There are certain aspects of Soviet poverty which, though of great importance, are difficult to assess, even by Soviet standards. Three which we have chosen for consideration, by way of conclusion to our study, are mobility into, or out of, the poverty state; the degree to which poverty has haunted the Soviet-controlled states of East Europe; and prospects for the Soviet poor during the current decade. Although detailed analysis is not possible at this point, and would require several volumes anyway, the obvious importance of all of these topics makes it inappropriate to pass them over without comment. We need scarcely add that state censorship, limited indigenous investigation, and the absence of forthright statistics again hamper attempts to draw clear conclusions.

SOCIAL MOBILITY AND THE POOR

All poverty is to some degree binding upon those who experience it. Where it is limited in extent, or relatively mild, there may be comparative ease of escape, ensuring a tolerable turnover of those afflicted. On the other hand, it may be so common or specific that generations of families are destined to know nothing else. When this occurs, it is usual to describe the situation as a ‘poverty trap’. At a national level, whole socio-economic groups may be released from, or engulfed in, poverty, as a result of over-riding changes in the economy, without themselves being ‘socially mobile’ at all. The term thus covers numerous dimensions of a temporal and special character.

Let us begin with the matter of social theory. It is quite arguable that with the passage of time Soviet Marxism–Leninism has become less sympathetic to upward mobility among the poor.