Types of social relations. Social interest and social value

The concept of society. With the word "society" we constantly meet in everyday life. In the media, in the speeches of scientists and publicists, Belarusian, Chinese, American society is often mentioned. In history lessons, they talk about ancient, medieval, bourgeois, modern societies, etc.

The word "society" has many meanings. It is derived from the word "general", which means "joint", "the same or binding for all", "united, integral". Society in this sense is understood as a certain group of people united for communication and joint performance of any activity. Here the word "society" can be replaced by the words "organization", "union", "association" (book lovers society, society for the protection of historical and cultural monuments, society for the protection of animals, joint-stock companies, etc.).

Bearing in mind a specific stage in the historical development of mankind, they speak of primitive society, the society of the Enlightenment, modern society. Close to this is the use of the concept of "society" to characterize the qualitative originality of a particular organization of social life ("traditional society", "consumer society", "information society").

In the broadest sense, society is a part of the material world that has separated itself from nature and interacts with it. Understood in this way society is a historically developing set of relations between people that develop in the process of their joint activities. When discussing society, it is very important to clarify the meaning in which this concept is used.

In the process of developing scientific knowledge about society, several main approaches have developed that are used to study and explain it. First approach - naturalistic. It is associated with the development of natural science in the 17th - 18th centuries. Based on natural science views, many thinkers of the past argued that society and its structure is a kind of continuation of nature. The type of social structure was considered the result of the influence of the geographical environment and other natural factors on people's lives. In the eighteenth century this point of view was defended by the French thinker C. Montesquieu (1689-1755). In modern times, such views were held, for example, by the Russian historian L.N. Gumilyov (1912-1992). This approach is also manifested in the understanding of society as a special living organism.

Cultural and historical approach to the study of society is widely used in the late XIX - early XX century. Its formation is connected with the development of such sciences as history, cultural studies, anthropology. Within the framework of this approach, differences in natural and social processes are revealed. The life of society is considered here as an area of influence of moral, aesthetic and other spiritual values that form the basis of culture. The Russian scientist N.Ya.Danilevsky (1822-1855) was the creator of the theory of cultural-historical types of social life.

Of particular importance is the question of the integrity of society. Some thinkers believed that a society is simply the sum of the people living in it. Society is formed in this case as a result of the addition of abilities, behavior, actions of many individual atoms. This approach originated in the philosophy of modern times. So thought, for example, the English philosophers of the seventeenth century T. Hobbes, J. Locke.

Other scholars viewed society as a whole and argued that it could not be reduced simply to the sum of individuals. This view of society is more fruitful because people are never really separate "atoms". But this approach gave rise to another difficult question: what is this unity of people, what is the basis of the integrity of society?

Many thinkers (the German philosopher of the 19th century G. Hegel and others), answering this question, were looking for the basis of the integrity and unity of society in its spiritual life. This approach to understanding society can be called idealistic. History is often seen here as a process of movement towards the attainment of some higher spiritual goal.

There is also materialistic approach in understanding the foundations of social life. For example, the German thinkers of the 19th century, K. Marx and F. Engels, believed that the basis of the life of society is the activity of people, ensuring the satisfaction of their material needs. This activity is material production. Without denying the existence of ideological or spiritual motives in social life, the materialistic approach is based on the fact that the real material life of people determines their consciousness.

The materialistic and idealistic approaches to understanding the foundations of social life are not just opposite, but in many ways complement each other, since in our life there are indeed both material and spiritual aspects, motivating causes of activity, and they are closely interconnected.

The main forms of the relationship between man and society. Society is formed by people who are interconnected. They enter into certain relationships with each other and perform various activities necessary for the life of society as a whole. Production activity is aimed primarily at creating objects necessary for life, at changing the natural environment and giving it qualities that are useful to people. It is also called economic activity. By engaging in production, a person contributes to the economic well-being of other people. At the same time, the well-being of each individual person largely depends on the overall efficiency of the economy. To ensure it, a division of labor is formed in society, many different production processes are carried out, which are serviced by banking, transport and other systems.

Science also plays an important role here, without which technical and, in general, economic progress is impossible today. Modern economic activity is based on knowledge obtained primarily through scientific means. Scientific research produces spiritual value - knowledge, but without it today it is no longer possible to efficiently produce material wealth. We are essentially entering the stage of the "knowledge society", when the education of people and their ability to create something new, useful to people, becomes the main economic resource.

Science is a spiritual activity. Other kinds of spiritual activity are art, religion, morality. The results of these activities are not things, but knowledge, artistic images, moral ideals, ideas about the sacred, about the higher principles of life. Every person is not only a material, but also a spiritual being. He is inseparably included in the spiritual life of the society of which he is a member.

Man in the process of life is part of various communities of people. He is a member of a family, production team or creative association; he belongs to some age group, to a group of people with a certain education, to a national community. He may also belong to a particular religious community. The area of public life associated with the relationship between small and large groups of people is called the social sphere.

The life of society needs to be managed by state institutions. The actions of people are subject to the legal norms that the state establishes. Each person is a citizen of his state and is included in the political and legal life of the country. This is another sphere of society - political and legal.

All named here spheres of social life - economic, spiritual, social, political and legal are important to every person. All people participate in one way or another in their functioning. Of course, a person cannot simultaneously be a professional in many types of specialized activities. But in order to be a full-fledged member of society, it is necessary, in addition to mastering a certain specialty, to also know the general organization of the joint life of people, its norms and rules, laws.

Socialization of the individual. FROM socialization called the process of assimilation by a person of a body of knowledge, norms of behavior, habits that allow him to live in society or, as they say, to be a full member of society.

Public communication permeates the entire life of every person, starting from his birth. A newborn is a helpless creature, and parents lovingly and carefully care for him. This is also their public duty - after all, society continues to exist due to the fact that parents are replaced by their children. This means that children need to be brought up and trained, to instill in them the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for independent living in accordance with the rules, demands and cultural traditions of society. Family and school are the very first, initial forms of communication between a person and society. They correspond to childhood and apprenticeship as the initial stages of human life. Of course, the connection with the family does not break in the future, and studies are usually not limited to school. A person must receive a profession and qualifications so that he can join the social process of production, become a full participant in public life.

Arguing about other people as individuals, we usually “try on” the expressed assessments or requirements for ourselves. Understanding himself, evaluating his personal qualities, a person outlines actions to develop his positive qualities or strengths, eliminate shortcomings. He looks up to someone, but does not want to be like someone at all. Other people are like a mirror in which we try to see our own features. It is very important, however, how we relate to other people and to ourselves. 19th century English writer W. Thackeray owns the words: “The world is a mirror, and it returns back to each person the reflection of his own face. Furrow your brows and it will give you back an unfriendly look, laugh with it and it will be your joyful and kind companion.

In the process of socialization, a person learns to play various roles - in the family, at school, in communication with strangers, etc. A person respects himself depending on how other people who are authoritative for him treat him. This respect must be earned by correct behavior, responsible performance of one's duties, and maturity of positive personal qualities. Each person is not indifferent to what he personally is, i.e. what kind of person he is. Thinking and acting, accumulating life experience, a person changes as a person. Being a person means being aware of what is happening and being responsible for what is done.

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SOCIAL RELATIONS

Chapter 1. The social structure of society

1.1 Social structure and social institutions

In sociology, the concept of social structure (separate parts of society ordered into a single whole) is interpreted in a broad and narrow sense.

In a narrow sense, the social structure is social stratification, that is, the distribution in a hierarchical order of groups and strata identified according to some feature (economic, political, professional, etc.).

In a broad sense, the social structure is a set of social institutions, status relations, groups, strata, classes of a given society.

A social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms that combines significant social values and procedures that satisfy the basic needs of society. In other words, a social institution is the interaction of people according to certain rules in order to satisfy significant needs. Examples of such interaction are the state, family, property, church, etc.

Signs of a social institution

1. A special type of regulation. Ideally, the functioning of a social institution is characterized by regularity, great clarity, predictability and reliability. The functioning of a social institution is associated with the mechanism of social control.

2. A clear distribution of functions, rights and obligations of participants in institutionalized interaction. Everyone has to fulfill his function, others expect him to fulfill it.

3. Impersonal requirements. Within the framework of a social institution, rights and obligations must be depersonalized. That is, to put it simply, people in the structure of the institute can change, but each of the newcomers will perform the same function that his predecessor performed.

4. Division of labor and professionalization.

5. Social institutions (formal, “paper” part of a social institution.)

1.2 Classification of social institutions

1. Economic institutions are the most stable, subject to strict regulation. They regulate social relations in the sphere of economic activity.

2. Political institutions - institutions associated with the struggle for power, its implementation and distribution.

3. Institutes of culture, socialization and life support - include the most stable, clearly regulated forms of interaction regarding the strengthening, creation and dissemination of culture, the socialization of the younger generation, their mastery of the cultural values of society (family, education, science, art institutions), the functioning of systems life support that is not directly related to the economy.

1.3 Social role and social status

Each person is simultaneously a member of several social groups. In the group, he occupies a certain position, a position that implies certain rights and obligations and is called social status. A person has several social statuses As a rule, a person's position in society is determined by one, main (integral), social status. A certain social status gives rise to human behavior characteristic of this social status (social role). Since a person belongs to different social groups, he activates different social statuses in different situations. Social role - the norm of behavior of a person of a certain status in a particular society, community, group. Role behavior is the expected behavior of a person occupying a certain social status. Role behavior in society is structured as follows - a society, a community, a social group is faced with the implementation of a certain role, as a result of which the performance of this role is standardized. As a result, every next “role player” is expected to behave within the boundaries of established standards. But the degree of standardization of different roles in different situations is different.

The totality of all human roles is called a role set. The variety of social roles and their combination gives rise to the individuality of the individual. But at the same time, the variety of social roles gives rise to internal conflicts of the personality - the so-called role conflict arises in the structure of the personality. Role conflict is a manifestation of an acute contradiction between roles or different parties, elements of one role, when these roles or parties act as incompatible, excluding each other. For example, a woman building her own career is forced to devote less time to her family, which is perceived negatively in some communities and societies because she violates the social attitudes of this society (community) to a system of priorities, within which a woman should devote a lot of time to her family. . The second example: a person who occupies a high position at work, in the family “walks the line” in front of his wife. The resolution of the role conflict lies in the harmonization of the role structure of the individual, as well as a certain structuring of the system of personal values, which would make it possible to more clearly create a system of priorities at the level of a particular individual. For example, a woman chooses to build a career as her priority, meeting understanding from her husband, who partially unloads her in the household.

1.4 Types of social statuses

1. Achieved social status is the status that a person receives in the course of life, either through free choice or through luck and luck.

2. Assigned social status is the status in which a person is born or which is assigned to him over time.

3. Mixed status - occurs when the achieved status eventually turns into ascribed.

1.5 Social inequality and social stratification

Social inequality (social differentiation) - refers to the differences generated by social factors: the division of labor, way of life, characteristics of the profession, etc. But society is not only differentiated and consists of many social groups, but also hierarchized (a hierarchy is made up of these groups). Hierarchies on various grounds form the basis of social stratification. Social stratification is the differentiation of a set of people in a hierarchical order within a certain basis (economic, political, professional, etc.). There are many grounds for social stratification. So, P. Sorokin identifies 3 of them: economic, political, professional; M. Weber emphasized such a basis (kind) of social stratification as prestige. A number of other grounds (types) of social stratification were also proposed: ethnic, religious, lifestyle, etc.

1.6 Social mobility

Social stratification involves more or less free movement of individuals from one social group to another. This movement is called social mobility. So, social mobility is any transition of an individual from one social position to another. The easier it is to make such a transition, the more open (“transparent”) the given basis of social stratification is. There are 2 main types of social mobility: vertical and horizontal. Under horizontal social mobility, or movement, is meant the transition of an individual or social object from one social group to another, located at the same level in the hierarchical system; under vertical mobility - the movement of an individual or a social object from one social stratum to another. Depending on the direction of movement, there are 2 types of vertical mobility: upward and downward, that is, social descent and social ascent. P. Sorokin identifies the following channels of social mobility: army, church, school, government groups, political organizations and parties, professional organization, enterprises, family, etc.

1.7 Historical types of stratification systems

Several historical types of social stratification can be distinguished. So, E. Giddens singles out slavery, castes, estates, classes. It is in this order that the opportunity for vertical social mobility increases in these types of social stratification.

1.8 The place of the middle class in modern society

The structure of modern Western society resembles an elongated lemon in shape. The main base for filling the social structure in Western countries is the middle strata. When it is necessary to emphasize the special role of the middle strata in the social structure of Western society, the term “middle class” is used. Despite the fact that the middle class in Western European and American society is the guarantor of stability, it varies greatly in size in different Western countries. Very different in Western countries and the so-called decile coefficient (the ratio of the income level of 10% of the richest to 10% of the poorest.).

As a rule, the decile coefficient and the share of the middle class are highly overlapping indicators. The lower the decile coefficient, the smaller the share of the middle class in society, and vice versa. The lowest decile coefficient was observed in the Nordic countries - Sweden, Finland, Norway. The largest of the developed countries in the US, Portugal. Therefore, despite the best economic development of the United States among developed countries, the share of the middle class in the United States is noticeably lower than in Sweden, Finland and a number of other European countries. (In the Nordic countries, the share of the middle class often exceeds 90%).

The term “middle class” is interpreted in Russian sociology in different ways. Terminological uncertainty largely arose due to the use of this concept in relation to Russian society. What is considered the middle class in Russia? The answers to this question are diametrically opposed.

The extreme points of view are as follows:

1. The middle class in the USSR was and is in modern Russia the majority of the population. Although he somewhat “sank” in the social structure, i.e. his position in the social structure became lower than it was in the USSR. In this case, the middle class is understood as a synonym for the middle strata (strata that make up the majority of the population).

2. There was no middle class in the USSR. It does not exist in Russia either, since the economic situation of the Western representative of the middle class and the Russian contender for this "title" is incomparable.

The social structure can be studied both in a static position, fixed at a certain point in time, and in dynamics, i.e. in terms of its change in time and space. If we talk about social structure in terms of dynamics, then it is necessary to pay attention to the following concepts: social action, social interaction and social change.

1.9 Social action

The dynamics of social processes begins with social action. Social action is the simplest unit of social activity, a concept introduced into sociology by M. Weber to denote the action of an individual, which is aimed at solving his life problem and consciously focused on the behavior of others. Not every action is social. An action becomes social when it is oriented towards other people. Social action is driven by a certain human need, which takes the form of an ideal goal. Here is the internal impulse of action, its energy source. M. Weber singled out 4 types of social action - goal-oriented, value-rational, affective, traditional.

1 Purposeful rational action is carried out on the basis of the goal that the individual has set for himself. He acts in this way because he is sure that his action advances him towards the intended goal.

2 In a value-rational action, an individual first of all pays attention to his hierarchy of values and to those values that he considers important. He builds the action based on them.

3 Affective action - an action that does not arise from rational motives, but as a result of sensual, emotional experiences.

4 Traditional action - an action that occurs due to the fact that a person does not think before doing it. He does it traditionally, out of habit.

Social action gives rise to social interaction.

1.10 Social interaction

Social interaction - systematic, regular actions of people directed at each other and aimed at causing an expected response, after which the resumption of action is expected. It is the interaction of people and communities that gives rise to society and social relations.

Social interaction can be subdivided into social contact and social interaction proper. Social contact differs from full-fledged social interaction by its short duration and impersonality. For example, when we come to the cloakroom, we hand the coat to the cloakroom attendant, get a number, and say "thank you". It would have acted the same way if there was another person in our place. Social interaction in the full sense of the word occurs when, firstly, contacts become systematic, long-term and directed to a specific person. Social interactions give rise to full-fledged social relationships.

The dynamics of social relations leads to the fact that social changes appear in society.

1.11 Social change

Social change - any modification of the social organization of society in any of its social institutions, as well as in the social structure of society as a whole. Social change can be revolutionary and evolutionary. It depends on the depth and speed of social change. A social revolution presupposes deep and rapid changes in the social structure. The evolutionary development of society presupposes a smooth and extended change in time, a careful attitude to the basic elements of the social structure, and the inadmissibility of social upheavals.

In contemporary Russia, the period of revolutionary change seems to be ending. The social structure of Russia, which underwent colossal changes in 1986-1993, has stabilized. The economic basis of social stratification is dominated by the lower strata, located near the poverty line and slightly below the poverty line. But at the same time, there are not so many completely impoverished people. No major changes are expected in this regard. Numerous reforms implemented by the last right-wing, liberal governments, cannot change this situation and, apparently, will not be able to continue, since right-wing, liberal governments do not have a priority task - the fight against poverty. This situation is typical not only for Russia, it is typical for almost all states. This is due to the fact that forces, different in vectors of development, rely on different segments of the population. Traditionally, the right leans on the big and middle bourgeoisie, the left - on hired workers. At the same time, any revolutionary changes in modern Russia, both "from above" and "from below", are hardly possible.

Questions for self-control

1 What is a social institution? Give examples of social institutions.

2 What are the main features of social institutions?

3 What historical types of stratification did E Giddens single out?

4 What is social mobility?

5 What types of social mobility did P. Sorokin single out?

Chapter 2. Social groups and social communities

2.1 The concepts of social group and social community

The concepts of social group and social community are the most controversial in the sociological community. There are different views on the interpretation of both of these concepts, of which 2 of the most common can be distinguished:

1. Communities are designated as synonyms for social groups. In this case, sociologists, as a rule, do not consider the community as such, limiting themselves to a detailed analysis of the definition of a social group.

2. The concepts of a social group and a social community are quite different. In this case, what do specialists understand by a social group and a social community?

A social community is a collection of individuals that is distinguished by relative integrity and acts as an independent subject of social action and behavior. Social communities are characterized by the most general unifying features.

Social communities are distinguished by a huge variety of types and forms. They vary considerably both in quantitative composition and in duration of existence. As a rule, a community can be distinguished by system-forming features: territorial, ethnic, demographic, and others. Different communities play different roles in the historical development of a particular society. There are communities that have practically no influence on the historical development of society. They arise, exist for a short time and disintegrate. For example, cinema visitors at a certain session, bus passengers. Other communities that have been active for a sufficiently long time can influence society to a much greater extent. For example, students.

2.2 Ethnic community

An ethnic community, for example, is understood as a social community that is distinguished by ethnicity, i.e. These are people of a certain nation or nationality with habits, traditions and way of life characteristic of this nation or nationality. Ethnic communities can play a significant role in the historical development of society - the conquest of lands, the defense of one's own territory - very often these events are associated with the active actions of one or another community. In addition, ethnic communities are always visible if they are located outside the territory historically occupied by this community. Then it forms a community according to the principle of a certain ethnic “fellowship” within a certain territory.

With such "fellowships" in the event that they are large and strong, as a rule, the main ethnic communities of the given territory are also forced to take into account. A historically established ethnic community in a certain territory is also called an ethnos. 4 The main historical forms of the existence of an ethnic community: clan, tribe, nationality, nation. Genus - a group of blood relatives leading their origin through the maternal or paternal line.

The characteristic features of the clan were primitive collectivism, the absence of private property, class division, and a monogamous family. A tribe is a type of ethnic community of people and social organization of a pre-class society. The main distinguishing feature (sign) is the kinship between its members. The characteristic features of the tribe are - the presence of a tribal territory, tribal self-consciousness, tribal self-government. Nationality is a form of social and ethnic community of people, historically following the tribal community. If tribal associations are characterized by blood and family ties, then for the nationality - territorial. A nation is a historically developing type of ethnos, a historical community of people characterized by a stable integrity of economic life, language, territory, some features of culture and life, psychological make-up and ethnic (national) self-consciousness. A nation arises when a nation passes to a higher qualitative level.

2.3 Interethnic relations

Interethnic relations are manifested in the interaction of various nations within a certain territory of residence. Friction in these relations can be a prerequisite for interethnic conflicts.

Ethnic conflicts are similar in nature to conflicts between other communities. Therefore, the ways of resolving interethnic conflicts differ little from the universal ways of resolving them (see more about this in the "Social Conflict" section of this publication).

Ethnic conflicts to a greater or lesser extent are based on the soil of nationalism and separatism.

Nationalism is an ideology based on the ideas of national superiority and national exclusivity and the interpretation of the nation as the main form of community.

Separatism is an ideology based on the desire of a certain community (most often ethnic) to separate, separate and create their own states or other national-territorial formations within states.

2.4 National policy of the Russian state

The national policy of modern Russian society has the main goal of minimizing and localizing social conflicts.

Based on this goal, Russian politics is trying to solve 2 main tasks:

2) to minimize ethnic conflicts between the indigenous population of the territories and settlers of other nationalities.

In modern Russian society, the main reasons for ethnic conflicts are the following:

1) Factors of ethnic opposition between Russian and national ethnic groups Perestroika processes in a number of national republics brought to power a nationalist-minded elite. Representatives of this elite opposed themselves to the ethnic communities of Russians in this territory. As a result, a rather similar situation arose in a number of republics, which for the most part did not come out of a state of latent (hidden) conflict, but in this way decent tension was created. Much more clearly this situation was seen in the example of the collapse of the USSR and on its basis the emergence of several independent states. In several states, the Russian and Russian-speaking ethnic group was practically ousted from the territory of these independent states. (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan).

2) Economic factors, expressed in the socio-economic inequality of regions. The poorest Russian republics are the republics of the North Caucasus. The extremely difficult economic situation in the North Caucasus, one of the indicators of which is a very high rate of decline in production in the perestroika and post-perestroika years, a large number of unemployed, complicated by the high multi-ethnicity of the republics and the competition of the Caucasian elites themselves, contributed to the formation of a zone of high interethnic tension.

To this should be added the mentality of the Caucasian peoples. (Mentality - features of the individual and social consciousness of people, their life positions, culture, behavior patterns, due to the social environment, national traditions, etc.).

One of the basic moments of the mentality of the Caucasian peoples is the unconditional provision of their far from small, as a rule, families with the means of subsistence. This can be singled out as an additional factor of interethnic tension. All these factors provide a large degree of inter-ethnic tension in the republics of the North Caucasus (Dagestan, Karachay-Cherkessia).

3) Factors of social extremism of the national elite. (Extremism is a commitment to extreme views and measures, as well as the desire to achieve goals using the most radical methods, including all types of violence, terror).

A textbook example of the development of this type of conflict is the conflict in Chechnya. The Chechen national elite, supported at a certain stage by the Russian elite, set out to build an independent Chechnya. Using extremist methods, the national Chechen elite began to push the Russian-speaking population out of the republic. At the same time, the structure of the Russian-Chechen conflict was a huge tangle of ethnic, economic, and political problems. As a result, the situation in Chechnya got out of control of the Federal authorities. There was a large-scale, open ethnic conflict. At the same time, the Chechen ethnos itself is by no means united in opposing the Russian ethnos. The Chechen ethnos is strongly split. Along with the presence of an inter-ethnic conflict, there is clearly an intra-ethnic conflict - between some Chechen communities and other Chechen communities.

2.5 Classification of social communities and social groups

Commonality classification:

Mass

1) are structurally undivided amorphous formations with rather extended boundaries, with an indefinite qualitative and quantitative composition;

2) they may be characterized by a situational mode of existence;

3) they are inherent in the heterogeneity of the composition, intergroup nature;

4) they may be characterized by association on any one basis or basis.

Group (social groups)

Social group - a set of individuals interacting with each other in a certain way, aware of their belonging to this group and recognized as members of this group from the point of view of others (R. Merton).

Social groups, in contrast to mass communities, are characterized by:

1) stable interaction, which contributes to the strength and stability of their existence in space and time;

2) a relatively high degree of cohesion;

3) a clearly expressed uniformity of the composition, i.e. the presence of signs inherent in all individuals included in the group;

4) entry into wider communities as structural formations.

Classification of social groups:

I.1. Small - the presence of direct personal contact, interpersonal relationships.

1 A small group is a fairly stable community of people in which social relations act in the form of direct personal communication. This is, as a rule, a group of people, from 3 to 15 people, who are united by a common field of activity: work, communication and knowledge, are in direct contact, emotional relationships, contribute to the development of group norms and the dynamics of group processes. With more people, the group is divided into subgroups.

Distinctive features of a small group: a limited number of members, stability of composition, interactivity and information saturation of communication, an informal level of perception of a person by a person, internal structure, a sense of belonging to a group.

for a small group, common patterns are characteristic:

The presence of a goal for joint activities;

Interaction of each with each;

The presence in the group of an organizing principle in the person of a leader, leader or an informal structure of relations;

The number of connections increases exponentially, while the number of subjects increases arithmetically;

The presence of emotional interpersonal relationships;

Development of a special group culture - traditions, norms, rules, standards, behavior that determine the expectations of group members in relation to each other; deviation from group standards is generally only allowed to the leader.

2. Large - groups that do not meet the conditions of small groups.

A large social group is structured, as a rule, as a social organization.

II. 1. Formal - with a strictly defined structure, rules and regulation of the actions of members of this group in the event that this activity is associated with the official status of a member of the group. A formal group is characterized by the presence of a structure, rationalization of functions, and division of responsibilities. In terms of the form of its organization, a formal social group is a social institution. Therefore, all the characteristics of a social institution (functions, characteristics, etc.) apply to a formal social group (see the section "The social structure of society" in the topic "Social institutions" of this edition).

2. Informal - not having a structure and everything listed in the characteristics of formal groups. Interaction between group members is built on the basis of interpersonal relations initiated by the individuals themselves, the commonality of their interests, etc.

2.6 The role of social groups and communities in history

The role of social groups and communities in society is completely different. Most social groups and communities do not leave significant traces in the history of societies. The exceptions are elite groups and communities, groups and communities that directly affect the political development of society, as well as some groups and communities at the time of revolutionary upheavals or serious crises, when random factors sometimes strongly influence the development of the situation. It is in this situation that communities and social groups can “turn around” the situation in one direction or another by their actions. For example, during the development of the economic crisis in the USSR in the late 80s, such a community as miners played a big role. The vast majority of Soviet coal mines did not ship coal further than their region, so a serious energy crisis erupted, which, in turn, led to increased political instability in the country.

2.7 Group norms and sanctions

In social groups there are group values and norms. Group values are beliefs shared by a social group (or society as a whole, if we are talking about social values) about the goals that need to be achieved, and those basic ways and means that lead to these goals. In other words, social values help answer the question of how to relate to what already exists and what can be.

Group norms are derived from and based on group values. They no longer answer the question of attitudes towards phenomena and processes occurring within the group and in society, but the question of what and how to do with them. If group values determine the general, strategic component of the group's behavior, then group norms are specific attitudes of the behavior of an individual member of the group that determine the boundaries of the desired and permissible behavior of an individual in a particular situation from the point of view of this group. So, group norms are rules of conduct, expectations and standards that regulate human behavior in accordance with the values of this particular group. At the same time, it is clear that the values of different groups are different. Compliance with these norms is ensured in the group through the application of punishments and rewards. Forms of encouragement, as well as forms of punishment, each group has its own. Encouragement can be an increase in the status of a group member, approaching the distinguished group "shrines", group recognition of the special merits of a group member, etc. The forms of punishment are opposite. An extreme form of intra-group punishment is the exclusion of a group member from the composition of this group.

If we talk about society as a whole, then, similarly to group values and group norms, there are social norms and values that regulate relations in society as a whole.

Questions for self-control

1. What is a social community and a social group? What are the two extreme points of view on the definition of these concepts exist?

2. What types of social groups can be identified?

3. Why do group values and norms exist?

4. What is an ethnic community?

5. What underlies the ideology of nationalism and separatism?

Chapter 3. Personality as a subject of social relations

3.1 The concept of personality

Personality - one of the central concepts in sociology. The study of personality in sociology is markedly influenced by philosophical concepts and psychological theories. Philosophy operates more with a capacious concept of "man", which includes both biological, rational, and cultural nature. Philosophers talk about a person "in general", about his meaning of life, about his role in the Universe, etc. When philosophers say "personality", they most often mean "person".

Psychology draws attention to the individual differences of people - to temperament, character, behavior. By personality, psychologists understand individuality.

In sociology, personality is the integrity of a person's social properties. Personality is a product of social development and inclusion of the individual in the system of social relations.

Personality as subject of public relations characterized by a certain degree of independence from society, the ability to oppose itself to it. Personal independence is associated with the ability to control one's behavior, which is impossible without self-awareness, self-esteem.

When considering personality as object of public relations the emphasis is on the influence of society on accuracy, on its dependence on social and cultural expectations, social attitudes of the environment where the personality is formed.

3.2 Personal socialization

Socialization is the process of assimilation of cultural norms and development of social roles. Thanks to socialization, a person becomes a capable member of society.

Many creatures are born completely ready for independent life, that is, they are born adults (for example, insects). Other creatures need some time to adjust to the world. This period is called childhood. It comes in different lengths: in birds - 1 season, in tigers, monkeys and elephants - several years

But no one, except for a person, has socialization - a period when a person learns to live in society, in the world of social relations (and not only in his ecological niche, like animals). No social property is innate. A sense of conscience, responsibility, honor, etc. are not genetically transmitted.

Socialization is not only training at school, institute. Such training is only a formal acquisition of knowledge. School cannot teach a person to be a good husband, business partner, attentive parent, son, etc. You have to learn this all your life in real, not laboratory conditions. Each social role includes many rules, cultural norms, stereotypes of behavior that need to be mastered. Growing up, a person acquires new roles (for example, father, boss) and must master them. Therefore, socialization goes on throughout life.

It is clear that one can learn how to live in society only by living in society. There are several real cases when human cubs were isolated by society and they were brought up by animals (such "mowglis" are called feral people). Mowgli behaved like animals - they did not move on four limbs, they experienced a strong fear of fire, they did not laugh. When they were returned to human society, they acquired only the most elementary skills, but did not learn how to think abstractly, make friends, smile. They mastered speech, consisting of no more than 30 words, and lived in human society for no more than 10 years.

That is, being in a social environment and socialization play a decisive role in the transformation of a biological being into a social one. This process also means the transformation of a person into an individual and into a personality.

The process of socialization goes through stages that coincide with the main life cycles. This is childhood, youth, maturity, old age.

Stages of socialization. Childhood and youth - initial socialization, maturity and old age - continued socialization. The most important is the first stage, childhood, when the foundation of socialization is laid and personality is formed by 70%. Therefore, children isolated from society perish (as social beings), while adults do not.

The process of socialization does not take place without outside help. He is assisted by people and institutions. Specific people responsible for socialization are called agents of socialization. The institutions that influence and direct socialization are the institutions of socialization. When people talk about the family in a general way, they call it an "institution" of socialization. And when they mean specific family members, they use the concept of "agents".

Distinguish between primary and secondary socialization.

There are two interpretations of primary and secondary socialization.

The first interpretation is the following. There are agents of primary socialization - parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, family friends, teachers, leaders in youth groups, etc. That is, those who directly affects a person. At the stage of secondary socialization, the institutions of socialization - the administration of the city, district, schools, universities, and the army - begin to influence the personality to a large extent.

The second interpretation is the following. Primary socialization is socialization “clean”. Such socialization takes place mainly in childhood, in the case when, in the process of socialization, patterns of behavior, values are completely new, i.e. as if "lay down" on a blank sheet of paper. Secondary socialization is the same as resocialization - restructuring of patterns of behavior, values, perception of certain processes. Secondary socialization begins in time later than primary, and usually takes place in adulthood. However, it is wrong to strictly tie two types of socialization to age - that is, to say that primary socialization takes place in childhood, and secondary socialization in adults is wrong, since certain values \u200b\u200bin children and adolescents can change and, conversely, an adult can receive some a new experience at an already mature age.

3.3 Socialization and education of the individual

The process of socialization depends on the social organization of society, on the values to which society is committed. For example, in societies with a hunting and fishing type of economy, the upbringing of children is aimed at making them independent and self-reliant. And agricultural and animal husbandry types emphasize responsibility and obedience. And this is justified - after all, the success of hunting and fishing depends more on the manifestation of individual initiative, on the ability to act according to the situation, on independence. And in agriculture, patience and responsibility are important.

On the basis of raising a child, 4 types of society are distinguished:

1) weak discipline both in early and late childhood;

2) strict discipline both in early and late childhood;

3) discipline is strict in early childhood, weak in later childhood;

4) in early childhood discipline is weak, in late childhood it is strict.

For example, the Japanese belong to the fourth type of society - they provide small children with maximum freedom and practically do not punish them. Severity appears later, as they grow older. Older children are raised by the Japanese in the spirit of strict, obedient Confucian morality.

European societies until the 18th century practiced strict discipline at all ages. It was believed that children's self-will is the basis of all vices.

After the 18th century, Europe turns into a third type, because. there are concepts of human dignity, the right of a young person to an independent choice of a life path, etc.

The upbringing model is conditioned by socio-cultural processes (in a totalitarian society it is impossible to create a liberal model of socialization). Specific performers, as a rule, cannot change this model at their own discretion.

The process of socialization is closely connected with the stages of the moral development of the individual.

1. In early childhood, the child is guided by selfish motives. He obeys to avoid punishment or in exchange for specific benefits and rewards.

2. In the next stage, children are guided by the "good child" model and strive to earn the trust of those they love. Gradually, an attitude is created: "what is good is that which corresponds to the rules." At this stage, moral consciousness is formed. People are aware of the rules of behavior in society, their necessity. A person begins to perform actions, independently focusing on already accepted, assimilated values.

3. But the actual freedom of behavior and self-regulation come (and often do not come) much later, when a person realizes the conventionality of moral rules (relativism) and seeks to find higher principles to which he subordinates - of his own free will - his behavior.

3.4 Interpersonal relationships and conflicts in interpersonal relationships

Interpersonal relationships arise through the phenomena of interaction. Social interaction is the mutual influence of phenomena and processes, persons or communities, carried out through social activities. Two main levels of interactions: 1) interpersonal interaction and 2) inter-role interaction. 1) Interpersonal interaction is an interaction in which the social connection of people is determined by their common interests, friendship, affection, that is, relationships are built on a personal level. 2) Inter-role interaction is an interaction that is built on the basis of social statuses, people engaged in social interaction, their social roles. After a certain time, inter-role interaction can move to the interpersonal level, if people have common interests that are not related to the status structure.

Interpersonal conflict - conflict between individuals. There is no special specificity of interpersonal conflict, in contrast to social conflict. Therefore, we can talk about the typicality of interpersonal conflict as a social conflict. See more about structuring and resolving conflict in the section “Social Conflict”

Questions for self-control

1. What is socialization? Why is it necessary? What stages does she go through?

2. What is primary and secondary socialization?

3. How does socialization depend on the type of society?

4. How is socialization related to the upbringing and stages of the moral development of the individual?

Chapter 4. Family in the social structure of society

4.1 Family as a social institution

Family - a group of people related by kinship or marriage, which provides for the upbringing of children and satisfies other significant needs.

The family is the main bearer of cultural patterns inherited from generation to generation. It is in the family that a person learns social roles, receives the basics of education, and behavior skills.

In most primitive societies (tribes of Central Africa, many peoples of the North), the family is the only really functioning social institution. There are no rulers, formal laws, specialized professions. The family fills the whole life of these people. All questions of the distribution of power, products, and other values are resolved within the framework of individual families or on the advice of several families.

The family is one of the main social institutions in society. As tribes grow in size, there is a need for formal political organization. There are new institutions that take on part of the family functions.

Like all institutions of society, the family is a system of accepted norms and procedures for the implementation of important functions for society.

4.2 Socio-demographic structure of society

In sociology and demography, it is customary to divide families by number of children into three types: families with few children are those where there are few children from a socio-psychological point of view. For the emergence of primary group relations among two children is not enough, two are just a couple. A two-child family is a family consisting of two couples - spouses and children; pair relations in them cannot be considered strictly group relations, because. Initially, relationships are formed, starting with three members of the group. On the other hand, there may be few children in a family from the point of view of population reproduction (demographic) - in order for previous generations to be replaced by subsequent ones, approximately 2.5 children per family or a quarter of two-child families, and a third of three-child families, 20% of four-children and 7% of five-children and more, and 14% of childless and one-child. The actual structure of families by number of children in Russia, where the birth rate fell below 16 births per 1,000 inhabitants - the population's simple reproduction limit - and reached 11.5 per 1,000 in 1992, corresponds to an average of 1.59 children per family. This means an excessive predominance of small families from 1 to 16 years old - about 90% of those in the Russian Federation.

Large families with 5 or more children - where there are many more children to replace generations - are less than 1%. Medium-sized families with 3-4 children, where there are enough children for a slightly expanded reproduction, are about 9%. Thus, the structure of families by number of children is sharply distorted: there are more than 15 times fewer families with many children than it should be, 5 times more families with medium children, while there are 5 times more families with one child, so the birth rate does not compensate for the death rate. Moreover, in 1992, the death rate of 12.6 per 1,000 inhabitants exceeded the birth rate, exposing the process of depopulation (degeneration of the nation), which consists of the spread of small families that began in Russia in the 1960s and an accelerated increase in mortality since the mid-70s.

A huge variety of family structures is formed when the task of classifying families is posed, taking into account the change in the family over time from the start to the finish of family life. The introduction of the parameter of duration, length of marriage and family, family changes in the course of life led to the concept of a family life cycle or family life cycle. Perhaps the word cycle is inaccurate here, because. only when family generations change, the same stages of the formation and disintegration of the family as a socio-psychological integrity are repeated. But in contrast to the dynamics of relationships between family members, rapid changes in the state of the family atmosphere, the term family life cycle is applicable to characterize the repeatability of processes that occur during a successive change in the stages of family functioning.

The development of family cycle schemes is an independent task of family sociology (based on statistical data on the prevalence of certain stages of the cycle in the family structure of the population.) The family cycle is determined by the stages of parenthood according to family events from the beginning to the termination of marriage. The family cycle can be formed for various reasons: Jan Szczepanski identifies, in the absence of divorce, three phases: before the birth of a child, socialization before separation from the parents of adult children and the phase of the gradual disintegration of marriage, other scientists increase the number of phases and their content.

Family functions in most societies differ little from each other.

1. The function of sexual regulation. With the help of the family, society organizes and regulates the natural sexual needs of people. Often, after starting a family, a chaotic intimate life turns into a stable marital relationship.

2. Reproductive function. One of the main tasks of any society is the reproduction of new generations. It is important that children are physically and mentally healthy.

3. Function of socialization. The family is central to the process of socialization. The family for the child is the primary group, the development of the personality begins with it. A person forever retains the basic patterns of behavior instilled in early childhood.

4. The function of emotional satisfaction. The many human needs include communication with loved ones. Doctors believe that an important reason for difficulties in communication and even illness is the lack of love and warmth in the family. Crimes are more often committed by those who have been deprived of care in the family.

5. Status function. Each person brought up in a family receives as an inheritance statuses close to the statuses of his family members. This is belonging to a certain social stratum, nationality, etc. The family performs role-based preparation of the child for statuses, instilling in him the appropriate interests, values, and way of life.

6. Protective function. The family carries out physical, economic, psychological protection of its members (although in different societies with different intensity). We are accustomed to the fact that, hurting the interests of a person, we hurt the interests of his family.

7. Economic function. Family members run a common household. The norms of family life include the obligatory help and support of each family member in case he has economic difficulties.

4.3 Family as a small group

In any society, the family has a dual character. On the one hand, it is a social institution, and on the other, a small group. The family has all the characteristics of a small group. It has a limited, well-defined number of members, stability of the composition, a sense of belonging of each family member to a given group, the usefulness of communication within the group, an informal level of perception of a person by a person within the family, and there is also an internal structure in the family.

Historical types and forms of family relations:

1) Families, depending on the representation of different generations in them, are nuclear (the presence in the family of only two generations: parents and children) and extended (married couple, children, parents of spouses, other relatives). The processes of urbanization in the modern world have led to the predominance of the nuclear family.

2) According to the type of leadership and distribution of family responsibilities, 3 types of families are distinguished:

1. Traditional, or patriarchal family. At least three generations live under the same roof, the role of leader is assigned to the older man. The traditional family is characterized by:

1) economic dependence of a woman on her husband;

3) consolidation of women's and men's duties - the husband is the breadwinner, the wife is the mistress.

2. Neotraditional family. It retains attitudes towards male leadership and delineation of duties, but, unlike families of the first type, without sufficient objective grounds. This type of family is called exploitative, because along with the right to earn money, a woman receives an "exclusive right" to domestic work.

3. Egalitarian family (family of equals). This type of family is characterized by a fair division of household responsibilities, joint adoption of decisions important for the family (in Western European countries, there are frequent cases when a man takes parental leave).

3) According to the criterion of the importance of power:

1. Patriarchal - the father occupies the top position in the power structure.

2. Matriarchal - the upper position is occupied by the mother.

4) According to the social status of the spouses before marriage:

1. Homogeneous - spouses from close or identical social strata.

2. Heterogeneous - spouses from different social strata.

5) By the principle of inheritance:

1. Patrilineal. Inheritance rights are transmitted through the paternal line.

2. Matrilineal. Inheritance rights are transmitted through the maternal line.

6) By the number of children:

1) Large families,

2) Small children,

3) Childless.

4.4 Trends in family change and development in modern society

The family is a rather changeable social institution. Changes in family relations over a long period of time are very noticeable. There are various classifications of these changes. For example, the Russian sociologist A.G. Efendiev uses the following classification.

First, the family is moving from traditional to modern. Under traditionalism, first of all, the kinship-family principle of organizing social life, the preponderance of kinship values over maximizing the benefits of the individual and over economic efficiency, catches the eye. Modernism, on the contrary, separates kinship from socio-economic and political life, replaces the interests of kinship with the economic goals of the individual.

Secondly, an agrarian society has the family household as its main economic unit, as a rule, all adults work at home and not for pay, but for themselves.

The modernist model is associated with the separation of home and work, wage labor appears in large enterprises with individual wages, regardless of status in family networks. It is important to emphasize that family production does not disappear at all (although such a trend is observed), but ceases to be the leading, main element of the economy, and in urbanized regions the consumer type of family is spreading, where family-wide activities, in addition to genetic and physiological processes, are supplemented by the consumption of services from non-family institutions for account of the salary earned by family members outside the house. However, due to the socio-cultural division of family responsibilities, women involved in wage labor outside the family continue to run the household.

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:

Membership Awareness

Ways of interaction

Unity awareness

Cooley divided social groups into primary and secondary:

Family, peer group, because they give the individual the earliest and most complete experience of social unity

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

Social groups are divided into real and quasi-groups, large and small, conditional, experimental and referential.

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

Quasigroups are characterized by randomness and spontaneity of formation, instability of relationships, short duration of 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 common interest, an object of attention

Malaya group - a relatively small number of individuals directly interacting with each other and 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 interactions between the members of the group are defined vertically - the department at the university.

informal the group arises and develops spontaneously, it has neither positions, nor statuses, nor 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 a system of relevant relationships and interactions. The staff of the university, enterprises, schools, firms. Group norms of behavior, etc.

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

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

Variety conditional group is experimental, which is created to conduct socio-psychological experiments.

Social relations are a stable system of interaction between partners, which is distinguished by the fact that relationships are established in a wide range of phenomena and have a long, systematic, self-renewable regulatory nature. This feature applies to both interpersonal and intergroup relationships. When we talk, for example, about interethnic relations, we mean the established, recurring connection between ethnic subjects over a fairly wide range of interactions (as a rule, we are talking about political, economic, and cultural ties).

There are several significant features of social relations:

1. The presence of many interactions. For example, relationships within the family deal with a wide variety of issues: finances, cooking, renovating an apartment, raising children, planning vacations or vacations, and so on.
2. Strength. Social relations are the more effective, the more stable, long-term. Let's go back to family relationships. A man and a woman entering into marriage expect that their life together will be long. And although this is far from always the case, nevertheless, even the hope for the stability of marital relations affects their behavior towards each other, towards relatives and friends of both spouses.
3. Regulatory regulation. For the most part, social relations are the result of the fact that partners follow certain patterns, examples that are obligatory for them. Some rules tell us what we should do ourselves, others - what we can expect or even demand from a partner. That is, such a division of rules is, as it were, two sides of the coin. Therefore, we can talk about the reciprocity of rights and obligations.

Recall that the totality of such rules, patterns of behavior constitute the essence of etiquette. The role of etiquette in society has always been very great - its long history testifies to this. The social significance of etiquette is manifested in the fact that it reflects the equality and inequality of individuals and groups, the social hierarchy that has developed in society, the democracy or conservatism of social relations. Etiquette allows people to navigate in repetitive socio-cultural situations (greetings, acquaintances, behavior in public places, etc.). Remember, for example, the rules of behavior for "guest" and "host".

However, partners are guided by mutual observance of the rules not only within the framework of etiquette forms of interaction: for example, within the framework of a traditional family, the husband was obliged, first of all, to get a livelihood for the family, in turn, she had to take care of the household.

4. Status-role interaction. When we talk about the rights and obligations that bind partners in social relations, this means that they are "tied" to a specific social position occupied by a particular person. In other words, the mandatory rules of conduct are determined not by individuals, but by social positions, and they can be occupied by different people.

For example, many schools hold so-called "Government Days" when students become teachers. If you have participated in such activities, remember that as soon as a student becomes a teacher, he changes the type of his behavior: he conducts a lesson, he can call another student to the board, do homework, etc. This becomes possible only when he occupies a different social position, a different social status.

Since social relations are extremely diverse, several options for their classification can be proposed.

Social relations are differentiated by type of activity. They can be environmental, legal, economic, political, informational, etc.

By goals social relations can be divided into instrumental and intrinsically valuable (autotelic). Instrumental relations are relations in which participation is considered by people as a way of obtaining some kind of benefit, benefit, while the fate itself does not represent any value for the partners. Most often, economic relations are of this nature: purchase and sale, hiring labor, hiring, etc. As a buyer, for example, a person enters into a buying and selling relationship with a seller only in order to obtain the right product. However, there is another type of relationship that people enter into only for the sake of the satisfaction that these relationships bring, without thinking about any benefit or benefit. Love, friendship, play are examples of intrinsically valuable (autotelic) relationships.

By nature of regulation social relations can be differentiated into formal and informal. In the first case, relations between partners are regulated by strict rules, regulations, often fixed in writing in the form of charters, job descriptions, etc. In them, the rules of behavior of partners in relation to each other are spelled out in great detail, scrupulously, and their violation can lead to serious sanctions and even destroy the relationship itself. In the second case, the norms that determine the nature of the interaction of partners are softer, less binding. Compare the norms of relations between a student and a teacher and the norms of relations between friends.

The proposed classification options do not exhaust the whole variety of social relations, however, this list already shows how complex the social networks in which each person is involved.

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