The reasons for the emergence of marginalized people and lumpen people. Their differences

Marginal and lumpen, what is the difference between them
In the twenties of the 20th century, this term was applied to persons with emigrant status in America. It was difficult for them to socialize in the new country. There was no concept of “marginal” then, but the phenomenon itself was called marginalization.

The concept of marginality came from France in 1972. This was the name given to people who rejected society, or who were rejected by society itself.

But there are many reasons why a person can become marginalized: a person can fall out of a religious, ethical, political or social environment, due to material problems, as well as due to disability or illness.

Characteristics of the marginalized

Crises and stress in which a person finds himself due to the reasons that influenced the process of increasing marginalization lead to changes in his psyche. Sociologists identify a number of common features that are inherent in the marginalized:

• aggressive attitude towards others;
• often lack of permanent residence;
• no attachments are formed;
• mental pathologies develop, for example, depressive states;
• creating your own rules, patterns of behavior and values;
• severance of social, spiritual, financial and other types of ties with the environment in which a person lived before the emergence of a difficult life situation that led to an asocial way of existence.

But there are some positive sides to being marginal. Having left his familiar environment, an individual finds himself outside his comfort zone, which can contribute to the formation of a new character and traits such as determination, determination, etc. A person, by combining information about several social and cultural layers, can expand his worldview, gain a number of independent judgments and ideas.

Initial definition

Initially, the American sociologist called marginalized people who fell into an intermediate social group. For example, it is customary to include in this category a person who is in an intermediate position between urban and rural residents. That is, he was born and previously lived in a village, then moved to the city. But at the same time, all its cultural values ​​were formed by the rural way of life. Accordingly, it does not fit into the foundations and requirements of the urban environment. His habits, lifestyle, behavior, appearance are unacceptable for the social environment of the city.

The very term marginality has become very widespread in sociology, and marginals are people whose behavior and lifestyle do not fit into generally accepted rules and norms. Sociologists also note that a marginal person is a person who simultaneously belongs to two different social groups. That is, marginalized people do not fully fit into any social group.

Types of marginality

There are several types of marginalized people. Their division is very clear, since it is based on the reasons for the development of such a special way of life. So, the types of marginality can be as follows:

1. Economic, when people, for certain reasons, are left without work and a source of income, without housing. But very wealthy people also belong to this type, because due to excessive wealth they become cut off from colleagues, friends, and relatives. That is, they are equally oligarchs and beggars.
2. Ethnic, when people, due to certain circumstances, are forced to change their place of residence. They find themselves among representatives of a different race, culture, nationality, nationality. They cannot always adapt to someone else's religion, language, culture, and customs. A striking example is emigrants.
3. Religious, when people cannot decide on their religion, but they do not consider themselves atheists, non-believers or representatives of a certain faith.
4. Criminal when a person refuses generally accepted moral standards and does not accept the laws created by the state, which becomes the cause of offenses and crimes.
5. Social, when there is a change in economic systems, as a result of which people cannot adapt to new realities.
6. Political, which is associated with revolutionary or other turning points in the historical development of the country or the world.
7. Age-related, when a conflict arises between the older generation and the younger.
8. Biological, which is associated with the rejection of sick people or individuals with limited mental abilities. Thus, people with Down syndrome, people with disabilities, HIV-infected people, etc. become outcasts.

It is important to understand that individuals who do not fit into the framework and established value system have always existed

Examples of marginality

If it is difficult to understand what the marginalized are, then it is worth giving clear examples. So, there are real neighborhoods of emigrants. This is Brighton Beach, where there are many immigrants from Russia, and Chinese Chinatown. Emigrants have a different mentality than the population of the country in which they find themselves. As a result, they find it difficult to adapt to new conditions. They cannot adapt to them. They find it difficult to accept new values.

Interestingly, sometimes the marginalized are understood as world-famous artists, poets, and writers. These are real geniuses, but during their lifetime they seemed crazy to society. As a result, real geniuses, due to their dissimilarity and uniqueness, became outcasts.

History knows several marginalized people who, to a certain extent, changed the development of events in the world. These include Emelyan Pugachev, Stepan Razin, Diogenes of Sinop.

Positive aspects of marginality

Usually this word itself carries a negative connotation. But the meaning of this concept is not always negative. There is something positive here.

It would seem, how can a marginal person mean something good? But marginality is also a new worldview, interesting thinking, innovative activity, and a source of progress.

Scientists also note the positive effects of high mobility of marginalized people. Thanks to this feature, they can always:

• get a new education;
• move to another place of residence, where they will be as comfortable as possible;
• change country;
• To find a good job.

Another positive feature of marginality is the difference from other representatives of society. This is uniqueness and individuality. Thanks to this, every marginalized person can find themselves in an area of ​​life where no one has yet begun to implement their projects. Paradoxically, it is precisely the marginalized who, because of their uniqueness, often make colossal fortunes.

Who can be classified as a marginalized population?

Those who are called marginalized in today's realities are, in fact, most often lumpen. The unforgettable Karl Marx included beggars, vagabonds, bandits, and degenerate people into this layer of the population.

According to the prevailing stereotype, marginalized people and lumpen people have common interests and lead a similar lifestyle. This is not entirely true.

What is the difference between marginalized people and lumpen people? Lumpens are morally degraded people who are at one of the stages of degradation and are gradually descending lower and lower, approaching an animal state. The marginalized can be lumpen, but not always. Marginalized are those who do not fit into society, have their own philosophy and lead a lifestyle that is unusual for those around them.

Who can be considered marginalized:

• Voluntary hermits who do not recognize social values ​​(downshifters, freelancers);
• Migrants who were unable to integrate into the cultural environment of the country in which they now live;
• People who left their usual place of life (village residents in the city and vice versa);
• People with physical disabilities or mental illness;
• Carriers of dying national cultures;
• Adherents of bad habits to an extreme degree (gamblers, drug addicts, alcoholics);
• Followers of religious minorities, sectarians;
• Those who belong to radical political movements preach terrorism;
• People who find themselves below the poverty line;
• Those released from prison after a long period of restriction of freedom.

Society's attitude

Society has formed the erroneous opinion that marginalized individuals are at the very bottom. In fact, among them there are many successful people who succeed, in their free time they can live the life that suits them. Acquiring such status may be a conscious choice, or it may also be forced.

In everyday speech, “marginal” is used with a negative connotation and is considered as a deviation. People must understand that this type of personality is not socially dangerous. For some, marginalized people cause a negative reaction, for others they evoke sympathy. Historically, society tries to protect itself from the influence of strangers; when it sees that a person cannot meet its expectations, is distinguished by non-standard reactions, it cannot perceive such a person and isolates him.

Often the marginalized become undeserved victims. When problems start in a group of people, the one who is different in some way always becomes the culprit, even if he has nothing to do with it.

Willingness to adapt, flexibility, openness to new things, along with the tolerance of a certain group of people, can help an individual overcome all differences and adapt to a new society.

Links

• Marginality as a remedy for postmodernism. Interview with Marusya Klimova

Wikimedia Foundation.
2010. Synonyms
:

See what “Marginal” is in other dictionaries:

- (from Latin margo, inis edge). Relating to the edges, marginal. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. MARGINAL [fr. marginal side] secondary, peripheral, insignificant, insignificant (for example ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

1. MARGINAL, oh, oh. Book 1. Not of significant importance; secondary. This phenomenon is marginal in nature. // Minor, insignificant. My group. These signs are marginal. 2. In sociology: located behind... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary

Incidental, insignificant, marginal Dictionary of Russian synonyms. marginal adj., number of synonyms: 7 marginal (9) ... Dictionary of synonyms

marginal

- oh, oh. marginal, e adj. 1. Written on the field. Poppy. 1908. Written in the margins of books, manuscripts. BAS 1. 2. Secondary, peripheral, insignificant, insignificant (for example, not related to the fundamental or conceptual provisions of science).... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

Close to the limit, almost unprofitable. Dictionary of business terms. Akademik.ru. 2001 ... Dictionary of business terms

- (from French marginal, Latin margo edge, border), located on the border of two environments; a person who, due to his position, finds himself outside a certain social stratum or group (marginal person, marginal). Often used as... ...Modern encyclopedia

- (from the French marginal collateral in the margins), insignificant, insignificant, secondary; intermediate ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Read also:  I often have headaches - could this be a symptom of a brain tumor?

MARGINAL, marginal, marginal (book). Representing marginalia; written in the margins of a book or manuscript. Marginal amendment, note. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Marginal

- (from Latin, edge) means opposite to the central, edge, boundary, boundary. Marginal does not mean peripheral (provincial, backward), peripherality is a special case of marginality. Border energy information exchange... ... Geo-economic dictionary-reference book

marginal

- oh, oh; flax, linen, special 1) full f. Written in the margins, located on the edge of something. Complex deciphering problems arise when studying marginal drawings of a bottomless well of symbolism (Darkevich). 2) Side, not main, peripheral, ... ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language

Differences between marginals and lumpen

There is such a thing as lumpen and some people confuse it with marginalized people. A lumpen person is a person who deliberately leads an asocial lifestyle and does not even make an attempt to somehow improve it. This type includes:

• drug addicts;
• homeless people;
• conscious dependents;
• alcoholics;
• criminals who were unable to return to social life.

1. If we consider material well-being, then the marginalized have material values, some kind of property. In contrast to the lumpen, who have neither rights to property nor actual material wealth.
2. The marginalized person is a socially significant person, he has a permanent income. Lumpen does not have a permanent job or monthly income.
3. The first type of personality ignores most of the norms accepted in society, and does this purposefully. Then the second type is forced to behave this way.
4. If necessary, the marginal can be adequate and not contradict the rules of the public. Whereas the lumpen lack adequate behavior in principle.
5. If we consider the lifestyle, the marginalized are subject to some rules formed in a certain environment or dictated by personal preferences. Lumpen are subject to the rules set by their social class.

Now you know the meaning of the word marginalized. As you can see, the negative associations that arise when pronouncing this term may be unjustified. You need to understand that such individuals have the right to an equal existence in society, sometimes they achieve greater success than everyone else. However, they must try to adhere to certain rules and not break the law. Everyone has the right to be different from everyone else. The main thing is that such behavior does not harm either the person himself or his loved ones.

Marginality – pros and cons

Any social phenomenon, including marginality, has its positive and negative sides. The pros and cons of marginality can be found in almost any factor leading to the appearance of an outcast, and besides, in modern society it is even fashionable to be special, not like everyone else. In some cases, isolation from society gives a person an impetus for development, in others - the individual gives up and he goes down the social ladder. Rich people can also be marginalized, and often they even like this state of affairs and isolation.

The advantages of marginalized people

One of the positive aspects that marginality gives is the absence of social shackles and mobility. It is easier for such a person to move to an economically more prosperous area or to another country, to change jobs or professions. In some cases, being different from other members of society plays into the hands of the marginalized - he can build a business on this, for example, opening an ethnic goods store or a restaurant serving his own national cuisine. Another advantage of the marginalized is that they have flexible thinking and can bring something progressive to society, different from the traditional one.

Disadvantages of marginality

The negative aspects of marginality include a high risk of the emergence of revolutionary movements, reforms and other similar phenomena in society. A large number of marginalized people in society impoverish the state - gifted individuals leave it in search of better things, less promising individuals slide to the bottom. A marginalized person can easily become a criminal, which affects the safety of people in society. Negative marginality often becomes under conditions of compulsion - when people become refugees as a result of wars, coups d'etat and reforms.

Marginal meaning of the word

Marginal

Wiktionary has an entry for "marginal"
Main article:
Marginality
Marginal

,
marginal person
,
marginal element
(from Latin
margo
- edge) - a person who is on the border of various social groups, systems, cultures and is influenced by their contradictory norms and values, who does not belong to any social group, who protests against stable social formations.

In modern Russian, this word is used as a synonym for the concept of lumpen (declassed element).

Links

• About the words “marginal”, “marginal”, aka Marginal, outsider, lumpen
• I. V. Malyshev. Marginal
• Marginality as a remedy for postmodernism. Interview with Marusya Klimova

ru.wikipedia.org>

Who are the marginalized, the pros and cons of marginality

Realization in society is one of the psychological needs of a person. A person who falls out of society is called marginal, but this does not mean that such a person is necessarily poor and leads a self-destructive lifestyle. Once you find out who the marginalized are, you may be surprised to find them among your friends.

Who is a marginalized person - definition

According to the sociological explanatory dictionary, a marginal personality is a person who is in a borderline state between two or more social groups, systems, and cultures. What does it mean, a marginal person is an asocial subject, but not necessarily dysfunctional, immoral or suffering from pathological attachments. It is believed that the first marginalized were people freed from slavery who left their usual environment, but were not able to immediately become full-fledged members of society.

If the marginalized in society do not perform socially useful functions, then they create various problems. Marginalized people are capable of forming groups and causing unrest. In European countries, such a phenomenon as a migrant revolt is not uncommon. These people, who were accepted into a foreign country, provided with housing and food, can bring many problems to law-abiding indigenous residents. Somewhat less common are harmless marginals, as examples can be given to representatives of national minorities, the fashionable downshifter movement, etc.

The status of “marginal” can be prescribed to a person by society or accepted by the individual independently. “Stigmatization” and “labeling” of non-standard people can happen in the workplace, in a hospital, at school. Minorities – national, sexual, etc. – are often subjected to this kind of repression. This is a violation of human rights. An individual can realize his own marginality himself. In this case, he must decide whether to “return to normality” or live with the status of “marginal.”

Who are the marginalized and lumpen?

The term “lumpen” was introduced by K. Marx; he included tramps, beggars, and bandits to this group. According to ordinary people, the lumpen and the marginalized represent one group of people with similar interests and lifestyle. This is not entirely true. Lumpen is a declassed, physically and morally degraded element, the “dregs of society”, which is part of a marginal group, but at the same time, a marginal person is not always a lumpen.

Signs of marginalized people

Sociologists call the main feature of the marginalized the severance of economic, social and spiritual ties that exist in “pre-marginal” life. Mostly migrants and refugees become marginalized. A former military man who has been discharged from service but has not yet found himself in civilian society may find himself on the edge of social groups. Connections with the past were severed upon dismissal, but there are still no new ones, and in particularly unfavorable conditions there won’t be any. Then a person can declassify – i.e. sink to the very “bottom” of life.

Other signs of marginality:

• mobility - occurs in the absence of housing, attachments;
• mental problems - appear as a result of the inability to find one’s “place in the sun”;
• development of one’s own values, sometimes hostility towards the existing society;
• sufficient ease of involvement in illegal activities.

Types of marginalized people

With positive developments in events, a person’s period of marginality does not last too long - having adapted, found a job, and joined society, he loses his marginal status. The exception is people who were forced to become marginalized (refugees) or those who consciously chose this way of life (tramps, radicals, ex

Marginal

Marginal is a person excluded from various kinds of institutions of society.

Marginality is considered one of those concepts that, despite its complexity, is on everyone’s lips at the same time, but has very ambiguous interpretations, even of a speculative nature, often with a negative connotation.

This category of people is often classified as lumpen - declassed elements from society. What does marginal mean? The word is very fashionable, associated with such things as non-system, non-mainstream, being outside the views of the dominant group.

The concept of marginal is revealed through its Latin root margo - edge. A marginalized person is a person who cannot be attributed to a specific social group; he seems to hover on the edge of groups that are different from each other, and therefore feels their opposite influence.

Meaning of the word marginal

What does marginal mean? A marginal is a person who does not participate enough or is completely excluded from the activities of society’s institutions: economic, cultural, political.

Social sciences believe that the marginalized are a kind of excess material of society that needs strict control, monitoring, and requires elaboration. This is a negative phenomenon of society, indicating problems and illnesses within society.

It is possible to define a certain norm of social participation in the life of society and its groups, and lack of participation is a deviation from this norm.

Who is the marginalized? This is a person who, being placed outside the group, is perceived by its members as an outsider.

He simultaneously combines distance and closeness with the group - he is physically in it, but, however, is not included in it as its member, does not share its biography, but is an alien, staying like a guest in it.

However, the presence of such an outsider gives the group a chance to define what it itself is not, to recognize its boundaries. He is also demarcated from the group and can have objectivity in his judgments regarding it, because he is free and can leave it.

The classic concept of marginality implies not so much exclusion from a group as being on the border between two groups.

As a result, the marginalized person carries in his personality a cultural conflict that is not purely psychological, it is not cognitive dissonance, not a feeling of deprivation and psychological discomfort due to non-inclusion in the group. It is rather a practiced marginality.

This conflict is recognized by the marginalized person as involvement in several incompatible groups and the inability to identify himself completely with one of them.

Examples of marginalized people

It is interesting that some psychologists, philosophers, and sociologists consider the marginal personality type to be the most civilized, developed type, advanced, mobile and agile, open to change and everything new.

Which famous figures illustrate marginality well? Perhaps the most striking example is Jesus Christ, the God-man in the Christian tradition.

Even though he was born in a marginal environment - in a stable, and throughout his entire life, he not only does not strengthen himself in any social group, but, on the contrary, destroys many of the norms of that society: in his youth he teaches in the temple, in his youth he disperses the money changers in it, earns money through low-paid labor, takes fishermen as apprentices, communicates with harlots, and even dies among robbers. And, however, he becomes one of the most influential personalities not only in Christian, but even in secular environments, laying in it the foundations of ethics and high moral standards.

Another interesting example is the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.

And not only Tolstoy - all the truly great writers, poets, playwrights who have become classics today, at one time left one or another social group, felt in themselves at least this cultural duality, which pushed them to write the works we love today .

Nowadays, marginality takes on a new dimension due to the spread of the Internet, which helps to overcome any boundaries. An increasing number of people work as freelancers, maintaining loneliness, reluctance to intensive social contacts, and denial of socially accepted standards of life.

Speaker of the Medical-Psychological

Types of marginalized people

As a rule, the status of “marginal” is temporary. A person adapts to new living conditions, finds a job, “grows” with connections and “joins” society, and ceases to be a marginalized person.

The intermediate position in the social structure is prolonged among the forced marginalized or those who consciously chose this status. The forced marginalized include refugees, and the “conscious” include extremists, sectarians, and downshifters.

In sociology, the following types of marginalized people are distinguished:

• political,
• religious,
• ethnic,
• economic,
• social,
• biological.

Political marginals

Political crises, a decline in civic consciousness, and distrust of the current government lead to the emergence of this type of marginalized people. The marginalized consciously oppose themselves to society and its political system. For example, people are psychologically “stuck” in the USSR era.

Religious fringes

Society can be divided into those who profess the religions accepted in it or those who do not believe in God at all. Persons who claim that they are not representatives of any religion, but at the same time believe in a higher power, become religious marginals. They are the ones who found sects and extremist religious groups. A person who professes, for example, Christianity in a Muslim country or vice versa can also be called a marginalized person of this type. Religious minorities will be marginalized for society as a whole (Christians in Kosovo).

Ethnic marginalized

The marginalized of this type include migrants and refugees who had to leave their familiar environment. Intercultural and religious differences can become insurmountable obstacles for ethnically marginalized people. This type includes children born from representatives of different nationalities. This will be true in the case where the child does not identify himself with either the father’s nation or the mother’s nation and therefore is not accepted into either of them.

Economic marginalized

Loss of a job, inability or unwillingness to find a new one, loss of property or usual sources of income lead to economic marginality. In especially difficult cases, people who find themselves in this situation become embittered and deliberately avoid their usual social circle; some fundamentally begin to live off others or government benefits. The loss of a job or property can lead a person to the social “bottom”, his lumpenization.

An example of the emergence of a large number of economic marginals in our country is the 90s of the 20th century. The closure of enterprises, scientific institutions and a general decrease in wages have left a large number of people without their usual jobs and unable to find a new one.

Nowadays, multimillionaires can also be considered economically marginalized, since their financial status and capabilities separate them from the majority of society

Social marginals

The emergence of marginalized people of this type is facilitated by social upheavals (catastrophes) in society, when the usual structure collapses. An example is the revolution of 1917, when a huge number of people were forced to flee the country.

Another reason that a person has become a marginalized person of this type may be the desire to improve his social status (find a better paid job, get married profitably). This is true if the attempts are unsuccessful. The individual has lost old social connections, but has not established new ones or has also lost them.

Biological marginals

In an ideal society, treatment of a person should not be based on his state of health and appearance. Unfortunately, disability, congenital deformities, old age or diseases such as HIV or autism spectrum disorders in children, Down syndrome make a person an “outcast”, a biological marginal.

General information and classification

Marginalized people are individuals who, due to certain factors, have lost their social functions, but do not join others when they are outside the group of people. Today, a fashionable concept can be called marginal, which touches on the idea of ​​freedom, when a person is outside the boundaries of any systems or laws that are imposed by a certain structure.

For example, marginals are called:

• a person who went to Tibet to seek the meaning of life;
• a world traveler who lives on wheels;
• a hippie who denies social hierarchy;
• a freelancer who does not have corporate conventions;
• a millionaire who stands above all other people due to his great wealth;
• a hermit who lives without using the achievements of science or household appliances.

For the first time in psychology, this term was used in 1928 by R. Park. Then this concept meant an individual who occupied a middle position between urban and rural residents. In fact, this is a person who previously lived in a village, and then, once in the city, continued to preserve his cultural values, and did not have the opportunity to fit into the foundations of urban civilization. The habits and behavior of such a person are unacceptable in the social environment of the city. Today, this term refers not only to such people; this concept has become much broader. Sociologists call marginalized those individuals whose behavior goes beyond the boundaries of the rules and framework accepted in a certain social group. In psychology, a marginal person is considered as an individual who physically belongs to a particular social group, but is emotionally, morally and mentally outside the bounds. A marginal is a person who lives in a certain social environment, but refuses to accept the principles and values ​​that are imposed on him. Today, there are synonyms for this concept, such as “black sheep”, “outcast”, “nihilists”, “informals”, “individual”.

When a person finds himself in a society that is not related to him, events can develop according to two scenarios:

• the personality is unable to find a place for itself, it is tormented by contradictions;
• Active attacks are directed at the marginalized person, to which he is forced to respond with aggressive behavior.

There are five types of marginals.

1. Ethnic. The reason for the formation is migration, especially when it is forced. For example, among refugees. When resettling, people encounter difficulties that hinder normal adaptation due to differences in culture and language. Once on the territory of a foreign state, a person cannot adapt to its order, laws, mentality, and religion. The main feature of this type is that the indigenous people refuse to perceive them as equals.
2. Political. Such individuals actively oppose the current government. Such individuals have no civic responsibility and no tolerance towards any ruling party. Even if those whom the marginalized previously supported come to power, he stops doing so, thereby opposing himself to it. Such individuals are not satisfied with most of the laws approved in the country; in order to express themselves, they can violate them.
3. Economic. This includes people who have either a very small or a very large income. In the first case, the individual feels his insignificance due to the fact that he is not able to earn money like other people. In the second, he feels superior to others and believes that he is better than everyone else. The main feature of this type is an ostentatious negative attitude towards people around him, impulsiveness, attempts to demonstrate that he is better than the rest of society. This category of marginalized people increases during financial crises.
4. Biological. This includes transgender people and people who have mental health problems or disabilities. Such individuals are unable to exist on equal terms with other members of society, due to the fact that the latter reject them.
5. Social. This includes individuals who are disappointed in people or those who have experienced changes in their social status, both for the better and for the worse. The person becomes withdrawn, separates himself from other people, and behaves defiantly. Can use society as a resource necessary to achieve a certain goal.

Can marginality be called a phenomenon?

It is a well-known fact that people who perform absolutely no functions in society begin to actively unite their efforts over time. That is why people who belong to different classes are often called marginalized. Individual people who can safely be called remnants, individuals who left the historical scene and who have not yet managed to find themselves in life. Usually, marginals are an uneducated category of citizens who cannot take on any systemic functions and all because of a general lack of awareness in the process of leadership and making important decisions. The state often singles out marginalized society and focuses on the fact that they are a special problem for the country.

The whole point is that the marginalized do not do anything useful if we consider this issue in the format of active interaction between society and people. These people are dangerous, they often organize protests against the system and believe that they are doing the right thing. The marginalized promote their ideologies to the masses: communism, fascism, anarchism, etc. Who exactly are these people and why do they pay such close attention to them? Are these really just ordinary rebels who don’t like the political system in the country? Or maybe it’s worth digging deeper and it turns out that this is just a mask and in fact they are unfortunate victims of circumstances. It’s difficult to immediately understand and figure out who actually appeared before us; each person has his own path, and even more so for a person who calls himself a marginalized person.

"Unclear Concepts"

The most difficult situation is with words that are not used daily in the speech of a large number of journalists. These include, for example, “offer” or “marginal”. The meaning of a word is sometimes difficult to guess by its sound. And if the word is foreign, then the task becomes almost impossible. We have to turn to explanatory dictionaries to establish the origin of a term that is unfamiliar to the ear.

Who is the marginalized? The meaning of the word is particularly difficult to ascertain for several reasons. Firstly, not all explanatory dictionaries provide the full number of meanings. Secondly, the very meaning of this word has undergone several dramatic changes, which has made it rather blurred and unclear. Only by tracing the entire history can one understand this issue.

First of all, marginality is not a mathematical concept, not a plant, or a piece of clothing. This is a man. But what kind of a person is, what distinguishes him from everyone else and why he received a separate status - all these questions are the subject of a detailed conversation.

"Collars"

Collars

– symbol for various categories of hired workers:

• The golden collars are the scientific and design personnel.

• White collar workers - engineering and technical workers and office workers.

• Gray collar workers - workers in social sectors;

• Blue collar workers are manual workers.

• Pale collar workers are a generalized name for wage earners who have become unemployed.

• Digital collars are a symbol for the newest generation of computers - Neuromachines, which have a complex system of sensory and executive organs. In the future, they will be able to replace humans in many production processes.

• Neuromachines are autonomous intelligent robots that serve as artificial labor.

(Iron collars are the same as robots)

Marginal personality according to Robert Park

American sociologist Robert Park considered the following to be the main character traits and personality traits of marginalized people:

• anxiety;
• aggressiveness;
• ambition;
• touchiness;
• selfishness;
• categorical views;
• negativism;
• unsatisfied ambition;
• anxiety states and phobias.

In society, marginalized individuals were people with an asocial lifestyle (poor refugees, homeless people, beggars, tramps, people with various kinds of addictions, lawbreakers), who can be classified as representatives of the social bottom. Their living conditions have a significant negative impact on their mental state. Any civilized society lives according to its own established rules, customs and norms. R. Park believed that a marginal personality

:

1. Rejects any norms and traditions accepted in society.
2. Has no sense of duty towards the society in which he lives.
3. Experiences a strong need to be alone and avoids the company of people.

Important! Most sociological experts and practicing psychologists believe that the margins are a source of cultural growth. He can objectively, without external influence, evaluate any phenomenon and situation, because he is not involved in it, as if isolated

It fills a social group with new ideas, views, introduces new trends, helps members of society to develop, broaden their horizons, look at problems from a different perspective, and instills tolerance.

Types of marginalized people

In accordance with the reasons that influenced the process of marginalization, types of people who were unable or did not want to adapt to new conditions are identified.

Political marginals

People of this type express active opposition to the type of power that has been established in the country. They are intolerant towards its representatives and do not bear any civil responsibility. This situation will also be observed if there is a change of regime and the position of the ruling force is the party that the marginal person supported for some time.

Religious fringes

People who do not adhere to the views of one of the official faiths, but form their own system of ideas that explain the origin of the world and man’s place in it. A person can become marginal even if he is a representative of any religion in a society dominated by another religion.

Ethnic marginalized

Social maladjustment may arise due to forced migration. Refugees, finding themselves on the territory of a foreign country, cannot adapt to its rules, laws, and mentality. A big obstacle is ignorance of the language and a different religion. The indigenous inhabitants of the country reject immigrants; they place them below themselves, which increases the number of marginalized people.

Economic marginalized

Large or small income can also contribute to the process of asocialization. Poor people consider themselves worse than others, rich people - better. Both types are distinguished by impulsiveness, a negative attitude towards life, and attempts to demonstrate their position. The largest number of such people appears during financial crises.

Social marginals

These are persons in whose life there has been a sharp change in social status, while it could not only worsen, but also improve. Emotional turmoil led to disappointment. For such individuals, society becomes a resource for achieving certain goals. An example would be a marriage entered into for the purpose of improving well-being. A person finds himself in another social circle, alien to him in spirit.

Some experts identify another type - the criminal fringe. People who have deviant behavior that leads them to crime.

There are representatives of marginalized individuals who are characterized by a low level of adaptation, antisocial attitudes and an antisocial lifestyle. Their life takes place in a subculture that offers them alternative values ​​and ways to realize them.

Biological marginals

Transgender people, people with disabilities, people with a non-traditional sexual orientation, mental disabilities or incurable diseases, for example, AIDS, often become outcasts from society due to prevailing ideas about what traits a member should have.

In some cases, people who find themselves outside of social groups include old people whose ties with the younger generation are interrupted, which causes conflicts. It becomes impossible to create relationships with peers due to limited physical abilities, economic dependence, etc.

Examples of marginalized people include people with low intellectual abilities. The inability to adapt to cultural norms forces one to deny them, which leads to an asocial lifestyle.

There is also a type of person who has higher mental development than representatives of society. As a result of this, he is not ready to accept the value system that dominates among the bulk and deliberately distances himself from it. Such processes can be most clearly traced against the background of social cataclysms, for example, revolutions or changes in the government system.

Marginality as a characteristic of the modern world

Correct link to the article:

Napso M.D.
— Marginality as a characteristic of the modern world // Sociodynamics. – 2021. – No. 6. – P. 63 – 69. DOI: 10.25136/2409-7144.2019.6.29957 URL: https://nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=29957 Napso Marianna Davletovna
Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Candidate of Philosophy

Professor, North Caucasus State Humanitarian and Technological Academy

369000, Russia, Cherkessk, lane. Odessky, 5

Napso Marianna Davletovna

Professor, the department of Philosophy and Humanitarian Disciplines, North Caucasian State Humanitarian Technological Academy

369000 Russia, Cherkessk, Pereulok Odessky 5, unit #88

DOI:

10.25136/2409-7144.2019.6.29957

Date the article was sent to the editor:

08-06-2019

Publication date:

30-06-2019

Annotation:

The phenomenon of marginality acts as an object of research, and the subject of analysis is a marginal person in a sociological interpretation.
An understanding of the concept of marginality in the views of representatives of the Chicago School of Sociology is given, the social, cultural and psychological aspects of this phenomenon are examined, and the conditions for the emergence of marginal forms are explored. Attention is drawn to the processes of adaptation and integration of marginalized people into a new sociocultural context, the phenomena of assimilation and accommodation, and manifestations of social inequality are analyzed. The negative and positive sides of marginalization processes are shown. The methodological basis is the dialectical principles of objectivity, systematicity, and specificity of research, which make it possible to give a detailed description of the concept of marginality. The article contains elements of scientific novelty, which consist in asserting the thesis about the relevance and relevance of the ideas proposed by R. Park and E. Stonequist regarding the social nature of marginality, the conditions for the emergence of a marginal person and marginal states, cultural hybrids, especially today, in the context of expanding globalization. Key words:
marginality, marginal person, marginal consciousness, cultural hybrid, assimilation, acculturation, identity crisis, difference, dominant group, conflict

Abstract:

The object of this research is the phenomenon of marginality; the subject is a marginal person in sociological interpretation. The article describes the concept of marginality in the views of the representatives of Chicago School of Sociology; examines the social, cultural and psychological aspects of such phenomenon; analyzes the triggering factors for the development of marginal forms. Attention is turned to the processes of adaptation and integration of marginal into a new social context; the instances of assimilation and accommodation alongside the manifestation of social inequality are reviewed. The author underlines the negative and positive sides of marginalization processes. Methodology contains the dialectical principles of objectivity, systematicity, and specificity of research that allow providing an extensive characteristic to the concept of marginality. The scientific novelty consists in assertion of the thesis on the relevance and demand of the ideas proposed by R. Park and E. Stonequist concerning the social nature of marginality, factors that lead to the emergence of a marginal man., marginal states, cultural hybrids, especially in the current conditions of expanding globalization.

Keywords:

identity crisis, acculturation, assimilation, “cultural hybrid”, marginal consciousness, marginal person, marjinality, distinction, dominating group, conflict The phenomena of marginality and the marginal person owe their development to representatives of the Chicago School of Sociology. These concepts were first discussed by R. Park in his work “Human Migration and the Marginal Man.” While studying the problems that were caused primarily by the development of capitalism and market relations, and therefore by the expansion of the space of the urban environment, the sociologist comes to the conclusion that the emergence of the phenomenon of marginality and the emergence of the so-called. marginal people were determined by the specific historical and economic context. Therefore, R. Park (like other representatives of this school) considered the study of these phenomena necessary from the point of view of understanding the nature of social processes and their impact on the development of society. The scientific study of the issue of marginality has not lost its importance today, when in the course of globalization processes marginal states arise, which is facilitated by the increasing transparency of state borders, the growing interdependence of economic systems, and the interpenetration of national cultures. The result of such global trends is the emergence of a marginal person and marginal forms. Belonging simultaneously to multiple social and cultural worlds, not entirely tied to one culture, a marginal individual is equally cosmopolitan, overcoming ethnocultural limitations and the framework of traditional thinking and worldview. Confirmation is the emergence of a new scientific discipline - marginalism, which studies the positive and negative aspects of the processes of marginalization, explores the nature and conditions for the emergence of the so-called. marginal person.

For R. Park, the concept of “marginality” covers the position of individuals who are on the border of two different cultures, the conflict between which he considered inevitable due to their differences and even opposition, which served as the basis for studying the social and psychological consequences of the entry of migrants (mulattoes, i.e. n. cultural hybrids) into a new social context. According to R. Park, a marginal person is one who simultaneously lives in two worlds - his own, traditional, and acquired, due to which his positions are quite shaky and uncertain. He experiences a kind of split, which largely determines his status, moral and ethical predispositions, and psychological states. The nature of this person is ambivalent, and this inconsistency is determined by the opposition of the norms and values ​​of his culture to the attitudes of the new social environment: the former are not so strong, and the latter have not yet been fully formed. As R. Park writes, “a marginal person is a personal type that arises where and when new societies, peoples and cultures are born from the conflict of races and cultures. The same fate that condemns him to live simultaneously in two worlds forces him to accept, in relation to those worlds in which he lives, the role of a cosmopolitan and a stranger" [6, p. 175]. As a result, a marginalized person finds himself at a crossroads; the choice of development paths and methods of adaptation to the world turns out to be difficult. Being on the border of two different and often conflicting cultures gives rise to many problems for the individual - both with himself and with the external environment. Migrants find themselves in such a bifurcated situation, the so-called. cultural hybrids, mestizos, whose everyday world not only does not coincide with the image and lifestyle of the host country, but is opposed to them, and this results in “moral confusion.”

A marginal person is a person who is not on the edge, but in a position in between, this is “a person of mixed blood, Eurasian, mestizo or mulatto, that is, a person who ... is destined to occupy a position somewhere in the gap between two cultures ... If ...he wears on his face...evidence of his mixed origin..., then in such a situation all the factors that give rise to...specific intellectual and moral qualities characteristic of a cultural hybrid, or a marginal person are present” [7, p. 189-190]. In his study, R. Park, revealing the content of the social, cultural and personal aspects of the phenomenon of marginality, especially drew attention to the role of the economic factor and urbanization processes in expanding its space. The scientist described how migrants arriving in America tried to adapt to the new and alien conditions of the American city. Most of them found themselves in a situation of anxiety, because, having left the borders of their country and finding themselves in a completely different world, they had difficulty accepting the attitudes, values ​​and way of life of the local population. The consequence of such processes, the American scientist believed, is the emergence of social uncertainty, psychological dissatisfaction, fear of an unknown future, and an expansion of the space of threats and risks associated with manifestations of social exclusion. These aliens, as R. Park called them, represented a new type of person - intermediate (or marginal), distinguished - by virtue of their position - by a specific way of thinking and acting. Calling modern man a “cultural hybrid,” R. Park proceeded from the fact that the modern and the traditional, his own cultural tradition and the acquired one are closely intertwined in him. This leads, on the one hand, to problems of intercultural interaction, and on the other, makes the adaptation process less painful - provided that the marginalized person does not oppose his personal interests to the dominant ones, but accepts them as a sociocultural standard.

R. Park analyzes the cultural aspects of the problem of marginality. For him, a marginal person is an epiphenomenon of acculturation processes, when representatives of different ethnic groups and cultures are forced to meet each other halfway, and this creates the necessary conditions for coexistence, helps to weaken sociocultural differences, and strengthen the processes of social mobility. A marginalized person is forced, “whether he wants it or not, by virtue of the very structure of the modern world, to leave any cozy narrow “we”, to enter ever wider circles of interactions, to adapt to existence in them...” [4, p. 372], demonstrating examples of flexibility and plasticity in matters of adaptation to the new world.

As a result of these processes and the emerging intermediate position, a marginal consciousness arises, which is characterized by duality of content. Being permeated with ambivalent ideas and concepts that are painfully experienced by the individual, marginal consciousness is realized in corresponding actions of both a social and psychological nature. And this makes it difficult to accept other social and cultural norms and traditions. These phenomena lead to the fact that a marginal person is faced with threats - loss of roots and soil, ethnocultural characteristics, and the emergence of various phobias. On the other hand, in the context of globalization, leading to increased intercultural interactions, marginal consciousness helps to break out of the circle of traditional perception of the world and join the general flow of civilizational development. Thus, national traditions cease to be insurmountable barriers, and the ability to assimilate new things becomes the dominant trend.

R. Park pointed out that a marginal individual is a more civilized person, since he, being in various sociocultural environments, is enriched with new spiritual acquisitions that give his life a deeper meaning, and this despite the possibility of conflicts arising due to the presence of cultural differences. According to the American researcher, the phenomenon of marginality should not be seen as an exclusively negative content; on the contrary, thanks to this property, the individual more successfully adapts to the changing historical context and the specifics of social interactions. This is especially true for modern times, which crowd traditional cultures, generally accepted attitudes, and require the individual to accept the values ​​of the postmodern era. According to some, the marginalized are the source of “novelty and cultural growth... New social structures arise only on the border, on the periphery of old ones... culture is created on the borders of cultures. Since then, it has been repeated many times at different levels, from anthropology and philosophy to journalism: all movements that radically updated the face of culture began exclusively by the marginalized... because the marginalized... are independent and free”[1].

Existence in different cultures can and does lead not only to cultural confrontations, but also - which is quite natural - to such socio-psychological experiences that are characterized by instability, instability, and aggressiveness. A long stay in the space of different cultures - with weak acculturation processes - leads to the emergence of conflicts that manifest themselves at both the individual and collective levels. Conflict at the collective level results in confrontation between different social groups - racial, national, territorial. In the event of a conflict at the individual level, a person mostly takes the position of his group, but, being in an intermediate situation, he experiences feelings of anxiety, worry, and uncertainty. It is also possible that irrational moods and motivations may arise, which are not always comprehended by the individual, which can lead to a split personality. And since modern society creates favorable conditions for the emergence of marginal states, significant groups of the population find themselves in the space of borderline marginality.

Unlike R. Park, who believed that the marginalized will never be able to fully integrate into the new society, E. Stonequist, in his work “Marginal Man: A Study of Personality and Cultural Conflict,” takes a different point of view. He explores the phenomenon of marginality from various positions, including socio-psychological ones. In his opinion, the process of personality formation can be successful during the processes of adaptation and socialization, while he identifies the various states in which the individual finds himself. This is the period when an individual assimilates (internalizes) the values ​​of a new culture for him, which is a completely natural phenomenon for someone who finds himself in a different social and cultural environment. Then follows the stage in which the individual experiences feelings of belonging to the so-called. borderland: the individual becomes aware of his marginal position, as well as how “they,” i.e., the new environment, perceives him. A split consciousness can result in an identity crisis. E. Stonequist's point of view is based on the assertion that the process of a marginal individual entering a new context for him can take quite a long time, and it is not always successful.

The process of developing self-representations is directly dependent on society’s attitudes towards the marginalized. If negativism dominates this process, the marginalized individual (as well as the marginalized group) reacts strongly to differences. When a marginalized individual assimilates the social and cultural norms of the dominant culture, he inevitably experiences a state of intrapersonal conflict, which can be the result of both the complexity of the process and the reality of the loss of elements of his own culture. In their desire to “integrate into the dominant group of society,” notes E. Stonequist, “members of subordinate groups (for example, ethnic communities) become familiar with its cultural standards; “cultural hybrids” thus formed inevitably find themselves in a “marginal” situation - on the edge of the dominant group, which never fully accepts them, and the group of origin, which rejects them as apostates”[3, p. 15]. At the third stage, there is a desire to overcome marginalized situations - both in a cultural and psychological sense.

E. Stonequist perceives a marginal personality as being at a cultural crossroads, when two different cultures, intertwining with each other, create new cultural combinations, in which there is both general and specific. Being in the space of different cultures, moving from one to another, a marginal person seems to be balancing on the border of each of them, one of which is dominant. In the case of marginalized people, this is mainly the culture of the host country, accepting which he experiences different feelings. A marginalized person is characterized by a high level of self-identification, increased sensitivity to cultural and ethnic differences, and the presence of various complexes due to the specificity of his existence. The scientist believed that, for many reasons, such individuals have a tendency to commit deviant and criminal offenses. An example is the situation of migrants in an alien environment that shows signs of prejudice and disdain for cultural and ethnic hybrids. At the same time, the researcher emphasized that the nature of marginality manifests itself differently in different people, which depends on a whole range of factors - upbringing, education, level of intelligence, sociability, social status, etc. Belonging to a strong or weak social group plays an important role , conditions of social inequality.

E. Stonequist talks about various ways of adaptation of a marginal person to new conditions. These are assimilation and accommodation. In the first case, an ethnic and cultural group is absorbed by a larger ethnic group or dominant group, and there are many examples of this in modern and past history. The next path is accommodation, which is understood as the forced adaptation of the values ​​of one culture to the norms and values ​​of another. E. Stonequist illustrates his thoughts using the example of racial and ethnocultural hybrids - mestizos, mulattoes, creoles, “coloreds”. He views the marginal personality as being “between two fires,” that is, residing in the space of contacting but different cultures. The state of marginality is felt when the individual realizes his subordinate position, and it is accompanied by moral and psychological states close to anomie.

Adaptation and integration of marginalized people into society, the adoption of cultural and moral norms and values ​​of the dominant culture often encounter resistance from dominant groups. E. Stonequist examines situations in which marginalized people, in particular mestizos, find themselves under pressure from the latter, explores the nature of attitudes towards them on the part of dominant groups, talks about prohibitions and various forms of inequality, the difficulties of social advancement, etc. In these processes The scientist sees manifestations of social discrimination, as well as the emergence of racial prejudices, resulting in social tension and conflicts. In addition, E. Stonequist believes that marginalized individuals also experience pressure from the groups to which they belong, since they are often perceived by their compatriots as people who have abandoned the values ​​of their culture.

Marginal consciousness carries different meanings: it is both positive and negative, and its content depends on the interpretation of the phenomenon of marginality. When marginality is interpreted as a borderline state, marginal consciousness carries within itself the possibility of cultural enrichment. Acceptance of cultural differences and values ​​of the receiving party contains unconditional constructiveness: not only one’s own culture is enriched, but also the dominant one. The image and style of life, learned patterns of action and archetypes of consciousness change, liberation from various kinds of restrictions associated with the specifics of traditional culture occurs, and freedom of choice appears. At the same time, the marginalized person experiences discomfort because he is in a state of duality generated by the gap between the values ​​of the national culture and those that the new environment places on him. S. Bankovskaya rightly writes about the contradictory situation in which a marginal individual finds himself: the marginal “no longer seems free from the oppression of traditions and orders, he is more faced with the need to resist the growing forms of control around him, he is crushed by the need to protect his identity from attempts to “bring clarity” to its independent uncertainty and ambiguity, to absorb it within the framework of a new defined form. This state of marginality can result in “closure” (“withdrawal”, isolation), and aggressive demands for political correctness and adherence to the “politics of difference”..."[2, p. 467]. The result of such processes may be the emergence in a marginal person of psychological states characterized, as R. Park noted, by intense self-awareness.

The foregoing allows us to conclude that marginality is one of the complex social phenomena that carry different meanings and are interpreted differently by scientific knowledge. From the point of view of social philosophy and sociology, the marginal is an individual who is located in a borderland position, and this affects his consciousness, lifestyle and actions in the most contradictory way. Modern society creates conditions for the emergence of marginal states; significant groups of the population find themselves in the space of both borderline and peripheral marginality. As a result of such processes, the number of “marginalized” people increases, which allows us to talk about expanding the space of marginalization. As a result of these processes, a person breaks away from his usual habitat, which results in the emergence of intrapersonal conflicts with himself and with society. In conditions of growing social mobility, leading to serious shifts in the social structure, marginality takes on the characteristics of a negative phenomenon. The marginalized people themselves, who for the most part come from developing countries, are often associated with those who are called social outsiders.

Thus, marginality also refers to the position of social outsidership (declassification, lumpenization), which is primarily the result of such structural changes that lead to increased processes of downward social mobility - one of the indicators of marginality as a form of social outsidership. The condition that gives features of identity to the phenomena of marginality and social outsidership is marginal consciousness, which arises, on the one hand, as a result of the emerging intermediate position, and on the other, during the processes of downward social mobility. The inconsistency of the content of marginal consciousness is due to multiple factors. The transformations taking place in modern society lead to various consequences that contribute to the expansion of marginalized strata: the inability and unwillingness to integrate into new life circumstances, rejection of established forms of social interaction, and ignorance of modern practices. It should also be noted that the norms and values ​​of one’s own culture, social group often contrast with the attitudes of the reference group - social, cultural, ethnic, which is the receiving party. The complexity of the processes of adaptation and integration into a new sociocultural context, which are objectively accompanied by the loss of the most important identification features for the individual and ethnic community, plays an important role.

Bibliography

References (transliterated)

Results of the article review procedure

Due to the double-blind review policy, the identity of the reviewer is not disclosed. The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The author sent his material to the journal Sociodynamics, which raises the question of studying the concept of marginality in the sociological dimension. Obviously, this issue is relevant for interdisciplinary research, at the same time, there are significant developments regarding the study of marginality, including from a sociological perspective, which means that the author will be required to say a substantiated new word in this direction of research, I admit that within the framework social knowledge, interesting results may be obtained that deserve attention. Meanwhile, at the beginning of the article, the author, formulating the problem, admits that the phenomena of marginality and the marginal person owe their development to representatives of the Chicago School of Sociology. These concepts were first discussed by R. Park in his work “Human Migration and the Marginal Man.” While studying the problems that were caused primarily by the development of capitalism and market relations, and therefore by the expansion of the space of the urban environment, the sociologist comes to the conclusion that the emergence of the phenomenon of marginality and the emergence of the so-called. marginal people were determined by the specific historical and economic context. The article attempts to analyze marginality in a sociological dimension. At the same time, as the author of the article notes, existence in different cultures can and does lead not only to cultural confrontations, but also - which is quite natural - to such socio-psychological experiences that are characterized by instability, instability, and aggressiveness. A long stay in the space of different cultures - with weak acculturation processes - leads to the emergence of conflicts that manifest themselves at both the individual and collective levels. Conflict at the collective level results in confrontation between different social groups - racial, national, territorial. In the event of a conflict at the individual level, a person mostly takes the position of his group, but, being in an intermediate situation, he experiences feelings of anxiety, worry, and uncertainty. We agree with this statement. Turning to the characteristics of the subject of his research, the author insists on the following point: marginal consciousness carries different meanings: it is both positive and negative, and its content depends on the interpretation of the phenomenon of marginality. When marginality is interpreted as a borderline state, marginal consciousness carries within itself the possibility of cultural enrichment. Acceptance of cultural differences and values ​​of the receiving party contains unconditional constructiveness: not only one’s own culture is enriched, but also the dominant one. The image and style of life, learned patterns of action and archetypes of consciousness change, liberation from various kinds of restrictions associated with the specifics of traditional culture occurs, and freedom of choice appears. Most of the work is occupied by a description of the concepts of Park and Stonequist, but the author did not come any closer to his own idea (concept) of marginality in the sociological dimension. So, it seems that the author in his material touched upon issues that are important for modern socio-humanitarian knowledge, chose for analysis a topical topic, the consideration of which in scientific research discourse helps in some way to change the existing approaches or directions of analysis of the problem addressed in the presented article. At the same time, the perspective of understanding the problem proposed by the author in the article cannot be considered conceptual, since it does not contain any novelty, and some ideas even look trivial. NOTES: 1) The title of the article needs to be corrected: the material does not contain a “sociological dimension”, which involves conducting a serious empirical study in accordance with established requirements. 2) The author needs to present his concept, and not retell the essence of the ideas of other authors, with whom most of those interested in this topic are quite familiar. At the same time, the lack of analysis of scientific discourse on the topic of the article significantly impoverished the material and did not allow the author to emphasize the advantages of his vision of the problem in comparison with existing work. 3) A very poor list of references indicates a frivolous study of the topic, although many reputable researchers are engaged in the study of marginality in socio-humanitarian knowledge, including sociology. Thus, I believe that the article is capable of arousing the interest of the journal’s readers and can count on publication if it is finalized.

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What are the marginalized?

Marginal is a concept denoting a person who is outside any institutions of society. It was first used in the 20s of the last century by American sociologist Robert Park in relation to people occupying a borderline position between social groups in order to identify those immigrants who were unable to adapt to new social conditions. The psyche of such people underwent certain changes, as a result of which they constituted a separate marginal group. This education lived by its own rules, norms and laws, rejecting the values ​​of the society within which it existed and ignoring its traditions.

Marginalized people and modernity

Today the words “marginal”, “marginal element” are quite popular. They are often mistakenly used as a synonym for the word “lummen,” which denotes a declassed element who has lost contact with society and does not have high morals and ethics.

Often marginalized people are generated by various social cataclysms - wars, coups, revolutions. At this time, the destruction of previously established social groups occurs and people cannot attribute themselves to any newly created formations.

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A person is part of society and in one way or another participates in its economic, political and cultural life. However, there are those who try to reduce their participation in these areas to a minimum, and ideally, “fall out of the picture” altogether. For some, a similar situation develops regardless of their will. But this does not mean that the marginalized will necessarily sink to the very bottom. Very often, people who have crossed the borders of all social groups strive to regain their lost position. This causes further social cataclysms or leads to the emergence of new groups in society that compete with existing ones.

Another facet of the meaning of such a multifaceted concept is being on the border between different groups. A person cannot identify with any particular group. He is simultaneously a member of several groups that are incompatible with each other, but does not completely associate himself with any of them.

Many artists, writers and simply creative people can be described as marginalized. For example, L.N. Tolstoy, being a count, lived in the village and did not strive to participate in the secular life of the nobility, which surprised his contemporaries a lot.

Sociologists have also observed that marginalization in the workplace occurs because workers are underemployed. As a result, they waste time aimlessly, get bored, and do not have the opportunity to express themselves and their best qualities. This ultimately leads to depression. Marginalization in the workplace due to insufficient work has even been given a separate term - “moral persecution”.

Main types of marginalized people

Studying the reasons that made a person an outcast, researchers identified four types of outcasts:

• ethnic. The most striking example is refugees from countries where armed conflicts occur. Fleeing from a disadvantaged environment, such people cannot always find their place in a new, more prosperous society, which is why they inevitably become marginalized. This group also includes people who came in search of a new life to a richer country. Ethnic marginalized people are the most difficult to adapt;
• economic. The main reason for the appearance is the loss of a source of income, savings or property. Factories are closed, deposits are devalued due to inflation, scammers are deprived of an apartment or house - all these situations can turn a person into an economic outcast. Such risks exist mainly during a political or economic crisis;
• social. Trying to rise higher in the so-called “social elevator”, a person suddenly gets stuck between “floors”, or may even fall to the very bottom, not achieving what he wants and becoming disappointed in everything;
• political. They are the product of political crises, when a person loses confidence in a certain political force. Changing regimes, social norms or statehood are all fertile ground for the growth of the number of political fringes. Thus, in the countries of the post-Soviet space, many people cannot psychologically part with the USSR, although they already live in a new independent state.

With the development of modern technologies, the concept of “marginal” has received a new interpretation. Today, more and more people do not have the desire to maintain intensive social contacts, preferring loneliness and working as a freelancer.

Term

Marginality (Late Latin marginalis - located on the edge) is a sociological concept denoting the intermediate, “borderline” position of a person between any social groups, which leaves a certain imprint on his psyche. This concept appeared in American sociology in the 1920s to refer to the situation of immigrants’ failure to adapt to new social conditions.

Individual marginality is characterized by the individual's incomplete inclusion in a group that does not fully accept him, and his alienation from the group of origin that rejects him as an apostate. The individual turns out to be a “cultural hybrid” (Park R.), sharing the life and traditions of two different groups.

Group marginality arises as a result of changes in the social structure of society, the formation of new functional groups in economics and politics, displacing old groups, destabilizing their social position.

However, marginalization does not always lead to “settling to the bottom.” Natural marginalization is associated primarily with horizontal or upward vertical mobility. If marginalization is associated with a radical change in the social structure (revolution, reform), partial or complete destruction of stable communities, then it often leads to a massive decrease in social status. However, marginal elements are making attempts to reintegrate into the social system. This can lead to very intense mass mobility (coups and revolutions, uprisings and wars). And it can lead to the formation of new social groups fighting with other groups for a place in social space. Thus, the flourishing of ethnic entrepreneurship is explained precisely by the marginal position of ethnic minorities, for whom the usual ways of achieving high status (through inheritance, government and military service, etc.) are difficult and who find effective ways to develop entrepreneurship (including criminal ones). vertical mobility channels.