Social mobility is the up-and-down movement of persons, households, families, or other groups of individuals between or within a society’s various social class strata. The study of social mobility is one of the central concerns of social stratification theorists.
Key Takeaways
- The amount of social mobility measures how rigid a society is and how locked into traditional structures.
- In an open stratification system, characteristics of achieved status are rendered some value. However, a high degree of social mobility makes drawing class boundaries difficult because of the fluidity of the engenders.
- The movement may be vertical or horizontal, and markers such as class and education are utilized to predict and discuss a person’s mobility or group of persons in society (Heckman & Mosso, 2014).
Types of Social Mobility
Mobility could be categorized based on direction. Horizontal mobility involves an alteration in position without any concomitant alteration in social class. This may involve a change in occupation.
An executive who switches from one company to another while retaining the essential aspects of his/her job description affords a striking example in this regard. Herein, no substantial change has occurred to his/her social class.
Vertical mobility, on the other hand, is twofold. A coal miner who works hard and eventually ends up owning a major mining company is someone who experiences upward mobility.
Conversely, wealthy aristocrats who lose all their property during a violent revolution are victims of downward mobility.
Causes of Social Mobility
Revolutions
Revolutions often result in sudden and massive restructurings of societies. While previously marginalized groups may ascend to power, many who had been long accustomed to wealth, prestige, and power may end up losing everything.
The French Revolution, which saw the massacre of many elites and religious leaders, is a notable example.
Migration
Migration across international boundaries is another factor that has historically been responsible for upward mobility, especially.
People may often leave their homes and travel across oceans to seek better opportunities or flee persecution.
Well-known figures such as Golda Meir and Henry Kissinger are examples of individuals who fled their homelands due to persecution and eventually tasted the pinnacle of success in their fields of endeavor.
Colonial Expansion
Colonial expansion by Western European nations yielded different results for various groups. The subjugation of many indigenous peoples and the elevation of the invaders cannot escape notice.
It bears noting, however, that the European conquerors were not the sole beneficiaries of colonialism.
For instance, slavery had existed in Sri Lanka beginning roughly in the second century (long before the colonial era) due to the caste system as well as unpaid debts.
However, thanks to the British colonial officers, the institution of slavery was completely abolished in 1844.
Additionally, the British remunerated workers in cash, eliminated state monopolies and ended compulsory labor service.
These reforms served to elevate marginalized populations who had hitherto been trodden upon by the native elites.
Self-effort
Rag-to-riches stories we often hear are not isolated anecdotes. They reflect a trend of upward mobility seen in many free-enterprise democracies.
Only about 20% of millionaires in the United States, for instance, actually inherit their wealth. This means the rest (about 80%) could be described as first-generation, self-made millionaires.
A survey by Fidelity Investments in 2017 discovered that only 12% of millionaires inherit 10% or more of their net worth, while 88% of millionaires had earned their wealth themselves.
Moreover, according to a study by Wealth-X from 2019, about 68% of the people possessing a net worth of at least $30 million, had made their money themselves (instead of inheriting it).
As noted by many financial experts such as Thomas Stanley, Dave Ramsey, Darren Hardy and Robert Kiyosaki, these numbers have more to do with hard work and wise planning than good fortune or innate talent.
Implications
The loss of life, limb, and property accrued to some ensuing violent revolutions is an evidently adverse result of mobility.
Additionally, the forms of culture shock that may accompany horizontal mobility, often experienced by newcomers to various occupations as well as geographical regions are far from favorable.
Moreover, the anxiety and isolation associated with upward mobility for many cannot evade attention.
Conversely, however, the rise in income, the improvement in the standard of living and the advancement in prestige enjoyed by especially those who experience alterations in status upward, should be viewed as manifest advantages of mobility.
Further Information
- Brown, P. (2013). Education, opportunity and the prospects for social mobility. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 34(5-6), 678-700.
- Hout, M. (2015). A summary of what we know about social mobility. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 657(1), 27-36.
- Van Leeuwen, M. H., & Maas, I. (2010). Historical studies of social mobility and stratification. Annual Review of Sociology, 36, 429-451.
References
Heckman, JJ & Mosso, S (August 2014). “The Economics of Human Development and Social Mobility” (PDF). Annual Review of Economics. 6: 689–733. doi:10.1146/annurev-economics-080213-040753
Morrison, Stella (1 Dec. 2021). “How Millionaires Get Rich.” Business News Daily, https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2871-how-most-millionaires-got-rich.html.
OECD (2010), “A Family Affair”, in Economic Policy Reforms 2010: Going for Growth, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/growth-2010-38-en. ISBN 9789264079960
