SOCIAL CLASSES AND CLUSTERS: BASED ON EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

• Authors: Menshikov Vladimir
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The aim of the paper is to consider the situation with the social class stratification in Latvia. The focus is on the middle social class, due to the significance of this class both for the economic growth and the achievement of the sustainable, long-term development of the country. The subject of sociological research - formation of class stratification in the region (estimated on the basis of cluster analysis), the main characteristics of the selected clusters based on the analysis of the volumes and structure of total resources and aggregate capital. The clustering of the population of Latgale applying the 3 variables shows only two clusters. The first of them (Cluster 1) makes up only 6%: average income per a family member per month made 503 LVL, level of education - incomplete higher, self-identified class - middle stratum. The majority of our respondents made up the second cluster (Cluster 2): average income of 151 LVL, level of education - secondary professional, self-identified class - lower middle class/upper working class. The analysis of the data (Tables 3 and 4) shows that the structure of the aggregate resource of the representatives of the first cluster (Cluster 1) and the one of aggregate capital are dominated by the same “powers of social improvement”: cultural, economic, vocational and educational. Relative scarcity of vocational and educational resources and, in particular, cultural ones among the representatives of the second cluster is due in large part to their “dissent” to the hierarchy of social stratification; it does not allow a very large proportion of the population of our region really claim a place in the middle class. In the conclusion of the article, the controversial issues of classes in modern societies are analyzed.

Keywords

EN

class,; middle class,; aggregate capital,; cluster

• Publisher: Daugavpils University, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Journal: Sociālo Zinātņu Vēstnesis
• Year: 2016
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 59-72

Contributors

author

Menshikov Vladimir

Identifiers

ISSN

1691-1881