ABSTRACT
The idea that socio-economic and political crises were necessary for the survival and development of really existing socialism in general and of Poland in particular had been underlined by a number of Polish and Western social scientists (J.Staniszkis 1979:172-8; W.Lamentowicz 1982:117-31; J.Gross 1979:14850). They hold the view that crises were functional in reducing the tensions (‘regulation through crisis’ or ‘learning by crisis’), instrumental in the process of economic and political adaptation to changing environments, and provide a mechanism for economic and political recovery.
