Abstract
At first glance, Mrozowicki’s book appears to be a yet another elaborate case study of an already broadly researched topic – postsocialist transformation in Poland and its social, economic and political consequences for the specific labour category, namely, the manual workers, usually labelled as those who are yet to learn to cope with the social changes that occurred over the last decades. Leaving the summary at that, however, would be a major understatement, as the book’s excellent argument provides food for thought even for those familiar with Polish and international studies in the field of labour studies, as well as working-class research and the new landscape of post-1989 employment in Eastern Europe and beyond. Mrozowicki manages to expertly navigate between broader social theory and illustrative findings from a large-scale qualitative research project, making a strong case for necessary revisions of former ill conceptualizations of universally disorientated and victimized workers unable to adapt to the new conditions set out by neoliberal project of capitalism implemented in Poland.
Stemming from a doctoral research project, the book has a standard structure, proceeding from a literature review (Chapters 2 and 3), through a research design outline (Chapter 4), to data analysis and discursive descriptions of novel concepts and scholarly models derived from findings but embedded in earlier sociological debates (Chapters 5–8).
The book begins with an overview of theoretical approaches, addressing local Polish studies of the working class under socialism, and linking them with broader international frameworks. Like many other sociologists, Mrozowicki faces the dilemma of situating his work between agency and structure, arguing for an integrative approach, which might not be a novel idea, but definitely something to keep in mind in this particular context. Enriching the discussion with the concept of workers’ reflexivity and building from both Bourdieu’s work on habitus and Archer’s more reflexive take on the subject, the discussion leads to the subsequent original argument. The theoretical part is very detailed, and some aspects of local geopolitical context (e.g. historical borders and differences between Silesia’s regions) may overcomplicate and overshadow the main argument, the on-point briefing on the cultural legacy of socialism (p. 31), followed by the discussion of transformation and its effects on workers’ milieu (p. 34), which could be used as a stand-alone resource for those interested in various perspectives and interpretations of Polish workers’ situation under the contrasted regimes.
The research question that Mrozowicki poses pertains to a complex matrix of workers’ segmentation (based on their respective economic and less tangible resources), collective ethos and individual reflexivity as factors potentially influencing the life strategies adopted by manual labourers in the postsocialist reality. Following the initial phase of his research, which entailed collecting biographical narrative interviews and employing grounded theory methodology, Mrozowicki focuses on reinterpretations of the transformation. He addresses specific themes, including changes in the value assigned to work, the outlook on resourcefulness then and now and educational capital. As such, the selection of topics mirrors issues normally relevant for the new working-class studies.
In the analytical chapters, illustrative quotes from workers’ narratives are supplied. It is telling that despite the large number of interviews conducted (166) and a clear focus on building working typologies and schemes of categorizations, the voices of individuals are not lost and the stories are told in terms of their inner logics and contextual meanings. It must be stated that it is, in my opinion, this narrative diversity that allows a variety of strategies across regions, demographic range and the segmented force of labourers to come through, validating the key argument of the author, who claims that a high ambivalence in the reactions to systemic change can be observed. Mrozowicki’s sociological analysis results in the creation of multiple categorization models that nevertheless remain dynamic and open-ended and suggests applicability for looking at stories representative for members of other social classes, demonstrating ‘ritualization’ or ‘fragmentation’ of ethos upon hybridized ways of reworking social change. Among various typologies, proposed hybridized coping strategies and the concept of ‘agency of the weak’ appear to hold most promise for further use in studies concerning other national and cross-national settings.
The approach of turning to workers themselves and showcasing the diversity across individuals and the reflexively constructed accounts of the socialist past, transformation period and capitalist present, has successfully illustrated the shortcomings of seeing workers as ‘helpless puppets of historical forces’ (p. 232) in a popular universalist view. Mrozowicki’s research partners largely challenge the labels normally ascribed to them, for instance by contesting nostalgia for the socialist past, or proving their flexibility and adaptability in contemporary constructions of the workplace and a return to unionization. All aspects of manual workers’ life strategies revolving around employment, and, to some degree, social life, are critically assessed with the help of rich raw material, proving that inner segmentation of labourers resulted in contrasting views on issues that could otherwise be imagined to unite them under the auspices of the class logic.
Although Mrozowicki’s work is clearly distinctive from gender-focused reports and ethnographic studies, such as Elisabeth Dunn’s Privatizing Poland, a sole critique of his work would pertain to a lack of an in-depth analysis of female narratives. His female respondents are classified in the ‘peripheral’ rather than ‘core’ category of the interview-partners and appear overlooked. Although the author addresses certain aspects (e.g. noting the consequences of motherhood for female work biographies or ascertaining specific career orientations as likely resulting from gender orders and their constraints), he seems to undervalue the role and prevalence of women in executing certain key coping strategies (e.g. within familiarism, entrepreneurship, or migration). This seems puzzling for a project that generally strives to give voice to those normally othered and absent from social discourses and analyses. In this context, women could be viewed as an intersectionally doubly marginalized group, thus creating a particularly interesting category for analysing transitions.
Mrozowicki’s use of specific vocabulary, such as ‘patch-working’ and ‘bricolage’, in relation to novel and complex life strategies (i.e. career patterns) is probably a key take-away from this reading, because it calls attention to actions that cannot be easily observed or examined through formerly favoured quantitative survey research designs. A certain level of conceptual and analytical depth is achieved through multiple meetings with single respondents in a longitudinal approach to narratives. Mrozowicki not only manages to break free from typical categorizations, grand narratives and dominant paradigms, but he also provides an alternative sociological framework for future projects that focus on Polish workers. It is perhaps important to acknowledge the researcher’s position as a Polish national working abroad (with his doctoral researcher affiliation being at the University of Leuven in Belgium). This context appears to have contributed to a good balance between his insider’s access, paired with localized specific knowledge, and an outsider’s view through the lenses of globally acknowledged and crucial scholarly contributions to social theory. As such, Mrozowicki’s main accomplishment is making this local exemplification understandable and interesting for an international reader.