Racjonalność w dyskursach o pracy w Polsce (po)transformacyjnej
Rationality in Discourse on Work in (Post)Transformational Poland

Author(s): Konrad Kubala
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Social Sciences, Communication studies, Sociology, Labor relations
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Keywords: discourse on work;defining work;political communication;rationalization;social order;rationality
Summary/Abstract: The book describes forms of contemporary social communication and its effects manifested in creating and reproducing the definitions of phenomena and processes that are of fundamental importance to social order. The publication employs terminology which is key in the context of the reproduction of social life, such as security, risk or trust. The meaning of the concept of rationality has been validated as necessary in order to understand the institutional planning behind the shaping of social reality, as well as private expectations and feelings of individuals. The monograph discusses the models of producing certain types of rationality in public job-related discourse and their reception by media audiences. It has been noted that the most important elements of the permanent socialization process become visible in labour disputes, providing an opportunity to define social relations together with the accompanying risks of unemployment, social exclusion and others. Three types of discourse have been analyzed: power (all government policy statements from the period of the Third Polish Republic), expert (EKG – Ekonomia. Kapitał, Gospodarka (economics, capital, economy) series of radio programs) and “civic” (focus group interviews). The publication will be of interest to both theoreticians and practitioners of social communication. It provides empirical background for the development of a promising but still incomplete theory of reflective modernization, and constitutes an overview of the forms of rationalization chosen for the dominant policies undertaken during the time of political transformation in Poland. The reader will find here both an original approach to the selection and use of analytical tools, as well as generalizations that permit ethical assessment of the constantly evolving social order. “The book by Dr. Konrad Kubala is most interesting and original. A bold attempt to create empirical foundations for testing the reflexive modernization concept was implemented here in a very ingenious way, in both theoretical and research-related dimensions. … An excellent, reliable and credible social diagnosis has been written … which carries informative potential much more serious than detailed studies in the existing literature where the area of focus is usually much narrower. The thesis formulated by the author, i.e. about the emergence of an interesting form of hybrid rationality as resulting from a local collision of different types of discourse, is a fascinating starting point for studies on modernization processes in the semi-periphery and periphery countries. … This publication will probably enter the canon of titles which constitute the core of Polish empirical sociology. It cannot be ignored in any type of social diagnosis.”

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