SOCIAL INEQUALITY

Social Inequality

Social Inequality

Introduction

Social inequality refers to the ways in which socially-defined categories of persons (according to characteristics such as gender, age, 'class' and ethnicity) are differentially positioned with regard to access to a variety of social 'goods', such as the labour market and other sources of income, the education and healthcare systems, and forms of political representation and participation. These and other forms of social inequality are shaped by a range of structural factors, such as geographical location or citizenship status, and are often underpinned by cultural discourses and identities defining, for example, whether the poor are 'deserving' or 'undeserving'.

Understanding the changing patterns, causes and consequences of social inequality in the post-Socialist countries of Eastern Europe, both within and outside of the borders of the European Union, is central to the CEELBAS agenda. This is because comparative evidence from Western Europe and elsewhere in the world suggests a strong link between social inequality and a variety of socio-economic and political 'ills'. In the sphere of health, for example, high death rates and stress-related illnesses all appear to be closely correlated with high levels of income inequality, as does violent crime. With regard to democratic development, deepening inequalities within and between different groups in society are associated with low levels of social cohesion and participatory citizenship. In addition, social inequality can impede democratic consolidation by stimulating social conflict and political instability, and in turn may act as a support for the establishment of authoritarian regimes. For these reasons, if we are to understand the nature of the societies which are emerging in Eastern Europe, as well as the directions in which they are moving, it is essential that we understand the changing patterns of inequality experienced within those societies.

Discussion

As Eastern European countries have shifted from state-controlled to market-based economies, so the nature of social inequalities in the post-Socialist region has undergone a variety of significant changes, each of which raises new questions and concerns for European studies. Levels of income inequality, for example, although relatively stable in the western-most countries of the region, have risen dramatically in some of those countries emerging from the former Soviet Union, a number of which are now characterised by extremes of poverty and wealth. In turn, this divergence in levels of inequality indicates that channels of social mobility, and the degree to which these are open to different social groups, are developing in different ways across the region. One such difference may stem from the predominance of informal relations in key aspects of socio-economic life - in the labour market or in the business and political arenas, for example - which has emerged in some post-Socialist states.

At the same time, it is unclear to what extent the failure of social institutions and the use of personal ties that accompanies this serves, on the one hand, to re-embed traditional forms of social division, or on the other hand, to cross-cut them. Indeed, the level of social and institutional change ...