Poland: A Revolt for the Possible

The September revolt in Poland was no starry-eyed event. It was a down-to-earth revolt. It took place in a bizarre country that is ruled by a Communist party more than two-thirds of whose members believe in God, a country in which the party’s Politburo holds absolute power but in which for a period of ten years almost all major investment decisions, involving billions of dollars, have been manipulated by local lobbies or by those of the lower-level branches of various industries. A country in which – the government seemingly, because officially, exercises monopoly control over information, whereas the true monopoly lies with foreign shortwave radio services whose broadcasts are listened to by members of the highest organs of ...