Social structure and the middle class in the Czech Republic and Central Europe. Concepts, history and analysis

The study focuses on the social structure in the Czech Republic in comparative perspective, with particular attention to the position and dynamics of the middle class. Topics of individual chapters are the following ones: Varieties of middle class definitions; Pre-WWII settings and later fates and research of the Czech middle class; History of stratification research in the V4 countries; Post 1989 transition and value turnabout in social structure research; Data sources for the Czech national and European comparative research (with a special focus on the ISSP and EU–SILC surveys); Dynamics of the main stratification dimensions in V4 countries (privatization, labor market liberalization, expansion of education, and increasing service sector); Development of the Czech middle class and social structure in 1990-2020; Changing differentiation of earnings and household income; Perception of social inequality and subjective social status in 1992-2019 (based on ISSP surveys); The middle class and the support of democracy. As stated in the conclusion, while the middle class can exist without democracy, democracy cannot exist without the middle class.