SOCIAL MOBILITY

movement of individuals, families, or groups through a system of social hierarchy or stratification. If such mobility involves a change in role, especially in occupation, but no change in social class, it is called horizontal mobility. (An instance would be the movement from a managerial position in one company to a similar position in another.) If a change in role does involve a change in social-class position, it is called vertical mobility and involves either upward mobility or downward mobility. (An industrial worker who becomes a wealthy businessman moves upward in the class system; a landed aristocrat who loses everything in a revolution moves downward in the system.) In revolution an entire class structure is altered. Yet once the society has been radically reorganized, further social mobility may be minimal. Social mobility, however, may be effected by slower, more subtle changes, such as the movement of individuals or groups from a poor, agrarian region to a richer, urban one. Throughout history international migration has been an important factor in upward mobility. One instance may be seen in the 19th-century migration of members of the working and peasant classes from Europe to the United States. On the other hand, Western European colonial expansion, while benefitting some, served to enslave others. The social results of mobility, particularly the vertical type, are difficult to measure. Some believe that large-scale mobility, both upward and downward, has the effect of breaking down class structure, rendering a culture more uniform. Yet others argue that those attempting to rise or maintain a position actually strengthen the class system, for they are likely to be concerned with enforcing class differences. Thus some sociologists have suggested that class distinctions might be reduced, not by individual mobility, but by achieving social and economic equality for all. One positive consequence of mobility has been a better use of individual aptitude. This has been aided by the expansion of educational opportunities in modern industrial nations. On the negative side, a high rate of vertical mobility has been known to produce individual and societal anomie (a term coined by the French sociologist mile Durkheim). The individual experiencing anomie feels socially isolated and anxious; in a larger, societal context, generally accepted beliefs and standards of conduct are weakened or disappear. It is believed by many that the class system of Western industrial nations has changed dramatically since the provision of extensive welfare services, beginning in 1945. Greater social mobility has been another result, thanks to a higher standard of living. This increased mobility, it is argued, has minimized class differences, so that Western nations are moving toward a relatively classless (or predominantly middle-class) society. Yet other observers contend that a new upper class is in the process of formation, comprised of production organizers and managers in both the public and private arenas. This theory seems to be generally applicable worldwide, at least in the case of industrially advanced nations.