The Bourgeoisie in Poland in the 19th and 20th Century against the European Background

Abstract

The history of the Polish bourgeoisie as a class distinct from the petty middle class and the nobility has been studied mainly in relation to specific periods or regions. A synthetic account covering the full arc from the Grand Duchy of Warsaw to the nationalization of 1944/45, examining regularities and peculiarities compared to Western Europe, has been lacking.

This article surveys the history of the bourgeoisie in Polish territories from the beginning of the 19th century to its liquidation after 1944, analyzing the chronology of its formation, the character and sources of primary accumulation, the internal structure and national differentiation of the class, and its political role at the major turning points of Polish history.

The argument draws on the author's earlier monograph on the formation of the bourgeoisie in the Kingdom of Poland 1815-1850, on Kula's Formation of Capitalism in Poland, on Łepkowski's synthesis, and on studies by Pietrzak-Pawłowska, Pustuła, and Żarnowski on monopoly capitalism and interwar Polish society.

The analysis shows that the Polish bourgeoisie emerged as a distinct class at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, its formation accelerated by the economic policies of minister Drucki-Lubecki in the Kingdom of Poland. Unlike Western Europe, primary accumulation rested mainly on proletarization of peasants and small producers and lasted only through the first half of the 19th century. The January Uprising of 1863 marked the boundary between feudalism and capitalism. The class was hampered by lack of independent statehood, national differentiation, domination of Jewish and German elements among the wealthiest circles, and the tendency to align with the squirearchy rather than pursue radical reform. The ideology of organic work expressed its cautious yet progressive character. The Polish way to capitalism differed from the Prussian manner, and the class was ultimately liquidated by the agricultural reform and nationalization of industry in 1944/45.