During the POLPAN Seminar on June 24, 2022, Prof. Tomasz Drabowicz (University of Lodz) presented a paper entitled ‘Can Bourdieu’s theory and Multiple Correspondence Analysis tell us something useful about social classes and their boundaries in contemporary Poland?’. A co-author of the paper was Dr. Tomasz Warczok (University of Warsaw).
Abstract:
This presentation reconstructs the Polish social space using the 2018 wave of the Polish Panel Survey (POLPAN) conducted among a national sample representing Poland’s adult population. It establishes what horizontal and vertical boundaries can be detected in this space. And it reveals the modes of reproduction and legitimisation of social classes and their fractions. It finds the Polish social space can be divided into three main classes (working, middle, and dominant) that, nevertheless, should not be confused with real social groups united by common interests and self-consciousness. The best rendition of these is the modified European Socio-economic Groups (ESeG) classification.
Keywords: Poland – Social Space – Cultural capital – Economic capital – Public sector – Class fractions