ABSTRACT
The vocabulary and imagery of Polish politics since 1970 reflected the hopes and fears generated by rapid and intense socioeconomic and political change. This chapter aims to identify some of the main dimensions of the sociologists' discussions of developed socialism. It examines economic and technological factors; social structural factors; political factors, especially those related to citizen participation; and the call for a macro-societal approach to social analysis and collective decision-making. The chapter discusses how these interpretations of the doctrine are related to the Polish crisis of 1980-1981. Virtually all of the orthodox discussions of the "transition to developed socialism" placed heavy emphasis on strengthening the economic base and the material forces of production in Poland. The public discussion of developed socialism during the 1970s was restricted to party ideologists who represented the orthodox line and prominent intellectuals who functioned as establishment critics. The post-Gdansk period witnessed the proliferation of political doctrines and discussions.
