Stratification and its types. Parameters of social stratification

Models social stratification

Social stratification is based on natural and social inequality, which is hierarchical in nature and manifests itself in social life of people. This inequality is supported and controlled by various social institutions, is constantly modified and reproduced, which is a necessary condition development and functioning of any society.

Currently, there are many models of social stratification, but most sociologists distinguish three main classes: higher, middle, lower.

Sometimes additional divisions are made within each class. W.L. Warner identifies the following classes:

• supreme-supreme - representatives of rich and influential dynasties with significant power;
• higher-intermediate – lawyers, successful businessmen, scientists, doctors, managers, engineers, cultural and artistic figures, journalists;
• highest-lowest – manual workers (mainly);
• lower-higher - politicians, bankers who do not have a noble origin;
• lower-middle – hired workers (clerks, secretaries, office workers, so-called “white collar” workers);
• lowest-lowest – homeless, unemployed, declassed elements, foreign workers.

Note 1

All models of social stratification boil down to the fact that non-main classes appear as a result of the addition of layers and strata located within one of the main classes.

Types of social stratification

The main types of social stratification include:

• economic stratification (differences in living standards, income; division of the population on their basis into super-rich, rich, wealthy, poor, destitute layers);
• political stratification (dividing society into political leaders and the bulk of the population, into managers and managed);
• professional stratification (separation in society of social groups according to their type professional activity and by class).

The division of people and social groups into strata allows us to identify relatively constant elements of the structure of society in terms of income received (economics), access to power (politics), and professional functions performed.

Rich and poor layers can be distinguished based on ownership of the means of production. The lower social classes of society are not the owners of the means of production. Among the middle strata of society, one can distinguish small owners, people managing enterprises that did not belong to them, as well as highly qualified workers who have nothing to do with property. The rich sections of society receive their income through the possession of property.

Note 2

The main feature of political stratification is the distribution of political power between strata. Depending on the level of income, scale of ownership, position held, control over funds mass media, as well as other resources, different strata have different influence on the development, adoption and implementation of political decisions.

Types of social stratification

Historically, the following types of social stratification have developed: slavery, castes, estates, classes.

Slavery is a legal, social, economic form enslavement, characterized by extreme inequality and complete lack of rights. Historically, slavery has evolved. There are two forms of slavery: patriarchal slavery (the slave had some rights as a family member, could inherit the owner’s property, marry free persons, he was forbidden to kill) and classical slavery (the slave had no rights and was considered the owner’s property that could be killed).

Castes are closed social groups bound by origin and legal status. Birth alone determines caste membership. Marriages between members of different castes are prohibited. A person falls into the appropriate caste based on what his behavior was in a past life. Thus, in India there was a caste system based on the division of the population into varnas: brahmans (priests and scientists), kshatriyas (rulers and warriors), vaishyas (merchants and peasants), shudras (untouchables, dependent persons).

Estates are social groups with inherited rights and responsibilities. Estates consisting of several strata are characterized by a certain hierarchy, manifested in inequality of social status and privileges. For example, for Europe 18-19 centuries. The following classes are characteristic: clergy (ministers of the church, cult, excl. - priests); nobility (distinguished officials and large landowners; the indicator of nobility was the title - duke, prince, marquis, count, baron, viscount, etc.); merchants (trading class - owners of private enterprises); philistinism - urban class (small traders, artisans, low-level employees); peasantry (farmers).

The military class (knighthood, Cossacks) was distinguished separately as an estate.

It was possible to move from one class to another. Marriages between representatives of different classes were allowed.

Classes are large groups of people, free politically and legally, differing in relation to property, level of material wealth and income received. The historical classification of classes was proposed by K. Marx, who showed that the main criterion for defining a class is the position of their members - oppressed or oppressed:

• slave society - slave owners and slaves;
• feudal society - feudal lords and dependent peasants;
• capitalist society - bourgeoisie and proletariat, or capitalists and workers;
• There are no classes in a communist society.

Classes are large groups of people who have a common standard of living, mediated by income, power, and prestige.

The upper class is divided into an upper upper class (financially secure individuals from “old families”) and a lower upper class (recently wealthy individuals) subclass.

The middle class is divided into upper middle (skilled specialists, professionals) and lower middle (employees and skilled workers) subclasses.

In the lower class, there are upper lower (unskilled workers) and lower lower (marginal, lupins) subclasses. The lower class includes groups of people who do not fit into the structure of society for various reasons. Their representatives are actually excluded from the social class structure, and therefore are called declassed elements.

Declassed elements - lumpen (beggars and vagabonds, beggars), marginals (persons who have lost social characteristics– peasants expelled from their lands, former factory workers, etc.).

(og lat. stratum - layer + facere - to do) call the differentiation of people in society depending on access to power, profession, income and some other socially significant characteristics. The concept of “stratification” was proposed by a sociologist (1889-1968), who borrowed it from the natural sciences, where it, in particular, denotes the distribution of geological strata.

Rice. 1. Main types of social stratification (differentiation)

The distribution of social groups and people by strata (layers) allows us to identify relatively stable elements of the structure of society (Fig. 1) in terms of access to power (politics), professional functions performed and income received (economics). History presents three main types of stratification - castes, estates and classes (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Basic historical types social stratification

Castes(from Portuguese casta - clan, generation, origin) - closed social groups connected by common origin and legal status. Caste membership is determined solely by birth, and marriages between members of different castes are prohibited. The best known is the caste system of India (Table 1), originally based on the division of the population into four varnas (in Sanskrit this word means “species, gens, color”). According to legend, varnas were formed from different parts the body of primordial man sacrificed.

Table 1. Caste system in Ancient India

	Representatives		Associated body part
Brahmins	Scientists and priests
	Warriors and rulers
	Peasants and traders
	"Untouchables", dependent persons

Estates - social groups whose rights and obligations, enshrined in law and traditions, are inherited. Below are the main classes characteristic of Europe in the 18th-19th centuries:

• nobility - a privileged class consisting of large landowners and distinguished officials. An indicator of nobility is usually a title: prince, duke, count, marquis, viscount, baron, etc.;
• clergy - ministers of worship and church with the exception of priests. In Orthodoxy, there are black clergy (monastic) and white (non-monastic);
• merchant class - a trading class that included owners of private enterprises;
• peasantry - a class of farmers engaged in agricultural labor as their main profession;
• philistinism - an urban class consisting of artisans, small traders and low-level employees.

In some countries, a military class was distinguished (for example, knighthood). IN Russian Empire The Cossacks were sometimes considered a special class. Unlike the caste system, marriages between representatives of different classes are permissible. It is possible (although difficult) to move from one class to another (for example, the purchase of nobility by a merchant).

Classes(from Latin classis - rank) - large groups of people that differ in their attitude towards property. The German philosopher Karl Marx (1818-1883), who proposed the historical classification of classes, pointed out that important criterion classes are distinguished by the position of their members - oppressed or oppressed:

• in a slave society, these were slaves and slave owners;
• in feudal society - feudal lords and dependent peasants;
• in a capitalist society - capitalists (bourgeoisie) and workers (proletariat);
• There will be no classes in a communist society.

In modern sociology, we often talk about classes in the most general sense - as collections of people who have similar life chances, mediated by income, prestige and power:

• upper class: divided into upper upper (rich people from "old families") and lower upper (newly rich people);
• middle class: divided into upper middle (professionals) and
• lower middle (skilled workers and employees); o The lower class is divided into upper lower (unskilled workers) and lower lower (lumpen and marginalized).

The lower lower class are groups of the population that, due to various reasons do not fit into the structure of society. In fact, their representatives are excluded from the social class structure, which is why they are also called declassed elements.

The declassed elements include the lumpen - tramps, beggars, beggars, as well as the marginalized - those who have lost their social characteristics and have not acquired in return new system norms and values, for example, former factory workers who lost their jobs due to the economic crisis, or peasants driven off the land during industrialization.

Strata - groups of people sharing similar characteristics in a social space. This is the most universal and broad concept, which allows us to identify any fractional elements in the structure of society according to a set of various socially significant criteria. For example, strata such as elite specialists, professional entrepreneurs, government officials, office workers, skilled workers, unskilled workers, etc. are distinguished. Classes, estates and castes can be considered types of strata.

Social stratification reflects the presence in society. It shows that strata exist in different conditions and people have unequal capabilities to satisfy their needs. Inequality is a source of stratification in society. Thus, inequality reflects differences in the access of representatives of each layer to social benefits, and stratification is a sociological characteristic of the structure of society as a set of layers.

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

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

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

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

Prestige of the profession;

Education;

Ethnicity.

Thus he determined six main classes :

upper-highest class included rich people. But the main criterion for their selection was “noble origin”;

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

upper middle class consisted of highly educated people engaged in intellectual work, and business people, lawyers, and capital owners;

lower middle class represented mainly clerical workers and other “white collar” workers (secretaries, bank tellers, clerks);

upper stratum of the lower class consisted of “blue collar” workers - factory workers and other manual workers;

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

Another American sociologist B. Barber carried out stratification according to six indicators :

Prestige, profession, power and might;

Income level;

The level of education;

Degree of religiosity;

Position of relatives;

Ethnicity.

French sociologist A. Touraine believed that all these criteria were already outdated, and proposed defining groups based on access to information. The dominant position, in his opinion, is occupied by those people who have access to the largest number information.

P. Sorokin singled out three criteria stratification:

Income level (rich and poor);

Political status (those with power and those without);

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

T. Parsons supplemented these signs with new ones criteria :

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

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

"characteristics of possession" (availability of property, material and spiritual values, privileges, etc.).

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

Income level;

Attitude to authority;

Prestige of the profession;

The level of education.

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

Wealth– accumulated income, that is, the amount of cash or materialized money. In the second case, they are called movable (car, yacht, securities etc.) and real estate (house, works of art, treasures). Wealth is usually inherited , which can be received by both working and non-working heirs, and income - only by working ones. The main asset of the upper class is not income, but accumulated property. The salary share is small. For the middle and lower classes, the main source of existence is income, since in the first case, if there is wealth, it is insignificant, and in the second there is none at all. Wealth allows you not to work, but its absence forces you to work for a salary.

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

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

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

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

Generalization of these criteria allows us to represent the process of social stratification as a multifaceted stratification of people and groups in society on the basis of ownership (or non-ownership) of property, power, certain levels of education and professional training, ethnic characteristics, gender and age characteristics, sociocultural criteria, political positions, social statuses and roles.

You can select nine types of historical stratification systems , which can be used to describe any social organism, namely:

Physico-genetic,

Slaveholding,

Caste,

Estate,

Etacratic,

Social-professional,

Class,

Cultural-symbolic,

Cultural-normative.

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

based on the first type - physical-genetic stratification system – lies the differentiation of social groups according to “natural” socio-demographic characteristics. Here the attitude towards a person or group is determined by gender, age and the presence of certain physical qualities- strength, beauty, dexterity. Accordingly, the weaker and those with physical disabilities are considered defective and occupy a lower social position. Inequality is asserted in this case by the existence of the threat of physical violence or its actual use, and then is reinforced in customs and rituals. This “natural” stratification system dominated the primitive community, but continues to be reproduced to this day. It manifests itself especially strongly in communities struggling for physical survival or expansion of their living space.

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

The third type of stratification system is caste . It is based on ethnic differences, which, in turn, are reinforced by religious order and religious rituals. Each caste is a closed, as far as possible, endogamous group, which is assigned a strictly defined place in the social hierarchy. This place appears as a result of the isolation of the functions of each caste in the system of division of labor. There is a clear list of occupations that members of a particular caste can engage in: priestly, military, agricultural. Because position in the caste system is hereditary, opportunities for social mobility are extremely limited. And the more pronounced casteism is, the more closed a given society turns out to be. Classic example India is rightfully considered a society dominated by the caste system (legally, this system was abolished here only in 1950). There were 4 main castes in India : brahmins (priests) kshatriyas (warriors), vaishyas (merchants), Shudras (workers and peasants) and about 5 thousand minor castes And podcast . Special attention was given to the untouchables, who were not included in the castes and occupied the lowest social position. Today, although in a more relaxed form, the caste system is reproduced not only in India, but, for example, in the clan system of Central Asian states.

The fourth type is represented class stratification system . In this system, groups are distinguished by legal rights, which, in turn, are tightly linked to their responsibilities and are directly dependent on these responsibilities. Moreover, the latter imply obligations to the state, enshrined in law. Some classes are required to perform military or bureaucratic service, others are required to carry out “taxes” in the form of taxes or labor obligations. Examples of developed class systems are feudal Western European societies or feudal Russia. So, class division is, first of all, a legal, and not an ethnic-religious or economic division. It is also important that belonging to a class is inherited, contributing to the relative closedness of this system.

Some similarities with the class system are observed in the fifth type of etacratic system (from French and Greek - “ government"). In it, differentiation between groups occurs, first of all, according to their position in power-state hierarchies (political, military, economic), according to the possibilities of mobilization and distribution of resources, as well as the privileges that these groups are able to derive from their positions of power. The degree of material well-being, the lifestyle of social groups, as well as the prestige they perceive, are here associated with the formal ranks that these groups occupy in the corresponding power hierarchies. All other differences - demographic and religious-ethnic, economic and cultural - play a derivative role. The scale and nature of differentiation (volumes of power) in an ethacratic system are under the control of the state bureaucracy. At the same time, hierarchies can be formally and legally established - through bureaucratic tables of ranks, military regulations, assignment of categories government agencies, – or may remain outside the scope of state legislation ( a clear example The system of the Soviet party nomenklatura, the principles of which are not spelled out in any laws, can serve). The formal freedom of members of society (with the exception of dependence on the state), the absence of automatic inheritance of positions of power are also distinguished ethacratic system from the class system. Etacratic system is revealed with greater force, the more authoritarian the state government takes on.

In accordance with socio-professional stratification system groups are divided according to the content and conditions of their work. A special role is played by the qualification requirements for a particular professional role - the possession of relevant experience, skills and abilities. The approval and maintenance of hierarchical orders in this system is carried out with the help of certificates (diplomas, ranks, licenses, patents), fixing the level of qualifications and the ability to perform certain types of activities. The validity of qualification certificates is supported by the power of the state or some other fairly powerful corporation (professional workshop). Moreover, these certificates are most often not inherited, although there are exceptions in history. Socio-professional division is one of the basic stratification systems, various examples of which can be found in any society with any developed division of labor. This is the system craft workshops medieval city And bit grid in modern state industry, a system of certificates and diplomas of education, a system of scientific degrees and titles that open the way to more prestigious jobs.

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

Another stratification system can be conditionally called cultural-symbolic . Differentiation arises here from differences in access to socially significant information, unequal opportunities to filter and interpret this information, and the ability to be a bearer of sacred knowledge (mystical or scientific). In ancient times, this role was assigned to priests, magicians and shamans, in the Middle Ages - to church ministers, interpreters sacred texts, who make up the bulk of the literate population, in modern times - scientists, technocrats and party ideologists. Claims to communicate with divine powers, to possess the truth, to express state interest have always existed everywhere. And more high position in this regard, those who have best opportunities manipulating the consciousness and actions of other members of society, who better than others can prove their rights to true understanding, owns the best symbolic capital.

Finally, the last, ninth type of stratification system should be called cultural-normative . Here, differentiation is built on differences in respect and prestige that arise from comparisons of the lifestyle and norms of behavior followed by a given person or group. Attitudes towards physical and mental work, consumer tastes and habits, communication manners and etiquette, a special language (professional terminology, local dialect, criminal jargon) - all this forms the basis of social division. Moreover, there is not only a distinction between “us” and “outsiders”, but also a ranking of groups (“noble - ignoble”, “decent - dishonest”, “elite - ordinary people- bottom").

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

Stratification criteria

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

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

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

§ economic (based on income and wealth criteria);

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

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

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

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

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

§ characteristics determined by the possession of material and spiritual values ​​(wealth, property, privileges, the ability to influence and manage other people, etc.).

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

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

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

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

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

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

Despite the diversity various models social stratification currently existing in sociology, most scientists distinguish three main classes: higher, middle and lower. Moreover, the share of the upper class in industrialized societies is approximately 5-7%; middle - 60-80% and low - 13-35%.

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

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

§ lower-upper class (“new rich” - bankers, politicians who do not have a noble origin and did not have time to create powerful role-playing clans);

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

§ lower-middle class (hired workers - engineers, clerks, secretaries, office workers and other categories, which are usually called “white collar”);

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

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

There are other schemes of social stratification. But they all boil down to the following: non-main classes arise through the addition of strata and layers located within one of the main classes - rich, wealthy and poor.

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

There is a part social system, which acts as a set of the most stable elements and their connections that ensure the functioning and reproduction of the system. It expresses the objective division of society into classes, layers, indicating the different positions of people in relation to each other. Social structure forms the framework of the social system and largely determines the stability of society and its qualitative characteristics as a social organism.

The concept of stratification (from lat. stratum- layer, layer) denotes the stratification of society, differences in the social status of its members. Social stratificationis a system of social inequality consisting of hierarchically located social layers (strata). All people included in a particular stratum occupy approximately the same position and have common status characteristics.

Different sociologists explain the causes of social inequality and, consequently, social stratification in different ways. Yes, according to Marxist school of sociology, inequality is based on property relations, the nature, degree and form of ownership of the means of production. According to functionalists (K. Davis, W. Moore), the distribution of individuals among social strata depends on the importance of their professional activities and contributions which they contribute through their labor to achieving the goals of society. Supporters exchange theory(J. Homans) believe that inequality in society arises due to unequal exchange of the results of human activity.

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

One of creators P. Sorokin identified three types of stratification structures:

• economic(based on income and wealth criteria);
• political(according to the criteria of influence and power);
• professional(according to the criteria of mastery, professional skills, successful performance of social roles).

Founder structural functionalism T. Parsons proposed three groups of differentiating characteristics:

• qualitative characteristics of people that they possess from birth (ethnicity, family ties, gender and age characteristics, personal qualities and abilities);
• role characteristics determined by the set of roles performed by an individual in society (education, position, various types of professional and labor activities);
• characteristics determined by the possession of material and spiritual values ​​(wealth, property, privileges, the ability to influence and manage other people, etc.).

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

• income - the amount of cash receipts for a certain period (month, year);
• wealth - accumulated income, i.e. the amount of cash or embodied money (in the second case they act in the form of movable or immovable property);
• power - the ability and opportunity to exercise one’s will, to exert a decisive influence on the activities of other people through various means (authority, law, violence, etc.). Power is measured by the number of people it extends to;
• education - a set of knowledge, skills and abilities acquired in the learning process. Educational attainment is measured by the number of years of schooling;
• prestige- public assessment of the attractiveness and significance of a particular profession, position, or certain type of occupation.

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

In a number of cases, sociologists make a certain division within each class. So, American sociologist W.L. Warner(1898-1970) in his famous study "Yankee City" identified six classes:

• upper-highest class(representatives of influential and wealthy dynasties with significant resources of power, wealth and prestige);
• lower-upper class(“new rich” - bankers, politicians who do not have a noble origin and have not managed to create powerful role-playing clans);
• upper-middle class(successful businessmen, lawyers, entrepreneurs, scientists, managers, doctors, engineers, journalists, cultural and artistic figures);
• lower-middle class(hired workers - engineers, clerks, secretaries, office workers and other categories, which are usually called “white collar”);
• upper-lower class(workers engaged primarily in manual labor);
• lower-lower class(beggars, unemployed, homeless, foreign workers, declassed elements).

There are other schemes of social stratification. But they all boil down to this: non-main classes arise through the addition of strata and layers located within one of the main classes - rich, wealthy and poor.

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

Social stratification - This is a system of social inequality, consisting of hierarchically located social layers (strata). A stratum is understood as a set of people united by common status characteristics.

Considering social stratification as a multidimensional, hierarchically organized social space, sociologists explain its nature and reasons for its origin in different ways. Thus, Marxist researchers believe that the basis of social inequality, which determines the stratification system of society, lies in property relations, the nature and form of ownership of the means of production. According to supporters of the functional approach (K. Davis and W. Moore), the distribution of individuals among social strata occurs in accordance with their contribution to achieving the goals of society, depending on the importance of their professional activities. According to the theory of social exchange (J. Homans), inequality in society arises in the process of unequal exchange of the results of human activity.

To determine belonging to a particular social stratum, sociologists offer the most various parameters and criteria. One of the creators of the stratification theory, P. Sorokin, distinguished three types of stratification:

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

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

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

In turn, the founder of structural functionalism T. Parsons identified three groups of signs of social stratification:

Qualitative characteristics of members of society that they possess from birth (origin, family ties, gender and age characteristics, personal qualities, congenital characteristics, etc.);

Role characteristics, determined by the set of roles that an individual performs in society (education, profession, position, qualifications, various types of work activities, etc.);

Characteristics associated with the possession of material and spiritual values ​​(wealth, property, works of art, social privileges, the ability to influence Other people, etc.).

The nature of social stratification, the methods of its determination and reproduction in their unity form what sociologists call stratification system.

Historically, there are 4 types of stratification systems: - slavery, - castes, - estates, - classes.

The first three characterize closed societies, and the fourth type is an open society. In this context, a closed society is considered to be a society where social movements from one stratum to another are either completely prohibited or significantly limited. An open society is a society where transitions from lower to higher strata are not officially limited in any way.

Slavery- a form of the most rigid consolidation of people in the lower strata. This is the only form in history social relations, when one person acts as the property of another, deprived of all rights and freedoms.

Caste system- a stratification system that presupposes the lifelong assignment of a person to a certain stratum on ethnic, religious or economic grounds. A caste is a closed group that was assigned a strictly defined place in the social hierarchy. This place was determined by the special function of each caste in the system of division of labor. In India, where the caste system was most widespread, there was detailed regulation of the types of activities for each caste. Since membership in the caste system was inherited, opportunities for social mobility were limited.

Class system- a stratification system that involves the legal assignment of a person to a particular stratum. The rights and duties of each class were determined by law and sanctified by religion. Belonging to the class was mainly inherited, but as an exception it could be acquired for money or granted by power. In general, the class system was characterized by a branched hierarchy, which was expressed in inequality of social status and the presence of numerous privileges.

The class organization of European feudal society included a division into two upper classes (nobility and clergy) and an unprivileged third class (merchants, artisans, peasants). Since inter-class barriers were quite strict, social mobility existed mainly within classes, which included many ranks, ranks, professions, strata, etc. However, unlike the caste system, inter-class marriages were sometimes allowed and individual transitions from one stratum to another.

Class system- an open stratification system that does not imply a legal or any other way of assigning an individual to a specific stratum. Unlike previous stratification systems closed type, class membership is not regulated by the authorities, is not established by law and is not inherited. It is determined, first of all, by the place in the system of social production, ownership of property, as well as the level of income received. The class system is characteristic of a modern industrial society, where there are opportunities for free transition from one stratum to another.

The identification of slave, caste, estate and class stratification systems is generally accepted, but not the only classification. It is complemented by a description of such types of stratification systems, a combination of which is found in any society. Among them the following can be noted:

physical-genetic stratification system, which is based on ranking people according to natural characteristics: gender, age, the presence of certain physical qualities - strength, dexterity, beauty, etc.

etacratic stratification system, in which differentiation between groups is carried out according to their position in power-state hierarchies (political, military, administrative and economic), according to the possibilities of mobilization and distribution of resources, as well as the privileges that these groups have depending on their rank in the structures of power.

socio-professional stratification system, in accordance with which groups are divided according to content and working conditions. Ranking here is carried out using certificates (diplomas, ranks, licenses, patents, etc.), fixing the level of qualifications and the ability to perform certain types of activities (rank grid in the public sector of industry, a system of certificates and diplomas of education, a system for awarding scientific degrees and titles, etc.).

cultural-symbolic stratification system, arising from differences in access to socially significant information, unequal opportunities to select, preserve and interpret this information (pre-industrial societies are characterized by theocratic manipulation of information, industrial ones - partocratic, post-industrial - technocratic).

cultural-normative stratification system, in which differentiation is built on differences in respect and prestige that arise from comparison existing standards and lifestyles inherent in certain social groups(attitudes towards physical and mental work, consumer standards, tastes, methods of communication, professional terminology, local dialect - all this can serve as the basis for ranking social groups).

socio-territorial stratification system, formed due to the unequal distribution of resources between regions, differences in access to jobs, housing, quality goods and services, educational and cultural institutions, etc.

In reality, all these stratification systems are closely intertwined and complement each other. Thus, the socio-professional hierarchy in the form of an officially established division of labor not only performs important independent functions for maintaining the life of society, but also has a significant impact on the structure of any stratification system. Therefore, the study of stratification modern society cannot be reduced only to the analysis of any one type of stratification system.