Today, it is increasingly possible to hear from representatives of the intellectual elite that marginality as a social phenomenon is a scourge of modern economics and politics. But what do they mean by this concept? If marginality is the result of a conflict with existing social norms, then how to deal with this phenomenon and should it be done?
It turns out that marginality is a topic that worried sociologists back in the 20s of the last century. Outcasts at that time were called immigrants who, having moved to North America, could not in any way be related to the local subculture. Later, the concept of marginality began to apply to both shaggy homeless from a neighboring garbage dump, and to an intellectual artist with free outlooks on life.
The leading American sociologist of that period, Robert Park, spoke about the impact of migration on the strengthening of indifference among the human masses. Today, marginality is a quality that is often attributed to modern youth, who do not submit to accepted norms and traditions, but also do not defend their own. But it is present not only with her, but also with other representatives of society. Therefore, we can say that marginality is a socio-psychological phenomenon that is inherent in any society.
In the literature devoted to this issue, the following types of this phenomenon are distinguished:
- structural or social;
- cultural or ethnocultural;
- marginality of social roles.
Modern scientists are studying what are the causes of the emergence of groups that do not agree with existing social norms. There are two main ways to explain this phenomenon. People may not accept the norms due to the fact that various social transformations are currently taking place in society, as well as because of their own psychological characteristics.
A. Farj, for example, said that the marginality of the population is a consequence of the conflict between the social norms inherent in different cultures. Most often, such a conflict arises in the presence of significant migration flows. After moving, the emigrants simply cannot reconstruct and completely accept new patterns of behavior that seem foreign to them. Farge calls the marginalized those people who cannot adapt to their environment. Thus, they can be not only foreigners, but also people who have lost their usual social status. Brighton Beach and Chinatown in the large American city of New York - these are just marginalized communities who do not want and do not accept the rules adopted in this country. They continue to live as they are used to, but in their new homeland.
In the 90s of the last century, a special class of marginals was formed in Russian society. They included both representatives of the "social bottom" and the "new Russians." Each of these groups had their own views on life, interests and needs, which were strikingly different from the interests and needs of the middle class.