Adaptation and Changing Status

Abstract

A radical reorganization of the previous social structure and of the social institutions responsible for its functioning is presently taking place in Russia. The incomplete and transitional nature of this process has inevitably led to a crisis in traditional norms, patterns of behavior, roles, status positions, and the system of social control as a whole. This crisis may be defined as a crisis of social identity. In addition to its negative consequences (loss of socially significant values, norms, and the imperatives of social ethics), the transformation also has a number of constructive aspects, and first and foremost is the resurgence of individualistic, pragmatic values that are in line with the overall strategic objectives of modernization. In this context, sociology confronts a task formulated by Anthony Giddens: "To study the ultimate balance between social reproduction and social change," to establish the links between elements retained throughout the changes and social forms that emerge as a result of society's restructuring. Since Russia's transformation is far from complete, here we can speak only of an interim balance. Social transformation entails not only the establishment of previously impossible positions in the system of stratification—above all, the class of big and small property owners and the strata of the "new poor," the marginals, who are their polar opposites—but also a corresponding adaptation to the new status and role positions, which in turn requires a reevaluation and a reshuffling of the foundations of both social and personal identity.