2017-02-04 18:14 update: 2018-09-27, 00:10
Prezes PiS Jarosław Kaczyński Fot. PAP/Rafał Guz
The state comes first, then ownership that is the prerequisite for individual freedom, and then the market, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the ruling Law and Justice party said at an economic conference in Torun, northern Poland, on Saturday.
"The Responsibility of Entrepreneurs for Poland" conference, organised at a local Catholic university, was also attended by deputy PM Mateusz Morawiecki, the mastermind of Poland's long-term Plan for Responsible Development, head of the Council of Ministers' Standing Committee Henryk Kowalczyk and CEOs of some of Poland's biggest companies.
In his address, Kaczynski focused on economic freedom, including the relations between the state, the market and ownership. Among the three, "the state must come first as without the state there could be no market, but first of all there could be no ownership", Kaczynski claimed.
"First the state, then ownership without which there could be no personal freedom, and then the market. Can the market exist without the state? It cannot exist without the state, the state must guarantee general and individual security for those who operate on the market, the safety of trade. It must establish various institutions that function on the market, in relation to the market, and first of all the currency", the Law and Justice leader argued.
Kaczynski stressed there must be some level of social security offered by the state as well as a certain level of personal security and means to counter crises.
"The state must have resources, so it must collect taxes, contributions, public levies. So freedom is somewhat restricted here as some fruits of economic activity must be taken over by the state and it is an objective necessity that is debatable only with respect to the size of the levy and the method of collecting it", Kaczynski also said.
Referring to the conference title, Kaczynski said that the responsibility of entrepreneurs also involves "obligations towards the community". "It is up to the state to make this development as just as possible, so that it does not result in excessive social disparities, and to ensure that the benefits of it should be felt by larger social groups, by everyone who works".
The Law and Justice leader also claimed that Polish businesses have a problem with propensity to invest and taking on risks, and with innovation.
Kaczynski said that deputy PM Morawiecki's tasks include providing a balance between fast growth and justice.
According to the Law and Justice leader, Poland had a chance to repeat the business activity surge that the country saw between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s. He also accused the previous governments of allowing for "anarchic freedom" which left parts of the economy unregulated and uncontrolled by the state.
This condition is still present to a considerable extent with respect to foreign companies, which sometimes "do not observe certain legal or moral principles", unacceptable behaviour in their countries of origin. (PAP)
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