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Paper short abstract:

The paper is devoted to the interdisciplinary expertise developed by Polish scientists on ecological challenges faced by the socialist state, especially to the attempts at adapting a socialist economy, system of values and lifestyle to be more environmentally sustainable.

Paper long abstract:

The widespread stereotype of socialist authorities as neglecting ecological questions in pursuit of economic development based on heavy industry obscures the more nuanced reality of the environmental debates and struggles in the Polish People's Republic. These were based on well-developed expertise, exceeding the narrow, short-sighted, technocratic approach sometimes attributed to socialist states. Scientists representing official institutions, collaborating with international organisations, were well aware of the global ecological crisis. They also noticed the potential environmental consequences of a new economic strategy based on higher economic growth rates, introduced in Poland at the beginning of the 70s. In my paper, I focus on the debates by scientists representing diverse disciplines [architecture, urban planning, medicine, engineering, sociology, economics, etc.] circulating in the experts’ milieu [especially publications by the Committee of Research and Prognosis “Poland 2000” at the Polish Academy of Science] and presented to lay public in popular science magazines [Aura]. I am especially interested in their attempts at conceptualising the model of what they called “a socialism harmonised with nature”: how they perceived the advantages of the socialist model in fighting the ecological crisis; what were, in their opinion, its main contradictions in this regard; what adjustments were required to adapt the socialist system to ecological challenges. I also reconstruct the dynamics of relations between the scientists and the authorities at the local and state levels to better understand the tensions, conflicts and challenges connected with implementing their proposals.