Poland's New Capitalism

Jane Hardy

Description

This book explores the way that neoliberal policies have formed the basis of political transformation in Poland, championed by both post-communist and post-Solidarity governments.



Poland was central to the historic changes that took place across Eastern Europe at the end of the Cold War. It is the largest economy in the region, and was at the forefront of opposition to communism. Since then, neoliberal policies have controlled the country.



This book assesses the impact of these policies, the role of capital in the form of transnational corporations and foreign direct investment. The revival of trade unions and growth of new social movements are also explored as they challenge Poland's new capitalism.
Acknowledgements

Glossary

1. Introduction: Poland's New Capitalism

2. Crisis, Revolt, Reform And Repression: Poland 1945 To 1990

3. The Leap To Global Capitalism: 1990 Onwards

4. 'Not Just An Inside Job': Constructing Consent For Neoliberalism

5. Catching Up Or Lagging Behind? Poland In The Global Division Of Labour

6. The 'Shock Troops' Of Foreign Capital

7. Every Day Life Under Neoliberalism: Work And Welfare

8. Workers' Organisations In A Global Economy

9. 'No More Stockings And Red Carnations': Women, Transformation And Resistance

10. Political Parties And New Movements

11. Prospects For The Future

Bibliography

Index

Sujets

• HISTORY
• Histoire
• PZPR
• Solidaridad (Escocia)
• Polish Labour Party
• Solidarity
• Democratic Left Alliance ? Labor Union
• Law and Justice
• Polish Workers' Party
• General officer
• United States Agency for International Development
• Political economy
• Polish United Workers' Party
• Polish People's Party
• Civic Platform
• History of Europe
• Alliance de la gauche démocratique - Union du travail
• General
• Poland
• Agence des États-Unis pour le développement international
• Parti ouvrier unifié polonais
• Lech Wa??sa
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 20 juillet 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783719327
• Langue: English

Extrait

Poland’s New Capitalism
Poland’s New Capitalism
JANE HARDY
First published 2009 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA and
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.plutobooks.com
Distributed in the United States of America exclusively by
Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Copyright © Jane Hardy 2009
The right of Jane Hardy to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN   978 0 7453 2457 9    Hardback
ISBN   978 0 7453 2456 2    Paperback
ISBN   978 1 7837 1932 7    ePub
ISBN   978 1 7837 1933 4    Kindle
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental standards of the country of origin. The paper may contain up to 70 per cent post-consumer waste.
10   9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1
Designed and produced for Pluto Press by
Chase Publishing Services Ltd, Sidmouth, England
Typeset from disk by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton, England
Printed and bound in the European Union by
CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne
For Kate and Shân
CONTENTS
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations and Glossary
Map
1
Introduction
2
Crisis, Revolt, Reform and Repression: Poland 1945 to 1990
3
The Leap to Global Capitalism: 1990 Onwards
4
‘Not Just an Inside Job’: Constructing Consent for Neoliberalism
5
Catching Up or Lagging Behind? Poland in the Global Division of Labour
6
The ‘Shock Troops’ of Foreign Capital
7
Everyday Life Under Neoliberalism: Work and Welfare
8
Workers’ Organisations in a Global Economy
9
‘No More Stockings and Red Carnations’: Women, Transformation and Resistance
10
Political Parties and New Movements
11
Prospects for the Future
Notes
References
Index
LIST OF TABLES
2.1
Distribution of Income 1988–1991
4.1
Selected USAID Projects (over $5 million), 1990–2001
4.2
Consulting Firms in Poland
5.1
Changes in Employment in Poland, 1995–2006
5.2
Selected Indicators of FDI and International Production in the Global Economy, 1986–2006
5.3
FDI Stocks and Flows in CEE Accession Countries as a Percentage of GDP
5.4
High Tech Imports as a Percentage of Total Imports
5.5
Highest and Lowest Spending on R&D: Selected EU Countries in 2006
5.6
Human Capital Index (Selected Countries)
6.1
Characteristics of State Owned Enterprises Compared with Western European Firms in 1990
7.1
Unemployment in Poland, 1990–2007
7.2
Six EU Countries with the Highest Unemployment Rate, 2007
7.3
A Comparison of Wages in Four Sectors, 2006
7.4
At Risk of Poverty Before and After Social Transfers
7.5
Inequalities in Income Distribution in Selected Countries
7.6
Percentage of GDP Spent on Social Protection: Selected EU Countries in 2006
7.7
Health Care Spending in Selected OECD Countries, 2004
8.1
Disputes Involving Solidarity in 2003
8.2
Relationship Between Real Unit Labour Cost Growth and Unemployment
10.1
Polish Election Results (Number of Seats)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In writing this book I owe many intellectual, political and practical debts. Andrzej Ż ebrowski and Ellisiv Rognlien deserve a special mention for the invaluable help that they have given me. Both through discussions of past and present Polish politics and through reading drafts of chapters they have enabled me to gain a much richer and nuanced understanding of the complexities of Poland’s political scene. Joanna Puczwacka gave me enormous help in researching everyday life in Poland, and the nature of current labour disputes. In our many conversations Julia Kubisa has given me invaluable insights into the Polish feminist movement and women’s activism. I would also like to acknowledge the information I have gained from discussions with Piotr Ostrowski and Filip Ilkowski. All of these people have made their own intellectual contributions, as well as being activists in the new political movements that are shaping the future of radical and left wing politics in Poland. They have organised resistance to war, neoliberalism and reactionary ideas and have reclaimed the language and ideas of liberation and socialism from the distortions of Stalinism. I feel humbled by their energy and persistence, in sometimes difficult circumstances.
I have benefitted enormously from the generosity of Polish academics, and Professors Wiesław Kozek, Bolesław Domanski and Maria Lissowska, in particular. I have learnt a lot from their seminal work on labour relations and the institutional and geographical restructuring of Polish capitalism, which has been a stimulating influence on my writing. I am also very grateful for their practical support and thoughtfulness during my sabbatical in 2004.
Some UK academics deserve a special mention. Mike Haynes has consistently been a constructive critic over the years and I have benefitted greatly from his work. I owe an intellectual debt to Al Rainnie. This book builds on our joint theoretical and empirical work from the early 1990s, which was both a steep learning curve and an exciting time. Alison Stenning has the well-deserved reputation of being a leading academic on Polish transformation and it has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with her on women’s work and activism. Adrian Smith’s support in reading articles and the book outline has been much appreciated, and I have benefitted from his thoughtful comments. In an era of publish and perish, which is undermining collegiality, Adrian and Alison have both been exceptionally generous with their time. I have enjoyed all of their work and found their focus on working-class lives refreshing and informative. Nick Clark, previously employed in the TUC’s International Department, and now a researcher for the PCS trade union, has been extremely helpful, both in his critical gaze and constructive suggestions from a practitioner perspective.
I have drawn on the intellectual insights of many others, most notably: Stuart Shields, Martin Myant, Guglielmo Meardi, Jan Drahokoupil, Chris Harman, Colin Barker, Neil Davidson and Alex Callinicos. I would like to acknowledge the help that I received from the British Academy and the Business School at the University of Hertfordshire, which supported a sabbatical to Warsaw and Kraków in 2004, which enabled me to do extended research for this book. Mick Broadbent, in particular, has been supportive of my research.
I am fortunate to have close friends who have not only been encouraging, but also provided me with meals when I was trying to finish this book. Beyond this they have been extremely diligent in proofreading chapters. In no particular order these include: Keith Randle, Val Hamilton, Viv Bailey, Dave Barnes, Jon Berry, Barbara Thomas, Peter Segal, Angela Perry, Mark Smith, Graham Hollinshead, Dorothea Noble and Alexis Wearmouth.
Finally I would like to thank my editor, David Castle, who has been critical and supportive in the right proportions, in helping me complete the book.
ABBREVIATIONS AND GLOSSARY
AFL-CIO
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
AWS
Akcya Wyborcza Solidarność (Solidarity Electoral Action)
CBI
Central Bank Independence
CBOS
Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej (Centre for the Research of Social Opinion)
CEE
Central and Eastern Europe
CMEA
Committee for Mutual Economic Assistance
EBRD
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
eFKa
Fundacja Kobieca (Women’s Foundation)
ERT
European Round Table of Industrialists
FDI
Foreign Direct Investment
FZZ
Forum Związków Zawodowych (Trade Union Forum)
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
gmina
The lowest territorial unit in Poland which could be a town or city, mixed urban and rural area or a rural area. In 2004 there were 2,478 gminas
GUS
Główny Urząd Statystyczny (Central Statistical Office)
IMF
International Monetary Fund
KOR
Komitet Obrony Robotników (Workers’ Defence Committee)
LiD
Lewica i Demokraci (The Left and the Democrats)
LPR
Liga Polskich Rodzin (League of Polish Families)
NBP
National Bank of Poland
NFZ
Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia (National Health Fund)
nomenklatura
An elite who held key administrative positions in all areas of the activities of post-communist countries, and who were analogous to the ruling class in Western capitalist economies
NSZZ
Niezależny Samorządny Związek Zawodowy: ‘Solidarność’ (Independent Self-governing Trade Union: Solidarity)
OECD
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
OPZZ
Ogólnopolskie Porozumienie Związków Zawodowych (All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions)
OSKa
Ośrodek Informacji Srodowisk Kobiecych (Women’s Rights and Information Centre)
OZB
Ogólnopolski Związek Bezrobotnych (All-Poland Union of the Unemployed)
OZZPiP
Ogólnopolski Związek Zawodowy Pielęgniarek i Położnych (Polish Union of Nurses and Midwives)
PAEF
Polish American Enterprise Fund
PAIZ
Polska Agencja Informacji i Investycji Zagraniczych (Polish Agency for Foreign Investment)
PHARE
Poland and Hungary – Assistance for Economic Restructuring
PiS
Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Justice)
PO
Platforma Obywatelska (Civic Platform)
popiwek
Podatek of ponadnormatywnych wypłat wynagrodzeń. This refers to the state control over wages, lower than the rate of inflation
PPP
Polska Partia Pracy (Polish Labour Party)
PPR
Polska Partia Robotnicza (Polish Workers’ Party)
PSL
Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (Polish Peasant Party)
PZPR
Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza (Polish United Workers’ Party/Polish Communist Party)
Samoobrona
Self Defence
SdPl
Socjaldem