The Psychological Barriers to Reform in Poland
The Psychological Barriers to Reform in Poland
Author(s): Jane L. CurrySubject(s): National Economy, Economic history, Political history, Economic policy, Government/Political systems, Crowd Psychology: Mass phenomena and political interactions, Economic development, Post-War period (1950 - 1989), Post-Communist Transformation
Published by: SAGE Publications Ltd
Keywords: Poland; Eastern Europe; economic reform; post-communism; privatization; public perceptions of reform; psychological barriers to reform;
Summary/Abstract: Economic reform in Eastern Europe has been made impossible by the very conditions that make it necessary. The economic promises and failures as well as the political realities and lessons of forty years of communist rule have undercut every basis of reform, especially in Poland where communist rule has been marked by periodic popular revolts that bring in their wake public discussions of the extent of the system's failure. Poland's 30-year tradition of some privatization in small-scale industries and agriculture, along with the disinclination or inability of the rulers to limit independent discussion, have provided a base for reform, but they have also contributed to Poles' sense that their leaders are powerless to follow through. [...]
Journal: East European Politics and Societies
- Issue Year: 02/1988
- Issue No: 03
- Page Range: 484-509
- Page Count: 26
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF