The functional necessity and utility of Social Mobility can be discussed as follows:
(i) Social Mobility is Democratic:
Social mobility implies a liberal attitude in the system of stratification. It encourages the people to improve their statuses enables the deserving persons to secure an improvement in their status and role. It gives equal opportunity to all persons to aspire and work for improving their statuses. It gives strength to the system of securing new and higher statuses i.e achieved statuses.
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Social Mobility supports the case of achieved statuses over and above the system of ascribed statuses. In the case of ascribed statuses even the persons who do not deserve can get higher statuses. In this contemporary age of liberal democracy, equality and freedom enjoy highest respect and these naturally support and demand a free and equal system of social mobility in society.
(ii) Source of Progress:
Social Mobility encourages competition in society which in turn acts as a means of social progress and development. In the absence of social mobility, the society becomes stale and stagnant and remains devoid of progress.
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(iii) Provides Incentive for Work Hard:
Social Mobility supports and maintains the presence of open groups/classes in society. It provides opportunities for circulation among groups. The people can achieve new higher statuses and thereby the memberships of higher classes. The situation always induces the people for achieving higher and higher statuses and entries into higher groups/classes.
The absence of social mobility always leads to slackness and lack of desire for hard work in the occupational standards of the people. When the people know that they are not going to improve their statuses because of lack of social mobility, they feel little incentive for hard work. They become lethargic and status quoits.
(iv) Social Mobility Encourages Social Change:
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Social change is a necessary element of social system. Now absence or limited scope of social mobility always leads to a low rate of social change. Social Mobility encourages the people for achieving prosperity and prepares them for, social progress and social change. Social Mobility acts as a factor of social change.
In the absence of Social Mobility, social change remains slow and incomplete. Social conditions always keep on changing and these need the presence of social mobility. In the absence of social mobility the change in social conditions tend to remain ineffective and even counterproductive.