Socialism and the Transition in East and Central Europe

The Homogeneity Paradigm, Class, and Economic Inefficiency

Bibliographic Data

ID7635366
AuthorsLinda Fuller (University of Oregon)
Year2000
Volume26
Issue1
Pages585-609
Publication date2000-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnnual Review of Sociology (BOOK_SERIES)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0360-0572 • E-ISSN: 1545-2115
PublisherAnnual Reviews (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1146/annurev.soc.26.1.585
OpenAlexW2122105623
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited53

The homogeneity (mass-elite) paradigm exerts inordinate influence over social research on East and Central European socialism and its transition. I explore the epistemological and methodological underpinnings of this paradigm and argue that it has masked the importance of class relations for grasping the dynamics of these societies. I help retrieve class in general, and the working class in particular, from the analytic obscurity to which the homogeneity paradigm has relegated them by juxtaposing workers' and intellectuals' perceptions of economic inefficiency. Finally, I suggest ways that inattention to class under socialism has retarded understanding of the political struggles that have accompanied its demise

Capitalism · Demise · Economic system · Economics · Elite · Epistemology · Inefficiency · Market economy · Neoclassical economics · Paradigm shift · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Social class · Socialism · Sociology · State socialism · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Law · Philosophy

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