This volume, similarly to its predecessor "Social patterns of being political" is devoted to changes in the social structure that are associated with transition of Polish society in the direction of democracy and capitalism. Both volumes cover a decade of transition (1988-98), the first one focusing on its initial phase (1988-93), and the second one on its advanced phace (1993-98). In both volumes, social structure is understood as composition of social groups with unequal access to commonly desired goods.