The article examines the theoretical problems of studying the social structure of contemporary society through the categories of social stratification, social status, and social inequality. The authors argue that the stratification approach, which dominates contemporary sociology and possesses significant explanatory potential for describing social differences, does not allow for the identification of the structural causes of their emergence and reproduction. In this regard, the necessity of employing class analysis and integrating it with stratification theory is substantiated.

Based on a comparative analysis of classical and contemporary sociological concepts, it is shown that class and stratification approaches reflect different levels of analysis of social reality and should therefore be considered complementary. Particular attention is paid to the concept of social alienation, which is viewed not only as a characteristic of an individual's position within the system of social relations but also as a mechanism for the reproduction of social inequality.

The authors demonstrate that the processes of digitalization and the development of network society generate new forms of social differentiation associated with access to information, cultural capital, digital resources, and communication networks. It is argued that the study of contemporary forms of inequality requires a comprehensive approach combining the analysis of class relations, stratification processes, and mechanisms of social alienation.

The article concludes that there is a need to develop an integrative model for studying social structure that would make it possible to account for both the objective foundations of social inequality and the specific forms of its manifestation in the context of contemporary social transformations.

NURGALIYEV N.A.

Candidate of philosophical sciences, senior lecturer, department of social and political disciplines, K. Zhubanov Aktobe regional university, Aktobe, Kazakhstan.

E-mail: nnurgaliyev@zhubanov.edu.kz, https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6490-3026

KHUSSAINOVA G.D.

Candidate of philosophical sciences, associate professor, K. Zhubanov Aktobe regional university, Aktobe, Kazakhstan.

E-mail: gkhussainova@zhubanov.edu.kz, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8893-1517

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