Mobilization is horizontal and vertical. General principles of vertical mobility

Horizontal and vertical are categories related to the variability and stratification of societies. In any environment public group or a vast social organism, quantitative and qualitative changes occur, as a result of which the character changes

of this organism, new social classes appear and disappear in a variety of sections: national, subcultural, property, and so on. Examples of vertical social mobility - the best for that practical confirmation. Such dynamism of society will necessarily be accompanied by the permanent status of specific individuals. Actually, these transformations are examples of vertical social mobility. Less often - horizontal, since it is not always accompanied by a change in social status.

Types of social mobility

Modern scientists distinguish two main variants of this process:

the following types.

Horizontal mobility. Examples

In this case, it means the transition of a person from one social group to another, but equal in status to the previous one. The most common examples may be moving to a new place of residence, moving to an alternative job or position, approximately equal to the previous one in terms of prestige and income. Another special case of this form is migrants, since when they move to a new country, they turn into foreigners for society. By the way, horizontal mobility can sometimes give rise to examples of vertical social mobility. As often happens in situations with the same migrants.

Vertical social mobility. Examples

Everything here is quite clear on an intuitive level. Is it a decrease or an increase? personal status in a specific social group or society as a whole. Examples of vertical social mobility: an increase in material income (or vice versa - a decrease or even ruin), advancement one step up or down career ladder, gaining widespread popularity, which comes to musicians, artists, athletes, and so on (or, which is also not uncommon, oblivion).

Elevators

Social mobility as a phenomenon presupposes the presence in society of mechanisms that ensure its very existence. These mechanisms

scientists called them social elevators. These could be: the army, school, church, political parties, family, government groups, government agencies, and so on.

Degree of social mobility

An important point is also that the ability of an individual to change his status throughout his life can differ sharply in different social systems. The so-called are characterized by an extreme degree of traditionalism and taboo. Here often social status not only is it inherited, but its preservation is also ensured by a whole system of rules, violation of which can be punishable by punishments ranging from public censure to legal liability.

The inviolability of the hierarchical structure of society does not mean the absence of any movement within it. At various stages, a sharp increase in one and a decrease in another layer is possible, which cannot be explained by natural population growth - vertical migration of individuals occurs. We will consider these vertical movements, while maintaining the statistic structure itself, as social mobility (let us make a reservation that the very concept of “social mobility” is much broader and also includes horizontal movement of individuals and groups).

Social mobility– a set of social movements of people, i.e. changing one's social status while maintaining the stratification structure of society.

For the first time, the general principles of social mobility were formulated by P. Sorokin, who believed that there is hardly a society whose strata would be absolutely esoteric, i.e. preventing any traffic from crossing its borders. However, history has not known a single country in which vertical mobility was absolutely free, and the transition from one layer to another was carried out without any resistance: “If mobility were absolutely free, then in the society that would result, there would be no there would be social strata. It would resemble a building in which there would be no ceiling - a floor separating one floor from another. But all societies are stratified. This means that a kind of “sieve” functions inside them, sifting individuals, allowing some to rise to the top, leaving others in lower layers, vice versa".

The movement of people in the hierarchy of society is carried out through different channels. The most important of them are the following social institutions: army, church, education, political, economic and professional organizations. Each of them had different meaning V different societies and in different periods stories. For example, in Ancient Rome The army provided great opportunities to achieve a high social position. Of the 92 Roman emperors, 36 reached social heights (starting from the lower strata) through military service; of the 65 Byzantine emperors, 12. The church also moved a large number of ordinary people to the top of the social ladder. Of the 144 popes, 28 were of low origin, 27 were from the middle classes (not to mention cardinals, bishops, and abbots). At the same time, the church overthrew a large number of kings, dukes, and princes.

The role of a “sieve” is played not only by social institutions that regulate vertical movements, but also by the subculture and way of life of each layer, which allows each candidate to be tested for “strength,” compliance with the norms and principles of the stratum to which he moves. P. Sorokin points out that the education system provides not only the socialization of the individual, his training, but also acts as a kind of social elevator, which allows the most capable and gifted to rise to the highest “floors” of the social hierarchy. Political parties and organizations form the political elite, the institution of property and inheritance strengthens the owner class, the institution of marriage allows for movement even in the absence of outstanding intellectual abilities.

However, using the driving force of any social institution to rise to the top is not always sufficient. In order to gain a foothold in a new stratum, it is necessary to accept its way of life, organically fit into its sociocultural environment, and shape one’s behavior in accordance with accepted norms and rules - this process is quite painful, since a person is often forced to abandon old habits and reconsider his value system. Adaptation to a new sociocultural environment requires high psychological stress, which is fraught with nervous breakdowns, the development of an inferiority complex, etc. A person may turn out to be an outcast in the social stratum to which he aspired or in which he found himself by the will of fate, if we are talking about a downward movement.

If social institutions, in the figurative expression of P. Sorokin, can be considered as “social elevators,” then the sociocultural shell that envelops each stratum plays the role of a filter that exercises a kind of selective control. The filter may not let through an individual striving to the top, and then, having escaped from the bottom, he will be doomed to be a stranger in the stratum. Having risen to a higher level, he remains, as it were, behind the door leading to the stratum itself.

A similar picture can emerge when moving down. Having lost the right, secured, for example, by capital, to be in the upper strata, the individual descends to a lower level, but finds himself unable to “open the door” to a new sociocultural world. Being unable to adapt to a subculture that is alien to him, he becomes a marginal person, experiencing serious psychological stress.

In society, there is a constant movement of individuals and social groups. During the period of qualitative renewal of society, radical changes in socio-economic and political relations, social movements are especially intense. Wars, revolutions, and global reforms reshaped the social structure of society: the ruling social strata are being replaced, new social groups appear that differ from others in their place in the system of socio-economic relations: entrepreneurs, bankers, tenants, farmers.

From the above, we can distinguish the following types of mobility:

Vertical mobility implies movement from one stratum (estate, class, caste) to another. Depending on the direction, vertical mobility can be upward or downward.

Horizontal mobility – movement within the same social level. For example: moving from a Catholic to an Orthodox religious group, changing one citizenship to another, moving from one family (parental) to another (one’s own, or as a result of divorce the creation new family). Such movements occur without significant changes in social status. But there may be exceptions.

Geographic mobility variety horizontal mobility. It involves moving from one place to another while maintaining the same status. For example, international tourism. If social status changes when changing place of residence, then mobility turns into migration. Example: if a villager came to the city to visit relatives, then this is geographic mobility. If you came to the city for permanent residence, found a job, changed your profession, then this is migration.

Individual mobility. In a steadily developing society, vertical movements are not of a group nature, but of an individual nature, i.e. It is not economic, political and professional groups that rise and fall through the steps of the social hierarchy, but their individual representatives. This does not mean that these movements cannot be massive - on the contrary, in modern society the divide between strata is overcome by many relatively easily. The fact is that, if successful, an individual will, as a rule, change not only his position in the vertical hierarchy, but also his social and professional group.

Group mobility .Displacement occurs collectively. Group mobility introduces great changes into the stratification structure, often affects the relationship between the main social strata and, as a rule, is associated with the emergence of new groups whose status no longer corresponds to the existing hierarchy system. By the middle of the twentieth century. This group, for example, included managers of large enterprises.

Group vertical movements are especially intense during times of economic restructuring. The emergence of new prestigious, highly paid professional groups contributes to mass movement up the hierarchical ladder. The decline in the social status of a profession and the disappearance of some professions provoke not only a downward movement, but also the emergence of marginal strata, uniting individuals who are losing their usual position in society and losing the achieved level of consumption. There is an erosion of sociocultural values ​​and norms that previously united people and predetermined their stable place in the social hierarchy.

Sorokin identified several main reasons for group mobility: social revolutions, civil wars, shift political regimes as a result of revolutions, military coups, reforms, replacement of the old constitution with a new one, peasant uprisings, interstate wars, internecine struggle of aristocratic families.

Economic crises, accompanied by a fall in the level of material well-being of the general public, rising unemployment, and a sharp increase in the income gap, become the root cause of the numerical growth of the most disadvantaged part of the population, which always forms the base of the pyramid of the social hierarchy. Under such conditions, downward movement covers not only individuals, but entire groups, and can be temporary or become sustainable. In the first case, the social group returns to its usual place as it overcomes economic difficulties; in the second case, the group changes its social status and enters a difficult period of adaptation to a new place in the hierarchical pyramid.

So, vertical group movements are associated, firstly, with profound, serious changes in the socio-economic structure of society, causing the emergence of new classes and social groups; secondly, with a change in ideological guidelines, value systems, political priorities - in this case, there is an upward movement of those political forces that were able to perceive changes in the mentality, orientations and ideals of the population, a painful but inevitable change occurs political elite; thirdly, with the imbalance of mechanisms ensuring the reproduction of the stratification structure of society. The mechanisms of institutionalization and legitimation cease to function fully due to the radical changes taking place in society, the growth of conflict and social uncertainty.

Social mobility processes are important performance indicators different types social devices. Societies in which there are conditions for vertical mobility (transition from lower to higher strata, groups, classes), where there are ample opportunities for territorial mobility, including across country borders, are called open. Types of societies in which such movements are complicated or practically impossible are called closed. They are characterized by caste, clanism, and hyperpoliticism. Open paths for vertical mobility are an important condition for development modern society. Otherwise, preconditions for social tension and conflicts arise.

Intergenerational mobility . Assumes that children achieve a higher social position or fall to a lower level than their parents. For example, the son of a worker becomes an engineer.

Intragenerational mobility . It assumes that the same individual changes social positions several times throughout his life. This is called a social career. For example, a turner becomes an engineer, then a workshop manager, a plant director, and a minister of the engineering industry. Moving from the sphere of physical labor to the sphere of mental labor.

On other bases, mobility may be classified into spontaneous or organized.

Examples of spontaneous mobility include movements for the purpose of earning money by residents of neighboring countries in big cities neighboring states

Organized mobility - the movement of a person or group vertically or horizontally is controlled by the state.

Organized mobility can be carried out: a) with the consent of the people themselves; b) without consent (involuntary) mobility. For example, deportation, repatriation, dispossession, repression, etc.

It is necessary to distinguish from organized mobility structural mobility. It is caused by changes in the structure of the national economy and occurs beyond the will and consciousness of individuals. The disappearance or decline of industries or professions leads to displacement large masses of people.

The degree of mobility in a society is determined by two factors: the range of mobility in a society and the conditions that allow people to move.

The range of mobility depends on how many various statuses exists in it. How more statuses, the more opportunity a person has to move from one status to another.

Industrial society has expanded the range of mobility and is characterized by a much larger number of different statuses. The first decisive factor in social mobility is the level of economic development. During periods of economic depression, the number of high-status positions decreases and low-status positions expand, so downward mobility dominates. It intensifies during periods when people lose their jobs and at the same time new layers enter the labor market. On the contrary, during periods of active economic development, many new high-status positions appear. Increased demand for workers to keep them busy is the main reason for upward mobility.

Thus, social mobility determines the dynamics of development social structure society, contributes to the creation of a balanced hierarchical pyramid.

Literature

1. Wojciech Zaborowski Evolution of social structure: a generational perspective // ​​Sociology: theory, methods, marketing. – 2005. - No. 1. – P.8-35.

2. Volkov Yu.G. Sociology. / Under the general editorship. V.I. Dobrenkova. R-n-D: “Phoenix”, 2005.

3. Giddens E. Social stratification // Socis. – 1992. - No. 9. – pp. 117 – 127.

4. Gidens E. Sociology. / Per. from English V. Shovkun, A. Oliynik. Kiev: Osnovi, 1999.

5. Dobrenkov V.I., Kravchenko A.I. Sociology: Textbook. – M.: INFRA – M, 2005.

6. Kravchenko A.I. General sociology. – M., 2001.

7. Lukashevich M.P., Tulenkov M.V. Sociology. Kiik: “Karavela”, 2005.

8. General sociology: Tutorial/ Under the general editorship. A.G. Efendieva. – M., 2002. – 654 p.

9. Pavlichenko P.P., Litvinenko D.A. Sociology. Kiev: Libra, 2002.

10. Radugin A.A. Radugin K.A. Sociology. Lecture course. – M., 2001.

11. Sorokin.P. Human. Civilization. Society. – M., 1992.

12. Sociology: A handbook for students of advanced knowledge / Edited by V.G. Gorodianenko - K., 2002. - 560 p.

13. Yakuba E.A. Sociology. Educational A manual for students, Kharkov, 1996. – 192 pages.

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15. See Questions of Philosophy. – 2005. - No. 5

Social mobility types and examples

Concept of social mobility

The concept of “social mobility” was introduced into scientific use by Pitirim Sorokin. These are various movements of people in society. Each person at birth occupies a certain position and is built into the system of stratification of society.

The position of an individual at birth is not constant, and throughout life path it can change. It can go up or down.

Types of social mobility

Exist various types social mobility. Typically the following are distinguished:

• intergenerational and intragenerational;
• vertical and horizontal;
• organized and structured.

Intergenerational mobility means that children change their social position and become different from their parents. So, for example, the daughter of a seamstress becomes a teacher, that is, she increases her status in society. Or, for example, the son of an engineer becomes a janitor, that is, his social status decreases.

Intragenerational mobility means that an individual's status can change throughout his life. An ordinary worker can become a boss at an enterprise, a plant director, and then a manager of a complex of enterprises.

Vertical mobility means that the movement of a person or group of people within a society changes the social status of that person or group. This type of mobility is stimulated through various reward systems (respect, income, prestige, benefits). Vertical mobility has different characteristics. one of them is intensity, that is, it determines how many strata an individual goes through on his way up.

If the society is socially disorganized, then the intensity indicator becomes higher. An indicator such as universality determines the number of people who have changed their vertical position over a certain period of time. Depending on the type of vertical mobility, two types of society are distinguished. It's closed and open.

In a closed society, moving up the social ladder is very difficult for certain categories of people. For example, these are societies in which there are castes, classes, and also a society in which there are slaves. There were many such communities in the Middle Ages.

In an open society equal opportunities everyone has. These societies include democratic states. Pitirim Sorokin argues that there are no and never have been societies in which opportunities for vertical mobility were absolutely closed. At the same time, there have never been communities in which vertical movements were absolutely free. Vertical mobility can be either upward (in this case it is voluntary) or downward (in this case it is forced).

Horizontal mobility assumes that an individual moves from one group to another without changing social status. For example, this could be a change in religion. That is, an individual can convert from Orthodoxy to Catholicism. He can also change his citizenship, he can start his own family and leave his parents’ family, he can change his profession. In this case, the status of the individual does not change. If there is a move from one country to another, then such mobility is called geographical mobility. Migration is a type of geographic mobility in which the status of an individual changes after moving. Migration can be labor and political, internal and international, legal and illegal.

Organized mobility is a state-dependent process. It directs the movement of groups of people down, up or horizontally. This can happen with or without the consent of these people.

Structural mobility caused by changes that occur in the structure of society. Social mobility can be group or individual. Group mobility implies that movement occurs in entire groups. Group mobility is influenced by the following factors:

• uprisings;
• wars;
• replacement of the constitution;
• invasion of foreign troops;
• change of political regime.
• Individual social mobility depends on the following factors:
• level of education of the citizen;
• nationality;
• place of residence;
• quality of education;
• his family status;
• whether the citizen is married.
• Great importance for any type of mobility have age, gender, fertility and mortality.

Social mobility examples

Examples of social mobility can be found in large quantities in our lives. Thus, Pavel Durov, who was initially a simple student of the Faculty of Philology, can be considered an example of increasing growth in society. But in 2006, he was told about Facebook, and then he decided that he would create a similar network in Russia. At first it was called “Student.ru”, but then it was called Vkontakte. Now it has more than 70 million users, and Pavel Durov has a net worth of more than $260 million.

Social mobility often develops within subsystems. Thus, schools and universities are such subsystems. A student at a university must master the curriculum. If he successfully passes the exams, he will move on to the next course, receive a diploma, become a specialist, that is, receive a higher position. Expulsion from a university for poor performance is an example of downward social mobility.

An example of social mobility is the following situation: a person who received an inheritance, became rich, and moved to a more prosperous stratum of people. Examples of social mobility include the promotion of a school teacher to director, the promotion of an associate professor of a department to a professor, or the relocation of an enterprise employee to another city.

Vertical social mobility

Vertical mobility has received the most research. The defining concept is mobility distance. It measures how many steps an individual goes through as he moves up in society. He can walk one or two steps, he can suddenly fly up to the very top of the stairs or fall to its base (the last two options are quite rare). The amount of mobility is important. It determines how many individuals have moved upward or downward through vertical mobility in a given period of time.

Social mobility channels

There are no absolute boundaries between social strata in society. Representatives of some layers can make their way into other layers. Movements occur with the help of social institutions. IN war time The army operates as a social institution, which promotes talented soldiers and gives them new ranks if the previous commanders have died. Another powerful channel of social mobility is the church, which at all times has found loyal representatives in the lower classes of society and elevated them.

The institute of education, as well as family and marriage can also be considered channels of social mobility. If representatives of different social classes married, then one of them climbed the social ladder, or descended. For example, in ancient Roman society free man who married a slave could make her free. In the process of creating new layers of society - strata - groups of people appear who do not have generally accepted statuses or have lost them. They are called marginalized. Such people are characterized by the fact that they find it difficult and uncomfortable in their current status, they experience psychological stress. For example, this is an employee of an enterprise who became homeless and lost his home.

There are these types of marginals:

• ethnomarginals - people who appeared as a result of mixed marriages;
• biomarginals whose health society has ceased to care about;
• political outcasts who cannot come to terms with the existing political order;
• religious marginals - people who do not identify themselves with a generally accepted confession;
• criminal outcasts are people who violate the Criminal Code.

Social mobility in society

Social mobility may vary depending on the type of society. If we consider Soviet society, then it was divided into economic classes. These were the nomenclature, the bureaucracy and the proletariat. Mechanisms of social mobility were then regulated by the state. Employees of district organizations were often appointed by party committees. The rapid movement of people occurred with the help of repression and construction projects of communism (for example, BAM and virgin soil). Western societies have a different structure of social mobility.

The main mechanism of social movement there is competition. Because of it, some go bankrupt, while others make high profits. If this is the political sphere, then the main mechanism of movement there is elections. In any society there are mechanisms that make it possible to soften the sharp downward transition of individuals and groups. These are different forms social assistance. On the other hand, representatives of higher strata seek to consolidate their high status and prevent representatives of lower strata from penetrating into the high strata. Social mobility largely depends on what kind of society it is. It can be open or closed.

An open society is characterized by the fact that the division into social classes is arbitrary, and it is quite easy to move from one class to another. To achieve a higher position in the social hierarchy, a person needs to struggle. People are motivated to work constantly because hard work leads to an increase in their social status and improved well-being. Therefore people lower class strive to constantly break through to the top, and representatives of the upper class want to maintain their position. Unlike open, closed social society has very clear boundaries between classes.

The social structure of society is such that the advancement of people between classes is practically impossible. In such a system, hard work does not matter, and the talents of a member of the lower caste also do not matter. Such a system is supported by an authoritarian ruling structure. If the government weakens, it becomes possible change boundaries between strata. The most outstanding example of a closed caste society can be considered India, in which the Brahmins, the highest caste, have the highest status. The lowest caste is the Shudras, the garbage collectors. Over time, the lack of significant changes in society leads to the degeneration of this society.

Social stratification and mobility

Social stratification divides people into classes. In post-Soviet society, the following classes began to appear: new Russians, entrepreneurs, workers, peasants, and the ruling class. Social strata in all societies have common features. Thus, people of mental labor occupy a higher position than simply workers and peasants. As a rule, there are no impenetrable boundaries between strata, but at the same time, a complete absence of boundaries is impossible.

V Lately social stratification in Western society is undergoing significant changes in connection with the invasion of Western countries by representatives of the Eastern world (Arabs). Initially, they come as labor, that is, they perform low-skilled work. But these representatives bring their own culture and customs, often different from Western ones. Often entire blocks in cities Western countries live according to the laws of Islamic culture.

It must be said that social mobility in conditions of social crisis differs from social mobility in conditions of stability. War, revolution, and prolonged economic conflicts lead to changes in the channels of social mobility, often to mass impoverishment and increased morbidity. Under these conditions, stratification processes can differ significantly. Thus, representatives of criminal structures can make their way into the ruling circles.

Scientific definition

Social mobility- a change by an individual or group in the place occupied in the social structure (social position), movement from one social stratum (class, group) to another (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum (horizontal mobility). Sharply limited in a caste and estate society, social mobility increases significantly in an industrial society.

Horizontal mobility

Horizontal mobility- the transition of an individual from one social group to another, located at the same level (example: moving from an Orthodox to a Catholic religious group, from one citizenship to another). There is a distinction between individual mobility - the movement of one person independently of others, and group mobility - movement occurs collectively. In addition, geographic mobility is distinguished - moving from one place to another while maintaining the same status (example: international and interregional tourism, moving from city to village and back). As a type of geographic mobility, the concept of migration is distinguished - moving from one place to another with a change in status (example: a person moved to a city for permanent residence and changed profession). And it is similar to castes.

Vertical mobility

Vertical mobility- advancement of a person career ladder up or down.

• Upward mobility- social rise, upward movement (For example: promotion).
• Downward mobility- social descent, downward movement (For example: demotion).

Social elevator

Social elevator- a concept similar to vertical mobility, but more often used in the modern context of discussing the theory of elites as one of the means of rotation of the ruling elite.

Generational mobility

Intergenerational mobility is a comparative change in social status among different generations (example: a worker's son becomes president).

Intragenerational mobility (social career) - a change in status within one generation (example: a turner becomes an engineer, then a shop manager, then a plant director). Vertical and horizontal mobility are influenced by gender, age, birth rate, death rate, and population density. In general, men and the young are more mobile than women and the elderly. Overpopulated countries more often experience the consequences of emigration (relocation from one country to another due to economic, political, personal circumstances) than immigration (moving to a region for permanent or temporary residence of citizens from another region). Where the birth rate is high, the population is younger and therefore more mobile, and vice versa.

Literature

• Social mobility- article from the Newest Philosophical Dictionary
• Sorokin R. A. Social and cultural mobility. - N. Y. - L., 1927.
• Glass D.V. Social mobility in Britain. - L., 1967.

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• Pletink, Joseph
• Amsterdam (album)

See what “Social mobility” is in other dictionaries:

Social mobility- (social mobility) Movement from one class (class) or, more often, from a group with a certain status to another class, to another group. Social mobility both between and within generations professional activity individuals is... Political science. Dictionary.

SOCIAL MOBILITY- change by an individual or group of social position, place occupied in the social structure. S. m. is connected both with the action of the laws of societies. development, class struggle, causing the growth of some classes and groups and the decrease... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

SOCIAL MOBILITY- SOCIAL mobility, a change by an individual or group in the place occupied in the social structure, movement from one social stratum (class, group) to another (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum... ... Modern encyclopedia

SOCIAL MOBILITY- a change by an individual or group in the place occupied in the social structure, movement from one social stratum (class, group) to another (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum (horizontal mobility).... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Social mobility- SOCIAL MOBILITY, a change by an individual or group of the place occupied in the social structure, movement from one social stratum (class, group) to another (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

SOCIAL MOBILITY- a concept by which social movements of people are designated in the direction of social positions characterized by a higher (social ascent) or lower (social degradation) level of income, prestige and degree... ... The latest philosophical dictionary

SOCIAL MOBILITY- see SOCIAL MOBILITY. Antinazi. Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2009 ... Encyclopedia of Sociology

SOCIAL MOBILITY- SOCIAL MOBILITY, a term used (along with the concepts of social movement and social mobility) in sociology, demography and economics. sciences to designate the transitions of individuals from one class, social group and strata to another,... ... Demographic Encyclopedic Dictionary

SOCIAL MOBILITY- (vertical mobility) See: mobility of labor. Business. Dictionary. M.: INFRA M, Ves Mir Publishing House. Graham Betts, Barry Brindley, S. Williams and others. General editor: Ph.D. Osadchaya I.M.. 1998 ... Dictionary of business terms

Social mobility - personal quality, acquired in the process educational activities and expressed in the ability to quickly master new realities in various spheres of life, find adequate ways to resolve unforeseen problems and implement... ... Official terminology

Books

• Sports and social mobility. Crossing Borders, Spaaii Ramon. Great athletes, Olympic champions, famous football players, hockey players or racing drivers are known all over the world. There is no doubt that the sport that became their profession made them famous and rich. A…

Society does not remain unshakable. In society, there is a slow or rapid increase in the number of one and a decrease in the number of another social stratum, as well as an increase or decrease in their status. The relative stability of social strata does not exclude vertical migration of individuals. According to P. Sorokin’s definition, social mobility is understood as the transition of an individual, a social community, or a value from one social status to another.”

Social mobility is the transition of a person from one social group to another.

Horizontal mobility is distinguished when a person moves to a group located at the same hierarchical level as the previous one, and vertical when a person moves to a higher (upward mobility) or lower (downward mobility) level in the social hierarchy.

Examples of horizontal mobility: moving from one city to another, change of religion, transition from one family to another after the breakup of a marriage, change of citizenship, transition from one political party to another, a change of job when transferred to an approximately equivalent position.

Examples of vertical mobility: changing a low-paying job to a high-paying one, turning an unskilled worker into a skilled worker, electing a politician as president of the country (these examples demonstrate upward vertical mobility), demoting an officer to a private, ruining an entrepreneur, transferring a shop manager to the position of foreman (downward vertical mobility).

Societies where social mobility is high are called open, and societies with low social mobility - closed. In the most closed societies (say, in a caste system), upward vertical mobility is practically impossible. In less closed ones (for example, in class society) there are opportunities to move the most ambitious or successful people to higher levels of the social ladder.

Traditionally, the institutions that contributed to the advancement of people from the “low” classes were the army and the church, where any private or priest, with the appropriate abilities, could achieve the highest social position - become a general or a church hierarch. Another way to rise higher in the social hierarchy was advantageous marriage.

In an open society, the main mechanism for increasing social status is the institution of education. Even a representative of the lowest social strata can expect to achieve a high position, provided that he receives a good education at a prestigious university, demonstrating high academic performance, dedication and high intellectual abilities.

Individual and group social mobility

At individual social mobility, it is possible to change the social status and role of an individual within social stratification. For example, in post-Soviet Russia, a former ordinary engineer becomes an “oligarch”, and the president turns into a rich pensioner. At group social mobility changes the social status of a social community. For example, in post-Soviet Russia, a significant part of teachers, engineers, and scientists became “shuttle workers”. Social mobility also implies the possibility of changing the social status of values. For example, during the transition to post-Soviet relations, the values ​​of liberalism (freedom, entrepreneurship, democracy, etc.) rose in our country and the values ​​of socialism (equality, efficiency, centralism, etc.) fell.

Horizontal and vertical social mobility

Social mobility can be vertical and horizontal. At horizontal mobility is the social movement of individuals and occurs in other, but equal in status social communities. These can be considered moving from government to private structures, moving from one enterprise to another, etc. Varieties of horizontal mobility are: territorial (migration, tourism, relocation from village to city), professional (change of profession), religious (change of religion) , political (transition from one political party to another).

At vertical mobility is happening ascending And descending movement of people. An example of such mobility is the reduction of workers from the “hegemon” in the USSR to the simple class in today’s Russia and, conversely, the rise of speculators to the middle and upper class. Vertical social movements are associated, firstly, with profound changes in the socio-economic structure of society, the emergence of new classes, social groups striving to achieve a higher social status, and secondly, with a change in ideological guidelines, value systems and norms , political priorities. In this case, there is a movement to the top of those political forces that were able to perceive changes in the mentality, orientations and ideals of the population.

To quantitatively characterize social mobility, indicators of its speed are used. Under speed social mobility refers to vertical social distance and the number of strata (economic, professional, political, etc.) that individuals pass through in their upward or downward movement over a certain period of time. For example, after graduating from college, a young specialist can take the position of senior engineer or head of department, etc., within several years.

Intensity social mobility is characterized by the number of individuals changing social positions in a vertical or horizontal position over a certain period of time. The number of such individuals gives absolute intensity of social mobility. For example, during the years of reforms in post-Soviet Russia (1992-1998), up to one third of the “Soviet intelligentsia”, who made up the middle class of Soviet Russia, became “shuttle traders”.

Aggregate index social mobility includes its speed and intensity. In this way, one society can be compared with another to find out (1) in which one or (2) in which period social mobility is higher or lower in all respects. Such an index can be calculated separately for economic, professional, political and other social mobility. Social mobility is an important characteristic of the dynamism of society. Those societies where the aggregate index of social mobility is higher develop much more dynamically, especially if this index relates to the governing strata.

Social (group) mobility is associated with the emergence of new social groups and affects the ratio of the main ones, whose no longer corresponds to the existing hierarchy. By the middle of the 20th century, managers of large enterprises, for example, became such a group. Based on this fact, Western sociology developed the concept of a “revolution of managers” (J. Bernheim). According to it, the administrative stratum begins to play a decisive role not only in the economy, but also in social life, complementing and displacing the class of owners of the means of production (captainists).

Vertical social movements are intensive during times of structural restructuring of the economy. The emergence of new prestigious, highly paid professional groups contributes to mass movement up the ladder of social status. The decline in the social status of the profession, the disappearance of some of them provokes not only a downward movement, but also the emergence of marginal layers that lose their usual position in society and lose the achieved level of consumption. There is an erosion of the values ​​and norms that previously united them and determined their stable place in the social hierarchy.

Marginalized - These are social groups that have lost their previous social status, are deprived of the opportunity to engage in usual activities, and have found themselves unable to adapt to the new sociocultural (value and normative) environment. Their old values ​​and norms were not supplanted by new norms and values. The efforts of marginalized people to adapt to new conditions give rise to psychological stress. The behavior of such people is characterized by extremes: they are either passive or aggressive, and also easily violate moral standards and are capable of unpredictable actions. A typical leader of the marginalized in post-Soviet Russia is V. Zhirinovsky.

During periods of acute social cataclysms and fundamental changes in the social structure, an almost complete renewal of the upper echelons of society can occur. Thus, the events of 1917 in our country led to the overthrow of the old ruling classes (nobility and bourgeoisie) and the rapid rise of a new ruling layer (the communist party bureaucracy) with nominally socialist values ​​and norms. Such a radical replacement of the upper stratum of society always takes place in an atmosphere of extreme confrontation and tough struggle.