Who is for Capitalism, Who is for Communism?

This paper considers one aspect of social transitions in post-Communist Eastern Europe: that of attitudes to economic change. Although much has been written about economic and political transformation, little has been done in a systematic way with regard to the attitudes of the population to economic change. Furthermore, most studies are one-country studies and it is apparent that there is growing diversification between the transition paths of different Eastern European countries, making comparative research all the more important. The future of market capitalism in the region depends upon its acceptance by the people of Eastern Europe. Here we draw upon a 10 nation study of Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovenia and Croatia to compare economic values in the region. There are altogether 10,441 interviews with a cross section of the population. Using multivariate analysis, we define five value groups according to three dimensions - individualism-collectivism, orientation to macro or micro economic levels and degree of dependence upon state or market. The five groups are Macro-marketeers, Individualists, Collectivists, Pessimists and Economically Depressed. In this article we explore the social characteristics associated with these different value-orientations.