LIFE GOES ON - POLITICS AND EVERYDAY LIFE IN AN EAST-GERMAN VILLAGE

This article describes the ''moral economy'' of socialism and its impa ct on everyday life and action orientations before and after the break down of the GDR-society. Drawing upon ethnographic research concerning the former and the recent political establishment in an East German v illage, it sheds some light on fundamental distinctions, the mode of i dentity construction, and the very specific forms of political interac tion beween political powerholders and the local community. Central th eme of the essay is the question of social recognition and the way it shapes the perception of the ongoing transformation process. Seen this way, it becomes clear that the rationale of both the success of the P DS and the resentment against the West is anything but a surprise.