Types of Social Mobility

Open versus Closed Class Systems

SOCIAL MOBILITY

It is clear that stratification matters, but how sig­nificant is mobility in a class society such as the United States? Ronald Reagan's father was a barber, and Jimmy Carter began as a peanut farmer, yet each man eventually achieved the most pow­erful and prestigious position in our culture. Al­though other jobs offer higher salaries, the finan­cial rewards, status, and influence of the president of the United States are impressive by any citizen's standards. Although becoming presi­dent is a remarkable accomplishment for any American, it is particularly striking when the per­son has risen from such humble beginnings. The term social mobility refers to movement of indi­viduals or groups from one position of a society's stratification system to another.

Sociologists use the terms open class system and closed class system to distinguish between two ideal types of class systems in terms of social mobility. An open system implies that the position of each individual is influenced by the person's achieved status. Achieved status, as we saw in Chapter 5, is a social position attained by a person largely through his or her own effort. In an open class system, competition among members of society is encouraged. The United States is moving toward this ideal type as it attempts to reduce barriers to mobility faced by women, racial and ethnic mi­norities, and people born in lower social classes.

At the other extreme of the social mobility sys­tem is the closed system, in which there is little or no possibility of individual mobility. The slavery and caste systems of stratification, and to a lesser extent the estate system, are examples of closed systems. In such societies, social placement is based on ascribed characteristics, such as race or family background, which cannot easily be changed. Ascribed status is a social position "as­signed" to a person by society without regard for the person's unique characteristics or talents.

As with other ideal types, the extremes of open and closed systems do not actually exist as pure forms. For example, in caste societies mobility is occasionally possible through hypergamy —a woman's marriage to a man of a higher caste. In the relatively open class system of the United States, children from affluent families retain many privileges and advantages. Therefore, any class system should properly be regarded as open or closed in varying degrees.

Following the lead of Pitirim Sorokin (1959, origi­nal edition 1927), contemporary sociologists dis­tinguish between horizontal and vertical social mobility. Horizontal mobility refers to the move­ment of a person from one social position to an­other of the same rank. An ath­lete who becomes a reporter would be experienc­ing horizontal mobility. Each occupation has the same prestige ranking: 51 on a scale ranging from a low of 10 to a high of 90. If the reporter later left a Los Angeles newspaper for a similar job at a newspaper in Chicago, he or she would once again experience horizontal mobility.

Most sociological analysis, however, focuses on vertical rather than horizontal mobility. Vertical mobility refers to the movement of a person from one social position to another of a different rank. An athlete who becomes a lawyer (prestige rank­ing of 76) would experience vertical mobility. So, too, would an athlete who becomes a sales clerk (prestige ranking of 29). Thus, vertical mobility can involve moving upward or downward in a society's stratification system (C. Heller, 1969: 309-310).

One way of examining vertical social mobility is to contrast intergenerational and intragenerational mobility. Intragenerational mobility involves changes in the social position of children relative to their parents. Thus, a plumber whose father was a physician provides an example of down­ward intergenerational mobility. A film star whose parents were both factory workers illus­trates upward intergenerational mobility. The impact of such mobility on the individual cannot be understated.

Intragenerational mobility involves changes in a person's social position within his or her adult life. A woman who enters the paid labor force as a teacher's aide and eventually becomes superin­tendent of the school district has experienced upward intragenerational mobility. A man who becomes a taxicab driver after his accounting firm goes bankrupt has undergone downward intragenerational mobility.

Another type of vertical mobility is stratum or structural mobility. These terms refer to the verti­cal movement of a specific group, class, or occu­pation relative to others in the stratification sys­tem. For example, historical circumstances or labor market changes may lead to the rise or de­cline of an occupational group within the social hierarchy. Military officers and strategists are likely to be regarded highly in times of war or foreign policy crises. As our information retrieval systems rely increasingly on machines, computer technicians are receiving respect previously re­served for lawyers and scientists. An influx of immigrants may also alter class alignments— especially if the new arrivals are disproportion­ately highly skilled or unskilled.

Efforts at stratum mobility may be consciously undertaken by the groups themselves. Thus, in an effort to generate more dignified and prestigi­ous images of their work, garbage collectors have begun to call themselves "sanitation engineers" and maids have selected the label "household technicians."

Even in the rigid caste systems of India, one low-status group, the subcaste of "toddy tappers," attempted to improve itself through stratum mobility. Toddy tappers, also known as Nadars, had the historic task of climbing palmyra palm trees to collect the sap, known as toddy. Often these persons would become deformed or physi­cally disabled after a lifetime of climbing; some even fell to their deaths. However, during the 1700s, the Nadars became dissatisfied with their oppressive work and low status and organized a movement to raise their collective status within the caste system. Gradually, more and more Nadars refused to tap the palms, and some began to learn mercantile skills. Members of the caste became vegetarians—a practice associated with higher castes. There was strong resistance to the Nadars' effort to improve their social standing, including riots protesting their actions at the end of the nineteenth century. Today, Nadars in rural areas still work as toddy tappers, but those in cit­ies are more prosperous and are viewed as higher in rank. While the Nadars have not fully suc­ceeded in achieving upward stratum mobility, they have gained a deeper sense of self-respect and have widened their options within a gener­ally restrictive caste system (Hardgrave, 1969; Spradley and McCurdy, 1980:161-166).

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