Social strata of society. Representatives of social strata

The term "social strata" appeared in the 20th century. These units of the social hierarchy unite people with a certain set of traits and characteristics.

Social classes and layers

In science, social strata are an instrument of social stratification-the division of society according to different criteria. This problem scientists have studied since ancient times. Social strata as a concept appeared in the XX century. Prior to this, other units of the hierarchy-castes and estates-were distributed.

In the XIX century, the doctrine of social classes was popular. This phenomenon was first investigated by Adam Smith and David Ricardo - classics of political economy. Class theory was most fully developed and opened by the German scientist Karl Marx. Modern social layers have adopted some features from his teaching.

Dichotomous division of society

For social strata, a classification is typical for several defining features. It is welfare, power, education, leisure and consumption. These indicators are signs of inequality and social distances between different members of society.

There are several models of population division into layers. The simplest is the idea of a dichotomy - a duality of society. According to this theory, the society is divided into masses and elites. This specificity was especially characteristic of the most ancient civilizations. In them, pronounced social inequality was the norm. In addition, in such societies there appeared castes of so-called "initiates" - priests, leaders or elders. Modern civilization refused from such social constructions.

Social hierarchy

According to modern stratification, social strata of society have certain status indicators that unite people. Between them there is a sense of connectedness and belonging to one community. In this case, the layer indicators carry only an estimate of "better - worse" or "more - less".

For example, when it comes to education, people are divided into graduates of a school or university. Such associations can be continued, speaking about the income or career growth of the individual. In other words, the social strata of society have a strict vertical hierarchy. This is a kind of pyramid, on top of which are the "best." If, for example, to compare basketball fans and fans of folklore, their difference will be not vertical, but horizontal. Such groups are not included in the definition of social strata.

Concept of status

The main category in the theory of social strata is status. It is he who is key in the modern stratification of society. The current social strata of the population differ from the nineteenth-century classes by the fact that a person for life is not tied to any group. How does it look in practice? For example, if a boy was born in a poor family, but at the same time he studied well and thanks to his talents managed to achieve a high career position, he, of course, moved from one layer to another.

The status assumes that the person who refers to it must meet certain requirements. They concern the ability of a member of society to consume and produce goods. For the status, and therefore for the social layer, it is important to observe the established way of life as a norm.

Welfare and work

The characteristics by which representatives of social strata are divided can be divided into several groups. For example, they are related to the economic situation of a person. This group includes the presence of private property, the size and types of income. In general, these signs can be described as the level of material well-being. According to this criterion, poor, middle-income and rich layers are allocated. It can also be cited as an example of low-wage and highly paid workers living in municipal housing, property owners, etc.

The concept of the social stratum affects the phenomenon of the division of labor. In this hierarchy we are talking about professional skills and training of a person. The work of each individual finds a different application, and it is in this difference that the next social stratum is reflected. For example, it is possible to single out workers employed in agriculture, industry, the service sector, and so on.

Power and influence

Equal authority in the social hierarchy is equally important. They are determined by the ability of a person to influence others. The source of such abilities may be occupied by a high position or the possession of socially important knowledge. In this hierarchy, it is possible to single out ordinary workers at a municipal enterprise, managers in a small business or, for example, state leaders.

In a separate group there are signs of influence, authority and prestige. In this case, an important role is played by the assessments of others. This indicator can not be objective, therefore it is very difficult to measure and designate it in certain definite frames. According to this characteristic, it is possible to single out informal leaders, famous cultural figures, representatives of the state elite, and so on.

Minor signs

Above, the main features were described, according to which the modern stratification of society is built. However, in addition to them, there are also secondary features. They are not of decisive importance, but also affect the position of the individual in the general hierarchy. What social strata are present in society to a greater or lesser extent, does not directly depend on these features. Their character is auxiliary.

The ethnonational feature in different societies affects the position of a person in a different degree. In multicultural countries, this quality does not matter. At the same time in the modern world there are still enough countries where conservative national sentiments reign. In such societies, belonging to a foreign ethnos can be a decisive factor in determining the attribution of a person to this or that social stratum.

Other such characteristics are sex, age, religion and culture. Their totality affects the circle of communication of the individual and his interests. Also worth noting is the sign related to the place of residence. In this case, it is mainly about the large difference between townspeople and villagers.

People with a specific social status

Belonging to a particular group in society also depends on certain qualities and psychological attitudes of the person. In this series, scientists identify a marginal position in society. In it there are unemployed, people without a permanent residence, refugees. In some societies it can also be disabled people and pensioners whose living conditions are much worse than the rest of the population. Such a social chasm appears in countries where there is an irresponsible state. If the authorities can not provide the population with basic signs of a comfortable life, such marginalized people will more and more over time.

Specific status is also in people with unlawful behavior. These are citizens who have been convicted for their crimes. These include representatives of the criminal world, persons in custody in prisons and other corrective labor institutions. People who find themselves in a marginal or criminal group, as a rule, can not independently climb the social ladder or do not want it at all.