Description
Book SynopsisA non-fiction book about the social engineering operated in rural Eastern Europe by the Communist regime, based on the history of two villages in Romania. One of the two villages is the birthplace of Nicolae Ceausescu, the former Communist dictator, Scornicesti, which received massive investment during communist years and was turned into a mixture of underdeveloped village and industrial town. The other is Nucsoara, the Carpathian cradle of peasants' resistance against Communism, where half the village was executed or imprisoned and their lands divided between the other half. The state intervention failed in both villages to attain the planned objectives, but it nevertheless changed fundamentally the life of villagers. This book is mostly about the consequences of unlimited state power over people and communities.
Table of ContentsList of Tables Acknowledgements Chapter 1 The Argument Chapter 2 Two Villages Chapter 3 The Construction and Deconstruction of Rural Property Chapter 4 The Invention of Social Conflict Chapter 5 The Destruction and Replacement of the Elite Chapter 6 The Manipulation of Lifestyles Chapter 7 From the Dependent Peasant to the Citizen-Peasant: The Bases of a Rural Political Culture Chapter 8 Between the Past and the Future References Appendices Index
