Suchergebnisse

This paper discusses Polish consumer cooperatives – informal consumer groups that have been emerging in the country since 2010 – in terms of the embedded economy as understood by Karl Polanyi. Following Polanyi's understanding of the relationship between human economy and social institutions, I analyse reciprocity and redistribution as forms of integration in Polish consumer cooperatives. The structure and economic operation of these new consumer cooperatives is compared to pre-war Polish consumer cooperatives (organised into the national union Społem) that serve as a point of reference and inspiration for some of today's cooperative activists. I argue that the present structure of consumer cooperatives does not provide a base for symmetry and centricity – "supporting structures" for reciprocity and redistribution – although some cooperatives offer solutions for those deficits. This paper also discusses the nature of class barriers in the contemporary and historical consumer-cooperative movements, relating this issue to the Polanyian notion of countermovement and class interest.

Celem artykułu jest wskazanie na aktualność idei agraryzmu ludowcowego – reprezentowanego przez działaczy Związku Młodzieży Wiejskiej "Wici" oraz Stronnictwa Ludowego (przede wszystkim przez Stanisława Miłkowskiego) i argumentacjana rzecz tezy, że przypomnienie sposobu rozumowania i postulatów agrarystów mogłoby wesprzeć rozwiązywanie problemów społecznych i gospodarczych nie tylko współczesnej wsi, ale i całego państwa. Pomogłoby także w tworzeniu wspólnego języka dla różnych aktorów dążących do zmiany polityki wiejskiej i systemu żywnościowego. W artykule w szczególności koncentruję się na trzech obszarach: dowartościowaniu drobnego rolnictwa, spółdzielczości i wizji systemu gospodarczego, oraz kształtu demokracji. Pokazuję, że idee agrarystyczne dzięki swojemu pragmatyzmowi, antyelitaryzmowi ale zarazem przywiązaniu dla demokracji i pluralizmu mogą stanowić zarazem radykalną, jak i w pewnym sensie umiarkowaną propozycję reform systemu społeczno-gospodarczego.

AbstractThe aim of this article is to explore the possible emergence of a food sovereignty movement in Poland through the analysis of two farmers protest movements organised in 2012–2019 (Protest Rolników and Agrounia) as well as Polish alternative food networks. The analysed protest movements reacted to the socio‐economic crisis in the countryside which entails a continuous decline of smallholder farming, a process that has started during the 1989 Polish transformation and has intensified following the introduction of the Common Agricultural Policy in the country. It is argued that – due to the prevalence of the modernisation paradigm in the Polish public sphere – the alliance of farmer movements with urban consumer groups would foster legitimacy of the food sovereignty discourse and bring about creation of a strong social movement that could influence public opinion and state policy. However, while the analysed groups of farmers and urban consumers share some goals, their discourses on food and agricultural issues differ, immersed in different worldviews and visions of the countryside. A successful translation of the food sovereignty discourse into the Polish context requires a careful navigation between religious and conservative values, important for family farmers, and the more universal 'cosmopolitan' ideas promoted by urban consumers.

AbstractThis article critically examines Krajewski's (in this issue of Contemp Jewry) argument about the assimilation and subsequent de-assimilation of the Jewish population in Poland. While Krajewski asserts that Polish Jews underwent a process of assimilation followed by a revival of their cultural and religious practices, the authors argue that the term "de-assimilation" is not applicable in this context. They propose that post-war Polish Jews consciously chose to embrace a secular identity rather than a religious one, keeping their Jewish life private. This secular identity, characterized by interests in secular Jewish culture, learning, and social justice, as well as maintaining specific distinctive habits, remained dominant even after 1989. The authors also compare this process to the experiences of Spanish and Portuguese conversos, who returned to Judaism but retained syncretic identities. They emphasize the importance of understanding the complex nature of Jewish identity and involvement, highlighting the significance of secular and cultural practices among Polish Jews.

In this article, the authors analyze emerging alternative food networks (AFNs) in Poland—that is, newly established consumer cooperatives—focusing on how the networks' members perceive food and the space of its production. This analysis leads to reflection on the division that exists in the subject literature between "northern" and "southern" AFNs. The authors argue that this division does not capture the complex situation of Central and Eastern Europe's postsocialist countries. While one type of Polish cooperative—identified as "activist"—resembles "northern" AFNs in some respects, the "consumption-oriented" cooperatives evince many features of the "southern" type. It is argued that both types of cooperatives are built according to Western patterns, but there is an underlying understanding of food quality that defines their actual relations with producers and consumer choices, and this has much in common with the informal food networks prevalent during the socialist period. Therefore, alternative food networks in postsocialist countries require a new interpretation that may change the overall categorization of AFNs.

Farmers in post-socialist Central and Eastern Europe are the major beneficiaries of the European Union's (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), at least in monetary terms. Why, then, are they dissatisfied with the CAP? This study aims to understand farmers' subjectivities (i.e., judgments shaped by personal opinions and feelings) regarding CAP and compares these subjectivities to the actual impact of CAP in rural areas. It is based on empirical research in the Błaszki commune in central Poland, where the farmers' movement Agrounia originated. The study has found that in addition to its benefits, CAP created a number of new problems, such as socio-economic differentiation and related tensions in rural communities, misuse of the CAP's direct payments, disappearance of rural (peasant) lifestyle, and environmental degradation. The empirical material has also revealed the fragile position of Polish farmers in the domestic market, which affects their dignity and self-esteem. Agrounia seeks to address the latter issue, yet it faces the problems of farmer mobilization and negative representation in the media. This article contributes to the discussions about the applicability of CAP in the post-socialist context, the impact of farmers' subjectivities on their practices, and the farmers' mobilization and social movements in post-socialist countries.