Stalinism versus capitalism. Institutional changes in the Polish social policy in the years 1918-1956

Abstract

Goal – the aim of the paper is to present the fundamental institutional changes which took place in the Polish social policy between 1918 and 1956, i.e. from regaining independence to the end of the Stalinist period in Poland. Therefore, the paper will present both the processes that constitute the construction of the social policy system, embedded in the European tradition and capitalist economy, and the process of dismantling of that system carried out by the communists at the end of the 1940s and at the beginning of the next decade, which imitated the Stalinist model of social activity of the state. Research methodology – the paper has been prepared with the use of a number of research methods in the field of humanities and social studies, necessary for the proper reconstruction of institutional changes which took place in the Polish social policy in the discussed period. The research has been based on the query of the archival sources, printed and legal, as well as specialist press and research papers. Score – the construction of the social policy system, which began in 1918, was not completed in the interwar period, but strong institutional foundations for such a system were created. After the World War II its reconstruction was, understandably, based on the pre-war rules. Political and systemic changes, which took place in Poland after communists gained full power, meant even greater nonuniformity between the institutional solutions, which stemmed from capitalism, and the model of socialism built in the late 1940s. Along with this process, social policy also underwent salinization and, as the result of institutional changes at the beginning of the 1950s, it had completely different functions than in the capitalist economy. It was objectified and it became an instrument of economic policy aimed at socialist industrialization and collectivization of villages. Its main task was no longer to solve social issues but to meet social needs. This new role, resulting from the Stalinist system, meant significant impoverishment of social policy and limiting the effectiveness of the state activity on social life.