The Risks and Capabilities of Russians as a Base for Social Dynamics

Abstract

One of the central questions of social policy is control over the level and depth of inequality. The simplest, and therefore most common, means for measuring its variation is differentiating the incomes of the population. However, studying social inequality also requires an assessment of the risks and life chances among the population through access to socially valuable benefits and resources. It is these elements that generate life options, which require either instruments of compensation or open up a new window of opportunities. This article is based on representative surveys from Institute of Sociology at the Russian Academy of Sciences. It uses a Weberian logic of life chances and negative / positive privileges. This allows an examination of the main risks and opportunities of the Russian population in terms of (1) economic living conditions, (2) consumption and leisure patterns, (3) situations at work, (4) educational opportunities and health maintenance. What is shown is that positive privilege is mainly obtained through consumption and economic conditions while negative privilege is about the condition of Russians in the industrial sphere. Such life conditions in the population reflect limitations in technological capacities for the country’s development, where human capital is the main form of production. Those living in Russia’s 'capitals' (Moscow and St. Petersburg) have absorbed consumer practices that differ strongly from the rest of the country, which only imitates these forms of behaviour. The next area that Russians are learning is skills for surviving in the digital age. Even the inhabitants of Russia’s capitals face risks, as do the rest of the population, that limit the positive dynamics of human capital potential in the country’s future. Negative privilege is most commonly localised in rural areas, while in the industrial sector it has even become a commonplace way of life.