A Historical Comparison of Social Structures in the Czech Republic in the Years 1984 and 1993

On the basis of three representative surveys conducted in 1984, spring
1993 and autumn 1993, the increasing vertical social differentiation of the
economically active Czech population is analysed and the results of the historical
comparison are interpreted with reference to the social change in the first phase of
the post-communist transformation. The shifts in education, the distribution of
managerial positions and class structure are seen as the results of both limited
modernisation and progress in privatisation and meritocratisation. The traditional
differentiating principles of the (rather egalitarian and anti-meritocratic) state
socialist society – based on steep power differentiation and, eventually,
differentiation caused by demographic factors – have lost much of their former
influence. A new class structure based on the differentiation of property relations,
managerial positions and earnings is gradually emerging. Concurrently, the
influence of meritocratic factors, such as education and work complexity on income
distribution and, above all, on life-style is also growing. The first steps towards
increased social status consistency and a more gradual status distribution are
noticeable. At the same time, the attitudes and forms of behaviour have become
somewhat more determined by the objective social differentiation. As far as the
various concepts and methodological instruments are concerned, an increased
explanatory force of the EGP scheme and of a multi-dimensional social status
typology based on cluster analysis could be observed in the course of the 1990s. In
spite of important changes in the general social context, many frequented multidimensional
status patterns in 1984 and 1993 show a great deal of mutual similarity.