THE CHANGES IN ATTITUDES TOWARDS JUSTICE IN ESTONIAN SOCIETY DURING THE PERIOD OF 1991–2005
THE CHANGES IN ATTITUDES TOWARDS JUSTICE IN ESTONIAN SOCIETY DURING THE PERIOD OF 1991–2005

Summary/Abstract: This paper will analyse the changes in attitudes towards justice in Estonian society during the period from 1991 to 2005. The aim of this paper is to examine whether the recent changes in Estonian society have had any impact on people’s value judgements, especially attitudes towards egalitarian and inegalitarian justice principles. The impact of a person’s social position on attitudes towards social justice has been observed in addition to general tendencies. The results of the analyses are contradictory to the assumptions made at first. Although there has been a shift from socialist to market system in Estonian society, the support for inegalitarian principles has decreased and the support for egalitarian principles has increased. There were significant differences between groups in attitudes towards market and egalitarian principles in 1991. In 2005 people with different social positions had various opinions only about egalitarian principles. The most remarkable result of this paper is the fact that the two justice principles were seen as more adversative in 1991, whereas in 2005 people tended to support market and egalitarian principles simultaneously. The results give cause to doubt whether market and egalitarian principles are opposed to each other and whether it is at all necessary or possible to contrast them.

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