In this exclusive interview with Metis, Charles Woolfson investigates the Western perception of Central and Eastern Europeans as well as the evolution of their social developments in the course of the past years. According to this expert, the recent economic crisis has resulted in the degradation of several social indicators in Eastern Europe: cut backs on social policies, taxing outward migration, social unrest, ... More importantly, Woolfson questions the importance of social policies for the leading elites of these countries.