A successful person, society and civic activism

Abstract

Subject. The article provides considerations on the formation and development of a successful person model in the modern Russian society. Objectives. The study is an attempt to model a successful person in the Russian society, when the ideological subsystem of the institutional matrix is changing. Methods. The study relies upon the theory of institutional matrices by S. Kirdina, theories of human and social capital. We focus on the assumption viewing a person as a carrier of social capital, which conveys a success, socio-economic position, social status, civic activism, doing good to your family and the public, confidence in people and association with your region. The empirical framework comprises data of the sociological survey of the Russian population in 2018. The data were processed through the factor analysis. Results. We devised a model of a successful person in today's Russian society, which reveals that a success, first of all, depends on the economic wellbeing and has little relation to civic activism. The potential involvement (intention, possibility, preparedness) in the social and political life significantly dominates the real engagement of people. The success has a frail correlation with constituents of the social capital, such as confidence in people and doing good to the public. Conclusions and Relevance. Based on the socio-economic wellbeing, that is consumption, the existing model of a successful person proves to be ineffective. The sustainability of socio-economic wellbeing seriously contributes to the social disparity of opportunities, which drive a contemporary Russian to a success in life.