Hungarian Social and Economic Attitudes in 2009
Civic minded citizens economic leaders hired Tárki to conduct a survey of Hungarian society’s attitude toward cultural values and the general state of societal interactions. The impetus for the study was the recognition that social attitudes have an impact even on the country’s competitive advantage. That competitive advantage, especially of late, has been waning. Those who ordered the survey wanted to know the cause of this decline. Tárki used the framework of the World Value Survey to come up with The Normative Limits of the Market Economy (Economic Culture). The World Values Survey is an ongoing academic project by social scientists to assess the state of sociocultural, moral, religious and political values of different cultures around the world.
There are some surprises in Tárki’s findings. For example, “given the level of economic development, the Hungarian value system is more secularized” than countries of a similar background. By “secularization” Tárki means that Hungarians are less prone to follow the precepts of authority or those of a traditional society. Thus, they are rather individualistic.
Social scientists also wanted to know how important for members of Hungarian society are such values as self-fulfillment, democracy, openness, trust, tolerance, civic cooperation, personal contacts, and use of democratic institutions. In this respect Hungary was placed at the very edge of the western, Christian cultural sphere and showed itself to be a closed, inward-looking society. Hungarian readers of the assessment might be offended because Hungary is placed closer to countries like Bulgaria, Moldavia, Ukraine and Russia than to Slovenia or other countries west of Hungary.
Hungarians find civil and political rights less important than people in countries west of Hungary. They are less interested in daily politics and are less likely to take an active part in the political life of the country. They are less tolerant of opinions that are contrary to the accepted norms of the majority. They are also less trusting.
As far as trust goes, Hungary finds itself between western Europe and the former socialist states when it comes to trusting individuals. However, Hungary is the very last of all European countries, including the former socialist states, in trusting institutions. The distrust in political institutions is most likely especially high because of the real and assumed corruption of politicians. However, Hungarians have put little stock in state and local institutions in general for centuries. Trust is especially low in those on whom one should rely: politicians, bankers, and journalists. After all, politicians are supposed to make decisions affecting our future, bankers are entrusted with our money, and journalists are supposed to inform us accurately.
Another surprising finding is that there is little human intercourse in Hungary. People don’t often entertain or organize outings with their friends. They are also not too eager to help each other. Very few people belong to different civil organizations, clubs, or some kind of charitable organization.
Two-thirds of Hungarians think that they themselves are honest but others are not. Interestingly enough, that attitude is coupled with an unusual tolerance toward those who break the law.
As far as the difference between the highest and the lowest income brackets is concerned, Hungary belongs to the average among European countries. However, Hungarians are convinced that the gap between rich and poor is “too great”. Actually much greater than in reality. And one more telling finding: among fifty countries, the Hungarians are the most convinced that economic success can be achieved only at someone else’s expense. In other words, “I’m poor because someone else is rich.” Economic cooperation is unlikely in a country where the majority of the population thinks that wealth accumulation is a zero sum game. It causes Hungarians to drag others down to their level, rather than rise to the challenge.
The percentage of those who think that educational attainment is a key to success is very low. The common belief is that success in life has more to do with one’s social background than with one’s actual achievements. Hungarians are utterly convinced that “one cannot succeed in life if he is honest.” Only crooks make it to the top. A very unhealthy attitude that is not at all conducive to the appreciation of economic success.
The survey also proved that the “Hungarian population is very prone to expect results offered by state intervention.” The average Hungarian citizen even demands benefits from the state that he himself knows the state cannot provide.
This anti-entreprenurial, distrustful mindset, the authors conclude, is deeply rooted in the Hungarian cultural/historical tradition. It has only been reinforced by the social philosophy of the intellectual and political elite. It is going to be very difficult to change these societal attitudes. Is is a sad thing that Hungary is wasting such a great amount of potential. Almost all of the great Hungarian success stories, from billionaires to Nobel prize winners to mathematicians, have not been successful until they left Hungary.
When one looks at this on a comparative perspective over the last fifteen years, however, it has not always been this way. A decade or more ago, on almost all of these objective criteria, Hungarians seemed far ahead of the Czechs and Poles, and by many measures it appeared that the Hungarian transition to liberal democracy would be significantly smoother than in these other countries.
The massive wave of liberalization and privatization in Hungary in the early to mid 1990’s did not provoke a huge outcry and a fracturing of the society (at least immediately). In many ways things really were looking up for Hungary for a while.
Current saddening tendencies therefore are hopefully rather temporary and show current frustrations of the people. The heavily polarized nature of politics had a strongly corrosive effect on society and on the population’s attitudes to institutions.
Economy will turn around eventually. Whether politics will, is a bigger question.
Sources: Tárki Institue, World Value Survey, Hungarian Spectrum
Hungarian cultural values, societal interactions, social attitudes, competitive advantage, economic culture, sociocultural values, moral values, religious values, political values
