(Mis)understanding Social Activism in Poland

A special report in The Economist, published 25 October 2001, presents Poland as a country of self-doubts and surprisingly low self-esteem. The author claims that when President George W. Bush stopped off in Warsaw in June 2001 and praised Poland’s achievements, many people were surprised and thought he must have been wearing rose-tinted glasses, as today “Poles are among Central Europe’s most inherently pessimistic people.” As former Science Minister Andrzej Wiszniewski, quoted in the article, put it: “To admit that life is good is seen in some circles as almost indecent. The only thing we don’t grumble about is our...