People constantly enter into more or less stable relationships with each other. They are forced to do this by material and spiritual needs, the satisfaction of which alone is impossible. The diversity of social needs leads to the formation of a large number of social strata and communities in society. Some aggregates of people can unite in social organizations and institutions. These elements form a social system.

Social relations are various forms of coexistence of people and their associations. The nature of associations, their position in society, the nature of the activity of individuals and communities is the subject of this section.

The social structure of society

The concept of "social structure" is one of the key concepts in the theory of social relations. The fact is that it describes the fundamental phenomenon of social life. Various communities throughout the history of mankind have always been divided into castes, estates, classes, groups, layers, etc.

In classical sociology, social structure was understood as a characteristic of the links between the elements of society that make up its people in terms of age, gender, profession, national and religious affiliation, territory of residence, and other features. Although initially the social structure was understood as a class structure. The concept of "class" was introduced by French historians of the 18th century, then developed in Marxism.

Classes are large groups people whose main distinguishing feature is their relationship to the means of production.

From this follows their place and role in the system of social organization of labor, the methods and extent of obtaining a share of national wealth. Other researchers also turned to this concept, but in the second half of the last century it became clear that the class approach to the social structure had significantly exhausted itself.

Therefore, the emergence of new concepts is natural: "social community", "social group"and others. This topic is devoted to the consideration of these concepts.

Social structure is the totality of all relations between the individual elements of the social system. The elements are individuals, social communities different types and social institutions.

A social institution is a historically established stable form of organization and regulation of the joint life of people.

The concept of "social institution" is used in most sociological theories to refer to a stable set of formal and informal norms, rules, principles that regulate various spheres of human life and organize them into a system of social statuses and roles. The structure and essence of social institutions are described in more detail in topics 1.6. and 4.10.

A social community is a collection of individuals, distinguished by the integrity and independence of social action.

People unite in communities for various reasons, for example:

• similarity of living conditions;
• solidarity based on common needs and interests;
• joint activity and exchange of activity;
• general system of cultural norms;
• entry into one organization (for example, students or applicants);
• own attribution of people to certain communities (fans, fishermen, etc.).

Thus, there are many possible generalities, so they are divided into two broadest subclasses: group communities and mass communities.

Group communities are characterized by the following signs: a clear structure, boundaries and a clear principle of entering them; stability in time of occurrence and existence; the ability to act as an element of wider communities (for example, a family, a group of friends, a work collective). Mass communities do not have the indicated features (admirers of pop stars, philatelists, passengers of land transport, etc.). One of the forms of mass communities is the "crowd".

A crowd is a mass community that briefly arose in one place based on the similarity of needs and emotions.

The crowd does not have uniform habits of behavior, nor previous experience of interaction. When the need disappears, the crowd disperses (fans leave the stadium, customers leave the store, passengers leave the vehicle). The concept of a crowd covers a wide range of forms, so there are four main types of crowds.

Random crowd - it is a collection of people who have nothing in common except that they are observing the same phenomenon, such as looking at a department store window.

Conventional crowd is a group of people who have come together for a specific purpose and usually adhere to established rules, such as fans at a football match or spectators in a concert hall.

expressive crowd- this is a collection of people who have come together for personal moral satisfaction, as, for example, at a religious meeting or a rock festival.

active crowd is an excited gathering of people who exhibit forms of aggressive behavior where recognized norms have no value.

Physical contact, crowding causes psychological and physical discomfort. Often there is a crush, which is characterized by negative social interaction - swearing, insults, conflicts, fights. These phenomena, as a rule, refer to unorganized mass actions. Other phenomena that characterize the crowd include mass hysteria, panic, pogroms and others.

mass hysteria- a state of collective nervousness, increased excitability and fear. It can be caused by rumors and gossip. Rumors and gossip are a collection of information that arises from anonymous sources and spreads through unofficial channels. They differ from each other in that gossip, as a rule, are based on fear or apprehension of some events, and gossip- on curiosity, envy, etc.

Panic - it is a form of uncoordinated mass action by people facing danger. As a result, people prevent each other from getting out of a dangerous situation, often getting injured in the process, and injure others themselves. A pogrom is a collective act of violence undertaken by a mob against property or a person.

Another type of mass communities - public. Unlike the crowd, whose unity is created by physical contact, the public is a spiritual community. Its representatives may not be physically together. This community is based on similarity of beliefs, rational views. If in the crowd a person becomes poorer, regresses, then in the public she gets the opportunity to enrich herself and progress. Thanks to the media, millions of people can have similar opinions without ever having contact with each other. Any advertising, including political, is addressed to the public.

As noted above, the main form of social communities are social groups.

Society acts as a set of many social groups. The number of groups on Earth exceeds the number of individuals. This is possible because one person is able to be in several social groups at once. The whole life of the individual takes place in these groups: family, school, college, firm, friends, and so on. A social group is an intermediary between the individual and the whole society. There are many economic, demographic, ethnic groups that are formed objectively, regardless of the will and consciousness of members of society. They are divided on various grounds. There are, for example, primary and secondary, large and small, formal and informal, etc.

Primary group- social community, which is formed on the basis of emotional closeness. They are called primary because it is in them that individuals receive the first experience of social unity.

Secondary group- social community, the interaction in which is impersonal, functional. In these groups, individual personality traits are not of particular importance, the main thing is the ability to perform certain functions and achieve certain goals. This is how production teams and other organizations are formed. Here, emotional ties can also arise (friendship, love), but all this should step aside for the sake of business (“friendship is friendship, and service is service”).

Secondary groups according to the number of people are divided into large and small.

small group- social community in which individuals are located v personal contact. The minimum number of such a group is two people. The maximum can reach up to three dozen (team or training class). However, in sociology, it is believed that the composition of a small group of five to seven people is optimal. Optimality lies in the fact that with sufficient resources of the group, stable social contact is maintained. The larger the number of people in a group, the less likely there is to be sustainable joint activity, even a dozen people begin to break up into small groups.

There are two initial forms of a small group - a dyad and a triad. The basis of interactions in a dyad (a group of two people) is an equivalent exchange. The exchange can be values ​​of the same quality (for example, physical actions), or it can be different (physical actions instead of spiritual activity, feelings, ideas). In such relationships, subjective predilections may dominate. In a triad, two can oppose one, then one deals with the opinion of the majority. Here arises the basis for an objective attitude to events. Thus, truly social relations are born in the triad.

Outwardly, it may seem that small groups and primary ones are one and the same. However, in a small group there may not be emotional unity (for example, an unfriendly class), but at the same time it may have a well-defined practical goal (training, duty, concert, etc.). Thus, a small group can be both primary and secondary.

A large group is a stable collection of people acting together, but not in direct contact. They may include millions of people who are separated in time and space. Therefore, large groups can only be secondary.

Depending on the presence of an official legal status, social groups are divided into formal and informal.

A formal group is a social community, the attitude of individuals of which is regulated by legal norms. Such groups are created to solve certain problems in which society is interested. (For example, a school is for the education and socialization of the younger generation; an army is for the defense of the country; a factory is for the production of some kind of product, etc.). These groups have a strict structure, an ordered hierarchy, and distribution of functions. A formal group is a secondary group. It can be both large (army) and small (pharmacy).

An informal group is a social community formed on the basis of trusting relationships. There is no strict division of functions in these groups. Cohesion factors are the sympathies, habits and interests of its members. Relationships are built on respect and authority. An informal group is a primary group, it can only be small. These groups often arise within formal groups and influence their functioning.

All groups have similar features. First of all, it is group solidarity. The group has its own identity from the point of view of outsiders. Associated with this is a certain way in which group members relate to each other and to other people. Members of the group, as a rule, communicate with "their" in a manner different from communication with other people. The group influences its member, and his actions are done under pressure from other members of the group.

Depending on the sign of division in the social system, various communities can be distinguished:

• demographic (separation by sex, by age, by family);
• economic (peasants, industrial workers, entrepreneurs, etc.);
• professional (teachers, doctors, lawyers, law enforcement officers, etc.);
• territorial (residents of the city, village, suburbs, shift camps and other settlements);
• national (Russians, Armenians);
• confessional (parishioners of the Orthodox Church, Muslims).

At present, the social structure is becoming more complex, traditional communities are being fragmented and new communities are emerging.

Review questions:

• 1. What is the content of the concept of "social structure"?
• 2. What is a social community?
• 3. What is the difference between group and mass community?
• 4. What are the types of group and mass communities?
• 5. What is the difference between primary and secondary groups?
• 6. What is the difference between large and small groups?

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

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Lecture 7. Social relations in society

as a prerequisite for social work

Plan

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

2. Types of social relations

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

The essence of interaction, relationships reflect two concepts:

public relations, social relations.

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

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

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

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

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

Social relations are a prerequisite for understanding the essence of social work. In social work, as a combination of various types of activity, the influence of primary social relations is manifested.

For a person as a biopsychosocial being, social ties relating to his individual-personal and collective existence are of great importance; his living space; its livelihood - on the one hand, and on the other - the presence of diverse public spheres (political, cultural, economic, social, etc.) where these connections can be made and realized. Such connections, as E.I. Kholostova notes, includesocial assistance, social charity, social rehabilitation, social protection, etc.. And this is the scope of social work.

The relationship of social work and social relations shows that a social worker must: know, study the social relations of people; take into account the presence of existing social relations, their social differentiation; take into account the fact that social relations are fixed in the form of sustainable interactions of social institutions, organizations that help solve the problems of social work.

Another fact pointing to the relationship between social work and social relations: social relations are connectedwith the social sphere of societyin which human needs are met.

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

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

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

Individual;

Group;

At the level of society.

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

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

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

Because social needsare a real form of implementation of social relations in our lives, then they can actas a feature for classifying social relations.

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

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

Needs determine the internal driving force of human activity. The set of human needs is determined by its dual socio-biological nature.

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

1 level . Vital or physiological needs.

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

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

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

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

Level 5 The need for self-actualization, the desire to fully reveal oneself, to become what one can be. However, it must be taken into account that society has not always been able and can provide favorable conditions and social opportunities for the development of the individual.

Of course, there is a close relationship and interdependence between the needs of different levels. The needs of the lower level affect the needs of the upper level. The impossibility for a person to satisfy his needs, the infringement of social needs, which consists in a lack of communication, education, in receiving social services, etc. This is precisely the area of ​​competence of the social worker.

In addition, the interconnection of needs makes it possible to analyze reality in more detail and objectively.the social situation of the individual because satisfaction of needs is largely determined by the social situation. In social work, the subject of the social worker's activity is the social situation of the individual.

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

The social situation is assessed by a person in a highly subjective way and according to criteria that may seem incomprehensible to an outsider. Consequently, the social worker needs to be tactful in solving the problem of the client in order not to humiliate his human dignity.

Social work is based on the relations that exist in society and are conditioned as social policy states, andcustomer characteristics.It is expedient to subdivide the existing relations into primary, secondary and tertiary.

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

secondary relationships – are determined by the client's membership in various social groups (territorial, religious, ethnic, etc.). Undoubtedly, the socio-psychological characteristics of these groups influence the appearance, manifestation and course of the client's problems.

Tertiary relationships - are determined by the civic roles of the client and their ability to realize their subjectivity. These relationships also influence the nature of the client's problems.

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

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Practical lesson number 3.

Topic: Social relations in society

Target: systematization of knowledge and skills on the topic "Social relations in society"; fostering a culture of communication, a conscious attitude to the participation of a citizen in the social life of society; formation of the ability to analyze and critically comprehend educational information, compare, identify common features and differences between different types of social groups, recognize and correctly use the terminology of sociology in various contexts, draw conclusions, rationally solve cognitive and problematic tasks, work with documents.

Equipment: Man and Society: Social Science: a textbook for students in grades 10–11. general education institutions / ed. L. N. Bogolyubov and A. Yu. Lazebnikova. - Part 1 10 cells, Part 2. - 11 cells. - M., 2012; Methodical instructions for students for practical exercises.

Lesson progress:

Theoretical part

Interconnected social groups formsocial structure of society .

Social groups are different in nature, scale, role they play in society.

There is no generally accepted typology of social groups. One of the principlesclassification - conditional division of socialgroups by number of participants perlarge andsmall (up to 30 people).

As small groups, family, educational, labor associations, interest groups, etc. are distinguished. A small group differs from a large one in that all its members are united by a common activity and are in direct communication with each other.

Large groups are aggregates of people who are united, as a rule, by one socially significant sign (for example, belonging to a religion, professional affiliation, nationality, etc.). Members of a large group may never come into contact with each other.

Often, along with social groups, there are groups of people united by natural characteristics: race, gender, age. They are sometimes calledbiosocial groups . Under certain conditions, the natural differences of people can acquire social qualities. For example, in any society there are elderly people, but only at a certain level community development there is a social group of pensioners.

Each person belongs to any of the social groups or occupies some intermediate, transitional position.

An intermediate, borderline state is characterized bymarginal (from Latin ;line-height: 100%"> These include immigrants, the unemployed, the disabled, the certain place residence and certain occupations (homeless people). A sign indicating a transition to a marginal state is the rupture of economic, social and cultural ties with the former social community and attempts to establish them with a new one. However, having lost contact with their former social group, the marginalized cannot accept new values ​​and rules of behavior for a long time. A vivid example of such a state is people who moved in search of work from the countryside to the city, who broke away from the peasant environment, but have not yet accepted the values ​​and lifestyle of the townspeople. Having found themselves without roots (kindred, friendly, cultural), they seem to “hang in the air”. They, as a rule, perform the simplest, unskilled, often temporary work, and the loss of it threatens them with turning into vagabonds and beggars.

The absence of certain stable connections and norms contributes to the manifestation of social activity and initiative by the marginalized in search of their new place in life. However, the state of uncertainty, "intermediateness" from time to time causes tension, discomfort, anxiety and even aggressiveness. That is why marginal individuals can become both a social support for progressive changes in society and carriers of various anti-democratic tendencies.

Word"norm" of Latin origin and literally means "guiding principle, rule, pattern." Norms are developed by society, social groups that are part of it.

Social norms guide people's behavior, allow it to be controlled, regulated and evaluated. They guide a person in questions of how to act, what can be done, what cannot be done, how one should behave, how one should not behave, what is acceptable in people's activities, what is undesirable. With the help of norms, the functioning of people, groups, the whole society acquires an orderly character. In norms, people see standards, models, standards of proper behavior. Perceiving them and following them, a person is included in the system of social relations, gets the opportunity to interact normally with other people, with various organizations, with society as a whole.

There are many norms in society. This is, first of all,customs andtraditions , in which habitual patterns of behavior are fixed (for example, wedding or funeral rites, household holidays, etc.). They become an organic part of people's way of life and are supported by the power of public authority.

Further,legal regulations . They are enshrined in laws issued by the state, clearly describing the boundaries of behavior and punishment for breaking the law. Compliance with legal norms is ensured by the power of the state.

Thenmoral standards . In contrast to law, morality mainly bears an evaluative load (good - bad, fair - unfair). Compliance with moral rules is ensured by the authority of the collective consciousness, their violation meets public condemnation.

There are alsoaesthetic standards . They reinforce ideas about the beautiful and the ugly not only in artistic creativity, but also in people's behavior, in production and in everyday life. They are manifested, for example, in judgments that a person “lived his life beautifully”, that such and such “behaves ugly”. Negative assessments in this case are combined with moral censure.

Political norms regulate political activity, the relationship between the individual and the government, between social groups, states. They are reflected in laws, international treaties, political principles, moral norms.

Finally,religious norms . In terms of content, many of them act as norms of morality, coincide with the norms of law, and reinforce traditions and customs. Compliance with religious norms is supported by the moral consciousness of believers and religious belief in the inevitability of punishment for sins - deviation from these norms.

There are other types of norms, for example, rules of etiquette, etc. Social norms differ from biological, medical, technical norms that establish rules for handling natural (natural) and artificial (technical) objects. For example, the rule against standing under a crane boom is aimed at the safety of a person in his relationship with technical device. And the medical rule, which requires compliance with the dose of drugs prescribed by the doctor, protects human health from dangerous consequences, fixes the procedure for handling chemicals.

As for social norms, they are allregulate relations in society : between people, groups of people, organizations created by them. The impact of social norms on the behavior of an individual involves, firstly, knowledge of the social norm and its awareness, secondly, the motive (the desire to follow this norm) and, thirdly, the action itself (real behavior).

Social norms constitute one of the elements of the mechanism for regulating relations between the individual and society, which is calledsocial control .

The purposeful impact of society on people's behavior in order to strengthen order and stability is provided by social control.

Any activity includes a variety of actions, and each person performs many of them, entering into active interaction with the social environment (with society, social communities, public institutions and organizations, the state, other individuals). All these actions, individual actions, behavior of a person are under the control of the people around him, groups, society. As long as these actions do not violate public order, existing social norms, this control is invisible, as if it does not exist. However, it is worth breaking the established customs, rules, deviating from the patterns of behavior that are accepted in society, and social control manifests itself.

One person ran across the street in front of a moving vehicle, the second smoked in the cinema hall, the third committed theft, the fourth was late for work... In all these cases, the reaction of other people may follow: remarks and other manifestations of dissatisfaction from others, appropriate actions of the administration, police, court .

The expression of dissatisfaction, the announcement of a reprimand, the imposition of a fine, the punishment imposed by the court - all these are sanctions; along with social norms, they are the most important element of the mechanism of social control.

Sanctions means either approval and encouragement, or disapproval and punishment, aimed at maintaining social norms.

Formal positive sanctions - public approval from official organizations (government, institution, creative union): government awards, titles granted, academic degrees and titles, etc.

Informal positive sanctions - public approval that does not come from official organizations: friendly praise, compliments, fame, honor.

Formal negative sanctions - punishments provided for by legal laws, government decrees, administrative instructions, orders: deprivation of civil rights, imprisonment.

Informal negative sanctions - punishments not provided for by official authorities: censures, remarks, ridicule.

Society evaluates the individual, but the individual also evaluates society, the state, and himself.

Thus, along withoutside control on the part of society, group, state, other people, the most important isinternal control , orself-control , which is based on norms, customs, role expectations, assimilated by the individual.

In the process of self-control plays an important roleconscience , i.e., the feeling and knowledge of what is good and what is bad, what is fair and what is unfair, the subjective consciousness of the conformity or inconsistency of one's own behavior with moral standards. In a person who, in a state of excitement, by mistake or succumbing to the temptation of a bad deed, conscience causes a feeling of guilt, moral feelings, a desire to correct a mistake or atone for guilt.

The ability to exercise self-control is the most valuable quality of a person who independently regulates his behavior in accordance with generally accepted norms. Self-control is one of the most important conditions for self-realization of the individual, its successful interaction with other people.

So, the most important elements of the mechanism of social control are social norms, public opinion, sanctions, individual consciousness, self-control. Interacting, they ensure the maintenance of socially acceptable patterns of behavior and the functioning of the social system as a whole.

social stratification is the division of society into layers.

social mobility is the movement of people from one social group to another.

TOhorizontal mobility include the processes of transition from group to group without changing social status.

Processesvertical mobility associated with the transition up or down the steps of the social ladder. Distinguishascending (pointing up) anddescending (downward) social mobility.

Practical part

Task number 1. Establish a correspondence between the concept and the definition.

Concepts

Definitions

1. Social differentiation

A) the division of society into layers.

2. Social stratification

B) the conscious actions of a person or groups, caused by their needs, associated with the actions of other people.

3. Social mobility

C) systematic, fairly regular, interdependent social actions of subjects directed at each other.

4. Social action

D) a special mechanism for social regulation of behavior and maintenance of public order.

5. Social interaction

D) the transition of people from one social group to another.

6. Social relations

E) a stable system of everyday non-production relations between people regarding the satisfaction of their primary needs.

7. Social control

G) the culture of our place of residence.

8. Domestic relations

3) a type of social ties that is distinguished by duration, stability and characterizes the mutual position of social groups and the people included in them.

9. Deviant behavior

I) the division of society into social groups occupying different positions in society.

10. Topos culture

K) behavior that is not consistent with the norms.

Task number 2. Fill in the chart:

Task number 3. Map using the following concepts: biosocial groups, types of social groups, unemployed, small groups, family, marginalized groups, classes, large groups, race.

Task number 4. Put the sanctions in the correct columns.

Reprimand, government awards, refusal to maintain relations, benevolence, slander, government scholarships, imprisonment, academic degrees, unflattering nickname, friendly praise, dismissal, fame, fine, applause, confiscation of property, erection of a monument, ridicule, deprivation of civil rights, compliments , demotion, honor, presentation of certificates of honor.

Formal positive

Informal positive

Formal negative

Informal negative

Task number 5. Specify the type of social mobility (horizontal, vertical upward, vertical downward):

A) transfer from one state enterprise to another;

B) promotion of a person in a position;

C) the ruin of the average entrepreneur and his transformation into a wage worker;

D) mastering a more prestigious profession;

D) moving from one city to another.

Task number 6. Read the statement of the famous philosopher of the XIX century. V. S. Solovyov and answer the questions after the text.

V. S. Solovyov: “The division of people into tribes and nations, weakened to some extent by the great world religions and replaced by division into broader and more mobile groups, revived in Europe with renewed vigor and began to assert itself as a conscious and systematic idea from the beginning of the expiring (XIX ) centuries ... After the Napoleonic wars, the principle of nationalities became a walking European idea ...

The national idea deserves all respect and sympathy when weak and oppressed peoples were defended and liberated in its name: in such cases, the principle of nationality coincided with true justice ... But, on the other hand, it is the arousal of national well-being in every people, especially in peoples larger and stronger, favored the development of popular egoism or nationalism, which has nothing to do with justice ...

Every nationality has the right to live and freely develop its forces without violating the same rights of other nationalities.

Questions:

1. Remember the material on history of the XIX v. What events allowed the author to assert that "the principle of nationalities has become a walking European idea"?

2. How, according to the author, does the essence of the national idea change? When is it positive, and when is it negative?

Task number 7. Read the statements about marriage and family and answer the questions.

G. Hegel: “The family is completed in the following three aspects: a) in the image of its immediate concept as marriage; b) in external existence, in the property and property of the family and care for it; c) in the upbringing of children and the disintegration of the family.

F. Adler: "The family is a society in miniature, on the integrity of which the security of the whole large human society depends."

V. Hugo: “Any social doctrine that tries to destroy the family is worthless and inapplicable. The family is the crystal of society."

S. N. Parkinson: “When the family of the Victorian era was seated around the dinner table, one rule was observed: the elders speak, the younger listen. Some topics were not touched upon in the conversation, certain issues were discussed in French, but the younger ones had a lot to learn. Moreover, they had the opportunity to realize their own ignorance and learn to express their thoughts more coherently. Nowadays, children rant and parents listen - there is no benefit and for no one, and the harm is quite obvious.

S. Smith: "Marriage is like scissors - the halves can move in opposite directions, but they will teach a lesson to anyone who tries to stand between them."

R. Stevenson: "Marriage is a long conversation, interrupted by disputes."

A. Tennyson: "What is the husband, such is the wife."

G. Hegel: “Marriage is legal love; with such a definition, everything that is transitory, capricious and subjective is excluded from the latter”; “The first necessary relationship that an individual enters into with others is the family relationship. True, these relations also have a legal side, but it is subordinate to the moral side, the principle of love and trust”; “The relationship of two persons of different sexes, called marriage, is not just a natural, animal union and not just a civil contract. and above all, a moral union that arises on the basis of mutual love and trust and turns the spouses into one person.

I. Kant: “In married life, a united couple should form, as it were, a single moral personality.”

K. Marx: “If marriage were not the basis of the family, then it would not be the subject of legislation, as, for example, friendship”; “Almost every dissolution of marriage is the dissolution of the family, and... even from a purely legal point of view, the situation of children and their property cannot be made dependent on the arbitrary discretion of the parents... Thus, only the individual will, or rather, the arbitrariness of the spouses, but the will of marriage, the moral substance of this relationship, is not taken into account.

L. Feuerbach: “Only husband and wife together form the reality of a person; husband and wife together is the existence of the race, for their union is the source of the multitude, the source of other people.

A. Schopenhauer: "To marry means to halve your rights and double your responsibilities."

Questions:

1. What is the meaning of the family in society?

2. What problems of family relations are identified by the authors?

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

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

Historically, stratification, i.e., inequality in income, power, prestige, etc., arises with the birth of human society. With the advent of the first states, it becomes tougher, and then, in the process of development of society (primarily European), it gradually softens.

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

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

The second system of social stratification should be recognized as caste build. A caste is a social group (stratum) in which membership is transferred to a person only by birth. The transition of a person from one caste to another during his lifetime is impossible - for this he needs to be born again. India is a classic example of a caste society. In India, there are four main castes, descended, according to legend, from various parts of the god Brahma:

a) brahmins - priests;

b) kshatriyas - warriors;

c) vaishyas - merchants;

d) Shudras - peasants, artisans, workers.

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

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

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

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

a) slaves and slave owners;

b) feudal lords and feudal dependent peasants;

c) the bourgeoisie and the proletariat;

d) the so-called middle class.

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

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

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

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

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

e) professional and educational structure.

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

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

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

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

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

2) mass downward social mobility;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If the prestige of any statuses is unreasonably high or, conversely, underestimated, it is usually said that there is a loss of status balance. A society in which there is a similar tendency to lose this balance is unable to ensure its normal functioning. Authority must be distinguished from prestige. Authority is the degree to which society recognizes the dignity of an individual, a particular person.

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

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

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

a) the role of the worker;

b) the role of the owner;

c) the role of the consumer;

d) the role of a citizen;

e) the role of a family member.

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

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

3. Social mobility

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

Sociologists distinguish several types of social mobility. First, depending on the reason for the movement, there is a distinction between mobility caused by the voluntary movement of individuals within the social hierarchy of society, and mobility dictated by the structural changes taking place in society. An example of the latter is the social mobility brought about by the process of industrialization: one of the consequences of the industrialization process was an increase in the number of people in working professions and a decrease in the number of people employed in agricultural production. Secondly, mobility can be intergenerational and intragenerational. Intergenerational mobility refers to the movement of children to a higher or lower rung compared to their parents. Within the framework of intragenerational mobility, the same individual changes his social position several times throughout his life. Finally, individual and group mobility are distinguished. They say about individual mobility when movements within society occur in one person independently of others. With group mobility, movements occur collectively (for example, after a bourgeois revolution, the feudal class cedes its dominant positions to the bourgeois class).

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

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

An important factor in social mobility is also the social status of the family to which a person belongs. many families different ways- from marriages to support in the business sphere - help promote their members to higher strata.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Schools are a powerful channel of social circulation in the modern world. Getting an education in the most prestigious schools and universities automatically provides a person with belonging to a certain stratum and a fairly high social status.

The family becomes a channel of upward mobility when people of different social status marry. So, in the late XIX - early XX century. in Russia, a fairly common phenomenon was impoverished, but titled brides with representatives of a rich, but humble merchant class. As a result of such a marriage, both partners moved up the social ladder, getting what each of them wanted. But such a marriage can be useful only if the individual from a lower stratum is prepared for the rapid assimilation of new patterns of behavior and lifestyle for him. If he cannot quickly assimilate new cultural standards, then such a marriage will not give anything, since representatives of the highest status stratum will not consider the individual

Finally, the fastest channel for upward mobility is property, usually in the form of money, one of the easiest and most effective ways moving up.

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

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

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

1) a change in lifestyle, the adoption of a new material status standard (buying a new, more expensive car, moving to another, more prestigious area, etc.);

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

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

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

4. Social norms. social behavior

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

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

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

There are various classifications of social norms. The most important is the division of social norms depending on the characteristics of their emergence and implementation. On this basis, five varieties of social norms are distinguished: moral norms, customary norms, corporate norms, religious norms and legal norms.

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

The norms of customs are the rules of behavior that have become habitual as a result of their repeated repetition. The implementation of customary norms is ensured by the force of habit. The customs of moral content are called mores.

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

Corporate norms are the rules of conduct established by public organizations. Their implementation is ensured by the internal conviction of the members of these organizations, as well as by the public associations themselves.

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

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

Different types of social norms did not appear simultaneously, but one after another, as needed.

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

Scientists suggest that the first type of social norms that arose back in primitive society were rituals. A ritual is a rule of conduct in which the most important thing is a strictly predetermined form of its execution. The content of the ritual itself is not so important - it is its form that matters most. Rituals accompanied many events in the life of primitive people. We know about the existence of rituals of seeing off fellow tribesmen for hunting, taking office as a leader, presenting gifts to leaders, etc. Somewhat later, rituals began to be distinguished in ritual actions. Rites were rules of conduct, consisting in the performance of certain symbolic actions. Unlike rituals, they pursued certain ideological (educational) goals and had a deeper impact on the human psyche.

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

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

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

During the emergence of the state, the first rules of law appear.

Finally, corporate norms emerge most recently.

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

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

Social sanction is usually understood as the reaction of society or a social group to the behavior of an individual in a socially significant situation. According to their content, sanctions can be positive (encouraging) and negative (punishing). There are also formal sanctions (coming from official organizations) and informal (coming from informal organizations). Social sanctions play a key role in the system of social control, rewarding members of society for the implementation of social norms or punishing for deviation from the latter, i.e. for deviance.

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

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

Exploring the causes of deviant behavior, sociologists have drawn attention to the fact that both deviant and delinquent behavior are widespread in societies undergoing a transformation of the social system. Moreover, in the conditions of the general crisis of society, such behavior can acquire a total character.

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

5. Ethnic communities. Interethnic relations

Along with classes, estates and other groups, the social structure of society is also made up of historically established communities, called ethnic ones. ethnic groups - these are large groups of people who have a common culture, language, consciousness of the indissolubility of historical destiny. Among ethnic communities, tribes, nationalities and nations are distinguished.

Nation - it is the historically highest form of ethno-social community of people, characterized by unity, territory, economic life, historical path, language, culture, ethnicity, self-consciousness. The unity of the territory should be understood as the compactness of the population of the nation.

Representatives of the nation speak and write the same language, understandable (despite the dialects) to all members of the nation. Each nation has its own folklore, customs, traditions, mentality (special stereotypes of mind set), national way of life, etc., i.e. own culture. The unity of the nation is also facilitated by the common historical path traveled by each nation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But the most serious manifestation of the aggravation of interethnic relations on the territory of Russia was and remains the Chechen crisis. Back in 1991, the Republic of Ichkeria (Chechnya) announced its secession from the Russian Federation. The federal authorities did not recognize the self-proclaimed state. but for a long time no measures were taken to normalize the situation. In December 1994, Russian troops entered Chechnya with the aim of "restoring constitutional order." Separatist detachments met with fierce resistance from the federal armed forces. The conflict became protracted and bloody. Chechen fighters committed a number of terrorist acts against civilians in several Russian regions. The government proved unable to resolve the crisis militarily, prompting a wave of protests both in Russia and abroad. The war in Chechnya revealed the weak combat readiness of the Russian army and the unpreparedness of the command of the federal forces to lead military operations in the mountainous regions. The failure of such a strategy made it necessary to resolve the Chechen crisis peacefully. In August 1996, the leadership of the Russian Federation and the separatists agreed on a cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of federal troops from the rebellious republic. Until 2000, the decision on the political status of Chechnya was postponed. However, after an unsuccessful attempt by Chechen fighters in August 1999 to seize a number of districts of Dagestan, the second Chechen campaign began. During the autumn of 1999 - spring 2000, the federal troops, despite sharp criticism of the actions of the Russian authorities by international human rights organizations (for example, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe suspended the powers of the delegation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation), managed to establish control over most of the territory of the republic (with the exception of mountainous regions ). Now on the agenda are the tasks of a political settlement: the restoration of the Chechen economy, the creation of new authorities (in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the Russian Federation), the holding of free and democratic elections, the real integration of Chechnya into the Federation.

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

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

When solving interethnic conflicts, it is necessary to observe the humanistic principles of policy in the field of national relations:

1) renunciation of violence and coercion;

2) search for consent based on the consensus of all participants;

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

4) readiness for a peaceful settlement of disputed problems.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

a) mutual voluntary consent of those entering into marriage;

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

The second group consists of negative conditions, i.e., circumstances that prevent marriage. Negative conditions include the following:

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

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

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

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

In order to conclude a marriage, the persons entering into marriage shall submit a joint written application to the bodies of civil status acts, in which they confirm their mutual voluntary consent to the conclusion of the marriage, as well as the absence of circumstances preventing the conclusion of the marriage. The marriage is concluded after a month from the date of filing the application. However, the law provides that, if there are good reasons, the monthly period can be reduced or extended (in the latter case, by no more than 1 month), and in the presence of special circumstances (pregnancy, childbirth, direct threat to the life of one of the parties, etc. .) marriage can be concluded on the day of application. The decision to reduce or increase the period of marriage is taken by the civil registry office. Marriage is entered into in the personal presence of those entering into marriage.

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

Family law establishes a number of OS-. grounds in the presence of which the marriage may be declared invalid. These include:

a) non-compliance by persons who have entered into marriage with the conditions established by law for its conclusion;

b) concealment by a person entering into marriage, the presence of a venereal disease or HIV infection;

c) the conclusion of a fictitious marriage, i.e. such a marriage into which the spouses or one of them entered into without the intention of creating a family.

Marriage is recognized as invalid from the date of its conclusion. However, if by the time of consideration of the case on recognizing the marriage as invalid, those circumstances that, by virtue of the law, prevented its conclusion, have disappeared, the court may recognize the marriage as valid.

Grounds for declaring a marriage invalid should be distinguished from grounds for terminating a marriage. The latter, according to the Family Code of the Russian Federation, are the death or declaration of one of the spouses dead, as well as the dissolution of marriage in the manner prescribed by law. The dissolution of a marriage is carried out in the civil registry office or in court.

In the civil registry offices, divorce is carried out in the following cases:

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

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

In all cases, the dissolution of the marriage is carried out after a month from the date of filing the application for the dissolution of the marriage.

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

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

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

2) in the absence of the consent of one of the spouses to divorce;

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

The law establishes a number of restrictions on the husband's rights to file claims for divorce (in particular, he does not have the right, without the consent of his wife, to initiate a divorce case during the wife's pregnancy and within a year after the birth of a child).

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

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

The dissolution of marriage by the court is carried out after a month from the date of filing by the spouses of the application for dissolution of marriage.

Marriage is considered terminated:

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

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

Spouses are not entitled to remarry until they receive a certificate of divorce from the civil registry office.

7. Child in the family. Rights of the child

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

Sociologists identify three fairly stable options for family education:

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

2) professionalist, within the framework of which there is a peculiar refusal of parents to raise children under the pretext that teachers, professional educators in kindergartens and schools should be engaged in this;

3) pragmatic, i.e., education, the purpose of which is to develop in children "practicality", the ability to "arrange their affairs", focusing them primarily on obtaining direct material benefits.

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

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

Art. 47 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation states that the basis for the emergence of parental legal relations is the origin of children from parents, established in a legal manner. Documents certifying the origin are the record of persons as the father and mother of the child in the registry office and the birth certificate of the child. Whether the child was born in or outside of a registered arak. he has all the rights granted to him by family law. Every child, in accordance with the convention, has the right to preserve his or her individuality. Individualizing features are the name, surname, citizenship, family ties.

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

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

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

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

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

The child has the right to live together with his parents, except in situations where this is contrary to his interests, including in the case when the parents and the child live in different states. In accordance with Art. Article 10 of the convention states parties are obliged to promote the reunification of separated families. The child has the right, as far as possible, to know his parents. This right may be restricted in a number of cases when obtaining information about the parents is not possible (for example, the child has been found).

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

The right of a child to family upbringing also includes the right to communicate with members of the extended family: grandparents, brothers, sisters and other relatives. This right shall also be preserved in the event of the dissolution of the marriage between his parents or the recognition of their marriage as invalid.

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

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

The child is the owner of the property belonging to him and the income he brings. The child has the right to receive maintenance from parents and other relatives in the manner prescribed by the legislation on the payment of alimony. Ownership of the amount of alimony, pensions and allowances received is also recognized for the child. However, the right to dispose of these funds in the interests of the child belongs to his parents or persons replacing them. They must spend these funds on the maintenance, upbringing and education of the child. Sometimes the parent who pays child support believes that it is not being used by the other parent. In this case, the parent-payer has the right to apply to the court with a request to credit alimony (but not more than 50%) to accounts opened in the name of the child in the bank.

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

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

Art. 56 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation enshrines the provision according to which the responsibility for protecting the rights of the child is assigned to his parents, legal representatives, as well as guardianship and guardianship authorities.

A minor, recognized in accordance with the law as fully capable before reaching the age of majority, has the right to exercise his rights and obligations, including the right to protection.

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

However, often children who suffer from parental abuse not only do not seek protection of their rights, but also try to hide the facts of such abuse for fear that they will be taken away from their parents and placed in children's institutions. In connection with this law, it is established that all officials or citizens who become aware of a violation of the rights of a child, a threat to his life or health, are obliged to immediately report this to the guardianship and guardianship authority at the place of residence of the child.

8. Social conflict and ways to resolve it

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

There are various theories regarding the causes and essence of conflicts that arise in society.

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

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

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

Modern Western sociologists explain the nature of social conflicts by socio-psychological factors. They believe that the inherent inequality of society generates a stable psychological dissatisfaction of its members. This sensual-emotional anxiety and irritability periodically develops into conflict clashes between the subjects of social relations.

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

The conflict behavior of the parties itself consists of oppositely directed actions of opponents. All of them can be divided into main and auxiliary. The main sociologists include those that are directly aimed at the subject of the conflict. Auxiliary actions ensure the implementation of the main ones. Also, all conflict actions are divided into offensive and defensive. Offensive consists in attacking the enemy, seizing his property, etc. Defensive - in holding the disputed object behind him or in protecting it from destruction. Such an option as a retreat, surrender of positions, refusal to protect one's interests is also possible.

If none of the parties tries to make concessions and evade the conflict, then the latter goes into an acute stage. It can end immediately after the exchange of conflict actions, but it can also last for quite a long time, changing its form (war, truce, war again, etc.) and growing. The escalation of a conflict is called escalation. The escalation of the conflict, as a rule, is accompanied by an increase in the number of its participants.

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

Sociologists consider the achievement of consensus to be the most optimal solution to the conflict. Consensus - it is the agreement of a significant majority of representatives of a certain community regarding important aspects of its functioning, expressed in assessments and actions. Consensus does not mean unanimity, since it is practically impossible to achieve a complete concurrence of the positions of the parties, and it is not necessary. The main thing is that none of the parties should express direct objections; also, when resolving a conflict, a neutral position of the parties, abstention from voting, etc. is allowed.

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

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

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

c) in form: internal and external;

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

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

f) according to the means used: violent and non-violent;

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

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

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

The sociology of conflict as a special part of sociological science arose relatively recently, but was quickly in demand by modern society. Today, conflictologists participate in negotiation processes in "hot spots", help to resolve group and interpersonal conflicts. The relevance and importance of their work is constantly growing due to the growth of social tension and the social polarization of Russian society.

9. Social legislation, social policy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 In the Russian Federation, labor and health of people are protected, a guaranteed minimum wage is established, state support is provided for the family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood, disabled and elderly citizens, a system of social services is being developed, state pensions, benefits and other guarantees of social protection are being established.

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

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

1) the fight against unemployment, the content of which is not to create obstacles to the process of releasing surplus labor within the limits of socially acceptable levels of unemployment, but to achieve the maximum efficiency of the social insurance system as the most important mechanism for protecting citizens in case they lose their jobs;

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

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

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

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

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

a) labor protection and human health;

6) providing state support for the family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood, the disabled and the elderly;

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

An analysis of the state of life in Russian society shows that today the provisions of Art. 7 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation are more of a program setting than a reality. In modern Russia, there are no economic prerequisites for the formation of a social state, no conditions have been created that allow for the redistribution of income within society. The current economic situation in the Russian Federation requires an increase in the effectiveness of social policy, new ways to implement it, the concentration of limited financial and material resources on solving the most pressing social problems, the activation of factors that stimulate highly efficient work and personal responsibility of citizens for their material well-being. It should be recognized that the real equalization of the situation of people and the creation of decent living conditions for Russian citizens is a long-term process. The emergence of a real social state in the Russian Federation will become possible only in conditions of a complete recovery of the country's economy.

Social relations are relations of a normative and regulatory order that develop between various social and professional groups. The subject of such relations is usually collective or personal interests, an imposed collective will (in relation to the opposing group), as well as an economic or symbolic resource, the right to which all opponents claim to possess. In this regard, the term "social" is synonymous with the concept of "public" and serves as an integral designation of the entire depth of interactions, interrelations and interdependencies that exist in society. At the same time, the narrow meaning of this phrase is also used. In this case, social relations are relations associated with the struggle of individuals or groups for the right to occupy certain positions in society (the so-called "social status") and, of course, the material, symbolic and economic resources that are attached to this status.

In principle, if we are talking about any kind of relations, then we mean relations that are formed in relation to some object or abstract concept. In this sense, social relations are between everyone. Consider such an example as labor relations in production. The employer accepts an employee for a certain position, offering him a certain amount of permanent work, the conditions that accompany this work, and payment as an economic reward for work. The employee, in turn, agrees to all the proposed conditions, including the obligation to produce the required volume of products. In addition, the employee accepts the rules of conduct in the team and the place (social status) that is provided to him along with the position. As a result, a system of social relations (in this case, production relations) arises, which exists for an indefinitely long time in a limited physical space. Of course, any one is modified and improved, becomes more complex, but in essence remains unchanged and stable, of course, if there are no social conflicts.

But what happens if such a conflict does arise? It must be remembered that social relations are, in general terms, relations that develop in relation to property. The role of the latter can be both quite tangible objects (land, house, factory, Internet portal) and abstract concepts (power, dominance, information). The conflict arises when the former agreements on property rights lose their legal, moral or even religious significance, the functions of management and normative-status regulation are also lost. Nobody wants to live by the old rules, but the new ones have not yet been created, much less recognized by all participants in the social contract. As a result, there is not only a revision of the rules of the game (in our case, the adoption of a new version of the Charter or other statutory document), but also a change in the elite (director's corps), which comes with its own rules and requirements for hired personnel.

However, back to our definition. Social relations - this is in a broad sense, that is, we are talking about economic, cultural, religious and other relations that arose in the process of forming the social organization of society. Any sphere of his life is permeated with the theme of sociality. This is due not only to the fact that a person initially lives in a specific social environment, learns its habits, imposes his views, accepts others, that is, he is included in the process of socialization. But he understands that he cannot live outside society whether he wants it or not, but he is forced to accept general rules, otherwise society will “throw him out” of his circle, turn him into an outcast. It is not for nothing that we are now talking about social organization as such. According to some sociologists, it is society that is the most rigidly built corporation using a vertically integrated management system. The development of social relations in such an organization is possible only through submission to the proposed social practices. The choice, if possible, is only in the case of a change of social partners: when moving to another corporation, moving to another city, or completely breaking off any ties with the former personal environment.