Anciennes et nouvelles inégalités sociales en Hongrie

Social inequalities old and new in Hungary. In 1989/90, the economic, political and social system in Hungary underwent a truly revolutionary change. As no one had dared to hope for such a change, nor foreseen it, it was initially welcomed amid general euphoria. After the parliamentary elections of 1990, the majority of Hungarian society believed that there would be a rapid improve- ment in the standard of living, after a short spell of economic difficulties caused by the restructuring of the economy and the establishment of democracy. Four years later, euphoria has given way to disillusion. Recession, or indeed economic crisis, is longer- lasting and more painful than anticipated, and therefore the drop in living standards is more serious. The development of a « civil society », of a democratic political culture, is proving markedly more difficult than had been imagined. These facts are seriously impeding the chances of creating a political democracy. With the recognition that the difficulties of transition had not been foreseen by the social sciences, it might be desirable for scholarly efforts to be directed towards an understanding of the structural and institutional changes that have been made, an appreciation of the dangers inherent in the country's present difficulties, and a search for possible ways out of the crisis. In the present study, the author tries to follow this path, starting from empirical data deriving from certain studies carried out during the period of transition. In the interests of historical perspective, similar data going back to the socialist era will also be subject to a brief analysis

Civil society · Democracy · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Recession · Restructuring · Social change · Sociology · Spell · Hungarian Social, Economic and Educational Studies · Law