Herberta Spencera teoria zróżnicowania społecznego

Abstract

The paper analyses main aspects of social differentiation as viewed by Herbert Spencer. Spencer's understanding of social class is dynamie: firstly, he views society as composed of two main classes: sustaining and regulating. Subsequent integration of societies into larger ones initiates arising new classes and social institutions as a rcsult of differentiation of functions and structures. Each of organically related sets of classes is called a system by Spencer. Therefore, the number and complexity of classes inereases along with the development of social organization and structure. Spencer's concept is also three-dimensional: one can distinguish three streams of class analysis in his works, namely functional, gradual and antagonistic. The most important one here is functional. Each system performs different functions: regulative, operative, distributive, etc. Those functions determine the character of its classes. Spencer uses the term class also to denote functionalities of cultural and religious institutions. Their function is to augment life and to subserue needs related to religious sentiments and ideas. Classes in each system are ordered in a gradual manner, according to their role in the system. The concept of class-bias di vi des social systems into two targe classes of different and oflen antagonistic social interests: employer and employee, ruler and subject, etc.