A Comparative Analysis of Structural Changes in the Post-Communist World: Social Justice, Equal Opportunity and Social Solidarity (“round table” materials)

Abstract

The major political and economic transformations of the late-20th century have led to a radical system change in Russia, as well as for other post-socialist societies. Yet the relative success of market reforms and the installation of liberal democracy in some countries and their apparent failure in the others still require a critical analysis of the basic theoretical and methodological approaches to explain these developments. However, these inter-country differences concern not only the rate and the quality of their economic growth, but the formation of a particular environment which determines the capacity for social reproduction, personality growth and human development in every social stratum of population. It is even more so unfortunate that in this respect Russia still remains much less developed than other post-socialist countries in spite of its modest (yet often so much preached) economic achievements.

All of this has given rise to a series of questions which require further discussion, and inevitably concern such problems as social justice, equal opportunity and social solidarity. This was set as the primary focus of a “round table” discussion, which took place at the 12th International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development at National Research University “Higher School of Economics” (April 7th, 2011). The conversation has been transcribed from an audio recording taken during the event.

The full agenda of this discussion consisted of the following questions: What is the current situation with sustaining social justice, equal opportunity and social solidarity in post-socialist countries? What are the real ‘costs’ and ‘benefits’ of sustaining these principles from an economic point of view? From a social point of view? Is there an optimum condition and how can it be achieved? Are there existing models of socially just and solid state which can prove adequate for the current social setting in Russia? Is a ‘welfare state’ possible in Russia? Is there a demand for its own ‘New Deal’? What stimulates and what constrains the sustainability of an equal opportunity principle in Russia’s society? Is an inevitable large-scale immigration a factor that threatens the rise of social solidarity in contemporary Russia?