A social elevator is ... Social elevators in a modern society

For any of us it's not a secret that in anysociety there is a so-called social ladder. This is a certain hierarchy with the location of individual segments of the population on it. Some social group is on this ladder above, some - below. Some people throughout their lives do not leave the boundaries of their social stratum. They are standing on the same step of the stairs. Others rise or descend on it. However, the movement is very slow.

The concept of social elevator

In any society there are certainprerequisites that allow rapid movement from one stratum of the population to another. Ideally, this movement is directed upwards. Although there are cases of sudden movement to a lower level. This is a social elevator. The definition of this concept was given by Pitirim Sorokin. This Russian-American sociologist at the beginning of the twentieth century conducted an analysis of the movement of various social groups according to their status. At the same time, Sorokin calculated in which cases the movement would allow a person to grow in this life. The theory was very convincing, as it was written off from nature - an individual who comes from a family of a drunken artisan who lived in a small village in the Russian north.

Sorokin argued that the person, in order to grow, you need to look for his own channel of mobility (social elevator). This will allow you to quickly change the existing status.

Mobility channels

According to Sorokin's theory, social lifts can be absolutely different for every person. Types of mobility channels of the population include the following elements in their list:

- the army;

- The church;

- education (school);

- family;

business (property).

In the modern world, to the channels of mobilitycivil service, sports, politics, as well as art were added. Everyone who wants to change his status must find his social elevator. This will allow you to start the whole climbing mechanism and start moving. Of course, you can take advantage of a staircase, not an elevator. However, this will take too much time and become a very tiring process.

Types of mobility

Change by a group or an individual of its class orplace in society can be both horizontal and vertical. The first type of mobility is the transition from one social status to another. These are social elevators, examples of which are the change of citizenship, the transition to a different religious community.

Vertical mobility is understood as the movement of a person (up or down) through the career ladder. This is also included in the concept of "social lifts". Examples of this movement:

- promotions (upward mobility);

- Degradation (downward mobility).

Vertical and horizontal channels of changedifferent factors influence the status. Among them, population density and mortality, fertility, age and sex. Lifts of social mobility are most often used by young people. Many men aspire to change their status. The immobile population groups are mainly elderly people and women.

Transition from one layer of society to another canbe carried out either by group or alone. These are also different social elevators. Types of mobility in this case are divided into individual and group.

Collective social elevators exist in the case ofavailable caste, race, class or other privilege. In this case, the population of the lower groups can arrange a riot with a view to abolishing the existing restrictions for it. This will allow collectively to rise to a higher step of the social ladder. Examples of social mobility of this species can be found throughout the history of mankind. This is the received superiority of the varna priests over warriors in ancient India, as well as the rise of the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution to the status of the former tsarist aristocracy.

Modern social elevators includethe concept of vertical mobility. However, their definition is not given in the service context. Change in the status of an individual or group is understood as a change of position in the social hierarchy.

The main channels of mobility

Moving people from one stratum of society tothe other is present in any country. Sometimes a social elevator is used for this. This allows you to shorten the distance from one step of the ladder to another.

What are the channels for such mobility? The so-called social circulation becomes possible with the participation of various institutions. In their list there are channels of special interest. This is the army and the church, the school, as well as economic, professional and political organizations. These social elevators are typical for any society.

Army

This institution has special significance in the militarytime. These are the periods when civil and interstate armed clashes take place. The success of the war directly affects the fate of the whole society. And it does not matter what kind of social status the soldiers have. Their courage and strategic talent are especially valued precisely in such periods. Promotion of lower ranks to the command post during the war takes place, as a rule, in the presence of a commander's talent. The power given to such people is further used to advance the career ladder. In addition, it allows marauding and robbing, revenge, humiliation of their enemies, as well as receiving loud titles, swimming in luxury and being in the center of pompous ceremonies. The army in this case is a social elevator. This allows commoners to become generals, to receive the status of princes, monarchs, dictators and rulers of the world. And at the same time, many who are aristocrats, kings and rulers by birth status, lose their titles and social position.

Similar examples of social mobilityare numerous. They literally abound in history. Thus, rulers and leaders became the leaders of militant tribes. In addition, out of ninety-two Roman emperors, thirty-six reached such a high status only thanks to their service in the army.

Examples of social mobility have been observed withmodern wars. Many leaders of civil and international armed clashes were rapidly climbing the career ladder. But at the same time, a huge number of military commanders who suffered defeat were demoted, excluded, became slaves, in other words, fell sharply, made a downward movement along the army social elevator.

As for the peaceful years, the role of this channel of vertical mobility is several times smaller. However, career growth is present, naturally, and in this period.

Church

At all times this channel is publicmobility was second in importance. However, the church plays its maximum role only in those periods when its social role is flourishing. And this is confirmed by the history of Christianity. During those periods when the most intensive growth of the church’s importance was observed, it was the easiest way to change social status. Through this mobility channel, slaves and serfs also rose. And the ascent was carried out sometimes to the most influential positions.

This social elevator often becamemeans for downward movement. An example of this is heretics, pagans, criminals and enemies of the church. All of them were destroyed, ravaged or brought to justice. It is known that in the list of such demoted people were kings and dukes, princes and lords, that is, representatives of the aristocracy.

Social elevators in modern society alsoinclude the church. However, its importance and the role of the mobility tool are constantly decreasing. The movement that takes place inside the church ladder no longer has a meaning.

Religious organizations

The role of a social elevator in society is not playedonly church. It can be attributed to the functions of other religious organizations. These include confessions of Judaism and Taoism, sects, etc. During periods of increasing their influence, they allowed their members to grow not only within the institution, but also in society as a whole. This made it possible for those people who had a simple origin to rise to the highest social steps. A clear confirmation of this is the life of Mohammed, as well as his first followers.

School

The system of social elevators at all times includedin the institutions of education and upbringing. In countries where the school is accessible to all segments of the population, it is an excellent channel of mobility for upward movement. If not everybody gets such an education, then it can be compared with an elevator moving only along the upper floors of a public building.

Examples of social mobility when movementhappening across the vertical, especially vivid in modern European countries. In these countries, no one can take any noticeable position without graduating from a university or college. A graduate with an excellent diploma is able to easily move up the social ladder and occupy responsible positions, regardless of their origin.

Low mobility groups are those thatdo not have a diploma of obtaining relevant knowledge. For such people closed a number of professions. In addition, their work, as compared with the work of qualified specialists, is paid lower.

Educational social elevators in modernsociety provide sufficient ease in promotion. This fact is understood by many. No wonder the number of people willing to go to universities and colleges is steadily increasing.

Examples of social mobility whichbecomes possible when obtaining certain knowledge are numerous. However, the most striking of them is the caste society of ancient India. It was during the period of its existence that knowledge and scholarship were rated particularly high. They were even elevated to the rank of rebirth, more significant than physical birth.

Political organizations

All organizations - from political parties togovernments are one of the channels of individual mobility. To move up the social ladder in many countries, it is enough to enter the public service. Over time, there is always an automatic movement along the career ladder. In addition, clerks or officials whose work is valued especially highly, have a chance to get up more quickly with this social elevator.

This fact is confirmed by history. Many people born in the families of artisans, peasants or servants, managed to rise and occupy the most visible public positions. This picture can be observed today. The career path of many statesmen began with a low-ranking official.

Professional organizations

It is also one of the vertical channels.mobility. Professional organizations can include literary and scientific as well as creative institutions. Entry to them is free for all who have certain abilities. At the same time, social status does not play any role. This channel of mobility has become a means for raising many doctors and scientists, lawyers and artists, actors, singers, etc.

A specific type of professional institutions andan important type of social elevator is printing. In today's world, we see the increasing role of the press. The printed word helps ensure a great career as an outstanding personality.

Organizations that create wealth

Regardless of specific forms of enrichment,these institutions in any society are social elevators for the vertical elevation of the individual. More wealthy people became leaders in primitive tribes. And this picture can be observed throughout the history of mankind. The analogy between nobility and wealth is broken only in exceptional periods, for example, during revolutions. However, this state of affairs soon ends. The impoverished nobility will certainly assign values. Ways for this may be different, even fraud and violence. And people who have become rich will buy or achieve privileges.

A clear example of this was the ascentbourgeois class. In the period of his appearance, those who had money began to strive for a high position. Notable estates rose from the lower strata of society, just as the brave men once became knights.

A family

One of the common channels of mobilityindividual is a marriage with a representative of higher social status. The consequences of this can be twofold. Sometimes marriage leads to the rise of a person, and sometimes to his degradation. In the old days, a marriage concluded with a representative of the lower stratum of society led to the social decline of the one who held a higher position. So, in Rome it was legalized that a free woman who had married a slave herself became a slave.

Conclusion

In addition to all the above channels there ismany others. At all times, social elevators transported flows of people up and down the vertical of society. But the one who did not even try to enter one of these lifts remained forever in the lower strata.

Social elevators exist in any society. They have different shapes and scales, but they are needed by humanity to the same extent as blood vessels of a living organism.