The currency of socialism : money and political culture in East Germany / Jonathan R. Zatlin

There is perhaps nothing so commonplace and yet so mystifying as money. But to European communists, money was clearly an instrument of economic exploitation and spiritual alienation. In this groundbreaking study, Jonathan R. Zatlin explores the East German attempt to create a perfect society by elim...

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Main Authors:Zatlin, Jonathan R. (Author)
Formato: Livro
Idioma:English
Publicado em:Washington, DC : German Historical Institut [u.a.], 2007
Cambridge [u.a.], 2007
Edição:1. publ
Colecção:Publications of the German Historical Institute
Assuntos:
DDR
Acesso em linha:Verlagsangaben
Autorenbiografie
Inhaltsverzeichnis
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Rezension
Descrição
Resumo:There is perhaps nothing so commonplace and yet so mystifying as money. But to European communists, money was clearly an instrument of economic exploitation and spiritual alienation. In this groundbreaking study, Jonathan R. Zatlin explores the East German attempt to create a perfect society by eliminating money and explains the reasons for its failure. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including unpublished communist reports, secret police files, literature, jokes, letters written by ordinary people, and conversations with key German politicians, this book shows how the communist regime undermined the political authority of socialism and created the material conditions for its demise. By exploring both the economic and the cultural function of money, Zatlin challenges traditional approaches to economic planning by offering a novel explanation for the collapse of communism in East Germany and a highly original interpretation of German unification.
Descrição do item:Includes bibliographical references and index
Descrição Física:XX, 377 S. Ill., graph. Darst. 24 cm
ISBN:9780521869560
0521869560