Abstract
Rusyns in Eastern and Central Europe have experience with two predominant models of “progress”: the Soviet-style communist and the neoliberal. Proponents of each system promised to better the lives of all but did not take into account what “better” meant to local populations, including Rusyns. Increasingly, European governmental and nongovernmental organizations are redefining notions of progress and development to accord with values of sustainability and a capability approach (CA) to well-being. Giovanola (2005) and Robeyns (2005) have argued that scholars of the CA need to better develop concepts of “personhood” and “human flourishing”, and to better explain the importance of social group membership and norms to living a valued life. The emerging anthropological focus on well-being, emphasizing culturally specific definitions of what happiness and a good life mean, can provide these conceptualizations. As a case in point, I use freelist and interview data obtained from residents in the Prešov Region of Slovakia and the Zakarpattia Oblast of Ukraine along with Rusyn cultural narratives drawn from poems, folktales, plays, songs, interviews, and speeches to identify prevalent models of “personhood” and “a good life”. I discuss how these narratives intersect and diverge with discourses of happiness and progress along with the implications for Rusyns' ability to flourish.
Highlights
Since World War II, Rusyns in eastern and central Europe have lived and worked within two economic systems: the Soviet and the neoliberal
Proponents of each system promised “progress” to better the lives of all, but they did not take into account what “better” meant to local populations
European governmental and nongovernmental organizations are redefining notions of progress and development to accord with values of sustainability and well-being
Summary
Since World War II, Rusyns in eastern and central Europe have lived and worked within two economic systems: the Soviet and the neoliberal. Developed by economists and philosophers concerned with poverty reduction and human rights, the CA analyzes what humans living in diverse types of societies need in order to flourish. Rusyns' ideal lifestyle involved local control over resources, earning a living through hard work on one’s own land, low consumption, raising a family, and religious and secular celebrations filled with song and interpersonal connection. Their traditional value system has little in common with neoliberal visions of economic growth and technological progress championed by central and eastern European economic reformers in the last twenty years. As the 2009 film, Osadné (Skop, Melis, Krahenbiel, & Remunda) underscores, there are discrepancies in cultural capital between officials of small Rusyn villages and the large bureaucracy of EU governing bodies
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