No (wo)man's land: The post-socialist purgatory of Czech female factory workers

Why did the "losers" of Eastern Europe's post-socialist market transition-most notably, workers and women-seemingly accept their economic marginalization rather than respond with massive social unrest? Prevailing explanations generally focus on the dissent-constraining nature of institutional and ideological legacies of the past. I argue that we should look beyond such legacies to consider the role of a "metanarrative" about the market in fostering compliance with marketization. Drawing upon the personal narratives of Czech female factory workers, I show how their appropriation of this metanarrative renders them acutely aware of their marginalized identity. Simultaneously this inhibits their ability to fully comprehend the causes of their exploitation or to envision an alternative future to capitalism. This analysis reveals how social actors can adopt such metanarratives despite considerable contradictions between their personal experiences and the metanarratives' ideological claims. In addition, it demonstrates how metanarratives can subvert social action.