Political Economy Commons^™

Public Opinion In Poland's Transition To Market Democracy, David S. Mason

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Public opinion research has changed dramatically in the last ten years in Poland, in terms of its methodology, scope, and role in political change. During the "first" Solidarity era (1980-81), the genie of public opinion was let out of the bottle, and even martial law could not entirely put it back. Public opinion polling in the 1980s became more sophisticated and more common, and began to tackle increasingly sensitive political issues. Public opinion came to play a role in the political process, and to give the Polish population a sense of its own purpose and values. It also revealed the …

Perestroĭka, Social Justice And Public Opinion, David S. Mason, Svetlana Sydorenko

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

In its struggle to reform, the Soviet leadership faces a major dilemma in attempting to reconcile economic efficiency with a commitment to social justice. The economic reforms of perestroika call for a greater role for market mechanisms and even private enterprise. However, these policies often run up against a public opinion that is staunchly egalitarian. Public attitudes that are, on the one hand, critical of elite privileges and distrustful of the state distributive apparatus are also, on the other hand, supponive of centralized distribution of resources, limitations on high incomes, and restrictions on private propeny.

The issue of social justice …