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Hungary SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
In the 1980s, severe social and economic problems took
their
toll on the family. Harsh economic conditions meant that
most
women had to work and most men had to hold second and even
third
jobs. These factors, combined with a housing shortage,
subjected
the family to considerable stress. Yet the harsh economic
conditions also forced many people to turn inward, and
they found
in their families a refuge from the difficult economic
realities.
In the postwar period, the regime had designed its mass
organizations to take over some of the traditional
socialization
functions of the family. Thus, the mass organizations
served as
"transmission belts," attempting to inculcate regime
values, and
relaying and interpreting the policies of the Hungarian
Socialist
Workers' Party (HSWP) to rank-and-file members and to the
general
public
(see Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party
, ch. 4). In
the
late 1980s, some Western observers considered the mass
organizations sponsored by the regime to be in a moribund
state,
hopelessly outclassed by newer, more spontaneous
collective
efforts
(see Dissent and Freedom of Expression
, this ch.).
In
response, some mass organizations liberalized their
programs and
distanced themselves from the regime.
Early in its history, the communist party considered
the
churches as competitors for the allegiance of the people.
Therefore, the regime actively persecuted the churches,
especially the Roman Catholic Church. After the Revolution
of
1956, the regime relaxed its pressure on the churches,
viewing
them more as partners than as adversaries. By the late
1980s, the
government allowed the churches wide latitude and
eliminated
virtually all legal and institutional restrictions on
church
activities.
Data as of September 1989
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