Cover; Content; Acknowledgments; Introduction; PART ONE: SHOCK AS THERAPY; 1. The Collapse of "Really Existing Socialism"; 2. The Neoliberal About-Face; 3. A Brief Compromise: The Round Table; 4. From Gradualism to "Jump"; 5. Great Systemic Choices; 6. The Balcerowicz Plan in Practice; 7. The Alternative after the Shock; PART TWO: ELITIST OWNERSHIP TRANSFORMATIONS; 8. Ownership: From Taboo Topic to the Round Table Agreements; 9. Open and Hidden Privatization Strategies; 10. Ownership Transformations in Practice; 11. More on Enfranchisement and Foreign Capital; PART THREE: LOOKING AHEAD
12. Ownership in Different Types of Capitalism13. The New Order-A Civilization of Inequality?; 14. Start a Debate on Poland and the European Union; Chronology; Bibliography; Notes; Index
Summary
In the 1980s and 90s, renowned Polish economist Tadeusz Kowalik played a leading role in the Solidarity movement, struggling alongside workers for an alternative to "really-existing socialism" that was cooperative and controlled by the workers themselves. In the ensuing two decades, "really-existing" socialism has collapsed, capitalism has been restored, and Poland is now among the most unequal countries in the world. Kowalik asks, how could this happen in a country that once had the largest and most militant labor movement in Europe? This book takes readers inside the debates within Solidar
