I have neither given nor received any unauthorized help on this assignment.
Roma to work!
In order to stop suffering, the Roma have to work.
I have long been interested in the nature of the relationship between the Roma minority and the
Czech majority population. Growing up in a small town where the social and spatial divide between the
two groups is palpable on the streets, I have become increasingly interested in the issues of ethnic
marginalization and social inequality in my country. For years, I have listened to people complaining
about the ‘lazy’, ‘criminal’, ‘parasitic’, ‘theft-prone’ Roma who don’t want to work and choose to live
off of welfare. Adopting Weber’s theory of the spirit of capitalism, this essay aims to explore the
causes of and the narratives surrounding the Roma social marginalization in the Czech Republic. In the
first part, the essay will examine the Roma resistance to the modern society by considering historical,
political, and social processes. In the second part, the essay will analyze an article that construct an
interesting counter narrative about the Roma and work. Essentially, the following paper attempts to
answer two central issues: first, what factors contributed to the Roma societal exclusion; second, given
the dichotomy between the majority population and the Roma, what should be the strategies of
improving the current situation?
In response to the first question, the following paragraphs will first introduce the Roma and
explain how their resistance to the modernist society contributed to their societal exclusion.
Roma, also known as Gypsies, are the descendants of medieval migrants who arrived in Europe
from India more than a millennium ago. Having undergone a transition from nomadic to sedentary life,
the Roma occupy the lowest rungs of the social, political, and economic ladders in every European
society (Barany 2002: 63). Today, the situation of the Roma in the Czech Republic is characterized by
the ongoing governmental efforts to assimilate them, though paradoxically, the Roma have been
subjected to legal discrimination and public scapegoating. Lacking equal political rights and
recognition, not only are they denied access to many forms of employment and suffer from lowest
levels of education, but they are also often targets of hate speech. It could be argued that the source of
the hostility against Roma is rooted in their long-term rebellion against the dominant sedentary society
and the modernist society, in particular.
In his famous work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber argued that
the greed to accumulate wealth and to work hard has become an ethical imperative of the modern
1
capitalist age. In particular, Weber proposed the idea of how the Protestant idea of performing one’s
duty (work) to a calling (God) transformed due to disenchantment, the rise of rationality and calculation
that allowed for the advance of capitalism. The individual in a capitalist society got trapped in an ‘iron
cage’, where hard work is a duty, an ethical and moral imperative that goes in hand with the needs of
the capitalist system. But what happens if a significant group of people does not conform to the
capitalist notion of hard work and careful investment? To some extent, the Roma resentment and lack
of discipline in the modernist state can be accounted for their historical identity as nomadic people.
Without land ownership, the Roma livelihood long depended on sustaining a fragile relationship with
the majority population and its utilization of the Roma labor reservoir. But due to their nomadic
lifestyle, the Roma didn’t strive for capital accumulation, unlike the majority population. The 18th
century European Enlightenment process created an increasingly strong discourse of ‘modernization’
and ‘progress’, which led to the creation of the first assimilation policies 1 . These edicts banned
nomadism and traditional Roma occupations, requiring all Roma to settle as farmers and taxpayers
(Barany 2002:92). Later, during the communist era, the assimilation policies forced by the authoritarian
institutions intensified. One of the reasons for these policies was the fact that the Roma self-reliance
and traditional way of life was regarded as opposing the socialist idea of a good citizen that was
supposed to be economically state-dependent and “culturally and ethnically state-defined” (Gheorghe
1991:835). Moreover, as Weber argued, “the lack of conscienziosita (discipline) of the labourers, has
been (…) one of the principal obstacles to capitalist development” (1905:6) and thus the Roma
undisciplined behavior and lack of conformity have long been regarded as threats to modernist state.
It becomes clear that the issue of hostility against the Roma stems from the anxiety about work
in a modernist society, and the different cultural approach to work between the two groups. With
regards to the dominant narrative surrounding the Roma and their lack of capitalist work ethic, the
article “Roma to work!” published by the Czech national TV (Ceska televise), attempts to create a
counter-discourse. In particular, it proposes bringing the Roma back to workforce as a vital integration
strategy. The article reports on the achievements of the Dzivipen organization that facilitates vocational
trainings from EU funds and helps the Roma find jobs. With the organization’s assistance, some
individuals who have been living on welfare have managed to join the workforce. At the beginning, the
author includes a statement by Dzivipen’s founder Julius Levay who stresses the importance of
bringing Roma back to work for as he points out “welfare for healthy people is a way to doom”.
1
1755 Habsburg Assimilation Plan was the first sedentary law.
2
According to Levay, the restoration of the feeling of independence and joy to work are vital
assumptions for achieving an effective and successful integration of socially marginalized individuals
and communities. However, as this essay earlier demonstrated on the historical context the issue of
Roma marginalization is far more complex. The following paragraphs will analyze how the article
manipulates Weber’s theory of the spirit of capitalism and, through the use of visual and narrative
techniques2, creates a myth of a happy Roma who abandons his former values and community, and
praises the benefits of hard work.
First, the black and white introductory portraits evoke a gloomy and depressing atmosphere. No
background information is provided, except the person’s current occupation, number of years
unemployed and a quote. The first three images’ captions, which attack several assumptions about
Roma and work, can be explained through the theory of the spirit of capitalism. The claims made by
Jaroslav and Daniel Carny “I’m glad that I finally have a job. I have been trying for years” and “I don’t
want to sit at home, waiting for welfare”, respectively, show the men’s desire to return to work and thus
go against the stereotypical notion of the Roma being lazy. In picture 3, Daniel Carny claims that
although he could choose between receiving welfare and working a poorly paying job, he chose hard
work. Thus, Daniel perceives hard work as an ethical imperative, as a “right” thing to do that will allow
him to have a better future. This is an example of what Weber calls rationalization, because Daniel’s
behavior is dominated by goal-oriented rationality and calculation rather then by Roma tradition and
values of non-conformity. Under the pressure of modern bureaucracy and capitalism, Daniel
rationalizes the benefits of work in a society where working even a low wage job is better than staying
at home on welfare for it might allow him for integration into the larger society and a better future.
Secondly, the article dramatically develops the ‘happy Roma’ myth on the story of Anna
Sokolova (pictures 4-7). The first caption “Now I understand what it means to earn a living and what
can I afford. I am happy. I would never want to return to the ghetto,” attacks nearly every aspect of the
stereotypical discourse about the Roma: the fact that they don’t work, their inability to save or invest
money, and their resistance to assimilate. The central message to the reader is that after 20 years of
unemployment, Anna has finally adopted the work ethic of the majority population. Due to this
transformation, the article asserts, Anna now rejects the “ghetto” lifestyle – thus the Roma tradition and
‘undisciplined’ lifestyle. Pictures 5-7, suddenly in color, portray Anna’s happiness and the dramatic
improvement of her life as she adopts the dominant society’s work ethic and ideology. Anna’s
2
See appendix
3
transformation culminates in the article’s last picture, where she sits happily in a clean, newly furnished
bright pink bedroom. According to the caption, Anna can now afford to pay rent of a newly furnished
apartment, has learned how to save money that she later reinvests into her grandson’s education. Thus,
Anna’s story is yet another example of rationalization as it illustrates the shift in motivation of Anna’s
behavior in society that led to her abandoning the Roma community. But Anna’s story is also a myth
that work has the great ability to change one’s culture, ideas and way of living. The article implies that
by taking the Roma from welfare to work, we can resolve the large structural issues of ethnical
marginalization and accomplish a united, happy and productive society.
In my opinion the article illustrates the system of domination in a capitalist society, in which
work serves as a form of control of an undisciplined population. By providing the Roma with
predominantly low skill, poorly paying jobs, the state seems to habituate the Roma into the system
hierarchy. In fact, the benefits of working low paying jobs that are usually on limited contracts, are
questionable. As we impose our values on the Roma, the group’s cultural unity and resistance seems to
suffer. Perhaps, the idea of assimilation and forced sedentarization of nomadic people was wrong at the
first place. It seems to me that the so-called inclusion of the Roma into workforce is yet another form of
forced assimilation and domination that alone cannot resolve the deeply rooted division between the
two groups. Only when racial discrimination will be abolished, and equal opportunities established, the
coexistence of the Roma with the majority population can be improved.
Bibliography
Barany, Zoltan
2002
The East European Gypsies: regime change, marginality, and ethnopolitics. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Gheorghe, Nicolae
1991
“The Roma-Gypsy Ethnicity in Eastern Europe,” Social Research Vol.58, No.4:829-844
Langer, Jan
2013
"Romové Do Práce!” in Relax, ČT24 Česká Televize. Electronically published 7 Nov. 2013.
Accessed Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
Weber, Max
1905
Chapter II: The Spirit of Capitalism, in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
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Appendix: IMAGE GALLERY
1.
Jaroslav Carny: Gardener (after 9 years without work)
“I am glad that I finally have a job. I would have never managed to get one alone. I have
been trying for ten years.”
2.
Daniel Carny: Gardener (after 3 years without a job)
“I don’t want to sit at home, waiting for the welfare, although as employed I’m not earning
much more. I believe that there is work for me somewhere, it just about finding it.”
5
3.
"Nemám sice o moc víc peněz než z dávek, ale věřím, že můžu dostat i lepší práci, když se budu
snažit."
“Although I’m not getting more money than from welfare, I believe that if I work hard, I’ll
be able to get a better job in the future.”
4.
Anna Sokolova: Gardener (after 20 years without a job)
“Now I understand what it means to earn a living and what can I afford. I am happy. I
would never want to return to the ghetto.”
6
5.
"Ani jsem nevěřila, že mě ještě někdo zaměstná po takové době na sociálce."
“I did not even think that after such a long time spent on welfare somebody would still give
me a job.”
6.
“Do unimo buňky pro sociálně vyloučené, kde bydlí mnoho rodin jejích bývalých spolubydlících,
už nechce ani vkročit.”
“At this point, she would not even enter the living unit for socially excluded where still
many families of her former friends reside.”
7
7.
“Dnes přispívá partnerovi z vlastního platu na společný život v jejich udržovaném
dvoupokojovém bytě s veškerým vybavením. Vydělané peníze pečlivě zvažuje a vkládá do
vzdělání svého vnuka.”
“From her salary, today Anna shares the rent of a fully furnished double-bedroom
apartment with her partner. Moreover, she thinks very carefully about spending her
earned money and chooses to invest it into her grandson’s education.”
8