SHADOWS OF MONEY – A SOCIOLOGIST ‘IS READING’ ECONOMY
ANDRZEJ ZYBERTOWICZ
The Polish country is unclear for itself, and the management of the country does not have a map of key interests, essential for action for the sake of the common welfare. Why this evaluation?
A blind country and citizens
I have written recently that we do not have a map of influences of the foreign capital in our media (‘Polish Newspaper’, 5 September 2012). It results in an answerfar from clarity, which concerns the question about the sovereignty of our public discourse. We should fear that the matter of sovereignty of our financial policy looks similar. In the contemporary world a country which wants to develop, cannot separate itself from the foreign interests and capital; also the financial capital – present on the market and in the bank system. However, the problem are proportions and clarity. Experts point out that 65-70 percents of bank resources in Poland is the foreign capital. The public opinion, however, does not a more detailed map of influences of this capital. We know very little about the mechanisms of reactions of the foreign capital to our wholeeconomy, and even to the shape of the social life generally.
Capital is not cosmopolitan
Whereas money and capital have national colours. We had known about it before, after the financial crisis appeared, it was announced by a friend of the prime minister Donald Tusk, Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, the former prime minister of the government of the Polish Republic, the former chairman of the Bank Pekao SA purchased by the Italians. The whole network of affiliated companies is often changed after the privatization of the Polish company by the foreign capital (German, American, Izraeli, French, etc.). Where it is possible, Polish companies are removed and replaced by subjects from their home countries – sometimes the act about public orders is made flexible. Ok, it is what is generally known. But only generally. Again – similarly as in the case of media – we do not have a more detailed, more complete picture, a map of foreign interests in our finances and economy. And the foreign business are not only new technologies, new workplaces, new competences of staff but also new corruption impulses. For example, I am afraid that not only the public opinion, economists-experts but also the very minister of finances Jacek Jan Antony Vincent-Rostowski (how rich a human personality must be of so many names) cannot define relatively clearly, for example, what field of maneuver the Polish country has beside reforming the system of public finances. And it is not all about the so-called stiff expenditures, for example, connected with the service of our foreign debts. It is also about restrictions existing inside the Polish economy, connected with the activity of foreign representatives of capital groups in these business organizations, like Polish Confederation of Private Workers Lewiatan. However, I am afraid that a good map of the Polish sovereignty is not needed by the prime minister Donald Tusk. Because his actions do not prove that he cares about our leaving the post-colonial mentality behind. After all, he was calling in the electoral campaign, addressing the self-governments in 2010: ‘Let’s not make politics’. It is the same, as calling: ‘Let’s not be the subjects’. Let’s leave it to KGB authorities of Moscow. Let’s leave it to Germany. Let’s leave it to big corporations. It will be them who will fulfill the social vacuum at the weakness of the country and passivity of citizens – they will tell us how to live!
We have a right to know it
In the contemporary public life many people and institutions care about their popularity. A lot of people want to be celebrities so much that they sell their privacy. But – as a famous saying says – money likes silence, and big money like big silence. And bankers have resources in order to remain in a shade. However, it is not compatible with the public interest. If foreign banks functioning in Poland have what is natural, their interests in our country, so we also have a clear and final business in order to know what the influences of banks are really based on. But we often do not know it. For example, we do not know how known the phenomenon of confidential instructions for banks under the control of the foreign capital is, in order to carry out the credit action and not to consider business plans of our companies positively, which are competing with economic subjects of the home country of the given bank. We do not know exactly the scale of promotion support for these cultural, artistic, scientific and civilian projects, which in Poland develop cosmopolitan attitudes.We do not know what role is played by some promotion and advertising campaigns addressed to friendly (read: subjected)media. And the strengthening ones these media financially. We do not know what the role of banks is with the foreign capital in helping big international corporations to reduce their tax commitments towards the Polish country. Neither Polish social teachings nor expert institutions, nor media of the main trend answer these questions.
Biased care
Whereas there is no lack of materials in media, such as ‘Electoral Newspaper’ and ‘Politics’, which are very critical towards such a Polish institution as the financial institution like the network of SKOK, that is the Saving and Credit Unions, considering the sources of capital and managing staff. In the mentioned media, for example, one can read how inhuman dimension recoveries have, that it may sometimes cause hurting the innocent members of families which took a loan in one of the Credit Unions. But these types of the described cases concern all financial subjects taking away their receivables. However, it is not often added. The attack on the Credit Unions should be understood as a game for maintaining the fundaments of the system of the Third polish Republic in an unchanged state, to which the polish and autonomic institution towards the system of the authority of the Civic Platform and the Polish Peasant Party does not fit. Hence there are attacks on the Credit Unions again.
Democracy as a façade versus the civic society as a cliche
We are able to – for now apart from the main links of the Polish country, sometimes against it – defend our resources, our national substance. Although democracy in Poland is handicapped, the sign of a clear defeatism is an opinion that nothing can be done. The anxiety of parasitic interest groups, supporting the system of the Third polish Republic, is caused by the fact that despite unbeneficial conditions there are communities in Poland which can build enclaves of self-reliance. Maybe these are the subjects created by the Redemptorists from Toruń (radio, television, university, publishing house) and a network of the Credit Unions are organizationally biggest links of the civic society in Poland. They are important examples that Poles can use the space of freedom without reaching for money of taxpayers; that we can not only establish small associations, internet portals, local discussion clubs, magazines of miniature range, but also create complex social organisms on our own, which are able to function for years in a dynamic surroundings of the contemporary civilization. Maybe the above-mentioned observation gives us the most important perspective to understand the behavior of the links of the authority of the Third Polish Republic; blocking the potential of development of the Television Trwam – through the refusal for broadcasting concession on the multiplex – and another attack directed against the Credit Unions, whose purpose is to implement regulations making it possible to subordinate this institution to the control from stronger links of the financial system, for example, foreign banks. It is very significant, showing well how ill the Third Polish Republic is: the country which allows for pathologies like Amber Gold, does not save energy to paralyze the cooperative initiative which has long tradition and is functioning well.
Both environments – are concentrated around the Radio Maryja and Credit Unions – and are a role in the eye of elites of the Third polish Republic. It shows an actual relationship of these elites towards democracy and pluralism. Democracy and pluralism are needed only as an alibi. Alibi for electorat and international institutions. Whereas when they make it possible for bottom-up self-organization society – then one should not act against it. Democracy in Poland? Yes. But it is supposed to be a cosmopolitan democracy of olympic games and voting for celebrities of ‘Dance’. Civic activity? Yes. But it is supposed to be regulated activity where the youth will use their energy, hopping in the rhythm of music at the Woodstock station.
The system of the Third Polish Republic does not need media in which time for serious debates of experts on the Polish Raison d’ etat. The system of the Third Polish Republic does not a network independent from foreign influences, independent from post-communist and platform capital, and in addition, supporting the archipelago of patriotic initiatives emerging from the swamp of mediocrity.
Patriotyzmekonomiczny.pl
However, we do not have to wait with folded arms. Before elections are won by political groups able to make successful moves for the sake of the national welfare, we can act just now. Starting with something more humble – but of a high potential. For example, we can support such initiatives as: www.patriotyzmekonomiczny.pl and polskilad.pl. Portals initiating not only patriotic economic education, but also civic entrepreneurship. When this kind of initiatives and ideas gain momentum, dynamics, they will co-create – in the beginning in a bottom-up way – the resources for creating Polish economic subjectivity.
Without a good interest map or without strong links of Polish capital, we will be subcontractors of foreign big companies. We can play about partnership and subjectivity with the bottom-up self-organization in the international arena.
(AA)
"Niedziela" 40/2012