PolSci 334 Midterm

Provide 2-3 reasons why the second economy was NOT like "capitalism"?

- It's a lot closer to a black market/barter system because there are not constant prices and there is not a reproduction of items for a profit by a firm -> bribes, fees, under the table selling - It's a reciprocal gift exchange society where social relations are inseparable from exchange relations, based on friendships and family relationships as opposed to terminal relationships in capitalism

Be able to discuss 3 forms of everyday, subversive activities -often coded as resistance-- to the socialist state. Name at least 3 disincentives to open resistance/dissent?

- Jokes, songs, work slow downs - The harsh consequences of the state, such as interrogation, loss of housing, loss of employment, jail, execution

Purpose of party purges

- Publicity of class enemies marked with an X - Scapegoats to convince masses that someone was to blame for failure - Legitimate seizing of property - Purification -> Obliterate dissent

The state's combination of secrecy and uncertainty contributed to the sense that the state might be behind everything/anything. Citizens thus tried to interpret anything out of the ordinary, anomalous events, new policies, and so forth, as a sign of state intentions. Provide an example

- Raspberries out of season - American film being shown in the theaters

Name 2 reasons Eastern European countries (and the USSR) began to borrow from the West?

1.) Socialist goods were uncompetitive in the world economy -> huge trade deficits -> needed to borrow in order to import consumer goods 2.) To make up for shortages in production to supply future economic growth Eventually so much debt = more borrowing

What does "double burden" or the "second shift" refer to?

1st shift = day job: women in workforce for wages 2nd shift = domestic labor = childcare, eldercare, cooking, cleaning, canning, laundry, sewing

Charter 77 movement

A Czechoslovakian document calling for civil rights banned by the government in the late 70s and served as a way to organize opposition to the gov't helping to lead to the Velvet Revolution

What was a Stakhanovite?

A worker in an industrial sector (steel or coal) who produced more than what was asked of him for the good of the country and for the good of socialism

Collapse of Poland

After brutal crackdowns at the start of the decade, Solidarity re-emerged in 1988 in opposition to rapid inflation (price increases). Jaruzelski demanded an end to the strike before negotiations but Gorbachev's speech to the UN in 1988 announced that the Soviets would no longer intervene in Eastern Europe, greatly weakening Jaruzelski's position. Eventually he relented and negotiations began in the spring (Round Table Talks), agreeing to free elections and the re-legalization of Solidarity. The Solidarity candidates won massively in the elections of 1989 and Welesa agreed to elect Jaruzelski President, creating a power sharing gov't with the communists and Solidarity.

How did housing and summer houses/plots inscribe new class differences under socialism?

After the 1960s, you increasingly have to put money down to gain entry to new construction, meaning that bigger, influential enterprises and people with higher status, party member, are the ones who are able to get housing

Base and Superstructure

Base = Material base of existence. Ground or fundamentals, determines all other relationships. Transform material base, all other transformation follows Superstructure = legal and political structures, which correspond to forms of conscience. Ideological understandings and representations. How "reality" is.

Socialist regimes allowed families to build themselves private houses. Why? How did families go about doing this, and what were the demographics of this kind of "self-build" housing?

Because of the massive housing shortages, in order to realize the socialist dream (no homelessness), the state had to allow people to self build. About 50% of house building post-1945 in EE was self-built. No "developers", all done by the family. Plumbing, roofers, and electricians bribed for their help and fees/bribes to state regulators. Gift exchange relations for building.

What values/practices did the city represent, as opposed to the countryside, after the 1960s? How was this replicated in opposition between the modern, city apartment and the country house (Chata/Dacha/Víkend)?

City = modern/civilized, clean, fast paced, scientific, atheist (+); immoral, polluted, stressful, man-made, artificial. Country = natural/organic, earthly/healthy, real, spiritual, religious, fresh air, relaxing (+); Rural, traditional, backwards, primitive, uncivil, stupid, uneducated, dirty

Why did such a low percentage of Eastern European populations join the Communist Party?

Communist Party was not really all that popular with people. It was a way to advance your career if you were interested, but not a whole lot more than that. And being too closely associated with it could make you labeled "super red" and condemned for being too friendly with the state.

Economic strategies after 1968 of Poland and East Germany and response to economic problems of mid-1970s

East Germany = In 70s, Honecker focused on raising wages to combat availability of consumer goods. Quadrupled hard currency in 1976-77 to combat shortages of Coffee, which had strong cultural meaning in East Germany. They grew increasingly reliant on the Soviet Union, racking up huge amounts of debt. In ability to re-export Soviet oil post-1981 led to decrease in hard currency and an increase in the shortages of consumer goods -> decrease in standard of living Poland = Massive increase in price of goods in the 70s. Import consumer goods to give people the incentive to work. This was the beginning of the end of the "Golden Age" of Socialist Poland, as they began to take on debt to import these consumer goods. Leading to strikes and trade unions.

Did East European countries participate in the Marshall Plan?

Eastern Europe was not part of the Marshall Plan, as the Soviets forbid that, attempting to shut off all American influence. COMECON generally brought the Eastern European nations closer to the Soviet Union, making them dependent on Soviet oil for energy

Name 2 events in the early 1980s that renewed the Cold War struggle for military supremacy?

Election of Ronald Reagan as US president in 1980 and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979

Names of Poland/E Germany leaders

Eric Honecker (GDR) Wojciech Jaruzelski (Poland)

How was state surveillance a part of people's daily lives, not just those of famous dissidents?

Everyone was under surveillance for potential malicious activities. The secret police could appear at any time -> State terror over the people. Fear of stepping out of line and having your apartment and items taken

Second Economy of GDR and Poland

GDR = Plastics, very small second economy Poland = it is estimated that most private peasants conducted some illegal activity at some point, very large second economy, the acquisition of materials by private citizens to build their homes during the extended housing shortages of the 1970s

Level of secret police/surveillance in GDR/Poland

GDR = Ruled with an iron fist. Very brutal and repressive Poland = Not as severe due to more open political expression related to the Church. Still vicious at times, with martial law in the early 80s

What was the position of "General Secretary"? Who (and what) were the "nomenklatura"?

General Secretary was the top dog, the leader of the country. The Nomenklatura was the list of powerful positions within the party filled by people from the Cadre (list of eligible folks)

What is the difference between "hard currencies" and the "soft currencies" exchanged within the bloc?

Hard currency = can be traded globally, value calibrated to strong currencies such as the Yen and the Deutschmark. Used to buy items abroad. Soft Currency = good only within the soviet system. You earned this but couldn't actually buy anything with it outside the country

Collapse of E. Germany

In mid-1989, Hungary decided to tear down fences, creating a hole in the Iron Curtain. Afterwards, thousands of East Germans who were vacationing in Hungary began to flee to Austria and the west. Faced with the pressure of the mass exodus, the state allowed for sealed trains that would let people leave. In the fall, mass protests broke out about Honecker's refusal to modernize the country and implement perestroika or glasnost. The government wanted to put down the Leipzig protests but faced with international pressure, they relented and protestors began to literally tear down the Berlin Wall. Afterwards, the government began to negotiate with the protestors and free elections were held in early 1990, won by the CDU and SPD, who entered into talks with W. Germany about reunification

What were some of the consequences for journalists, artists, musicians, intellectuals, scholars who stepped too far out of line?

Interrogation, imprisonment, execution

Labor requirements impacted state policy towards women and women's issues. How and why?

It created a kind of enforced feminism, where women were forced into jobs. This created the feminization of the state and eventually they had to tweak these labor requirements in order to erect pro-natalist policies

How did socialist "gender equality" policy both help and hurt women? In what areas were women's rights more advanced than in western Europe and the US?

It helped women because they were included in the public sphere of the workforce -> enforced feminism, which meant greater independence from men. Politics had quotas for women and childcare policies were often increased. Also, divorce laws were loosened. Unfortunately, the feminization of professions meant that when women did break into a particular job, the pay went down.

Name 2-3 of the rationales used to build this type of housing all across the Soviet world, both ideological-political and practical?

It was egalitarian in that everyone had the same apartment size in the same building (ideological socialism) - Also they were very easy to mass produce given the pre-fab nature - They thought it would save them money on infrastructure costs by being vertical (false).

Explain the broader implications of the Kádár era (Hungary) shift from "Whoever is not with us, is against us," to "Whoever is not against us, is with us."

It went from outwardly making people express their love for the state to letting people be much more nonchalant. Basically backing off and letting people do what they wanted, not as tight grip on society and surveillance tactics. After 1956 Revolution, focused less on making everyone support the state and simply on quelling dissent.

Explain the Kitchen Debate

Kitchen debate between Nixon and Khrushchev held in 1959 at an expo. Debate over which system, capitalism or communism, can best provide living for its people, held over the American "model kitchen". Cold War becomes a battle of lifestyle.

Solidarity

Labor union opposing the government and leading to the collapse of the state, beginning in 1980

1970s were a period of Détente. What had to happen with the two Germanys, and with the border with Poland, before the USSR and satellites would sign the Helsinki Accords in 1975?

Mutual recognition between east and west Germany, as well as Polish-German accords recognizing the border.

What did "nationalization" policies entail, and why were they a necessary condition for state-socialist countries?

Need to take over all industry and production in order for socialism to work, so nationalizing is the way to go. Started with taking over big industry (coal and steel), then took on smaller businesses like shoe makers. Afterwards, they nationalized/collectivized agriculture. Last step was taking out private labor.

What the relationship between "needs" and "wants" during state socialism? How did state planners decide what should be produced?

Needs were the essentials, things that state planners focused on. "Wants" were not often mass produced

What was the relationship between the seeming omnipresence and the seeming omniscience of the state?

Omnipresence seemed equivalent to omniscience. The state had high visibility, paired with secrecy, opacity. Arbitrary use of power, unpredictable, uncertain. State was seemingly everywhere all at once and could appear at any time.

How, and of what materials, were "Panel" construction apartment complexes built? What are some of the short- and long-term problems with these buildings?

Panel construction apartments were he modern solution to the housing crisis. They were pre-fab in factories made out of concrete. Some of the problems was that there were few places for outdoor socializing, no real room inside the apartment for socializing, and the uniform housing on the landscape made it hard to navigate. Also the concrete panels were terrible insulation material for heat and cold.

What were some of the long-term consequences of the Party purges during the Stalin era?

Party membership fell 25-40%. Economic devastation, party demoralized, damage to moral fabric of society, destruction of national communism at hands of Soviet communism, inexperienced people doing important jobs

In Czechoslovakia, according to P. Bren, even though Chata culture was destructive to the environmental and detrimental to the economy, the state supported it and instead persecuted Trampovne. Why? What did Trampovne stand for, and how was it opposed to Chata culture?

Party realized that it had to allow some kind of private housing and so it decided to sanction one kind in order to shut off the more dangerous kind. Tramping was censored by the state because it focused on breaking down status, freedom, breaking with convention (anti-cleanliness/marriage) and was youthful and based more on western influence. Much more radical. Chata culture was orderly, respectful, and stressed work ethic in working on the garden.

Explain the rationale (benefits and negative aspects) of the 2nd economy for 2 or 3 different segments of society involved

Peasant farmers = increase their yield to meet quotas, keep some items for themselves (+) Workers on an assembly line = Help at the home, building a new house, fixing something at their current home, etc; potential repercussions at work (-)

"From each according to their ability; to each according to their need." How does this quotation express ideologies of state socialism?

People work in industries that match their abilities and skills and receive items from the state that they need (nothing excess). You work to your ability and you get what you need = socialist system.

What is pro-natalism, and how did it relate to the socialist state's policies towards women?

Pro-natalism refers to state policies that are trying to encourage having children. When the state was interested in smoothing over gender inequality, they provided overly generous child care, but when they were pro-natalist, they slashed those benefits to try and keep women at home

Why did punitive control diminish once the "great transformation" had been made by 1960?

Punitive control = repression, interrogation, crack downs Remunerative Control = making people dependent on getting stuff Symbolic-ideological = controlling what people think/transforming consciousness Once the "great transformation" was complete, the state had total control over workforce, benefits, means of production, and agricultural property. They didn't need to be as punitive in taking things over than before since they now had total control.

Name some other nodes for dissent, and why they were threatening to the regime (religious, environmental, nationalist, poverty activism, etc.)

Religious movements such as Billy Graham's trips to EE were threatening because they were rooted in westernism and challenged state atheism. Anti Poverty activism was threatening because it pointed out that the socialist system was reneging on its promises and exposing the failures. Nationalist protests over treatment of ethnic Hungarians in Romania tried to fracture the state's unitary nature

How were consumer goods/housing part of both the "remunerative" and the "symbolic-ideological" realm of state control?

Remunerative = Post-1956 social contract: focus on raising standards of living, modest modern lifestyle. People becoming dependent on these consumer good from the state Symbolic-ideological = shifts to popular consumer culture. A modern socialist consciousness -> Socialist goods reinforced the socialist ideology of egalitarianism and equality while making the population dependent on state control over the consumer goods

What does it mean that public intellectuals learned to "self" censor? Or that the public learned to "read between the lines"?

Self censorship, or the "velvet cage" meant that intellectuals knew what to say so as not to get in trouble from the government, but could still convey their message, one that the public had to "read between the lines" on to decipher

Antipolitics (Konrad)

Shunning ideology and confrontation like the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Trying to be like Finland. Not checking out from politics altogether but simply trying to avoid stirring up huge conflict and involving the USSR. Focusing on domestic improvements.

Secular Rituals

State baptisms and civil weddings

What are the "Politics of Denunciation"? How did the politics of surveillance during state socialism affect interpersonal relationships? Please provide examples

State paternalism so that the state is like a parent mediating between squabbling children. Anyone can potentially betray anyone else and rat on them -> denunciation becomes a powerful tool. In social relationships, if there is a falling out between two people, there is the ultimate fear of being turned in by the other Each industry had a quota of people who were to be "weeded out". There was incentive of denouncing people.

Using the political logic of state-socialist goods, how did special western goods (such as blue jeans, Band-aids, Smurf dolls, record albums, tinted acne medication, and razors designed for women) project fantastic expectations for a democratic-capitalist system?

State-socialist goods were considered so valuable and highly sought after. Whenever western goods were allowed into Eastern Europe, they were valued highly and were of much higher quality than the normal state-socialist goods and the scarcity made the expectations of a capitalist system so high

How were first and second economies interdependent? Was the second economy supportive, parasitic on, or corrosive of the first?

The first and second economies were interdependent because the second economy was a lubricant to allow the first economy to continue to function. In some cases, items sold in the second economy were stolen from the first economy and then placed on the black market Parasitic = people not helping the state, taking materials from the state and not giving them back

By the 1960s, the socialist "ideal citizen" throughout most of the bloc had shifted to a modern, literate, up-to-date and cultured person. How was this ideal reconciled with socialist ideology for an egalitarian, classless society?

The idea was to get everyone modern, literate, up-to-date, and cultured. Everyone was "modern", with no classes at all. Education for all and we all live in an apartment.

What is the broader "purpose" of a socialist firm (beyond "profit"), and how does it differ from small businesses or large corporations in a market capitalist system?

The ideological purpose of the socialist firm is rational redistribution of capital, as opposed to property rights in capitalism. A socialist firm has a soft budget, as opposed to a hard budget of a capitalist firm. It has the force of law behind it instead of broad goals. Resource constraints are nearly always effective on a socialist firm (shortages) while demand constraints almost never are (huge excesses), while the reverse is true in capitalism.

Why did the second economy persist and grow, instead of fading away?

The second economy was necessary for the first economy to work, making up for shortages and so it became an essential part of the national economy

Explain how the socialist "social contract" was based on "rights to" things rather than "rights against" state intervention in private life.

The socialist system was not ensuring protection from the state. No protection of freedom of speech, assembly, press, search and seizure, fair trial, etc.. Instead it was a guarantee of certain material things like, health care, housing, food, employment, etc.

How were State/Public and Private spheres gendered under socialism, and how did this invert the public/private divide of the bourgeois public sphere of western democracies?

The state socialist spheres were gendered a bit differently than the bourgeois public sphere of the west. For example, women were now included in the public sphere of the state. The private (2nd economy) and the civil discourse were both sharply male, while the home was female, as it was in the west.

"We pretend to work and they pretend to pay us." What can this common idiom from socialist Eastern Europe tell us about the relationship between workers and the state? What type of moral frameworks are being invoked in relationship to the workplace?

The workers felt they were being under compensated for their labor by the state, becoming resentful. The state did not receive the full amount of labor they were hoping for, with workers often far underperforming their capacity as a result of the resent. Everyone was lying -> gov't lying about paying, workers lying about working.

Why can we describe some first-economy production as "generic," and why did special branded goods not raise the general reputation of the state socialist "system"?

They weren't all that exciting and not valuable. Of the four classes of goods, second economy goods were most valuable, followed by pre-socialist goods, and western goods. So even special branded goods still weren't that important compared to the other items. Unbranded goods = the state Branded goods = associated with the city/place they were made

Why might people want to "demonstrate" that they were good citizens, even if they were not Party members or in fact had no loyalty to the system?

To get on good terms with the state and pre-empt any potential issues down the line, lessening current surveillance. Also, there were advantages to doing so, like securing housing, better job, etc

What was "socialist realism," and what was it supposed to do?

Transformation of consciousness through physical labor and material economic conditions but must be explained to the people. Duty of "cultural producers" (artists, filmmakers, writers) to educate regular people on socialist realism. Showing them the future -> the greatness of what socialism is to bring to the country. An idealistic portrayal of what socialism was to bring to the nation. Artists transformed buildings to reflect the values of socialism -> fantastical images of the proletariat and leaders like Lenin and Marx. Hard work, etc (Gyorgy reading on Hungary). Cigarette boxes with images of factories & slogans

What was Radio Free Europe, and what did it do?

Under Eisenhower, it is a US gov't funded radio station that broadcasted news and analysis to Eastern Europe with an anti-Soviet angle and served as an inspiration for 1956 Hungarian Revolution

How did citizens interpret the goods produced for them in the official economy? What kinds of goods in particular contributed to the notion of a "unitary state"?

Unfashionable = state isn't modern Quality = state doesn't value us Uniformity = refusal to recognize differences The latter is what contributed to the notion of a unitary state. Everything as uniform

Name 2-3 contributing factors to how the notion of a "unitary state" was produced, one made up of a "them" that was opposed to an "us" of citizens. What social cleavages did this "people as one" formulation conceal (that emerged after the collapse of state socialism)?

Unitary state = an us vs them. Dichotomy of the nation against a united enemy. Majority vs Minority (Turks in Bulgaria, Hungarians in Romanina) Jews vs on-Jews = Jews aligned with negative parts of both communism and capitalism Roma (gypsy) peoples = resettlement and integration

What were the two main goals of Stalinist policies of transformation in the 1950s, in terms of socialist transformation?

Urbanization and industrialization. Create the modern socialist city, moving people out of rural areas, and replace the agricultural economy with the industrial one.

Why were women aligned with the "state" during state-socialism? Why did women object to this characterization?

Women ended up taking many jobs with the state that made them come to be associated with the state. They were bureaucrats due to the rise in female literacy and higher education rates. Women didn't like this because of the stigmatization that came with close association to the state

Soft Budget

doesn't really matter if you go into debt because the state can provide back up for any overruns. More money from the state, new credit, loans, etc

Shortages

lack of goods and items in different sectors of the economy

The Plan

proposed by Party central planners, was the framework for the economy and the basis of all economic activity in the nation

Distribution

spread of goods/capital to different people in the society

Centralization

the idea that the state has total control over all aspects of the economy