Stratification and the poverty of Progress in post-communist latvian capitalism

Daina S. Eglitis, Tana Lanņce

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The end of communism in Eastern Europe ushered in an era of markets and modernity. Post-communist capitalism has also wrought stratification with intensified upward and downward socio-economic mobility. Examining the case of Latvia, we offer an analysis of one of post-communist capitalism's most apparent effects: the creation of a broad and diverse mass of economically disadvantaged inhabitants. While numerous writers have framed their analyses in terms of the 'winners and losers' of change, most research has treated these categories as exclusive entities and has paid little attention to the sociological relationship between them or the diversity within them. This work elaborates the relationship between the economically disadvantaged and both post-communist capitalism and the upper socio-economic rungs of society. As well, we offer three ideal-typical categories for description and analysis of post-communism's economically disadvantaged masses.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)329-349
Number of pages21
JournalActa Sociologica
Volume52
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords*

  • Baltic
  • Class
  • Eastern Europe
  • Latvia
  • Post-communism
  • Poverty
  • Stratification

Field of Science*

  • 5.4 Sociology

Publication Type*

  • 1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Stratification and the poverty of Progress in post-communist latvian capitalism'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this