INTRODUCTION

• Authors: Wiśniewski Rafał
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

In the social awareness of Poles, 2018 stands out due to the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Poland’s regaining of its independence. 1 November 11th, Independence Day, was particularly festive. It was a unique moment in which Poles enjoyed the fact that they belonged to a great civic community. Polish society, like all modern societies, is characterized by considerable complexity, an element of which is functional diversity.2 Thus, 2018 was an opportunity for celebration for many groups and institutions that constituted themselves within the framework of the Polish State a hundred years ago, including the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Ministry of Family, Labor, and Social Policy, and the Central Statistical Office. Each of these areas of social life is an aspect of consolidation over the 100 years of independence. Inscribing itself into the anniversary events, each one deserves special attention. Without making any claims to evaluate or compare the various pillars of social life, I would like to point out selected circumstances accompanying the birth of social policy in Poland. Their importance seems understandable when one looks at the past through the lens of great social processes. The legislation of Poland, reborn after 123 years of the Partitions, was very modern. The granting voting rights to women, establishing an eight–hour working day, guaranteeing children free and universal education, and overseeing the working conditions juveniles, were all introduced in Poland much earlier than in many Western countries. Such regulations remained in stark contrast to the realities in which Poles had lived until then.3 Decades of exploitation of the inhabitants of Polish land and the lack of undertakings aimed at the development of the occupied territories led to a situation in which the splendor of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth remained alive only in the collective memory. Additionally, society suffered from the effects of the First World War, prolonged by the fight for the eastern borders with the Soviet Union. Poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and the fate of children orphaned by civilians and soldiers who died between 1914 and 1918 were very serious challenges. The fathers of the reborn state, headed by Józef Piłsudski, attached great importance to social issues. Before starting activities leading to the formation of the Polish army, Marshal Piłsudski was for years involved in the work of the Polish Socialist Party. Among other things, its activities involved the publishing the Robotnik [Worker] magazine.4 Industrialization and its associated urbanization resulted in such profound changes in the social structure of many countries over the course of the 19th century that, under their influence the political order of Europe began to rupture in the early 20th century. Representatives of colonial powers, future new states becoming the political organisms of many European nations formed from out of the post–Versailles behemoths, and the Bolsheviks seeking to spread the revolutionary flame across the continent5 played a role in establishing the new borders. Piłsudski rebuilt Poland as a national community based on culture, common history, and heritage. At the same time, he was able to effectively resist the threat from the east. This was thanks to not only his military genius, but also the trust he enjoyed due to his sensitivity to the problems of the lower social strata. Implementation of the idea of social solidarity in the Second Polish Republic encountered serious obstacles that were the result of the economic reality as well as the objectively difficult situation involving the uniting three extremely different post–Partition realities. This is all the more reason for the merits of the fathers of the first Polish solutions in the field of social policy deserve recognition. Social issues also played a significant role in later years as raised by the opposition, especially during the birth of the Solidarity Free Trade Union, in the times of the Polish People’s Republic. This sensitivity to social issues remains key even today, as exemplified by the “Family 500 Plus” program. Let us hope that, thanks to such experiences and traditions, attachment to the idea of social solidarity will also characterize future generations of Poles. A detailed description of social policy changes in Poland over the last hundred years as well as an analysis of selected aspects of social policy can be found in the articles collected in this issue. An extensive 700–page monograph entitled Stulecie polskiej polityki społecznej 1918–2018 [One hundred years of Polish social policy 1918–2018], edited by E. Bojanowska, M. Grewiński, M. Rymsza, and G. Uścińska, and published by the National Center for Culture and the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (Warsaw, 2018) served as the basis for this choice. If you are interested in a more in–depth examination of the topics signaled in this issue, I encourage you to consult this informative publication, which provides additional comments and analyses of various aspects of social policy over the past 100 years.

• Publisher: Institute of Labor and Social Studies, Warsaw
• Journal: Polityka Społeczna
• Year: 2018
• Volume: 45
• Issue: 1(14) 100 Years Social Policy in Poland
• Pages: 1

Contributors

author

Wiśniewski Rafał

• The Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University