Marius Jucan
Key words: |
Associate Professor |
Adrian Neculau (ed.)
Viata cotidianã în communism
Everyday Life in Communism
Polirom, Iasi, 2005, 367 pages
An anthology of texts joining different contributors,
psychologists, historians, sociologists, writers, under the aegis
of assessing the cultural impact of everyday life in
communism brings to discussion various aspects of method and why
not, within the framework of the omnipresent discourse of
transition, the issue of how images and the imaginary of
transition are being shaped. In other words, such an anthology
earns from the very beginning the interest of a large category
of readers, as it merges scientific approaches to the study
of communism, rather rare by the way, with the account of
personal experience, confessions and cultural points of views
on the quality of life in communist years. Methodological
aspects are tackled by the reputed psychologist Adrian Neculau in
the prefatory study of the volume, highlighting on identity and
social representation, thus enhancing the importance of the
formation of a new habitus, striking its roots in a historically
and politically determined span of time between the end of
WWII and the end of the Cold War. Professor Neculau is also
the author of a highly interesting study of the Stalinist
"re-education" carried on secretly in Romanian prisons in the 50's.
Romanians' passive subordination to the communist regime
seen
A fragment of social biography emerges thus from under the scalpel of historians and psychologists to the readers' attention. It is to note that consideration given to the otherwise conspicuous aftermath of communism does not come naturally after an epoch of suffering, whether physical or moral, usually mellowed down, or even completely obscured by the wish to forget. Yet it is rather difficult to struggle not only with people's general opinion that communism is already a stale story so that one should stop looking for other pieces of evidence since we have a promissory claim, as for instance, entering the UE. Communism should not be primarily analyzed for the sake of demonizing the moral culprits or rewarding its last survivors. It is equally difficult to tell truth from the subjective memory of both victims and victimizers, in the sense that the magnifying lenses should not be focused only on some aspects and not on the whole picture of Romanian society lacking in the main traits of modernization. Communist terror was grafted therefore rather easily on the pre-modern mindset of rural or sub-proletarian masses. The lack of any noticeable resistance to communism as compared to other neighboring areas, to mention only Hungary and Poland, speaks for itself about the absence of any major civil development in the modern Romanian society, in order to secure or preserve to a certain extent the identity of the community against social catastrophes. From this point of view identity and social representation proved their relevance for the study of everyday life. The claim of reconciliation or of social harmony rings hollow when one comes to share the widely accepted evidence of economic polarization in Romanian society after 1989, which stands for a tardy avowal of deep inequalities underlying communist order. Even if some of the main major sources about repression in communism are still being kept secret (the Securitate documents), one could perhaps realize the unprecedented impact of the totalitarian society on the Romanian mindset. Which does not mean however, that Romanians are nowadays unable to implement the rule of democratic institutions, though the delay of modernization and / or its distortions add a new distance to catch up with for them as for the sons and daughters of a hopeless straggler. The interest for studying the past communist everyday experience should not be gauged only from the perspective of the historical timeline of Romanian communism, which shows noticeable variations in the repressive state control on the individual and society, but as this volume proves, in bringing to light an isomorphism of fear and repression within the whole rule of communism. It is interesting to see how fear and repression merged in the experience of endless queues for food, fuel, etc., as queuing up was the most preoccupying and at the same time the most debasing activities of Romanian population in the 80's. The planned infliction of fear, hunger, cold and cultural isolation on "the masses" had never brought to justice other authors than the deceased presidential couple, which shows the present-day drawbridges communism still keeps shut. It would be hard to make a selection of the most
inciting and equally informative contributions. Actually all
articles bring their part to the half-disclosed puzzle of everyday life
in communism. Articles are signed by: Adrian Neculau,
Alexandru-Florin Platon, Andrei Cosmovici, Radu Clit,
Aurora Liiceanu, Gilles Ferreol, Tatiana Slama-Cazacu,
Septimiu Chelcea, Germina Nagât, Liviu Antonesei, Laurentiu
Soitu, Liviu Chelcea, Puiu Lãtea, Dan Lungu, Paul Cernat,
Ruxandra Cesereanu, Lavinia Betea, Dana Bichescu,
GeorgeFlorian Macarie, Dan Gogleazã. |