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1.Fromliberalismtointerventionism(1918–1939)
TheauthorsoftheCatholichistoricalschoolinPolisheconomy,associatedwith
Christiandemocracy,approvedprivateproperty,butcalledfortherestrictionofthe
so-calledhypertrophyinthesphereofdivision(todaywewouldsaycapitalistdistri-
butioninefficiencies)byinculcatingtheprinciplesofCatholicethicsincapitalists
andworkers(priestAntoniSzymański,1881–1943;LudwikGórski,1894–1946).In
theviewoftheAustrianschool,thewastefulconsumptionbyaristocracyandlanded
gentryinvestingtoolittleinthemodernisationoftheirestates[Czerkawski,1896]
wasalsocriticised.Economicprogramsrecommending,amongothers,resolving
overpopulationandpauperisationofthemajorityofthepeasantpopulationbylimit-
ingthepopulationgrowthandacceleratingthecountry’seconomicdevelopmentby
importingcapitalandfightingcartelisation[Krzyżanowski,1928]wereformulated.
BycombiningthepuretheoryoftheAustrianschoolwithGermanhistoricaland
sociologicalconcepts,RomanRybarski(1887–1942)derivedanationalistpolitical
andeconomicprogramwhichwaslookedforwardtobytheNationalDemocratic
Party,inwhichheattributedtheessentialroletothefeaturesofthenationalpsyche.
ThemostinfluentialeconomistoftheinterwarperiodAdamKrzyżanowskiacted
asadefenderoftheprinciplesofliberalism,justifyingthembyemphasisinghuman
natureandpetty-bourgeoisethics.Intheethicaldimension,hestronglycriticised
inflationandstatism.
Thecatastrophicinflationanddeflationintheearly1920scausedadisputeover
WładysławGrabski’smonetaryreform.Therewerealsodebatesaboutthemethods
offinancingthedevelopmentofthePolisheconomy,capitalimports,andissues
relatedtofreetrade,autarkyandstatism.
Pureneoclassicaleconomicswascriticisedbythemostprominentrepresentative
oftheLausanneMathematicalSchoolinPoland,WładysławZawadzki(1885–1939),
theMinisteroftheTreasuryinthetimesoftheGreatDepression,whoaccuseditof
lackingaqualitative,institutional,social,legal,technicalelement,andthereforehe
aimedatmakingtheneoclassicaltheoryofequilibriummorerealisticbystudyingthe
socialdeterminantsofproduction[Zawadzki,1923].InthetimesoftheGreatDepres-
sion,astheMinisteroftheTreasuryhenonethelessadhered,inhispracticalactivity,
tothecanonsofthequantitativetheoryofmoneyandtheliberalmarketeconomy’s
abilitytobalancemarkets,becauseintheconditionsofcapitalshortageandgreatun-
employment,monetaristinterventionandsocialpolicycouldnotbringpositiveresults.
Inthedebateonunemploymentandovercomingthecrisis,MichałKaleckipre-
sentedin1933theoriginaldemandtheoryofthenationalincome,whichinsome
respectscontainedanapproachtothestudyoftheeconomicsituationthatwasmore
interestingthanthatofJohnMaynardKeynes,anditwasinoppositiontoneoclas-
sicalrecipesderivedfromtheparadigmsofthethenneoclassicaleconomics.1Inhis
view,thedeclineinwagescausedbythecrisisdoesnotincreaseproduction,butonly
1
J.M.KeynespublishedhistheorythreeyearslaterthanM.Kalecki.See[Kalecki,1933;Keynes,
1936].Tracesofhistheoryofeconomicsituationandtheeffectivenessofhisanti-crisisprescriptionsare
visibleintheactionsundertakenintheUSaftertheoutbreakofthelastglobalfinancialcrisisin2008.