Islam in Karachay-Cherkessia Region During the Soviet Period

Based on a wide range of sources, this article shows the development of Islam on the territory of Karachay- Cherkessia during the Soviet period. In the fi rst years of Soviet power, the declared atheism did not prevent the Bolsheviks from using the religious factor to attract the sympathy of the population. The commonality of Islam and Bolshevism in relation to social equality and justice was declared, and the system of Shari‘a legal proceedings was preserved for some time. As their positions were strengthened, the Bolsheviks no longer needed allies, the religious infrastructure was destroyed, and the clergy, including the Islamic ones, were repressed. However, in the conditions of the Great Patriotic War, when the need arose for the formation of patriotic sentiments, religion again took its, albeit limited, place in public life. The sound policy pursued by the regional authorities with regard to Islam in the 1980s made it possible to successfully resist the onslaught of religious extremism that hit the country in the post- Soviet period and build a religious infrastructure practically from scratch.

The Influence of Perception of Social Equality and Social Trust on Subjective Well-Being Among Rural Chinese People: The Moderator Role of Education

The present study explored the moderation effect of education on the relationship between the perception of social equality and social trust and individuals’ subjective well-being (SWB) in rural China. Data were derived from the nationally representative cross-sectional Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS). After handling missingness, 5,911 eligible participants (age 18 years or older) from the 2015 wave were included in the model. We used logistic regression to test the hypotheses. We first tested the effect of the perception of social equality and social trust on SWB. Then we added an interaction term to test the moderation effect of education in this relationship. The results show that education had a significant moderating effect on the association between general social trust and SWB. While had no significant effect on the association between the perception of social equality, special social trust and SWB. The perception of social equality had significant effects in both groups. The relationship between special social trust and SWB in both groups was not significant. For the more educated group, general social trust had a significant and positive effect on SWB.

Market Socialism: The Impossible Socialism

The idea of combining some form of social equality with markets goes back to the very origins of socialist tradition and also underlies most of the proposals currently being presented as “alternatives” to the capitalist social order. However, taking as its axis the organic relationship between commodity circulation and capital, as revealed by Marx, it is possible to offer a critique of market socialism (choosing David Schweickart's version of Economic Democracy as a generic textual reference) to demonstrate its inconsistency as a project for social emancipation alternative to the capitalist mode of production. And this for reasons of: i) economy: due to market inefficiency in allocation, and its tendency toward social polarization; ii) politics: because markets prevent citizen self-government and block the free development of human capacities; and iii) ecology: the market is incompatible with a social metabolism that is sustainable with nature. The conclusion is that a market-based production structure is incompatible with the conscious, rational, and democratic regulation of the economy.

Book Review: The Genetic Lottery

Book Review of The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality by K. Paige Harden (2021, Princeton University Press)

Risks of expressing your authentic self in sport: the influence of stigma covering on perceived job fit and hiring recommendations

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine how identity covering techniques can influence raters' perceptions of job candidates who have a socially stigmatized identity. Specifically, the authors explore how raters respond to two types of candidates: one who does not mention his gay identity during the interview process, and one who openly discusses their gay identity during the interview process. The authors also investigate whether job type (sport operations vs business operations) and the rater's views toward social equality influence perceptions of job fit and subsequent hiring recommendations.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted an experiment to examine whether an applicant's level of stigma covering, type of job posting and rater's views toward social equality influenced perceptions of job fit. The authors then tested whether perceptions of job fit mediated hiring recommendations. Adults in the USA (n = 237) who were employed and had served on a hiring committees participated in the survey.FindingsWhen applying for sport operations jobs, as opposed to business operations jobs, gay male applicants are viewed more favorably if they engage in high levels of identity covering. Further, the applicant's level of stigma covering influenced raters who reported high or moderate social dominance orientation but did not impact raters with low social dominance orientation. Overall, the findings reveal that identity covering techniques do have relevance for studying the dynamics of hiring gay men who apply for jobs in the sport industry.Originality/valueThe study advances the understanding of identity management techniques by examining the nuances of how applicants can choose to disclose their stigmatized identity, and how those decision influence the hiring process.

Determinants of health and education equality: evidence from post-Soviet states

PurposeThis article examines the determinants of social equality in the education and healthcare sectors in the 15 post-Soviet states. Focussing on regime type and civil society organisations (CSOs), it argues that countries where liberal principles of democracy are achieved or have a stronger civil society deliver a more equitable social policy.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical analysis rests upon a time-series cross-sectional (TSCS) analysis from 1992 to 2019. Data are collected from the Quality of Government (QoG) Dataset 2020 and the Variates of Democracy (V-DEM) Dataset 2020.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that while regime type only partially accounts for social equality, as electoral autocracies do not have more equitable social policy than close regime types and democracy weakly explains equality levels, the strength of CSOs is associated with more equality.Originality/valueThe article challenges dominant approaches that consider electoral democracy to be related to more equal social policy and demonstrates that de-facto free and fair elections do not impinge on social equality, while the strength of liberal and civil liberties and CSOs correlate with more equitable social policy.

Social Trust, Literacy, and Lifelong Learning: A Comparison of the U.S. and Nordic Countries

Societal social trust has been shown to be related to economic growth and equality. Low levels of social trust are especially consequential in aging societies and can result in low levels of social capital and greater inequality at older ages. Nordic countries are known for their greater social trust, access to education, economic productivity, and social equality. To better understand social trust promoters, we explored data from the 2012/2014 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) to examine relationships among social trust, basic skills (i.e., literacy), and non-formal education (NFE) participation for adults ages 45 to 65, in the U.S., Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Additionally, through 19 key informant interviews and a review of the literature, we investigated the structure and availability of NFE across the five nations. As compared to the U.S., adults ages 45 - 65 in Nordic countries have higher levels of social trust (all Nordic countries; p < 0.001), lower rates of poor literacy skills (Finland, Norway, and Sweden; p <.001), greater rates of participation in NFE (Denmark and Sweden; p < 0.05). Through the availability of NFE, such as folk high schools and learning circles in Nordic countries, adults can participate in NFE at little or no cost. Similar programs are not available in the U.S. This research informs policy and practice for the provision of NFE, which is critical to increase levels of social trust, and in turn, to promote economic development, social equality and positive aging in the U.S.