ABSTRACT
Over 20 years ago Poland commenced the transformation from a communist to a neoliberal economy. The introduction of economic 'shock therapy' in 1989 signified a first wave of neoliberalism in Poland, which established foundations for the whole transformation and more importantly the subsequent neoliberal orientation of successive Polish governments. This chapter explores how the discourses of homo sovieticus and homo entrepreneurus have been deployed as discursive resources by the proponents of change. It examines how these discursive resources have played a part, not only in concealing the social cost of neoliberal transformation, but also in naturalising and legitimising policies resulting in a growing number of the 'working poor' employed on 'junk contracts'; unemployment; large-scale poverty; and the deterioration of living conditions for many in Poland. The demeaning way of describing the poor and the unemployed was used as the sole explanation for the 'incidental' problems of transformation, providing the neoliberal elite with an effective technology for reinforcing their agenda.
