Political tolerance in Poland and the United States

Some experts say that in Eastern Europe, under the surface of pro-democrati c attitudes, persists an authoritarian and intolerant political culture. Sy nchronic and diachronic comparisons of tolerance in Poland (1993 Polish Gen eral Social Survey, N = 1649) and the U.S. (1954 Stouffer's data and NORC G SS data, 1972-93) do not support this view. Polish opinions appear nearly a s tolerant as contemporay/American opinions, and more tolerant than America n opinions in the past. Education, stratification and age predict tolerance similarly in Poland and America. Combined with Findings from previous rese arch, these data suggest that intolerance in Eastern Europe may be a transi ent result of recent and current conflicts rather than a primordial politic o-cultural element.