Description
Book SynopsisTill Hilmar examines memories of the postsocialist transition in East Germany and the Czech Republic to offer new insights into the power of narratives about economic change.
Trade ReviewIn this astute and captivating analysis of disruptive economic change, Hilmar moves persuasively beyond the ‘morality’ and ‘economy’ binary to draw a timely lesson: it’s in the very fabric of social relations, even our memory of them, that we pursue moral worth and economic deservingness. Read this gem of a book that, yes,
deserves wide attention. -- Nina Bandelj, coeditor of Money Talks: Explaining How Money Really Works
What if memory were not only about war, exile, trauma, and genocide? Hilmar’s inspiring work sets a new and crucial agenda for memory studies by highlighting the importance of economic memories for understanding contemporary societies.
Deserved makes a clarion call for putting socioeconomic perspectives back into the study of remembrance. -- Sarah Gensburger, coauthor of
Beyond Memory: Can We Really Learn from the Past?Deserved is a fascinating journey into the turmoil of post-1989 transformation in Central Europe. On the basis of in-depth interviews, Hilmar reveals the moral grammar that surrounds the remembrance of economic ruptures and how the language of deservingness and inclusion makes up the fabric of society. -- Steffen Mau, Professor of Sociology, Humboldt University of Berlin
Deserved is the first full-fledged theory of perception of economic justice in the field of memory studies. This book will resonate with the growing interest in economic aspects of social memory, and Hilmar’s concept of ‘moral deservingness’ will become a useful tool for studying perception of other instances of economic changes. -- Joanna Wawrzyniak, coeditor of
Remembering the Neoliberal Turn: Economic Change and Collective Memory in Eastern Europe after 1989The book is original, illuminating, and consistently insightful, and it shows a deep acquaintance with the literature on memory and social identity. As such
Deserved is a highly valuable contribution to cultural sociology. * Understanding Society *
A novel and conceptually rich take on the history and memory of the post-socialist transformations. * CEU Review of Books *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
1. Historical Trajectories
2. Remembering Economic Change After 1989
3. Deserving and Undeserving Others
4. The Social Experience of the Transformation Period
Epilogue: How Right-Wing Populists Capture Deservingness
Methodological Appendix
Acknowledgments
Copyright Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
