Легенда о поштару – лопову и бизнисмену
THE LEGEND OF POSTMAN-TURNED-THIEF-TURNEDBUSINESSMAN
Author(s): Ivan KovačevićSubject(s): Anthropology, Customs / Folklore, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure
Published by: Институт за етнологију и антропологију
Keywords: legend of stealing the pensions; contemporary folklore; transition; investment; Serbia;
Summary/Abstract: The legend of the postman who stole all pension checks in a village, fled with this money to Russia, and started successful business enterprise there, is taken here to be an implicit critique of the banking system in Serbia. What socialist banks from the period of Milošević's reign and banks that appeared after 2000 have in common is that they were not perceived as significant motivators of investment cycles. The legend morally abolishes the postman's method of acquiring capital by emphasizing his returning of "loans" and his patriotism as an additional quality. Unlike this mythical character, real-life entrepreneurs were in folklore narratives accused of criminal background of their initial capital and immoral ways of conducting business. This reveals certain things about the relationship between the desired and achieved in the domain of transitional investments.
Journal: Antropologija
- Issue Year: 7/2006
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 9-18
- Page Count: 10
- Language: Serbian