“Why should we have to eat the chicken’s butt?” - Everyday consumption,deservingness and inclusion in rural Hungary

Abstract

The article explores the links between consumption, deservingness and social inclusion through an analysis of the spending practices of the ‘unemployed poor’ in rural Hungary. After the 2008 economic crisis, the offering of informal credit by shopkeepers became a widespread practice in the studied village, allowing unemployed people to buy goods that were otherwise out of their reach. However, shopping “above their means” invited negative judgements from other locals who had regular, formal work. By analysing the various value frames that unemployed people invoke to legitimise their spending practices alongside the ways these are refuted by others, the paper reveals how notions of deservingness are locally negotiated and used for recreating social boundaries. Ultimately, the article re-visits the question of whether everyday consumption can offer an alternative to work as the basis for social inclusion, in contexts where a majority of the population have no access to regular, formal work.