Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2007, 15(7):472-480 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.236
The Polish Intelligentsia since 1944. Social Structure and Social Roles
- Prof. zw. dr hab. Janusz Żarnowski; Instytut Historii PAN; Wyższa Szkoła Komunikowania i Mediów Społecznych im. Jerzego Giedroycia w Warszawie (j-zarnowski@wp.pl).
The author seeks to answer some important questions of Polish social history: the course and results of evolution of the Polish intelligentsia since 1944, modifications of the social roles of intelligentsia in Polish society, the problem of middle class in Poland and intelligentsia under Communist rule and in the contemporary Polish society since 1989. The Polish intelligentsia preserved its social and national identity in spite of deep transformation of its social basis and professional structure under Communism. In the Communist party-state intelligentsia was debarred from power, its social role consisted in distributing elements of modernisation and influence of Western civilisation. The Polish society in the 19th century did not generate a middle class after the Western pattern. Intelligentsia fulfilled in Poland some functions of the middle class and probably continued doing it after the World War II as the new media spread popular culture consisting mainly of elements created in the milieu of intelligentsia. After the turning point of 1989 some groups of intelligentsia are progressively forming the new Polish middle class as other groups, especially in public sector and non-economic branches, keep away.
Keywords: intelligentsia, Poland 1944-1989, middle class
Published: December 1, 2007 Show citation
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