Authors

Discussion

This paper explores the survival strategies and self-support mechanisms developed by former Polish state farm labourers during the 1990s, particularly in terms of employment and social exclusion. Drawing on oral history interviews from Paczółtowice, a small village in southern Poland (whose former state farmland was transformed into a Golf and Country Club), alongside archival sources, this micro-perspective case study illustrates how the transition from socialism to democracy and market-free oriented economy impacted rural areas with state farmland. The theoretical frameworks of Zygmunt Bauman's concept of liquid modernity and Gayatari Spivak’s notion of subalternity provide a deeper understanding of the workers' experiences and their perceptions of the post-socialist transition. By emphasizing the resilience and agency of these former labourers, this research challenges prevailing stereotypes and narratives that dichotomise winners and losers in the post-socialist transition. Through an examination of inventive survival strategies and the role of social capital, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of broader processes such as rural gentrification, cultural adaptation, and integration into global economic trends.