Mobility of Population as a Factor of Stability of Society: Social Stars and Social Lifts

Abstract

Socio-economic inequality is inherent to any society. On the one hand, it opens up opportunities for competition and progress, on the other hand, it creates tension and hostility between less successful individuals towards more successful. One of the first people to talk about stratification and social mobility that exist in society, was a Russian scholar Pitirim Sorokin. He introduced to the science such concepts as “social ladder” and “social lifting”. As a result of this mechanisms, the individual can raise or lower his status. However, the new position of the individual is not always approved and accepted by society. People, for the most part, accept and respect the high status acquired by a person only when it was earned by long and hard work. The fast and rapid ascent of a person is accompanied by suspicion and contempt by the great part of society. The article presents an analysis of the necessity to distinguish the concepts of “social ladder” and “social lifting”. The way up the “social ladder” is long and thorny, but welcome and respected by society. At the same time, as a social lifting is able to raise a man to the Olympus quickly, however, this bright ascent is associated by many of us with an unfair and undeserved ways to achieve the goal. The article reveals the reasons of such perception of social mobility terms by the majority of the Russian population, also the criteria of separation of the concepts of “social ladder” and “social lifting” is identified in this work.