Social care in Poland: opportunities for the future.

The article assesses contemporary social policy in Poland within the context of its rapidly changing social, political and economic institutions and a dynamic ideological environment. It could be anticipated that the trend toward privatization and a market-based economy would result in social policies that favor citizenship autonomy over social guarantees. Perhaps the most noteworthy trends are those toward privatization with respect to social welfare in the areas of employment, housing and health care. The privatization of industry has resulted in the unemployment or underemployment of workers. There are some positive results from the painful fear of losing a job and the resulting worsening of one's economic condition, such as an increase of work quality and personal discipline. However, there are many negative effects as well. Because of the fear that they will be replaced at the work site, many working people do not use the rights to which they are entitled. The well-being of all of its citizens should be the goal of any social policy development. Social planners should consider ways to coordinate the interactions of ideology and socioeconomic and political institutions to more effectively enhance citizen well-being, as suggested by Iatridis.