ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that similarities outweigh differences among the value systems of different socio-occupational categories. It also shows that managerial positions operate primarily as an intrinsic value in people's consciousness. This is evidence of the cultural integration that is occurring in our society. The basic problem in this study is the search for similarities and differences in the value systems of various socio-occupational categories. This problem has not yet been studied empirically in Poland; there are no comparative studies on the value systems of different socio-occupational categories within strata and classes. Education, income, participation in power, and cultural consumption have proved to be the relevant criteria of social divisions, the factors that define the status of individuals and groups in the class-stratum structure. The satisfaction that stems from exercising authority can be considered the index of its intrinsic value. Setting the intrinsic value aside, the instrumentality of authority is understood similarly in all three socio-occupational categories.
