A fewer weeks ago, “Gazeta Wyborcza” posted interview with sociologist Radosław Markowski on the Confederacy. Markowski takes on the function of an analyst there, who explains any of the Confederacy's successes, and a bit admits that there are disturbing, utmost trends.
However, the most interesting in this interview are those fragments in which Markowski exits the analytical-critical mode.
He says, for example, that in Poland the narration is dominant "to rise taxes, to take from those who work hard, and to give to those who do worse there are beyond the labour market". Immediately thereafter, he adds that Confederate voters are “increasingly hardworking middle-aged people who think they are not, adequate is enough.” It besides recognises that even the Citizens' Platform deals with "all-present distribution", and the Confederation is the only force with the demands of a "liberal economical order".
Who's repeating who?
Actually, all these theories are cursed.
For example, where precisely does the communicative of "increase taxes" dominate? This is simply a somewhat ridiculous argument in the light of the fact that the biggest decision of the current government in the taxation and contribution sphere is reduction of the wellness contribution for entrepreneurs. There is no real taxation increase on the table. No 1 from the civilian Coalition takes on this subject at all.
It is besides not very clear why Markowski insists on repeating the thesis that "hardworking" are taxed to aid those who do worse.
Available economical analyses indicate that in Poland This redistribution mechanics does not fulfil its function. Not only is the taxation strategy very generous for those who gain well, we inactive have fewer programmes aimed at unemployed people or with financial problems. Which is the reason why Poland has any of the biggest social inequalities in Europe.
Three Polish economists – Michał Brzeziński, Michał Myck and Mateusz Najsztub – surveyed the scale of redistribution in Poland. simply put, they checked how much Poland redirects money from the richest (gathering money from them in taxes) towards the poorest (proving them social programs). It turns out that this mechanics works poorly in us.
All Markowski's elements combine 1 thing: they uncritically replicate precisely the economical myths on which Mentzen and the Confederate builds its popularity. Our taxes are besides high! It's all over the news! Successors are oppressed by the state. alternatively of economical liberalism, we have socialism!
Isn't this an excellent summary of mainstream media in Poland? They seem to hatred Mentzen, as though they are informing him, but in fact they repeat his most crucial slogans. Though possibly closer to the fact would be to say that it Mentzen repeats the most popular economical myths reproduced by Polish media.
The interview with Markowski besides illustrates how these myths are reproduced: among another things, through clever phrases specified as “hardworking”, “all-present publishing” or “liberalism”.
That's how you manipulate Poles.
Take the phrase “hard-working Poles”. This simple wording is simply a useful way of manipulating public opinion.
Every time individual proposes higher taxes for, say, 10% of the best-earned citizens, immediately comes to a word-changer. Many political commentators and politicians present these citizens as "hard-working".
As a result, the "Let us rise taxes on 10% of the best earners of Poles" is replaced by these commentators and politicians with "Let us rise taxes on hard-working Poles". And that sounds stupid, dangerous, repressive. Damn commies choice on people who sweat again?!
Of course, specified a control is nothing but inexpensive demagoguery. I do not mean that among 10 percent of the best-earned Poles there are no hard workers. I'm certain there are many of them. The thing is, in another income groups there are besides people who work hard.
Some “experts” may find it hard to believe this, but teachers, cashiers, warehousers, paramedics, or officials do not besides crash – even though they do not gain a twelve 1000 zlotys per month.
We must besides remember that most of the proposals to rise taxes for the wealthiest are aimed at expanding the progressiveness of the strategy – that is, expanding the benefits for people with lower incomes. specified assumptions were made, for example, by the first version of the Polish Deal, and even before, the organization Together proposed them, suggesting a highly progressive taxation system.
It would so be fair to say: "The X organization wants to increase taxes of 10% of the richest hard-working Poles to relieve the remaining hard-working Poles".
Only that specified a version does not sound so dangerous – it is hard to unleash media hysteria around it, that the commies bargain from you.
Similarly, the usage of the word "average class" is manipulated by the public. It is no coincidence that this phrase most frequently remains indeterminate in Polish media.
When people hear that individual “wants to rob mediate class taxes”, they have the impression that this is about them. If politicians explained what they meant and said "we are talking about a fewer percent of the best earners of Poles", then this rhetorical trick would halt working. Many people would consider that this is improbable to apply to them; it may affect their boss, who earns several, possibly respective times more.
It is through specified manipulations, loaded consistently to the heads of Poles, that neoliberal hegemony has been established for 30 years. They're the ones Mentzen builds on.
Propaganda antidote
How do you respond to specified propaganda? There is no 1 answer to that question, due to the fact that it depends on who reacts.
For example, economists can effort to describe Polish economical realities as clearly as possible. Many do so, so we know that the scale of redistribution in Poland is not as large as any commentators suggest. Publicists can popularize and enter the results of this investigation into a broader political debate on the form of our society.
However, for politicians, both are not enough. It is impossible to win against neoliberal myths, telling voters, "Despite what Mr Mentzen claims, the 2022 investigation showed that...".
If any politicians (and political commentators) do not have the scruples to present the taxation progression as "the looting of hard-working Poles", then possibly opposition to specified a progression should be consistently presented as "a contempt for the majority of hard-working Poles", i.e. for people who do not gain respective 1000 zlotys?
If individual says that a simplification in the wellness contribution is an expression of respect for entrepreneurs, possibly it's worth contrasting, saying that all time it's a deficiency of respect for the wellness and life of employees?
Neoliberals successfully produced in Poland with their rhetoric collective identity of entrepreneurs and they mention to it all time they want to make a decision beneficial to a fistful of the wealthiest citizens. The Left should in consequence make the identity of the workers. Show them (which is once!) that they are the majority, and their interests do not match the interests of the rich.
However, contrary to common ideas, Polish The left is beautiful polite. against the background of competition in rhetoric. Of course, the left side does not have the media infrastructure that the neoliberals have, so promoting an worker identity will not be easy. But since we managed to push through the phrase "trash works" and partially repel with it neoliberal "flexible forms of employment", it means that there is any kind of battlefield here – if only this fight appeals to real social problems.
An interesting survey in this context, whose results published in March "Rzeczpospolita". It turns out that the Z generation, having different forms of employment to choose from, powerfully prefers a "job contract" – as much as 74 percent of the aneccted wills specified a solution. It may be that the denial of "flexible forms of employment" by "waste contracts" has helped. I'm certain there's possible to build the worker identity of specified people.
These are not just worshipful language games. Without regaining the political imagination, left-wing recipes, even supported by the best research, will always lose to neoliberal slogans about “hard-working Polish entrepreneurs”.
