Ite first became secretar CP, he said that the revolt of the Polish ised, of course, at Poman, had d and that the men against whom rolted would have to go. It has taken em your to grasp the profundity of Carried to power by a mass movement peralleled in breadth, Gomulka pledged that calist democracy which had been fiquidated pernous years would be reestablished, A year her in 1957, the army and police crushed Pockets strikes and the best elements in the Party who had supported the 1956 movement for workers' councils were purged, In 1965 the communist militants Kuron and Modzelewski were imprisoned. In 1968 a savage repression was meted out to the militant students who were struggling for socialist democracy. In the end the army had to massacre unarmed workers for Gomulka himself to be kicked out of power.
The least one can say is that workers democracy has clearly not been established!
Economic Failures/Decrease in Living Standards Gomulka had also promised that the economic growin of the country had to be increased in order to improve the living standards of the Polish people. In the economic field as well, the record has been one of complete failure. The productivity of labour is still low and there is a criminal waste of the economic surpluses. From 1961-63 the Polish economy lost 21 million zlotys, something had not been foreseen in the plan. The objectives of the 1961-66 Five Year Pun were only partially realised: 57% for new products, 44% for mechanisation and 29% for automisation. During the 1966-71 Five Year Plan the investment did not keep pace with population growth. This moant numerous redundancies to be able to find a place for young people newly arrived on the labour market. The prices of foodstuffs where there age grave shortages rise at regular intervals. The économic and political balance sheet of Gomulka is a complete failure. Will Gierek do any better? At first sight it seems that history is repeating itself but only at first sight: after the experience of 14 years" "Gomulkalem" the working class seems to greet the departure of Gomulica with the same indifference as the arrival of Gierek.
Reformers...
Without going into details about the way these gentlemen are thinking we can say with certainty that the whole Polish bureaucracy is united in thinking that reforms are necessary. It must carry out the reforms to preserve its power and privileges: if it does not ameliorate the situation it runs the risk of being swept away by popular discontent. On the other hand the experience of reforms carried out to date shows that while they are conducted by the bureaucracy in its own interest, they nevertheloss engender an anti-bureaucratic dynamic. Here are two examples: 1. To carry out reform properly some discussion has to be allowed on the problems of the economy as a whole. It's very difficult to prevent this discussion spilling over into other aspects of social life. The resultant politicisation can shake the bureaucratic monoli thism, since it encourages the masses, particularly the worker masses, to take an interest in their own problems. Furthermore, in specific conditions, such a liberalisation can immediately put in process a widespread critique of the bureaucratic system, as was the case in Czechoslovakia. 2. In every country of the Eastern bloc, central planning has permitted the development-by a conscious break with the laws of the market-of sectors which would not have stood any chance of development if capitalism had been maintained in these backward countries; in the Popular Democracies these sectors have been considered social priorities: in addition to heavy industry, which is well known, among others accommodation, transport, practically free health service, remousber too that the system guaranteed to the free education open to all... We should Statement issued by the United Secretariat of the Fourth International.
The Polish workers who have been on strike in the shipyards against the speed up, sackings and increase in food prices have been victims of brutal repression by the bureaucracy which felt itself at bay.
Forgetting the solemn promises of the 9th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish C.P. of November 1965, which proclaimed the right to strike and rejected the slanders according to which 'hooligans" were responsible for "interruptions of work" and "disturbances", the bureaucracy now labels the Polish workers in precisely those terms which it refuted.
Because of this, it implicitly recognises USSA will not solve