Economy and culture. The framework of reflection in the debate on the countryside
Journal Title: Przegląd Socjologiczny - Year 2017, Vol 0, Issue 4
Abstract
This essay illustrates the tensions between the market economy and the democratic culture with reference to the situation wherein Polish villages faced the challenges of a new political and economic system after 1989. The author stresses the important role of assumptions derived from the theoretical basis of economics and sociology. She points to the “hidden role” that they play in the debate on the opportunities for rural communities to adapt to the requirements of modernity. The author challenges the view, quite widespread in sociology, according to which the rural community is insufficiently organized as a civic society, and that its situation is a result of a collision between the system of values governing traditional local cultural resources of agricultural villages and modern market rules. She demonstrates that democracy cannot be treated as an end in itself, but should be treated as a method of defence of civil rights and a guarantee of participation in public life. The author believes that villages [local communities] form an “indirect link” in which individuals come into contact with institutions of their society, and in which the principles of social coexistence are first developed on the basis of community ties. This leads to the conclusion that neither the territorial [local] basis nor the process of “growth” of local institutions. Linked in the long term with structures such as family, neighborhood, church, and nation, create an opposition to civic culture. History shows that successful countries have managed to reconcile the market economy with democratic principles. On the other hand, we can observe that the more the market economy dominates, the fewer family farms. It seems that the survival of family farms, and thus also the restoration of the cultural traditions of the Polish countryside, might require overcoming the “alienness of market and culture.” The market, accompanied by the adjective “social”, is therefore more appropriate for the implementation of the idea of democracy and meeting the expectations of sustainable development in the Polish countryside.
Authors and Affiliations
Maria Wieruszewska
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP263283
- DOI 10.26485/PS/2017/66.4/6
- Views 92
- Downloads 0
Budżet partycypacyjny jako szansa redukcji społecznych problemów miast
The low quality of life in Polish cities results from a multitude of problems in urban areas. These problems are specifically addressed in local Strategies for Solving Social Problems, which are aimed at helping people w...
Polityka społeczna jako sposób realizacji sprawiedliwości naprawczej w Polsce
In this article, criminality is presented as a social problem, the essence of which is determined by the social nature of the causes of this pathology and the need for intervention and the application of social instituti...
Miejskie przestrzenie we władaniu prywatnym (hybrydowe przestrzenie publiczne) i ich funkcje w mieście / Privately owned public spaces (hybrid public spaces) and their function within the city
The purpose of this paper is to allow for a better understanding of the specificity of hybrid spaces present in cities. The number of these particular city spaces is increasing, as the model of social relationships based...
Welfare sociology in our times. How social, political, and economic uncertainties shape contemporary societies
This article attempts to present the welfare sociology approach to the problems and dilemmas of modern developed capitalist societies. In addition to describing areas of interest in welfare sociology, primarily welfare e...
Doświadczenia północnoeuropejskie a polska polityka społeczna – uwagi na temat książki W. Anioła Szlak Norden. Modernizacja po skandynawsku
In Europe there are different models of social policy in which exist different manners for protection citizens in case of the life crisis. Scandinavian countries are the leaders in protection and help for their own citiz...