Can we still think of social classes in reference to the only national framework ? Does their relation to global space not participate more and more in their definition ? Beyond its economic consequences, globalization changes social relationships. These are the upheavals that Sociologist Anne-Catherine Wagner Anays for the angle of social stratification.
It is to the analysis of the relation to the global space of the different social categories that the book of sociologist Anne-Catherine Wagner devotes himself. Bringing together the results of surveys on “ Golden immigration And the careers of European trade unionists, the book is aimed at identifying new dynamics in the processes of economic and social hierarchy. What is the impact of the internationalization of economic exchanges on social groups ? Produced by this process of internationalization on each of the social classes ? Are there new inequalities generated by this phenomenon ? These are the main questions asked in this book.
In a first historical chapter, the author recalls that the globalization movement of different social categories is not new. The cosmopolitanism of the aristocracy is illustrated for example in Nice at the end of the XIXe A century in which the members of the European nobility meet in search of sunny winter. The business world is also affected by this internationalization of relations. From the XVIe A century, the first multinational societies were built by large families, this is the case for mining companies in Central and Eastern Europe. It is on these ancient networks and solidarity that the relationships of the emerging international bourgeois of the emerging international bourgeois be established XIXe century. Finally, the workers’ movement is also affected by these logics of internationalization, if only by the contribution of immigrant labor to the American or French working class.
The second chapter is interested in the economic and social effects of the liberalization of exchanges on social classes and social relationships. The use of economic analyzes indicates a resumption of global inequalities since 1960. While they have been decreasing since the 1950s, the differences between revenues were reinforced within the countries of the South as in the United States, thus contributing to the progression of world inequalities. Seeking to analyze the consequences of these developments, Anne-Catherine Wagner distinguishes the highly qualified professions from unskilled workers increasingly competed by those of poor countries.
On the one hand, the economic bourgeoisie is characterized by two developments: increased mobility and the construction of new links. The financial management of capital and heritage is increasingly organized at the world level. For example, 44 % of the capital of French companies in Cac 40 are detained today not non-residents against 10 % in 1985. Regarding boards of directors, they open to foreigners and the trajectories of large bosses are more and more characterized by international experience. Despite these developments, the economic power of old families is maintained, in particular by the success of strategies aimed at converting industrial dynasties into holding company international. This is the case of Wendel’s family. On the actors of globalization, Wagner considers that they are not so new: if the administrators come from abroad, the leaders of large companies are still nationals trained in their country. The impact of financial globalization on national structures of economic power is therefore only relative. On the side of low -skilled workers, division and competition in hand are noted. The objectives of reducing wage costs by relocations and outsourcing leads to the destruction of jobs and the weakening of employees. But also, the need to obtain greater financial profitability in a globalized environment “ is used to justify the necessary flexibility of work ».
Leaving the economic register, the third chapter addresses the “ international culture And the conditions of production of international resources. Undainely distributed and acquired during international socializing experiences, linguistic skills and ease form the necessary assets for the possession of international culture. By a socialization open to foreigners, the generations of the upper bourgeoisie and the aristocracy quickly incorporate these knowledge and this skills. More recently, a fraction of the bourgeoisie linked to the business world has been able to emerge internationally by a phenomenon of homogenization of values, practices and training with the internationalization of courses within Business Schools. This announces the development of new criteria of legitimacy of the dominant categories: Wagner addresses the reforms implemented in the great French schools aimed at internationalizing the faculty and the programs.
In the fourth chapter, it is the forms of access and participation in the global space of popular groups that the author tries to discern. If international trade union structures are organized very early on, a laborious relationship with foreign languages and international knowledge slows down the conversion of trade unionists to cosmopolitanism of the dominant classes. However, certain networks contribute to the development of original forms of internationalization. Distinct from those of the ruling classes, the international know-how of activists are based on common professional practices, shared social relationships and close working conditions.
The mobility of social categories is analyzed in the last chapter through two cases: that of travel and that of professional experiences abroad. Noting a democratization of stays abroad, the author associates three social uses of the trip with three categories. For the upper classes, the trip amounts to maintaining international relations networks. For the middle classes – surprisingly absent from the rest of the work -, the travel model as “ Discovery of the world and oneself “Winds up and” The search for exoticism, for members with uncertain positions, is part of a kind of leak outside the social world and its principles of hierarchy ». Finally, stays abroad of popular classes aim in many cases to maintain family solidarity linked to countries of origin. Professional expatriation is the experience of executives and higher intellectual professions. Specific forms of international culture are acquired during long stays, to which strong monetary and symbolic remuneration are added. If these accumulated resources are then valued in the country of origin, the return of expatriation and the loss of luxury foreigner status can be synonymous with a “ go back ” professional.
Considering that social classes are no longer defined exclusively in relation to national borders, Anne-Catherine Wagner’s work has the merit of syntheticly highlights the mechanisms linked to globalization which have an impact on social categories. The strong point of this work is not to be limited to economic relationships and their effects. The author insists indeed on the cultural and symbolic dimension of the internationalization of exchanges. It is the possession and acquisition of international know-how and an appropriate culture produced by various socializing experiences which mainly distinguish social categories in access to world space.
To go further:
“” Globalization and recomposition of the capital of European companies », Report of the General Commission of the Plan, December 2003, 171 pages.