separate schools, hotels, restaurants, and even toilets and drinking fountains in public places.

Clan - a genus or a related group connected by economic and social ties ..

The clan system is typical of agrarian societies. In such a system, each individual is associated with an extensive social network of relatives - a clan. The clan is something like a very extended family and has similar features: if the clan has a high status, the individual belonging to this clan has the same status; all funds belonging to the clan, whether meager or rich, belong equally to each member of the clan; loyalty to the clan is a lifelong obligation of each of its members.

Clans especially rally in times of danger, as the following example shows.

Class - a large social group of people who do not own the means of production, occupying a certain place in the system of social division of labor and characterized by a specific way of generating income.

SOCIAL MOBILITY AND ITS TYPES

The concept of "social mobility" was introduced by P. Sorokin. social mobility means the movement of individuals and groups from one social strata, communities to others, which is associated with a change in the position of an individual or group in the system of social stratification. The possibilities and dynamics of social mobility differ in different historical settings.

The options for social mobility are diverse:

individual and collective;

vertical and horizontal;

intragenerational and intergenerational.

Vertical mobility is a change in the position of an individual, which causes an increase or decrease in his social status, a transition to a higher or lower class position. It distinguishes between ascending and descending branches (eg, career and lumpenization). Horizontal mobility is a change in position that does not lead to an increase or decrease in social status.

Intragenerational (intergenerational) mobility means that a person changes his position in the stratification system throughout his life. Intergenerational or intergenerational - implies that children occupy a higher position than their parents.

P. Sorokin considers the following social institutions to be channels or "elevators" of social mobility: the army, church, educational institutions, family, political and professional organizations, mass media, etc.

Social stratification expresses the social heterogeneity of society, the inequality that exists in it, the unequal social status of people and their groups. Social stratification is understood as the process and result of the differentiation of society into various social groups (strata, strata) that differ in their social status. The criteria for dividing society into strata can be very diverse, moreover, both objective and subjective. But most often today, profession, income, property, participation in power, education, prestige, self-assessment of one's social position are singled out. According to researchers, the middle class of a modern industrial society determines the stability of the social system and at the same time provides it with dynamism, since the middle class is primarily a highly productive and highly skilled, initiative and enterprising worker. Russia is classified as a mixed type of stratification. Our middle class is in its infancy, and this process is of key and broad significance for the formation of a new social structure.