Paper short abstract:

Inspired by Stuart Hall’s analysis of Thatcherism as ‘authoritarian populism’,this paper explores the reception and interpretation of neo-liberal rhetoric of citizenship under the slogan ‘Work Pays’ by Slovak citizens in 2004.

Paper long abstract:

The slogan 'Work Pays' was coined by the Slovak Ministry of Labour to encapsulate its 2004 reform of the welfare and benefits system. Aimed to 'strengthen the role of the individual and his/her self-support' and reduce the 'welfare dependency and disincentives to work' created by the socialist system, the reforms made any entitlement to unemployment benefits, social welfare payments, and child benefit relative to the participation of the individual in the job market. Participation in the labour market was declared the foundation of responsible citizenship, while constructing the ideal post-socialist citizen as part of a double image with its historical ('socialist') counterpart. While the reforms themselves were deeply unpopular with many sections of the middle and working classes, both the spectre of the 'welfare scavenger' and appeals for greater individual responsibility did find fertile ground in the popular imagination. Using material gathered during long-term fieldwork in Banská Bystrica, Central Slovakia, in 2004, this paper explores the reception and interpretation of neo-liberal rhetoric of citizenship under the slogan 'Work Pays'. Inspired by Stuart Hall's analysis of Thatcherism as 'authoritarian populism', I explore instances of moral outrage to understand how such discourse resonated with pre-existing norms celebrating the performance of productive labour, practical enterprise, and self-sufficiency and how they became re-interpreted within the framework of ethnic and social tensions in Slovak society.