Ranking objective and perceived inequality

In the Czech public and professional discourse, there is a strong rhetoric of a rooted egalitarianism of the society. This study thus traces various objective and subjective dimensions of socio-economic inequality in an attempt to examine the validity of this rhetoric. It uses various data on levels and trends in earnings, household income and living conditions in the Czech Republic in comparison with other European countries. The study examines data provided by the Czech Statistical Office, databases and publications of the European Commission, Eurostat, the OECD, and other institutions. In addition, own calculations based on data from the EU-SILC survey and comparative sociological surveys are presented. The data are arranged in such a way that it is always clear what position the Czech Republic occupies in a European ranking. In fact, Czech society is not the most equal in earnings, nor in the economic situation of its households. Although the country ranks among societies with low social inequality, Czechs are not ‘so exceptional’ in their objective economic equality, nor are they extraordinarily egalitarian in their attitudes.