Being unequal and seeing inequality: Explaining the political significance of social inequality in new market democracies

Market economies inevitably generate social inequalities, of which the new democracies of Central and East European (CEE) societies have seen dramatic – though widely diverging – levels of growth. Do CEE citizens believe that inequality is excessive and, if so, why? And what is the connection between perceptions of social inequality and citizens' views of new markets and democracy? These questions are addressed using new data from mass surveys conducted in 2007 in 12 post‐communist CEE states. Surprisingly weak links are found between social inequality perceptions and national‐level measures of inequality as well economic, social and political conditions. Perceptions of social inequality are mainly driven by individual‐level assessments of market and democratic performance, but not by market or democratic ideals.     

Rules, Principles, Algorithms and the Description of Legal Systems

Abstract .
Although the Hart/Dworkin debate has as much to do with Dworkin's affirmative theory of judicial discretion as with Hart's more comprehensive theory of law, the starting point was of course Dworkin's attempt to demolish the "model of rules," Hart's alleged analysis of legal systems as collections of conclusive reasons for specified legal consequences. The continuing relevance of this attack for the prospects for any theory of law is the subject of the present essay.     

Social Class, Child Maltreatment, and Delinquent Behavior

The relationship between social class and child maltreatment and between maltreatment and delinquency were examined, particular attention being paid to previous deficiencies in the operationalization of maltreatment and class. Maltreatment was operationalized with subscales for physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect, while social class was operationalized with multiple indicators. Survey data from 110 high school freshmen were analyzed and revealed the following: (a) a weak but consistent inverse correlation between social class and all forms of child maltreatment, (b) a stronger relationship between social class and maltreatment when lower-class membership was operationalized in a manner consistent with the concept of an underclass, (c) that emotional abuse and neglect were correlated positively with all forms of delinquent behavior examined, and (d) that physical abuse was not correlated appreciably and positively with any form of delinquency.     

EVALUATING TWO MODELS OF DELINQUENCY CAUSATION Structural Theory and Control Theory

Research on delinquency involvement has often employed structural or control theories to account for such behavior. Structural models typically have been applied to lower-class delinquency, control models to explanotions of middle-class juvenile miscanduct. Much of the inconclusiveness and many of the controdictions in the delinquency literature are arguably the result of this focus on either lower-class or middle-class adolescents employing a single conceptual orientation. Such a restrictive focus has produced narrow, class-specific explanotions of delinquency involvement which obscure probable similarities in etiological processes at varying socioeconomic locations in the society. The intent of this research is to test the predictive utility of central aspects of bath the structural and control models across a wide range of social status positions. Self-report data obtained from o representative sample of 412 male high school students in a mid-western SMSA indicate that (1) bath structural and control theory serve to explain significant. though small. proportions of the variance in delinquency; (2) the control model variables account for the mast unique variation in delinquency involvement; and (3) the combined effects of the two models account for more variance than either of the models taken separately.