EN
Firstly, the article endeavors to define the various concept of capitalism as well as to catalogue studies of socio-economic systems contained in contemporary literature. Described are the key drivers of a free-market economy that provide the basis for further classification. Having surveyed diverse models of capitalism, the positions of individual states have been displayed. States classed within individual model groups have been then ranked vis-a-vis their competitive factors. The classification and analyses have subsequently led to a more general recommendation in respect of the desirable direction of economic expansion in Poland.