The basis of social differentiation lies. Social differentiation

Modern concepts of social stratification.

Certain differences in the social status of people took place in the early stages of the development of human society, but this was based not on social, but natural (natural) differentiation– natural physical, genetic and demographic differences between people. A person's social status was determined by gender, age, and the presence of certain physical and personal qualities.

However, the decisive moments that determine the actual structure of society are factors associated not with natural physical-genetic and demographic differences between people, but with the phenomena of social differentiation.

Social differentiation– product more high level development of civilization. This complex phenomenon is generated not by natural, but by social factors of life and, above all, by the objective need of society for the division of labor.

Differentiation of activities manifests itself in the form of social differences between groups of people according to the nature of their labor activity and functions, and therefore according to lifestyle, interests and needs.

Social differentiation is often referred to as “horizontal differentiation.” The parameters that describe horizontal differentiation are called “nominal parameters”, in contrast to the “rank parameters” used to characterize people in a hierarchical plan. Hierarchy (from the Greek hierarchia - literally sacred power) is a form of building complex social systems based on subordination and subordination, when social groups are, as it were, “higher” or “lower” on the social ladder.

Nominal differences are established in society in the process of natural differences between people and as an element social division labor. Based on these differences between people in society, it is impossible to determine which of them occupies a higher and lower place in the social structure (example: you cannot put a man above a woman just because he is a man, just like people different nationalities).

Horizontal differentiation cannot provide a holistic picture of the social structuring of society. The full social structure of society can be described only in two planes - horizontal and vertical.

Vertical structuring arises due to the unequal distribution among people of the results of the social division of labor. Where the structural differentiation of groups takes on a hierarchical character, determined on the basis of ranking parameters, they speak of social stratification.

Based on the above comments, we can say that social stratification means a form of differentiation of society that takes the form of a social hierarchy - vertical differentiation of the population into groups and strata unequal in their social status. It is a hierarchically organized structure social inequality.

American sociologist P. Blau developed a system of parameters that describe the position of an individual in society in the vertical and horizontal planes.

Nominal parameters: gender, race, ethnicity, religion, place of residence, area of ​​activity, political orientation, language.

Rank parameters: education, income, wealth, prestige, power, origin, age, administrative position, intelligence.

With the help of nominal parameters, the adjacent positions of individuals are studied, and the hierarchical or status structure is described based on the rank ones.

At the present stage of research in the field of social stratification, a number of new paradigms have emerged. For decades after World War II, class theory served as the main conceptual model of Western sociology. K. Marx and its modifications. This was due to the existence of a number of societies that built their organization on the basis of Marxist ideas. The failure of the socialist experiment on a global scale led to the loss of popularity of neo-Marxism in sociology and a massive turn of researchers to other ideas, such as theories M. Foucault And N. Lumana.

N. Luhmann considers the very concept of social inequality as the result of an outdated discursive model of sociological thinking. In his opinion, social differences in modern Western society are not decreasing, but increasing, and there is no reason to expect that inequality will ever be eliminated. The negative meaning of the concept of inequality stems from the evaluative and discursive nature of the concept of social stratification. According to N. Luhmann, the paradigm should be changed and society should be viewed not as stratified, but as differentiated, that is, use the concept of functional differentiation instead of the concept of stratification. Differentiation– a value-neutral concept, which means only that society has internal divisions, boundaries, which it itself produces and maintains.

In addition, the class concept of stratification began to be increasingly criticized due to the emergence of other aspects of inequality - gender, racial, ethnic - to the fore. Marxist theory viewed all these aspects as derivatives of class inequality, arguing that with its elimination they would disappear by themselves. However, for example, feminists have shown that social inequality between the sexes existed long before the emergence of classes and persisted in Soviet society. Sociologists who study these aspects of inequality argue that they cannot be reduced to classes: they exist as autonomous forms of social relations.

Recognition of the fact that different types social inequality cannot be explained using a single monistic theory, leads to an awareness of the complexity of the real phenomenon of inequality and the establishment of a new paradigm in sociology - the postmodern paradigm.

American sociologist L. Warner proposed his hypothesis of social stratification. He identified four parameters as defining characteristics of a group: income, professional prestige, education, and ethnicity. Based on these characteristics, he divided the ruling elite into six groups: highest, highest intermediate, middle-high, middle-intermediate, intermediate-high, pro-intermediate.

Another American sociologist B. Barber carried out stratification according to six indicators: 1) prestige, profession, power and might; 2) income level; 3) level of education; 4) degree of religiosity; 5) the position of relatives; 6) ethnicity.

French sociologist A. Touraine believes that all these criteria are already outdated and proposes to define groups based on access to information. The dominant position, in his opinion, is occupied by those people who have access to the greatest amount of information.

Postmodern Sociology in contrast to previous concepts, it asserts that social reality is complex and pluralistic. She views society as many separate social groups that have their own life styles, their own culture and patterns of behavior, and new social movements as a real reflection of the changes taking place in these groups. Moreover, it assumes that any unified theory social inequality is more a kind of modern myth, something like a “grand narrative”, rather than a real description of a complex and multifaceted social reality that is not subject to causal explanation. Therefore, in its context social analysis takes a more modest form, refraining from too broad generalizations and focusing on specific fragments of social reality. Conceptual constructs based on the most general categories, such as “classes” or “gender,” give way to concepts like “difference,” “divergence,” and “fragmentation.” For example, representatives of poststructuralism D. Harway And D. Riley They believe that the use of the category “women” indicates a simplified binary understanding of gender stratification and disguises its real complexity. Note that the concept of fragmentation is not new. Recognition of the fact that classes have internal divisions dates back to the era of K. Marx and M. Weber. However, at present, interest in studying the nature of fragmentation has increased, as it has become clear that it takes various forms. There are four types of fragmentation:

1) internal fragmentation - intraclass divisions;

2) external fragmentation arising from the interaction of different dynamics of difference, for example when the gender practices of men and women differ depending on their age, ethnicity and class;

3) fragmentation growing out of processes of social change, for example, caused by the feminization of modern labor relations, when polarization arises between young women who have education and career prospects, and older women with less high qualifications who do not have such prospects and continue to work in low-paid jobs simple labor;

4) fragmentation, which entails the growth of individualism, tearing a person out of the usual group and family environment, encouraging him to greater mobility and a sharp change in life style compared to his parents.

Fragmentation involves interactions between different dimensions of inequality. Many individuals exist as if at the intersection of social dynamics - class, gender, ethnicity, age, regional, etc. At the same time, they talk about the multi-positionality of such individuals, which opens up space for many ways of social identification. That is why, he claims F. Bradley, it is impossible to develop such an abstract general theory of inequality.

Another interesting concept related to the phenomenon of fragmentation is built on the concept of “hybridity”. Under hybridity here is understood as an intermediate state between different social loci. To understand what this is, let's look at the example that leads D. Harway. A social hybrid is a kind of cyborg, devoid of gender differences due to the fact that it is a half-mechanism, half-organism. The concept of social hybridity can be very fruitful in the study of class. It seems to challenge the tradition of class analysis, which consists of firmly anchoring individuals in social structures. In fact, in modern society only a few feel their absolute identification with any particular class. Changes in the economy, rising unemployment and expansion of the mass education system have led to high degree social mobility. People often change their class localization and end their lives belonging to a class other than the one to which they belonged from birth. All such situations can be considered as manifestations of social hybridity.

structural division of a relatively homogeneous social whole or part thereof into separate qualitatively different elements (parts, forms, levels, classes). Social differentiation means both the process of dismemberment and its consequences.

The creator of the theory of social differentiation is the English philosopher Spencer ( late XIX V.). He borrowed the term "differentiation" from biology, considering differentiation and integration as the main elements of the universal evolution of matter from simple to complex in biological, psychological and social levels. In his work “Fundamentals of Sociology,” G. Spencer developed the position that primary organic differentiations correspond to primary differences in the relative state of the parts of the organism, namely, “being located from the inside.” Having described primary differentiation, Spencer formulated two patterns of this process. The first is dependence in interaction social institutions from the level of organization of society as a whole: low level is determined by weak integration of parts, high - by a stronger dependence of each part on all others. The second is an explanation of the mechanism of social differentiation and the origin of social institutions as a consequence of the fact that “in the individual, as in the social, the process of aggregation is constantly accompanied by the process of organization,” and the latter is subordinated in both cases to one general law, which lies in the fact that sequential differentiation always occurs from the more general to the more specific, i.e. the transformation of homogeneous into heterogeneous accompanies evolution. Analyzing the regulatory system, thanks to which the unit is able to act as a single whole, Spencer comes to the conclusion that its complexity depends on the degree of differentiation of society.

The French sociologist E. Durkheim considered social differentiation as a consequence of the division of labor, as a law of nature, and connected the differentiation of functions in society with an increase in population density and the intensity of interpersonal connections.

American sociologist J. Alexander, speaking about the importance of Spencer’s idea for Durkheim regarding social transformation as a process of institutional specialization of society, noted that modern theory social differentiation is based on Durkheim's research program and differs markedly from Spencer's program.

The German philosopher and sociologist M. Weber considered social differentiation as a consequence of the process of rationalization of values, norms and relationships between people.

S. North formulated four main criteria for social differentiation: by function, by rank, by culture, and by interests.

In the taxonomic interpretation, the concept of “social differentiation” is opposed to the concept of social differentiation of theorists of the sociology of action and supporters systematic approach(T. Parsons, N. Luhmann, Etzioni, etc.). They viewed social differentiation not only as the initial state of the social structure, but also as a process that predetermines the emergence of roles and groups specializing in the performance of individual functions. These scientists clearly distinguish between the levels at which the process of social differentiation occurs: the level of society as a whole, the level of its subsystems, the level of groups, etc. The starting point is that any social system can exist only if certain vital functions are realized in it: adaptation to the environment, goal determination, regulation of internal groups (integration), etc. These functions can be performed by more or less specialized institutions and in Accordingly, differentiation occurs social system. With increasing social differentiation, actions become more specialized, personal and family ties give way to impersonal material relations between people, which are regulated with the help of generalized symbolic intermediaries. In such constructions, the degree of social differentiation plays the role of a central variable that characterizes the state of the system as a whole and on which other spheres of social life depend.

In most modern studies, the source of the development of social differentiation is the appearance in the system new goal. The likelihood of innovations appearing in it depends on the degree of differentiation of the system. Thus, S. Eisenstadt proved that the greater the possibility of the emergence of something new in the political and religious spheres, the more they separated from each other.

The concept of “social differentiation” is widely used by supporters of modernization theory. Thus, F. Riggs sees “diffraction” (differentiation) as the most general variable in economic, political, social and administrative development. Researchers (in particular, the German sociologist D. Rüschsmeier and the American sociologist G. Baum) note both positive (increased adaptive properties of society, expanded opportunities for personal development) and negative (alienation, loss of systemic stability, emergence of specific sources of tension) consequences of social differentiation.

Social differentiation

The word differentiation comes from a Latin root meaning difference. Social differentiation is the division of society into groups occupying different social positions. Many researchers believe that social stratification is characteristic of any society. Even in primitive tribes, groups were distinguished according to gender and age, with their inherent privileges and responsibilities. Here was an influential and humiliated leader, and his entourage, as well as outcasts living “outside the law.” At subsequent stages of development, social stratification became more complex and more obvious.

It is customary to distinguish between economic, political and professional differentiation. Economic differentiation is expressed in differences in income, living standards, in the existence of rich, poor and middle layers of the population. The division of society into managers and governed, political leaders and the masses is a manifestation of political differentiation. Professional differentiation can include the identification of different groups in society according to their type of activity and occupation. Moreover, some professions are considered more prestigious than others. Thus, clarifying the concept of social differentiation, we can say that it means not just the identification of any groups, but also a certain inequality between them in terms of their social status, the scope and nature of rights, privileges and responsibilities, prestige and influence. Is this inequality removable? There are different answers to this question. For example, the Marxist doctrine of society is based on the necessity and possibility of eliminating this inequality as the most striking manifestation of social injustice. To solve this problem, it is necessary, first of all, to change the system of economic relations, to eliminate private ownership of the means of production. In other theories, social stratification is also regarded as evil, but it cannot be eliminated. People must accept this situation as inevitable.

According to another point of view, inequality is regarded as a positive phenomenon. It makes people strive for improvement public relations. Social homogeneity will lead society to destruction. At the same time, many researchers note that in most developed countries there is a decrease in social polarization, the middle strata are increasing and the groups belonging to the extreme social poles are decreasing.

Trends in the development of social relations

Societies that have entered the era of industrialization and modernization are distinguished by high social dynamics. Groups associated with major industrial production, the urban population is growing.

Significant social changes are taking place in developed Western countries. One trend is the rise of a “new” middle class. It includes the majority of the intelligentsia, middle and lower managers, and highly qualified workers. The incomes of these strata, in most cases employed, are no lower than those of the middle and petty bourgeoisie (“old” middle class). The growth of the middle class reduces social differentiation and makes society more politically stable.

This group of countries has a large proportion of the population employed. At the same time, structural changes in the economy are leading to a reduction in the size of the industrial working class. There are also fewer independent peasants (farmers). At the same time, under the influence of the scientific and technological revolution, the importance of highly qualified mental labor is increasing. Acute social problem unemployment still remains. Certain regulatory impact on social relations strives to provide government. In some cases, the state supports ideas social equality, and in extreme cases - evenness. This applies, for example, to former socialist countries, present-day Cuba, and North Korea.

IN Western countries One of the main concerns of the state is the prevention of social conflicts. Much is being done to support the most vulnerable segments of the population in a competitive economy - the elderly, the disabled, and large families.

Types of social groups.

Social differentiation

Reasons for differentiation:

1. private property

Social politics

Stratification theory

Main criteria for stratification

3. prestige

4. education

Social status of the individual and social roles.

Social status – This is the position of a person in society, occupied by him in accordance with age, gender, origin, profession, marital status. This is a specific position in the social structure of a group or society, connected to other positions through a system of rights and responsibilities.

The totality of all statuses occupied by one person is called status set .

One person has many statuses because he participates in many groups and organizations. He is a man, a father, a husband, a son, a teacher, a professor, a doctor, a middle-aged man, a member of the editorial board, an Orthodox Christian, etc. One person can occupy two opposite statuses, but in relation to different people: for his children he is a father , and for his mother a son.

In the status set you will definitely find main status. Main status name the most characteristic status for a given person, with which he is identified (identified) by other people or with which he identifies himself. The main thing is always the status that determines the style and lifestyle, circle of acquaintances, and behavior.

There are social statuses prescribed and purchased.

the second - profession, education, etc. Some statuses are prestigious, others - on the contrary.

Prestige – This is society’s assessment of the social significance of a particular status. This hierarchy is formed under the influence of two factors:

1. the real usefulness of the social functions that a person performs;

2. value systems characteristic of a given society.

The social status of an individual, first of all, influences his behavior.

Social role of the individual – This is a set of social functions acquired and performed by a person and the corresponding patterns of behavior. Social role - model of behavior oriented towards this status. It can be defined differently - as a patterned type of behavior aimed at fulfilling the rights and responsibilities prescribed by a specific status.

Each person has not one, but a whole set of social roles that he plays in society.

Their totality is called role system (role set).

A social role is impossible without such conditions as:

1. expectations of group members functionally related to this status;

2. social norms, fixing the range of requirements for fulfilling this role.

Social mobility

A person occupying a certain place in this structure has the opportunity to move from one level to another. This transition is called social mobility.

Types of social mobility

A high rate of vertical social mobility, other things being equal, is considered an important evidence of a democratic society.

Social elevators (social mobility channels)- These are social mechanisms that allow people to move from one social layer to another.

P. Sorokin (American sociologist of Russian origin) highlighted:

1. Army (Napoleon)

2. Church (Patriarch Nikon)

3. School, education (Lomonosov)

Other channels of social mobility:

1. Family and marriage (Catherine the First)

2. Party activities (Stalin)

3. Media (Malakhov, Ksenia Sobchak)

Family as a small group.

Types of families

1. According to the related structure there are:

extended families (multi-generation), which unite a married couple with children and one of the parents of the married couple under one roof

nuclear families - married couples with one or two children.

2. Scientists identify families full(two parents) and incomplete(where for some reason one of the parents or the parent generation is absent, and the children live with their grandparents).

3. Depending on the number of children, families are distinguished childless, one child, small And large families.

4. Based on the nature of the distribution of family responsibilities and the way the issue of leadership is resolved in the family, two types of families are traditionally distinguished.

Traditional, or patriarchal, family presupposes male dominance. Such a family unites representatives of at least three generations under one roof. A woman is economically dependent on her husband; family roles are clearly regulated: the husband (father) is the breadwinner and breadwinner, the wife (mother) is a housewife and childcare provider.

To the characteristics partner, or egalitarian, family (family of equals) This includes a fair, proportional distribution of family responsibilities, interchangeability of spouses in solving everyday issues, discussion of major problems and joint adoption of important decisions for the family, as well as the emotional richness of relationships. Social psychologists They especially note this feature, thereby emphasizing that only in a family of a partner type can we talk about mutual respect, mutual understanding and emotional need for each other.

5. By employment in social production:

single-career model(in a traditional society, the father was engaged in social production, the mother was engaged in housekeeping)

dual-career model

Family functions

Under family functions its activities are understood to have certain social consequences.

1. Reproductive function associated with the biological reproduction of members of society.

2. The new generation, replacing the old one, must master social roles, gain a wealth of accumulated knowledge, experience, moral and other values. This shows educational function.

3. Economic function covers various aspects of family relationships: housekeeping and family budgeting; organization of family consumption and the problem of distribution of household labor; support and care for the elderly and disabled.

4. The family helps a person find peace and confidence, creates a sense of security and psychological comfort, provides emotional support and maintains overall vitality. (emotional-psychological function). Scientists especially talk about recreational function, which includes spiritual and aesthetic aspects, including the organization of free time.

5. In addition, the family provides its members social status, thereby contributing to the reproduction of the social structure of society (social status function).

6. The family regulates the sexual behavior of people, determining who, with whom and under what circumstances can enter into sexual relations (sexual function).

Youth as a socio-demographic age group

Sociologists classify people between the ages of 16 and 25 as youth. Age boundaries are determined by specific historical conditions, the socio-economic situation, and therefore can be flexible.

The transition from youth to maturity is characterized by criteria

Main features of the youth subculture

1. challenging adult values ​​and experimenting with one’s own lifestyle

2. inclusion in various peer groups (informal youth groups)

3. unique tastes, especially in clothing and music

4. cult of power, radicalism

5. This is more of a cult of leisure than work (some representatives of the older generation believe that a significant part of modern youth does not live, but lives, does not work, but earns extra money, does not do, but pretends to do)

6. openness to innovation

Social features youth

1. mastering new professions. Pattern: than newer profession, the younger the age of its representatives

2. development of new territorial production complexes. The territorial mobility of young people is 5 times higher than that of other age groups (examples: virgin lands development, BAM)

3. cultural and intellectual mobility. Young people are the most active consumers of the latest scientific knowledge.

Ethnic communities. Nations and interethnic relations

Ethnicity (Greek - people) is a collection of people who have a common language, culture, and are aware of their historical unity. In the modern world there are at least two thousand different ethnic groups.

Forms of ethnic groups:

in primitive times - tribe

in ancient times and the Middle Ages - nationality

V modern times, the most developed and stable community - nation

A nation is an autonomous ethnic community, not limited by territorial boundaries, whose members are committed to common values ​​and institutions. Representatives of one nation no longer have a common ancestor and common origin. They do not necessarily have a common language or religion, but the nationality that unites them was formed thanks to general history and culture.

The nation emerges during the birth of capitalism. During this period, classes are formed, domestic market and a single economic structure, its own literature, art. On the basis of a single territory, language and economy, a single national character and mental makeup are formed. There is a very strong feeling of solidarity with your nation. National-patriotic and national liberation movements, interethnic strife, wars and conflicts arise as a sign that a nation has formed and is fighting for its sovereignty.

Signs of a nation:

1. community of territory;

2. common language;

3. community of economic life;

4. general features of mental makeup;

5. national professional culture;

6. national identity. An individual’s awareness of himself as an integral part of the nation, involvement in the common historical destiny and culture of the nation, worries about its past, present and future, orientation towards the goals and values ​​of national development.

How to determine a person's nationality? National self-identification.

Nationality is a private (personal) matter of the citizens themselves. Constitution of the Russian Federation, art. 25, paragraph 1: “Everyone has the right to determine and indicate their nationality. No one can be forced to determine and indicate their nationality.”

Nationalism and chauvinism

Nationalism is an ideology, the essence of which is preaching the uniqueness and/or exclusivity of one’s people, the priority of national values, etc.

The extreme form of nationalism is chauvinism, which preaches the exclusivity of one’s nation, opposing the interests of one’s nation to the interests of other nations, inciting national enmity and hatred.

Interethnic relations

Interethnic relations have always been distinguished by their contradictory nature - a tendency towards cooperation and periodic conflicts.

Causes of interethnic conflicts:

1. territorial disputes;

2. historically arisen tensions between peoples;

3. the policy of discrimination pursued by the dominant nation;

4. attempts by national political elites to use national feelings for the sake of their own popularity;

5. the desire of peoples to create their own statehood (SEPARATISM)

When resolving these conflicts, it is necessary to observe the humanistic principles of policy in the field of national relations:

1. renunciation of violence and coercion;

2. seeking agreement based on the consensus of all participants;

3. recognition of human rights and freedoms as the most important value;

4. readiness for a peaceful resolution of controversial issues.

Trends in the development of nations

The nature of national relations is determined by two interrelated trends:

differentiation

integration

Every nation strives for self-development, to preserve its national identity, language, and culture. These aspirations are realized in the process of their differentiation, which can take the form of a struggle for national self-determination and the creation of an independent national state.

On the other hand, the self-development of nations in conditions modern world impossible without their close interaction, cooperation, exchange of cultural values, overcoming alienation, and maintaining mutually beneficial contacts. The trend towards integration is intensifying due to the need to solve global problems facing humanity, with the successes of the scientific and technological revolution. It must be borne in mind that these trends are interconnected: the diversity of national cultures does not lead to their isolation, and the rapprochement of nations does not mean the disappearance of differences between them.

National politics

National policy is a set of measures of all branches authorities in the field of national relations.

National policies differ in goals and orientation, based on the priorities of state policy.

Goals, direction of inhumane totalitarian policies

Goals and content of democratic national policy

1. defending so-called ethnic “purity” 2. inciting racial hatred 3. violence in the interests of the domination of one’s state. These goals are realized by laws, organization, and encouragement of appropriate group behavior. Fascism is the most misanthropic expression of this anti-democratic policy.

1. legislative reinforcement of respectful attitude towards people of all nationalities, ethnic groups to their self-awareness, identity, 2. creation of the most favorable conditions for the free development of all peoples, 3. coordination of national interests, 4. warning and humane resolution interethnic conflicts. State, Democratic parties help ensure that these goals are shared by the population of the country.

The basic principles of state nationality policy in Russia are as follows:

1. equality of rights and freedoms of a person and citizen, regardless of his race, nationality, language, attitude to religion, membership in social groups and public associations;

2. prohibition of any form of restriction of the rights of a citizen on the basis of social, racial, national, linguistic or religious affiliation;

3. preservation of the historical integrity of the country, equality of all subjects of the federation, guarantee of the rights of indigenous peoples;

4. everyone's right citizen determine and indicate your nationality;

5. promoting the development of national cultures and languages ​​of the peoples of the Russian Federation;

6. timely and peaceful resolution of contradictions and conflicts;

7. prohibition of activities aimed at undermining the security of the state, inciting social, racial, national and religious hatred, hatred or enmity;

8. protection of the rights and interests of Russian citizens outside its borders, support of compatriots living in foreign countries in preserving and developing their native language, culture and national traditions, in strengthening their ties with their homeland

Social structure of Russian society

Causes of conflicts

1. possession by one of the parties of material and intangible (power, information) values, while the other party is either completely deprived of them or has insufficient values. It is not excluded that the dominance may be imaginary.

2. incompatibility of ideological attitudes and evaluative positions of various social groups (classes, estates, strata) of society;

3. people misunderstanding each other; differences of opinion and imposition of the opinion of one of the parties, psychological incompatibility of people

4. increased irritability, inflated level of claims (in interpersonal conflicts)

Types of conflicts

1. Depending on the spheres of human life in which conflicts occur, they are divided into

Family

Labor

Political

Ethnic

2. According to scale and volume they include

Interpersonal conflicts when the interests of individual people collide;

Conflicts between small and large social groups:

International conflicts arising between individual states and their coalitions.

3. By the nature of development:

Deliberate

Spontaneous.

Stages of conflict

Pre-conflict stage is a period during which contradictions accumulate.

Direct conflict stage- is a set of certain actions. It is characterized by a clash of opposing sides.

On post-conflict stage measures are being taken to finally eliminate contradictions

Types of social groups.

A) in terms of numbers – large (nations, classes) and small (family, school class)

B) according to the method of organizing and regulating behavior - formal (production team) and informal (bikers, emo)

Reasons for organizing people into groups:

1. groups help achieve common goals

2. groups allow you to satisfy psychological and other problems

3. Group membership contributes to the formation of a positive “I-concept”

Social differentiation- this is the division of society into groups occupying different social positions and differing in the scope and nature of rights, privileges and responsibilities, prestige and influence.

Types of differentiation, their manifestations

It should be noted that with the development of society, its social structure becomes more complex. Also, connections and relationships between people are becoming deeper and more complex.

Reasons for differentiation:

1. private property

2. complexity modern society, the need for division of labor

3. different abilities, psychological characteristics of people

Social politics

Social policy is a set of measures aimed at satisfying the material and spiritual needs of a person, as well as ensuring the social security of citizens who need special care from the state.

Social policy is designed to mitigate social inequality.

The traditional directions of social policy are:

1. organization pension provision And social insurance, medical service;

2. material and everyday services for the disabled and other categories of citizens in need of social protection (students, temporarily unemployed, orphans, etc.);

3. promoting the employment of citizens.

Stratification theory

stratification of society into different, often warring groups based on nationality, property, sociocultural, religious, political and other characteristics, which can lead to rivalry and conflicts.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

SOCIAL DIFFERENTIATION

differences between macro- and microgroups, as well as individuals, identified for many reasons. Attitude towards D.s. constitutes the specificity of different ideologies, political. currents and cultures At one pole - the attitude towards D.s. as an independent value, a source of social diversity; many social environments, levels gives a person the opportunity to choose, encourages him to be active and at the same time ensures complementarity or constructive contradiction of different lifestyles. Hence the dynamism and diversity of societies. development. In this context, special attention is given to individual differences. Recognition of the intrinsic value of each individual, her uniqueness, and therefore the right to her own self-affirmation, to autonomy in a group, society, and ethics. sense means high mutual tolerance, wide space for personal sovereignty. In politics In a sense, this means developed freedom of vertical and horizontal mobility, special minority status, as well as the individual taking responsibility for his own destiny, for the risk of his own choice. At the opposite pole is the attitude towards D.s. as a vice of society, a source of injustice and mass conflicts. Caused by D.s. property and status inequality inevitably leads to exploitation, the class struggle of the oppressed against the oppressors. Therefore D.s. needs to be overcome, and society needs to be leveled out, any social. differences. The individual in this orientation acts as an element of the whole, his value is determined by his contribution to the whole (organization, general work). Between both poles, intermediate variants of attitude towards D.s. have developed. Grounds for D.s. can relate both to objective signs (economic, professional, educational, demographic, etc.) and to signs of mass and individual consciousness. These reasons do not always coincide. Thus, certain groups of consciousness - macro- and microgroups - cover different professional, age and other groups (for example, according to ideology, cultural preferences). Analysis of D.s. very important for social management. processes. Especially during transitional periods of development of the society. This analysis has great importance, for example, to determine social the basis for reforms, i.e., searching for that category of the population on which this or that reform can be based. For example, the commercialization of the national economy requires the allocation of the so-called. socially active element of the society as structural education, which is the bearer of innovation in the company. As the society develops, some reasons for D.s. can grow (for example, property, ideology, etc.), while others can disappear (class), social. the significance of the third is smoothed out (gender), and the variability of the fourth may increase (religious). See also Concepts of social differentiation. Lit.: Prigozhin A.I. Perestroika: transition processes and mechanisms. M., 1990. A.M. Prigogine