Development of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of social mobility in foreign sociology: a brief overview

Samsitdinov Ilnur Zakievich Employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Bashkortostan 450000, Russia, Republic of Bashkortostan, Ufa, Lenin str., 7, office 1 ilfat_samsitdino@mail.ru Other publications by this author

As it is known, the concept of social mobility was spread in the first half of the twentieth century in connection with the works of the famous American sociologist of Russian origin P. A. Sorokin. Initially, in his works, mobility was considered as an auxiliary conceptual tool for analyzing global social processes. Thanks to this concept, he was able to reveal the mechanism of the process of gradual transformation of traditional society into modern society, which was accompanied by profound changes in the professional and social structure of society.

P. A. Sorokin also made the first attempt to determine the main types of social movements ^{[1, p. 373]}. He believed that there were only two such types: horizontal and vertical mobility. Horizontal mobility or shift refers to the transition of an individual or social object from one social group to another located at the same level. This definition of horizontal mobility, in fact, equates the significance of both values and subjects of social life for determining social changes.

However, such an approach has generated certain theoretical and methodological difficulties. The fact is that people and values are still not one ordinal concepts and play a different role in the life of society. The movement of people can really be horizontal, which is quite easily and obviously illustrated by examples from life or historical events. Ideas and values change unpredictably when moving, and most often vertically, either they progress or degrade. This complexity turned out to be too difficult for researchers to accept, and therefore only individuals and social groups remained in the field of study of sociologists.

In this work, the main directions of foreign research on the problem of social mobility of the population were analyzed, historiographical and textbook materials were considered. The following approaches were chosen as a methodological basis: structural and functional, which allows to highlight the content and features of different points of view; axiological, to highlight the role of values in the course of social movements in society; activity-based, which allows to study various channels and actions of the population in the aspect of social mobility. The descriptive method and the method of scientific analysis are used.

P. Sorokin emphasized that in order to determine group mobility, it is important to take into account the fact that social differences have different degrees of importance and depend on the general social context. The uncertainty that society can be covered by due to the specific material and ideological circumstances that have developed, can provoke the most unexpected variants of social flows, bringing to the fore various types of mobility. In this regard, it is obvious that an unusual elevation or lowering of the status of certain social groups in society indicates that qualitatively new transformational changes have taken place in society. For example, in the era of the revolutionary transformations of 1917 in Russia, cardinal changes shook two social groups at once: the Bolsheviks rose up the social ladder, and, for example, the Orthodox Church dropped to the lowest level. This fact is precisely explained by the fact that there has been a change in the value system of society. Their incompatibility gave rise to the shift in the social structure of society. This example looks quite simple from the point of view of modern social science. However, such a simplification is extremely necessary for the researcher in order to distinguish the "ideal type" in purity, which will become a methodological principle for considering and analyzing complex and diverse phenomena, such as, for example, social processes.

A simplified methodology for analyzing mobility was needed by P. Sorokin, first of all, in order to substantiate the concept of two societies – mobile and immobile. The dependence of mobility on a variety of specific circumstances, social characteristics and determinants complicated the task of giving a universal definition of mobility. Here we agree with Sorokin's opinion that mobility is the ability of an individual and a social group to change and move in society, a continuously changing specific characteristic of movement in a social organism, thanks to which (if present) each element of its organization (each individual or social group) gets the opportunity to take the most effective place in the social system, providing its optimal functioning and development. As P. Sorokin himself noted: "In the end, people make history. People occupying a position to which they do not correspond can easily destroy society, but they cannot create anything of value, and vice versa" ^{[2, p. 194]}.

The new quality of industrial society has significantly increased the level of social mobility. S. Lipset and R. Bendix in this regard noted that large-scale social mobility characterizes the process of industrialization and is the most important characteristic of modern industrial society. In every industrial country, a significant part of the population is forced to determine for themselves professions other than those of their fathers or mothers ^{[3, p. 13]}.

Later, S. Lipset together with the famous Swedish sociologist, specialist in the study of social processes and publicist G. Zetterberg ^[4] studied people of different generations in ten countries, paying special attention to the process of moving men from physical labor to mental labor. The conclusions that were made for the studied countries showed that the mobility coefficients in industrial countries are approximately the same. However, the authors drew attention not only to the positive consequences of the studied mobility, but also to the negative ones: cases of alienation from familiar social groups; complex and painful psychological experiences accompanying mobility, since movements are often only partial, and status increases occur only in a narrow area - professional, economic or political, etc. But the conclusions that were made in these studies were further criticized by D. Goldthorpe ^{[5, pp. 1-37]}. The disadvantage (largely objective) of these studies was that they could not rise to large-scale information about the mobility of the socio-professional structure. They significantly recorded movements from physical labor to mental labor, from farming to industry, from executive labor to managerial labor. The rapid development of the technical and technological basis of society ceased to stimulate the increase of jobs in industry, on the contrary, opposite trends appeared, which could not be effectively explained through the theory of industrial society.

Further studies of social mobility were associated with the names of such sociologists as P. Blau, L. Goodman, O. D. Duncan, D. Treyman and others ^[6]. The main emphasis in their research was placed on the study of professional and educational, intergenerational and intragenerational mobility, but with a new arsenal of statistical methods: nonlinear analysis and multiple regression analysis, which made it possible to identify more complex patterns and the most subtle trends. Despite the fact that a thorough analysis of the orientation of intergenerational and intra-generational professional mobility was carried out, the disadvantage of the research was that political mobility, the ratio of social mobility and lifestyle of people, socio-psychological factors of mobility, as well as cultural influences were not studied. In particular, the cultural interpretation of mobility in Western studies is of fundamental importance in the future.

Among Western researchers working in this vein, the works of D. Goldthorpe and R. Erickson have received the greatest fame ^[7]. They consider social mobility from two points of view: on the one hand, in order to increase mobility, it is necessary to achieve greater openness of society, and on the other hand, the possibility of achieving openness depends on what form of social mobility exists in a given society at the moment, how much it corresponds to the ideals of openness.

Studies by Western scientists have clearly shown the dependence of social mobility of the population on the level of scientific and technological development of society. Industrial development, which is changing the face of society as a whole and preparing the prerequisites for a leap into the post-industrial era, qualitatively changes the global figure of the capitalist social structure - the working class. Regardless of all other consequences (positive and negative), the powerful development of the world of capital, accompanied by scientific and technological modernization and revolution, changes the old channels of mobility.

The institutionalization of social relations in the industrial sphere, expressed in the regulation of the process of concluding collective agreements, in mediation and arbitration mechanisms, simultaneously stimulates awareness of the opposite of interests, both among employees and entrepreneurs, and understanding of the fact that this opposite is not absolute and pervasive. Similar processes began to be observed in the relationship between the sexes. The inclusion of the majority of women in social production, the growth of their social and political activity, and the bridging of the gap in the level of education between men and women contributed to the limitation of the scope of self-identification based on gender. Changes have also taken place in the family institute. A characteristic feature of middle-class families is that they try to inspire children with an idea of the most promising and pragmatic professions, pushing them to the appropriate education for these professions. In such families, the idea of a successful person achieving everything with his own work is also carried out. In addition, a demographic factor is also used, for example, such as encouraging families with fewer children. In such families, social opportunities for the successful realization of the socio-professional career of children also increase.

Modern industrial societies tend to be open, they realize the maximum potential for high mobility, and the status of an individual depends more on his own abilities and achievements than on his contacts, patronage and origin ^{[8, pp. 36-37]}. More profound changes in social mobility occurred in the United States, where the processes of internationalization had a much weaker impact on the daily life of the average American than on the lifestyle of Western Europeans. The ethnic identity inherent in the descendants of immigrants from various countries, in the new conditions of life and activity on a new continent, with new rules of the game, has undergone significant erosion. This was also facilitated by the status of a leader, which the United States acquired after the Second World War in almost all spheres of public life important to the average American, providing the self-identification "we are Americans" with a very significant and stable place in consciousness.

In the first half of the 20th century, belonging to one or another ethno-cultural enclave had a much more significant impact on the perception of the world, lifestyle, choice of profession, political likes and dislikes of an American than in the post-war period. The process of relativization of almost all group orientations, which provided people with relatively integral blocks of norms, values, expectations, stereotypes of thinking, behavior and, thereby, initially limited their freedom of will, hindered the development and realization of the personal principle, was stimulated by the urbanization that sharply accelerated after the Second World War, the growth of the educational and cultural level of the general population, the formation of modern mass media, the expansion of mass culture, the totality of social changes generated by the technological revolution. Relocation to a large city from a small settlement, where the community of social experience, traditions and customs, authorities and sources of information, conditions and institutions of socialization, the limited range of available professions, opportunities to improve social status, forms of socio-political activity sanctioned by public opinion predetermine the relative stability and totality of social ties implemented in everyday interpersonal communication – such resettlement increases the degree of autonomy of the individual in relation to the local community. Relatively heterogeneous sociocultural communities that develop in urban or suburban areas are, as a rule, much less consolidated and closed. The increased duration of education in secondary educational institutions and especially the rapid growth and democratization of the higher education system contribute to the reduction of the role of the family, as well as the totality of factors related to social origin in the process of socialization, the erosion of psychological barriers between different social strata and subcultures.

The transformation of the social structure of society manifested itself in almost all spheres of public life after the Second World War. In the USA, this process developed much more dynamically and organically than in Europe. This was due to the fact that society was consolidating on the basis of American national identity. And it initially functioned in the social structure of an ethnically, religiously and culturally heterogeneous American society as an exceptionally powerful factor of integration and weakening of channels that hinder social mobility. A great influence on the formation of a new paradigm of social mobility was exerted by the process of transformation of the value orientations of the general population, genetically associated with youth protest movements, which gave rise to their own counterculture. According to the definition of the American sociologist R. Inglehart, it was a so-called "silent revolution", since these changes were noticed by few people, and even more so realized ^{[9, p. 140]}.

The tendency to blur the boundaries between different social groups and subcultures, to increase the social, territorial, professional mobility of the population, the expansion of the multifaceted activities of the state aimed at ensuring equality of opportunities, provided the common man with unprecedented freedom of choice in almost all spheres of life. The relativization of class, ethnic, confessional, "regional" and other group orientations and, accordingly, the erosion of an individual's loyalty to the values, traditions, and prescriptions of the respective communities gave him a feeling – partially justified, but in many ways illusory - of acquired psychological independence. And it was only since the youth protests that a significant and growing part of the population of Western countries began to perceive the unified social norms produced by the state (government), as well as the social relations themselves legitimized by these norms, generally accepted stereotypes of thinking and behavior, success criteria, etc. as obstacles to gaining personal meaning of life. The development of this trend and the spread of new values organically associated with it was ultimately due to the intensive growth of both material and spiritual needs of the masses, the socialization of new, more demanding social groups, initially focused on a relatively free search for forms and ways of self-realization in a wide range of opportunities promised to each state. All this has led to a significant decrease in the hierarchy of the social structure of society and a sharp increase in the average level of personal autonomy. The degree of individual loyalty to the norms and regulations sanctioned by any community, including the State, has decreased markedly, and this has led to a softening of the regulations. As a result, the mass consciousness began to allow an unprecedented variety of forms and methods of personal self-realization in various spheres of life, which was facilitated by cardinal changes in the channels of social mobility.

So, an analysis of the processes of industrialization at the level of socio-psychological phenomena in the process of development of Western society has shown that the limitations and isolation of the working class in the capitalist states of this region has significantly changed their mobility. Representatives of this class received the opportunity of socio-professional movements. The requirements imposed on the workers by the new technical and technological systems have led to the need to increase their educational level, which has increased their educational potential. Improving the educational level is a direct factor in increasing professional and social mobility. Moreover, the transformation of the socio-psychological structure of society has changed the nature of interaction between social groups and individuals in almost all social relations of society: relations between the sexes, between ethnic and racial groups, between classes, between religious denominations. Closeness, cohesion, prejudice, manifested within a social group and enshrined in generally accepted norms, hindered the development of social mobility, the objective prerequisites of which are ripe. Openness, orientation towards individual self-actualization, and the absence of an imposed ideology on the part of the traditional power institutions of society have opened the way for free movement between the elements of the social system.

It should also be noted that if mobility as movement is studied quite intensively and widely, then mobility as an ability and readiness for it is a less studied topic. At the same time, mobility as an ability presupposes two different perspectives of consideration: mobility as an ability provided genetically (biologically) by the human species and mobility as an ability that is realized by a person and, being a phenomenon of consciousness, is influenced by socio-psychological factors. That is, if, from the point of view of the first aspect, all people equally have mobility capabilities, then from the point of view of the second aspect, some people completely exclude the possibility of mobile behavior for themselves, and in this case it does not even occur to them that they could be mobile.

The situation is quite different with Europe, whose history is replete with social conflicts over inequality. In this regard, it should also be noted that the Belgian historian A. Pirenne ^[10] and the French historian L. Fevre ^[11] in their writings touched on the topic of the change of capitalist dynasties. They proved that a new generation of capitalists, appearing at the junction of two epochs, is never the sons, heirs and direct successors of the capitalists of the previous period.

That is, highly mobile individuals in general are more likely to be participants in social movements. In addition, the manifestation of mobility may be hindered by values – as the basic life normative attitudes of the individual. Given the stable nature of values, as well as the fact that they represent a long-term program regulating human behavior, they can become a factor hindering the decision-making aimed at changing the position of an individual, etc. In this sense, the concept of mobility is the opposite in meaning and role to the concept of value. Mobility is the ability to change, to change, to adapt, to be active, to abandon the familiar, the traditional. Value is a norm accepted by a person in relation to his future behavior and intended to limit, correct actions. At the same time, we cannot imagine a person without values, since values are an attribute quality of human essence. Even if he is not aware of them, the person unconsciously accepts them. In addition, the content of the value may be attributive signs of mobility. And then there is a coincidence of the meaning of these concepts.

At the same time, if mobility becomes the most important relevant feature of the human being and if its signs are fixed in the basic values of the individual, then mobility passes from the category of a forced, externally imposed (objective determinants) human trait into the category of a naturally existing, coinciding with freely made decisions of the individual.

Special attention should be paid to the research of Hungarian sociologists Yu . Venige, E. Jozha, L. Dyetvai, who investigated the peculiarities of the influence of educational processes on professional mobility ^[12]. At the same time, such scientists Bertil Oskarson, Simon Shaw, linked the formation of professional mobility of a specialist with the presence of basic skills ^[13].

So, on the one hand, we can state that social mobility as movements carried out in society is regulated by the norms accepted in society. These norms are fixed for their reproduction and effective action in the form of social institutions. Thus, institutionalization is the creation of organizations and institutions that create norms, develop them, consolidate them and provide conditions for their functioning. In this case, we can talk about institutionalized channels of social mobility. However, the successful functioning and development of society is impossible without the emergence of non-institutionalized mobility channels. Then institutionalized channels of social mobility should be defined as fixed social norms that comply with the laws of society, are approved by it and recognized as legitimate. At the same time, any society experiences periods of stable and unstable functioning, which affect the favorable development of society as a whole and its individual elements. The lack of stability leads, as a rule, to a violation of the balance of forces and trends in functioning. In this case, the processes of dysfunctionality manifest themselves, which lead to the deformation of the existing forms of social existence, in particular, to the emergence of social tension. Knowledge of the factors that affect the dynamism of society, for example, the nature of social mobility, can assess the current situation as accurately as possible, and in the future take effective measures to improve the efficiency of the main elements of the social system, returning the pace of its functioning to a stable character. In this regard, it seems important to identify the factors of social mobility.

In addition to the above conditions for the manifestation of an individual's mobility, an essential point is a change in the structure of his values. If we talk about the scale of a social group or an economically active population, or even society as a whole, then changes in the value structure in the mentality of Russian society are necessary. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account that values as the basic life normative attitudes of a person can both contribute to the manifestation of an individual's ability to high mobility, and act as a hindering factor.