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The Phenomenon of Solidarity: An Attempt of Assessment
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
Extract
What happened in Poland in the early 1980s is fascinating in many respects. The possibility of changing the Communist system in a peaceful manner was once again tried without much success, this time by the mass movement of industrial workers, with some additional help offered by intellectuals. The importance of these events should be fully recognized. As Persky states, “For the first time, a workers' state had been forced to concede to its workers, among other things, the ironic right to form their own working class organization to defend themselves from the workers' state.” According to Ascherson, the success of Polish workers in setting up permanent representation beyond the control of the Party was a major achievement. In this respect the events of 1980/81 differed substantially from all previous workers' uprisings in eastern Europe.
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- Copyright © 1983 by the Association for the Study of the Nationalities (USSR and East Europe) Inc.
References
1. Persky, Stan, At the Lenin Shipyard: Poland and the Rise of the Solidarity Trade Union (Vancouver: New Star Books, 1981), p. X.Google Scholar
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21. Malanowski in his book on workers (1981) develops a polemic with those party intellectuals who are eager to found socialism on strengthening the hierarchisation of society. These intellectuals appeal for better privileges given to the few for their ‘valuable’ contributions. However they disregard the fact that the allocation of rewards so far has benefited mainly those who already have much not because of their genuine contributions but due of them being for many years in the position of power.Google Scholar
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