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production, Gierek immediately offered the peasants substantial price increases for farm products and other incentives to raise production, even while he was publicizing a comprehensive reform of agricultural policy that went into effect in January 1972. The widely resented system of compulsory deliveries of farm products to the state was abolished and replaced by a contract system that gives the peasants considerable leeway in production. A fundamental change in land taxes was introduced, much red tape that had previously enmeshed the private farmer was cut, and the country's comprehensive system of health insurance was extended to cover most of the previously ineligible private peasants and members of their families, a total of some 6.5 million persons. Most importantly, Gierek eased the peasants' anxieties about future farm policy by guaranteeing that the policy of predominantly private ownership of land would continue; indeed, property laws were revised giving farmers a greater sense of security and many of them received clear title to land which had previously remained state property although they had been tilling it. As a result, Poland remains unique in Eastern Europe (with the exception of Yugoslavia) in the 83% of agricultural land remains privately owned; the vast majority of the remainder belongs to large state farms, with only an insignificant portion composed of collective farms.

These initial changes in the socioeconomic sphere brought about a tangible improvement in th standard of living. The supply of consumer goods increased substantially: the shortages of meat and butter were alleviated, and a greater variety of clothing, including imported goods, was made available. Yet, the government acknowledged that these gains by themselves were insufficient. The year 1971 was described as a period of convalescence after which many new efforts would be needed to attain full economic recovery.

The shape of the next stage in Poland's economic development - through 1975 - was worked out during 1971 by a commission of experts headed by Politburo member Jan Szydlak and was adopted in December by the Sixth Party Congress. Some of the more far-reaching proposals in the "Szydlak reforms" were abandoned for several reasons, among them reportedly the opposition of both Soviet leaders and Polish conservatives. In any event, no comprehensive, far-reaching reform of the Polish economy toward a market system is in sight. Nevertheless, a planning and management reform affecting a number of large industrial units became effective on 1 January 1973. Moreover the "Szydlak commission" reportedly began the second phase of its work in March 1973.

Although Gierek's approach entails caution and moderation, pragmatism, and as little tinkering with existing institutional forms as possible, the goals of the 1971-1975 plan remain ambitious. Personal income is to increase by 18% at the same time that working time is reduced; full employment is to be sought; a comprehensive review and reform of the educational system is scheduled; the variety and quality of consumer goods is to be improved, in part through imports; a substantial number of inexpensive personal automobiles are to be produced and marketed; housing construction is to be stressed, and new hospitals and health centers are to be provided for both urban and rural areas.

It remains to be seen, of course, whether the economic performance necessary to achieve these goals will be forthcoming as a result of Gierek's efforts to "energize" the existing system, or whether fundamental reforms in the system will ultimately be necessary - and, if so, whether Gierek will be inclined to risk domestic and foreign opposition to any significant unorthodoxy. Despite these pitfalls, however, the new program for 1971-1975 implies a new principle in the thinking of Poland's policymakers. The essence of the new approach was published by the regime in early 1972 in a pamphlet outlining the leadership's hopes for the decade of the 1970s:


 * "The new socioeconomic policy is based on the assumption that it is already possible for the present generation to benefit from the economic progress of Poland... The crux of the problem is, while not ignoring economic growth, to attain the maximum possible standard of living. In short, the objective is to promote parallel social and economic development of the country."

The fundamentally consumerist concept that underlies this policy was stated even more succinctly in October 1971 by Szydlak, who said flatly that "increased consumption is an important and necessary factor in economic growth."

Although Gierek's major domestic policy moves have been directed at gaining the support of those classes and special interest groups that have the greatest economic importance - the workers and the peasants - he has also struck a mutually acceptable, though not close, relationship with the intellectuals, students, and the "middle class" of artisans and white-collar workers. Initially, this relationship was ambiguous. These special interest groups had far fewer economic grievances to be remedied than the workers and were not swept up into the workers' militancy.

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