The middle class is ... The layers of society. Middle class in Russia and in Europe

One of the main characteristics of the category of the social class is the awareness of themselves as "a sense of common identity characteristic of members of a particular social class" (Abercrombie N., et al. Sociological dictionary, 1997). In this case, the social class is a long-term education, in contrast, for example, from the consumer layer. An important specificity of the concept is the transfer of belonging to the class of society by inheritance.

Research background

As A.Sh. Zhvitiashvili ("Interpretation of the concept of" class "in modern Western sociology", 2005), the attention of science to the problem of classes, as well as class relations was due to two factors:

• Recognition of the limited nature of a similar theory in the writings of Karl Marx;
• Active attention to the transformation processes in the Russian state and countries of Eastern Europe.

At the same time, the question of the appropriateness of separating the middle class in our society remains open to this day, both in domestic and in foreign sociological theory.

The problem of differentiation of the concept of "social class" in Western sociology

Western science of society includes several trends in the interpretation of the concept of class. First of all, this is a rejection of the dominant economic criterion in the analysis of the class-forming process. On the one hand, this step makes the investigated concept more extensive. On the other hand, the characterization of society from the socio-stratification point of view becomes less definite: the boundary between the concept of the class and the stratum becomes less distinct.

Signs of the middle class

From the point of view of the West German economist and statesman, the founder of the modern economic system in Germany, Ludwig Erhard, the middle class are people, among the qualitative signs of which it is worth point out the following:

• Self-esteem;
• Independence of opinion;
• The courage to place one's own existence in dependence on the effectiveness of one's labor;
• Social sustainability;
• independence;
• The desire to express themselves in a free civil society and peace.

In turn, Edgar Savisaar, who was the first prime minister of Estonia, distinguished such features of the middle class as:

• Stable and confident social position;
• A relatively high standard of living, education, and training;
• High competitiveness in the labor market;
• Clear information about the events in the society;
• Political skepticism;
• Sufficient independence in the analysis of information;
• High level of efficiency of self-realization in the society;
• Activity of influence on significant social processes;
• High level of civil liability;
• Orientation, in addition to himself and his family, to the whole of society as a whole.

Accordingly, in both classifications there is an emphasis not so much on the economic side of the existence of the middle class as on the socio-political one.

Middle class and class of professionals

Comparing the totality of the features of the middle class, singled out by Erhard, to the characteristics used by the American sociologist, Tolcott Parsons, defining the concept of a professional, one can note a certain coincidence. In his worldview, the Parsons professional is a supporter of liberal democratic values, including professional duty and selfless service to his clients. The presence of professionalism, according to Parsons and Storer, implies responsibility for the storage, transfer and use of specialized knowledge, high autonomy in attracting new members of the professional community, patronage from the environment, incorruptibility, etc.

Thus, the concepts of the middle class and professional become closely related in many sociological studies.

The distinction between the "old" and the "new" middle class

The semantic meaning of the concept of the middle class has a dynamic specificity that directly reflects the socio-economic characteristics of society in a certain period of time. Thus, in the modern interpretation, the middle class is a qualitatively new social phenomenon.

From the point of view of the American sociologist Charles Wright Mills, unlike the "new", the "old" middle class was mostly made up of small entrepreneurs who profit from their property. In turn, the American middle class was the rural bourgeoisie, and its land simultaneously acted as a means of production, a way of earning, and also as an investment object. Thus, the independence of the entrepreneur, who independently established the boundaries of his own professional activity, was preserved. Labor and property for the American middle class were inseparable. In addition, the social status of this category of citizens also directly depended on the state of their property.

Accordingly, the "old" middle class had a proprietary basis, as well as a clear definition of boundaries. His representatives were also characterized by independence from both high society and the state itself.

Functions of the middle class in society

The position of the middle class in the center of the social system thus ensures its relative stability and stability. Thus, the middle class is a kind of mediator between the extreme poles of the stratification structure of society. At the same time for the optimal implementation of the intermediary function, it is necessary that this stratum of society has a sufficient number.

On the other hand, as many domestic sociologists have noted, mass conditions are not enough to ensure the fulfillment of the function of the stabilizer and the source of development of the public system to which the middle class is oriented. This fulfillment is possible only if the middle class corresponds to certain political economic characteristics: law-abiding, awareness of actions and the ability to defend one's own interests, independence of opinion, etc.

Western Tradition

Initially, in Western scientific thought, the middle class was identified with the people and the masses in general. For example, in the concept of Ortega y Gasset, a middle class representative is mediocre in the field of knowledge and skills. In Hegel, he appears as a formless mass - without any specific goals and ideals.

Between domestic and foreign approaches to the category of the middle class in society there is a significant difference. For example, the middle class in Europe, from the point of view of the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, in addition to the economic capital allocated as a dominant in Marxist theory, must rely on social, cultural and symbolic capital . One of the forms of symbolic capital Bourdieu considered political. The right of ownership was documented when it came to economic property. In the case of its cultural part, the confirmation was a diploma or academic title. Social property, however, was confirmed by a noble title. Thus, a full-fledged characterization of the middle class society was formed.

Another important point should also be noted. In the Western tradition, the middle strata of society are aware of the fact that private property is not just an object of appropriation, but is also accompanied by the need to fulfill a number of social functions. Otherwise, it can not be inviolable, remaining open to encroachment on the part of other people.

Discussion of the problem of the middle class in Russian society

The middle class in Russia represents a separate category for scientific polemics in sociological theory. For example, some Western sociologists deny the existence of this layer of society during the functioning of the USSR and in the years of transition to the post-Soviet system (Zhvitiashvili, 2005). From the point of view of H. Balzer, the presence of the middle layer exists in the Russian social stratification structure, but it differs from the classical understanding of the notion of the "middle class" in society.

In turn, the Russian sociologist A.G. Levinson writes that the question of the existence of a middle class in Russia as an empirically verified object in itself does not have any significant significance. In this case, we are talking only about the name assigned to a certain group of people, or about the interpretation of some results. The question of the existence of a middle class in Russia should not be resolved in the environment where applied or fundamental research of society is conducted, but in the midst of public and public institutions, as an example, within the framework of public opinion. At the same time, as the author notes, for many researchers included in the discussion about the presence / absence of the middle class in Russian society, the differentiation of such concepts as "intelligentsia", "specialist", "middle link", etc., is preferable.

Characteristics of the middle class in the structure of modern Russian society

Classical understanding implies a focus not only on owners of property of a certain size, but also on the bearers of basic social values - social and political activity, opposition to social manipulation, personal dignity and independence, etc. Meanwhile, in the Russian state in the early 90's. Reformers viewed property relations in society exclusively from the economic side.

Even now, there are vestiges of this perception, when any "brother" of the "Solntsevo or Tambov mafia" is referred to as the "pillar of civil society" (Simonyan R.Kh. "The middle class: social mirage or reality?", 2009) - for example, On the basis of the presence of two cars in the family, etc.

In this regard, in the domestic sociological theory there are certain paradoxes, when the middle class in Russia includes, first of all, private businessmen, and not engineers, doctors or teachers. The reason for such a "skew" is the fact that representatives of private business have much higher incomes than the above-mentioned specialists.

Many researchers, noting the presence in the Russian society of the average consumer layer, believe that for its transformation into a full-fledged class, it is necessary to create a number of conditions:

• Structural transformation of the economy;
• Formation of a special worldview position;
• Changes in the psychology of society;
• Revision of behavior stereotypes, and so on.

In any case, the process of forming a full-fledged middle class in Russian society requires a fairly long period of time.

The criminal past and present of the middle class in Russia

Primitive division into social strata from the point of view of the economic criterion as a distorted understanding of Marxist theory had a certain justification. Representatives of a materially wealthy and super-rich population in Russian society there are many. However, the question arises as to how much a high-ranking official or large entrepreneur who takes bribes can be classified as a citizen from the position of strict socio-political significance of the word. It stops already the fact that they are not free. This is not so much citizens, as masers tied up with power (Simonyan, 2009).

The system of privatization in Russia also had its negative impact on the specifics of the formation of the concept of "middle social class". Instead of the so-called enrichment of the people, the largest state scam was organized to distribute common material goods among individual representatives of private business. This situation only strengthened the corruption of the state structure. As a result, the current owner of capital is the least likely to meet the requirements of the classical representative of the group, represented as the middle class. This carrier, as S. Dzarasov notes, is primarily a criminal, but not a rational type of consciousness.

The problem is that this category of people is able to seize other people's goods and at the same time is absolutely incapable of creating. We can not say that it was a question of the unconsciousness of the criminality of these actions. People of the middle class of this category, with full understanding of the illegality of the acquired property, have to do with it - not as a deserved benefit, but as a welcome gain and personal privilege.

Accordingly, the modern Russian nomenclature does not recognize any public functions for this property. It rejects the very notion of the public good, in contrast to how it is interpreted by Western society of the middle class. In this regard, the overwhelming majority of the Russian population refuses to recognize the results of privatization in the early 1990s. Meanwhile, in order to respect the inviolability of property, it is necessary that it has a legitimate character. Only under this condition, private property becomes the economic foundation of a full-fledged civil society.

Thus, the criminal side of the being of society not only does not contribute to the formation of the middle class, but also leads to deformation of the very concept, which is based on the social characteristics of the class.