On the Verge of Convergence: Social Stratification in Eastern Europe

Based on comparative surveys, the author presents a study of social transformation in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989. Focusing on Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Slovakia, the author provides information relating to social structure, mobility, inequality, lifestyle and economic stratification. Applying the Erikson-Goldthorpe classification of class positions, Domanski effectively presents fully comparable data to enable political comparisons to be made with other countries, especially those with firmly established free market economies. As such, ＂On the Verge of Convergence＂ seeks to provide a clearer understanding of the on-going process of social transformation within developing capitalist societies.

Henryk Domański is Professor of Sociology in the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology in Polish Academy of Sciences and Head of the Department of Social Structure Research and Department of Studies on Methods and Techniques of Sociological Research.