Czech families ten years after the velvet revolution

The authors report on the experiences of sixteen Czech families ten years a fter the Velvet Revolution. The families were selected from a four-year pan el of 740 households and were interviewed in 1997-98. They talked about the ir lives during communism and since the reform. They recalled their initial high expectations, followed by facing new challenges and their later reass essment of the reform. Their stories show that the transition toward a mark et economy and democracy has been a mired blessing consistent with social t hought on the earlier GI ear Transformation. They also complement the notio n that attitudes about the reforms differentiate into the dichotomy of winn ers and losers. These families gave well-measured accounts of this historic change whether winners or losers.