Social dynamics. Social science. Social differentiation is the division of society into groups occupying different social positions and differing in volume and character. Where Social Differentiation Exists

Modern concepts of social stratification.

Certain differences in the social status of people took place in the early stages of the development of the human community, but this was based not on social, but natural (natural) differentiation- natural physical-genetic and demographic differences between people. The social position of a person was determined by gender, age, 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- a product of a higher level of development of civilization. This complex phenomenon is no longer generated by natural (natural), but by social factors of life and, above all, by the objective need of society for the division of labor.

Differentiation of activities is manifested in the form of social differences between groups of people according to the nature of their labor activity and functions, and consequently, by 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 way. 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 of the social division of labor. Based on these differences between people in society, it is impossible to determine which of them occupies a “higher” and who is “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 give a complete picture of the social structuring of society. In full, the social structure of society can be described only in two planes - horizontal and vertical.

Vertical structuring arises as a result of the unequal distribution of the results of the social division of labor between people. Where the structural differentiation of groups takes on a hierarchical character, determined on the basis of rank parameters, one speaks of social stratification.

Based on the above remarks, we can say that social stratification means a form of differentiation of society that takes the form of a social hierarchy - the vertical differentiation of the population into groups and strata unequal in their social status. It is a hierarchically organized structure of 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; on the basis of rank parameters, a hierarchical or status structure is described.

At the present stage of research in the field of social stratification, a number of new paradigms have emerged. For decades after the Second World War, the main conceptual model of Western sociology was class theory. 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 the massive turn of researchers to other ideas, such as theories M. Foucault and N. Luman.

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-discursive nature of the concept of social stratification. According to N. Luhmann, one should change the paradigm and consider society 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, meaning only that in society there are internal divisions, boundaries that 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. Marxist theory considered 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 of 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 of social inequality cannot be explained using a single monistic theory leads to the realization 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. As the defining features of the group, he singled out four parameters: income, prestige of the profession, education, ethnicity. Based on these characteristics, he divided the ruling elite into six groups: the highest, the highest intermediate, the middle-highest, the middle-intermediate, the intermediate-highest, the intermediate-intermediate.

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

French sociologist A. Touraine considers that all these criteria are already outdated and proposes to define groups 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, he argues that social reality is complex and pluralistic. It considers society as a set of separate social groups that have their own lifestyles, their own culture and behaviors, and new social movements as a real reflection of the changes taking place in these groups. In addition, she suggests that any unified theory of social inequality is more a kind of modern myth, something like a “great narrative”, 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 "sex" give way to concepts like "difference", "divergence" and "fragmentation". For example, representatives of poststructuralism D. Harway and D. Riley It is believed that the use of the category "women" indicates a simplified binary understanding of gender stratification and veils its real complexity. Note that the concept of fragmentation is not new. The recognition of the fact that classes have internal divisions goes back to the era of K. Marx and M. Weber. However, interest in studying the nature of fragmentation has now intensified, as it has become clear that it takes a variety of forms. There are four types of fragmentation:

1) internal fragmentation - intraclass divisions;

2) extrinsic fragmentation that arises from the interplay of different dynamics of difference, for example, when the gender practices of men and women differ according to 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 there is a polarization between young women with education and career prospects, and older women with less highly qualified who do not have such a prospect and are still engaged in low-paid simple work;

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

Fragmentation involves interactions between different dimensions of inequality. Many individuals exist, as it were, at the intersection of social dynamics - class, gender, ethnic, age, regional, etc. At the same time, they say that such individuals are multi-positional, which opens up scope 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 based on the concept of "hybridity". Under hybridity here we mean an intermediate state between different social loci. To understand what this is, let's look at an example that gives D. Harway. A social hybrid is a kind of cyborg, devoid of gender differences due to the fact that it is a half-mechanism-semi-organism. The concept of social hybridity can be very fruitful in the study of classes. It seems to challenge the tradition of class analysis, which consists in 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 the expansion of the mass education system led to a high degree of social mobility. People very often change their class localization and end their lives not belonging to the class to which they belonged from birth. All such situations can be considered as manifestations of social hybridity.

Types of social groups.

Social differentiation

Reasons for differentiation:

1. private property

Social politics

Theory of stratification

Main stratification criteria

3. prestige

4. education

The 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, sex, origin, profession, marital status. This is a certain position in the social structure of a group or society, associated with other positions through a system of rights and obligations.

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

One person has many statuses, as he participates in many groups and organizations. He is a man, father, husband, son, teacher, professor, doctor spider, middle-aged man, member of the editorial board, Orthodox, 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 there must be 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 way of life, the circle of acquaintances, the manner of behavior.

Social statuses are prescribed and acquired.

to the second - profession, education, etc. Some statuses are prestigious, others - vice versa.

Prestige - it is a public assessment social significance one status or another. This hierarchy is formed under the influence of two factors:

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

2. systems of values characteristic of a given society.

The social status of the individual, first of all, has an impact on her behavior.

The social role of the individual - it is a set of social functions learned and performed by a person and patterns of behavior corresponding to them. Social role - a behavioral model focused on this status. It can be defined differently - as a template type of behavior aimed at fulfilling the rights and obligations assigned to a specific status.

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

Their collection is called role system (role set).

A social role is impossible without conditions such 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 who occupies a certain place in this structure has the ability to move from one level to another. Such a 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(channels of social mobility) are social mechanisms that allow people to move from one social stratum to another.

P. Sorokin (American sociologist of Russian origin) singled out:

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)

The family is like a small group.

Family types

1. According to the related structure, there are:

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

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 parental generation is absent, and the children live with their grandparents).

3. Depending on the number of children, families are distinguished childless, one-child, few and large families.

4. According to the nature of the distribution of family responsibilities, according to how the issue of leadership is resolved in the family, two types of families are traditionally distinguished.

traditional, or patriarchal The family is dominated by the male. 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 earner and breadwinner, the wife (mother) is the housewife and educator of children.

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

5. By employment in social production:

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

two-pit model

Family Functions

Under family functions is understood as its activity, which has certain social consequences.

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

2. The new generation that replaces the old one must master social roles, gain accumulated knowledge, experience, moral and other values. This manifests itself educational function.

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

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

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

6. The family regulates people's sexual behavior by determining who can have sex with whom and under what circumstances. (sexual function).

Youth as a socio-demographic age group

Sociologists refer to the youth of people aged 16 to 25 years. Age boundaries are determined by specific historical conditions, socially economic situation and therefore can be mobile.

The transition from youth to maturity is characterized by criteria

The main features of the youth subculture

1. challenging adult values and experimenting with your own lifestyle

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

3. peculiar tastes, especially in clothes, music

4. cult of power, radicalism

5. it is rather a cult of leisure than work (some representatives of the older generation believe that a significant part of today's 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 functions of 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: development of virgin lands, BAM)

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

ethnic communities. Nations and international relations

Ethnos (Greek - people) - a set of people with a common language, culture, 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 - a tribe

in antiquity and the Middle Ages - nationality

in modern times, the most developed and stable community is the 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 don't have to have mutual language, religion, but the nationality uniting them was formed thanks to a common history and culture.

The nation arises in the period of the birth of capitalism. During this period, classes are formed, domestic market and a single economic structure, their own literature, art. On the basis of a common territory, language and economy, a single national character and mental warehouse is formed. Arises very strong feeling solidarity with their nation. National patriotic and national liberation movements, ethnic strife, wars and conflicts arise as a sign that a nation has been formed and is fighting for its sovereignty.

Nation signs:

1. common territory;

2. common language;

3. community of economic life;

4. common features of the mental warehouse;

5. national professional culture;

6. national identity. Awareness by the individual of himself as an integral part of the nation, participation in the common historical fate and culture of the nation, feelings for its past, present and future, orientation towards the goals and values of national development.

How to determine the nationality of a person? national identity.

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 the preaching of the peculiarities and / or exclusivity of one's people, the priority of national values, etc.

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

Interethnic relations

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

Causes of interethnic conflicts:

1. territorial disputes;

2. historical tensions between peoples;

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

4. attempts by national political elites to use national feelings for 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. rejection of violence and coercion;

2. search for consent based on the consensus of all participants;

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

4. readiness for a peaceful settlement of disputed problems.

Trends in the development of nations

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

differentiation

integration

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

National politics

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

National policy differs in goals, direction, based on the priorities of the state policy.

Goals, direction of the inhumane totalitarian policy

Aims and content of democratic national policy

1. upholding the so-called ethnic "purity" 2. inciting racial hatred 3. violence in the interests of 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 consolidation of a respectful attitude towards people of all nationalities, ethnic groups to their self-consciousness, identity, 2. creation of the most favorable conditions for the free development of all peoples, 3. harmonization of national interests, 4. warning and humane resolution ethnic conflicts. State, democratic parties help ensure that these goals are shared by the population of the country.

The main principles of the state national policy in Russia are as follows:

1. equality of rights and freedoms of a person and a 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 grounds 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 their 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 discord, hatred or enmity;

8. protecting the rights and interests of Russian citizens abroad, supporting compatriots living in foreign countries in the preservation and development of their native language, culture and national traditions, in strengthening their ties with their homeland

The social structure of Russian society

Causes of conflicts

1. the possession by one of the parties of tangible and intangible (power, information) values, while the other side is either completely deprived of them or does not have enough of them. At the same time, it is not excluded that the predominance may be imaginary.

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

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

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

Types of conflicts

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

Family

Labor

Political

ethnic

2. In terms of scale and volume, they include

Interpersonal conflicts when interests collide individual people;

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 This is the period during which contradictions accumulate.

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

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

Types of social groups.

A) in terms of numbers - large (nations, estates) and small (family, school class)

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

Reasons for grouping people together:

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 is the division of society into groups occupying different social status and differing in scope and nature of rights, privileges and duties, prestige and influence.

Types of differentiation, their manifestations

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

Reasons for differentiation:

1. private property

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

3. different abilities, psychological characteristics of people

Social politics

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

Social policy is designed to mitigate social inequality.

Traditional destinations social policy is:

1. organization of pension provision and social insurance, medical service;

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

3. promoting the employment of citizens.

Theory of stratification

In relation to modern society in sociology, three main classes are usually distinguished - the highest, the middle and the lowest. At the same time, the distribution of the population by these levels occurs on the basis of multiple criteria, where property, prestige, power, and education are among the basic factors. The significance of each of the bases of stratification, as a rule, is determined by the values and norms prevailing in society, social institutions and ideological attitudes (for example, if freedom is highly valued in modern Western society, then, accordingly, what it provides, i.e. e. material independence, high income, etc.).

However, in reality there can be much more layers than these three, which are conditionally distinguished as the main ones. Each of them, in turn, can be stratified into many subclasses and subgroups.

Indicative in this regard is the stratification model of the American sociologist W. Warner, widely known in sociological science since the 1930s, in which he identifies six main strata, or classes, in relation to American society:

1. The upper upper class - rich people with noble origins, major politicians. These are "aristocrats by blood", with a special way of life, impeccable taste and behavior.
2. The lower upper class - people of high income - owners of big capital (the new rich), military leaders, professors, as well as outstanding athletes, movie or pop stars who receive large fees.
3. The upper middle class - highly educated people engaged in scientific or prestigious work: prominent lawyers, doctors, actors or television commentators, university professors. They are called "golden collars".
4. The lower middle class - the so-called "white collars" - is the largest stratum of an industrialized society: office workers, medium-paid professionals, managers, teachers, middle-level teachers and even highly skilled workers.
5. The upper lower class - mainly the so-called "blue collar" - medium and low-skilled workers employed in mass production in local factories. They live in relative prosperity, but are poorly educated, have passive leisure and primitive entertainment, use profanity and often drink excessively.
6. The lower underclass - the unemployed or those who live casually, temporary work, lumpenized segments of the population: inhabitants of slums, basements, attics.

Returning to the three levels of the position of the population in society identified by most sociologists, it should be noted that their characteristics in the bulk coincide. Thus, the upper class (or elite) is always small in number and concentrates material, financial and political resources in its hands. The opposite position is occupied by the lower layer. If the bulk of the population is in this position, this means that in such a society there is a high level of social inequality.

In countries with a developed market economy (for example, the countries of Western Europe, the USA, Japan), the model of the social structure of society, according to experts, looks like a rhombus (“lemon”, “egg”): with a developed central part (middle layers), relatively small poles of the upper class (elite) and groups of the poorest strata. Approximately 60-80% of the population belongs to the middle class (Fig. 2.).

Rice. 2.

Rice. 3.

The social structure of many Eastern European countries is characterized by the figure of a pyramid pressed to the ground, where the majority of the population (80%) is “pressed” down, the rich make up its top (3-5%), and the middle class is extremely small (about 15%).

A similar picture is emerging in the countries of the former USSR zone. As the analysis of the largest CIS economies of the post-Soviet space - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan - showed, the vast majority of the population in these countries belongs to the category of the most needy and low-income strata, and medium- and high-income citizens either constitute a minority or are statistically absent (such a conclusion sociologists and statisticians do on the basis of the analysis of national reports on incomes and living wages) (Fig. 3.).

A similar pyramidal model is seen by specialists in relation to developing countries, for example, the Latin American model of social structure resembles the Eiffel Tower, where the wide base is represented by the poorest layers, the elongated middle part - by the middle layers and the top - by the elite.

As the experience of developed countries shows, inequality in the distribution of income decreases over time.

According to the hypothesis of the American sociologist G. Lenski, the level of social inequality decreases due to social development. The eras of slavery and feudalism were characterized by deep inequality. Lenski saw a lesser degree of inequality in relation to an industrial society, which he explained by a lower concentration of power among managers, the presence of democratic governments, the struggle for influence between trade unions and entrepreneurs, a high level of social mobility and a developed system social security which raises the living standards of the poor to certain acceptable standards.

How is social inequality measured? In world practice, there are various units for measuring social inequality: Gini inequality coefficient, Theil index, decile income inequality coefficient and others. Among them, it is widely used decile income inequality ratio(or income differentiation coefficient), which characterizes the degree of stratification of society and shows the ratio of the average income level of the richest 10% of citizens to the average income level of the poorest 10%. The higher the value of the DCND, the higher the level of inequality in society.

For 2010, the value of DKND was: in the Scandinavian countries -1:3-5, in the European Union - 1:5-8, in Japan and North Africa - 1:6, in the USA - 1:10-15, in Latin America - 1:30, in Africa -1:50.

In Russia, according to the data given in the journal Voprosy statistiki for 2002, since 1991 in the Russian Federation, DKND has regularly increased to 19 and even to 25 (with a norm of up to 10!). Today, according to the official data of the State Statistics Committee, the DNPC in Russia is 1:14-15, and, according to a number of sociologists, it is 1:30-40. For comparison: in the USSR, this indicator was in the range from 3.5 to 4.5; in tsarist Russia, according to approximate estimates, DKND reached 25-30.

The rule, when DC reaches 10, then conditions for social unrest are created in the country, does not apply in the USA - there this level of differentiation is considered normal in accordance with the prevailing liberal values among most Americans.

Who is considered poor? In world, including Russian, scientific practice, the definition of poverty is characterized by its ambiguity. It is understood as a certain level of income, and low monetary income, and the absence of other economic resources, and the inability to maintain perceived as "normal" lifestyle standards. In the most general sense poverty is a characteristic of the economic situation of an individual or social group, in which they are unable to satisfy a certain range of their minimum needs for existence. At the same time, poverty is a relative concept and depends on common standard standard of living in this society.

In the West, poverty is most often measured on the basis of the subsistence minimum, which sets the poverty line - the level of average per capita income. In this case, the poverty line is set through the ability to meet basic material needs, for which it is necessary to choose the minimum amount of necessary goods, and then determine their cost.

In the European Union, on the one hand, those citizens are considered poor whose income (including social benefits) is less than 60% of the salary in the country of residence. On the other hand, poverty in Europe is defined not by the level of income, but by the availability of material goods. Eurostat (European Statistical Agency) identifies 9 types of wealth: the ability to eat meat (poultry, fish) at least every other day, the presence of a car, washing machine, TV, telephone, the possibility of at least a week's vacation away from home, the ability to pay for unforeseen expenses (i.e. having savings), the ability to maintain the required temperature in your home, etc. If at least 3 of these material goods are absent, then the family should be considered poor.

In the US, the poverty standard is calculated from the subsistence minimum multiplied by a factor of 2.5, and is approx. 1 thousand $ per month. At the same time, the subsistence minimum is the cost of a set of material goods and services that provide the minimum allowable level of personal consumption.

On this basis, two main concepts have been developed and used in world practice in the approach to determining the level of poverty: the concept of absolute poverty as the absence of income necessary to meet the minimum living needs of an individual or family, and the concept of relative poverty as the ratio of the incomes of the lowest strata of society to all the rest. . With this approach, in some countries, those whose income does not exceed 50% (40% or 60%) of the average income in the country are considered poor. However, neither concept is applied in its pure form in practice.

By international standards poverty is not calculated from the subsistence level, but from the so-called median income (if we take the entire population and distribute it by income level, then where the 50 and 51 percent will pass, and the median network). If people have an income below this level, then they cannot maintain the standard of living that is considered generally accepted.

Another way to define poverty is to analyze the share of family income spent on food. The poorer the individual, the greater part of the income is spent on food, and vice versa. The rich pay only 5-7% of their income for food.

This principle is based on Engel's law, derived back in Ser. XIX century, according to which, the lower the income, the greater the share of the expenditure should be intended for food. With the growth of family income, absolute expenditures on food increase, but in relation to all family expenditures they decrease, and the share of expenditures on clothing, heating and lighting changes insignificantly, and the share of expenditures on satisfying cultural needs rises sharply.

Later, other laws of consumption were found: Schwabe's law (1868) - the poorer the family, the higher the share of housing costs; Wright's law (1875) - the higher the income, the higher the level of savings and their share in spending.

There is a practice of measuring poverty by the standard of living - if it is low, then it is considered that its representatives belong to the poor. However, it is rather problematic to measure poverty by the standard of living, since it does not always coincide with income.

For example, you can take two people, one of whom earns 14,000 rubles, and the other - 7,000. One has more income, but his mother is sick and the child is finishing school. The second has a working wife and no children, which are a lot of unaccounted for expenses.

There are other characteristics of poverty as well, such as accelerated deterioration. This is when incomes seem to grow (for example, a pension increases, an additional allowance is paid), but at the same time their growth does not ensure the restoration of existing property left over from ancient times. The result is a situation where there is a little more money, but life is getting worse.

In other cases, it is believed that the poor and the rich differ in the degree to which they satisfy their needs for cultural and household goods, especially more expensive ones that are not purchased very often.

In households with an income 3 times more than a certain basic level, there are 1.5 times more items of the group of cultural and household purposes. According to budget surveys, low-income groups have 1.5 times fewer refrigerators, 3 times fewer tape recorders, 9 times fewer cameras, and 12 fewer vacuum cleaners than high-income groups. The level of per capita consumer spending of low-income households amounted to approximately 30% of their value in high-income households [Dobrenko V.I., Kravchenko A.I. Sociology, T. 2.).

Despite the complexity of defining poverty, it should be remembered that this will have its own specifics depending on a particular society, on the standards of life adopted there, and on the range of needs, the satisfaction of which is recognized as socially necessary.

SOCIAL DIFFERENTIATION, any differences arising in the process of social interaction and fixed in the social structure between individuals, groups and their position (positions) in society.

Usually there are 4 main forms of social differentiation:

1) Functional differentiation (division of labor, professional and role) means the division of areas of activity: at the highest level - between politics, economics and culture; at the middle level - between multifunctional corporations; on the individual - between the economic specialties of individual workers.

2) Rank differentiation (caste, estate, class, etc. differences) reflects inequality in the distribution of scarce resources of any kind (power, property, status, prestige, privileges, etc.).

3) Cultural differentiation determines differences in values, lifestyle, mentality, in following different traditions, customs, norms and rules of behavior.

4) Competitive differentiation is built on the institutional recognition of individual achievements in education, in vertical social mobility, etc. (ranks, titles, awards, academic degrees, etc.). In reality, all these forms of social differentiation are intertwined and interdependent. Natural differences between people (age, gender, race, etc.) in different social systems acquire different meanings, turning into age categories, gender roles, discriminated groups and other positions in the social structure that determine status differences between people in the process of joint activities , in the transfer of cultural heritage, etc.

After G. Spencer, the functional and accompanying social structural differentiation is also interpreted as an evolutionary process of specialization of social roles, institutions and organizations in the performance of specific narrow functions, previously merged into one role or organization. Thus, the functions of education, science, social control, care, etc., concentrated in church institutions during the Middle Ages, were eventually taken over by special secular institutions. The functional specialization of individuals and social groups requires both interchanges between "equals", i.e., connections between those acting in equivalent social positions (horizontal social differentiation), and asymmetric relations along the line of power - subordination (vertical social differentiation, hierarchy). The totality of horizontal and vertical relations describes the structure of any social organization. In this description, it is important to highlight the transition of social differentiation into a special form - systemic social integration, differentially selecting connections that support the functional integrity and performance of the studied social system and not allowing the appearance of destructive discrepancies between its elements. In this understanding, both social differentiation and social integration that complements it are essentially used as adapted versions of the universal methodological principles of differentiation and integration from the general theory of systems and evolution.

Empirical and theoretical studies of social rank differentiation, closely related to the problems of social inequality, power and property, and therefore always dealing with people and groups in unequal social positions, form a special area of "social stratification theories" (stratification), including Marxist and Weberian class theories. . Sociologists attribute rank distinctions to all human groups and societies without exception, in view of the inescapability of inequality (even with the abolition of private property) as a necessary condition for any sociality. Without inequality, it is impossible to maintain motivation for a long time social activities. Developed social differentiation is an indicator of the evolutionary complexity of society. Since the time of Aristotle, who taught that there are free by nature and slaves by nature, to whom “to be slaves is both useful and fair”, the search and justification of harmonious correspondences between the natural differences of people in talents and abilities and the differences in their social positions has not stopped; in other words, the search for a natural scale of social rank differentiation for a “fair” placement of people in society. However, most social thinkers, starting with J. J. Rousseau, are of the opinion that it is impossible to rationally and scientifically prove a sufficiently significant connection between natural and social inequalities and, accordingly, between individual differentiation (due to random genetic inequality) and historically developing social differentiation. It cannot be destroyed, but the consequences of social differentiation can be mitigated and made tolerable for the poorest sections of society. In modern politics, this is achieved by encouraging a competitive form of social differentiation and endowing both the tops and the bottoms of society with the universal equal status of citizens in a democratic, legal, social state, the goal of which is to provide everyone with internationally recognized standards of quality of life, nutrition and consumption, achievable at a given level of civilization. .

Lit .: Lenin V. I. Great initiative // Lenin V. I. Full. coll. op. 5th ed. M., 1963. T. 39; Aristotle. Politics // Aristotle. Op. M., 1983. T. 4; Weber M. Fav. op. M., 1990; Radaev VV, Shkaratan OI Social stratification. M., 1996; Rousseau Zh. Zh. On the social contract: Treatises. M., 2000; Dahrendorf R. Paths from Utopia. M., 2002.

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"FINANCIAL UNIVERSITY UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION"

Department of "Macroeconomic regulation"

abstract

on the topic: "Social differentiation of societyTwa"

Completed by: Dudkin A.D.

Scientific adviser: Shmanev S.V.

Moscow 2013

Introduction
1. Concepts of social division

Sorokin's theory
Warner theory
Weber's theory

2. Conflicts associated with social differentiation
3. Social differentiation in Russia
Conclusion
Bibliography

Introduction

At all times of the existence of human society, from primitive communities to modern, more complex structures, it was natural for a person to distinguish and isolate certain groups of people from others in order to increase or decrease their social and economic status. In primitive tribes, the division was relatively simple: an influential and respected leader, his close associates, ordinary members of the communities, as well as those living "outside the law", outcasts.

At subsequent stages of development, social stratification became more complicated and became more and more obvious. The division of labor, duties, the emergence of a stratum of entrepreneurs, the middle class - all this led to the inevitable expansion and complication of social ties within both society and the whole world.

What are the causes of social inequality? Modern Western sociology is dominated by the opinion that social stratification grows out of the natural need of society to stimulate the activities of individuals, motivating their activities through appropriate systems of rewards and incentives. However, this stimulation in various scientific and methodological schools and directions is interpreted differently. In this regard, we can distinguish functionalism, status, economic theory and etc.

Representatives of functionalism explain the cause of social inequality by differentiation of functions performed by different groups, layers, classes. The functioning of society, in their opinion, is possible only through the division of labor, when each social group, stratum, class carry out the solution of the corresponding vital tasks for the entire social organism; some are engaged in the production of material goods, others create spiritual values, others manage, etc. For the normal functioning of a social organism, an optimal combination of all types of activity is necessary, but some of them are more important from the standpoint of this organism, while others are less important. So, on the basis of the hierarchy of social functions, a corresponding hierarchy of groups, layers, classes that perform them is formed. At the top of the social pyramid are those who general leadership and management, for only they can maintain the unity of the state, create the necessary conditions to successfully perform other functions.

Such a hierarchy exists not only at the level of the state as a whole, but also in every social institution. So, according to P. Sorokin, at the enterprise level - the basis of interprofessional stratification are two parameters: 1. the importance of occupation (profession) for the survival and functioning of the body as a whole; 2. the level of intelligence required for successful execution professional duties. P.A. Sorokin believes that the most socially significant professions are those that are associated with the functions of organization and control.

Consequently, high statuses and people occupying them are better rewarded, they have more power, the prestige of their occupation is higher, and the level of education should also be higher. So we got the four main dimensions of stratification - income, power, education, prestige. But because they exhaust the range of social benefits that people strive for. More precisely, not the benefits themselves (there may just be many of them), but the channels of access to them. A home abroad, a luxury car, a yacht, a vacation in the Canary Islands, etc. - social goods that are always in short supply (i.e. expensive and inaccessible to the majority) and are acquired through access to money and power, which in turn are achieved through high education and personal qualities. Thus, the social structure arises about the social division of labor, and social stratification - about the social distribution of the results of labor, i.e. social benefits. Speaking about the differentiation of society, one cannot but say about Russian society, which, at the moment, cannot be imagined without stratification division. Social differentiation was originally one of the foundations for the creation of a post-communist society in our country, one of the conditions for the formation of a fundamentally different view of man on the world.

1. Concepts of social division

Speaking of social differentiation, first of all, I would like to describe the modern concepts of social division.

Sorokin's theory

The famous sociologist P.A. Sorokin considered stratification as an integral characteristic of any complexly organized society. He saw the essence of stratification in the unequal distribution of economic resources, power and influence, rights and obligations among members of society. According to this sociologist, three main forms of stratification could be distinguished - economic, political and professional. Economic stratification was due to the unequal distribution of material and financial resources. The political one was associated with unequal access to power, and the basis of professional stratification was formed by the division of social labor and the formation of various professions, among which more and less preferred ones stood out.

Sorokin studied the features of social stratification in various societies. Considering economic stratification, he analyzed two hypotheses, which were formulated respectively by Karl Marx and Vilfredo Pareto. According to Marx, as capitalism developed, so did the stratification of society. Wealth was increasingly concentrated in the hands of large owners, which was accompanied by the impoverishment of large sections of the population. In contrast, Pareto put forward the idea that in all societies the share of economic wealth in the hands of the ruling class is relatively constant. But, as Sorokin showed in his study, in the end, both of these hypotheses were not supported by historical facts. The nature of economic stratification could change over time, but no permanent trend could be found in such changes.

In addition to the concepts of social division, Sorokin also introduced the concept of social mobility. Social mobility is a change in the place occupied by a person or a group of people in the social structure of society. The more mobile a society is, the easier it is to move from one stratum to another, the more stable it is, according to supporters of the theory of social stratification.

There are two main types of social mobility - vertical and horizontal. Vertical mobility involves movement from one stratum to another. Depending on the direction of movement, there is upward vertical mobility (social uplift, upward movement) and downward vertical mobility (social descent, downward movement). Promotion is an example of upward mobility, dismissal, demolition is an example of downward mobility.

With a vertical type of mobility, a person can make both rises, for example, from a cashier to a bank manager, and falls. An entrepreneur can lose part of his fortune, move to a group of people with lower incomes.

Having lost a qualified job, a person may not find an equivalent job and, in connection with this, lose some of the features that characterize his former social status. Horizontal mobility involves the movement of a person from one group to another, located at the same level, on the same step.

With this type of mobility, a person, as a rule, retains the main features of the group, for example, a worker moved to work in another enterprise, retaining the level of wages and the same rank, or moved to another city; the same in terms of the number of inhabitants, etc. Social movements also lead to the emergence of intermediate, boundary layers, which are called marginal.

Warner theory

Lloyd Warner, in his book Yankee City, presented the first large-scale empirical study of social stratification in the United States. Warner followed the Weberian tradition of status groups. He attempted to develop a standard index of status characteristics (a Standard Index of Status Characteristics), starting from such points as education, place of residence, income and origin. All these factors, according to Warner, are used by Americans in assessing their social value, in choosing friends for themselves and for their children. In contrast to Marx, Warner relied heavily on "subjective" criteria for stratification, i.e. on how members of a particular community (community) assess each other's social position than on such "objective" differences as, for example, income.

Warner's main merit in dividing American society into classes is considered to be a theory in which groups consist of individuals with the same prestigious rank. It was Warner who put forward the idea of the existence of a six-class structure (“reputation theory)” instead of the usual two or three-class structure, which included:

· The upper layer of the upper class - were rich aristocrats.

The lower layer of the upper class - included people of high income, but they did not come from aristocratic families, they flaunted their wealth, managed to “grow through the asphalt, have a strong character, arrogance and phenomenal enterprise.

The upper layer of the middle class - consisted of highly educated people engaged in intellectual work, and business people with high income: doctors, lawyers, owners of capital.

· The lower layer of the middle class - represented mainly by "white collars" (secretaries, clerks, clerks, cashiers).

· The upper layer of the lower class - were "blue collars" (skilled workers and other manual laborers).

The lower stratum of the lower class - included the poorest and most outcast members of the community, very similar to the lumpen proletariat (homeless vagrants, beggars and unemployed).

Warner defined classes as groups that are believed to exist by members of society and are located respectively at the highest or lowest levels.

Weber's theory

The famous sociologist Max Weber, conducting many years of research that laid the foundation for his theory of social stratification, brought to it his own, completely different from the vision of other theorists, a three-dimensional approach. The basis of his three dimensions of social stratification are: economy, power and prestige. Subsequently, these three dimensions were called autonomous by him. According to the theory of Max Weber, it is property, or rather, the types of its ownership, that make it possible for the emergence of economic classes, in which there are measures of access to power, the formation of political parties, and the prestige of some of them creates status groups.

Weber defines class as the ability of an individual to gain access to various goods and income in market conditions. Simply put, a class includes individuals with starting positions, professions, incomes, and access to resource opportunities. This sociologist, not without reason, believed that classes take place only in a society with a capitalist system, since it is this system that is determined by market relations. But in the conditions of the market, individuals are divided into two types: the first offer goods and services, and the second only labor. In turn, the former differ from the latter only in the quantitative possession of property. Like other theorists of sociology, Max Weber does not in any of his works have a clear classification of the structure of the society he studied, in particular, the capitalist one. Therefore, most sociologists who study the work of this theorist give us completely different lists, depending on their own interpretation. According to the general opinion, the classifications determined on the basis of the works of Weber by Radaev and Shkaratan are considered the closest. It looks like this:

Working class;

Petty bourgeoisie;

Intelligentsia and engineering and technical workers;

Administrative and managerial personnel;

Owners;

Landlords;

Entrepreneurs

The economic component, mentally divided into two parts, makes it possible to attribute to one of the parts the owners with an invariably positive attitude and the proletariat with its negative attitudes due to the lack of property and, by and large, qualifications for its possible implementation in market conditions. With such a stratification in the center, a middle class is formed, which includes small owners and people who have certain skills and knowledge required in market conditions. The next division according to Weber's theory is the division based on prestige and the resulting vertical of status groups, in other words, the hierarchy. The basis in which communities serve, in which the concept of honor is formed, defined as any of the qualities appreciated by a large number of individuals in the community. Often this kind of assessment was associated with a class difference, in which property should be noted, or rather, the quantitative possession of it played an important role, and possibly the dominant one, but both people with property and those without property could be included in one status group. Max Weber considered the acquisition of honor (prestige) in status groups possible only by firmly assigning strictly exclusive activities to group members, imposing a ban on other individuals doing the same, in other words, monopolizing any benefits. This was manifested within the groups in the following way - the possibility of wearing certain clothes, jewelry, insignia, the production of a certain product, recreation separate and different from other individuals of the group to emphasize the exclusivity of members of this particular status group and possible strengthening and increasing the distance between groups. Also, to create exclusivity, marital relations of persons within the same circle and similar measures of isolation through exclusivity were widely used. All this led to the formation of a progressive isolation of the status group. Weber considered the third basis for social division to be differences in power, in turn giving rise to the emergence of parties in which people united according to their beliefs. According to Weber, a person belonging to a certain group has equal amounts of power, wealth and prestige, which are independent of each other. Parties, on the other hand, represent interests according to the status position of the individuals included in them and, of course, with the possibility of replenishing their ranks from their own status groups, but an optional condition for the formation of parties is class or status orientation, but rather loyalty to any status groups ideally.

Weber's only expressed agreement with other theorists who have studied the theory of sociological stratification is the acceptance of the existence of social differentiation as an axiom.

2. Conflicts associated with social differentiation

social inequality differentiation society

It is obvious that social differentiation generated by the difference in income, status, opportunities inevitably leads to conflicts in society. AT this case conflict will be a clash of opposing goals, positions, opinions and views of the subjects of social interaction. Understanding the causes of conflicts occurring in society, one can not only solve the problems of these particular conflicts, but also in general analyze the main consequences of the social differentiation of society.

Each of the sociologists studying the issue of social differentiation and conflicts associated with this concept, sought to give his own classification, supplementing or curtailing existing knowledge.

So, Max Weber gave a classification according to the direction of the conflict: purposeful and value-oriented. Purposeful actions strive for success, using the external world as a means, value-oriented actions do not have any goal and are valuable in themselves. The way of thinking of people of the first type of actions is the following: “I seek, I achieve by using others”, the second type of actions is “I believe in some value and I want to act for this ideal, even if it harms me.” The difference between the value and purposeful type of activity is that the goal is understood as the idea of success, which becomes the cause of the action, and the value is the idea of duty, which becomes the basis of the action. People in their actions can be both purposeful and value-oriented, but, nevertheless, they act in certain social relations in a non-isolated manner.

Karl Marx studied the theory of social conflict and came to the conclusion that conflict is inevitable in any group, organization, society. The main reason for the emergence of the conflict, Marx singled out the deficit and unfair distribution of resources and, of course, power. The negative consequences of the conflict are predetermined and a priori.

Georg Simmel, considered the founder of theoretical conflictology, argued that conflict in society is inevitable, because conflict is a natural component of some social processes. But unlike Marx's theory, in Simmel's theory conflict did not necessarily lead to negative consequences and destruction of social systems. The conflict also brought positive aspects to society - the strengthening of social systems, their cohesion. Simmel considered possible sources of conflict not only a clash of interests, but also the manifestation of hostility and aggression towards each other by people. Based on this, he singled out the factors guiding the nature of the conflict - the instincts of hatred and love.

Ralf Dahrendorf defines contemporary conflict as a conflict between resources and claims. Economic progress alone will not eliminate either unemployment or poverty. The majority class has found a relatively comfortable existence, defends its interests in the same way as other ruling classes did, does not seek to break the circle of deprivation of people who have sunk to the position of declassed. On the contrary, in troubled times, he actively pushes some of his fellow citizens beyond the threshold of society and keeps them there, protecting the position of those inside. Like the previous ruling classes, they find enough reasons for the need for such boundaries and are ready to "let in" those who accept their values. At the same time, they prove that there should be no boundaries between classes. They want to remove the barriers that divide society, but are completely unprepared to do anything about it. The majority class draws boundaries not only horizontally, but also vertically (racial-ethnic problem). Dahrendorf writes that the charms of a multi-ethnic society were wasted for the majority, who are more concerned about maintaining interracial barriers than about achieving openness. This state of society is a step back in the history of the development of citizenship. Affirmative action is needed: providing minorities and other disadvantaged with some social benefits in education and employment. A new type of "tarnished" liberalism has emerged, abandoning the great gains in the field of universal civil rights and norms in order to satisfy the separatist demands of national minorities. Minority rights were initially misunderstood and consequently turned into minorities.

Lewis Coser, approaching the problem of conflict, agrees with the works of G. Simmel, whose monograph "Conflict" is built around the main thesis: "Conflict is a form of socialization." For L. Koser, conflicts are not social anomalies, but necessary, normal natural forms of existence and development of social life. In almost every act of social interaction lies the possibility of conflict. He defines conflict as a confrontation between social subjects (individuals, groups) arising from a lack of power, status or means necessary to satisfy value claims, and involving the neutralization, infringement or destruction (symbolic, ideological, practical) of the enemy. The subject that causes the vast majority of conflicts are real social benefits recognized by both parties as such. The main causes of the conflict are the lack of resources and violation of the principles social justice during their distribution. The initiators of the aggravation of relations and bringing them to the point of conflict are most often representatives of those social groups that consider themselves socially disadvantaged. The more stable their confidence in this, the more actively they initiate conflicts and the more often they clothe them in illegal, violent forms.

As you can see, the authors social theories adhere, for the most part, to two opposite poles: conflicts in society, generated by various forms of differentiation, can be both negative for society, leading to irreversible changes, and neutral, being a special form of socialization for strata.

Modern conflictology has formulated the conditions under which a successful resolution is possible. social conflicts. Firstly, it is a timely and accurate diagnosis of the causes of the conflict. Secondly, it is a mutual interest in overcoming contradictions on the basis of mutual recognition of the interests of each of the parties. The third, indispensable condition is the joint search for ways to overcome the conflict. Here it is possible to use a whole arsenal of means and methods: direct dialogue of the parties, negotiations through an intermediary, negotiations with the participation of a third party, etc. The final, post-conflict stage is of great importance. At this stage, efforts must be made to finally eliminate the conflicts of interests, goals, attitudes of the warring parties, and the socio-psychological tension between them must be eliminated.

Based on the foregoing, I would like to note that the most effective way to reduce the level of tension in society associated with differences in strata is to facilitate the transition from one social group to another; which, in general, is implemented in modern society and the mechanism for this continues to improve.

3. Social differentiation in Russia

Despite the fact that the Russian economy after the collapse Soviet Union acquired clearly market and Western outlines, it is impossible to talk about the ongoing differentiation of society in the "Western" direction. The creation of a "middle class", free enterprise, the privatization of former state property - everything that political power was so striving for, although it reflected obvious changes in society in the process of leaving the communist system, it has its own unique features.

The formation of a post-industrial society in Russia is manifested not only in the creation of an information-technological basis for material and spiritual production, but also in the development market relations on the basis of various forms of ownership, a change in the mechanism of state regulation, a significant increase in the role of the service sector, large-scale concentration of production while lagging behind small and medium-sized businesses. The economic reforms carried out in recent decades have most directly affected the state of social groups and strata.

Most significant changes occurred in the content of social groups identified on the basis of the criteria of position in the system social production, division and spheres of application of labor. First of all, I mean the new parameters of the economically active population, which is most directly related to the production of goods and services. Statistical data show that a steady trend in the development of social differentiation in post-industrial countries has been an increase in the labor force (for example, in the USA it changed from 125.8 million people in 1990 to 153 million people in 2010); however, directly opposite changes took place in Russian society - a decrease in the quantitative parameters of the economically active population from 75.1 million people. in 1990 to 72.9 million people. in 2003 and only by 2010, it was possible to reach the figure of 75.4 million people, which was a reflection of the crisis development of the economy in this period. Also, I would like to cite the following data on the social gradation of Russian society: despite the steady growth in the number of employed people in the world (for example, in the USA - from 118.8 million people in 1990 to 139.0 million people in 2010), the dynamics of the average annual number of people employed in the economy in Russia was characterized by ambiguous indicators: 1990 - 71.2 million people, 2000 - 65.1 million people, 2010 - 69.8 million pers. The reduction in production volumes during the crisis led to a decrease in the parameters of the employed labor force. At the same time, the quantitative indicators of the unemployed group and its share in the economically active population increased from 3.9 million people. in 1990 to 5.6 million people. in 2010, which was largely a consequence of the ongoing processes of industrialization of the country.

Analyzing the works of well-known sociologists, one can come to the conclusion that in any developing society there is a so-called class of "entrepreneurs", which is a significant transition to a new round of development of economic relations. However, modern statistics show the opposite: the results of population censuses indicate that the absolute majority of those employed in the economy are employed (2002 - 58 million people (95%), 2010 - 61.6 million people). people (94%) We should also not forget about the spontaneous and extremely rapid formation of a class of entrepreneurs in Russia their quantitative composition has increased to 1.4 million.) The formation of large owners and the possibility of them receiving ultra-high incomes is directly related to the reckless privatization of state property, the transfer to the private sector of production and sale natural resources and redistribution of power. It also does not contribute to the development of entrepreneurship in modern Russia judicial and criminal law: so, according to Forbes magazine, every fifth convict in Russia in 2012 received a sentence precisely because of his entrepreneurial activity - be it incorrect conduct accounting, speculative operations or a simple desire of public authorities to maintain a monopoly in a particular area of activity.

Also, the aforementioned “polarization” leads to a certain intensity of relations in society: in a short period in Russia, a ruling class (large owners, top managers, politicians) was formed, characterized by an ultra-high level of income, and a lower class, uniting hired workers performing the functions of performing labor in various spheres of social production and characterized by a low level of income (according to this indicator up to 70% of the population can now be classified as underclass).

Finally, I would like to provide information on the created "middle class", which unites individuals characterized by a standard level of income and consumption, with a fairly high level of education, professional status, and certain political and moral values. The specificity of the Russian reality lies in the fact that, despite the development of small and medium-sized businesses and the increase in the educational level of the population, representatives of these groups are characterized by a low property status and income level. In this regard, at present, one can only raise the question of the formation of a middle class in Russia, subject to the implementation of an appropriate state policy, but not the full functioning of this class as a subsystem of society.

Conclusion

Summing up, I would like to say that the modern differentiation of society is the result of complex social, political and economic processes that took place in the societies of various countries of Europe, Russia, Asia and the USA during the period of their existence and, in many respects, determined by them.

It is obvious that, over time, there is a decrease in the pressure of the spiritual and moral spheres on the freedom of thought and speech of a person, there is a creation of new strata, new categories of social division, the existence of which is unthinkable in the realities of past centuries. There is, in the literal sense, the evolution of society, which is based on the ideas and thoughts of past centuries, but introduces its own, fundamentally new, adjustments.

However, despite the strong softening of the framework, today it is impossible to declare an unambiguous victory of reason over differentiation - and people still evaluate each other not so much by moral and personal qualities, but by internal systems of evaluation and categorization, taking into account precisely the social and class classification.

I believe that one of the most important directions in the evolution of the social differentiation of society in the coming years should be the rejection of the categorization scheme of thinking and evaluation by social elements of each other and the transition to a new system that guarantees even greater freedom of self-expression and self-determination.

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