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Economie inequalities, old and new : the Czech experience.
During the period of transition, the question of economic inequalities takes on, for a variety of reasons, a new importance and a new significance. There are a good many people for whom economic reform has meant considerable financial difficulty, or indeed poverty. At the same time, privatization, the restitution of property and the existence of private business undertakings create wealth : consequently, these factors call into question the earlier option of "supposed equality", and their legitimacy is challenged. In conditions of newly acquired political freedom, the problem of inequality can be openly discussed, and handled as a political issue.
In the present article, the intention is to analyse the root causes of the existing situation, and to list recent changes as they are reflected in the various forms of the phenomenon of inequality. The first part deals with the legacy of communist society, which was a mixture of equality and privilege. The second has to do with the order of the market, which has to be defined more broadly then as a fundamentally homogeneous system, satisfied with replacing an inequitable equality with an equitable inequality. The third part is concerned with new sources of wealth and poverty, and their impact on society. Finally, there is a comparison of the changes that have objectively come about in the context of economic inequality, and the view which people have of them. In conclusion, there will be an analysis of the situation and specific problems of the Czech Republic in relation to the other countries of Eastern Europe.

Equallty, Fairness : The Ideologlcal Categories of Public Policy.
Noëlle Burgi [47-76].
Forced to recognize the inefficiency and failure of all the technical measures implemented to curb the new (inevitable?) poverty, mass long term unemployment, and the «impossible task of reinserting unqualified youth into the labor force» over the past decade, the French elites could not remain indifferent to the country's social disaster. By the end of the 80's, they came to the conclusion that the root of the problem was philosophical. Prior to any fiscal and social reform which would hopefully be both fair and efficient, time was therefore needed to redefine the notions of equality and fairness, and adapt them to the inflexible constraints of globalization. This, they hoped, would allow for social egoism to be dampened and would legitimize the sacrifices demanded from the «privileged», that is job holders. This paper engages in a close examination of the ideological discourse of these elites, and the assumptions underlying their (good) intentions. It seeks to make clear according to which ultimate criteria they now intend to produce fair social judgments. The quest proves to be elusive because this central issue is permanently brushed aside in favor of mere accounting preoccupations. But the analysis nonetheless bears fruit because it throws light on the limits of this kind of thinking, imprisoned within its categories, fascinated by the cage in which it locks up its own representations.