Social Mobility means the displacement of individuals or groups between different socioeconomic positions. In societies governed by caste or estates regimes, such mobility is practically non-existent since the social position of individuals is established from birth and cannot be changed. In modern western societies - where capitalism is the predominant mode of production - mobility between different social classes is more frequent. Such mobility can take place in two directions: upwards (when there is an increase in financial gains and, consequently, greater access to goods and services) or, conversely, in a decreasing way.
At the beginning of the industrialization process, when labor rights did not yet exist or were precarious, the workers' feeling was the fear of misery and hunger that could break out if they did not work with ardor. Once the unions were established and, consequently, the basic rights of workers, the idea of social mobility was stimulated as a stimulus for work. That is, through the idea of meritocracy, the promise of social ascension through labor effort has become one of the fundamental pillars of modern societies.
The chances of social mobility occurring are smaller. The report also shows that there is a certain transfer of privileges between different generations of wealthy families.
Investment in public services and especially in education is the most effective way to change this picture.
For black people and for women, social mobility is a bigger challenge.
