From the Idea of Self-Management to Capitalism: The Characteristics of the Polish Transformation Process

Abstract

The Polish “Solidarity” was the largest independent self-governing mass movement in the Eastern European region, which after the transition fell apart. This article is seeking to answer the question; how could pure market capitalism also be established in Poland, which fully contradicted the “Solidarity” self-governing socialism theory? How was it that such a large mass movement could disappear under these new circumstances? The Polish opposition activists (Kuroń, Modzelewski, Kołakowski, Brus, Michnik) wanted to establish a “self-governing socialism” together with the working class from the middle of the 1960s. In the years 1980–81 this was also established for a short period during the “Solidarity”. After the introduction of Martial law, due to the world economic system, the indebtedness of socialist economics and the pressure of international financial institutions it was impossible to resolve the crisis in a “socialist way”. In addition to this the revolutionary changes within the industry scattered the classical working class, which was the basis of the “Solidarity”. This article strives to answer these questions based on archive documentation, while comparing Polish events with Hungarian. This article finds it is important to analyze the role of historical traditions and the transformation of the world economic system at the same time. This shows the specialities and resemblances of the countries in the Central Eastern European region.

Notes

¹ The issue of creating the self-government of workers surfaced in practically all of the Eastern European countries at various historical periods, thus in Russia after 1917, in Poland and Hungary between 1944 and 1947 and in 1956 and after 1948 in Yugoslavia. In the second half of the 1980s when the problem of dismantling state property became the agenda, left-wing intellectuals and workers again saw collective ownership by the workers and the establishment of workers’ self-government as a realistic alternative to capitalism. See: Krausz and Markus; Jakubowicz.

² List otwarty Jacka Kuronia i Karola Modzelewskiego do członków Podstawowej Organizacji Partyjnej Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej i członków uczelnianiej organizacji Związku Młodzieży Socjalistycznej przy Uniwersytecie Warszawskim, przedstawiający oparty o marksowską teorię społeczeństwa krytyczny obraz systemu politycznego i społeczno-ekonomicznego Polski jako ustroju biurokracji partyjnej. See: Hemmerling and Nadolski 157–245. The sources of these thoughts may also be found in the works of Michał Kalecki, Włodzimerz Brus and Oskar Lange. In the 1930s Kalecki worked together with John Maynard Keynes and had a significant influence on the latter's theory which was to become so famous. The works of Brus and Lange had an impact mostly on the economic reforms of the socialist countries. An English edition of the open letter was published by Bookmarks in 1982 under the title of Solidarnosc: The Missing Link.

³ According to an internal public opinion survey in factories employing over 1000 workers, 95% of the employees supported the establishment of self-government structures but even among all respondents the rate was as high as 65%. See: Ash 208. In English the third edition of this book was published by Yale University Press in 2002.

⁴ On the conditions for the emergence of self-government see: Marković 71–87.

⁵ Tezy do ustawy o samorządzie pracowniczym. See: Luszniewicz 331–333.

⁶ Sieć Organizacji Zakładowych NSZZ ‘Solidarność’.

⁷ The details of this idea were explicated by Milewski directly before the congress of Solidarity in the illegal periodical ‘Robotnik’. See: Rok po sierpniu–co dalej? Robotnik 78 (27 sierpienia 1981) 1–2.

⁸ The Workers’ Defence Committee was created in 1976 after workers’ strikes were brutally crushed. Its chief mission was to lend legal, financial and moral support to workers and their families. Later it became the best organized and strongest opposition movement in Europe. It played an important part in the emergence of the Solidarity movement. See: Lipski. An English language translation of this book was published by the University of California Press in 1985.

⁹ Tygodnik Solidarność 31 (30 października 1981) 6–8.

¹⁰ Projekt zespołu Leszka Balcerowicza przy Instytucie Rozwoju Gospodarczego Szkoły Głównej Planowania i Statystyki. See: Grala331–334.

¹¹ For the two programmes see: ANEKS.

¹² French sociologists detected and offered excellent analyses of the internal dividedness of Solidarity. See: Touraine et al.

¹³ This Committee was created on 22 April 1982 (Tymczasowa Komisja Koordynacyjna).

¹⁴ Created in Brussels on 1 July 1982 (Biuro Koordynacyjne NSZZ Solidarność).

¹⁵ Kuroń, Modzelewski, Kołakowski and Michnik were all of the opinion earlier that without altering the system entirely it was impossible to carry out any sort of economic reform. After the period of martial law, economic reforms came to the forefront of the programmes of the opposition. The reasons for this were obviously to do with experiences of the introduction of martial law and the extremely poor condition of the economy.

¹⁶ For the surveys see: Gorzelak and Jalowiecki 223.

¹⁷ Poland joined the IMF on 12 June 1986.

¹⁸ Tymczasowa Rada NSZZ Solidarność.

¹⁹ Krajowa Komisja Wykonawcza NSZZ Solidarność.

²⁰ Ogólnopolskie Porozumienie Związków Zawodowych.

²¹ The official paper of the Committee (Komitet Obywatelski) was ”Gazeta Wyborcza” first published on 8 May 1989, with Adam Michnik as editor in chief.

²² Last head of the Polish emigrant government “functioning” in London after WWII.

²³ President of the National Bank, later member of the PC.

²⁴ Head of the social welfare organisation between 1983 and 1988; Minister of Social Policy and Labour in 1988, then head of the Economic Committee of the Rakowski-government and Deputy Prime Minister.

²⁵ For Sachs’ plans see: Sachs 5–19.

²⁶ For Balcerowicz's plan see: Program gospodarczy.

²⁷ Acts on (1) the financing of state companies; (2) bank laws; (3) credit; (4) income tax; (5) the new principles of taxation; (6) the activities of foreign investors; (7) currency regulations; (8) customs regulations; (9) on employment; and (10) on the conditions of the dismissal of employees.

²⁸ Besides this the government was expecting a loan of USD 700 million from IMF and requested guarantees for a loan of USD 1 billion from the banks of the developed countries. They started talks with the Paris Club and the Soviet Union on the timing of the repayment of debts.

²⁹ In September 1993, early elections were held in Poland. The election campaign slowed down the process of privatization.

³⁰ A “Polskie Sieci Elektroenerg. SA, Warszawa”; a “Petrochemia Płock SA, Płock” és a” “Telekomunikacja Polska SA, Warszawa”. See: Lásd.

³¹ See: http://www.rzeczpospolita.pl/ekonomia/lista500_2007/ (2009-08-14). Contrary to Polish companies, the majority of Hungarian organisations on this list have been privatized or were multi-nationals to start with (Audi, Suzuki, Tesco, Phillips, Samsung etc.).

³² See: http://www.rp.pl/galeria/127224,5,297713.html (2009-08-14).

³³ For the official statistical figures see: http://www.mojebezrobocie.ovh.org/o_bezrobociu_statystyki_gus.php (2009-03-21).

³⁴ The inflation of the Zloty is illustrated by the fact that in early 1990 1 USD cost 9500 Zlotys.

³⁵ Democratic Union (Unia Demokratyczna).

³⁶ Democratic Left Alliance (Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej).

³⁷ Contrary to the Slovenian practice of privatisation.

³⁸ At the same time, it is impossible to deny that several of the demands of Solidarity were actually met in the process of the transformation. A democratic political system emerged which, in theory, gives everybody the chance for self-organisation. It is thought-provoking, however, how among the new conditions such collective organizations could have “avoided the consequences of market competition: the shrinking of real wages; the ‘competitiveness’ created by force through means such as technology and enhanced intensity of labour, increasing working hours, ‘rationalisation’, dismissals; or the competition which would have pitched them as owners and capitalists entrepreneurs against the workers of other factories, and which always renders the relative position of other workers worse.” See: Tamás 2–3. However, the main problem is still that broad strata of society were left out of creating the new system, so that they had no other option left but to adapt to the circumstances.