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Мацкевич Н.А.

Научный руководитель: Лавлинский Р.А.

Донецкий национальный университет экономики и торговки

имени Михаила Туган-Барановского

 

MIDDLE CLASS IN UKRAINE

The middle class is, by a general recognition, a social base of market economy and political democracy. "Middle class" – concept washed away enough. In the developed democratic countries to this class it is considered to be the basic criterion of an accessory of the person the certain income received from legal sources and providing a worthy standard of living. When representatives of middle class are the majority, the state has necessary preconditions for stable development in the conditions of market economy and political democracy.

 Traditional definition of middle class is the following: a middle class – is a class which is an intermediate one between the basic classes in the system of social Stratification; it is characterized by heterogeneity of position, discrepancy of interests, consciousness and political, behavior.

The middle class structure was formed in some stages:

«Old middle class» which history of formation begins from the middle of XIX century. It was presented by small businessmen, dealers, owners of shops, handicraftsmen, small and average peasantry. These people almost equally depend on their property and on their work.

 «The new middle class» - started to be formed from the middle of the XX-th century in connection with transition to a posteconomic period. The reasons of its formation consist in cardinal changes of system of public division of labor owing to scientific and technical progress, in expansion of sphere of services, etc. This class represents two big categories of hired employees: experts (programmers, doctors, economists) and managers (managers and managing directors). Resources of the power of this type are connected not with the classical property, but with intellectual and professional work [1, 210].

There are two approaches to middle class definition: subjective and objective (they are often combined). The subjective approach considers the opinion of respondents: to what step of social hierarchy they refer themselves. The objective approach operates with the signs which are not dependent on opinion of the individual. Since in Ukraine there are different approaches to middle class definition (Set forth above) also results of the size and qualitative structure are various [2, 1].

In Ukraine process of formation of middle class which would correspond the property status and level of personal incomes to criteria of the developed countries, is at the initial stage.

It is explained by low standard of living of the population. Besides, a considerable quantity of people which come nearer to the middle class status, receive a considerable part of incomes without registration and payment of taxes. It causes certain discrepancy of their relations with the state, and, hence, difficulties on a way of realization of the public function – to be a basis of sociopolitical stability. It proved by public opinion which identifies activity of owners of small enterprises with regular infringement of the legislation: 61,3 % of citizens are convinced that small and average business in Ukraine develops mainly in shadow sphere. According to the overwhelming majority of people who were questioned said that the reason of it was corruption.

However, despite political or ideological obstacles in Ukraine though and slowly, but the market economy, and, hence, its base subject – middle class are developing. Middle class identification simultaneously on the average level of incomes, higher education and the high social status by estimations of leading sociologists now makes 12-15 % [3, 2-3].

Realities and middle class prospects in Ukraine:

- The middle class in structure of  the Ukrainian society according to the social status is a young, educated, professionally successful, mobile part of economically active population of Ukraine well adapting for market conditions which live mainly in big cities;

- Middle class is non-uniform on professional structure: it is first of all small and average businessmen, managers;

- Under the material status the middle class should have the income from 150 to 1000 dollars a month for each member of a family and rather high enough level of material maintenance.

- Representatives of middle class have positive self-perception – they are pleased with their work, the social status, life as a whole;

- According to psychological structure they are active, initiative, they specify readiness for professional, territorial, educational mobility, are inclined to changes and risk;

- The middle class carries the chain-specific functions, primarily the function of playing a highly skilled workforce, different forms of entrepreneurial activity, as well as the function of "social innovation" that ensures the distribution of creative life [1, 239-240].

For today the described above class has high professional-educational potential, more or less effective strategy of economic behavior, positive social state, but because of its small number, political instability, notification of its interests and registration of social-group identity this class isn't a meaning public and economic force.

Literature

1.       Symonchuk O.V. The middle class in the social structure of Ukrainian society / O.V.Symonchuk / / structural dimensions of modern society: a manual / Ed. S. Makeieva. - K.: Institute of Sociology of NAS of Ukraine, 2006. - S. 209-243.

2.       Yablonskaya T.N. Class and status / T.N. Yablonskaya / / Expert. - 2007. - № 1-2. - S. 44-46 [access regime] http://www.expert.ua/articles/7/0/3193/

3.       Vasiliev E.E. Problem of the creation of maddle class society in transition Ukraine / E.E. Vasiliev / / Journal of the Academy of Advocacy of Ukraine. - 2011. - № 12. [access regime] http://www.nbuv.gov.ua/e-journals/Chaau/2011-3/11veetsu.pdf