Torsello, Davide - Pappová, Melinda: Social Networks in Movement. Time, interaction and interethnic spaces in Central Eastern Europe - Nostra Tempora 8. (Somorja-Dunaszerdahely, 2003)
Time and social networks
Managing instability 69 faction with their present family economic situation. The first question was: “Do you think that after 1989 your economic condition has improved or worsened?" Only 10 percent indicated they saw signs of slight improvement, whereas 22 percent said it worsened little, 40 percent that it worsened a lot and 27 percent that it did not change. On the other hand, the second question asked: “Are you satisfied with your present family economic situation?“ The answers were divided between 55 percent satisfied (4 percent very much, 51 percent more or less satisfied) and 43 percent not satisfied (32 percent not satisfied, 11 percent very unsatisfied). These data do not clearly indicate why people show inconsistency in their practices and ideas, but they suggest that, generally speaking, worsened economic conditions are not the main source of generalized mistrust because most people are relatively satisfied with their family’s economic situation. The difference between the two sets of answers indicates that what in principle is seen as a pessimistic view of the transformation may turn into a realistically less negative picture when considering the overall family situation. Some informants commented on the two questions, saying: “Well, we should not complain too much, after all we are free today and there is always a future to come, which depends more or less on our choices". Even among those who attribute the present uncertainty and economic distress to the fall of socialism, there were no indications that postsocialism has not brought anything good at all for them. All of them were ready to accept the idea that personal freedom and the very possibility to “work for the future" (a jövőért dolgozni) were, nonetheless, the best achievements of the transformation. In spite of these veins of optimism for the future, however, mistrust and suspicion still dominate public life and this fact becomes manifest as soon as one starts living in the community. Before examining the problem of how mistrust influences everyday social relations within and outside the community, I would like to provide some more quantitative evidence on the use of trust in defining people’s interaction with social institutions.
