Who Has Gotten Ahead after the Fall of Communism? The Case of the Czech Republic

Abstract

Pierre Bourdieu's concept of various forms of capital are employed in a study of patterns of individual mobility in the postcommunist Czech Republic, drawing on secondary empirical data from a longitudinal study conducted by P. Mateju, M. Tucek, & L. Rezler (1991) in which 2,891 eighth-grade student questionnaires & 2,709 parent interviews were completed in 1989 & again in 1992. It is found that the former nomenklatura class has retained its social position due to its conversion of human & social capital into economic capital. However, a change from pre- to postcommunist society is detected in the increase of education as a facilitator of upward mobility. Finally, while cultural capital does not appear to significantly influence stratification, a strong relationship is found between social capital & upward mobility.