La mobilité sociale dans une société socialiste : l'expérience Tchécoslovaque

Abstract

Social Mobility in the Socialist Society: the Czechoslovak Experiment. A resume of the principal findings of a study on social mobility in Czechoslovakia in 1967, published in 1972 in Bratislava, is the starting point of the article. The study covered several aspects of mobility — mobility within an age group, within given professions, etc. A comparison was then made of the results of the Czechoslovak research and those available from other socialist countries, namely Poland and Hungary. It appeared that social mobility is globally higher in Czechoslovakia than in other comparable societies because of a system of social relationships which is typical to this country and because of the high level of industrial development. An analytical model, destined to determine how social relationships are established and articulated during the period of the economic and social development of the society, is presented by the authors. The specifically cultural variants which determine social mobility and in particular the selection of the field of higher education are also highlighted in the schema. Mechanisms of social mobility within the socialist framework are then submitted to examination and compared to those at work in capitalist societies. This comparison brings to light the role of the political factors in socialist societies. The final chapter is devoted to an analysis of these factors in spite of their somewhat ambiguous and controversial nature.