Poland 1980-1982: Class Struggle and the Crisis of Capital

by Henri Simon, Lorraine Perlman (Translator)

Henri Simon captures the drama, the hopes and disappointments of workers' rebellions in Polish industrial cities in the early 1980s. This is a document of politicians practicing their skill at manipulation.

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Henri Simon was a French Marxist militant and advocate of council communism.
Born in Rozay-en-Brie, he participated in Socialisme ou Barbarie and Informations et correspondances ouvrières (ICO), and since 1975 has been involved in French: Échanges et mouvement.

Reviews

[Tom Schulte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This covers the trade union-centered organized revolts in Poland as the country drifted unsteadily from the Soviet mir toward Europe. This was a period that led to when martial law existed in Poland and the government drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an attempt to counter political opposition, in particular this Solidarity movement. Solidarity was the Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk. It was the first independent trade union in a Warsaw Pact country to be recognized by the state and membership peaked at 10 million in September 1981, representing one-third of the country's working-age population. This overview includes much on the unsteady rise Solidarity's leader Lech Wałęsa.

The full text is online in The Anarchist Library.

[Jeremi Miller]

I have no idea what to think of this book. Fascinating from a historical perspective, the author’s depth of knowledge of timelines and events is remarkable. It’s also a very well written piece, easy to read.

Where it is certainly correct is when it writes about the Church’s role in the events of the late XX century in Poland, it also doesn’t miss when it comes to the influence of Western capital on the downturn in economic sustainability, Poland being in a significant amount of debt to the western banks and having to service its loans.

Where it’s debatable is in its analysis of Solidarity’s role in the collapse of PRL, I thought Wałęsa’s involvement with the Communist Party is a contested claim, though the book makes some great points to back that up. I just don’t know enough.

Where it’s dubious is in its incessant determination to call the Soviet Union “capitalist”, referring to its influence on polish politics as the “Eastern capital”. Class analysis done by the most hardline anarchist is something I’ve never seen before, and I need to know more.

This is also why I can’t rate this book. If it’s correct, it’s a 5/5. But if it turns out that the Soviet Union’s workers (or indeed the polish workers) had actual control over their means of production, then PRL isn’t a case of an “evil communist autocratic” state but rather a terribly mismanaged one. Once again, I just don’t know enough.