ABSTRACT
Developments such as the Round Table talks between the communist government and the Solidarity trade union movement, and the radical transformation that Poland subsequently underwent—by way of a peaceful, bloodless revolution at that—are astonishing. Poland’s model transition from authoritarianism to a democratic system was based on an agreement by moderate representatives of the government and the opposition, who, in the name of responsibility for the future of the country, managed to rise above the rift that divided them. In fact, as historian Janusz Tazbir observes, a belief has taken root in the collective national consciousness that Poland is among the most unfortunate countries in Europe. In hindsight, people in Poland tend to see the breakthrough of 1989 in increasingly positive terms. Poland’s transition from communism to a market economy had its good and bad sides. The reforms were a great success for Poland.
