Reproduction of the 'State Nobility' in Eastern Europe: Past patterns and new practices

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This article discusses old and new, emerging patterns of elite production in Eastern Europe following the conceptual framework developed by Bourdieu for the French case. It is argued that one of the fundamental characteristics of the Soviet pattern of elite production was the systematic destruction of cultural capital. More recently, it took the form of affirmative action providing privileged access to higher education—primarily professional schools in engineering—to students with collective farm, industrial and military backgrounds. It is argued that the lack of legitimate means to accumulate various forms of capital, including cultural and symbolic, has been one of the reasons for current corruption and the development of double moral standards in the post state-socialist countries. The privatization of the State assets after 1989 is seen as the climax of this process. The new elite, consisting largely of former second-rank party bureaucracy legitimized through the privatization, is now looking for means of capital accumulation, including training their children in a closed higher education sector. The large number of fee-charging programs, particularly in law and business, established in Eastern Europe during recent years is considered a response to this demand. This has, however, fragmented the formerly unified higher education systems and questioned the role of the State as the provider of higher education and guarantor of its quality. A solution to this is often sought beyond the borders of the nation-state. Whether this supports the widely spread globalization discourse is yet to be studied .