EKONOMICKÝ VÝVOJ POLSKÉHO SEDLÁKA. SOCIOLOGICKÁ PERSPEKTIVA

ECONOMIC EVOLUTION OF THE POLISH PEASANT.

THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

ekonomický vývoj polského sedláka. Sociologická perspektiva

Andrzej Pilichowski

Adresa autora:

Institute of Sociology, University of Lodz,

PL 90-214 Łódź, 41 Rewolucji 1905r Street, Poland

tel.+48 42 6331553. Fax +48 42 635 5309; E-mail: Pilan@krysia.uni.lodz.pl

Summary:

This paper deals directly with sociological problems of the private farm. The empirical point of reference will be the findings of surveys carried out among farmers and farms in Poland. Hence, it concerns the problems tackled by the rural sociology. Simultaneously, however - within the above mentioned object of research - an important research question is the issue of decisions/strategies adopted by farmers in the changing environment. The author accepts a hypothesis that it is worthwhile to make an attempt at defining the actors through their goals [including the place held by economic rationality logic]. The author is especially interested in the Polish peasant's economic rationalization process. This interest is directly connected with the questions concerning the mechanisms of structural change and the adaptation processes of family-owned farms to the new conditions created by the systemic change (that is, the formation process of the market economy and democratic system) taking place in Poland at the present time. Important symptom of these processes is a changed attitude towards land. It loses its solely utilitarian value becoming both a commodity, in which the capital can be invested, and a factor, which can be exploited ruthlessly to maximize profit. However, when focussing attention on the sphere of economic activities many researchers stress that the peasant farm is not guided by the profit motive unlike the industrial farm. Meanwhile, one of research questions continues to be the presence of profit category (and its scale) among family-owned farms.

Anotace:

Tento referát se soustředí na sociologický problém soukromých farem. Empirické závěry vycházejí z průzkumů provedených mezi farmáři a farmami v Polsku. Práce se tedy koncentruje na problémy rurální sociologie. Zároveň však kromě výše zmíněného objektu výzkumu je důležitou výzkumnou otázkou problematika rozhodování/strategií přijatých farmáři v měnícím se prostředí. Autor považuje za hodnotné pokusit se definovat aktéry přes jejich cíle. Autor se zvláště zajímá o proces ekonomické racionalizace polského rolníka. Tento zájem je přímo spojen s otázkou soustředící se na mechanismus strukturální změny a adaptačního procesu rodinných farem v nových podmínkách vytvořených systematickou změnou (tj. proces utváření tržního hospodářství a demokratického systému) právě probíhající v Polsku. Podstatným příznakem těchto procesů je změněný postoj k půdě. Ztratila svou pouhou utilitární hodnotu a stala se jak komoditou, do které může být investován kapitál, tak faktorem, který může být využit tak, aby maximalizoval profit. Avšak když soustředíme pozornost na sféru ekonomických aktivit, mnoho výzkumníků zdůrazňuje, že farmy sedláků nejsou vedeny s motivem zisku narozdíl od průmyslových farem. Zatím jednou z výzkumných otázek zůstává kategorie zisku a jeho škály u rodinných farem.

Key words:

Transformation of the Polish agriculture, land market, attitudes toward land, farm and profit

Klíčová slova:

Transformace polského zemědělství, trh s půdou, vztah k půdě, farma a zisk

Introduction

The radical social transformation taking place in Poland and other countries of Eastern Europe in the 1990s, which has a character of a spectacular turn towards capitalism, calls for a closer identification of significant characteristics of the emerging system. According to Mokrzycki, the idea of transformation occurring in these countries in recent years "...has undergone a remarkable evolution - from the thinking in categories of the "velvet revolution" to the thinking in categories of a true revolution in the sociological sense of this term, i.e. in the categories of deep and rapid social changes" (Mokrzycki, 1995, p. 55). In fact - as it is underlined by Mokrzycki - what is meant is the next modernization jump in the immemorial pursuit of Western Europe by Eastern Europe. "Each earlier attempt at the Eastern European modernization - from Peter Ist's great westernization until the socialist experiment involved a revolutionary destruction of a part of the social tissue. Such is the case also this time. The reform affects - out of necessity - the institutions and group interests shaped during the period of "real socialism". It also affects the institutions and group interests having their much deeper roots in the country's history. A side effect of the reform is the removal of livelihood foundations of large social groups shaped by a specific Eastern European historical context" (Mokrzycki, 1995, p. 61). The present situation of the Polish peasantry is one of examples here.

Not forgetting that "The history of sociology is not only the history of commonly recognized discoveries but also a history of different views, whose assessment is dependent upon many factors, and primarily upon own views of the person making such assessment" (Szacki, 1995), the author would like to emphasize once again that although belonging to the tradition of broadly understood sociological problems of modernization, this paper is inspired by the Weberian approach to the analysis of modern world. While studying capitalism, its genesis, Weber was striving, in fact, to understand the forces guiding the contemporary world. "Such most important guiding force for Weber was that which he called rationalization - a gradual introduction of the rational thinking and the rational technique in all fields of the social life" (Berger, 1995, p. 68). According to Weber, modern capitalism - as it is underlined by Szacki - "is, first of all, a socio-economic system organized along the principle of rationality" (1983, p. 532). In two fundamental aspects - as it is argued by Kozyr-Kowalski - "there can be observed, according to Weber, the type of capitalist activity typical for the West: in the organization of the company and in the organization of work. A 'rationally organized" industrial company appeared only in the Western society. [...] Among the conditions indispensable for the operation of a modern capitalist company, Weber lists the rational accounting and the separation of the company from the household" (Kozyr-Kowalski, pp. 229-230). The above mentioned rational accounting (by means of double-entry two-sided book-keeping) or more broadly a rational orientation at economic activity can be also understood as a rationally calculated search for profit. More rational than other organizations is bureaucracy understood as "... rationalization of the social organization replacing the authority of tradition and persons with the authority of formalized principles. (Szacki, 1983, p. 534). "The organization of this type - as it is said by A. Kaminski reviewing Weber's stance - can be used successfully in all fields of human activity. [...] Because it ensures the predictability and possibility of calculating the effects of actions." (Kaminski, 1976, p. 21). Taking into consideration all contexts of the passing time, space and many other historical, political or cultural determinants, studying the process of progressive formal (economic) rationalization continues to be all the time - according to the author - a fruitful way of studying the society engaged in economic activity.

Development of land market in Poland

Along with the transformation of political and economic system started in 1989 many changes have occurred also in the village and agriculture. The opinions about agriculture were sometimes extremely different ranging from very optimistic to pessimistic ones. A good example of the latter standpoint is a thesis advanced by some of renowned sociologists and economists, who argue that agriculture is one big sector of the economy, in which no significant changes have taken place since the time of real socialism. The state agricultural policy - according to them - shuts down the whole peasant class in a civilizational niche. It gives everybody, just as it was the case during the time of the Polish People's Republic, a chance of survival and it deprives everybody of a chance for development. The more optimistic option is connected with a more analytical approach to the processes occurring in the village and agriculture during this time. It emphasizes the structural transformation - during the last eight years the organizational structure of agriculture has changed (state-owned farms, the so-called agricultural circles and most agricultural production cooperatives have disappeared). Companies and economic units dealing also with non-agricultural activity have appeared; new self-organization movement of farmers into producer groups (producers of fruit and vegetables, hogs and poultry, grain, etc) assuming different legal forms of: cooperatives, associations, etc. develops (although slowly) seeking to strengthen the position of farmers in their relationships with food processing companies and increase their share in the trade in agricultural products and supplies for agricultural production. Among the most important obstacles to the development of such groups are listed mentality barriers (that is, unwillingness of farmers to cooperate with one another, which was consolidated by the previous system) and the absence of rural leaders, who could direct such groups.

A good example characterizing the pace and scope of transformations is the analysis of agrarian structures and the development of land market. The political system before 1989 visibly restricted the growth opportunities of family holdings. The implemented modernization programme was not comprehensive. Consequently, in the twilight period of real socialism, the Polish family farm was not, for its biggest part, modernized, efficient, specialized and market oriented production unit. Poland's transition to the new social and economic system has given new meanings to an old discussion on the given and non-given forms of agrarian structures.The last three years have witnessed an intensified trade in land in Poland. This phenomenon was due to many factors. In the western and northern parts of Poland there appeared big areas of arable lands belonging to the liquidated state agricultural farms. The land remaining at the disposal of the Agricultural Property Agency of the State Treasury can be easily bought. A lot of it is leased or purchased on convenient terms. Another source of the land are agricultural cooperatives, whose members are often willing to sell land and dissolve the cooperative. The trade in land among private farmers intensified practically in the whole country in 1995 and 1996, which was a result of preferential credits offered by the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture. Farmers have an opportunity of buying land taking credits carrying an annual interest of about 6%, which is considerably below the rate of inflation. Simultaneously, compelled by the economic situation to expand the scale of production the Polish farmers started buying the land to enlarge their farm holdings.A very interesting picture of processes taking place these days and changes made emerges from a comparison of the results of the General Agricultural Census of 1996 with those of the previous census of 1988 (that is, in the last year of the previous system). The following are the most important findings:

1. The total area of land owned by private farms has increased considerably (to reach over 82%), while the area of land possessed by state-owned farms has decreased (from 13.7% to 5%).

2. The total number of private farms has decreased (to 2,041,300).

3. The average area of land in private farms has grown from 7.05 ha to 7.91 ha (by 12.2%).

4. Over 55% of all farms have not more than 5 ha of agricultural land, but their overall share in the area of agricultural land amounts to only 20% (that is, by 4% less than in 1988).

5. The share of private farms having 15 and more hectares of agricultural land in the total number of farms has risen from about 6% to over 8%. The share of agricultural land held by them in the total area of such land has risen from about 20% in 1988 to over 35% in 1996. The average farm area in this land area group has increased from 20 to 29 ha of agricultural land.

6. Both the number and the average size of farms tend to vary enormously in particular regions. The biggest atomization of farms can be found in Southern Poland (average farm area below 4 ha), and the largest farms (average area of 15 ha) in the northern regions of the country.

7. There found confirmation also a growing strength of the agricultural land market. Over the years 1990-1996 as many as 333,000 farms enlarged their arable area, of which: 138,459 through leases, 104,338 through land purchases (24,000 farms purchased from the APA), and through inheritance or gifts (67,027). Altogether, the farms, which enlarged their arable area in that period, purchased or leased 1,832,077 ha of land. The data show that the land turnover in both these forms encompassed over 10% of the total area of arable land in Poland in that period. The farmers enlarging their farms are more frequently middle-aged persons (35-44 years). There was also recorded quite a similar group of farmers aged 25-34 years inheriting land through successions and gifts. In the meantime, 161,000 farms diminished their areas of arable land, of which 51,000 farms through sales.These were more frequently the smallest farms.

Peasants, farmers, entrepreneurs during the transformation process

The data come from the PHARE P 9312-05-05 Project called "Development of Land Market in Poland", which was carried out with the author's participation. When accomplishing the project's research tasks, there was performed an analysis purchase-sale transactions of agricultural land taking place in the selected districts of three analyzed administrative regions of Poland (that is, Bydgoszcz, Cracow and Wroclaw) in the years 1996-1997 and sociological surveys were made among over 200 active participants of the agricultural property market coming from these regions. In the analyzed period there were registered 1,522 purchase-sale transactions of agricultural land to be used for agricultural purposes. It is worth underlining:- territorial variations in the number of transactions, volume of turnover and also average prices of a hectare of agricultural land; - declining sales of land in 1997 both in terms of the number of transactions and the volume of trade in hectares; - rising average price of agricultural land in all analyzed regions. It should be stressed, however, that the total trade in land for agricultural uses was bigger and it was taking place through farm legacies, gifts, or a free transfer of a farm to the successor.

The results of the sociological surveys carried out among about 200 farmers in two regions of Poland in 1994 and among about 200 farmers active on the market of agricultural land in three regions in 1996 are presented below. During the research project the author was inspired by the advantages of cultural-civilizational approach allowing to interpret the post-communist transformations not only as an economic or social transformation but also as a fundamental civilizational turning point (Sztompka 1994). There appears an opportunity to overcome the civilizational incompetence being the heritage of real socialism and develop skills, habits and responses indispensable in conditions of the market economy, political democracy and open exchange of ideas. Such construction - as it is stressed by Sztompka - is a synthesis of old and the latest traditions, as well as internal and external determinants. Within the framework of this analysis its three levels are distinguished: 1. Behavioural level (what people do); 2. Psychological level (what people think or know); 3. The deepest level, which can be inferred both from behaviours and views, that is models, schemes, rules, codes concerning activity and thinking.

The survey aimed at getting an insight into farmers' ways of thinking and speaking about the transformation processes in agriculture, preferred ways of running the farm and felt, recognised or followed values connected with farming. The performed analyses have yielded four awareness models of farming (Chart 1).

AWARENESS MODELS OF FARMING (N=192 persons)

A. Commercial model of farming (20.1%)

1. The goal of farming is the maximization of income (profit).

2. The family-owned land can be a commodity (succession is not necessary).

B. Professional model of farming (39.2%)

1. The goal of farming is the maximization of income (profit).

2. The family-owned land is not a commodity (succession is important).

C. Peasant model of farming (32.5%)

1. The goal of farming is securing the family's livelihood.

2. The family-owned land is not a commodity (succession is important).

D. Mixed model of farming (8.2%)

1. The goal of farming is securing the family's livelihood.

2. The family-owned land can be a commodity (succession is not necessary)

According to the author, a significant research finding was the confirmation of crucial role of education level in the ways of thinking (and most probably also of running the farm) about the future of agriculture, ways of running the farm and values connected with it. The persons active on the market of agricultural property among all farmers prove to be those better educated, younger and, consequently, running the farm during a shorter time. They run farms of larger than average area and in most cases record profit. Almost a half of them think about further purchases of land, and a little more seldom they plan to increase the farm area through leasing.

Conclusion

The processes of structural adjustment in Polish agriculture have their own, very substantial context. One should look for such social forces which would become driving factors of these changes and find out what kind of and where localised opposition can confront them, also how different categories of the occupants of the village imagine the existing and desired forms of the agrarian structure. Other questions are how particular generations picture the model of the future agriculture and what values, norms and paradigms of individual activities (and family) are related to the changes of agrarian structure. The analysis shows both convergence and divergence of expectations. Thus, the situation has been observed, where the old system of values does not exist any more for many, while simultaneously the groups able to operate more and more effectively in the conditions of newly emerging normative order can be more frequently found. At the same time the analysis shows that among the farmers there are groups interested in effective forms of agrarian structure, inclined to see them in the categories of new development capabilities (in the individual, economic and social aspects). The goal of the analysis was, thus, an attempt to get an insight into or describe this fragment of the world created - perceived by the social actor (that is, farmers), which refers to the sphere of the village, farm and agriculture. The emerging four awareness models of farming coexist in an interesting way with the statistical data presented earlier, which characterize the structural variations in the Polish agriculture (including particularly perhaps the agrarian structures). The sociological analysis confirms the existing variations also in the mentality sphere. The analysis has revealed that among farmers we can distinguish the traditional, transitional and new social orders. The fact that the analysis has revealed the existence of farmers awaiting the maximization of production (accompanied by the maximization of profit) - being equally numerous as the group of supporters of traditional agricultural production - confirms the thesis that the Polish agriculture goes through a process of structural adaptation and commercialization. On the other hand, it is a good example of the modernization potential including the readiness (or virtually an impatient awaiting of opportunities) of operating according to the market economy rules. A closer statistical analysis of factors determining the models of farming distinguished above (see Chart 1) points at their significant differentiation primarily with regard to the inputs of own labour in the farm (the bigger the inputs of own labour the more frequent the choices of the traditional order) and ( maybe, first of all) the level of education of the person running the farm. There can be also distinguished quite clearly farm operators perceiving the analyzed sphere of reality in strongly commercialized categories as regards the preferable farm size.

An important problem is a relationship between the economic processes and the general institutional order of the society. The economic processes (production and distribution) were firmly rooted in the general institutional order of every society. It means that the economic processes were dependent, to a large extent, on traditions. Does the contemporary economic apparatus operate exclusively according to its laws? In this field of deliberations Berger formulates a theoretical approach called "economic culture" by him. When characterizing it he notes that the "economic-cultural" theory of capitalism (or if someone likes it - of any other economic phenomenon) will be penetrating the social, political or cultural matrices or contexts, in which these specific economic processes take place" (Berger, 1995, p. 39). He recognizing that each important phenomenon in the history has many causes argues, however, that < economic culture science > has to be treated - with due respect for it - as a controversial science, which is trying to disentangle a combination of causes shaping the course of human affairs" (Berger, 1995, p. 20).

References:

An Agricultural Strategy for Poland, (1990), World Bank-EC-Poland Task Force Report.

Berger,P.,(1995). Rewolucja kapitalistyczna (The Capitalist Revolution), Oficyna Naukowa Press, Warszawa

Farm Restructuring and Land Tenure in Reforming Socialist Economies. A Comparative Analysis of Eastern and Central Europe (1995). World Bank Discussion Papers No 268, The World Bank, Washington, D.C.

Mokrzycki,S.,(1997), Klasa z przeszłością, in: Gazeta Wyborcza 5-6 July 1997, Warszawa.

Szacki,J.,(1983), Historia myśli społecznej, PWN, Warszawa

Wyniki Spisu Rolniczego 1995, GUS, Warsaw (Results of Agricultural Census 1995, Central Statistical Office).