Breaking the Chains of Post-Communism: Poland's Fight for Freedom
Opinion Piece on How Communism Morphed into a Leftist Swamp Called Post-Communism. Poland Needs Liberation. Poland needs Elon Musk.
Krzysztof Szczawiński
Jan 9, 2025 - 1:03 PM
Poland’s Love for Liberty and the United States
Poland, of all the nations on Earth, is the one that loves Liberty and the United States the most. Polls show that we love them even more than the US love themselves, the United States of Liberty and the Founding Fathers’ Ideals, the US of Reagan, that precipitated the Fall of Communism.
The Leftist Swamp of Post-Communism
But communism bounced back and now takes the form of a Leftist Swamp that we currently live in. The kleptocracy, the incompetent fools, and the socialist and eastern tribalist mindset of all the governments and mainstream politicians are unbearable for people with an increasingly Western perspective.
The Failures of Post-Communist Governments
Both the current "center-left" and the previous "center-right" government share all those flaws, one being just more pro-German and the other more religious—but they both share the post-communist mentality. Reagan did a great job, but it needs to be completed. We need to be liberated from post-communism, 35 years is enough!
A Nation Torn Between Two Worlds
Two generations of people were born and raised during that time, people who travel the world and work for international companies. Compared to that, the State feels almost Soviet, with the judiciary being in full continuity with communist times and the State-Owned Companies being run as political prey for the kleptocracy. This feels like two worlds coexisting in the same country.
What needs to be done is clear to any reasonable person: as much economic freedom within as possible, maintaining relatively conservative values, curbing thievery, and introducing meritocracy instead of obedience and cronyism. That is the easy part.
Breaking Free from the Socialist Model
For years, we were being told that Liberty is impossible in the current system—that the whole world is going "social-democratic" and that we have no choice but to go along the German model. On the other side, there is even a liberty-minded milieu in Poland that postulated entry into NAFTA instead of the EU 20 years ago.
Inspiration from Argentina and Javier Milei
And then suddenly we see in Argentina with Milei that Liberty is not only possible but that it works, which we knew all along. It is possible to get rid of regulations, government agencies, and large numbers of government employees. All of them could be much more productive in the private sector—generating wealth rather than destroying it.
Above all, it is possible to speak freely about all that—the most important Liberty of all. All the rest comes from free speech of free individuals.
The Illusion of Economic Growth
Some will say that Poland is nevertheless a success story. Indeed, GDP grew continuously over those 35 years, but that is largely the result of growing government expenditure and the product of foreign companies. Polish people are still far from wealthy, especially compared to how hard they’ve been working—to the point where they have hardly any energy left to have children, and the fertility rate fell catastrophically.
Worst of all is this sentiment of living under oppression—a regime that is against its own people.
A Call for Change
That needs to change now, with the wave of change that is going through the Western World. We need more than just Government Efficiency in Poland. We need a government that is compatible with Western Civilization, we need to drain the socialist swamp, we need the end of post-communism in Poland—we need Liberty back in the historical Land of Liberty.
Krzysztof Szczawiński
Private Investor in Education, Media and Video Games