Social (stratification) structure is understood as the stratification and hierarchical organization of various strata of society, as well as a set of institutions and the relationship between them. The term "stratification" is derived from the Latin word stratum - layers, layer. Strata are large groups of people differing in their position in the social structure of society.

All scientists agree that the basis of the stratification structure of society is the natural and social inequality of people. However, on the question of what exactly is the criterion for this inequality, their opinions differ. Studying the process of stratification in society, K. Marx called the fact of a person's possession of property and the level of his income as such a criterion. M. Weber added to them social prestige and the subject's belonging to political parties, to power. Pitirim Sorokin believed that the reason for the stratification was the uneven distribution of rights and privileges, responsibilities and duties in society. He also argued that the social space has many other criteria for differentiation: it can be carried out according to citizenship, occupation, nationality, religious affiliation, etc. certain social strata in society.

Historically, stratification, that is, inequality in income, power, prestige, etc., arises from the inception of human society. With the emergence of the first states, it becomes tougher, and then, in the process of development of society (primarily European), it gradually softens.

There are four main types of social stratification in sociology - slavery, castes, estates and classes. The first three characterize closed societies, and the last type - open ones.

The first system of social stratification is slavery, which arose in antiquity and in some backward regions is still preserved. There are two forms of slavery: patriarchal, in which the slave has all the rights of a younger member of the family, and classical, in which the slave has no rights and is considered the property of the owner (a talking tool of labor). Slavery was based on direct violence, and social groups in the era of slavery were distinguished by the presence or absence of civil rights.

The second system of social stratification should be recognized as caste build. A caste is a social group (stratum) whose membership is passed on to a person only at birth. The transition of a person from one caste to another during life is impossible - for this he needs to be born again. India is a classic example of a caste society. There are four main castes in India, which, according to legend, originated from different parts of the god Brahma:

a) brahmanas - priests;

b) kshatriyas - warriors;

c) vaisyas - merchants;

d) sudras - peasants, artisans, workers.

A special position is occupied by the so-called untouchables, who do not belong to any caste and occupy a lower position.

The next form of stratification is the estates. An estate is a group of people that has rights and obligations enshrined in law or custom, inherited. Usually, there are privileged and non-privileged classes in society. For example, in Western Europe, the first group included the nobility and the clergy (in France they were called that - the first convention and the second estate) to the second - artisans, merchants and peasants. In Russia until 1917, in addition to the privileged (nobility, clergy) and non-privileged (peasantry), there were also semi-privileged estates (for example, the Cossacks).

Finally, class is another stratification system. The most complete definition of classes in scientific literature was given by V. I. Lenin: “Classes are called large groups of people that differ in their place in a historically defined system of social production, in their relation (for the most part enshrined and formalized in laws) to the means of production, according to their role in the social organization of labor, and, consequently, according to the methods of obtaining and the size of the share of social wealth that they have. " The class approach is often opposed to the stratification approach, although in reality class division is only a special case of social stratification.

Depending on the historical period in society, the following classes are distinguished as the main ones:

a) slaves and slave owners;

b) feudal lords and feudal-dependent peasants;

c) the bourgeoisie and the proletariat;

d) the so-called middle class.

Since any social structure is a collection of all functioning social communities taken in their interaction, the following elements can be distinguished in it:

a) ethnic structure (clan, tribe, nationality, nation);

b) demographic structure (groups are distinguished by age and gender);

c) settlement structure (urban dwellers, rural dwellers, etc.);

d) class structure (bourgeoisie, proletariat, peasants, etc.);

e) vocational and educational structure.

In its most general form, three stratification levels can be distinguished in modern society: the highest, middle and lowest. In economically developed countries, the second level is predominant, giving society a certain stability. In turn, within each level there is also a hierarchically ordered set of various social strata. A person who occupies a certain place in this structure has the ability to move from one level to another, raising or lowering his social status, or from one group located at any level to another, located at the same level. This transition is called social mobility.

Social mobility sometimes leads to the fact that some people find themselves, as it were, at the junction of certain social groups, while experiencing serious psychological difficulties. Their intermediate position is largely determined by the inability or unwillingness, for whatever reason, to adapt to one of the interacting social groups. This phenomenon of finding a person, as it were, between two cultures, associated with his movement in social space, is called marginality. A marginal is an individual who has lost a swap of his former social status, deprived of the opportunity to engage in his usual business and, moreover, found himself unable to adapt to the new socio-cultural environment of the stratum within which he formally exists. The individual value system of such people is so stable that it does not lend itself to being replaced by new norms, principles, and rules. Their behavior is extreme: they are either overly passive or very aggressive, easily overstep moral norms and are capable of unpredictable actions. Among the marginals there may be ethnomarginal people - people who have found themselves in a foreign environment as a result of migration; political marginals are people who are not satisfied with legal opportunities and legitimate rules of the socio-political struggle: religious marginals are people who stand outside the confession or do not dare to make a choice between them, etc.

The qualitative changes taking place in the economic basis of modern Russian society have entailed serious changes in its social structure. The currently emerging social hierarchy is characterized by inconsistency, instability and a tendency to significant changes. The highest stratum (elite) today can include representatives of the state apparatus, as well as the owners of big capital, including their top - the financial oligarchs. The middle class in modern Russia includes representatives of the entrepreneurial class, as well as knowledge workers, highly qualified managers (managers). Finally, the lowest stratum is made up of workers of various professions, employed in labor of medium and low qualifications, as well as clerical employees and employees of the public sector (teachers and doctors in state and municipal institutions). It should be noted that the process of social mobility between these levels in Russia is limited, which may become one of the prerequisites for future conflicts in society.

In the process of changing the social structure of modern Russian society, the following trends can be distinguished:

1) social polarization, i.e. stratification into rich and poor, deepening social and property differentiation;

2) massive downward social mobility;

3) mass change of place of residence by knowledge workers (the so-called "brain drain").

In general, we can say that the main criteria that determine the social position of a person in modern Russia and his belonging to one or another stratification level are either the size of his wealth or belonging to power structures.

2. Personal and social status of a person. Social roles

Status - it is a certain position in the social structure of a group or society, linked to other positions through a system of rights and obligations.

Sociologists distinguish two types of status: personal and acquired. Personal status is the position of a person that he occupies in the so-called small, or primary, group, depending on how his individual qualities are assessed in it. On the other hand, in the process of interacting with other individuals, each person performs certain social functions that determine his social status.

Social status is the general position of an individual or social group in society, associated with a certain set of rights and obligations. Social statuses are prescribed and acquired (achieved). The first category includes nationality, place of birth, social origin, etc., the second - profession, education, etc.

In any society, there is a certain hierarchy of status, which is the basis of its stratification. Certain statuses are prestigious, others are vice versa. Prestige is the assessment by society of the social significance of a particular status, enshrined in culture and public opinion. This hierarchy is shaped by two factors:

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

b) a system of values ​​characteristic of a given society.

If the prestige of any statuses is unreasonably high or, on the contrary, low, it is usually said that there is a loss of the balance of statuses. A society in which there is a similar tendency to the loss of this balance is unable to ensure its normal functioning. It is necessary to distinguish authority from prestige. Authority is the degree of recognition by society of the dignity of an individual, a particular person.

The social status of a person primarily influences his behavior. Knowing the social status of a person, one can easily determine most of the qualities that he possesses, as well as predict the actions that he will carry out. Such expected behavior of a person, associated with the status that he has, is usually called a social role. A social role is actually a certain pattern of behavior recognized as appropriate for people of a given status in a given society. In fact, the role provides a model showing how an individual should act in a given situation. Roles differ in the degree of formalization: some are very clearly defined, for example, in military organizations, others are very vague. A social role can be assigned to a person both formally (for example, in a legislative act) and also be informal.

Any individual is a reflection of the totality of social relations of his era. Therefore, each person has not one but a whole set of social roles that he plays in society. Their combination is called a role system. Such a variety of social roles can cause an internal conflict of the individual (in the event that some of the social roles contradict each other).

Scientists offer different classifications of social roles. Among the latter, as a rule, the so-called basic (basic) social roles are distinguished. These include:

a) the role of the worker;

b) the role of the owner;

c) the role of the consumer;

d) the role of the citizen;

e) the role of a family member.

However, despite the fact that the behavior of a person is largely determined by the status that she occupies and the roles that she plays in society, she (the person) nevertheless retains her autonomy and has a certain freedom of choice. And although in modern society there is a tendency towards the unification and standardization of the personality, its complete leveling, fortunately, does not occur. An individual has the opportunity to choose from a variety of social statuses and roles offered to him by society, those that allow him to better realize his plans, to use his abilities as efficiently as possible. A person's acceptance of a particular social role is influenced by both social conditions and his biological and personal characteristics (health status, gender, age, temperament, etc.). Any role-playing prescription only outlines a general scheme of human behavior, offering to make a choice of ways to fulfill it by the personality itself.

In the process of achieving a certain status and performing the corresponding social role, a so-called role conflict may arise. Role conflict is a situation in which a person is faced with the need to satisfy the requirements of two or more incompatible roles.

3. Social mobility

Social mobility refers to the movement of individuals or social groups from one position in the hierarchy of social stratification to another.

Sociologists distinguish several types of social mobility. First, depending on the reason for the displacement, a distinction is made between mobility caused by the voluntary movement of individuals within the social hierarchy of society and mobility dictated by structural changes taking place in society. An example of the latter can be the social mobility caused by the industrialization process: one of the consequences of the industrialization process was an increase in the number of people in blue-collar occupations and a decrease in the number of people engaged in agricultural production. Secondly, mobility is intergenerational and intragenerational. Intergenerational mobility refers to the movement of children to a higher or lower level than their parents. Within the framework of intragenerational mobility, the same individual changes his social position several times throughout his life. Finally, individual and group mobility are distinguished. Individual mobility is said to be when movements within society occur in one person independently of others. With group mobility, movements occur collectively (for example, after the bourgeois revolution, the feudal class yields its dominant position to the bourgeois class).

The reasons that allow a person to move from one social group to another are called factors of social mobility. Sociologists identify several such factors.

The first factor in social mobility is education. It played a decisive role in the process of social mobility in some ancient states. In particular, in China, only a person who passed a special exam could apply for a state post.

An important factor in social mobility is also the social status of the family to which a person belongs. Many families, in various ways - from marriage to business support - help advance their members into higher strata.

The system of social structure affects the level and nature of social mobility: in an open society, unlike a closed society, there are no formal restrictions on mobility and there are almost no informal ones. In a closed society, however, mobility is limited both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Another factor facilitating social mobility is the changes taking place in the technology of social production: they lead to the emergence of new professions that require high qualifications and significant training. These professions pay better and are more prestigious.

In addition to economic changes, social upheavals can also enhance the process of social mobility, for example, wars and revolutions, which, as a rule, lead to a change in the elite of society.

As an additional factor of social mobility, one can note the different birth rate in different strata - lower in the upper and higher in the lower ones creates a certain "vacuum" from above and promotes the upward movement of people from the bottom.

The movement between strata is carried out through special channels ("elevators"), the most important of which are such social institutions as the army, family, school, church, property.

The army functions as a conduit for vertical mobility in both war and peacetime. However, during periods of war, the process of "climbing up" is faster: large losses among the command staff lead to the filling of vacancies by people of lower ranks, distinguished by their talent and courage.

In the past, the Church was the second channel of vertical mobility after the army, especially in relation to the middle stratum. As a result of the prohibition of the Catholic clergy to marry, the transfer of church positions by inheritance was excluded, and after the death of the clergy, their positions were filled with new people. Significant opportunities for advancement from the bottom up also appeared during the formation of new religions.

Schools are a powerful channel of social circulation in the modern world. Getting an education in the most prestigious schools and universities automatically ensures that a person belongs to a certain stratum and a sufficiently high social status.

The family becomes a channel of vertical mobility when people with different social status enter into marriage. So, at the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century. in Russia, a rather widespread phenomenon was the marriage of the impoverished, but titled brides with representatives of the rich, but ignorant merchant class. As a result of such a marriage, both partners moved up the social ladder, having received what each of them wanted. But such a marriage can be useful only if an individual from a lower stratum is prepared for the rapid assimilation of new patterns of behavior and way of life. If he cannot quickly assimilate new cultural standards, then such a marriage will not give anything, since representatives of the higher status stratum will not consider the individual

Finally, the fastest channel of vertical mobility is property, usually in the form of money - one of the simplest and most effective ways to move upwards.

Social mobility in an open society gives rise to a number of phenomena, both positive and negative.

The advancement of the individual upwards contributes to the realization of his personal qualities. If the movement is downward, then it helps to develop a person's more realistic self-esteem and, accordingly, a more realistic choice of goal. Also, social mobility provides opportunities for the creation of new social groups, the emergence of new ideas, the acquisition of new experience.

The negative results of mobility (both vertical and horizontal) include the loss of an individual's former group belonging, the need to adapt to his new group. This identification of behavior results in tensions in relationships with others and often leads to alienation. To overcome this barrier, there are several ways that individuals resort to in the process of social mobility:

1) changing the way of life, adopting a new material status standard (buying a new, more expensive car, moving to another, more prestigious area, etc.);

2) the development of typical status behavior (change in the manner of communication, the assimilation of new verbal phrases, new ways of spending leisure time, etc.);

3) change in the social environment (the individual tries to surround himself with representatives of the social stratum into which he seeks to get into).

The positive and negative consequences of social mobility affect not only the individual, but also society. The advancement of people upward is closely related to economic development, intellectual and scientific progress, the formation of new values ​​and social movements; moving downward leads to the liberation of the higher strata from elements of little use. But most importantly, increased mobility contributes to the destabilization of society in all its parameters. By providing individuals with the opportunity to change their social status, an open society generates in its individuals the so-called status anxiety - after all, a change in status can occur for the worse. Social mobility often contributes to the breakdown of social ties in primary social groups, for example, in families in which parents belong to the lower strata, and children were able to break through to the top.

4. Social norms. Social behavior

In the course of their life, people constantly interact with each other. The various forms of interaction between individuals, as well as the connections that arise between different social groups (or within them), are usually called general social relations... A significant part of social relations is characterized by the conflicting interests of their participants. The result of such contradictions are social conflicts arising between members of society. One of the ways to reconcile the interests of people and smooth out conflicts arising between them and their associations is normative regulation, i.e. regulation of the behavior of individuals with the help of certain norms.

The word "norm" comes from lat. norma, which means rule, sample, standard. The norm indicates the boundaries within which this or that object retains its essence, remains itself. The norms can be different - natural, technical, social. Actions, actions of people and social groups, which are subjects of social relations, regulate social norms.

Social norms are understood as general rules and patterns, behavior of people in society, conditioned by social relations and resulting from the conscious activity of people... Social norms are formed historically, naturally. In the process of their formation, being refracted through public consciousness, they are then fixed and reproduced in the relations and acts necessary for society. To one degree or another, social norms are mandatory for those to whom they are addressed, they have a certain procedural form of implementation and mechanisms for their implementation.

There are various classifications of social norms. The most important is the separation of social norms depending on the characteristics of their emergence and implementation. On this basis, there are five types of social norms: moral norms, customs, corporate norms, religious norms and legal norms.

Moral norms are rules of behavior that are derived from people's ideas about good and evil, about justice and injustice, about good and bad. The implementation of these norms is ensured by public opinion and the inner conviction of people.

The norms of customs are the rules of behavior that have become a habit as a result of their repeated repetition. The implementation of the usual norms is ensured by the force of habit. Moral customs are called morals.

A variety of customs are traditions that express the desire of people to preserve certain ideas, values, useful forms of behavior. Another type of customs is rituals that regulate the behavior of people in the household, family and religious spheres.

Corporate code refers to the rules of conduct established by community organizations. Their implementation is ensured by the inner conviction of the members of these organizations, as well as by the public associations themselves.

Religious norms are understood as the rules of conduct contained in various sacred books or established by the church. The implementation of this type of social norms is ensured by the inner convictions of people and the activities of the church.

Legal norms are the rules of conduct established or sanctioned by the state, the church new norms are the rights imposed or sanctioned by the state, and sometimes directly by the people, the implementation of which is ensured by the authority and coercive power of the state.

Different types of social norms did not appear simultaneously, but one after the other, as necessary.

With the development of society, they became more and more complicated.

Scientists suggest that rituals were the first type of social norms that arose in primitive society. Ritual is a rule of behavior, in which the most important thing is a strictly predetermined form of its execution. The very content of the ritual is not so important - it is its form that matters most. Many events in the life of primitive people were accompanied by rituals. We know about the existence of the rituals of sending fellow tribesmen off to hunt, assuming the office of a leader, presenting gifts to leaders, etc. Somewhat later, rituals began to be distinguished in ritual actions. Rituals were rules of conduct that consisted of performing some symbolic actions. Unlike rituals, they pursued certain ideological (educational) goals and had a deeper impact on the human psyche.

The next social norms, which were an indicator of a new, higher stage of human development, were the customs. Customs regulated almost all aspects of life in primitive society.

Another type of social norms that arose in the era of primitiveness were religious norms. Primitive man, realizing his weakness in front of the forces of nature, attributed divine power to the latter. Initially, the object of religious admiration was a real-life object - a fetish. Then a person began to worship any animal or plant - a totem, seeing in the latter his ancestor and protector. Then totemism was replaced by animism (from the Latin anima - soul), that is, belief in spirits, soul, or the general spirituality of nature. Many scientists believe that it was animism that became the basis for the emergence of modern religions: over time, among supernatural beings, people identified several special ones - the gods. This is how the first polytheistic (pagan) and then monotheistic religions appeared.

Parallel to the emergence of norms of customs and religion in primitive society, moral norms were also formed. It is impossible to determine the time of their occurrence. We can only say that morality appears together with human society and is one of the most important social regulators.

In the period of the emergence of the state, the first norms of law appear.

Finally, corporate norms are the last to emerge.

All social norms have common features. They are rules of conduct of a general nature, that is, they are designed for repeated use, and operate continuously in time with respect to a personally indefinite circle of persons. In addition, social norms are characterized by such characteristics as procedural and sanctioned. The procedural nature of social norms means the existence of a detailed regulated order (procedure) for their implementation. The sanctioning reflects the fact that each of the types of social norms has a certain mechanism for the implementation of their prescriptions.

Social norms determine the boundaries of permissible behavior of people in relation to the specific conditions of their life. As already mentioned above, compliance with these norms is usually ensured by the inner convictions of people or by applying social rewards and social punishments to them in the form of so-called social sanctions.

Social sanction is usually understood as the reaction of a society or a social group to the behavior of an individual in a socially significant situation. In terms of their content, sanctions can be positive (encouraging) and negative (punishing). They also distinguish between formal (coming from official organizations) and informal (coming from unofficial organizations) sanctions. Social sanctions play a key role in the system of social control, rewarding members of society for fulfilling social norms or punishing deviations from the latter, that is, for deviance.

Deviant (deviant) is a behavior that does not meet the requirements of social norms. Sometimes such deviations can be positive and lead to positive consequences. Thus, the famous sociologist E. Durkheim believed that deviation helps society to get a more complete picture of the diversity of social norms, leads to their improvement, promotes social change, revealing alternatives to existing norms. However, in most cases, deviant behavior is spoken of as a negative social phenomenon that harms society. Moreover, in a narrow sense, deviant behavior means such deviations that do not entail criminal punishment, are not crimes. The set of criminal actions of an individual has a special name in sociology - delinquent (literally - criminal) behavior.

Based on the goals and focus of deviant behavior, destructive and asocial types are distinguished. The first type includes deviations that harm the person himself (alcoholism, suicide, drug addiction, etc.), the second - behavior that harms communities of people (violation of rules of conduct in public places, violation of labor discipline, etc.).

Investigating the causes of deviant behavior, sociological scientists drew attention to the fact that both deviant and delinquent behavior are widespread in societies undergoing a transformation of the social system. Moreover, in the context of a general crisis of society, such behavior can acquire a total character.

The opposite of deviant behavior is conformist behavior (from Lat. Conformis - similar, similar). Conformist refers to social behavior that corresponds to the norms and values ​​accepted in society. Ultimately, the main task of normative regulation and social control is the reproduction of precisely the conformist type of behavior in society.

5. Ethnic communities. Interethnic relations

Along with classes, estates and other groups, the social structure of society is also composed of historically formed communities, called ethnic. Ethnicity - these are large groups of people with a common culture, language, consciousness of the indissolubility of historical fate. Among ethnic communities, tribes, nationalities and nations are distinguished.

Nation - it is historically the highest form of ethnosocial community of people, characterized by unity, territory, economic life, historical path, language, culture, ethnically, self-awareness. The unity of the territory should be understood as the compactness of the residence of the nation.

Representatives of the nation speak and write in one language, understandable (despite the dialects) to all members of the nation. Each nation has its own folklore, customs, traditions, mentality (special stereotypes of attitudes of thought), national way of life, etc. its own culture. The unity of the historical path traversed by each nation also contributes to the cohesion of the nation.

National identity is understood as the reflection of the consciousness of a nation in the individual consciousness of its members, expressing the assimilation by the latter of ideas about the place and role of their people in the world, about their historical experience.

A person is aware of his national identity, his belonging to a particular nation, understands national interests.

Common economic life plays a special role among the characteristics of a nation. On the basis of the development of commodity-money relations, natural isolation and isolation are destroyed, a single national market is formed, economic ties between separate parts of the nation are strengthened. This creates a solid foundation for its unity. The state is an important factor in the formation and development of a nation.

Nations are formed during the genesis of commodity-money relations, although a number of scientists have been leading the history of nations from ancient times. They are preceded by a tribe and nationality. The main role in the formation of the tribe is played by consanguineous ties, and the nationality is characterized by a common territory.

In the modern world, there are from 2500 to 5000 ethnic groups, but only a few hundred of them are nations. The modern Russian Federation comprises more than 100 ethnic groups, including about 30 nations.

In the modern world, two interrelated trends are visible. One is manifested in the economic, cultural and even political rapprochement of nations, the destruction of national barriers, and ultimately leads to integration within supranational structures (for example, the European Community). On the other hand, the desire of a number of peoples to gain national independence, to resist the economic, political and cultural expansion of the superpowers, persists and even grows. In almost all states, the positions of nationalist parties and movements are firmly established, and there are many supporters even of the ideas of national exclusivity. True, societies of mass production and mass consumption, by definition, cannot be individual. The scientific and technological revolution also requires deepening cooperation between different states. But even in developed countries (Canada, Spain, Great Britain) the national question remains acute.

The national question is understood as the question of the liberation of oppressed peoples, their self-determination and overcoming ethnic inequality.

The roots of the national question lie in the uneven socio-economic and political development of various peoples. The more developed and powerful states conquered the weak and the backward ones, establishing in the conquered countries a system of national oppression, sometimes expressed in violent ethnic assimilation and even genocide. After the partition of Europe, it was the turn of the Third World. The traditional societies of Asia, Africa, America fell under the onslaught of the European industrial civilization and turned into colonial countries. At the same time, the struggle of dependent peoples against national oppression began. By the end of the XX century. it actually ended with the complete collapse of the colonial system and the formation of many independent states on the political map of the world.

But the discrepancy between ethnic and territorial boundaries, the deteriorating economic situation, social contradictions, nationalism and chauvinism elevated to the rank of official policy, persisting national and religious differences (sometimes quite sharp), the burden of past national grievances are the breeding ground for numerous interethnic conflicts.

The degree of their acuteness largely depends on the nature of the demands of the national minority. So the Sikhs in India, the Tamils ​​in Sri Lanka, the Basques in Spain are in favor of the creation of their own independent states, so the interethnic conflict here turned into a long-term bloody armed confrontation. The same is the nature of the Ulster conflict: Irish Catholics are demanding the reunification of Northern Ireland with the main nucleus of the nation. More moderate demands, such as cultural autonomy or the establishment of true equality (the Korean minority in Japan), also explain the more moderate forms of national confrontation.

The collapse of the USSR and the formation of a sovereign Russia did not remove the acuteness of the national question in the country. All the former autonomous republics of the RSFSR declared their sovereignty and renounced the status of autonomies. In a number of republics (Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Yakutia), nationalist forces set out to secede from Russia.

The North Ossetian-Ingush conflict led to the bloody massacre. The Ingush tried to regain the territories that had been taken from them during the Great Patriotic War and had not been returned to this day. To separate the warring parties, the president and the government had to send federal armed forces to the confrontation zone.

But the most serious manifestation of the aggravation of interethnic relations on the territory of Russia was and remains the Chechen crisis. Back in 1991, the Republic of Ichkeria (Chechnya) announced its secession from the Russian Federation. Federal authorities did not recognize the self-proclaimed state. but for a long time they did not take any measures to normalize the situation. In December 1994, Russian troops entered Chechnya with the aim of "restoring constitutional order." The separatist detachments met with fierce resistance from the federal military. The conflict became protracted and bloody. Chechen fighters have committed a number of terrorist acts against civilians in several Russian regions. The government proved unable to resolve the crisis militarily, prompting a wave of protest both in Russia and abroad. The war in Chechnya revealed the weak combat readiness of the Russian army and the unpreparedness of the command of the federal forces to lead military operations in mountainous areas. The bankruptcy of such a strategy made a peaceful settlement of the Chechen crisis necessary. In August 1996, the leadership of the Russian Federation and the separatists agreed to end hostilities and withdraw federal troops from the rebellious republic. The decision on the political status of Chechnya was postponed until 2000. However, after an unsuccessful attempt by Chechen militants in August 1999 to seize a number of districts of Dagestan, a second Chechen campaign began. During the autumn of 1999 - spring of 2000, the federal troops, despite the sharp criticism of the actions of the Russian authorities by international human rights organizations (for example, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe suspended the powers of the delegation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation), managed to establish control over most of the territory of the republic (with the exception of mountainous regions ). Now on the agenda are the tasks of a political settlement: the restoration of the Chechen economy, the creation of new authorities (in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the Russian Federation), the holding of free and democratic elections, and the real integration of Chechnya into the Federation.

The national question is also quite acute in the countries of the so-called near abroad. Remaining on the territory of the former Soviet republics, and now independent states, the Russian-speaking population found itself in the position of a national minority. In the Baltic states (especially in Latvia and Estonia), discriminatory laws on citizenship, on the state language, directed against the non-indigenous population, are being adopted. For a long time, the Russian authorities did not take adequate measures to protect our compatriots.

A big problem is the numerous Russian refugees from Central Asia, Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan, who returned to their homeland from areas of military conflicts and ethnic intolerance.

When solving interethnic conflicts, it is necessary to comply with the humanistic principles of policy in the field of ethnic relations:

1) refusal from violence and coercion;

2) seeking agreement on the basis of consensus of all participants;

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

4) readiness for the peaceful settlement of disputed problems.

The family is a complex social entity. A family is a community of people based on a single common family activity, tied by the bonds of matrimony and thereby carrying out the reproduction of the population and the continuity of family generations, as well as the socialization of children and the maintenance of the existence of family members.

The family is both a social institution and a small group. Social Institute is called a relatively stable type or form of social practice, through which social life is organized, the stability of ties and relations is ensured within the framework of the social organization of society. A small group in sociology is understood as a social group, small in composition, whose members are united by common activities and are in direct personal communication with each other, which is the basis for the emergence of both emotional relationships and special group values ​​and norms of behavior.

As a social institution, the family satisfies the most important need of people to reproduce the genus, as a small group, it plays a huge role in the upbringing and development of the individual, its socialization, is a conductor of those values ​​and norms of behavior that are accepted in society.

Depending on the nature of the marriage, the characteristics of parenting and kinship, the following types of family structures are distinguished:

1) monogamous marriage and polygamy. Monogamous marriage is the marriage of one man to one woman. Polygamy is the marriage of one spouse to several women. Polygamy is of two types: polygyny - marriage of one man to several women and polyandry - marriage of one woman to several men;

2) patrilineal and matrilineal families. In patrilineal families, inheritance of surname, property and social status is carried out by the father, and in matrilineal - by the mother;

3) patriarchal and matriarchal families. In patriarchal families, the father is the head; in matriarchal families, the mother enjoys the highest authority and influence;

4) homogeneous and heterogeneous families. In homogeneous families, spouses come from the same social stratum, in heterogeneous families they come from different social groups, castes, classes;

5) small (1-2 children), medium-sized (3-4 children) and large families (5 or more children).

The most common in modern urbanized cities are the so-called nuclear families, consisting of parents and their children, that is, from two generations.

The family performs a number of functions, among which the main ones are reproductive, educational, economic, economic and recreational (relieving stressful situations). Sociologists distinguish between specific and non-specific functions of the family. Specific functions follow from the essence of the family and reflect its characteristics as a social phenomenon. These include the birth, maintenance and socialization of children. The functions that the family is forced to perform in certain historical circumstances are called nonspecific. These functions are associated with the accumulation and transfer of property, status, organization of production and consumption, etc.

Another social institution is closely connected with the institution of the family - the institution of marriage. As a rule, it is the married couple that forms the basis of the family. In sociology, marriage is understood as a socially and personally purposeful, sustainable form of sexual relations sanctioned by society. In a legal sense marriage is a legal, voluntary and free union of a woman and a man, aimed at creating a family and giving rise to mutual personal, as well as property rights and obligations of spouses.

Marriage and family relations in the Russian Federation are governed by family law. The main source of family law is the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

In accordance with the legislation on the family in the Russian Federation, only secular marriage is recognized, that is, a marriage legally formalized, concluded and registered with the civil registry offices. At the same time, the Family Code of the Russian Federation recognizes the legal force of marriages committed by Russian citizens in accordance with religious rites, if such took place in the occupied territories of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War, that is, during the period when the bodies for recording acts did not function in these territories. civil status.

A marriage can only be contracted if the spouses comply with a number of conditions established by law. There are two groups of such conditions. The first group includes positive conditions, the presence of which is mandatory for marriage:

a) mutual voluntary consent of those entering into marriage;

b) reaching the marriageable age, i.e. 18 years; if there are valid reasons, at the request of the spouses, the marriage age may be reduced to 16 years. The Family Code provides for the possibility of getting married at an earlier age. This is allowed as an exception, taking into account special circumstances, if the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation establish the procedure and conditions for the conclusion of such marriages.

The second group is made up of negative conditions, that is, circumstances that prevent marriage. The following conditions are considered negative:

a) the state in another registered marriage of at least one of the persons entering into marriage;

b) the presence of a close relationship between persons entering into marriage. Close relatives are recognized: relatives in a direct ascending and descending line (parents and children, grandfather, grandmother and grandchildren), as well as siblings, and this relationship can be either complete or incomplete (when a sister and brother have only a common mother or father);

c) the existence of a relationship of adoption or adoption between persons wishing to marry;

d) recognition by the court of the incapacity of at least one of the doctors due to a mental disorder.

For marriage by persons entering into marriage, a joint written application is submitted to the civil status authorities, in which they confirm their mutual voluntary consent to the marriage, as well as the absence of circumstances that prevent marriage. The marriage is contracted after a month from the date of submission of the application. However, the law provides that if there are valid reasons, the monthly period can be reduced or increased (in the latter case, by no more than 1 month), and in the presence of special circumstances (pregnancy, childbirth, immediate threat to the life of one of the parties, etc. .) the marriage can be entered into on the day the application is submitted. The decision to shorten or lengthen the marriage period is taken by the vital statistics office. A marriage is contracted in the presence of the spouses.

State registration of marriage is carried out by any civil registry office on the territory of the Russian Federation at the choice of the persons entering into marriage.

Family legislation establishes a number of os-. innovations, in the presence of which the marriage may be invalidated. These include:

a) non-observance by the persons who have entered into marriage, the conditions of their conclusion established by law;

b) hiding by the person entering into marriage, the presence of a sexually transmitted disease or HIV infection;

c) the conclusion of a fictitious marriage, that is, a marriage in which the spouses or one of them entered into without the intention of starting a family.

The marriage is declared invalid from the day of its conclusion. However, if, by the time of the consideration of the case on recognizing the marriage as invalid, the circumstances that, by virtue of the law, prevented its conclusion, have disappeared, then the court may recognize the marriage as valid.

The grounds for termination of marriage should be distinguished from the grounds for declaring a marriage invalid. The latter, according to the Family Code of the Russian Federation, are the death or declaration of one of the spouses as deceased, as well as divorce in accordance with the procedure established by law. Dissolution of a marriage is carried out in the registry office or in court.

In the civil registry offices, the dissolution of a marriage is carried out in the following cases:

1) upon mutual consent to divorce of spouses who do not have common minor children;

2) at the request of one of the spouses, if the other spouse is recognized by the court as missing, incompetent or convicted of a crime to imprisonment for a term exceeding three years. Divorce in these cases is carried out regardless of whether the spouses have common minor children.

In all cases, the divorce is made after a month from the date of filing the application for divorce.

In the event of disputes between the spouses during the dissolution of the marriage, the civil registry authorities (for example, on the division of property) are considered by the court.

In a judicial proceeding, dissolution of marriage is carried out in the following cases:

1) if the spouses have common minor children, except for the cases noted above;

2) in the absence of the consent of one of the spouses to dissolve the marriage;

3) if one of the spouses evades the dissolution of the marriage in the registry office, although he does not object to such dissolution (for example, refuses to submit an application, etc.).

The law establishes a number of restrictions on the husband's rights to submit claims for divorce (in particular, he has no right to initiate a divorce case during the wife's pregnancy and within a year after the birth of the child without his wife's consent).

Dissolution of a marriage is carried out if the court finds that the further life of the spouses and the preservation of the family are impossible. In this case, the court has the right to take measures to reconcile the spouses. For such reconciliation, the court sets a period of 3 months, and the proceedings are postponed for this time. If the measures to reconcile the spouses proved to be ineffective and the spouses (or one of them) insist on the dissolution of the marriage, then the court decides on the dissolution of the marriage. If there is a mutual consent to the dissolution of the marriage of the spouses with common minor children, the court dissolves the marriage without clarifying the reasons for the divorce.

When considering the share of divorce, the court decides the issues with which of the parents after the divorce the minor children will live, with which of the parents and in what amounts to collect alimony for the children, as well as the division of property that is in the common property of the spouses. On all these issues, the spouses themselves can conclude an agreement and submit it to the court.

Dissolution of a marriage by a court is carried out after a month from the date of filing by the spouses of an application for divorce.

The marriage is considered terminated:

a) in case of its dissolution in the registry office - from the date of state registration of the dissolution of marriage in the civil registration book;

b) in the case of divorce in court - on the day the court decision comes into legal force (however, in this case, state registration of the divorce is necessary).

Spouses are not entitled to remarry before receiving a divorce certificate from the civil registry office.

7. A child in the family. The rights of the child

One of the main goals of a man and a woman creating a family is the birth and joint upbringing of children. It has long been known that for the normal, full-fledged development of a child, a family is vital: family upbringing is the best form of upbringing a child that mankind knows. The family cannot be replaced by any other social institutions or public institutions. The atmosphere within the family has a significant impact on the formation of the child's personality.

Sociologists identify three fairly stable options for family education:

1) child-centered, the essence of which is the position of forgiveness in relation to children, a falsely understood love for them;

2) professionalism, within the framework of which there is a kind of refusal of parents from raising children under the pretext that teachers, professional educators in kindergartens and schools should be engaged in this;

3) pragmatic, that is, upbringing, the purpose of which is to develop in children "practicality", the ability to "organize their affairs", their orientation, first of all, towards obtaining immediate material benefits.

The legal basis for the relationship between parents and children is enshrined in the norms of family law.

The definition of the concept of "child" is contained in paragraph 1 of Art. 54 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation: a child is a person under the age of 18. A separate chapter of the code is devoted to the rights of minors. The main purpose of this chapter is to prevent discrimination of the child in family relations. Another document that enshrines children's rights is the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Russia has been a party since 1990. The Convention is a part of the Russian legal system, although its norms have not been incorporated into domestic legislation and are subject to direct application. The Convention regards the child as an independent person, endowed with a number of rights and capable, to one degree or another, of exercising and protecting these rights. The same approach to the problem of the rights of the child is enshrined in the norms of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

Art. 47 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation states that the basis for the emergence of parental relationships is the origin of children from parents, established in a legal manner. The documents certifying the origin are the registration of persons as the father and mother of the child in the registry office and the child's birth certificate. Regardless of whether the child was born in a registered arak or outside it. he has all the rights granted to him by family law. Every child, in accordance with the convention, has the right to preserve his or her identity. Individualizing signs are given name, surname, citizenship, family ties.

The name is given to the child by agreement between the parents. At the same time, parents have the right to give the child any name they wish. If the parents cannot come to an agreement on the choice of the child's first and last name, the dispute between them is resolved by the guardianship and guardianship authorities. The child's patronymic is determined by the name of the father. The surname of the child is determined by the surname of the parents. If the parents have different surnames, then the issue of the child's surname is decided by agreement between them, unless otherwise provided by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

If paternity is not established for the child, then the name is given to the child at the direction of the mother, the patronymic is assigned by the name of the person recorded at the direction of the mother as the father, and the surname - by the surname of the mother.

Parents have the right to change the name and surname of the child only before he reaches the age of 16. Moreover, if a child has reached the age of 10 years, changing his name or surname is impossible without his consent - this provision is the most important guarantee of the child's right to preserve his individuality. Upon reaching the age of 16, only the child himself can, in the usual manner provided for the change of names and surnames, apply for their change.

Art. 12 of the Convention and Art. 57 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation provide for the child's right to freely express their opinion. The legislation does not contain an indication of the minimum age from which a child has this right. The convention enshrines the provision that such a right is given to a child who is able to formulate his own views. Consequently, as soon as the child reaches a sufficient degree of development in order to do this, he has the right to express his opinion on any issues affecting his interests. From that time on, he has the right to be heard in any judicial or administrative proceedings directly concerning him. Depending on the age of the child, his opinion is given a different legal meaning.

Another important right of the child is his right to family education, provided for in paragraph 2 of Art. 54 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation. This right primarily consists in providing the child with the opportunity to live and grow up in a family.

The child has the right to cohabit with his parents, except in situations when this is contrary to his interests, including in the case when the parents and the child live in the territory of different states. In accordance with Art. 10 of the convention, the states parties are obliged to facilitate the reunification of separated families. The child has the right to know his parents as much as possible. This right may be limited in some cases when it is not possible to obtain information about the parents (for example, the child was found).

A child has the right to be cared for by his parents, to ensure his interests and respect for his human dignity. The child has the right to communicate with his parents , including and separately if they have terminated the marital relationship.

The child's right to family education also includes the right to communicate with members of the extended family: grandfather, grandmother, brothers, sisters and other relatives. This right is retained in the event of the dissolution of a marriage between his parents or their marriage is declared invalid.

A child in an extreme situation (arrest, illness, accident) has the right to communicate with parents and other relatives. Refusal of contact with loved ones is possible only if there are good reasons.

The property rights of the child are regulated by civil law. According to him, parents do not have ownership of the property of their children. However, if they live together, then they have the right to own and use each other's property by mutual agreement. There is no specific legal regime for the property of parents and children.

The child is the owner of his property and income. The child has the right to receive support from parents and other relatives in the manner prescribed by the legislation on the payment of alimony. Ownership of the amount of alimony, pensions and benefits received is also recognized for the child. However, the right to dispose of these funds in the interests of the child belongs to his parents or persons replacing them. They should spend these funds on the maintenance, upbringing and education of the child. Sometimes the parent paying child support thinks that the other parent is using it for other purposes. In this case, the parent-payer has the right to apply to the court with a demand for the transfer of alimony (but not more than 50%) to the accounts opened in the name of the child in the bank.

Civil law also defines the child's right to independently dispose of his property. It depends on the age of the child and, therefore, on the extent of his legal capacity. When managing the property of a child, parents have the same rights and bear the same obligations as provided for by civil law for guardians.

Most of the rights listed above are not only proclaimed in the law, but backed up by sanctions for their violation. The guarantee of their implementation is the child's right to protect these rights personally or through their representatives.

Art. 56 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation establishes the provision according to which responsibilities for the protection of the rights of the child are assigned to his parents, legal representatives, as well as the guardianship and guardianship authorities.

A minor who has been recognized by law as fully capable before reaching the age of majority has the right to exercise his or her rights. and responsibilities, including the right to defense.

The Family Code enshrines the right of a child to directly seek protection from abuse by parents and other legal representatives. If these persons violate the rights and interests of the child, do not fulfill their responsibilities for the upbringing, maintenance, education of the child, humiliate his dignity, violate the right to express his own opinion, the child can independently apply for protection to the guardianship and guardianship authorities. There are no age limits for such treatment. A child who has reached the age of 14 has the right to go directly to court in case of violation of his rights by his parents or legal representatives.

However, often children suffering from parental abuse not only do not seek protection of their rights, but also try to hide the facts of such abuse for fear of being taken away from their parents and placed in child care. In connection with this, the law establishes that all officials or citizens who become aware of the violation of the rights of the child, the threat to his life or health, are obliged to immediately report this to the guardianship and trusteeship body at the place of residence of the child.

8. Social conflict and ways to resolve it

Social heterogeneity of society, differences in the level of income, property, power, prestige, horizontal and vertical mobility naturally lead to exacerbation of social contradictions and conflicts. Conflicts are a special type of social interaction, the subjects of which are communities, organizations and individuals with actually or supposedly incompatible goals.

There are various theories regarding the causes and nature of conflicts in society.

The founder of the organic school, Herbert Spencer, is considered to be the founder of the conflictological tradition in sociology. Spencer believed that conflicts in society are a manifestation of the process of natural selection and the general struggle for survival. Competition and inequality lead to the selection of the strongest, condemning the weaker to death. Spencer considered it possible to avoid the revolutionary way of resolving conflicts and gave preference to the evolutionary development of humanity.

In contrast to Spencer, sociologists of a Marxist orientation were of the opinion that conflict is just a temporary state that periodically arises in society, and that this state can be overcome as a result of a revolutionary change in the type of social system. They argued that different types of conflict in the class structure of society correspond to different socio-economic formations; between the exploiting and exploited classes there is a struggle for the redistribution of ownership of the means of production. This class struggle, taking place in capitalist society between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, inevitably leads to the dictatorship of the proletariat, which is a transition to a classless (i.e., socially conflict-free) society.

The German sociologist Georg Simmel paid much attention to the theory of social conflict. He proved the thesis that conflicts in society are inevitable, since they are predetermined by: 1) the biological nature of man; 2) the social structure of society, which is characterized by the processes of association (unification) and dissociation (separation), domination and subordination. Simmel believed that frequent and not too long-term conflicts are even useful, because they help various social groups and individual members of society to get rid of hostility towards each other.

Contemporary Western sociologists explain the nature of social conflicts by socio-psychological factors. They believe that the inherent inequality of society gives rise to stable psychological dissatisfaction among its members. This sensory-emotional anxiety and irritability periodically develops into conflict clashes of the subjects of social relations.

explain as a manifestation of hostility on the part of the opponent.

The very conflicting behavior of the parties consists of oppositely directed actions of the opponents. All of them can be divided into main and auxiliary ones. The main sociologists include those who are directly aimed at the subject of conflict. Secondary actions ensure that the main actions are carried out. Also, all conflict actions are subdivided into offensive and defensive. Offensive consists in attacking the enemy, seizing his property, etc. Defensive - in holding the disputed object behind or in protecting it from destruction. It is also possible such an option as retreat, surrender of positions, refusal to protect their interests.

If neither side tries to make concessions and avoid the conflict, then the latter goes into an acute stage. It can end immediately after the exchange of conflicting actions, but it can last for a long time, changing its form (war, truce, war again, etc.) and expanding. The escalation of the conflict is called escalation. The escalation of the conflict, as a rule, is accompanied by an increase in the number of its participants.

Ending a conflict does not always mean resolving it. The resolution of the conflict is the decision of its participants to end the confrontation. The conflict can end with the reconciliation of the parties, the victory of one of them, the gradual fading or growing into another conflict.

Sociologists consider the most optimal resolution of the conflict to reach a consensus. Consensus - it is the agreement of a significant majority of representatives of a certain community regarding important aspects of its functioning, expressed in assessments and actions. Consensus does not mean unanimity, since it is almost impossible and unnecessary to achieve complete coincidence of the positions of the parties. The main thing is that neither side should express direct objections; also when resolving a conflict, a neutral position of the parties, abstaining from voting, etc., is allowed.

Depending on the basis on which the typology is carried out, sociologists distinguish the following types of conflicts:

a) by duration: long-term, short-term, one-time, protracted and recurring;

b) by the source of occurrence: objective, subjective and false;

c) in form: internal and external;

d) by the nature of development: intentional and spontaneous;

e) by volume: global, local, regional, group and personal;

f) by means used: violent and non-violent;

g) by influence on the course of development of society: progressive and regressive;

h) by spheres of public life: economic (or production), political, ethnic, family and household.

The social policy pursued by the state plays an important role in the prevention and timely resolution of social conflicts. Its essence is the regulation of the socio-economic conditions of society and concern for the well-being of all its citizens.

The sociology of conflict, as a special part of sociological science, emerged relatively recently, but was quickly demanded by modern society. Today, conflict experts are involved in negotiation processes in "hot spots", helping to resolve group and interpersonal conflicts. The relevance and importance of their work is constantly increasing due to the growth of social tension and social polarization of Russian society.

9. Social legislation, social policy

Social policy is understood as part of the internal policy of the state, embodied in social programs and real conditions of human life, with the help of which it regulates relations in society and satisfies the interests of various groups of the population. Social policy is derived from economics, but not secondary: it plays an important role in the development of the material and spiritual culture of society. A state in which socially oriented policy is the main direction of activity is called a social state.

The idea of ​​social statehood was widely recognized in the world in the second half of the 20th century. Its formation dates back to the late 19th - early 20th centuries. and is due to the socio-economic processes taking place in the life of bourgeois society of that time, the property stratification and polarization of which threatened it with serious social upheavals. And in this situation, the classical principle of non-interference of the state in the economy gave way to the principle of social equality, which required the state to switch to active intervention in the socio-economic sphere. The formation of the concept of the social state as a state with special functions began. Among the latter: support for socially unprotected categories of the population, protection of labor and health of people, the fight against unemployment, smoothing of social inequality through the redistribution of income between different social strata through taxation, the state budget, and special social programs.

Subsequently, the idea of ​​a social state was embodied in the practice and constitutions of many modern states (Germany, Italy, Turkey, Sweden, Japan, etc.)

Today, a social state is recognized as a state whose policy is aimed at creating conditions for its citizens for the realization of socio-economic and cultural human rights (the right to work and equal remuneration for work of equal value, the right to social security, the right to education, the right to participate in cultural life. and etc.). One of the most important goals of the welfare state is to smooth out social contradictions in society and create, ideally, social equality.

The main conditions for the existence of a welfare state include:

1) the democratic regime and the legal nature of the state;

2) the presence of a civil society, in whose hands the state acts as an instrument for conducting socially oriented policies;

3) a high level of economic development of the state, the social orientation of its economy;

4) the presence of developed social legislation, the consolidation of the concept of "welfare state" in the country's constitution.

Art. 7 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation reads: “1. The Russian Federation is a social state, the policy of which is aimed at creating conditions that ensure a decent life and free human development.

2 The Russian Federation protects the work and health of people, establishes a guaranteed minimum wage, provides state support for family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood, disabled people and the elderly, develops a system of social services, establishes state pensions, benefits and other guarantees of social protection. "

These provisions underlie the currently emerging legislative framework that regulates social relations in the country and regulates the provision of social assistance to the population. In addition to the Constitution, social legislation includes the laws of the Russian Federation, decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, decrees of the Government of Russia, regulations of federal ministries and departments, legislative acts and orders of the authorities of the constituent entities of the Federation, decisions of local governments.

The social policy currently pursued in the Russian Federation is focused on a variety of social groups and includes:

1) the fight against unemployment, the content of which is not the creation of obstacles to the process of releasing surplus labor within the socially acceptable scale of unemployment, but the achievement of maximum efficiency of the social insurance system as the most important mechanism for protecting citizens in case of loss of work;

2) state regulation of the minimum wage, bringing it closer to the size of the subsistence minimum in the country;

3) the availability and free of charge of preschool, basic general and secondary vocational education in state and municipal educational institutions and enterprises, as well as on a competitive basis, free of charge higher education. Citizens of the Russian Federation are guaranteed the opportunity to receive education regardless of race, nationality, language, gender, age, health status, social, property and official status, place of residence, attitude to religion, beliefs, party affiliation, criminal record;

4) free medical care in state and municipal health care institutions. Russian legislation provides for a set of measures of a political, economic, legal, social, medical, sanitary and hygienic and anti-epidemic nature aimed at preserving and strengthening the physical and mental health of each person, maintaining his long-term activity, providing him with medical assistance in case of loss of health;

5) free use of library funds and a relatively low fee for visiting museums, art galleries, theaters, concert halls and other cultural institutions.

Other priorities of the social policy of the Russian Federation are:

a) protection of labor and health of people;

6) provision of state support for family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood, disabled people and senior citizens;

c) the establishment of state pensions, benefits and other guarantees of social protection.

An analysis of the state of life of Russian society shows that today the provisions of Art. 7 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is more a program setting than a reality. In modern Russia, there are no economic prerequisites for the formation of a welfare state, conditions have not been created that would allow for the redistribution of income within society. The current economic situation in the Russian Federation requires an increase in the efficiency of social policy, new ways of implementing it, concentration of limited financial and material resources on solving the most acute social problems, activation of factors that stimulate highly efficient work and personal responsibility of citizens for their material well-being. It should be recognized that the real leveling of the situation of people and the creation of decent living conditions for Russian citizens is a long-term process. The emergence of a real welfare state in the Russian Federation will become possible only under conditions of a complete recovery of the country's economy.

Social interaction

The starting point for the emergence of a social connection is the interaction of individuals or groups of individuals to meet certain needs.

Interaction - it is any behavior of an individual or a group of individuals that is important for other individuals and groups of individuals or society as a whole at the moment and in the future. The category "interaction" expresses the content and nature of relations between individuals and social groups as permanent carriers of qualitatively different types of activity, differing in social positions (statuses) and roles (functions). Regardless of in which sphere of society's life (economic, political, etc.) the interaction takes place, it is always social in nature, since it expresses connections between individuals and groups of individuals, connections mediated by goals that each of the interacting parties haunts.

Social interaction has an objective and a subjective side. Objective side of interaction- these are connections that are independent of individuals, but mediate and control the content and nature of their interaction. The subjective side of interaction - it is a conscious relationship of individuals to each other, based on mutual expectations (expectations) of the corresponding behavior. These are interpersonal (or, more broadly, socio-psychological) relationships, which are direct connections and relationships between individuals that develop in specific conditions of place and time.

The mechanism of social interaction includes: individuals who perform certain actions; changes in the outside world caused by these actions; the impact of these changes on other individuals; the backlash of the affected individuals.

Under the influence of Simmel and especially Sorokin, interaction in his subjective interpretation was accepted as the initial concept of group theory, and then became the initial concept of American sociology. As Sorokin wrote: “The interaction of two or more individuals is a generic concept of a social phenomenon: it can serve as a model for the latter. Studying the structure of this model, we can learn the structure of all social phenomena. Having decomposed interaction into its component parts, we will thus decompose the most complex social phenomena into parts ”. “The subject of sociology,” says one of the American sociology textbooks, “is direct verbal and non-verbal interaction. The main task of sociology is to achieve a systematic knowledge of social rhetoric. Interview as a form of rhetoric is not just a sociological tool, but part of its subject of study. "

However, social interaction by itself still explains absolutely nothing. To understand the interaction, it is necessary to clarify the properties of the interacting forces, and these properties cannot be explained in the fact of interactions, no matter how they change due to it. The very fact of the interaction of knowledge does not add. It all depends on the individual and social properties and qualities of the interacting parties. That is why the main thing in social interaction is content side. In modern Western European and American sociology, this aspect of social interaction is considered mainly from the standpoint of symbolic interactionism and ethnomstodology. In the first case, any social phenomenon appears as a direct interaction of people, carried out on the basis of the perception and use of common symbols, meanings, etc .; as a result, the object of social cognition is considered as a set of symbols of the human environment included in a certain "behavioral situation". In the second case, social reality is viewed as "a process of interaction based on everyday experience."

Everyday experience, meanings and symbols, which are guided by interacting individuals, give their interaction, and it cannot be otherwise, a certain quality. But in this case, the main qualitative aspect of interaction remains aside - those real social phenomena and processes that appear for people in the form of meanings, symbols, everyday experience.

As a result, social reality and its constituent social objects appear as a chaos of mutual actions based on the “interpreting role” of the individual in “determining the situation” or on everyday consciousness. Without denying the semantic, symbolic and other aspects of the process of social interaction, it must be admitted that its genetic source is labor, material production, and the economy. In turn, everything derived from the basis can and does have an opposite effect on the basis.

Interaction method

The way the individual interacts with other individuals and the social environment as a whole determines the "refraction" of social norms and values ​​through the individual's consciousness and his real actions on the basis of understanding these norms and values.

The interaction method includes six aspects: 1) information transfer; 2) obtaining information; 3) reaction to the information received; 4) processed information; 5) receiving processed information; 6) reaction to this information.

Social relationships

Interaction leads to the establishment of social relationships. Social relations are relatively stable ties between individuals (as a result of which they are institutionalized into social groups) and social groups as permanent carriers of qualitatively different types of activity, differing in social status and roles in social structures.

Social communities

Social communities are characterized by: the presence of conditions of life (socio-economic, social status, vocational training and education, interests and needs, etc.) common to a given group of interacting individuals (social categories); the way of interaction of a given set of individuals (nations, social classes, socio-professional groups, etc.), i.e., a social group; belonging to historically established territorial associations (city, village, town), that is, territorial communities; the degree of restriction of the functioning of social groups by a strictly defined system of social norms and values, the belonging of the studied group of interacting individuals to certain social institutions (family, education, science, etc.).

Formation of social relationships

Social interaction is an invariable and constant companion of a person who lives among people and is forced to constantly enter into a complex network of relationships with them. Gradually emerging connections take the form of permanent ones and turn into social relations- conscious and perceptible aggregates of repetitive interactions, correlated in their meaning with each other and characterized by appropriate behavior. Social relations, as it were, are refracted through the inner content (or state) of a person and are expressed in his activities as personal relationships.

Social relationships are extremely diverse in form and content. Each person knows from personal experience that relationships with others develop in different ways, that this world of relationships contains a variegated palette of feelings - from love and irresistible sympathy to hatred, contempt, hostility. Fiction, as a good assistant to the sociologist, reflects in its works the inexhaustible wealth of the world of social relations.

When classifying social relations, they are primarily divided into one-sided and mutual. One-sided social relations exist when partners perceive and evaluate each other differently.

One-sided relationships are common. A person experiences a feeling of love for another and assumes that his partner also experiences a similar feeling, and orients his behavior towards this expectation. However, when, for example, a young man marries a girl, he may unexpectedly receive a refusal. A classic example of one-sided social relations is the relationship between Christ and the Apostle Judas, who betrayed the teacher. World and domestic fiction will give us many examples of tragic situations associated with one-sided relations: Othello - Iago, Mozart - Salieri, etc.

Social relations that arise and exist in human society are so diverse that it is advisable to consider any one aspect of them, proceeding from a certain system of values ​​and the activity of individuals aimed at achieving it. Recall that in sociology under values understand shared views and beliefs about the goals people strive for. Social interactions become social relationships precisely because of the values ​​that individuals and groups of people would like to achieve. Thus, values ​​are a necessary condition for social relations.

To determine the relationship of individuals, two indicators are used:

• value expectations (expectations), which characterize satisfaction with a value model;
• value requirements that an individual puts forward in the process of distributing values.

The real possibility of achieving a particular value position is value potential. Often it remains only an opportunity, since the individual or group does not take active steps to take value-wise more attractive positions.

All values ​​are conventionally subdivided as follows:

• the values ​​of well-being, which include material and spiritual benefits, without which it is impossible to maintain the normal life of individuals - wealth, health, safety, professional skill;
• all others - power as the most universal value, since the possession of it allows you to acquire other values ​​(respect, status, prestige, fame, reputation), moral values ​​(justice, kindness, decency, etc.); love and friendship; also distinguish national values, ideological, etc.

Among social relationships, relationships stand out social dependence, because they are present to one degree or another in all other respects. Social dependence is a social relation in which the social system S 1, (an individual, group or social institution) cannot perform the social actions necessary for her d 1 if the social system S 2 take no action d 2... In this case, the system S 2 is called dominant, and the system S 1 - addicted.

Suppose the mayor of the city of Los Angeles cannot pay utility wages until the governor of California, who manages the funds, allocates money to him. In this case, the mayor's office is a dependent system, and the governor's administration is seen as the dominant system. In practice, dual interdependent relationships often arise. Thus, the population of an American city depends on the leader for the distribution of funds, but the mayor also depends on voters, who may not elect him for a new term. The line of behavior of the dependent system must be predictable for the dominant system in the area that concerns the relationship of dependence.

Social dependence is also based on the difference in status in the group, which is typical for organizations. Thus, individuals with a low status are dependent on individuals or groups that have a higher status; subordinates depend on the leader. Addiction arises from differences in the possession of meaningful values ​​regardless of official status. For example, a manager may be financially dependent on a subordinate from whom he borrowed a large amount of money. Latent, i.e. hidden, dependencies play an important role in the life of organizations, teams, groups.

Often in an organization, a leader relies on the opinion of a relative who works here in everything; to please him, decisions are often made erroneously from the point of view of the interests of the organization, for which the whole team then pays. In the old vaudeville "Lev Gurych Sinichkin" the question of who will play the main role in the premiere performance instead of the sick actress can only be decided by the main "patron" of the theater (Count Zefirov). Cardinal Richelieu actually ruled over France instead of the king. Sometimes a sociologist, in order to sort out a conflict situation in a team where he was invited as an expert, must start by looking for a “gray cardinal” - an informal leader who actually has real influence in the organization.

Power relations cause the greatest interest among researchers of social addiction. Power as the ability of some to control the actions of others is of decisive importance in the life of a person and society, but until now scientists have not developed a consensus on how power relations are carried out. Some (M. Weber) believe that power is primarily associated with the ability to control the actions of others and overcome their resistance to this control. Others (T. Parsons) proceed from the fact that power must first of all be legalized, then the personal position of the leader forces others to obey him, despite the personal qualities of the leader and subordinates. Both points of view have a right to exist. Thus, the emergence of a new political party begins with the emergence of a leader with the ability to unite people, create an organization and begin to lead it.

If the power is legalized (legitimate), people submit to it as a force to resist which is useless and unsafe.

In society, there are other, not legalized aspects of the manifestation of power dependence. The interaction of people at the personal level often leads to the emergence of power relations, paradoxical and inexplicable from the point of view of common sense. A person of his own free will, not prompted by anyone, becomes a supporter of exotic sects, sometimes a real slave to his passions, which make him break the law, decide to kill or commit suicide. An irresistible attraction to gambling can deprive a person of his livelihood, but he returns again and again to roulette or cards.

Thus, in a number of spheres of life, constantly repeating interactions gradually acquire a stable, ordered, predictable character. In the process of this ordering, special connections are formed, called social relations. Social relations - these are stable ties that arise between social groups and within them in the process of material (economic) and spiritual (legal, cultural) activities.

Any relations that arise between social groups, as well as members of these groups, are recognized as social. Social relationships refer to almost everything that surrounds a person. Wherever he works and where he does not carry out his activities, he will always be involved in certain social relations.

The concept of social relations in practice has a strong connection with social roles. As a rule, a person entering into certain social relations appears in them in a certain social role, be it a professional, national or gender role.

In addition to the very relationships that arise between people, all the forms that these relationships take are also social. People are forced to enter into these relationships not only due to the need for involvement, but also due to material and spiritual needs that they simply cannot satisfy on their own.

Types of social relationships

Social relations can be divided into types, based on the areas of activity in which people manifest themselves. These are industrial, economic, political, aesthetic, psychological, interpersonal. The latter, for example, include friendship, companionship, love, family relations. In interpersonal relationships, a person most clearly manifests himself as a person and is most involved in relationships.

Psychological relationships are more characterized by the individual's attitude to himself and his reaction to external stimuli or objects. There is also a symbiosis of social and psychological relations, which usually result in the interaction of members of society from the standpoint of their individual psychological characteristics. For example, friendship-enmity, leadership, and more. There is a place to talk about role relationships when certain roles of the participants are clearly spelled out in them, and there is also a certain functionally organized connection between them.

Communicative relationships allow members of society to exchange information and play an important role in the life of society. Emotional relationships of people are characterized on the basis of their mutual attractiveness or, conversely, alienation. Moreover, this attraction can be both psychological and physical. An important role in human relations is played by moral relationships, that is, the assessment of each other's behavior and actions from the standpoint of understanding good and evil.

Social relations in society as a prerequisite for social work. The concept of social relations in social work. The concept of social relations in social work. The essence of the interaction of relationships reflect two concepts: social relations social relations.

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Lecture 7. Social relations in society

as a prerequisite for social work

Plan

1. The concept of "social relations" in social work.

2.Types of social relationships

1.. The concept of "social relations" in social work.Man is a biosocial being. Connections in which a person is included are formed in the process of social, economic, spiritual, political and other types of human activity. They form certain types of communication, types of social systems.

The essence of interaction, relationships reflect two concepts:

public relations, social relations.

Public relations- a specific feature of society; make society a specific system, unite individuals and their disparate actions into a single whole, although it is internally and dismembered. Social relations are a form of human activity. They are characterized by a number of signs: they are transpersonal in nature, because express not a purely personal position of a person, but the interaction of social roles that a person performs; objectively determined: connect the individual with the group, society; are a means of including a person in public practice; generated by the activities of specific people; are highly active and stable.

Social relationships- this is the relationship between people as representatives of social groups about their social status, way and way of life, ultimately, about the conditions for the development of personality, social groups.

Social relations should be viewed as the "side" of social relations. They are always present in economic, political and other social relations, but social relations do not replace or replace other social relations.Social relationships- cut, synthesis of social aspects, social aspects of all types of social relations that affect the position of a person in society.

Social relations are refracted through the inner state of a person, are expressed in his activities, and reflect a person's personal attitude to the surrounding reality. The main factor that determines social relations, their formation, functioning and change is the person himself. Social relations are a manifestation of social qualities in a person's social activity and behavior. The core of social relations, the manifestation of social qualities, are the relations of equality and inequality, first of all, social equality and social inequality.

In different social systems, social relations, social ties have their own characteristics and specificity and differ from each other. And this difference is determined, first of all, the characterprimary socialrelations, which are understood as the interconnection and interdependence of people about their living space, means of reproduction and improvement of life. It is the primary relations that determine the system of social relations: from political to social relations (who really owns the power, the material resources of the state); from production and economic to artistic and aesthetic, spiritual and cultural.

Social relationships are a prerequisite for understanding the essence of social work. In social work, as a set of various types of activity, it is the influence of primary social relations that affects.

For a person as a biopsychosocial being, social connections concerning his individual, personal and collective being are of great importance; his living space; his livelihood - on the one hand, and on the other - the presence of diverse social spheres (political, cultural, economic, social, etc.) where these ties can be realized and realized. Such connections, as noted by E.I. Kholostova, includesocial assistance, social welfare, social rehabilitation, social protection, etc.... And this is the sphere of interests of social work.

The relationship between social work and social relations shows that a social worker should: know, study the social relations of people; take into account the presence of established social relations, their social differentiation; take into account the fact that social relations are consolidated in the form of stable interactions of social institutions, organizations that help solve the problems of social work.

Another fact that indicates the relationship between social work and social relations: social relations are connectedwith the social sphere of society, in which the vital needs of a person are satisfied.

Social sphereit is a relatively independent sphere of social life, in which various social interests and relations of social subjects are realized, and the reproduction of the individual takes place; at the same time it is the area of ​​activity of people involved in the provision of social benefits and services (social assistance, social rehabilitation, social protection, social welfare),those. it is a space for the reproduction of real everyday life, the development and self-development of social subjects. The social sphere is one of the main spheres of society, along with the economic, political, sociocultural, etc. It has its own values, the main source of which is labor.

The structure of the social sphere is represented by such components as: social structure of society: people with their needs, values ​​and qualities; social systems: institutions, organizations that help a person to fulfill his needs; interactions, relationships of people in which they enter to realize their needs; principles, laws of development of the social sphere, rules for resolving problems arising in social relations.

2. Types of social relations.Social work as a specific form of social activity can and should be considered at several levels:

Individual;

Group;

At the level of society.

In this case, the social subjects of social relations are: an individual, a group of people, a certain society, society, which are at the same time the carriers of social relations.

In the process of real communication, even in the conditions of one community, social relations have a multilevel character, but the main role belongs to the social relations that develop between the main social subjects.

In social work, it is important to be able to classify social relationships. And for this, it is necessary for a specialist in social work to clearly understand which indicator, feature is used to structure and classify social relations in each specific case. After all, the effectiveness of social assistance provided to the client will largely depend on this.

Because social needsare a real form of implementation of social relations in our life, then they can actas a sign for the classification of social relations.

Needs, including social ones, are objective. They express a person's need for something - food, clothing, housing, communication, etc. However, each social subject may prefer different forms of satisfying needs. Consequently, we can talk about the subjective-objective nature of needs.

Contradictions between the objective and subjective forms of realization of needs can create contradictions, conflict, which transfers the individual from the subject of social relations to the object of social work.

Needs determine the inner driving force of human activity. The multitude of human needs is determined by his dual socio-biological nature.

In the theory of social work, and therefore in the practical activities of a specialist in social work, the most widespread system of human needs of A. Maslow, which includes the following levels of needs:

1st level. Vital or physiological needs.

2nd level. The need for security, stability, peace of mind, protection from adverse influences, confidence in the future.

Failure to meet these needs leads to the formation of psychological maladjustment processes, which can contribute to the transformation of a person into a client of social work.

Level 3. The need for community, belonging to a community of people; social group.

4th level. The need for respect, self-respect, recognition of others.This level of needs requires a high level of personality development. However, the adequacy of self-esteem, the correct choice of the "reference group" with whose opinion the individual correlates his behavior and thinking requires a certain work of his soul, incl. and efforts from the community.

5th level. The need for self-actualization, the desire to fully reveal himself, to become what he can be. However, it should be borne in mind that society has not always been able and can provide favorable conditions and social opportunities for the development of the individual.

Of course, there is a close relationship and interdependence between the needs of different levels. The needs of the lower level affect the needs of the higher level. The inability for a person to satisfy his needs, infringement of social needs, consisting in a lack of communication, education, in receiving social services, etc. it is precisely the sphere of competence of the social worker.

In addition, the relationship of needs makes it possible to analyze reality andthe social situation of the individual, since satisfaction of needs is largely determined by the social situation. In social work, the subject of the social worker's activity is the social situation of the individual.

Social situation– it is the allocation of parties, aspects of social reality associated with a specific situation and a specific problem field of the client or group with which the social worker interacts.

The social situation is assessed by a person in a highly subjective way and according to those criteria that may seem incomprehensible to an outside person. Consequently, social work needs to be tactful in solving the client's problem so as not to humiliate his human dignity.

Social work is based on the relations existing in society and conditioned by both the social policy of the state andcharacteristics of clients.It is advisable to subdivide existing relationships into primary, secondary and tertiary.

Primary relationship- relationships arising in a social group, which is a client, his family and friends. Representatives of such a group sometimes assess the same social phenomena and processes differently. And this allows you to more competently identify the main problems of the client.

Secondary relationship – determined by the client's membership in various social groups (territorial, religious, ethnic, etc.). Of course, the socio-psychological characteristics of these groups affect the appearance, manifestation and course of the client's problems.

Tertiary relationship - are determined by the client's civic roles and their capabilities to realize their subjectivity. This relationship also influences the nature of the client's problems.

In order to effectively solve the client's problems and consider social work as a holistic system, all three types of relationships should be considered in a complex. At times, violations of the primary relationship can provoke problems in the tertiary relationship group.

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Social relationships are relationships between social groups or their members.

Social relationships are subdivided into one-sided and reciprocal. One-sided social relations are characterized by the fact that their participants put different meanings into them.

For example, love on the part of an individual may stumble upon contempt or hatred from the object of his love.

Types of social relations: industrial, economic, legal, moral, religious, political, aesthetic, interpersonal

Industrial relations are concentrated in a variety of professional-labor roles-functions of a person (for example, engineer or worker, manager or performer, etc.).

Economic relations are realized in the sphere of production, ownership and consumption, which is a market for material and spiritual products. Here, a person acts in two interrelated roles - a seller and a buyer. Economic relations are planned and distributive and market.

Legal relations in society are consolidated through legislation. They establish the measure of individual freedom as a subject of industrial, economic, political and other social relations.

Moral relations are consolidated in the corresponding rituals, traditions, customs and other forms of ethnocultural organization of people's lives. These forms are the moral norm of behavior

Religious relations reflect the interaction of people, which develops under the influence of ideas about the place of a person in the universal processes of life and death, etc. These relationships grow out of a person's need for self-knowledge and self-improvement, from the consciousness of the higher meaning of being

Political relations are centered around the problem of power. The latter automatically leads to the dominance of those who possess it, and the subordination of those who are deprived of it.

Aesthetic relationships arise on the basis of the emotional and psychological attractiveness of people for each other and the aesthetic reflection of material objects of the external world. These relationships are distinguished by high subjective variance.

Among interpersonal relationships, there are relationships of acquaintance, friendship, companionship, friendship and relationships that turn into intimate-personal ones: love, matrimonial, kinship.

18. Social group

Social a group, according to Merton, is a collection of people who interact with each other in a certain way, are aware of their belonging to this group and are considered members of this group from the point of view of others.

Signs of a social group:

Awareness of membership

Interaction methods

Awareness of oneness

KulI divided social groups into primary and secondary:

Family, peer group, as they provide the individual with the earliest and most complete experience of social cohesion

Formed from people between whom there are almost no emotional connections (due to the achievement of certain goals)

Social groups are divided into real and quasigroups, large and small, conditional, experimental and reference

Real groups- a community of people limited in size, united by real relationships or activities

Quasigroups characterized by randomness and spontaneity of education, instability of relationships, short-term interaction. As a rule, they exist for a short time, after which they either disintegrate or turn into a stable social group - a crowd (for example, fans) - a community of interests, an object of attention

Small group - a relatively small number of individuals who directly interact with each other and are united by common goals, interests, value orientations. Small groups can be formal or informal

Formal groups - the positions of the group members are clearly reflected, the vertical interactions between the group members are defined - the department at the university.

Informal the group arises and develops spontaneously, in it there are no positions, no statuses, no roles. There is no structure of power relations. Family, group of friends, peers

Big a group is a real, significant in size and complexly organized community of people involved in social activities and the system of corresponding relations and interactions. The staff of the university, enterprise, school, firm. Group norms of behavior, etc.

Reference group - a group in which individuals are not really included, but with which they relate themselves as a standard and are guided in their behavior by the norms and values ​​of this group.

Conditional group - a group united according to certain criteria (gender, age, level of education, profession) - they are created by sociologists to conduct sociological analysis (students of Altai).

Variety conditional group is experimental, which is created to conduct social and psychological experiments.