The Dictatorship Over Needs

Fehér, Ferenc

doi:10.3817/0378035031

Cited by 32 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…In addition, not only did consumption become a legitimate pastime like in the West, but Soviet authorities sanctioned consumer goods as markers of distinction and means of self‐expression, and they acknowledged the uniqueness of the needs of each individual. In a society without elaborate marketing and advertising industries, the Communist Party became the creator of new desires, the promoter of new lifestyles, and an advocate for immediate gratification, rather than a “dictator over needs” as Fehér et al (1983) argued. This new depiction of work and consumption placed individuals’ rights—at least to gratifying work and to abundant and trendy consumer goods—above their duties to the state, Party, and ideology of socialism, sanctioning “a concern for oneself and one's immediate family … an emphasis on personal autonomy … on one's personal accomplishments” (Inglehart and Welzel 2005:135).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Soviet Communist Party and the Other Spirit of Capitalism

Paretskaya

2010

Sociological Theory

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Based on qualitative analysis of the Soviet press and official state documents, this article argues that the Communist Party was, counterintuitively, an agent of capitalist dispositions in the Soviet Union during 1970s-1980s. Understanding the spirit of capitalism not simply as an ascetic ethos but in broader terms of the cult of individualism, I demonstrate that the Soviet party-state promoted ideas and values of individuality, self-expression, and pleasure seeking in the areas of work and consumption. By broadening our conception of the spirit of capitalism, tracing the formation of capitalist dispositions as well as institutions, and showing that the culture of capitalism can come from within the old regime, I further the agenda of neoclassical sociology of studying varieties of origins, paths, and destinations of modern capitalisms.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Soviet Communist Party and the Other Spirit of Capitalism

Paretskaya

2010

Sociological Theory

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“…Therefore, everything peo le like and dislike in this E world has hardly anything to do wit insecurity, and can on1 be expressed in and through another overriding category: lac of freedom. [Feher andHeller, 1983, pp. 151-1521 Z The third feature represents a combination of two related maximization principles which together provide the dynamic element in Eastern European societies.…”

Section: Ideological Principles In the Dictatorship Over Needs Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Budapest School Model of Eastern European Societies

Brown

1986

Review of Social Economy

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“…For an overview of "totalitarian" conceptions of Soviet domination in the West, see Linz (1975). A distinctive variant of totalitarian theory, drawn from dissident Marxism, formed in East Europe in this period, best represented by Fehér, Heller, and Márkus (1983). For the "mono-organizational" approach, see Rigby (1977).…”

Section: Mapping Political Processes Of State Breakdownmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trajectories of Institutional Disintegration in Late-Soviet Russia and Contemporary Iraq

Garcelon

2006

Sociological Theory

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How might revolutions and other processes of institutional disintegration inform political processes preceding them? By mapping paths of agency through processes of institutional disintegration, the trajectory improvisation model of institutional breakdown overcomes "action-structure" binaries by framing political revolutions as possible outcomes of such disintegrative processes. The trajectory improvisation approach expands the trajectory adjustment model of social change developed by Gil Eyal, Iván Szelényi, and Eleanor Townsley. An overview of political revolution in Soviet Russia between 1989 and 1991 illustrates trajectory improvisation. The recent American invasion and occupation of Iraq shows alternative routes to institutional disintegration, indicating the independence of models of institutional breakdown from those of social movements. These cases illustrate both the diversity of situations the trajectory improvisation model speaks to, and the limitation of models of trajectory adjustment, improvisation, social movements, and invasions, illustrating why such models at best enable what are called "explanatory narratives" of actual historical processes.

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The Dictatorship Over Needs

Cited by 32 publications

References 0 publications

The Soviet Communist Party and the Other Spirit of Capitalism

The Soviet Communist Party and the Other Spirit of Capitalism

The Budapest School Model of Eastern European Societies

Trajectories of Institutional Disintegration in Late-Soviet Russia and Contemporary Iraq

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