Privatising Capital: The Commodification of Poland’s Welfare State (Studies in Philosophy, Culture and Contemporary Society)

Description

Privatising Capital examines the historical development of Poland’s public sector and its welfare state. Their infrastructure, services and employees add up to a form of public capital, upon which the vast majority of society is dependent. The book describes the ongoing attempts to financialise and commodify this public capital and examines how this occurs in the areas of health, education and pensions. It also analyses the impact of public capital on the ideas and opinions of the population and how it affects contemporary ideologies and politics in Poland. Cover Table of Contents List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgements Introduction The Welfare State and Public Capital Communism and the Shock-Therapy Reforms The Second Transition and European Public Capital Labour Deactivation and Public Capital The Health Care Field The Education Field The Pension Field Social Opinions and the Politics of Public Capital Conclusions Bibliography