Criteria for the stratification of modern society are examples. Social stratification criteria. Social stratification of modern Russian society

Various sociologists explain the causes of social inequality in different ways, and, consequently, social stratification.

In the Marxist school of sociology, inequality is based on: property relations, the nature, degree and form of ownership of the means of production.

According to the functionalists (K. Davis, W. Moore), the distribution of individuals according to social strata depends on the importance of their professional activities and the contribution they make with their labor to the achievement of the goals of society. Supporters of the exchange theory (J. Homans) believe that inequality in society arises due to the unequal exchange of the results of human activity.

A number of classics of sociology considered the problem of stratification more broadly. For example, M. Weber, in addition to economic (attitude to property and income level), proposed in addition such criteria as social prestige (inherited and acquired status) and belonging to certain political circles, hence - power, authority and influence.

One of the founders of the theory of stratification P. Sorokin identified three types of stratification structures:

§ economic(according to the criteria of income and wealth);

§ political(according to the criteria of influence and power);

§ professional(according to the criteria of mastery, professional skills, successful performance of social roles).

The founder of structural functionalism T. Parsons proposed three groups of differentiating features:

§ qualitative characteristics of people that they possess from birth (ethnicity, family ties, gender and age characteristics, personal qualities and abilities);

§ role characteristics, determined by the set of roles performed by an individual in society (education, position, different kinds professional and labor activity);

§ characteristics due to the possession of material and spiritual values (wealth, property, privileges, the ability to influence and control other people, etc.).

In modern sociology, it is customary to distinguish the following main criteria for social stratification:

§ income - the amount of cash receipts for a certain period (month, year);

§ wealth - accumulated income, i.e. the amount of cash or materialized money (in the second case, they act in the form of movable or immovable property);

§ power - the ability and ability to exercise one's will, to exert a decisive influence on the activities of other people through various means (authority, law, violence, etc.). Power is measured by the number of people it extends to;

§ education - a set of knowledge, abilities and skills acquired in the learning process. Educational level is measured by the number of years of study;

§ prestige - public appraisal attractiveness, significance of a particular profession, position, a certain occupation.

Despite the variety of different models of social stratification that currently exist in sociology, most scientists distinguish three main classes: upper, middle and lower.

In some cases, sociologists carry out a certain division within each class. For example, the American sociologist W.L. Warner (1898-1970), in his famous study of Yankee City, identified six classes:

§ upper-upper class (representatives of influential and wealthy dynasties with significant resources of power, wealth and prestige);

§ lower-upper class ("new rich" - bankers, politicians who do not have a noble birth and did not manage to create powerful role-playing clans);

§ upper-middle class (successful businessmen, lawyers, entrepreneurs, scientists, managers, doctors, engineers, journalists, cultural and art workers);

§ lower-middle class (employees - engineers, clerks, secretaries, office workers and other categories, which are commonly called "white collars");

§ upper-lower class (workers engaged primarily in manual labor);

§ lower-lower class (beggars, unemployed, homeless, foreign workers, declassed elements).

There are also other schemes of social stratification. But they all boil down to the following: minority classes arise due to the addition of strata and strata within one of the major classes - the rich, the well-to-do and the poor.

Thus, social stratification is based on natural and social inequality between people, which manifests itself in their social life and has a hierarchical character. It is steadily supported and regulated by various social institutions, is constantly reproduced and modified, which is an important condition for the functioning and development of any society.

34. Social mobility. Views social mobility.

The term "social mobility" was introduced by P. Sorokin. He called the transition of an individual between different levels social hierarchy, defined in terms of broad professional or socio-class categories. That is, mobility is a transition from one social position to another in a social space.

There are two main types of social mobility - intergenerational and intragenerational, and two main types - vertical and horizontal.

Intergenerational mobility assumes that children reach a higher social position or descend to a lower step than their parents.

Intra-generational mobility means that one and the same individual, beyond comparison with his parents, changes social positions several times throughout his life.

Vertical mobility implies movement from one stratum to another, i.e. displacement leading to an increase or decrease in social status.

Depending on the direction of movement, vertical mobility is upward and downward.

Horizontal mobility implies the movement of an individual from one social group to another without raising or lowering social status.

Geographic mobility is a type of horizontal mobility.

Distinguish between individual mobility - movements down, up or horizontally occur for each person independently of the others, and group mobility - movements occur collectively.

The types of social mobility can be distinguished according to other criteria:

1. by range;

2. by quantitative indicator;

3. according to the degree of organization:

The study of social mobility is carried out using two systems of indicators. In the first, the individual acts as the unit of account. The main indicators are the volume of mobility (absolute and relative, aggregate and differentiated) and the degree of mobility. The volume of mobility shows the number of individuals who have moved up the social ladder in the vertical direction over a certain period of time. The degree of mobility is determined by two factors: the range of mobility (the number of statuses in a given society) and the conditions that allow people to move. So the maximum mobility is always observed in society during the period of any social and economic transformations. The degree of mobility also depends on the historical type of stratification.

The second unit of reference is status. In this case, the volume of mobility (the number of people who changed their status) describes its direction. The measure of mobility is the mobility step (distance), which shows the number of steps the individual has moved in the vertical direction. It can be intergenerational and intragenerational, interclass and intraclass.

PA Sorokin developed the theory of vertical mobility channels. Social institutions act as such channels: family, school, army, church, property. Moreover, the family and school are one of the most important mechanisms of social selection, determination and inheritance of status.

35. Marginality as a social phenomenon

Marginalization is a characteristic of phenomena that arise as a result of the interaction of different cultures, social communities, structures, as a result of which some of the social subjects are outside them.

Introduced into science by R. Park, this concept served to study the situation of migrants, mulattoes and other "cultural hybrids", their non-adaptation in the conditions of various conflicting cultures.

R. Merton defined marginality as a specific case of the theory of a reference (reference) group: marginality characterizes the moment when an individual seeks membership in a reference group that is positive for him, which is not inclined to accept him. This ratio implies double identification, incomplete socialization and lack of social belonging.

T. Shibutani examines marginality in the context of personality socialization in a changing society. The central point in the understanding of marginality here is the dominance of social changes, the transformation of the social structure, leading to the temporary destruction of consent. As a result, a person finds himself in the face of several reference (reference) groups with different, often contradictory requirements that cannot be satisfied at the same time. This is in contrast to the situation in a stable society, when the reference groups in the life of an individual reinforce each other.

It also approves the direction of research into marginality as a state of social exclusion (or incomplete inclusion), a position in a social structure characterized by a high distance in relation to the dominant culture of the "main society" ("on the edge" of society).

The following types of marginality are called:
- cultural marginality (cross-cultural contacts and assimilation);
- marginality social role(contradictions of attribution to a positive reference group, etc.);
- structural marginality (vulnerable, disenfranchised position in the political, social and economic respect of a group in society).

There are two main approaches to the consideration of marginality. Marginality as a contradiction, an indefinite state in the process of mobility of a group or an individual (change of status); marginality as a characteristic of a special marginal (marginal, intermediate, isolated) position of groups and individuals in the social structure.

The originality of approaches to the definition of marginality and understanding of its essence is largely determined by the specifics of a particular social reality and the forms that this phenomenon takes in it.

Conceptual development of the concept of "marginality" led to the emergence of a complex of related concepts.

The marginal zone is those sections of social reality where the most intense and significant changes in the structure of relations, positions, and lifestyle take place.

A marginal situation is a complex and structure of factors that generate and consolidate the state of marginality of an individual or a group.

Marginal status is a position of intermediateness, uncertainty into which an individual or a group falls under the influence of a marginal situation.

A marginal is a person who is on the border of various social groups, communities, cultures that come into conflict with them, being not accepted by any of them as a full member.

A marginal personality is a complex of psychological traits that characterize a person in a situation of uncertainty associated with the transition from one group to another and aggravated by the contradictions of the social - role conflict.

A marginal group is a group in a society united by common criteria that characterize its marginal or transitional position (ethnic, territorial, professional, racial, etc.)

Among the marginals there may be ethnomarginal people: national minorities; bio-marginalized, whose health is no longer a matter of concern for society; socio-marginal people, such as groups in the process of unfinished social displacement; age marginals, which are formed when the ties between generations are severed; political marginals: they are not satisfied with legal opportunities and legitimate rules of social and political struggle; economic marginals of the traditional type (unemployed) and the so-called “new poor”; religious marginals - those who stand outside the confessions or do not dare to make a choice between them; and, finally, criminal marginals; and perhaps also just those whose status in the social structure is not defined.

The emergence of new marginal groups is associated with structural changes in postindustrial societies and the mass descending social. mobility of heterogeneous groups of specialists losing their jobs, professional positions, status, living conditions.

36. Social stratification and mobility

Social (stratification) structure is understood as stratification and hierarchical organization of various strata of society, as well as a set of institutions and the relationship between them. The term "stratification" is derived from the Latin word stratum - layers, layer. Strata represent large groups of people differing in their position in the social structure of society.

All scientists agree that the basis of the stratification structure of society is the natural and social inequality of people. However, on the question of what exactly is the criterion for this inequality, their opinions differ. Studying the process of stratification in society, K. Marx called the fact of a person's possession of property and the level of his income as such a criterion. M. Weber added to them social prestige and the subject's belonging to political parties, to power. Pitirim Sorokin believed that the reason for the stratification was the uneven distribution of rights and privileges, responsibilities and duties in society. He also argued that the social space has many other criteria for differentiation: it can be carried out according to citizenship, occupation, nationality, religious affiliation, etc. certain social strata in society.

Historically, stratification, that is, inequality in income, power, prestige, etc., arises with the emergence of human society. With the emergence of the first states, it becomes tougher, and then, in the process of development of society (primarily European), it gradually softens.

There are four main types of social stratification in sociology - slavery, castes, estates and classes. The first three characterize closed societies and the last type is open.

The first system of social stratification is slavery, which arose in antiquity and in some backward regions is still preserved. There are two forms of slavery: patriarchal, in which the slave has all the rights of a younger member of the family, and classical, in which the slave has no rights and is considered the property of the owner (a talking tool of labor). Slavery was based on direct violence, and social groups in the era of slavery were distinguished by the presence or absence of civil rights.

The second system of social stratification should be recognized as caste build. A caste is a social group (stratum) whose membership is passed on to a person only at birth. The transition of a person from one caste to another during life is impossible - for this he needs to be born again. India is a classic example of a caste society. There are four main castes in India, which, according to legend, originated from different parts of the god Brahma:

a) brahmanas - priests;

b) kshatriyas - warriors;

c) vaisyas - merchants;

d) sudras - peasants, artisans, workers.

A special position is occupied by the so-called untouchables, who do not belong to any caste and occupy a lower position.

The next form of stratification is the estates. An estate is a group of people that has rights and obligations enshrined in law or custom, inherited.

Finally, class is another stratification system. Most complete definition classes in scientific literature was given by V. I. Lenin: “Classes are large groups of people differing in their place in a historically defined system social production, in their relation (for the most part enshrined and formalized in laws) to the means of production, in their role in public organization labor, and, consequently, according to the methods of obtaining and the size of the share of social wealth that they have. " The class approach is often opposed to the stratification approach, although in reality class division is only a special case of social stratification.

Depending on the historical period in society, the following classes are distinguished as the main ones:

a) slaves and slave owners;

b) feudal lords and feudal-dependent peasants;

c) the bourgeoisie and the proletariat;

d) the so-called middle class.

Since any social structure is a collection of all functioning social communities taken in their interaction, the following elements can be distinguished in it:

a) ethnic structure (clan, tribe, nationality, nation);

b) demographic structure (groups are distinguished by age and gender);

c) settlement structure (urban dwellers, rural dwellers, etc.);

d) class structure (bourgeoisie, proletariat, peasants, etc.);

e) vocational and educational structure.

In the very general view in modern society, three stratification levels can be distinguished: highest, middle and lowest. In economically developed countries, the second level is predominant, giving society a certain stability. In turn, within each level there is also a hierarchically ordered set of various social strata. A person who occupies a certain place in this structure has the ability to move from one level to another, raising or lowering his social status, or from one group located at any level to another, located at the same level. This transition is called social mobility.

Social mobility sometimes leads to the fact that some people find themselves, as it were, at the junction of certain social groups, while experiencing serious psychological difficulties. Their intermediate position is largely determined by the inability or unwillingness, for whatever reason, to adapt to one of the interacting social groups. This phenomenon of finding a person, as it were, between two cultures, associated with his movement in social space, is called marginality. A marginal person is an individual who has lost his previous social status, deprived of the opportunity to engage in his usual business and, moreover, who has turned out to be unable to adapt to the new socio-cultural environment of the stratum within which he formally exists. The individual value system of such people is so stable that it does not lend itself to being replaced by new norms, principles, and rules. Their behavior is extreme: they are either overly passive or very aggressive, easily overstep moral norms and are capable of unpredictable actions. Among the marginals there may be ethnomarginal people - people who have found themselves in a foreign environment as a result of migration; political marginals are people who are not satisfied with legal opportunities and legitimate rules of social and political struggle: religious marginals are people who stand outside the confession or do not dare to make a choice between them, etc.

The currently emerging social hierarchy is characterized by inconsistency, instability and a tendency to significant changes. The highest stratum (elite) today can include representatives state apparatus, as well as the owners of big capital, including their top - the financial oligarchs. To the middle class in modern Russia include representatives of the class of entrepreneurs, as well as knowledge workers, highly qualified managers (managers). Finally, the lowest stratum is made up of workers of various professions, employed in labor of medium and low qualifications, as well as office clerks and workers. budgetary sphere(teachers and doctors in state and municipal institutions).

In the process of changing the social structure of modern Russian society, the following trends can be distinguished:

1) social polarization, i.e. stratification into rich and poor, deepening social and property differentiation;

2) massive downward social mobility;

3) mass change of place of residence by knowledge workers (the so-called "brain drain").

In general, we can say that the main criteria that determine the social position of a person in modern Russia and his belonging to one or another stratification level are either the size of his wealth or belonging to power structures.

37. The concept of a social institution. The reasons for their occurrence and functioning in society. Classification of social institutions.

The life of individuals in society is organized through social institutions. The term "institution" means "device, establishment". In sociology, an institution is defined as a stable set of norms, rules and symbols that regulate any aspect of human life and organize them into a system of roles and statuses. A.R. By the institution Radicliffe-Brown understands the standardized ways of behavior with the help of which the social structure is a network social relations- maintains its existence in time. Social institutions can be characterized in terms of both their external, formal (material) structure and internal activity. Outwardly, a social institution looks like a set of persons, institutions, supplied with certain material resources and carrying out a specific social function... From the content point of view, it is a given set of purposefully oriented standards of behavior of certain persons in specific situations. A social institution, moreover, is a definite organization social activities and social relations, carried out by means of standards of behavior, the emergence and grouping of which into a system is determined by the content of a specific task solved by this institution.

So, a social institution is

· Role system, which includes certain norms, statuses and roles;

· A set of customs, traditions and rules of behavior of people;

· organized system formal and informal structures;

A set of norms and institutions that regulate a particular area public relations;

· A stable complex of social actions.

Each social institution is characterized by the presence of a goal of activity, specific functions that ensure its achievement, a set of social positions and roles typical for this institution, as well as a system of sanctions that ensure the encouragement of the desired and suppression of deviant behavior.

In every society, according to sociologists, there are necessarily at least five groups of social institutions:

1. Economic institutions that regulate the production and distribution of goods and services;

2. Political institutions that regulate the exercise of power and relations around power;

3. Institutions of stratification that regulate the distribution of status positions and incomes in society;

4. Institutions of kinship, organizing relations between relatives, spouses, parents and children, ensuring the reproduction of the population and the transmission of traditions;

5. Institutes of culture, which include religious, educational and cultural institutions proper. They are responsible for the socialization of new generations, the preservation and transmission of social values.

In order to create a system of social regulation of a particular sphere of public life, i.e. this or that social institution, the necessary conditions must exist. Firstly, a social need for this institution must exist in society and be recognized by the majority of individuals. Secondly, society must have the necessary means to satisfy this need - resources (material, labor, organizational), a system of functions, actions, individual goal-setting, symbols and norms that form a cultural environment on the basis of which a new institution will be formed.

All social institutions arose in ancient times. Production in the human community is 2 million years old, if we take the first tools of labor created by man as a starting point. The age of the family, according to anthropologists, is 500 thousand years. The state is about the same age as education, namely 5-6 thousand years. Religion in its primitive forms appeared about 30-40 thousand years ago.

The system of social institutions is constantly evolving. The sphere of production, political institutions, institutions of religion and education are undergoing evolution. Significant changes are taking place in the institution of the family. If we compare it with the 19th century, then over the past half century, the average age at marriage, family size, the time of the beginning of working life, the distribution of marital responsibilities, the style of leadership in the family, and the sexual behavior of men and women have changed.

The evolution of social institutions leads to the fact that modern society is characterized by a variety and complication of the system of institutions. On the one hand, the same basic need gives rise to the emergence and existence of several specialized institutions, on the other hand, every institutional phenomenon, say family, state, church, implements a whole series of fundamental needs, including communication, production of services, and in the distribution of benefits, in ensuring the safety of citizens, in their individual and collective protection, in maintaining order and control, in the development of the spiritual sphere of society.

38. Social institutions in the economic sphere.

The group of fundamental economic social institutions includes: property, market, money, exchange, banks, finance, various types of economic associations, which together form a complex system industrial relations connecting economic life with other areas of social life.

Thanks to the development of social institutions, the entire system of economic relations and society as a whole functions, the individual is socialized in the social and labor sphere, and norms are transferred economic behavior and moral values.

Let's single out four features common to all social institutions in the field of economics and finance:

· Interaction between participants in social ties and relationships;

· Availability of trained professional personnel to support the activities of the institutes;

Defining the rights, responsibilities and functions of each participant social interaction in economic life;

· Regulation and control of the efficiency of the interaction process in the economy.

The development of the economy as a social institution is subject not only to economic laws, but also to sociological ones. The functioning of this institution, its integrity as a system is ensured by various social institutions and social organizations that monitor the work of social institutions in the field of economics and finance, and control the behavior of their members.

The basic institutions with which the economy interacts are politics, education, family, law, etc.

The main functions of the economy as a social institution are:

· Coordination of social interests of business entities, producers and consumers;

· Meeting the needs of the individual, social groups, strata and organizations;

Strengthening social ties within the economic system, as well as with external social organizations and institutions;

maintaining order and preventing uncontrolled competition between business entities in the process of meeting needs.

The term "stratification" comes from "stratum" (lat.) - layer and "facio" (lat.) - do. Stratification- this is not just differentiation, enumeration of differences between individual strata, strata in society. The task of stratification is to identify the vertical sequence of positions of social strata, their hierarchy.

The theory of social stratification is one of the most advanced parts of social theory. Its foundations were laid by M. Weber, K. Marx, P. Sorokin, T. Parsons. The basis of the stratification structure is the natural and social inequality of people.

In the English Dictionary of the Social Sciences, stratification is understood as a process as a result of which families and individuals are not equal to each other and are grouped into hierarchically arranged strata with different prestige, property and power.

All criteria social stratification must comply with the following principles (according to M. Weber and E. Durkheim):

1) all social strata of a given society should be studied;
2) it is necessary to measure and compare groups using the same criteria;
3) there must be no less criteria than is required for sufficient full description each layer.

P. Sorokin defined social stratification as “the differentiation of a given set of people (population) into classes in a hierarchical rank. It finds expression in the existence of higher and lower strata. Its basis and essence lies in the uneven distribution of rights and privileges, responsibilities and duties, the presence or absence of social values, power and influence among the members of a particular community ”? 5 ?. The stratification model of society ( stratum pyramid) was borrowed by P. Sorokin from geology. However, unlike the structure rocks, in society:

the lower strata are always much wider than the higher ones,

the number of layers is not strictly defined: it all depends on how many stratification criteria are taken into account,

the thickness of the layer is not constant, since people can move from one layer to another (processes of social mobility).

There are two main ways to stratify society, depending on the number of underlying characteristics:

1. One-dimensional stratification... It is based on one-dimensional strata, that is, strata distinguished according to any one social characteristic. This approach presupposes stratification of society according to the following groups of features:
1) age and sex;
2) national and linguistic;
3) professional;
4) educational;
5) religious;
6) by settlement.

Some researchers base the classification on other features as well.

2. Multidimensional stratification. At the same time, several features underlie stratification.

The second way of stratification is the division of society into:

1) socio-territorial communities (population of a city, village, region);
2) ethnic communities (tribe, nationality, nation);
3) the system of slavery (economic, social and legal form consolidation of people, bordering on complete powerlessness and extreme inequality);
4) castes (social groups, membership in which a person owes birth);
5) estates (social groups supported by established customs or laws, and in which rights and obligations are inherited);
6) social classes.

The modern English researcher E. Giddens offers a number of differences between the class system and the slave, caste and class system:

1. Classes are not formed on the basis of religious beliefs. Belonging to a class is not determined by adherence to certain customs, traditions and morals. The class system is more flexible than other types of stratification. Labor is the basis of class division.
2. Belonging of a person to a particular class is often achieved by himself, and not given from birth.
3. An economic feature is the basis for assigning an individual to a particular class.
4. In other types of social structure, inequality expresses mainly the personal dependence of one individual on another. The class structure of society, on the contrary, is characterized by the personal independence of individuals from each other? 6 ?.

In sociology, there are several main approaches to stratification structure.

1. An economic approach whose supporters (K. Marx, E. Durkheim, and others) considered the division of labor as the main cause of social differentiation. K. Marx was the first to develop the theory economic basis classes. He linked the existence of classes only with certain historical forms of production development, where ownership of the means of production is distributed evenly between different strata of the population, as a result of which some exploit others, and a struggle is inevitable between them.
2. Political approach to stratification. Its founders are L. Gumplovich, G. Mosca, V. Pareto, M. Weber. Political stratification is the difference between politically dominant groups and the masses, in which the very vertical of the political hierarchy is built through the prism of belonging to certain political forces, and the level of possession of political power is the main criterion for distinguishing a particular political stratum. L. Gumplovich believed that the character class differences is a reflection of differences in power that also determine the subsequent division of labor and the distribution of social responsibilities. G. Mosca and V. Pareto considered inequality and mobility as related aspects of the same phenomenon, the movement of people between ruling class, the elite and the lower class - passive subordinates.
3. Functionalist concept social stratification, which is based on the ideas of T. Parsons, K. Davis, W. Moore. T. Parsons considers stratification to be an aspect of any social system. He proceeds from the premise that any action is inevitably associated with choice and evaluation. Generally accepted assessment standards allow ranking positions as above and below. Since the desired positions are not enough, in order to preserve the system, it is necessary to institutionalize inequality, allowing interactions to proceed without conflicts. The generality and general acceptance of the rating scale assumes coverage of all types of rewards, of which “respect” is considered the most important.

Each given person, according to Parsons, in fact enjoys respect, correlated with a graded hierarchy, his relative respect in an ordered total system differential appraisal is prestige, which means comparative appraisal. In turn, differentiated prestige is the basis of stratification.

Davis and Moore rightly believe that some positions in the social system are functionally more important than others, and require special skills for their implementation. However, the number of individuals with these abilities is limited. Therefore, these positions should be given stimulus in the form of differentiated access to society's limited and desirable rewards, in order to motivate talented individuals to sacrifice and acquire the necessary training. These differentiated rewards lead to differentiation of strata prestige and hence social stratification.

Modern studies of social stratification use the theoretical basis of the above approaches, and also proceed from the principle of multidimensionality of stratification measurements. The foundations of this approach were laid already in the works of M. Weber, who investigated the interdependence between various criteria of stratification. Weber believed that class affiliation is determined not only by the nature of the relationship to the means of production, but also by economic differences that are not directly related to property: for example, qualifications, skills, education.

Other criteria of stratification, according to Weber, are status and party affiliation (groups of individuals having a common origin, goals, interests).

American sociologist B. Barber, proceeding from the multidimensionality and interconnectedness of measurements, proposed the following concept of the structure of social stratification.

1. The prestige of the profession, occupation, position, assessed by the functional contribution to social development.
2. Power, seen as an institutionally determined right to influence the actions of other people, regardless of or regardless of their wishes.
3. Income or wealth. Different professional statuses in society have different capacities for earning income and for accumulating wealth in the form of capital; there are various chances of inheriting wealth.
4. Education. Unequal access to education predetermines the ability of individuals to occupy a particular position in society.
5. Religious or ritual purity. In some societies, faith is crucial.
6. Ranking by kindred and ethnic groups.

Thus, income, power, prestige, and education determine the aggregate socioeconomic status, that is, the position and place of a person in society.

In modern sociological science, various approaches to the analysis of social stratification coexist (activity-based, the concept of “emergence” of the emergence of unexpected criteria of social inequality, etc.).

From the point of view of the activity-activist approach to the analysis of social inequalities (T.I. Zaslavskaya), the social hierarchy of modern Russian society can be represented as follows? 7 ?:

elite - ruling political and economic - up to 0.5%;

the top layer - large and medium-sized entrepreneurs, directors of large and medium-sized privatized enterprises, other sub-elite groups - 6.5%;

the middle stratum - representatives of small business, qualified professionals, middle management, officers - 20%;

the base stratum - ordinary specialists, assistants to specialists, workers, peasants, trade and service workers - 60%;

the bottom stratum - low-skilled and unskilled workers, temporarily unemployed - 7%;

social bottom - up to 5%.

Social stratification makes it possible to represent society not as a disorderly heap of social statuses, but as a complex but clear structure of status positions in certain dependencies.

For assignment of statuses to one or another level of the hierarchy, the corresponding grounds or criteria must be defined.

Social stratification criteria - indicators to determine the position of individuals and community groups on the hierarchical scale of social status.

The question of the foundations of social stratification in the history of sociological thought has been resolved ambiguously. So, K. Marx believed that it should be economic indicators, which, in his opinion, determine the state of all other relations in society. Fact a person's possession of property and the level of his income he regarded it as the basis of social stratification. Marx came to the conclusion that the history of all societies, with the exception of the primitive and the future communist, is the history of classes and class struggle, as a result of which society rises to a higher level of development. Slaves and slave owners, feudal lords and peasants, workers and the bourgeoisie are irreconcilable in their social status.

M. Weber believed that Marx simplified the picture of stratification, and an accurate picture of inequality can be obtained using multidimensional criteria: along with economic situation must be considered prestige of a profession or occupation, as well as measure of power, which the individual or his social group possesses. Unlike Marx, he associated the concept of class only with capitalist society, where the market is the most important regulator of relations. People occupy different positions in the market, i.e. are in a different "class situation". Ownership and non-ownership are basic categories of all class situations. The aggregate of people in one class situation constitutes, according to Weber, a social class. Those who do not own property and can only offer services on the market are divided according to the types of services. Property owners can be differentiated according to what they own.

This approach was developed by P. Sorokin, who also believed that the position of an individual in the social space can be more accurately described not by a single, but by several indicators: economic (income), political (power, prestige) and professional (status).

In the XX century. many other stratification models were created. Thus, the American sociologist B. Barber proposed a whole complex of features for the stratification of society: the prestige of the profession; power and power; income and wealth; education; religious or ritual purity; the situation of relatives; ethnicity.

The creators of the theory of post-industrial society, the French sociologist L. Touraine and the American D. Bell, believe that in modern society social differentiation occurs not in relation to property, prestige, power, ethnicity, but in terms of access to information. The dominant position is occupied by people who own the strategic and new information, as well as the means of control over it.

In modern sociological science, the following indicators act as the bases of social stratification: income, power, education, prestige. The first three indicators have specific units of measurement: income is measured in money, power - by the number of people to whom it extends, education - by the number of years of study and the status of the educational institution. Prestige is determined based on a survey public opinion and self-assessments of individuals.

These indicators determine the aggregate socio-economic status, i.e. the position of the individual (social group) in society.

Let us consider in more detail the foundations of stratification.

Income- This economic characteristic the position of the individual. It is expressed in the amount of cash receipts for a certain period of time. Sources of income can be different income - salary, scholarship, pension, benefits, fees, cash bonuses, bank charges on deposits. Members of the middle and lower classes tend to spend their income on supporting life. But if the amount of income is significant, it can be accumulated and transferred into expensive movable and immovable property (car, yacht, helicopter, securities, precious items, paintings, rarities), which will constitute wealth. The main asset of the upper class is not income, but wealth. It allows a person not to work for a salary, it can be inherited. If life situation will change and a person will lose high income, he will have to convert wealth back into money. Therefore, high income does not always mean great wealth, and vice versa.

Unequal distribution of income and wealth in a society means economic inequality. Poor and rich people have different life chances. Possession of big money expands a person's capabilities, allows him to eat better, take care of his health, live in more comfortable conditions, pay for education in a prestigious educational institution, etc.

Power is the ability of individuals or groups to impose their will on others, regardless of their wishes. Power is measured by the number of people to whom this influence extends. The power of the head of the department extends to several people, the chief engineer of the enterprise - to several hundred people, the minister - to several thousand, and the President of Russia - to all its citizens. His status is of the highest rank in social stratification. Power in modern society is secured by law and tradition, surrounded by privileges and wide access to social benefits. Power allows you to control key resources. To master them means to gain mastery over people. People who have power or enjoy recognition, authority for their economic, political, spiritual activities, constitute the elite of society, its highest social stratum.

Education- the basis of general cultural and professional training in modern society, one of the characteristics of the achieved status. As society develops, knowledge becomes more and more specialized and profound, so a modern person spends much more time on education than a few hundred years ago. On average, it takes 20 years to train a specialist (for example, an engineer) in modern society, given that he must receive a secondary education before entering a university. The level of education is determined not only by the number of years of study, but also by the rank educational institutions who confirmed, in the manner prescribed by law (diploma or certificate), that an individual received an education: high school, college, university.

Prestige- the respect with which public opinion relates to a particular profession, position, occupation or an individual for his personal qualities. Formation of the professional and job structure of society is an important function of social institutions. The nomenclature of professions eloquently testifies to the nature of society (agrarian, industrial, informational) and the stage of its development. It is changeable, as is the prestige of various professions.

For example, in medieval society, the profession of a priest was perhaps the most prestigious, which cannot be said about modern society. In the 30s. last century, millions of boys dreamed of becoming pilots. The names of V.P. were on everyone's lips. Chkalova, M.V. Vodopyanova, N.P. Kamanin. In the postwar years and especially after the deployment of the scientific and technological revolution in the middle of the 20th century. the prestige of the engineering profession has grown in society, and the computerization of the 90s. updated the professions of computer specialists, programmers.

The most prestigious at all times were considered professions associated with access to valuable resources for a given society - money, scarce goods, power or knowledge, information. A person, as a rule, seeks to emphasize his own high prestige with appropriate status symbols: clothes, accessories, an expensive car brand, awards.

In sociological science, there is such a thing as a ladder of professional prestige. It is a diagram that reflects the degree of public respect accorded to a particular profession. The basis for its construction is the study of public opinion. Such polls are especially popular in the USA. An example of a scale constructed by American researchers on the basis of summarizing the results of public opinion polls conducted in 1949-1982 is given in table. 6. (The highest score awarded to the profession is 100, the lowest is 1.)

Scale of professional prestige

Table 6

Type of occupation		Type of occupation
		Typist
College professor		Plumber


		Watchmaker
		Stewardess

		Baker
		Shoemaker
Civil engineer		Bulldozer
Sociologist		Truck driver
Political scientist
Mathematician		Salesman
School teacher
Accountant		Housekeeper
Librarian		Railroad worker
Specialist, on computers

The reporter		Waiter
Office manager		Farm worker
Police officer		Housemaid
Musician		Plumber
Secretary
Firefighter		Shoe shiner
Postal clerk

Inequality- a characteristic feature of any society, when some individuals, groups or strata have greater opportunities or resources (financial, power, etc.) than others.

To describe the system of inequality in sociology, the concept is used "Social stratification" ... The word itself "stratification" borrowed from geology, where "Stratum" means a geological layer. This concept quite accurately conveys the content of social differentiation, when social groups are lined up in social space in a hierarchically organized, vertically sequential row according to some measuring criterion.

In Western sociology, there are several concepts of stratification. West German sociologist R. Dahrendorf proposed to put the basis of social stratification political concept "authority" , which, in his opinion, most accurately characterizes the relationship of power and the struggle between social groups for power. Based on this approach R. Dahrendorf represented the structure of society, consisting of managers and governed. He, in turn, divided the first into managing owners and managing non-owners, or bureaucratic managers. He also divided the latter into two subgroups: the highest, or labor aristocracy, and the lowest, low-skilled workers. Between these two main groups, he placed the so-called "New middle class" .

American sociologist L. Warner identified as the defining features of stratification four parameters :

The prestige of the profession;

Education;

Ethnicity.

Thus, he determined six main classes :

upper-upper class included rich people. But the main criterion for distinguishing them was "noble origin";

IN lower upper class also included people of high income, but they did not come from aristocratic families. Many of them had only recently become rich, prided themselves on it and were eager to flaunt their luxurious clothes, jewelry and luxurious cars;

upper middle class consisted of highly educated intellectuals, and business people, lawyers, capital owners;

lower middle class represented mainly by clerks and other "white collars" (secretaries, bank tellers, clerks);

upper class lower class were "blue collars" - factory workers and other manual workers;

Finally, underclass included the poorest and most marginalized members of society.

Another American sociologist B. Barber stratified on six indicators :

Prestige, profession, power and might;

Income level;

The level of education;

Degree of religiosity;

The situation of relatives;

Ethnicity.

French sociologist A. Touraine considered that all these criteria were already outdated, and suggested defining groups for access to information. The dominant position, in his opinion, is occupied by those people who have access to the greatest amount of information.

P. Sorokin singled out three criteria stratification:

Income level (rich and poor);

Political status (with and without power);

Professional roles (teachers, engineers, doctors, etc.).

T. Parsons supplemented these signs with new criteria :

quality characteristics inherent in people from birth (nationality, gender, family ties);

role characteristics (position, level of knowledge; professional training, etc.);

"Characteristics of possession" (the presence of property, material and spiritual values, privileges, etc.).

In modern post-industrial society, it is customary to distinguish four main stratification variables :

Income level;

Attitude towards power;

The prestige of the profession;

The level of education.

Income- the number of cash receipts of an individual or family for a certain period of time (month, year). Income is the amount of money received in the form of salaries, pensions, benefits, alimony, royalties, deductions from profits. Income is measured in rubles or dollars, which an individual receives (individual income) or family (family income). Income is most often spent on maintaining life, but if it is very high, then it accumulates and turns into wealth.

Wealth- accumulated income, that is, the amount of cash or materialized money. In the second case, they are called movable (car, yacht, securities, etc.) and immovable (house, works of art, treasures) property. Wealth is usually inherited , which can be received by both working and non-working heirs, and income - only working. The main asset of the upper class is not income, but accumulated property. The share of the salary is small. For the middle and lower classes, the main source of livelihood is income, since in the first case, if there is wealth, it is insignificant, and in the second it is not at all. Wealth allows you not to work, and its absence forces you to work for a salary.

Wealth and income are unevenly distributed and mean economic inequality. Sociologists interpret it as an indicator that different groups population have unequal life chances. They buy different quantities and qualities of food, clothing, housing, etc. But apart from obvious economic advantages, the well-to-do strata have hidden privileges. The poor have shorter lives (even if they enjoy all the benefits of medicine), less educated children (even if they go to the same public schools), etc.

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

Power is measured by the number of people to whom the decision is made. The essence of power is the ability to impose one's will against the wishes of other people. In a complex society, power is institutionalized , that is, it is protected by laws and tradition, surrounded by privileges and wide access to social benefits, allows making decisions that are vital for society, including laws that are usually beneficial to the upper class. In all societies, people with some form of power - political, economic or religious - constitute an institutionalized elite. . It determines the domestic and foreign policy of the state, directing it in a direction favorable to itself, which other classes are deprived of.

Three scales of stratification - income, education, and power - have quite objective units of measurement: dollars, years, people. Prestige stands outside this series, since it is a subjective indicator. Prestige - respect, which is enjoyed in public opinion by this or that profession, position, occupation.

Generalization of the above criteria allows us to represent the process of social stratification as a multifaceted stratification of people and groups in society on the basis of ownership (or not ownership) of property, power, certain levels of education and vocational training, ethnic characteristics, gender and age characteristics, socio-cultural criteria, political positions, social statuses. and roles.

Can be distinguished nine types of historical stratification systems that can be used to describe any social organism, namely:

Physico-genetic,

Slave-owning,

Caste,

Estates,

Etakratic,

Socio-professional,

Class,

Cultural and symbolic,

Cultural and normative.

All nine types of stratification systems are nothing more than “ideal types”. Any real society is a complex mixture of them, a combination. In reality, stratification types are intertwined, complement each other.

basis of the first type - physical and genetic stratification system – lies the differentiation of social groups according to "natural", socio-demographic characteristics. Here, the attitude towards a person or a group is determined by gender, age and the presence of certain physical qualities- strength, beauty, dexterity. Accordingly, the weaker, with physical disabilities are considered flawed and occupy a degraded 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 reproduce to this day. It manifests itself especially strongly in communities struggling for physical survival or expansion of their living space.

The second stratification system is slave – also based on direct violence. But inequality here is determined not by physical, but by military-legal coercion. Social groups differ in the presence or absence of civil and property rights. Certain social groups are completely deprived of these rights and, moreover, on a par with things, are turned into an object of private property. Moreover, this position is most often inherited and thus fixed in generations. Examples of slave systems are very diverse. This is ancient slavery, where the number of slaves sometimes exceeded the number of free citizens, and slavery in Russia during the "Russian Truth", and plantation slavery in the south of the North American United States before the Civil War of 1861-1865, this is, finally, the work of prisoners of war and deported persons on German private farms during the Second World War.

The third type of stratification system is caste . It is based on ethnic differences, which, in turn, are reinforced by religious order and religious rituals. Each caste is a closed, as far as possible, endogamous group, which is assigned a strictly defined place in the social hierarchy. This place appears as a result of the isolation of the functions of each caste in the system of division of labor. There is a clear list of occupations that members of a particular caste can engage in: priestly, military, agricultural. Since the position in the caste system is inherited, the possibilities for social mobility here are extremely limited. And the more pronounced caste, the more closed this society turns out to be. India is rightfully considered a classic example of a society dominated by a caste system (legally, this system was abolished here only in 1950). There were 4 main castes in India : brahmanas (priests) kshatriyas (warriors), vaisyas (merchants), sudras (workers and peasants) and about 5 thousand non-main castes and podcast . There were especially untouchables who did not belong to castes and occupied the lowest social position. Today, albeit in a smoother form, the caste system is reproduced not only in India, but, for example, in the clan system of the Central Asian states.

The fourth type is presented estate stratification system . In this system, groups differ in legal rights, which, in turn, are rigidly linked to their responsibilities and are directly dependent on these responsibilities. Moreover, the latter imply obligations to the state, enshrined in legislation. Some estates are obliged to carry out military or bureaucratic service, others - "tax" in the form of taxes or labor duties. Examples of developed estate systems are feudal Western European societies or feudal Russia. So, class division is, first of all, legal, and not ethnic-religious or economic division. It is also important that belonging to the class is inherited, contributing to the relative closeness of this system.

Some similarities with the estate system are observed in the fifth type of etacratic system (from French and Greek - "state power"). 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 for mobilizing and distributing resources, as well as according to the privileges that these groups are able to extract 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 corresponding power hierarchies. All other differences - demographic and religious-ethnic, economic and cultural - play a derivative role. The scale and nature of differentiation (the scope of power) in the etacratic system are under the control of the state bureaucracy. In this case, hierarchies can be fixed formally and legally - through bureaucratic tables of ranks, military regulations, assignment of categories government agencies, - or may remain outside the sphere of state legislation (a clear example is the system of the Soviet party nomenklatura, the principles of which are not spelled out in any laws). Formal freedom of members of society (with the exception of dependence on the state), the absence of automatic inheritance of positions of power are also distinguished etacratic system from the estate system. Etakratic system manifests itself with the greater force, the more authoritarian the government takes on.

In line with social and professional stratification system groups are divided according to the content and conditions of their work. A special role is played by qualification requirements presented to a particular professional role - possession of relevant experience, skills and abilities. The approval and maintenance of hierarchical orders in this system is carried out with the help of certificates (diplomas, ranks, licenses, patents), which fix the level of qualifications and the ability to perform certain types of activities. The effectiveness 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. Social and 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 the structure of craft workshops of the medieval city and the category 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.

The seventh type is represented by the most popular class system ... The class approach is often opposed to the stratification one. But class division is only a special case of social stratification. In the socio-economic interpretation, classes represent social groups of politically and legally free citizens. The differences between these groups lie in the nature and size of ownership of the means of production and the product produced, as well as in the level of income received and personal material well-being. Unlike many previous types, belonging to classes - bourgeois, proletarians, independent farmers, etc. - is not regulated by the highest authorities, is not established by law and is not inherited (property and capital are transferred, but not the status itself). In its pure form, the class system does not contain any internal formal barriers at all (economic prosperity automatically transfers you to a higher group).

Another stratification system can be conditionally called cultural and symbolic . Differentiation arises here from differences in access to socially significant information, unequal opportunities to filter and interpret this information, the ability to be a carrier of sacred knowledge (mystical or scientific). In ancient times, this role was assigned to priests, magicians and shamans, in the Middle Ages - to ministers 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 to communicate with divine forces, to possess the truth, to express the state's interest existed always and everywhere. And a higher position in this respect 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, and who own the best symbolic capital.

Finally, the last, ninth type of stratification system should be called culturally normative . Here differentiation is built on differences of respect and prestige arising from the comparison of lifestyle and norms of behavior followed by a given person or group. Attitude to the physical and mental labor, consumer tastes and habits, communication manners 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 "others", but also the ranking of groups ("noble - ignoble", "decent - dishonest", "elite - ordinary people - bottom").

The concept of stratification (from the Latin stratum - layer, layer) means the stratification of society, differences in the social status of its members. Social stratification is a system of social inequality, consisting of hierarchically arranged social strata (strata). All people belonging to a particular stratum occupy approximately the same position and have common status characteristics.

Stratification criteria

Different sociologists explain differently the reasons for social inequality and, consequently, social stratification. Thus, according to the Marxist school of sociology, inequality is based on property relations, the nature, degree and form of ownership of the means of production. According to functionalists (K. Davis, W. Moore), the distribution of individuals according to social strata depends on the importance of their professional activities and the contribution that they make with their labor to the achievement of the goals of society. Supporters of the exchange theory (J. Homans) believe that inequality in society arises due to the unequal exchange of the results of human activity.

One of the founders of the theory of stratification P. Sorokin identified three types of stratification structures:

§ economic (according to the criteria of income and wealth);

§ political (according to the criteria of influence and power);

§ professional (according to the criteria of mastery, professional skills, successful performance of social roles).

The founder of structural functionalism T. Parsons proposed three groups of differentiating features:

§ the qualitative characteristics of people that they possess from birth (ethnicity, family ties, gender and age characteristics, personal qualities and abilities);

§ role characteristics, determined by the set of roles performed by an individual in society (education, position, various types of professional labor activity);

§ characteristics due to the possession of material and spiritual values (wealth, property, privileges, the ability to influence and control other people, etc.).

In modern sociology, it is customary to distinguish the following main criteria for social stratification:

§ income - the amount of cash receipts for a certain period (month, year);

§ wealth - accumulated income, i.e. the amount of cash or materialized money (in the second case, they act in the form of movable or immovable property);

§ power - the ability and ability to exercise one's will, to exert a decisive influence on the activities of other people through various means (authority, law, violence, etc.). Power is measured by the number of people it extends to;

§ education - a set of knowledge, skills and abilities acquired in the learning process. Educational level is measured by the number of years of study;

§ prestige is a public assessment of the attractiveness, significance of a particular profession, position, or a certain occupation.

Despite the variety of different models of social stratification that currently exist in sociology, most scientists distinguish three main classes: upper, middle and lower. Moreover, the share of the upper class in industrially developed societies is approximately 5-7%; middle - 60-80% and lower - 13-35%.

In some cases, sociologists carry out a certain division within each class. For example, the American sociologist W.L. Warner (1898-1970), in his famous study of Yankee City, identified six classes:

§ upper-upper class (representatives of influential and wealthy dynasties with significant resources of power, wealth and prestige);

§ lower-upper class ("new rich" - bankers, politicians who do not have a noble birth and did not manage to create powerful role-playing clans);

§ upper-middle class (successful businessmen, lawyers, entrepreneurs, scientists, managers, doctors, engineers, journalists, cultural and art workers);

§ lower-middle class (employees - engineers, clerks, secretaries, office workers and other categories, which are usually called "white collars");

§ upper-lower class (workers engaged primarily in manual labor);

§ lower-lower class (beggars, unemployed, homeless, foreign workers, declassed elements).

Social stratification makes it possible to represent society not as a disorderly heap of social statuses, but as a complex but clear structure of status positions in certain dependencies.

For assignment of statuses to one or another level of the hierarchy, the corresponding grounds or criteria must be defined.

Social stratification criteria are indicators that allow determining the position of individuals and social groups on the hierarchical scale of social statuses.

The question of the foundations of social stratification in the history of sociological thought has been resolved ambiguously. So, K. Marx believed that these should be economic indicators, which, in his opinion, determine the state of all other relations in society. Fact a person's possession of property and the level of his income he regarded it as the basis of social stratification. Marx came to the conclusion that the history of all societies, with the exception of the primitive and the future communist, is the history of classes and class struggle, as a result of which society rises to a higher level of development. Slaves and slave owners, feudal lords and peasants, workers and the bourgeoisie are irreconcilable in their social status.

M. Weber believed that Marx simplified the picture of stratification, and an accurate picture of inequality can be obtained using multidimensional criteria: along with economic situation must be considered prestige of a profession or occupation, as well as measure of power, which the individual or his social group possesses. Unlike Marx, he associated the concept of class only with capitalist society, where the market is the most important regulator of relations. In the market, people occupy different positions, that is, they are in different "class situations". Ownership and non-ownership are basic categories of all class situations. The aggregate of people in one class situation constitutes, according to Weber, a social class. Those who do not own property and can only offer services on the market are divided according to the types of services. Property owners can be differentiated according to what they own.

The creators of the theory of post-industrial society, French sociologist A. Touraine and American D. Bell, believe that in modern society social differentiation occurs not in relation to property, prestige, power, ethnicity, but in terms of access to information. The dominant position is occupied by people who own strategic and new information, as well as the means of control over it.

In modern sociological science, the following indicators act as the bases of social stratification: income, power, education, prestige. The first three indicators have specific units of measurement: income is measured in money, power - by the number of people to whom it extends, education - by the number of years of study and the status of the educational institution. Prestige is determined on the basis of public opinion polls and individual self-assessments.

These indicators determine the aggregate socio-economic status, that is, the position of the individual (social group) in society. Let us consider in more detail the foundations of stratification.

Income- This is an economic characteristic of the position of the individual. It is expressed in the amount of cash receipts for a certain period of time. Sources of income can be different income - salary, scholarship, pension, benefits, fees, cash bonuses, bank charges on deposits. Members of the middle and lower classes tend to spend their income on supporting life. But if the amount of income is significant, it can be accumulated and transferred into expensive movable and immovable property (car, yacht, helicopter, securities, precious items, paintings, rarities), which will constitute wealth. The main asset of the upper class is not income, but wealth. It allows a person not to work for a salary, it can be inherited. If the life situation changes and a person loses high income, he will have to convert wealth back into money. Therefore, high income does not always mean great wealth, and vice versa.

Unequal distribution of income and wealth in a society means economic inequality. Poor and rich people have different life chances. Possession of big money expands the capabilities of a person, allows him to eat better, take care of his health, live in more comfortable conditions, pay for education in a prestigious educational institution, etc.

Education- the basis of general cultural and professional training in modern society, one of the characteristics of the achieved status. As society develops, knowledge becomes more and more specialized and profound, so a modern person spends much more time on education than a few hundred years ago. On average, it takes 20 years to train a specialist (for example, an engineer) in modern society, given that he must receive a secondary education before entering a university. The level of education is determined not only by the number of years of study, but also by the rank of educational institutions that have confirmed, in the manner prescribed by law (diploma or certificate), that an individual has received an education: high school, college, university.

For example, in medieval society, the profession of a priest was perhaps the most prestigious, which cannot be said about modern society. In the 30s.

XX century millions of boys dreamed of becoming pilots. The names of V.P. Chkalov, M.V. Vodopyanov, N.P. Kamanin were on everyone's lips. In the postwar years and especially after the deployment of the scientific and technological revolution in the middle of the 20th century. the prestige of the engineering profession has grown in society, and the computerization of the 90s. updated the professions of computer specialists, programmers.

Table 6

Scale of professional prestige

Type of occupation	Points	Type of occupation	Points
		Typist
College professor		Plumber


		Watchmaker
		Stewardess

		Baker
		Shoemaker
Civil engineer		Bulldozer
Sociologist		Truck driver
Political scientist
Mathematician		Salesman
School teacher
Accountant		Housekeeper
Librarian		Railroad worker
Specialist, on computers