Left turn in postcommunist politics: Bringing class back in?

East European Politics and Societies

Volumn 11, Issue 1, 1997, Pages 190-211

  Szelényi, Iván ^a   Fodor, Éva ^a   Hanley, Eric ^a  

^a NONE

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0002261297     PISSN: 08883254     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0888325497011001006     Document Type: Article

References (61)

1. The following analysis is especially relevant for what is called Central Europe. The eastern regions of Eastern Europe (Romania, Serbia, and to some extent even Bulgaria) and most post-Soviet states (Russia, Ukraine) have a different political history. In many of these countries the making of new political structures and the formation of new parties is much slower. The rapid emergence of new political elites that characterized Central Europe in 1989-90 did not take place in the East.
2. The number of seats necessary for absolute majority is 194. For a two-thirds majority (required for major pieces of legislation and for changes in Constitution), 255 seats are necessary. The Hungarian electoral law is rather complicated. The electorate votes both for party lists and for individuals. In the case of individual candidates, election typically requires two rounds. The number of seats are allocated on party lists as follows: 152 on "national list", 58 on "territorial list", 176 in individual districts. On individual lists a candidate has to win 50 percent +1 vote to be elected in first round; if no one wins this in the second round, the three top candidates run against each other, and a simple majority elects the new parliamentary delegate. The system was designed to assure "governability," by preventing fragmentation of votes across too many parties. The party that wins the election is likely to get a larger share of parliamentary seats than it could secure from the popular vote. See the performance of the Democratic Forum in 1990 and the Socialist party in 1994.
3. We follow Edmund Wnuk-Lipinski in characterizing Polish parties as liberals, conservative or left-wing. See his Left Turn in Poland. A Sociological and Political Analysis (Warsaw: Institute of Political Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences, 1993). There are some minor inconsistencies in reporting electoral results in the literature, which must reflect changes in electoral coalitions. We rely here on the data presented by Wnuk-Lipinski, but we note that slightly different data, in particular on the electoral success of the conservative parties, was published in Henryk Kierzkowski, Marek Okolski, and Stanislaw Wellisz, eds., Stabilization and Structural Adjustment in Poland (London-New York: Routledge, 1993) According to this source, the Confederation of Independent Poland (KPN) received only 7.5 percent of the votes; it also does not list the KKW"O" electoral coalition (Electoral Coalition "Fatherland" ("KKK Ojczysna"), composed by ZChN Christian Democratic party (Zjednoczenie Chrzesciiansko-Narodowe)), but includes the Catholic Electoral Coalition (WAK) as the winner of 8.7 percent of the votes.
4. We follow Edmund Wnuk-Lipinski in characterizing Polish parties as liberals, conservative or left-wing. See his Left Turn in Poland. A Sociological and Political Analysis (Warsaw: Institute of Political Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences, 1993). There are some minor inconsistencies in reporting electoral results in the literature, which must reflect changes in electoral coalitions. We rely here on the data presented by Wnuk-Lipinski, but we note that slightly different data, in particular on the electoral success of the conservative parties, was published in Henryk Kierzkowski, Marek Okolski, and Stanislaw Wellisz, eds., Stabilization and Structural Adjustment in Poland (London-New York: Routledge, 1993) According to this source, the Confederation of Independent Poland (KPN) received only 7.5 percent of the votes; it also does not list the KKW"O" electoral coalition (Electoral Coalition "Fatherland" ("KKK Ojczysna"), composed by ZChN Christian Democratic party (Zjednoczenie Chrzesciiansko-Narodowe)), but includes the Catholic Electoral Coalition (WAK) as the winner of 8.7 percent of the votes.
5. In Hungary, for instance, the reformers of the former Communist party created the Hungarian Socialist party (MSZP), which eventually became a major actor on the Hungarian political scene, while the conservatives formed the Hungarian Labor party (they initially carried the old MSZMP name and later renamed themselves as Munkáspárt or Labor party). The latter plays only a marginal role so far. In Poland the former Communist party was succeeded by the party of Social Democracy for Poland (SDRP), whose core was constituted by younger politicians, already reform-oriented during the latter years of the communist epoch. In Poland, there is no equivalent of the Hungarian Labor party. By 1993, SDRP succeeded in bringing all small former-communist groups into an electoral coalition, called Social Democratic Left (SLD). Similar changes took place in all other countries of the region. In fact, we rested the significance of the change over time by stacking the Hungarian samples and running a single logistic regression with the appropriate interactions. We do not present this model here, because we believe the separate models are easier to interpret. The coefficient for change in blue-collar vote was positive and significant in this model too.
6. Jeff Manza, Michael Hout, and Clem Brooks, "Class Voting in Capitalist Democracies since World War II: Dealignment, Realignment, or Trend less Fluctuation?" Annual Review of Sociology 21 (1995): 137-162.
7. Karl Marx, "Contributions to a Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right," Marx and F. Engels, Vol. 3 of Collected Works (New York: International Publisher, 1975[1843]); and F. Engels, "Introduction," in Karl Marx, Class Struggle in France (New York: International Publishers, 1964).
8. Karl Marx, "Contributions to a Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right," Marx and F. Engels, Vol. 3 of Collected Works (New York: International Publisher, 1975[1843]); and F. Engels, "Introduction," in Karl Marx, Class Struggle in France (New York: International Publishers, 1964).
9. A. Przeworski and J. Sprague, Paper Stones: A History of Electoral Socialism (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986); Eric O. Wright, Classes (London: Verso, 1985); and Wright, The Debate on Classes (London: Verso, 1989).
10. A. Przeworski and J. Sprague, Paper Stones: A History of Electoral Socialism (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986); Eric O. Wright, Classes (London: Verso, 1985); and Wright, The Debate on Classes (London: Verso, 1989).
11. A. Przeworski and J. Sprague, Paper Stones: A History of Electoral Socialism (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986); Eric O. Wright, Classes (London: Verso, 1985); and Wright, The Debate on Classes (London: Verso, 1989).
12. Walter Korpi, The Democratic Class Struggle (London: Routledge, 1983); J. H. Goldthorpe et al., The Affluent Worker: Political Attitudes and Behavior (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968); and G. Marshal et al., Social Class in Modern Britain (London: Unwin Hyman, 1988).
13. Walter Korpi, The Democratic Class Struggle (London: Routledge, 1983); J. H. Goldthorpe et al., The Affluent Worker: Political Attitudes and Behavior (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968); and G. Marshal et al., Social Class in Modern Britain (London: Unwin Hyman, 1988).
14. Walter Korpi, The Democratic Class Struggle (London: Routledge, 1983); J. H. Goldthorpe et al., The Affluent Worker: Political Attitudes and Behavior (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968); and G. Marshal et al., Social Class in Modern Britain (London: Unwin Hyman, 1988).
15. Max Weber, Economy and Society (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978), 901-41.
16. S. M. Lipset, Political Man (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981[1960]); Lipset and Rokkan, Party System and Voter Alignment (New York: Free Press, 1967); Paul Lazarsfeld et al., The People's Choice (New York: Columbia University Press, 1948); and A. Campbell et al., The American Voter (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1960).
17. S. M. Lipset, Political Man (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981[1960]); Lipset and Rokkan, Party System and Voter Alignment (New York: Free Press, 1967); Paul Lazarsfeld et al., The People's Choice (New York: Columbia University Press, 1948); and A. Campbell et al., The American Voter (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1960).
18. S. M. Lipset, Political Man (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981[1960]); Lipset and Rokkan, Party System and Voter Alignment (New York: Free Press, 1967); Paul Lazarsfeld et al., The People's Choice (New York: Columbia University Press, 1948); and A. Campbell et al., The American Voter (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1960).
19. S. M. Lipset, Political Man (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981[1960]); Lipset and Rokkan, Party System and Voter Alignment (New York: Free Press, 1967); Paul Lazarsfeld et al., The People's Choice (New York: Columbia University Press, 1948); and A. Campbell et al., The American Voter (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1960).
20. R. R. Alford, Party and Society (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967); F. F. Piven, "The Decline of Labor Parties: an Overview," in Piven, ed., Labor Parties in Postindustnal Societies (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992) 1-19; and T. N. Clark, S. M. Lipset, and M. Rempel, "The declining political significance of social class," International Sociology 8:3 (1993): 293-316.
21. R. R. Alford, Party and Society (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967); F. F. Piven, "The Decline of Labor Parties: an Overview," in Piven, ed., Labor Parties in Postindustnal Societies (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992) 1-19; and T. N. Clark, S. M. Lipset, and M. Rempel, "The declining political significance of social class," International Sociology 8:3 (1993): 293-316.
22. R. R. Alford, Party and Society (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967); F. F. Piven, "The Decline of Labor Parties: an Overview," in Piven, ed., Labor Parties in Postindustnal Societies (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992) 1-19; and T. N. Clark, S. M. Lipset, and M. Rempel, "The declining political significance of social class," International Sociology 8:3 (1993): 293-316.
23. Goldthorpe et al., Affluent Worker.
24. A. Heath, R. Jowell, and R. Curtis, How Britian Votes (London: Pergamon Press, 1985).
25. Marshall et al., Social Class.
26. R. Inglehart, The Silent Revolution (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977); and Inglehart, "The Changing Structure of Political Cleavage in Western Society," in R. J. Dalton, S. C. Flanagan, and P. A. Beck, eds., Electoral Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984), 25-69.
27. R. Inglehart, The Silent Revolution (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977); and Inglehart, "The Changing Structure of Political Cleavage in Western Society," in R. J. Dalton, S. C. Flanagan, and P. A. Beck, eds., Electoral Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984), 25-69.
28. Inglehart, Silent Revolution.
29. Herbert Marcuse, An Essay on Liberation (Boston: Beacon Press, 1969).
30. Andre Gorz, Farewell to the Working Class (Boston: South End Press, 1982); Clause Offe," New Social Movements: Challenging the Bounderies of Institutional Politics," Social Research 52 (1985): 17-68; and E. Laclau and C. Mouffe, Hegemony and Socialist Strategy (London: Verso, 1985).
31. Andre Gorz, Farewell to the Working Class (Boston: South End Press, 1982); Clause Offe," New Social Movements: Challenging the Bounderies of Institutional Politics," Social Research 52 (1985): 17-68; and E. Laclau and C. Mouffe, Hegemony and Socialist Strategy (London: Verso, 1985).
32. Andre Gorz, Farewell to the Working Class (Boston: South End Press, 1982); Clause Offe," New Social Movements: Challenging the Bounderies of Institutional Politics," Social Research 52 (1985): 17-68; and E. Laclau and C. Mouffe, Hegemony and Socialist Strategy (London: Verso, 1985).
33. Lipset, "No Third Way," in Daniel Chirot, ed., The Crises of Leninism and the Decline of the Left (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991), 220.
34. Lipset, Political Man.
35. Goldthorpe et al., Affluent Worker: Marshall et al., Social Class.
36. Goldthorpe et al., Affluent Worker: Marshall et al., Social Class.
37. Manza, Hout, and Brooks, Class Voting.
38. D. L. Wiekliem, "The Two Lefts? Occupation and Party Choice in France, Italy, and the Netherlands," American Journal of Sociology 96 (1991): 1327-61.
39. See in particular, Andrew Arató and Jean Cohen, "Civil társadalom és a demokratikus átmenet Latin Amerikában és Kelet Európában," Mozgó Világ 7 (1992): 17-42. But there is a voluminous literature both in Eastern Europe and among Western commentators on Eastern Europe on this issue. We do not review this here, since it is only marginally relevant to our current discussion.
40. Ironically, economic liberalism, the program of "capitalist restoration," first was formulated by the technocratic fraction of the communist elite. The merger of civil-rights liberalism and laissez fair economic neoliberalism did not really take place before 1988-89, when the former dissidents came close to appropriating power and needed an economic program of reconstruction, which they subsequently borrowed from the former reform communist technocrats who were either members of or closely affiliated with the state socialist establishment when they developed their radical market transition strategies.
41. Gáspár Miklós Tamás, "Bicsú a balodaltól," Kritika 12 (1989): 10-16; and Adam Michnik, "Lengyel krétakór," Mozgó Világ 3 (1993): 17-33.
42. Gáspár Miklós Tamás, "Bicsú a balodaltól," Kritika 12 (1989): 10-16; and Adam Michnik, "Lengyel krétakór," Mozgó Világ 3 (1993): 17-33.
43. Milan Simecka, "A bal és jobboldal kilátástalansága," Magyar Lettre Internationale (Spring 1992): 262-268.; János Kis, "Gondolatok a Közeljövöröl," Magyar Hirlap, 24 December 1992, 11; Kis, "Liberalizmus ma," Beszélö, 29 Deptember 1990, 4; Kis, "Kettészakadhat-e az SZDSZ?" 168 óra 16 (1990): 4-5; and Arato and Cohen, Civil Society.
44. Milan Simecka, "A bal és jobboldal kilátástalansága," Magyar Lettre Internationale (Spring 1992): 262-268.; János Kis, "Gondolatok a Közeljövöröl," Magyar Hirlap, 24 December 1992, 11; Kis, "Liberalizmus ma," Beszélö, 29 Deptember 1990, 4; Kis, "Kettészakadhat-e az SZDSZ?" 168 óra 16 (1990): 4-5; and Arato and Cohen, Civil Society.
45. Milan Simecka, "A bal és jobboldal kilátástalansága," Magyar Lettre Internationale (Spring 1992): 262-268.; János Kis, "Gondolatok a Közeljövöröl," Magyar Hirlap, 24 December 1992, 11; Kis, "Liberalizmus ma," Beszélö, 29 Deptember 1990, 4; Kis, "Kettészakadhat-e az SZDSZ?" 168 óra 16 (1990): 4-5; and Arato and Cohen, Civil Society.
46. Milan Simecka, "A bal és jobboldal kilátástalansága," Magyar Lettre Internationale (Spring 1992): 262-268.; János Kis, "Gondolatok a Közeljövöröl," Magyar Hirlap, 24 December 1992, 11; Kis, "Liberalizmus ma," Beszélö, 29 Deptember 1990, 4; Kis, "Kettészakadhat-e az SZDSZ?" 168 óra 16 (1990): 4-5; and Arato and Cohen, Civil Society.
47. Milan Simecka, "A bal és jobboldal kilátástalansága," Magyar Lettre Internationale (Spring 1992): 262-268.; János Kis, "Gondolatok a Közeljövöröl," Magyar Hirlap, 24 December 1992, 11; Kis, "Liberalizmus ma," Beszélö, 29 Deptember 1990, 4; Kis, "Kettészakadhat-e az SZDSZ?" 168 óra 16 (1990): 4-5; and Arato and Cohen, Civil Society.
48. Tamás, a political philosopher rather than a social analyst, formulates this in normative terms. For his taste, there is still too much of a Left in Eastern Europe: it would serve society and politics well if they moved away from the futile Left/Right distinction.
49. Simecka, 1992.
50. Arató, "Civil társadalom Lengyelországban és Magyarországon," Politikai Tudományi Szemle 2 (1992); 53-81, esp. 78.
51. Szonja Szelényi, Iván Szelényi, and Winifried R. Poster, "Interest and Symbols in Post-Communist Political Culture: The Case of Hungary," American Sociological Review 61 (June 1996): 466-477.
52. István Schlett, "A konzervativ gondolkod ás nem szorult háttérbe," Kritika 9 (1994): 8-29.
53. Mihály Bihari, "A diktatorikus szocializmusból a pluralista demokráciába: a magyar út 1987-89," Népszabadság (23 December 1989).
54. Márkus György, "Rokkan és Lipset törésvonal-elmélete és a posztkommunista Európa realistásai," in István Balogh, ed., Törésvonalak és Értékválasztások (Budapest: MTA Politikai Tudományok Intézete, 1994), 27-46.
55. David Ost, "The Politics of Interest in Post-Communist East Europe," Theory and Society 22 (1993): 4; Herbert Kitschelt, "The Formation of Party Systems in East Central Europe," Politics and Society 20:1(March 1992):7-50; and E. Wnuk-Lipinski, Left Turn in Poland.
56. David Ost, "The Politics of Interest in Post-Communist East Europe," Theory and Society 22 (1993): 4; Herbert Kitschelt, "The Formation of Party Systems in East Central Europe," Politics and Society 20:1(March 1992):7-50; and E. Wnuk-Lipinski, Left Turn in Poland.
57. David Ost, "The Politics of Interest in Post-Communist East Europe," Theory and Society 22 (1993): 4; Herbert Kitschelt, "The Formation of Party Systems in East Central Europe," Politics and Society 20:1(March 1992):7-50; and E. Wnuk-Lipinski, Left Turn in Poland.
58. Reykowski, Keynote, 19-20.
59. Iván Szelényi and Szonja Szelényi, "The Vacuum in Hungarian Politics: Classes and Parties," New Left Review 187 (May-June 1991): 121-37; and S. Szelényi, I. Szelényi, and W. Poster, Interests and Symbols.
60. Iván Szelényi and Szonja Szelényi, "The Vacuum in Hungarian Politics: Classes and Parties," New Left Review 187 (May-June 1991): 121-37; and S. Szelényi, I. Szelényi, and W. Poster, Interests and Symbols.
61. Kis, "Kettészakadhat-e."