It wasn’t Leszek Balcerowicz who led Poland to capitalism after 1989, it was the farmers and factory workers who did it. People disregarded in the communist Poland (PRL) and forgotten in contemporary Poland (Third Polish Republic). But they still exist and they are doing incredibly well in the economy, now capitalist. They are the dream workers of Polish economic liberals, the “flexible employees” who can adapt perfectly to the changing market conditions. It is they, not businessmen, who have traded the “white socks” of the Balcerowicz era for the “white collars” of the all-powerful corporations.

At a quarter to four, there’s a PKS...

In Stanisław Bareja’s film Co mi zrobisz jak mnie złapiesz [What Will You Do When You Catch Me?], the peasant worker played by Józef Nalberczak talked about his day: “Well, I myself have a very good connection. I wake up at a quarter to three. In the summer, it’s already light out. At a quarter to three I’m shaved because I shave in the evening. I have had breakfast for supper. I just get up and leave.” “But you do get dressed,” added his conversation companion. “In a coat, when it’s raining,” continued Nalberczak as the peasant worker. “Is it worth it for me to undress after breakfast? I have five kilometres to the PKS. At a quarter past four, there’s a PKS (bus of the Polish state-owned public transport service company -ed.).” “And do you make it?” the listener inquired. “No, but I’m still fine because it’s overcrowded and doesn’t stop. I go to the dairy on my way to the bus stop. That takes an hour. Then I quickly get on the EKD (Warsaw Commuter Railway -ed.) to Szymanów. You know, milk has the fastest transportation, otherwise it curdles. I get off in Szymanów, carry the bottles and catch the electric train to Ochota, and then it’s smooth sailing from there because it goes like this: line 119, transfer to 13, transfer to 345, and I’m home, I mean – at work. And it’s just quarter to seven! I still have a quarter of an hour. So I have lunch at the cafeteria, so I don’t have to stay after the end of my shift just to eat, and I go straight home. And by 22.50, I’m back. I shave. I have breakfast and go to sleep.”

This film excerpt is one of the few, and certainly one of the best, descriptions of the life of a farmer and factory worker in the communist Poland. They were usually ridiculed figures. It is a living proof that industrialization – so important for the economic reality of real socialism – came halfway and cannot be moved. Neither forward nor backward. The so-called “peasant worker” was a hybrid within the system, disregarded and mocked. In propaganda, they were often portrayed as someone drunk and unruly, perpetually dirty and neglected. Officially, they were referred to as dual-occupation workers, and whether one liked it or not, they had to be reckoned with. At the turn of the 1960s and 1970s, there were nearly 6 million farmers and factory workers in Poland. In many industrial plants, they constituted a significant majority, especially when these plants were established in previously agricultural areas. Statistics in the communist Poland indicated that there were the most of them in the south of the country. But the truth is that they were simply everywhere.

Peasant workers were born after World War II. The main reason for the emergence of this occupational group was the development of industry and the progressing urbanisation of cities, which was halted in the early 1960s. Unable to find a place to live in the cities, workers who owned small farms in rural areas were forced to commute to work.

What would the 1980s look like without them?

We must remember that after a devastating war that inflicted human and economic losses on the country, after border changes and the forced deportations of the population, Poland was a very poor country. The low standard of living was particularly visible in rural areas. It is only now that the living standards of urban and rural residents seem to be equalising. Therefore, the city held hopes for a better life, for having comfortable housing. However, the socialist economy could not fulfil those hopes. There were not as many apartments in cities as there were job opportunities.

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     A certain peasant worker model appeared at the end of the 19th century when enlightened industrialists, intellectuals, and later also unionists proposed modern suburban workers’ settlements with small gardens and the possibility of animal husbandry. It was meant to be a response to automation, harsh working conditions, and the dehumanisation of labour. However, the socialist model of the peasant worker was a phenomenon that arose spontaneously against the will of the economic managers. It was something unplanned in the planned economy.

It is difficult today to determine the size of the social group represented by farmers and factory workers during the strikes in August 1980 (series of workers’ strikes in the area of the eastern city of Lublin, demanding better salaries and lower prices of food products). Undoubtedly, without them, this protest would have been impossible because, in addition to those who commuted to work, a significant group consisted of those residing in workers’ hotels and accommodations in private homes (which were rented by large enterprises). Most of them worked and lived in difficult conditions. Whether in accommodations or hotels, they lived in shared rooms. They were one of those groups that desired change for the better. In fact, the August 1980 period and the Solidarity carnival that lasted until the imposition of martial law were characterised by an unprecedented convergence of various social groups in the communist Poland. Rural areas with cities, peasants with workers and urban intellectuals. There was practically no major strike in the city that was not supported by farmers. They provided striking workers with potatoes, cabbage, and carrots. As a student and member of the strike committee, I received such a delivery from rural farmers in 1981, and I entered the university campus sitting on a fully loaded horse-drawn platform.

The crisis of the 1980s caused farmers and factory workers to return to animal husbandry because, in the system of rationing meat through coupons, farmers owning more than half a hectare of land were deprived of allocations. Throughout the decades of the PRL, peasant workers served as a link between the countryside and the cities. It was often through them that fresh and sought-after agricultural products, especially meat and rural products, reached the urban population. Conversely, products unavailable in rural areas made their way there: cleaning products, clothing, household items, and “luxury” food products. It was primarily farmers and factory workers who were accused of hoarding scarce goods in stores during endless crises.

Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland – the new middle class

“Even at the end of the 1980s, Leszek Rudnicki and Henryk Wozniczka wrote about peasant workers as a lasting phenomenon that ‘by no means can be treated as transitional,’” said professor Jerzy Kochanowski. “The economic transformation after 1989 radically verified this view. In failing, non-competitive factories, it was primarily peasant workers who were laid off, disappearing in their ‘PRL’ form. However, the term has remained, and there is nothing to suggest that it will be forgotten.”

According to this opinion, the term “peasant worker” is believed to only apply to the reality of the communist Poland. There is also a conviction that the decline of industry associated with Balcerowicz’s reforms (the Balcerowicz Plan, 1989, was a method for rapidly transitioning from an economy based on state ownership and central planning, to a capitalist market economy) led to the disappearance of farmers and factory workers. However, this is far from the truth. From the very beginning of these reforms, new dual-occupation and even multi-occupation groups emerged. In the 1990s, police officers worked as security guards, just like retirees, and anyone who could engage in various types of trade. Many individuals tried their hand as insurance agents or engaged in direct sales. The majority of Poles had to “figure things out” in order to make a living, and it has remained that way. Many have to function in a similar way to peasant workers.

For almost twenty years, professor Paweł Śpiewak claimed that Andrzej Lepper and his Samoobrona party [Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland] represented the new Polish middle class, which is not the middle class envisioned by professor Bronisław Geremek. A few years ago, artist Pablopavo added in an interview: “Most of our middle class is only two mortgage payments away from homelessness.” On the other hand, a friend of mine claims: “In the early 1990s, we were very happy that heavy industry was collapsing. Those monstrous and inefficient industrial plants. We said that a modern economy consists of shifting people from industry to services. However, no one expected that the only job opportunity in those services would be sitting ‘on the phone’ in telemarketing. And those are our ‘white-collar’ jobs.”

Rural areas are still perceived as socially backward. This opinion usually pertains to regions where traditional social ties have remained intact. Large cities are seen as a counterbalance, symbolising progressiveness, cosmopolitanism, now described with the fashionable term “Europeanness.” Nevertheless, the fact remains that the vast majority of Poles have strong rural roots, and trendy terms, and above all, perceptions, do not find confirmation in research.

In a very interesting work titled “Rural Culture – Local, National, Global Context,” Izabella Bukraba-Rylska draws attention to the contemporary persistence of a certain “serfdom spirit.” “One could even venture to claim,” wrote the researcher, “that typical signs of the ‘serfdom spirit’ can be observed rather among Polish Members of the European Parliament in the 21st century, who have a characteristic way of greeting Jean-Claude Juncker: energetically patting him on the cheek or slapping the forehead with the flat of their hand. It is significant that none of the grinning politicians reciprocate this gesture (supposedly friendly but more reminiscent of a warden’s behaviour), which only confirms the asymmetry of the relationship and the patronising attitude of EU officials. Thus, the ‘serfdom spirit’ reveals its foolishly servile nature, not only in the past in the countryside but also in the Brussels salons.”

Despite all the changes in roles and activities, the image of the peasant worker created by the media, especially the press, has remained in the collective memory. A loafer, a drunkard, a dirty person, someone who cannot be relied upon at all. This stereotype, willingly perpetuated by many, reinforced their apparent superiority: “Look at me, I made it, I have a home and a job in the city, while that person has to commute from their village.”

The symbol of countryside urbanisation is... a truck

Izabella Bukraba-Rylska, mentioned earlier, states that since the 1960s, a tractor has been the measure of an urbanised culture model in rural areas. “In areas where tractors appeared, other elements symbolising a modern, urban way of life and its typical culture also emerged. Meanwhile, in areas where horses were still predominantly used, traditional peasant farming prevailed, along with its distinctive cultural characteristics,” wrote Bukraba-Rylska.

While the tractor was a symbol of prosperity, motorcycles and bicycles were symbols of mobility. Particularly in the 1960s, the rural population commuted to the cities on motorcycles. This mode of transportation was crucial for poorly connected areas, providing a means of communication and commuting to work. A decade later, in Poland, which had been one of the largest motorcycle producers in the world, production ceased, undoubtedly impacting the quality of life for farmers and factory workers. The entire village used bicycles, and the great successes of Polish cycling have their roots in this tradition.

Today, the symbol of urbanisation in the countryside is the truck. Modern-day peasant workers make up a significant majority of Polish truck drivers. In certain areas, there are powerful trucks parked in front of almost every house. Those who don’t travel internationally for work transport goods within the country, serving large retail chains.

The transformation of peasant workers into rural transporters dates back to the mid-1990s. The countryside, affected by the transformation, sought ways to sustain itself. It lost complete or partial employment opportunities in cities. However, it had a fleet of machinery because nearly every farm had a workshop. They possessed the skills to operate these tools and had parking space for trucks. They were capable of manoeuvring heavy machinery. Suddenly, they became one of the driving forces of the Polish economy, to a greater extent than the mythical “white-collar” workers. The paradox of transformation lies in the fact that what was expected to hinder progress became its driving force. It wasn’t the exaggerated stock market or financial services sector, nor the industrial sector, which practically disappeared after the closure of large plants and their associated research centres. Instead, it was agriculture and agri-food services. Modern-day Poland has once again become an agricultural country.

Truck drivers have utilised what politicians and economists couldn’t, which is the geographical location of Poland. As a farmer and truck driver once told me when I asked him why he chose this way of supporting himself and his family, “I can’t help it, Poland is a transit country.” It is worth noting that when our truck drivers entered this industry, the roads in the country were in a terrible state. It is only now that the road infrastructure is beginning to reach reasonably decent standards. However, our truck drivers travel across Europe in all possible directions.

City-farmers or the countryside in a new role

This has also influenced the face of contemporary Polish villages. New types of rural settlements have emerged, which, in addition to their traditional agricultural and recreational roles, now serve as “bedroom villages” located near major regional centres and large cities with strong economic backgrounds. Residents do not give up work in the cities; on the contrary, they actively seek employment there. At the same time, they gain cheaper and better housing conditions, such as a house with a garden. These villages increasingly resemble small towns as they develop their infrastructure and services alongside the changing lifestyle. Specialists refer to this as the “implementation of shuttle migration.” One could say that the modern version of the peasant worker is the opposite of the one in the communist era. However, both then and now, economic conditions played a decisive role in such a lifestyle. People strive to live comfortably according to their means.

There are also villages with a more complex character, where various businesses operate, targeting customers from nearby cities. In such places, companies and retail chains establish themselves, attracting city dwellers who commute for work. It is no longer just neo-peasant workers; it is the city-farmers. Contemporary rural areas have witnessed the emergence of services that were previously nonexistent in such locations. Nowadays, it is normal to open any type of business in a village without surprising anyone, although a decade or two ago, it would have been considered a local attraction. Currently, it is common for 5 to 10 percent of the population in a village to solely depend on non-agricultural work, although there are many villages where over half of the residents are employed in various sectors of the local economy. These include medical services, hairdressing and beauty, green space maintenance and gardening, security work, and more.

“In the 1990s and subsequent years, the main directions of economic migration underwent significant transformation. Peasant workers practically ceased to exist,” write Agnieszka Becla and Stanisław Czaja in their work “Quasi-Urbanization of Rural Areas (on the Example of Lower Silesia).” “Indeed, the intensity of emigration to other European Union countries increased, and a new phenomenon emerged – the migration of city dwellers to rural areas, which is an important manifestation of the quasi-urbanization phenomenon.”

Mobility of “the Jars”

In the archives of Polish Television, there is a film from the early 1990s in which the Russian hypnotist Anatoly Kashpirovsky walks along Marszałkowska Street, passing by the “Centrum” department stores. One of the most important streets in Warsaw had transformed into a long line of stalls, clattering, and street trading. Someone who doesn’t remember those times might have trouble recognizing that part of Warsaw. The camera didn’t capture it, but I remember that beggars regularly sat at the entrances to the department stores, urging people to give them alms by showing their disabled hands or legs. Near the Forum Hotel (now Novotel), a short, slight man operated a stall. He sold large-sized bras. Women would try on bras on the street, and he would provide them with professional advice. He had a second job; this was how he earned extra money.

Transformation has forced everyone to be mobile. Those who were not peasant workers became them because what differentiates a worker who travels half of Poland for work from a peasant worker? The term “jars” became their symbol, considered pejorative by many. But it is they who constitute the modern Polish economy. They traverse the entire country in various directions, seeking better living and earning conditions.

Of course, this mobility can also have long-term negative consequences, especially when it affects family life. Researchers have been somewhat reluctant to analyse this issue so far, perhaps because the subjects under study are also too mobile. However, the contemporary lifestyle of a significant portion of Poles, who commute to work in various ways, is not even reflected in mass culture. It is a pity because these are interesting changes in our customs that will have an impact on future generations. They deserve more attention than they have received thus far.

During the early weeks of the pandemic, the regions that were the most dynamic and mobile were also the ones where the spread of infections was most apparent on the map. These regions included Mazovia (specifically Warsaw), Silesia, and Kraków with Małopolska. Pomerania and the Tri-City were less mobile. We are a highly mobile and flexible society. Undoubtedly, this has contributed to Poland managing relatively well in successive crises. In this model, we are closer to peasant workers than brokers.

Furthermore, modern urban culture in Poland has emerged under the influence of the countryside. We should not be ashamed of these roots, as we unfortunately have been in the past. Today, we are undergoing another stage of this cultural transformation, where even the visual differences between the countryside and the city are fading. Thirty years ago, one could identify someone’s origin by their clothing. Today, both rural and urban residents buy the same things from the same stores, although rural areas more frequently use the internet for shopping.

“Profound transformations over the past two decades have led to the expectation that traditional peasant farms and the peasant class itself would inevitably disappear. However, this process has taken a rather surprising direction. On one hand, there has been a ‘refamilization’ of some farms and an evolution towards agribusiness farming. On the other hand, there has been a ‘depeasantization’ of the countryside,” said professor Cecylia Leszczyńska wrote in her work ‘The Peasant Ethos and Its Significance in Contemporary Poland’. “The ‘enduring’ peasant farm had limited market contacts and relied on non-agricultural income, including social transfers. Once again, the flexibility and pragmatism of peasant farming manifested themselves in history. In difficult times, the most appropriate strategy proved to be adaptation and survival, driven by caution and mistrust towards an external world that was often hostile rather than friendly.”

Besides their mobility, the greatest skill of farmers and factory workers has been their ability to continuously adapt to the economic reality and the ever-changing conditions. It is their market flexibility, especially in a world that believes specialists are no longer necessary. However, it turns out that people like contemporary peasant workers must possess various skills that defy authority, such as hydraulic repairs. Therefore, I believe that the future belongs to peasant workers.

– Grzegorz Sieczkowski

TVP WEEKLY. Editorial team and jornalists

– Translated by jz