Modemization, Stratification and Elite Development in Hungary

The reforms which were instituted in Hungary in the 1960s, and which were aimed at solving the problem of economic stagnation, have resulted in changes in both social stratification and the composition of the political elite. The high level, of social mobility which was characteristic of the earlier "mobilization " phase has given way to an increasing rigidity in the stratifica-tion system, and to higher levels in inequality. At the same time, differentia-tion within the elite stratum has been increasing; relatively separate political, technocratic, intellectual and social elites may now be distinguished, each having a distinct world-view. With the development of these changes, the pattern of conflict in Hungarian society is shiftingErom an in ter-class to intra-class basis. The focus of this paper is the relationship between the modernization process, social stratification, and elite development in Hungary. Modem-ization is seen as the most basic process, as a consequente of whic