The worries of Warsaw

Press, 12 September 1986, Page 16

The worries of Warsaw

From “The Economist,” London

Poles under the age of 30 are happiest rearing children or practising yoga: they care little about politics, according to a study by Mr Stefan Nowak, a sociologist at Warsaw University. For many years Mr Nowak has been carrying out research — with the approval of the authorities — into the attitudes of young Poles. His studies have often been controversial, and parts of them have sometimes been censored. The full text of his most recent study has found its way to the underground press. About 60 per cent of Poles are under 30. The relatively prosperous Gierek years in the 19705, says Mr Nowak, produced "a generation of low-flyers,” content with a degree of stability and a modest accumulation of wealth. Young Poles could realistically hope for a decent flat, a television, a car, a foreign trip, and perhaps a country cottage. After the near-revolution of the Solidarity movement, its crushing by martial law, and the

economic crisis of the last few years, expectations have fallen. Mr Nowak recently asked young Poles how they imagined their future in five or 10 years’ time. The answers were devastating. “I see only a grey void,” was a typical response. Mr Nowak’s conclusion: young people in Poland are experiencing “a paralysis of imagination caused by fear of the future.” The future is indeed uncommonly bleak in Poland. Most of the young people questioned by Mr Nowak had no home of their own. Many were in their late twenties, and unlikely to be allocated a flat by the State for another 20 years. Professional prospects are just as gloomy. In 1978, 40 per cent of students in Warsaw believed they would get a satisfactory job after graduating. Today, less than 24 per cent think they will. Political and social attitudes have also changed. Back in 1978, two-thirds of Warsaw students

wanted the world to develop towards “some form- of socialism.” Today, according to Mr Nowak’s survey, a mere 4 per cent hold this view. The importance young people attach to concepts like truth, human dignity, religion and the family has increased. Young Poles seem to have lost what modest ambitions they had. Many of them have found a retreat in family life — Poland’s birth rate in 1981-83 was the highest since the Second World War. Others decide, if they can, to get out. “Young people talk almost obsessively about leaving the country permanently or temporarily,” Mr Nowak reports. During his 20 or so years of research, he usually found that about 85 per cent of young Poles said they would choose to live in Poland. In his latest study, the figure has fallen to 62 per cent. This, Mr Nowak concludes, "is the best indicator I know of frustration in our country.” Copyright — The Economist.