Markets and Moralities: Ethnographies of Postsocialism

Description

Before the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, private marketeering was regarded not only as criminal, but even immoral by socialist regimes. Ten years after taking on board western market-orientated shock therapy, post-socialist societies are still struggling to come to terms with the clash between these deeply engrained moralities and the daily pressures to sell and consume. This book explores the new market and its resulting contradictions in a rapidly developing Eastern Europe and Russia. Will Western fast-food industries irrevocably alter local culinary practices? What effect has the privatization of land had upon ownership and exchange? What role do new commodities play within the household? Based on original, first-hand ethnography, this book is a long-awaited addition to existing literature on post-socialist societies. It will be essential reading for students of anthropology, sociology, European and cultural studies, as well as professional groups working in Eastern Europe and Russia, including NGOs, development organizations and businesses.

Ruth Mandel Lecturer in Anthropology,University College London Caroline Humphrey Professor of Asian Anthropology, University of Cambridge

'This book provides an important contribution to post-socialist studies by locating 'the market' firmly in the socially constituted practices of post-socialist societies ... What we have is a series of 'tasters' of what are clearly individual, extensive and fascinating ethnographic studies.' Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 'The introductory chapter by the editors is exquisite... this is one of the first anthropological collections focused on the former Soviet bloc organized around a single issue; as such it signals the increasing sophistication and precision of the anthropology of the area.' Ethnos 'The papers are uniformly excellent and accessible, making the book a useful addition to any undergraduate or graduate syllabus about development and social change - whether in the former socialist world or elsewhere - as well as to specialists' The Journal of th Royal Anthropological Institute (Vol. 11, No. 1, March 2005)