Anthropology of Rating. Rating as a Symbolic Machine of Culture

The article is devoted to the cultural and anthropological analysis of the rating as a relatively young but significant phenomenon of modern culture and widespread social practice. The article analyzes the consequences of the influence of modernist attitudes on the formation of a modern personality type. The article describes the key characteristics of a person of postmodernity, among which the search for public approval, the desire for success, and the feeling of loneliness, frustration, fatigue, and the meaninglessness of being are highlighted. It is argued that one of the ways to gain subjectivity, power, and meaningfulness of life is the practice of creating and distributing various rating systems. The definition of the rating is given, and the elements of its structure are listed. The author’s classification of rating systems is proposed using criteria such as object, subject, purpose, and audience. In the context of understanding the place and role of rating in modern culture and society, the key functions of this phenomenon have been identified and examined in detail: structuring social reality, socialization and social control, the formation of self-esteem and self-awareness, self-presentation and creative self-expression, and a measuring tool for various types of activities. Based on extensive empirical material, the analysis of the cultural specifics of the functioning of various rating systems and the reasons for their popularity, mutual influence, and inconsistency has been carried out. The complementarity of rating systems to each other, the dialectical interdependence of the subjective and objective in their functioning, and the susceptibility to distorting influences are noted. The high potential of the rating to act as an instrument of social justice, a form of direct democracy, and a grassroots initiative is emphasized. It is concluded that the growing number of ratings and their widespread use in all areas of social life have given rise to suspicion and distrust in the minds of modern people. An example of an attempt to artistically comprehend the influence of rating on people’s relationships, their social status, and the distribution of material benefits is given.