Class in Czechia: The Legacy of Stratification Research

East European Politics and Societies, 2015, Forthcoming

15 Pages Posted: 24 Jan 2013 Last revised: 5 May 2015

See all articles by Jan Drahokoupil

Jan Drahokoupil

University of Mannheim - Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES); European Trade Union Institute (ETUI)

Date Written: January 23, 2013

Abstract

This essay discusses the use of class in Czech sociology. Czech social stratification research has used the concept of class as a part of its standard vocabulary. The approach to class was distinctively shaped by post-communist legacies. As an analytical concept, socio-economic status was preferred over class, particularly in the 1990s. The middle class played a prominent role as a subject of research and also a rallying cry. An important legacy that shaped the approach was the intellectual formation of Czech sociologists through the critique of the social stratification system in state socialism. This specific form of anti-communism shaped the type of questions typically asked in the stratification research and its subject matter. Moreover, the anti-communist legacy shaped the interpretations of the broader implications of the stratification mechanisms and class effects, giving rise to an overly functionalist approach to the class system.

Keywords: class, social stratification, post-communism, Czechia, Czechoslovakia

JEL Classification: P16

Suggested Citation

Drahokoupil, Jan, Class in Czechia: The Legacy of Stratification Research (January 23, 2013). East European Politics and Societies, 2015, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2205701

Jan Drahokoupil (Contact Author)

University of Mannheim - Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES) ( email )

D-68131 Mannheim
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://drahokoupil.blogspot.com

European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) ( email )

B-1210 Brussels
Belgium

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