Latov Y. Sociology of Life Chances and Risks as a Contribute to the «Economy of Happiness» (Reflections on «Unequal Opportunity Society: Social Structure of Modern Russia») ...

Òåêñò ñòàòüè íà ñàéòå æóðíàëà URL: http://questionset.ru/files/arch/2022/2022-N4/Latov_VTE_2022_4.pdf (äàòà îáðàùåíèÿ 02.01.2023)

Abstract

Th e article analyzes the collective monograph of the staff of the Institute of Sociology of the Federal Scientifi c Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Higher School of Economics, edited by N.E. Tikhonova on the social stratifi cation of modern (2010-2020s) Russian society. Th e main methodological innovation of its authors is the complex use of a certain set of life chances and risks as a classifi cation criterion. Th is approach, proposed in a general form by M. Weber, is better than the traditional “income” structuring, because it helps to capture resources that are formed and realized in the long term, and not instantly, like a stream of income. Based on this approach, the authors of the collective monograph managed to draw many important conclusions about the specifi cs of the modern development of Russia, which continues to catch up. Th ey revealed the division of modern Russians into the upper (positively privileged), middle (normal) and lower (negatively privileged) strata in a proportion of approximately 10:65:25 as of the end of the 2010s. At the same time, although up to ⅔ of Russians belong to the middle stratum, only about a quarter of all Russians are free from the risks of poverty, and the remaining ¾, including most of the middle stratum, if not poor, then live in conditions of impoverishment risks. A certain “underdevelopment” of modern Russia is also manifested in the high eff ect of the “sticky fl oor”, while the eff ect of the “sticky ceiling” is much less noticeable. Although the authors of the collective monograph themselves present their approach as going beyond the economic approach to welfare, objectively their analytical development is an element of the transition of social scientists to a broader understanding of welfare, which began in economics in the 1970s. Th e Life Chances and Risks Index developed by the authors of the book is actually based on the same premises as the Human Development Index, but includes a much larger number of elements that characterize both monetary and non-monetary aspects of the well-being of people in the 21st century