Criteria of social differentiation. The social structure of society

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1. Theoretical and methodological foundations of the study of social differentiation of the population

1 The concept and essence of social differentiation

2 Causes of social differentiation of the population

Chapter 2. Level and quality of life

1 Level and quality of life: essence, main indicators and criteria

2 The current state and main directions for improving the level and quality of life of the population in Russia

Conclusion

Bibliographic list

Applications

Introduction

Social differentiation is closely tied to economic inequality. It characterizes the uneven distribution of the scarce resources of society - money, power, education and prestige - between different strata or strata of the population.

The main indicators of inequality are the number of liquid values. This function is usually performed by money. It is their number that determines the place of an individual or a family in social stratification. If inequality is presented in the form of a scale, then on one of its poles there will be those who own a large number of goods (rich), and on the other - those who do not have enough of these goods (poor) in the amount of goods. Thus, poverty is the economic and socio-cultural condition of people who have a minimum amount of liquid values ​​and limited access to social benefits. Wealth is an abundance in a person or society of material and non-material values, such as money, means of production, real estate or personal property.

Our country has the highest class of owners, accounting for about 3% of the total population. It began to take shape in the late 1980s, when Russia turned to market relations, democracy and a Western-style class society. Over the course of about five subsequent years, both the wealthy “new Russian” class and the social ranks of society formed. Their standard of living is below the poverty line.

The topic of wealth and poverty has always been relevant. It continues to remain even now, in the conditions of the current economic crisis.

The relevance of this topic is due to the fact that in the current economic conditions, the social differentiation of the population is rampant. The middle stratum of the population practically disappears, joining the lower stratum. The population is split into rich and poor, with the latter largely dominating. This problem requires an urgent solution, because it directly affects the economic situation in the country.

The object of the study is the standard of living of the population of Russia.

The subject of the study is the processes of social differentiation taking place in society.

The purpose of the course work is to study the processes of social differentiation of society.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to perform a number of tasks:

define the concept of social differentiation;

determine the main causes of social differentiation of the population;

determine the main criteria and indicators of the standard of living of the population;

analyze the current state of the level and quality of life in Russia.

The information base of this work is the works of scientists and researchers in the field of economic analysis and sociology, periodicals and Internet resources.

Chapter 1. Theoretical and methodological foundations of the study of social differentiation of the population

.1 The concept and essence of social differentiation

Society is not a kind of homogeneous mass equally possessing socio-economic benefits. Almost from the time of the emergence of society, differentiating signs are visible in it. Within any social whole, as a rule, individual elements (individuals) and their multi-scale associations (groups) are distinguished.

Thanks to the division of labor, various kinds of social groups are formed. They differ from each other in professional and social characteristics. Consolidated within themselves, they are isolated from other groups. Often they treat them with hidden or open hostility.

In other words, associations of people were invariably accompanied by dismemberment, differentiation in accordance with various principles.

Within every social system there are two tendencies. One of them seeks to cultivate and consolidate various forms of inequality. The other, opposite to it, looks like a desire for equality. They balance each other. The social system that carries them in itself is always in a state of stable dynamic equilibrium.

Inequality acts as a set of conditions that force people to occupy various niches and levels in the hierarchical structures of society. It can be of several types.

Natural inequality is always based on the physiological, psychophysical characteristics of people, their differences from each other in age, sex, strength, beauty, etc. It has always existed between people and will never disappear.

Social inequality has a variety of forms and types and is manifested in many areas of public life. Let's highlight the most obvious of its manifestations:

a) in the division of labor into physical and mental;

b) in the ways of life - urban and rural;

c) in various professions, positions, social roles;

d) in levels of well-being, the size of property and wealth;

e) belonging to various socio-political circles, parties, clubs (from democratic to elite);

f) by the nature of social privileges, etc.

Social inequality is not something basic for the human race. It appeared only together with the development of civilization.

Cultural inequality in itself implies differences in the levels of education, upbringing, culture, and spirituality. It also manifests itself in the degree of giftedness of people with certain abilities and talents. People differ among themselves in the nature of needs, ideological beliefs, types of worldview, as well as religious beliefs. These differences often turn into the initial basis for various forms of social confrontation.

Inequality, taken by itself, has the same properties of all things as a hierarchy.

The very phenomenon of hierarchy as subordination of different levels of the system was already known in antiquity. So, Plato in the dialogue "State" formulates the idea of ​​a hierarchy of social groups (philosophers-rulers, guards, artisans and farmers).

In socio-economic theories, the concept of hierarchy serves to study complex systemic objects. In particular, it is necessary in the analysis of problems, degrees of power and social control associated with the hierarchy of rights, the hierarchy of motives for law-abiding and illegal behavior, etc.

Inequality is part of the hierarchy. It ensures the structuring of society, and, consequently, the strength of the social structure that is its basis. That is why society and the state at all times sought to create, streamline, support and protect inequality. Particularly important in the performance of these functions was the role of the state and its institutions, the church, ideology, and the army.

At the same time, it was extremely important to find the optimal measure of inequality that is acceptable and acceptable for reflection in the mass consciousness.

The most common way of social differentiation is the division of people into classes. This implies large groups with unequal access to means of production, wealth and power.

In a market economy, the income of all owners is formed on the basis of the law of supply and demand. They are also based on the marginal productivity of the factors. The market mechanism never guarantees the level of welfare.

The ongoing discussions about the establishment of income equality have existed throughout the development of civilization and have revealed a wide range of opinions and positions. In some cases, we are talking about equal treatment of all segments of the population. In others, there has always been a position of distribution of the benefits created in society in accordance with the labor contribution of each member of society to social labor. Proponents of the third position believe that the "pursuit of equality" will undermine any economic system. It will inevitably lead to her death.

Only one thing is clear: only in the case of a constant increase in the annual income of the country can society hope to improve the general standard of living conditions. But an increase in income does not guarantee an improvement in life for all segments of the population. It depends on how goods and services are distributed among people. Some group of the population can constantly improve their standard of living at the expense of others.

In Western countries, all incomes are divided into two large groups:

a) income received from participation in labor and entrepreneurial activities (wages and profits);

b) conditionally called "unearned income" legally acquired (dividends, interest on deposits, income from property, including from rented housing, as well as benefits and payments received from governments that do not directly depend on labor costs).

Jan's campaign is to combine wages and profits into one group. Entrepreneurial income is associated with the exploitation of wage labor by capital. An entrepreneur of any form of legitimate business is constantly working and his income is the price for his ability to make rational and relevant decisions.

The practice of income grouping that exists at the moment is largely based on the class principle, namely: a) labor income of employees (they include wages, bonuses and other allowances); b) income from business activities; c) socialized incomes that come to them regardless of their labor contribution (these include unemployment benefits, public consumption funds, social insurance payments, etc.); income from property (interest on deposits, rent, etc.).

To measure the scale of poverty, the proportion of the population of the country living on the very poverty line is revealed. To indicate the scale of poverty, such definitions as: “poverty limits”, “poverty rate” and “poverty ratio” are also used.

The poverty threshold is the amount of money established by law as the minimum income or consumer basket, which is enough for an individual or family only to purchase food. It also includes the purchase of clothing and housing. This threshold is called the "poverty level". In Russia, he received the specific name of the subsistence minimum. Today, absolute poverty is perceived as a state in which an individual is not able to satisfy the most minimal needs for housing, food, and clothing on his income. Or he is able to satisfy only the minimum needs that ensure the biological survival of the individual. The numerical criterion here is the subsistence minimum.

Relative poverty is understood as the inability to maintain at least an average standard of living, or some standard that is accepted in society. As a rule, relative poverty is less than half of the income per family share in the country.

Relative poverty shows the difference between an individual or family in comparison to other people. It has a comparative characteristic in two parameters. First, it shows that a person (family) is poor in relation to how much abundance or prosperity other members of society who are not considered poor have. This comparison is the first comparative quality of relative poverty. Secondly, it shows that a person (family) is poor in relation to some standard of living. Under such standards, for example, is understood the standard of living.

The lower limit of relative poverty today is the subsistence minimum and/or the poverty line. The upper limit is represented by the so-called decent standard of living. The qualitative standard of living reflects the amount of material goods that allow a person to satisfy all the reasonable needs that he needs. In order to lead a fairly comfortable lifestyle, but at the same time not feel disadvantaged. Only 11.6% of Russians have incomes that are at the level of a decent life or exceed it. At the end of the 90s, according to statistics, 31% of Russians received incomes below the official subsistence level. Thus, the level of relative poverty is 11.6%, and absolute - 31%.

11.6% includes the rich (including the so-called "new Russians") and part of the middle class. These are often those who live in accordance with the requirements for the standard of living. From 100% of the population we subtract 31% of the poor (since living below the official poverty line, or the official subsistence level, actually means being in a state of poverty), as well as 11.6% of those living at a decent level (relative poverty level), and we get 59.6 % located between the boundaries of absolute poverty (bottom) and relative (top).

Table 1. Distribution of total cash income of the population

I quarter 2013For reference I quarter 2012Monetary income100100 including for 20% population groups: first (with the lowest income) 5.55.6 second 10.310.4 third 15.215.4 fourth 22.722.8 fifth (with the highest income) 46.345.8 Gini coefficient (income concentration index) 0.4030.398 Coefficient of funds, times 14.514.0 1) Preliminary data.

In Q1 2013, according to preliminary data, 11% of the wealthiest population accounted for 28.7% of total cash income (in Q1 2012 - 28.3%), and 11% of the poorest population accounted for 2 .1% (2.2%).

Economists' data show that the richer a person becomes, the higher his claims become. Poorer people have rather modest ideas about how much money they need to live a normal life. Another trend: the younger the age, the more money is required in order to be at least in the average standard of living. For 18-26-year-olds, the level of decent life (at least according to their own ideas) is 1.6 times higher than for 60-75-year-olds.

Table 2. Distribution of the population by average per capita cash income

I quarter 2013 For reference I quarter 2012 Total population 100100 including those with average per capita monetary income per month, rubles up to 3500.02.93.43500.1-5000.05.05.65000.1-7000.08.99.97000, 1-10000.014.615.710000.1-15000.021.021.615000.1-25000.024.824.125000.1-35000.011.210.2 over 35000.011.69.51) Preliminary data.

Another of the existing trends sounds like this: the higher the education, the higher the claims. For those who have not received at least a secondary education, this level is almost 2 times lower than for those who have received a diploma. Finally, what else should be noted is that the level of claims among residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg is 3 times higher than among residents of small towns, villages and rural areas. Rural residents believe that for a normal standard of living they need less money than city dwellers.

Thus, it should be concluded that it is social differentiation that plays an important role in the formation of the country's economic policy, and it is it that serves as the main indicator of the instability of social strata at various moments of economic development in the country. Based on the social differentiation of society, the main directions of economic and social policy are formed in relation to increasing the number of the poor and developing programs to support them.

.2 Causes of social differentiation of the population

One of the most important causes of social tension in any country is the difference in the levels of well-being of citizens. This difference is also noticeable and is reflected in their level of wealth. The level of wealth is determined by two key factors:

) the value of property of all kinds, which is owned by individuals;

) the value of the current income of individuals.

People earn income or become entrepreneurs. Or they provide the factors of production they own for the use of other people or firms. And those use this property to produce goods that people need. In such a mechanism of income formation, the possibility of their inequality was initially laid down. The reason for this:

) different values ​​of factors of production owned by people (capital in the form of a computer, in principle, is able to bring more income than in the form of a shovel);

) different success in the use of factors of production (for example, an employee in a firm that produces a scarce product may receive higher earnings than his counterpart of the same qualification working in a firm whose goods are sold with difficulty);

) a different amount of factors of production owned by people (the owner of two oil wells receives, other things being equal, more income than the owner of one well).

The key group of factors influencing income differentiation are significant differences: in the amount of cash payments from public consumption funds; in the amount of remuneration of workers employed in social production; in the possibility of income from their uncontrolled redistribution of activities, new forms of cooperation; in the volume of income from personal subsidiary plots, individual families; in size and composition.

The economic literature increasingly raises questions related to the presence of a "shadow" economy in the system of social production. The functioning of the "shadow" economy and a certain circle of people who can extract unearned income, cause sharp rejection in the public system. In the public mind, any high income will be regarded as unearned. They are often associated with the development of individual labor activity. They can also be associated with the cooperative movement, the creation of small and joint ventures with foreign firms.

When considering this problem, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between unearned income as legal and illegal. However, their classification and evaluation is the subject of research in legal science. If we apply the estimate of unearned income that was legally received as property income or income from past labor, we can exclude them from our study. The very share of such incomes can increase and have an impact on the differentiation of population strata.

The market system is a passionless mechanism. She has no conscience. She also lacks moral standards. The personal nature of the market economy in some way even implies a high degree of income inequality. Each person has his own personal physical, intellectual and aesthetic abilities. Someone has inherited exceptional abilities. Others will have to spend their lives on ancillary low-paid activities. Someone according to personal characteristics becomes a highly paid professional athlete. Others may become great artists and musicians. People differ significantly from each other in terms of the level of education received and their professional training.

For us today, unearned income obtained illegally is more relevant. There is a systematic process of looting state property at all levels. It should be noted that official position is widely used. A significant part of the population generates income through various kinds of illegal transactions with scarce goods and services. They are also formed due to the illegal withdrawal of state resources from the state (the discrepancy between the real movement of values ​​and recorded in the reporting, theft of property hidden from accounting and production control). The fight against illicit income will take a long time. Its successes will largely be determined by the strengthening and improvement of all three forms of state power.

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the causes of population differentiation are for the most part clearly identified and structured in the context of economic sciences. These reasons should be taken into account in accordance with the current economic standards in the country and the ongoing economic policy in order to find the most effective way of development.

Chapter 2. Level and quality of life

.1 Level and quality of life: essence, main indicators and criteria

The ultimate goal in the development of any society is to improve the standard of living of the population.

The standard of living is expressed by economic category and social standards. It characterizes the degree of satisfaction of the physical and social needs of people. The main components of the standard of living will always be: food and income of the population, health, household property, housing conditions, paid services, cultural level of the population, working and leisure conditions, as well as social guarantees and social protection of the most vulnerable segments of the population.

Social guarantees represent the existing system of society's obligations to its members to meet the most important needs. The state, giving guarantees, assumes that society assumes the obligation to create internal conditions for each member of society. This is necessary for the implementation of its economic activity and income generation.

Social protection is a system of measures taken by society to ensure the necessary material and social status of citizens.

These components are directly related to quantitative indicators, indicators and indices and are drawn up in a system of indicators of the standard of living.

In the process of reproduction, it is necessary to take into account mutual economic and social factors, such as nutrition, education, housing, health, and others. The decisive role for society will always have a standard of living, and for production this will be determined by the efficiency of labor.

GDP and national income per capita, as well as the productivity of social labor are indicators of the general economic, and the standard of living is an indicator of the development of social structures.

The current understanding of the criteria for the standard of living of the population focuses on the fact that the standard of living is important not only in itself, but also in relation to the needs of society as a whole.

The all-Russian analysis of the standard of living is determined by the content of the consumer basket and the subsistence minimum. The standard of living of a region or country is differentiated by the amount of unemployment, the average life expectancy of the population. It is further divided on the basis of structural personal consumption expenditures and consumption of basic foodstuffs. The skill level of employees is also taken into account. This also includes the number of students and pupils per 1000 people, etc., as well as the level of development of social infrastructure (for example, the number of hospital beds per 1000 people, cultural and sports facilities, availability of schools, housing, etc.)

The standard of living of the population should be assessed directly in relation to general economic indicators. This should also include indicators related to general economic indicators: consumer demand, household incomes, prices, trade, loans and the state budget. For example, the income received by the population is a key factor determining the basis of living standards.

It is necessary to identify specific components of the standard of living. They will be some types of human needs. Meeting these needs will be a major part of the standard of living. The totality of the economic elements of the standard of living covers in full the very sphere of human needs.

Based on them, a system of indicators of the standard of living is being formed. The standard of living of the population is measured by a system of indicators characterizing the level of consumption, health, employment, housing, education, social security, and others.

Figure 1. The system of indicators of the standard of living of the population.

social differentiation population

The labor functionality of workers depends on the standard of living. He also acts as a lever of influence on the price of labor, and its direct implementation in labor. A decrease or, on the contrary, an increase in labor productivity and, as a result, the quality of the standard of living of the population, inevitably drives the economy forward or backward.

In many countries, an indicator called the welfare of society is used to effectively assess the standard of living. It reflects the minimum level of consumption and is an indicator of the poverty line.

The cost of living is an estimate of the value of the total consumption of a family or individual. It will always be determined on the basis of the minimum consumer basket. This basket in turn gives the structure of consumption. It reflects the costs of the poor in society and includes the minimum set that is necessary for physiological survival. This set, together with the subsistence minimum, depends on the level of social and economic development of the country. Initially, it was adopted on the basis of the principle of distribution. Currently, this economic category does not make sense. Today, more than 41 million citizens of Russia (30.5 %) is below the poverty line.

At the current level of production, the government cannot raise the poverty line. It is also able to compensate for the entire difference between the minimum consumer budget and the social bottom.

The consumer budget is a balanced system of income and expenses for an average family. It characterizes the standard of living of various social groups.

The smallest consumer budget is always formed on the basis of consumption traditions. It is affected by changes in the market for consumer services and goods. It represents the living wage. The calculation is based on the average income per capita. It represents the highest standard of living for the population.

The calculation of the minimum subsistence level is determined on the basis of the food basket.

The food basket is a set of food for one person per month. This basket is calculated based on the norms of food consumption by the population. These norms correspond to the physiological needs of the population.

An analysis of consumption rates, the composition and quality of the consumer basket shows that the level of the subsistence minimum has no social and economic content. It is an exclusively speculative document, fixing a certain starting point for making calculations.

The price of the basic consumer basket actually represents the minimum consumer budget.

The minimum consumer budget, or the subsistence minimum budget, is calculated per capita and for its main socio-demographic groups in the whole of the Russian Federation and in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The subsistence level is, like its budget, an indicator of the consumption of the most important material goods and services at a minimum level. As a rule, it is calculated on the basis of the minimum norms for the consumption of essential goods and services, as well as foodstuffs. The most rational minimum consumer budget should maintain approximately the following proportions: food should be - 41.2 %, services - 14.2 %, non-food products - 38 %, taxes and fees - 2.6%

Figure 2. Poverty measures.

Thus, we can conclude that the essence of the concept of the standard of living is formed according to the main criteria for the life support of citizens of the state. These criteria are not specific to a single territory, they are formed on the basis of international human rights sanctions, but at the same time they are adapted to the requirements and capabilities of a particular state and its economic policy.

.2 Current state and main directions for improving the level and quality of life of the population in Russia

The balance of the labor market, as well as it, are one of the key factors that ensure Russia's competitiveness in the international arena. The systems of vocational education and social protection, youth policy, and employment of the population are responsible for their achievement.

Based on the current economic situation in the country on the basis of the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation, the standard of living of the population of the Russian Federation has noticeably decreased, but this information has not been reflected in the mass media.

At present, issues of the standard of living of the population, differences in the quality of life of different countries, the choice of place of residence, etc. are increasingly being raised. Russia, with its gaps in legislation and imperfect life, is significantly inferior to other states. A number of specific US and Russian economic indicators can be compared in a summary table (See Appendix 1).

From the data given in Appendix 1, one can give the economic characteristics of the Russian Federation and the United States, and as you can see, Russia occupies far from leading positions in many of the economic indicators. Nevertheless, Russia also has its positive features. The absence of a huge number of crimes, as in the United States, is explained by the mental peculiarity of the Russian population to resolve legal issues without the intervention of law enforcement agencies. In terms of economics, Russia is far behind the United States. Russia has a very high corruption rate, however, Russia is still ahead in terms of oil reserves, resources, ecology, and it also leads in terms of the armed forces.

Despite the rather deplorable economic situation in the United States, it should be remembered that the opinion that many Americans have a good level of income is wrong. Based on data from the US Census Bureau, 13.3% of Americans already live below the poverty line. This is about 36.4 million people. At the same time, 24% of the population in Russia is in the same situation. For example, the state of Mississippi and the capital - the city of Washington are represented by the lowest income level of the population. The richest and most livable places are New Hampshire, Maryland and Connecticut. According to RINA, the average life expectancy for Americans with an average standard of living is about 80 years. In Russia, according to the World Health Organization for 2012, this life expectancy is about 65 years. The basis of this is the most favorable living conditions. These will include better and more varied medical care, nutrition, confidence in the future of children, that is, the very factors that positively affect the psychological climate of society.

Over the past ten years, the wage intensity of Russia's GDP has been increasing: from 24.6% in 2000 to 36.3% in 2008. In 2014, despite the crisis, this figure increased significantly to a record 41%. Last year, the wage intensity of Russia's GDP fell sharply by 0.6%. In terms of internal wage intensity, Russia is significantly ahead of many developed economies. So, today the indicator of wage intensity of Russia's GDP is still higher than the indicators of Belgium (38.1%), Norway (37.5%), Italy (30.9%), as well as Malta (38.1%) and Spain (37.7%). It is on a par with the indicators of the Netherlands and Cyprus - in both countries, the wage intensity of GDP is also 39.5%.

In developed market economies, wage costs rise in line with increases in labor productivity. In Russia, there is no such dependence. As Nikolaev explains, Russia spends more of its GDP on wages than developed countries, but this process in our country is not accompanied by an increase in labor productivity. Total wages in Russia grew up to 2009, inclusive, faster than the country's GDP, which means that the pace of labor productivity growth was not what we would like to have.

The main groups of modern events, in order to increase the stability of the labor market in Russia, as well as for the most accurate coordination and coherence of the vocational education system, the following aspects are proposed:

The labor market should be monitored. It is proposed to attract employers to it. This monitoring should reflect the requirements for personnel, the social conditions of life of workers and their psychological state. The data obtained as a result of this monitoring should serve to reduce the imbalance of supply and demand in the labor market. This should happen on the basis of bringing plans for retraining and training of personnel in vocational educational institutions at all levels in line with the needs of the modern labor market.

The personnel training system should be supported in priority areas of the labor market. Employers should be involved in the management of educational institutions.

It is necessary to modernize educational institutions. It is necessary to move to client-oriented structures. The introduction of PB contributes to the same goal. The material and technical base of educational institutions must be updated. This should occur at all stages including primary education.

It is necessary to continuously develop the education system in all regions. It is necessary to implement programs to support institutionalized and non-formal institutions that carry out their activities in the field of lifelong education. Based on this, the development of educational institutions at all levels should be synchronized. Stimulation of this development should take place at Russian enterprises using advanced human resource management tools.

It is necessary to create and implement a set of specific measures for the professional orientation of adolescents studying in educational institutions. At this stage, it is also important to involve active employers in this process. This system should be financed and supported, up to crediting educational services. There should be an employment system for today's youth, for example, the creation of a labor exchange. It is also necessary to form an infrastructure for the development of entrepreneurial activity.

It is necessary to create conditions for stimulating employment in Russia. As a regional aspect, there should also be stimulation of alternative employment developing in rural areas. It is necessary to develop modern personnel programs and projects for the development of educational institutions in rural areas.

It is necessary to control migration programs. This is necessary to attract the able-bodied population to the regions. It will also help solve the problem of developing institutions for the socio-cultural processing of raw materials. The most important tool for organizing migration processes and the institution of socio-cultural processing will have to be the system of vocational education. It also includes the system of primary vocational education. However, this system will be able to stabilize its position only by expanding the contingent of students of different ages. The instability of this system will worsen due to the reduction in the number of graduates from secondary educational institutions. Additionally, the regional aspect will need to develop a functional system of language courses. They will act as cultural institutions to help migrants learn the language and overcome communication barriers.

Today, one of the development priorities for Russia is to improve the quality of life of the population in the state. Without this, it is impossible to achieve the competitiveness of Russia in the international economic arena, due to the fact that new types of activities will require additional development of quality standards for living standards. Within the framework of this direction, it is necessary to implement the following tasks:

· Increase income growth for the population. Along with this, it is necessary to reduce poverty indicators. It is necessary to reduce the proportion of the population with incomes below the average. This will become the basis for further reducing the differentiation of the population in terms of income.

· Full development of the labor market is required. This will increase employment and reduce social tension.

· It is necessary to create equal conditions for access to social benefits and services, especially for educational services. Social protection of the population should also be ensured. It is necessary to prepare the social protection system to increase the burden from the non-working strata of the population, representatives of older age groups on the population at the working age stage. Based on this, it will be necessary to adjust the strategies for the development of social infrastructures in the regions.

· It is necessary to improve living conditions for the population.

· It is necessary to improve the quality of work of communal services and municipal subdivisions in the regions.

· Organizational and leisure activities for the population should also be carried out and members of society should be given equal access to leisure and entertainment programs.

· Development of social support and protection programs for the aging population. The number of nursing homes for the elderly and the disabled should be increased. Additionally, it is required to create a larger number of temporary residence centers for pensioners and the number of places in them. The infrastructure for working with older people should also be modernized. Modernization will include specialized training programs appropriate for age and health, providing opportunities to continue working, etc. It is also necessary to more fully develop social assistance programs for the elderly at home.

· It is necessary to implement social assistance directly to the addresses. This program should include social support for the population, an increase in their income and other activities.

· There should be a development of engineering and technological enterprises in the country and regions (housing cooperatives, utility companies, etc.)

· The housing issue of the elderly and the disabled should also be addressed. This aspect includes the provision of subsidies to citizens from the budget to pay part of the interest rates on various loans and credits received for construction or for the purpose of acquiring housing. This will also include the provision of subsidies to citizens from the budget aimed at paying part of the cost of housing purchased with a housing loan or credit.

· Additional state support should be provided to certain categories of citizens in terms of improving their living conditions. These may be social workers, or representatives of government agencies.

· Stimulation of transport enterprises for the development and renewal of the fleet, improving the quality of passenger service.

One of the functions of the state is aimed at the redistribution of national income is to minimize the difference in the incomes of different strata of society and provide more favorable conditions for material life for all members of society.

However, excessive state intervention in the processes of redistribution of incomes of the population carries the risk of a decrease in the business activity of society and, as a result, a drop in the efficiency of economic activity in some segments of the population. Specialized social support programs can increase the percentage of social dependency. The social redistributive policy of the state has practically no effect on the equalization of incomes between the poor and rich strata of the population.

The state is given a specific choice between economic efficiency and economic equality. This raises a logical problem: excessive equality will inevitably lead to a decrease in the average standard of living of the population and its quality of life. Enterprising and get into a position where they do not need to use their personal talents.

Inequality in the incomes of the population has largely arisen in connection with the objective action of the market mechanism of prices, along with the natural factor. The complete eradication of income differences would mean the complete destruction of the market pricing mechanism.

Thus, it should be concluded that the current economic situation of the population in the country is sufficiently unstable. Differentiation reaches significant limits, and to overcome it, it is necessary to develop new socio-economic programs and projects to stabilize the economic situation.

Conclusion

At the moment, on the basis of the financial crisis, the socio-economic differentiation of the strata of the population is manifested quite clearly. The poor are getting even poorer. Richer groups of people are trying to increase their capital due to the crisis.

Poverty is a global socio-economic problem. It is actively researched and has many similar features at the global level. Poverty, in theory, according to many economists, is the inability to maintain an acceptable quality of life. Consequently, the so-called "classic" poor families are a natural phenomenon for most countries with developed market economies. The more income the rich segments of the population receive, the less financial flow will fall into the poor sectors. This pattern and trend, which today requires close attention from the government of the Russian Federation.

Russia is far from being the poorest country. In Russia, at this stage, there is simply no mechanism for a competent redistribution of income among the strata of the population.

In our country, the state today does not have functional and really operating programs to combat poverty. More and more developed countries are actively improving their support systems for the poor. They try to define the limit of social assistance, beyond which it should not go, so as not to create the risk of social dependency. It is this path of development that should take place in Russia, however, at this point in time, all this is theoretical reasoning.

Bibliographic list

1. Anthology of economic classics: In 2 vols. M., 2012. T. 1. 599 p.

Bazhenova V.S., Iokhin V.Ya. Economic theory. Microeconomics - 1.2: Textbook / ed. Zhuravleva G.P.//M.: Publishing and Trade Corporation "Dashkov and K", 2011, 934 p.

3. Bayanova E. The main indicator of the quality of life // Parliamentary newspaper No. 057 (2125) of April 24, 2012. 92 p.

Bobkov V.N. Problems of assessing the standard of living of the population in modern Russia.//M.: VCUZH. 2011 400 p.

5.Borisov E.F., Economic theory: textbook.// 2nd ed., Revised. and additional M.: TK Velby, Prospekt Publishing House, 2011. 544 p.

Gontmakher E. Social problems of Russia and alternative ways of their solution // Questions of Economics. 2011 No. 2. 101 p.

7. Zherebin V.M., Romanov A.N. The standard of living of the population.// M.: UNITI DANA, 2011, 314 p.

8. Levashov V.I. Social policy of income and wages. // M: Center for Economics and Marketing, 2011. 360 p.

Marx K. and Engels F. Works // 2nd ed. M., 1987, reprinted in 2011. M. "Eksmo" 303 p.

Nikolaev A.N. Modern standard of living. // M. Polygraph. 2011 429 p.

Ovcharova L.M. Poverty in Russia. Peace in Russia. // Tver 2013. 402 p.

Rimashevskaya N.M. The problem of fighting poverty in the developments of foreign government and international organizations // Poverty: a view of scientists on the problem // Ed. M. A. Mozhina. M., 2010. 414 p.

Smith A. Research on the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. // M. 2011. 427 p.

14.Sotsialnoe position and standard of living of the population of Russia.// Stat. Sat. Moscow: Rosstat. 2014 412 p.

15. Tikhonova N. E. The social structure of Russian society: the result of eight years of reform // Social sciences and modernity. M. 2013, No. 3. 119 p.

Economic and social problems of Russia. Shadow economy: economic and social aspects. // Ed. Zhilina I.Yu. Timofeev L.M. - M: PHOENIX, 2011. 168 p.

17. Economic statistics: Textbook. // Under the editorship of prof. Ivanova Yu.N. 3rd ed. revised and additional M.: INFRA-M, 2012. 736 p.

.#"justify"> Annex 1

Consolidated analysis of indicators of the standard of living of the population in the Russian Federation and the USA.

Crime statistics in Russia Crime statistics in the USA Total crimes: 2 952 37011 877 218 (3 times more than in Russia) Note: The actual number of crimes committed is often more informative than other official statistics. in the US)20%Note: The piracy rate is the number of pirated software installed in 2007 divided by the total number of software installed. Russian Economy Statistics US Economy Statistics GDP: 1.746 trillion. dollars13.060 trillion dollars (6 times that of Russia) Note: Gross domestic product (GDP) is the value of all final goods and services produced in a country in a year. (3 times more than in Russia) Note: This is the country's total GDP divided by its population. Thus, it is calculated how much product a country produces per person. GDP and PPP: 1,408,603 million dollars 11,628,083 million dollars (7 times more than Russia) Note: PPP - Purchasing Power Parity Human Development Index: 0.7950 .944 (19% more than in Russia) Note: Human Development Index is calculated by the UN. Education statistics in Russia Education statistics in the USA Education spending (% of GDP): 3.8 %5.7 (50% more than in Russia) Note: These are expenses Government Education Russia Energy Statistics US Energy Statistics Gasoline prices: 0.540.77 (43% more than Russia) Note: This is the ratio of the country's premium gasoline price to the world average gasoline price barrels (3 times less than in Russia) Note: This is the total amount of oil in the country's proven oil fields. total CO2 emissions (excluding land use). Unit: thousand metric tons of carbon dioxide Russian government statistics US government statistics Corruption: 2,37,2 Note: The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is the level of corruption based on expert judgment and public opinion polls. The smaller the CPI, the more corruption. Russian lifestyle statistics US lifestyle statistics Happiness rate: 6% 39% (6 times more than in Russia) ..? Very happy, reasonably happy, not very happy, or not at all happy.” Only “very happy” answers are taken into account. Russia) Note: Total armed forces (2000) Russian population statistics US population statistics Divorce rate: 3.36 per 1,000 people 4.95 per 1,000 people (47% more than Russia) Note: Divorce rate per 1,000 people Population in 2015: 136 696325 723 (138% more than in Russia) Note: Average forecast. In thousand people. Russia transport statistics US transport statistics Cars: 124 cars per 1,000,765 cars per 1,000 (5 times more than in Russia) Note: Number of cars per 1,000 people

The differentiation of workers' monetary incomes is formed mainly under the influence of two factors - the differentiation of wages and the differentiation of differences in the marital status of workers. However, wage differentiation and income differentiation cannot be assessed from the same positions. In the first case, we have such an economic inequality that corresponds to the concept of social justice within the framework of a given social system and is a condition for progress; in the second case, inequality develops as a result of the redistribution of income in families, which is “unfair” to a certain extent, since in a certain part it has nothing to do with the work and labor merits of people.

The causes of inequality and wealth stratification by income are the unequal distribution of income and property; unequal starting conditions for the development of individual labor activity, entrepreneurship, business; relatively low wages for some categories of workers; increasing the proportion of dependents in the family; the presence of unemployed able-bodied persons; low level of social benefits; untimely payment of wages, pensions, benefits.

Inequality and social and property stratification of the population is one of the serious problems of the transition to market relations. The following indicators are used to quantify income differentiation: decile coefficient, Ginny coefficient, Lorenz curve.

Decile coefficient expresses the ratio between the average incomes of the top 10% and the bottom 10% of citizens. In 1998, the wealthiest 10% of the population accounted for 33.1% of cash income, while the poorest 10% had only 2.5% of cash income, i.e. the income of the richest 10% was 13.3 times that of the poorest 10%. In 2000, the situation practically did not change: 20% of the rich had 47.2% of money income, and 20% of the poorest - 6.1%, i.e. the income of the richest 20% was 7 times that of the poorest 20%.

Ginny coefficient is the income concentration index of the population. It is used to characterize the distribution of total income among population groups. In Russia, the value of this coefficient in 2000 was 0.394, which is significantly higher than in most European countries and the United States. At the same time, the objectivity of the calculation in the State Statistics Committee of Russia is doubtful: it is difficult to estimate the income of the wealthiest strata of society, since a significant part of the income is not declared.

Lorenz curve shows the degree to which the actual distribution of income is removed from the state of absolute equal distribution, which is theoretically represented by the bisector on the plot of income shares and family shares (Fig. 35).

Rice. 35. Lorenz Curve

The deepening differentiation of income poses a serious danger from an economic and social point of view, indicating the absence of the formation of a middle class in Russia, on which the government should rely in the course of implementing market reforms.

The main channel for the redistribution of incomes of the population is the taxation of personal income, property and the system of social transfer payments.

Economists have come to the conclusion that the limit of social tension comes at a time when the poorest 40% of the population begin to receive less than 12-13% of the total income. Meanwhile, the vast majority of workers in the fields of education, health care, and culture are now among the low-income ones.

Depending on the criterion underlying inequality, one can obtain a different stratification picture of society. The number of classes and their characteristics may differ significantly even for one society. However, in general, the economic criterion is most often used, according to which it is customary to single out the upper, middle and lower classes. At the same time, smaller layers can be distinguished inside each of them. In general, a complex indicator is the standard of living of the population. The most important components of the standard of living are the incomes of the population (a population group, an individual household, an individual) and its social security, its consumption of material goods and services, living conditions, and free time.

It is customary to talk about four levels of life of the population:

1) prosperity (the use of benefits that ensure the comprehensive development of a person);

2) normal level (rational consumption according to scientifically based standards, providing a person with the restoration of his physical and intellectual strength);

3) poverty (consumption of goods at the level of maintaining working capacity as the lower limit of labor force reproduction);

4) poverty (the minimum allowable set of goods and services according to biological criteria, the consumption of which only allows maintaining human viability).

The gap between the rich and the poor is a sign of an unhealthy society, one of the main obstacles to development. Inequality in the distribution of wealth and income has been growing in the last 25-30 years. In terms of the distribution of wealth, the US is among the most unequal countries, while Japan has one of the lowest levels of inequality. Russia is also characterized by a high level of inequality and is on par with the UK, Indonesia and Pakistan.

A healthy society is characterized by low levels of inequality, a high proportion of people belonging to the middle class. In developed Western societies, it is believed that the bulk of the population (60-70%) has an income close to the average level, and the number of poor and rich is relatively small. For less developed countries, different patterns emerge: the bulk of the population is on the edge or below the poverty line, and the gap with a small prosperous top is much more significant.

In terms of current income, the middle class includes people who have an average level of income for this particular society.

According to the distribution of accumulated wealth (property, financial assets) and the level of general material well-being, belonging to the middle class means having a “standard” property set for a particular society. In economically developed countries, this is a large house or a large apartment, cars, a set of durable items, and the presence of a number of insurance policies. According to this criterion, the middle stratum in such countries covers about two-thirds of all citizens. Russia has a relatively low standard of living, so that the middle strata make up no more than 10-15% of the population.

According to the criterion of ownership, the middle class includes owners of small ownership of the means of production, managers of small firms, most of which are based on personal labor or involve such labor along with hired labor. Their number today is 10-15% of the population of developed countries, with slight variations in individual countries - this is the "old" middle class.

According to the level of education and the availability of professional qualifications, specialists with higher education are included in the middle class. Sometimes these groups are combined with managers and administrative workers and are called the "class of managers and specialists" (the "new" middle class). At the turn of the XIX - XX centuries. this class was rather small, and consisted of about 5-10% of the employed population; now in developed countries it reaches 20-25% and more. According to the conditions and nature of labor (first of all, according to its division into mental and physical), the so-called "white collar" (employees without higher education) also belong to the middle class. They are often referred to as the "lower middle class".

It is possible to single out the middle strata according to a complex set of market, labor and status positions. In this case, they will include those who oppose the elite and lower strata of society in terms of lifestyle and social ties, assessment of their own career prospects and attitude towards the future of their children, the degree of individualism and autonomy in their actions (in addition to the economic and professional parameters listed above) .

Finally, the composition of the middle strata can be determined by the level of prestige - they will include groups attributed to the middle strata by the population itself. So, in the course of the classic American studies of W. Warner in the 40s. 20th century The following two middle classes were distinguished:

1) the upper middle (uppermiddle), which included solid bourgeois owners and successful specialists (about 10% of the urban community);

2) the lower middle (lowermiddle), to which people referred small merchants, clerks and skilled workers (together they made up a little less than 30% of the population).

Another option for obtaining status scores is self-ranking.

The main classes that exist in Western societies.

The upper class are those who own or directly control the productive resources, the rich, the big industrialists, the top management.

The middle class - including most of the "white collar" and professionals.

The working class are "blue collar" or manual workers.

In some industrialized countries, such as France or Japan, the fourth class - the peasantry (people employed in traditional types of agricultural production) - was also very important until recently. In Third World countries, peasants usually make up the largest class.

In England, the Stevenson system is five classes.

Professionals.

Leading staff.

Qualified workers.

Partially skilled workers.

unskilled workers.

According to the results of VTsIOM research, assessing their place on the social ladder in the early 1990s, 43% of our fellow citizens considered themselves to be in the “middle class” (5% in the upper class; 49% in the lower class).

By 2020, the government of the Russian Federation assumes that about 60% of Russians can be classified as middle class. Today, according to the most optimistic estimates, the middle class is about 20% of the population. One has to be a great optimist to believe that in 12 years it will be possible to so radically reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. In world practice, the formation of the middle class sometimes takes an entire era.

Today, when not only the problem of an increase in the middle class, but also the problem of poverty is acute in Russia, stratification studies are an important tool to show a real picture of the relationship between wealth and poverty. In addition, this kind of sociological research reveals phenomena and trends that are dangerous for society. Such phenomena include lumpenization, an increase in marginalized groups in society, and pauperization.

Lumpenization is a socially regressive phenomenon, which, as a rule, is characteristic of a catastrophic type of society and consists in the complete loss of people from social life with the simultaneous formation of a vast “social bottom” consisting of destitute, impoverished sections of the population. In addition, this is the transition of the upper and middle strata of the working class (and sometimes representatives of other classes) to the lower stratum of the working class.

Marginality denotes the borderline position of a person (social group) between any social groups. The concept was introduced by the American sociologist R. Park. More broadly, this concept denotes a situation of cultural transition, when the ties of an individual or group with the cultural environment in which they were socialized are broken.

In a period of intense social change, significant masses of people find themselves in a situation of marginality, faced with the need to adapt to changes with a shortage of resources. A particularly formidable symptom is pauperization - the process of mass impoverishment of the population, which signals the need to change the direction and nature of transformations in society. The danger of this phenomenon is connected with the fact that it puts a part of society on the brink of physical survival. Overcoming poverty is, first of all, a matter of social mobility and stimulation of the general movement of social strata "upwards".

Basic concepts:

social structure; social differentiation; criteria of social differentiation; social groups; classes; social stratification; social mobility; socio-demographic groups; gender relations; socio-ethnic communities.

Social structure as a result of social
differentiation

The concept of social structure is used in two senses: broad and narrow. In a broad sense, social structure is defined as the internal structure of society. What corresponds to this in everyday reality? First of all, we note that in this case society does not mean humanity in general (global society) or production and marketing units such as LLC, JSC and others, but a specific society at the country level, regardless of whether we mean an abstract model or a well-defined state. The signs of such a society are: a permanent territory, a developed culture, political independence and self-reproduction of the population (See Smelzer N. Sociology. M., 1994,
With. 85). Each sovereign society is built in principle from standard blocks, of course, adapted to specific conditions, or modified, sometimes beyond recognition, at the subjective discretion. So, for example, a society at the level of a sovereign country has (should have) two fundamental structures at its foundation - the state and civil society. The state as the embodiment of the imperious principle of organizational, managerial and regulatory functions embodies the general (universal) interests of society and each individual (including those, by the way, who are firmly convinced, like M. Bakunin in his time, that they do not need the state and only gets in the way.) These are the defense of the country, the maintenance of law and order, the security of citizens and the social world, the implementation of social programs and unique projects, the formation of a regulatory framework, macroeconomic regulation of the economy (but not management at the microeconomic level), tax and customs policy, etc. Civil society is the sphere of representation and realization of special (private, individual, group) interests of people, through voluntary, amateur associations (unions, clubs, associations, etc.), relieving state bodies from an overwhelming burden of universal regulation and creating a system of checks and counterbalances from state encroachments on the privacy and rights of citizens, thereby ensuring the functional balance of the social system.

The question arises: if these are typical fundamental structures, then how can there be countries in which there is no civil society? Firstly, where the state suppresses civil society (statism in social life), it still does not disappear, but is transformed into various transformed (unnatural, semi-legal, hidden) forms, creating the so-called “shadow sociality” - clan-related, friendly groups, reciprocal (quid pro quo, i.e. “you to me, I to you”) associations, “hanging out”, criminal structures and so on. Secondly Since such a state is unnatural, it cannot be stable and long-lasting. After all, the fact that a person can stand and even move on one leg cannot be considered an argument for rejecting what is laid down by nature. Another thing is that under a certain set of circumstances, some people have stereotypes and prejudices about the advantages of “one-leggedness”. We mean those who believe (sincerely or slyly) that all these public associations of citizens only prevent the state from stabilizing the situation, putting things in order, and so on. But if the sincere are simply temporarily mistaken, then the evil ones understand that a developed civil society is capable of eliminating various types of shadow sociality. So, society - the country consists of the state and civil society, which in turn are structured. The state structure includes the entire set of state authorities in the center and in the field. The construction of a rule of law state in which the rule of law prevails, the responsibility of the state to the people is established, the observance of human rights and freedoms is ensured, requires a change in the previous principles and approaches, an increase in the role and responsibility of local authorities, social institutions and government bodies.

Civil society in Belarus is today in the stage of self-organization. Numerous amateur formations have sprung up, according to some data, there are currently more than a thousand of them, dozens of parties, many non-state foundations, associations, etc. are functioning.

The totality of all elements of the system of government and, accordingly, civil society, as well as the relationship between them, is the structure of a particular society. It is called a social structure, based on the etymology of the word (socialis - public). But the term "social" has another meaning. They designate that part of society (social sphere), that side of public life (social security) or type of activity (social work), which are connected with the position of people in society, its maintenance or change.

Proceeding from this, the concept of social structure in the narrow sense of the word is a set of social groups identified (ranked) according to criteria reflecting their position in society, and a system of links between groups characteristic of a particular level of stratification.

Describing the position of a person (group) in such a multidimensional space as society is is far from being as simple as, for example, the location of a point in a Cartesian coordinate system or in three-dimensional space. The main difficulty is in defining the criteria. Firstly, it is necessary to take into account all the essential features, i.e. really differentiating people according to their social position in a particular society. Secondly, exclude those that are not directly related to differentiation, although, perhaps, they are interesting and important in some other respect. For example, in the former USSR, the form of ownership lost its differentiating meaning in the early 60s (after the liquidation of individual farmers, crafts), but for ideological reasons it was taken into account as a criterion of social status. Thus, members of collective farms were treated as peasants, and members of state farms were treated as workers, although there were no significant differences between them.

It is also necessary to take into account the differences between the terms "position", "position" and "status". Social status - this is an objective place of a person in society, determined by essential criteria. Position is the result of self-identification, i.e. the place in which a person puts himself. In most cases, they are the same, but they can differ. Status - a relative value, it can only be determined in comparison with other people or within the framework of already ranked social positions. Status, unlike position, takes into account not only objective indicators, but also the authority of the position, rank, etc., which is automatically transferred to the individual and exists until the individual, by his actions (or inaction), undermines the trust and respect of others .

There can be no universal and uniform criteria of social status for “all times and peoples”. This is due to the fact that as soon as people are aligned on some basis, in a positive or negative sense - for example, in terms of education, income, property - it loses its differentiating value.

The American sociologist Bernard Barber identified six such features in relation to modern American society. Among them are such as 1) the prestige of the profession, 2) power and power, 3) income or wealth, 4) education or knowledge, 5) religious or ritual purity, 6) family and ethnic ties.
It is not difficult to see that in an atheistic society, ritual purity would not matter, in a mono-ethnic society, ethnic ties.

In the Soviet Union, the social status recorded
in the passport, was determined by class: workers - peasants - employees (although employees were considered not a class, but an accounting category). In turn, class affiliation was financed on the basis of: 1) form of ownership (we spoke about the weakness of this criterion); 2) the content and nature of labor - the ambiguity of this feature will be considered later; 3) role in the social organization of labor, i.e. position in the management system; 4) education, according to which the intelligentsia stood out.
According to these criteria, some idealized social structure was actually designed, far from reflecting the real stratification of society.

At the same time, there are cross-cutting criteria of social position and differentiation. These include the following:
1) property, 2) income, 3) prestige of a profession, position, group, 4) power as a legal form of influence, 5) education or knowledge, qualifications, 6) reputation. These criteria are significant in any society, because self-determination of the individual is associated with them. And no matter what methods of self-determination this or that individual chooses, his social position can be assessed quite accurately on the basis of the totality of these characteristics. Let's say a thief can accumulate a lot of money, but his prestige and reputation are negative, as is his status in society.

Thus, the social structure as the division of society into certain groups and the differentiation of people according to their position in society is a key concept for explaining our reality, both in the sphere of high politics and the daily life of the population. It is here that the social base is being formed, on the support of which public leaders, parties and movements are counting.

Essence and criteria of social differentiation.
Social differentiation and methods of its regulation

Few of the Soviet social scientists tried to "look" beyond the limit that was determined by the program projects - the development of society, and answer the question of what kind of socially homogeneous society would be. On the one hand, such a society should not be unstructured, on the other hand, the criteria for a new structuring, the main elements of the social structure, the differences between them, etc. were not clear.

In the early 1980s, a hypothesis was put forward that "a classless social structure would have a 'cellular' character, as it were." Elements of the social structure, its "cells", will become labor collectives, as real prototypes of communist associations. However, this approach did not take into account those social differences that went beyond the boundaries of individual classes (territorial, family, household, demographic, etc.). Labor collectives employed in different sectors of the sphere, regions, differed from each other much more than workers and peasants. Thus, the problem moved to another plane, although its relevance did not decrease. Theoretical modeling came to a standstill, primarily due to the fact that the terms "difference", "equality", "homogeneity" were understood in a very abstract way. The idea was introduced into the mass consciousness that equality (without the predicate “social”, which did not mean anything to the majority) is the sameness of property status, wages and consumption. K. Marx's warnings about the rude, ascetic "leveling communism", which not only did not rise above private property, but did not even grow up to it and is only capable of generating universal envy, if they were mentioned not only in a historical context, but in no way in relation to modernity or the future.

The category of social differentiation, which is central to the theoretical analysis of the social structure and to predicting the trend of its development, turned out to be unclaimed.

What is the nature of social differentiation, the reasons for its emergence and reproduction, is it feasible for a society (of any type) to eliminate it, and if not, then in what ways and within what limits it is necessary to regulate the processes of stratification - all these questions are of paramount theoretical and practical importance.

So, social differentiation is the division of people according to indicators of social status and the corresponding association into more or less homogeneous groups of people, the social distance between which is insignificant, is not fixed either in the form of law or in other social norms, and their common position serves as a criterion of self-identification.

Let's pay attention to the following.

1. We are not talking about any differences, the number of which is boundless, but only about those that are associated with the social position of the individual (group). For example, differences in education are social, since, according to the law of the division of labor, education significantly affects the possibility of occupying certain positions in society.
But the differences are gender and age, territorial (according to the place of residence), national, confessional objectively, i.e. according to the law of the social division of labor, do not determine the position of a person in society, and if they acquire a social character, then for political reasons: due to artificial discrimination or unreasonable privileges.

2. At the individual level, the lag in one of the indicators can be compensated for by some advantages in other indicators. Differences in education are often smoothed out by more responsible or significant work, social prestige compensates for power, wages - income from personal subsidiary plots, etc. Benefits and privileges, as well as a system of income redistribution, serve the same goals with a reasonable social policy. But in these matters, a genuine art of maneuvering, flexibility, strategy, and high moral principles are required. It is no secret that the carelessness in relation to benefits and privileges that arose in the 60s and 70s, the desire to establish them behind the scenes and mainly on the basis of positions, and not on merit, not only increased unjustified differentiation, but also caused destructive trends in social policy. Gorbachev's dream
about a strong social policy was, in principle, unrealizable, since the ruling elite did not understand the situation and did not want to give up the accumulated advantages. Unfortunately, a similar situation, albeit on a different basis, is emerging today in some CIS countries.

There are a huge number of points of view about the origin of social inequality, as well as about ways to overcome it. Summarizing those of them that have a scientific status, and discarding ordinary, emotional, mystical ideas, three approaches can be distinguished.

First- the approach is represented by various modifications of the “theory of violence”, which was very common at the time, seeing the causes of stratification in capture, theft, crime, enslavement
etc. All this has taken place in human history, but without internal sources of wealth reproduction, as well as the social structure as a whole, it is impossible. The inconsistency of this approach is obvious - it is only surprising that recently there are frequent references to Proudhon ("private property is theft"), to Balzac ("behind every fortune there is a crime") and others.

In second differences between people in terms of ability, diligence, etc. are accentuated. as the primary cause of social differentiation. Proponents of this approach argue that life itself is constantly conducting a "natural experiment", putting many people on an equal footing. And since they achieve different results,
it's up to them. Opponents provide no less compelling data on how those who previously had no chance achieve success when conditions change. The paradox is that both are right in their own way, but between these extreme positions, the aspect is not the truth, but the problem.

Third Approach can be called institutional. It is most justified, albeit with different final conclusions, in the Marxist theory of classes and the theory of social action.
In the first, the reasons for social differentiation (the division of society into opposite classes) are: a) the division of labor;
b) private property; and c) "insufficient production for the whole of society." “At the heart of the division into classes,” according to F. Engels, “is the law of the division of labor.” The social division of labor gives rise to private ownership of the means of production and the institution of inheritance, thanks to which social differences are fixed and transmitted from generation to generation. Hence the logical scheme for the elimination of classes, class inequality. First of all, it is necessary to liquidate private property. “Communists can express their theory in one proposition: the abolition of private property,” Marx and Engels pointed out in the Communist Manifesto. Then you can move on to the elimination of the social division of labor and to the training of "people who know how to do everything."

The demand for the “destruction” of private property is justified and inevitable under certain conditions; it is no accident that it arose in ancient times as a “community of property”. True, history has shown that the revolutionary path of expropriation, nationalization, confiscation, etc. turns out to be less effective than the evolutionary transformation of private property in the direction of its corporatization, socialization, socialization.

As for the "destruction" of the social division of labor, from a scientific point of view, this is pure voluntarism. It is impossible to cancel the action of objective laws in nature or society. They must be recognized and taken into account in their activities. The difficulty is that many laws simultaneously operate in the sphere of labor: the division of labor, including international; labor changes; cooperation; socialization of labor, the law of value, including the value of labor power, etc. The joint operation of these laws is not at all as clear as a single one.

To eliminate the third reason - an insufficient level of production - other methods are needed: motivation and stimulation of labor, scientific and technological progress, involvement in the international division of labor, readiness for innovative search, independence of producers, and much more. Fourier, for example, retained private property in his Harmony only because he did not see more effective incentives to attract labor. If social production is not developed, then social differences are reproduced and intensified.

In the theory of social action, social differentiation is associated with the allocation of functions vital for the existence of society (which can be successfully performed by more or less specialized institutions). It is proved that the probability of the appearance of innovations in it depends on the degree of differentiation of the system.

In general, the main objective source of the genesis and reproduction of social differentiation is the number of answers for each option, the law of the social division of labor. Its action is supplemented (strengthened or weakened) by a number of factors - economic, political, cultural, etc. Based on factor analysis, it can be argued, for example, that the following contribute to a decrease in social differentiation:

1) expansion of channels of inter- and intragenerational (and generational) mobility, greater opportunities for people to move, to choose a place of work and residence;

2) a higher level of education, qualifications, culture in general;

3) multistructural economy, diversification of production, limitation of monopolies;

4) developed labor market;

5) system of social protection, pension provision and social insurance;

6) an effective mechanism for stimulating and motivating labor;

7) a clear legal framework, a high level of legal awareness of the population.

Some level of social differentiation is inevitable in any society. Thus, in economically developed countries, income inequality is considered acceptable if it does not exceed a coefficient equal to 5 (the ratio of 20% of high- and low-income social classes). Such inequality would be acceptable for our society, at least on a psychological level. So, to the question, what, in your opinion, should be the salary of the head of an enterprise (institution), the population of the republic, interviewed according to a representative republican sample (1487 people), gave the following
answers:

1) at the level of the average salary of employees - 23.4% of respondents;

2) 2-3 times higher than the average - 36.6%;

3) 4 times higher than the average - 26.6%;

4) 10 times higher than the average - 8.4%;

5) 15 times higher than the average - 2.3%;

6) according to the situation, depending on how things are going - 1.2%.

N is the total number of answers;

n is the number of answers for each option;

· t is the coefficient of excess corresponding to the variant, how many times. Z.

When predicting the level of income per family member, which, according to the respondents, would ensure a normal life, the requests differ significantly, but for the majority, an increase in the current level by 2–3 times would be sufficient. Polls show that if the difference in wages were determined not by the rationing staff of the Ministry of Labor, but by the population, say, in a referendum, it would be much larger than at present, especially for the category of highly skilled labor. This means that the population would vote for greater social differentiation.

It seems that such a conclusion contradicts not only the previous leveling stereotypes, but also the widespread ideas about the current state of mass consciousness. However, it is important to bear in mind that the declarations about the “smoothing and final erasure of social differences” could not hide the real stratification of society from the population.

As for the mass consciousness, today two trends are clearly expressed in it: firstly, the growing indignation at unjustifiably high and often semi-criminal incomes, and secondly, the rejection of unreasonable equalization of wages and these are rights, etc. Note that for propaganda purposes, these tendencies are mixed or replaced with each other, depending on what they want to prove.

Public opinion, in principle, does not diverge from the theoretical conclusion that both unfair stratification, obtaining undeserved advantages by representatives of the upper classes, and equalization in the sphere of income and consumption, unification of social parameters, lifestyle are equally unacceptable and dangerous for society. etc. The injustice of equal pay for unequal work, ignoring differences in education, qualifications, experience, knowledge, attitude to work are just as offensive and intolerable as extracting undeserved benefits from positions, property, etc.

Private property, as an epiphenomenon of the social division of labor, is certainly one of the strongest causes of stratification, both historically and in fact. But not the only one. History knows the Asian mode of production, which did not know private property. The property right belonged to the state, the workers acted only as users of land, water, irrigation devices and other means of production. Free small producers were dependent on the state and exploited through a tax-duty system. In the social structure, such groups were distinguished as the “supreme despotic principle”, represented by the pharaonic and priestly nobility; the lower state apparatus - the heads of communities and other bosses; host; artisans; peasants and slaves. The latter were few, they performed the functions of servants, however, assessing the situation of the people
in Asian society, it is called "permanent slavery".

Social differences between the "tops" and "bottoms" were huge and, as a rule, insurmountable, there was no vertical mobility, social production lost incentives to work,
to technological improvements and degraded. The Russian landed peasant community did not know private property either. The whole community, the "world", owned the land by the right of common, collective property. Periodically redistributions of land were carried out
in order to equalize the allotments of individual families. It would seem that the redistribution of land according to the most just criterion - "according to eaters" should have excluded the very possibility of differentiation within the community. But property stratification increased after the abolition of serfdom. More active families were engaged in crafts, transportation, otkhodnichestvo, etc. Communal ownership, according to Engelhardt, saves many who are incapable of farming from final ruin. At the same time, the economic efficiency of the community was declining. The division "according to eaters" stimulated the birth rate. Thus, in 45 years, from 1861 to 1905, the peasant population more than doubled. Accordingly, allotments have decreased, the marketability of production has decreased. The community, preventing migration, delaying the mobility of the peasants, could only reproduce the equality of poverty with the growth of land scarcity.

He (the farmer of Russia) now needs cooperative labor organized on a large scale. But equipment, fertilizer, agronomic methods, and so on - all the tools necessary for collective labor - where to find them? It is precisely here that the great superiority of the Russian "rural community" will make itself felt. It is clear that we are not talking about a collective farm on the basis of state-owned means of production, but about a voluntary association for independent management. Property, as if bypassing the phase of individualism, more precisely, passing only legal registration, is immediately socialized, acquiring the status of share, joint-stock, cooperative property. This makes it possible to conduct large-scale production without going beyond the boundaries of total alienation of a person from property and the results of joint labor. In fact, this is the same way of socializing property, but taking into account the artel traditions and communal morality of the Russian peasantry.

These experiments attracted the close attention of K. Marx. And if he did not change his views on the fate of private property, then, I think, for the following reasons. First, he did not consider it possible for the victory of socialism in one, all the more poorly developed, country. A new society could emerge only after capitalism had fulfilled its "civilizing role", namely, it had developed productive forces, disciplined workers, completed the creation of a world market, and eliminated all remnants of feudalism. First, according to Marx, history knows no backward movement, and therefore the return of any elements of "Asiatic despotism", "Egyptian pharaohism", "caste", etc. completely excluded. And, thirdly, at that time there was no reason to assume that the ruling classes were capable of social partnership and compromise solutions to class conflicts. Their power is in private property, and it was subject to destruction.

History again in the 20th century. showed that in itself the elimination of private property, the general nationalization of the means of production does not solve automatic social problems.

Short-term labor upsurge and enthusiasm gradually decreased due to the lack of an effective and permanent motivational incentive mechanism. Although class inequality is multiplying, social differences of non-class origin are increasing.

China, abandoning the dogmatic thesis of the incompatibility of private property with socialism, relied on the use of the stimulating effect of property, and achieved a sharp rise in production. Fourier said he was right; not the directive elimination of private property, but its gradual socialization using its inherent high labor motivation - this is the theoretically justified way of transforming property and the entire structure of social life. Another conclusion follows from this: attempts in post-socialist countries to return to classical forms of private property, which have long ceased to exist in developed countries, are based on very superficial historical analogies and, in the final analysis, can only increase social tension. But also the conservation of the former structures, the rejection of reforms in the economy and the social sphere inevitably leads to the accumulation of social impatience with all the negative consequences.

The regulation of social differentiation is too responsible a task to be left to the power of the elements, and at the same time too complicated to be tackled on the basis of everyday ideas or concepts created in relation to other historical conditions, a different level of economy, culture, political traditions. Without simplifying the problem, consider the following.

1. Social differentiation arises and is reproduced by virtue of the objective operation of the law of the social division of labor. This law manifests itself in a variety of functions vital for the existence of society as a system of functions that are most successfully performed by specialized institutions and professional cadres. Thus, a set of social positions arises, at first as if impersonal. For example, when starting space exploration, society does not know who will perform this function, but to a certain extent it tries to establish the social position of astronauts in advance, based on the social significance of the new function. Society is interested in the most significant functions being performed by the most capable people, and for this it hierarchizes the structure of social positions, establishing a certain distance between them, to overcome which applicants must make considerable efforts and prove their professionalism.

Such is the general theoretical model scheme of the social structuring of society. It is significantly deformed when:

social positions are inherited, regardless of personal merit and ability;

· the distance between positions decreases so much that advancement in the hierarchical ladder does not justify the effort expended;

· This or that group acquires the ability to determine its significance and advantages at its own discretion, contrary to the changing needs of society. Extreme case: the function disappears, but the people who performed it insist on continuing it;

· there are "shadow structures" of a criminal orientation, "closed distributors", "new classes" and other formations in the "pores" or outside the normative hierarchy of positions.

Relations of this kind violate the objective logic of “positioning”: here it is no longer the functions that give rise to certain elements of the structure, but vice versa - the groups strive to maintain their position, regardless of the function.

2. A certain level of social differentiation is necessary for society and meets people's expectations. According to the law of social comparison, individuals strive for advancement, occupying higher social positions, a better social position. This is the basis of high competitive activity, achievement motivation, success, initiative, search. It is only important that the possibility of promotion is not only declared, but also real. Social differentiation acquires a character that threatens the stability of society if it:

becomes excessive, i.e. exceeds the economically and psychologically acceptable level;

· is determined not by personal merits, but by various incidental circumstances (origin, connections, etc.);

generates shadow or criminal groups that go beyond the functional structuring of society;

· closes the channels of social mobility, democratic forms of change of leaders, rotation of personnel.

3. In the regulation of social status, special attention should be paid to the lower boundary of differentiation: the standard of living, education, access to sociocultural benefits, and other indicators. The "poverty line" should not put people in a critical position of a threat to survival. The UN Declaration on Human Rights requires the establishment of a certain minimum of state-guaranteed social services to support human existence. It is extremely important that the first distance to a higher position be the easiest, accessible to everyone, and encouraging to overcome it. In addition to the material level, it is necessary to maintain optimism, communication, informal ties of mutual assistance, solidarity in relation to those who are temporarily in a difficult situation.

However, in determining the basic needs of a “normal” (or “decent”) standard of living and the corresponding goods and services to maintain it, experts do not have a unanimous opinion. Thus, the American sociologist Pinch identifies four approaches to its definition: a) Anglo-Saxon; b) Western European; c) American;
d) Japanese. Despite the fact that all these approaches are implemented as part of the economic development of countries, they differ significantly in the amount of goods and services guaranteed by the state to a person, depending on tradition, culture, labor costs, and social policy strategies.

In our society, this problem began to be discussed only
in recent years. The “normative method” prevailing in Soviet times did not proceed from the real needs of people, but from average indicators (per 1,000 people, etc.), which hid the minimum of security, and besides, they were not always met. Such generally accepted categories as "living wage", "minimum consumer budget" were not calculated and were not used in planning the quality and standard of living.

It is believed that at present there is not enough money to raise the lower limit of the standard of living in our country. This is true, however, and the available appropriations are not always used effectively and targeted. The launched social reforms should create a regulatory framework through the provision of budgetary funds, form new mechanisms for the implementation of social programs based on the principles of targeted subsidiarity and incentives.

4. The regulation of social differentiation presupposes, as the first condition, certainty and openness, social utility and effectiveness of the criteria for social advancement. It can be recalled that in tsarist Russia there was a rule according to which a soldier, a native of peasants or bourgeois, who rose to the rank of colonel, received a noble rank. The certainty and clarity of this incentive made it very attractive to many people from the common people.

Unfortunately, such historical examples are the exception rather than the rule. In Soviet society, first of all, party membership, origin, partly nationality, as well as the presence of a diploma (no matter what), marital status, moral stability, etc. were taken into account, and only after them professional ability, knowledge of the matter. If in developed countries a self-made person became a role model, then in our country a person of the system was formed who was able to adapt to its criteria to the greatest extent, using, among other things, their shortcomings. There were, of course, positions that could not be replaced by "nominees". Korolev, Tupolev, Antonov, Kalashnikov, Orlovsky and dozens of other professionals, whose high status was determined by personal talent and recognized by the people, did not change the general trend.

The transition period destroyed not only the "nomenclature" criteria, but also those remnants of socially justified social promotion on merit, which the system was forced to allow.

In sociological studies, when asked what contributes most to advancement today, the first dreams are called: a) the presence of connections; b) access to loans, licenses, etc.;
c) the possibility of using state property, and on the latter - education and personal abilities. This means that the mass consciousness does not yet see the optimal, from a social point of view, normative criteria for social advancement. It is clear that such a situation does not contribute to the ordering of social relations and the stabilization of society.

5. Formation of the middle class. Due to the growth of the middle class, the social structure changes its shape: from pyramidal to diamond-shaped. Between the "tops" and "bottoms" there is a "buffer layer" of a self-sufficient population, which is most interested in stability, and has a strong immunity to any revolutionaryism. Because of this, the degree of stratification decreases, but at the same time, the stimulating role of the position hierarchy itself remains.

Ways to create a middle class in our country will be discussed below.

In foreign sociological science, the concept of social stratification has become widespread. In principle, if we keep in mind the ontology of these terms, then they are identical, i.e. about the same thing. Methodological differences can be seen in the fact that the concept of social structure makes it possible to include in the analysis socio-demographic and socio-professional groups that do not coincide with strata. It is no coincidence that N. Smelser called one of the chapters of his textbook “Social structure”, and not stratification. It seems that the moment noted, as well as a long tradition, allows us to use the concept of social structure, of course,
without reducing it to the well-known three-term formula.

Social differentiation is an intra-group process that determines the position and status of members of a given community. The social differentiation of society is an attribute inherent in all types of societies. Already in primitive cultures, where there were still no differences between people in terms of wealth, there were differences due to the personal qualities of individuals - physical strength, experience, gender. A person could occupy a higher position due to successful hunting and fruit gathering. Individual differences continue to play an important role in modern societies.

According to functionalist theory, in any society, some activities are considered more important than others. This leads to differentiation of both individuals and professional groups. Occupation of different types of activity for society underlies existing inequalities and, consequently, causes unequal access to such social benefits as money, power, prestige.

Systems of social differentiation differ in the degree of their stability. In relatively stable societies, social differentiation is more or less clearly defined, transparent, and reflects the well-known algorithm of its functioning. In a changing society, social differentiation is diffuse, difficult to predict, the algorithms for its functioning are hidden or not defined.

The behavior of an individual is largely determined by the factor of social inequality, which is ranked in society, stratified according to different systems, grounds or indicators:

social background;

Ethnic background;

Level of education;

Positions;

professional affiliation;

income and wealth;

Lifestyle.

Question 15. Social inequality and social justice. (Interesting).

Social stratification is always associated with social inequality, i.e. unequal access to such social benefits as money, power, prestige, education, etc. Social inequality finds its expression in the inequality of living conditions, in the inequality of opportunities in achieving desired goals and in the inequality of results. In various societies, certain aspects of inequality were regarded as unfair, and therefore requiring elimination or mitigation.

The concept of justice arises in the process of social interaction, the exchange of activities and their results. In its most general form, the concept of justice is associated with an understanding of the measure, scale, criteria for correlating the actions of some people with the actions of others. Justice presupposes retribution: crime must be punished, good deeds must be rewarded, honors must be according to merit, rights correspond to duties.

The concept of justice is close to the concept of equality, since inequality or equality of social groups can be regarded as fair and as unfair. And yet, unlike the concept of justice, the concept of equality focuses on the coincidence, sameness, similarity, interchangeability of goals, values, positions, prestige, and the availability of benefits of various social groups. The specific meaning of the concepts of justice and equality is always changeable and depends on historical circumstances.

In closed societies, where social control is aimed at maintaining the existing social order, where a person is attached to his social stratum and does not have the opportunity to move to other strata, social inequality persists and is constantly reproduced. The ruling social groups of such societies regarded social inequality as the embodiment of a just social order, and therefore any deviation from the established social order should be resolutely suppressed.

However, those who did not agree with this principle of the world order associated the idea of ​​social justice with the destruction of social barriers and the establishment of complete social equality. Complete equality was understood as an equalizing equality, embodied in the principle of "one and the same for everyone." The stronger social inequality, the more egalitarian moods are manifested among its opponents, especially in the sphere of distribution of goods. Attempts to realize full equality in practice have always led to the emergence of a new system of social inequality.

In open societies, social inequality persists, especially at the level of income. A person from a wealthy family has the opportunity to get an education in prestigious educational institutions and move up the social ladder faster than a person from the lower classes. Nevertheless, the mechanism of social mobility that exists in an open society contributes to the mitigation of social inequality, although it does not eliminate it. Social justice is understood as an opportunity to take a prestigious place in the social hierarchy in accordance with personal merits, abilities, diligence, talents, knowledge, and education.

The principle of social justice is interpreted as the principle of "fair inequality", which is expressed in the requirements of "equal pay for equal work" or "freedom to the strong - protection to the weak". It is from the point of view of social justice that the question is decided in what people are equal and in what they are not. Acting as a measure of the distribution of social benefits, justice serves as the basis for the social protection of the interests of children, the elderly, the disabled and other social groups who experience difficulties in raising their social status.

In an open society, the demand for equality, understood as the complete equalization of each person with all others in any of the parameters of life, threatens the very existence of a person who can never be identical to everyone else. The motto of an open society is not "equal to all!", but "everyone has the right to achieve a higher status, to have their merits and merits recognized by those around them!". In an open society, social equality means the creation in society of such conditions that would contribute to the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities for every person, every social group. Then this principle is supported by the requirement of legal equality, i.e. equality of all citizens before the law, as well as the requirement of moral equality, i.e. equality of all before moral standards.

Is it possible to overcome social inequality? The answer to this question is related to the understanding of the reasons for the stratification of society. K. Marx believed that the reason for the division of society into classes is private property, which acts as a source of exploitation by the possessing classes of the have-nots. Therefore, it is true that the destruction of private property will lead to the elimination of social inequality. If the Marxist program of the abolition of private property is implemented, social stratification itself must go into oblivion along with social inequality. All people will occupy exactly the same position, and society itself will become one-dimensional, "flat". Relations between social groups in such a society would have to be built on the principle of coordination rather than subordination.

Supporters of the universality of stratification are convinced that the existing system of inequality stimulates people's efforts to achieve a higher status. In addition, by giving preference to certain groups, society gains confidence that the necessary work will be done well. At the same time, it is important to create social control mechanisms (norms, laws, rules) that regulate social inequality and do not allow such social tension to arise, which will have devastating consequences for society. In this case, justice acts as a means of mitigating social inequality, harmonizing the interests of social groups, regulating relations between groups and members within them. Thus, social justice, on the one hand, is a factor in the stabilization of the social system, and on the other hand, it is a force that unites people in the fight against inequality.

Question 16. General characteristics of social institutions. And question 17. Classification of social institutions. And question 18. Economic institutions and economic relations. And question 19. The family as a social institution, its functions.

A social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms that combines significant social values ​​and procedures that meet the basic needs of society.

The following complexes of institutions in society can be distinguished: 1. economic institutions that perform the functions of production and distribution of goods and services; 2. political institutions that regulate the functions of power and access to it; 3. institutions of kinship related to the family, marriage and the upbringing of children; 4. cultural institutions associated with religion, education, science, etc.

Institutionalization is the process by which social practices become sufficiently regular and long-lasting.

The activities of the institute are determined by:

· a set of specific social norms and regulations governing the relevant types of behavior;

· its integration into the socio-political, ideological and value structure of society, which makes it possible to legitimize the formal legal basis of the social institution;

availability of material resources and conditions that ensure the performance of functions.

Explicit Functions of Social Institutions

The function of consolidation and reproduction of social relations. Each institution has a system of rules and norms of behavior that fixes, standardizes the behavior of its members and makes this behavior predictable.

The regulatory function is that the functioning of social institutions ensures the regulation of relationships between members of society by developing patterns of behavior.

integrative function. This function includes the processes of cohesion, interdependence and mutual responsibility of members of social groups, occurring under the influence of institutionalized norms, rules, sanctions and systems of roles.

broadcasting function. Society could not develop if it were not possible to transfer social experience.

communicative function. Information produced in an institution should be disseminated both within the institution for the purpose of managing and monitoring compliance with regulations, and in interactions between institutions.

latent functions. Along with the direct results of the actions of social institutions, there are other results that are outside the immediate goals of a person, not planned in advance. These results can be of great importance to society. Thus, the church seeks to consolidate its influence to the greatest extent through ideology, the introduction of faith, and often achieves success in this. However, regardless of the goals of the church, there are people who leave production activities for the sake of religion. Fanatics begin to persecute non-believers, and there may be the possibility of major social conflicts on religious grounds. The family seeks to socialize the child to the accepted norms of family life, however, it sometimes happens that family education leads to a conflict between the individual and the cultural group and serves to protect the interests of certain social strata.

It is possible not to read (The existence of latent functions of the institute is most convexly shown by T. Veblen, who wrote that it would be naive to say that people eat black caviar because they want to satisfy their hunger, and they buy a luxurious Cadillac because they want to buy a good car. Obviously, these things are not acquired for the sake of satisfying obvious urgent needs. T. Veblen concludes from this that the production of consumer goods performs a hidden, latent function - it satisfies the needs of people to increase their own prestige. Such an understanding of the actions of the institution as the production of consumer goods in radically changes the opinion about its activities, tasks and conditions of functioning.

Thus, it is obvious that only by studying the latent functions of institutions can we determine the true picture of social life. For example, very often sociologists are faced with a phenomenon that is incomprehensible at first glance, when an institution continues to successfully exist, even if it not only does not fulfill its functions, but also interferes with their implementation. Such an institution obviously has hidden functions by which it satisfies the needs of certain social groups. A similar phenomenon can be observed especially often among political institutions, in which latent functions are developed to the greatest extent.

Latent functions, therefore, are the subject that should primarily interest the student of social structures. The difficulty in recognizing them is compensated by the creation of a reliable picture of social connections and features of social objects, as well as the ability to control their development and to manage the social processes taking place in them.)

Economic institutions. The economy as a subsystem of society is itself a social institution, but in this important area of ​​social life one can also name a number of social institutions through which the economic life of society is organized: the market, property, money, entrepreneurship, labor, stock exchange, etc. A feature of the economic institutions of society is their huge impact on all spheres of human life. The economy as a social institution is not only responsible for the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods and services necessary for the life of people, it also affects social relations, the activity of social groups and the social stratification of society. In fact, the position of various social groups in society is determined by the system of economic relations, although other social institutions also play a role in the configuration of the social structure of society.

a family is a small social group, which is characterized by certain intra-group processes and phenomena.

The main functions of the family:

1. Reproductive
2. Household
3. Economic
4. Spiritual
5. Communicative
6. Leisure (recreational)

(It was also statistically shown by E. Durkheim that single, widowed or divorced people are more likely to commit suicide than married people, and married but not having children more often than having children. The percentage of suicides is lower, the more united the family is. About 30% of intentional homicides are murders by one family member of another family member.)