Disguised Workers: The Transformation of Labour and the Myth of Entrepreneurship in ‘Post-Socialist’ Polish Capitalism

Abstract

In this article, we analyse the role that entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship have played in the construction and consolidation of capitalism in Poland. We question the line conventionally drawn between entrepreneurs and the working class, arguing that the vast majority of so-called entrepreneurs in Poland are disguised workers who were rejected from the labour market during the transition to capitalism or forced into self-employment as Poland’s precariat labour market crystallised. We outline a critical historical analysis of the origin of these disguised workers to provide space for a discussion of the specific ‘labour problem’ that Poland has faced during its transition to capitalism. A central argument of our study is that the top-down creation of entrepreneurship is a partial and often contradictory response to this ‘labour problem’. We then illustrate these contradictions, showing how those commonly defined as entrepreneurs have performed relatively poorly in their designated roles of creating employment and innovation, while their living standards and wellbeing have deteriorated. We historically frame how this group of disguised workers in Poland embody the tension between the normative and actual aspects of capitalist development in Poland since 1989.