Between rejected socialism and desired capitalism
Social sciences’ discourse on the transformation in Poland
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12529316 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Aleksandra Leyk (University of Warsaw, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 643-663 |
| Publication date | 2016-06-07 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Review of History Revue européenne d histoire (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1350-7486 • E-ISSN: 1469-8293 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13507486.2016.1182125 |
| OpenAlex | W2411415246 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 10 |
The transformation of the socialist societies of Central and Eastern Europe has been commonly described as a transition from a planned economy to a market economy and from a (semi)authoritarian system to a liberal democracy. According to this perspective, the implementation of new political and economic institutions was supposed to free the – so far suppressed – nature of all societies to become capitalist democracies. Such a vision of transformation dominated Polish public and academic discourse. It has been challenged by critics, who emphasized that transformation is an ambiguous process taking place at the level of social life rather than a macro-institutional level. Nevertheless, new concepts often reproduced characteristics of the rejected approach – a tendency to build dichotomous models based on simplified images of a pathological socialist legacy on one hand and of desired capitalist order on the other. Only recently a shift in the transformation discourse might be observed. The best examples are studies employing ethnographic methods, which focus on the level of everyday practices, and study how systemic changes were experienced by social actors. The article is an analysis of the social sciences’ discourse on transformation in the context of the broader public discourse in Poland. It depicts the transitology paradigm and its critique evolving from institutional and cultural perspectives. The focus is on concepts of homo sovieticus, ‘winners and losers’, learned helplessness and the like. Finally, the implications of ethnographic approaches are discussed. The case provokes questions about the role of social scientists in the vital processes of their own society
Authoritarianism · Capitalism · Communism · Context (archaeology · Democracy · Economic system · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Social change · Social science · Social transformation · Socialism · Sociology · Eastern European Communism and Reforms · Law · Polish Historical and Cultural Studies · Post-Communist Economic and Political Transition
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,33 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2023 (7) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |