ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the policy and political environment of contemporary Poland as it bears upon the 1980s. Moreover, Poland's labor force will increase by only a small increment in the 1980s, necessitating increases in labor productivity. Poland financed much of its development during the seventies by securing Western credit which amounts to about $18 billion. The growing social complexity of Poland in a period of economic hardship means that it will be more difficult to moderate social tensions in the future. It is clear that rising tensions within and between key social groups will critically affect Poland during the eighties. Poland's membership in the "socialist community" is certainly a factor contributing to its political immobilism. The successful future of policy and politics in Edward Gierek's Poland, then, may depend upon a new willingness on the part of the Polish United Workers' Party to develop political mechanisms.
