Marketing Democracy
Changing Opinion about Inequality and Politics in East Central Europe
James R Kluegel author David S Mason author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Rowman & Littlefield
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This groundbreaking work explores popular attitudes on social, economic, and political justice in the former communist states of Russia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and eastern Germany. Drawing on detailed opinion surveys conducted in 13 countries in east and west in 1991, and replicated in Eastern Europe in 1996, the authors go beyond typical survey questions to explore the philosophically and theoretically important concept of justice. The 1991 survey showed that citizens of the region enthusiastically endorsed market capitalism in principle. Over the next five years, however, this enthusiasm waned, with growing popular sentiment that the economic order was not working fairly in fact. Elements of egalitarianism from the communist era persist, and people see a fair society as one with a substantially greater degree of economic equality than found in western capitalist states. Citizens of eastern Europe hope to create societies where people who work hard can earn and keep good money, but also where those in want have their basic needs met. The results show increasingly close links between economics and politics and underscore the critical importance of economic revival for democratic success. Only small minorities consider themselves “winners” from the transition process assuring their support for democratic and economic transition. But most people feel they personally and their societies in general have gained little, or even lost, from the process. Many are increasingly fatalistic and apathetic and as a result have withdrawn from the political process. Invaluable for its longitudinal data and east-west comparisons, the book will have profound implications for the building of successful democracies in postcommunist systems.
This book goes beyond economic perceptions, experience, hopes or fears to introduce explicit evaluations of prosperity and poverty—whether they are justified or not, whether they are fair or not, whether, in particular, economic inequality might be considered fairer than equality. It is a significantly more sophisticated approach than one which relates political support merely to economic experience and perceptions themselves. This is a highly distinctive study, with its focus on economic justice rather than economic performance. * Europe-Asia Studies *
There is plenty in this book that is invaluable. For anyone interested in the postcommunist transformation, this volume is indispensable. * Contemporary Sociology *
Invaluable for its longtitudal, comparative approach, Marketing Democracy addresses public opinion in east and central Europe regarding social, political, and economic justice. The quality of these articles is generally high. This volume is a useful resource for specialists on forced migrations of people but could also be fruitfully assigned as an introduction to the field. * Slavic Review *
This is a valuable contribution to transition/transformation studies. The introduction can be recommended for students seeking an introduction to public opinion and political change in the post-communist countries, other chapters are more specialized and will be useful for area studies courses on specific countries (the ones of Russia, Hungary and East Germany are particularly interesting). The book is well documented and has a good bibliography. * Political Studies Review *
A substantial and important work. A particular strength is the east-west as well as over-time dimension. This book makes a significant contribution to the comparative politics of postcommunism. -- Stephen White, University of Glasgow
ISBN: 9780742501522
Dimensions: 234mm x 153mm x 22mm
Weight: 508g
302 pages