A Sociological Approach to Commodification

This book analyses the processes of commodification and decommodification which have wrought changes in Polish society since 1945. Examining the case of Poland, this book also explores comparisons to other countries in the Eastern European region. It is the first book to capture long-term social change from the perspective of commodification and decommodification processes. This book will appeal to sociologists, economists, historians, anthropologists and political scientists, especially to students and scholars interested in theoretical economics and economic sociology as well as Central and Eastern Europe.

Marek Ziolkowski is Emeritus Professor at the Faculty of Sociology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan. His research interest includes sociological theory, sociology of knowledge and social consciousness and transformation of the contemporary Polish society. Rafal Drozdowski is Professor at the Faculty of Sociology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan. His research interest includes political sociology, visual sociology and sociology of everyday life. Mariusz Baranowski is an adjunct researcher at the Faculty of Sociology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan. His research interest includes political and economic sociology, social welfare issues and the critique of neoliberalism.

Introduction Part I 1. Commodification and decommodification - economic and sociological perspectives Part II: Transformations in Polish society after 1945 from the perspective of commodification processes 2. Decommodification and commodification processes under real socialism in Poland 3. The first years of the Polish transition from 'real socialism' to 'real capitalism' (and 'real democracy') 4. Basic commodification and decommodification processes in the Polish economy and Polish society since 1989: political and social conditions and consequences Part III:Commodification of selected areas of social life: universal trends and Polish peculiarities 5. Varieties, conditions, consequences and paradoxes of the commodification of nature 6. The commodification and decommodification of culture 7. The commodification of health care 8. Selected problems concerning the commodification of education and science 9. Whose city is this? The city as an arena of commodification and decommodification processes Conclusions