Markets and Moralities: Ethnographies of Postsocialism

by Ruth Mandel (Editor), Caroline Humphrey (Editor)

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.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2002

Reviews

[Randa Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book may be a bit out dated but it's very useful to understand marketing and consumer behavior on different rural and urban areas, and the role of different characters in the economy