Abstract
This paper presents the development of the enterprise sector and the welfare regime in Poland, dominated by two opposing trends originating from the country’s recent history: remnants of the “Communist welfare state” and liberal tendencies that came after the political and economic transformation in 1989. The growing civil society that supplements a deficient welfare system finds its roots in the peaceful underground Solidarity movement of the 1980s which played a great role in liberating Poland. After the political turnover, the Solidarity’s mission-driven approach not only survived, but also helped shape Poland’s contemporary civil society. The outlined mechanisms seem to be significant for understanding the transformation of social economy and the welfare state concept in post-communist Europe. In our paper, we identify six mechanisms underlying the Solidarity movement, which, when subsequently implemented by social entrepreneurs, has guaranteed the success of their organizations. We will also characterize the current welfare state in Poland, as well as the role of social enterprises in filling the gaps and addressing the shortcomings of the welfare state. Several case studies will illustrate the latter.
Résumé
Cet article présente le développement du secteur des entreprises et du régime de protection sociale en Pologne, dominé par deux tendances opposées émanant de l’histoire récente du pays: les restes de « l’État providence communiste » et les tendances libérales qui ont suivi les transformations politiques et économiques de 1989. La société civile croissante qui étoffe un système providence déficient prend racine dans le mouvement sous-terrain de solidarité pacifique des années 80, lequel a joué un rôle important dans la libération de la Pologne. Après le renversement politique, l’approche de type mission du mouvement de solidarité a non seulement survécu, mais elle a aussi donné en partie forme à la société civile contemporaine de la Pologne. Les mécanismes exposés semblent importants si l’on veut comprendre les transformations de l’économie sociale et le concept d’État providence de l’Europe postcommuniste. Dans notre article, nous identifions six mécanismes sous-jacents au mouvement de solidarité qui, lorsque mis en œuvre par des entrepreneurs sociaux, ont garanti la réussite de leurs organismes. Nous caractériserons aussi l’état actuel de la protection sociale en Pologne, ainsi que le rôle des entreprises sociales dans le colmatage des brèches et la résolution des difficultés rencontrées par l’État providence. Plusieurs études de cas illustreront ce dernier.
Zusammenfassung
Dieser Beitrag zeigt die Entwicklung des Unternehmenssektors und Wohlfahrtssystems in Polen, die von zwei gegensätzlichen Trends dominiert wird, die aus der jüngsten Geschichte des Landes entstanden sind: die Überreste des „kommunistischen Wohlfahrtsstaates“und die liberalen Tendenzen, die nach dem politischen und wirtschaftlichen Wandel 1989 zu sehen waren. Die wachsende Bürgergesellschaft, die ein mangelhaftes Wohlfahrtssystem ergänzt, hat ihre Wurzeln in der friedlichen Untergrundbewegung „Solidarität“aus den achtziger Jahren, die bei der Liberalisierung Polens eine große Rolle spielte. Nach der politischen Wende bestand der missionsorientierte Ansatz von „Solidarität“nicht nur fort, sondern prägte auch Polens aktuelle Bürgergesellschaft. Die dargestellten Mechanismen erscheinen bedeutend für das Verständnis der Transformation der sozialen Wirtschaft und des Wohlfahrtsstaatkonzepts im postkommunistischen Europa. In diesem Beitrag werden sechs Mechanismen aufgezeigt, die der Bewegung zugrundeliegen und deren spätere Anwendung durch soziale Unternehmer den Erfolg ihrer Unternehmen gewährleistet hat. Des Weiteren wird der heutige Wohlfahrtsstaat Polen beschrieben, und man geht auf die Rolle von Sozialunternehmen zur Schließung der Lücken und der Beseitigung von Mängeln des Wohlfahrtsstaates ein. Letzteres wird anhand mehrerer Fallstudien illustriert.
Resumen
El presente documento presenta el desarrollo del sector empresarial y del régimen de bienestar en Polonia, dominado por dos tendencias opuestas que se originan a partir de la reciente historia del país: restos del “Estado de bienestar comunista” y las tendencias liberales que llegaron tras la transformación política y económica en 1989. La creciente sociedad civil que complementa un sistema de bienestar deficiente encuentra sus raíces en el pacífico movimiento clandestino Solidaridad de los años 1980 que desempeñó un gran papel en la liberación de Polonia. Tras la transición política, el enfoque impulsado por misiones de Solidaridad no sólo sobrevivió sino que ayudó también a dar forma a la sociedad civil contemporánea de Polonia. Los mecanismos esbozados parecen significativos para comprender la transformación de la economía social y el concepto de estado de bienestar en la Europa poscomunista. En nuestro documento identificamos seis mecanismos que subyacen al movimiento Solidaridad, que, cuando los emprendedores sociales los implementaron posteriormente, han garantizado el éxito de sus organizaciones. También caracterizaremos el estado de bienestar actual en Polonia, así como el papel de las empresas sociales llenando las lagunas y abordando las deficiencias del estado de bienestar. Varios estudios de caso ilustrarán lo último.
Chinese
本文介绍了波兰企业领域和福利体系的发展。源于该国近期历史,发展由两种相对的趋势主导:“共产主义福利国家”残余和1989年政治经济变革后的自由主义倾向。得益于二十世纪八十年代和平解放波兰的地下团结运动,公民社会不断发展,福利体系日益完善。经历政治变革后,团结运动的使命感不仅得以存续,而且塑造了波兰当代公民社会。所述机制对理解后共产主义欧洲的社会经济变革和福利国家概念至为重要。本文中,我们确认了团结运动依存的六种机制。社会企业家在执行这六种机制后取得了巨大成就。另外,我们还描述了当前波兰福利体系的特征及社会企业在弥补福利不足,解决福利缺陷方面的作用。后者将通过案例分析加以解释。.
Arabic
يقدم هذا البحث تطوير قطاع المشاريع ونظام الرعاية الإجتماعية في بولندا، الذي يسيطر عليه إتجاهين متعارضين نشاؤا من تاريخ البلاد الحديث: بقايا “حالة الرفاهية الشيوعية” والميول الليبرالية التي جاءت بعد التحول السياسي والإقتصادي في عام 1989. المجتمع المدني المتزايد الذي يكمل نقص نظام الرعاية لإيجاد جذوره في حركة التضامن تحت الأرض السلمية من 1980s الذي لعب دور كبير في تحرير بولندا. بعد التغيير السياسي مهمة تضامن النهج القائم لم ينجو فقط، بل ساعد أيضا” على تشكيل مجتمع بولندا المدني المعاصر. يبدو أن الآليات الموضحة كبيرة لمحاولة فهم تحول الإقتصاد الإجتماعي ومفهوم لحالة الرفاهية ما بعد الشيوعية في أوروبا في بحثنا نحدد ستة آليات كامنة وراء حركة التضامن، التي، عندما نفذت في وقت لاحق عن طريق أصحاب المشاريع الإجتماعية، ضمنت نجاح منظماتهم. نحن أيضا سوف نقوم بتصنيف حالة الرفاهية الحالية في بولندا، وكذلك دور المؤسسات الإجتماعية في سد الثغرات ومعالجة أوجه القصور في حالة الرفاهية. العديد من دراسات الحالة توضح هذا الأخير.
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Notes
According to Kawano (2013), Social Solidarity Economy is an ethical and values-based approach to economic development (as opposed to growth) that prioritizes the welfare of people and planet over profits and blind growth.
From December 13, 1981, when martial law was imposed, until June 4, 1989, when the first free election took place. Prior to the martial law, the protests achieved a legal period for the Solidarity trade union (after the iconic Lech Wałęsa’s jump over the shipyard fence); a treaty was signed in August 1980, and the legal period of Solidarity lasted until December 1981.
For example, actively participated in the mid-70s in the Committee for Helping Workers (Komitet Obrony Robotników, KOR); workers were at that time persecuted by the police because of their strikes against the regime (see the Solidarity Encyclopedia).
For more information see: https://www.ashoka.org/fellow/tomasz-sadowski.
See: http://www.ekosz.republika.pl/; an English version available.
For more information see: https://www.ashoka.org/fellow/donat-kuczewski.
See: http://synapsis.org.pl/.
See more at: https://www.ashoka.org/fellow/michal-wroniszewski.
See the products and more on the Synapsis social venture website at: http://sklep.pracowniasynapsis.pl/en.
See: http://flms.pl/pl/.
See more at: http://poland.ashoka.org/fellow/dorota-komornicka.
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Funding
This work was partially supported by the research project EFESEIIS ‘Enabling the Flourishing and Evolution of Social Entrepreneurship for Innovative and Inclusive Societies.’ EFESEIIS has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 613179.
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Praszkier, R., Petrushak, E., Kacprzyk-Murawska, M. et al. The Polish Social Enterprise Sector Vis-à-Vis the Welfare Regime: Following on the Solidarity Movement?. Voluntas 28, 2383–2402 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-016-9812-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-016-9812-2