BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCKS TOGETHER... WHAT FOR? (Swoj do swego... po co?)

Economic nationalism has been, and still is, a relatively widespread phenomenon in the world. This tendency was not, however, particularly common in Poland's earlier history. The course of events was such that the quest for independence dominated over the consciousness of a need for civil and economic development. Only at the end of the interwar period, on the wave of the Great Depression, were plans for developing the economic potential of the country intensified. Unfortunately, however, the fight against Jewish merchants was also intensified, this being treated as a tool to strengthen not the country's economic potential but the economic potential of Poles among its citizens. During the communist period nominal internationalism sometimes actually intertwined with economic nationalism. In general, communist countries were unwilling to open their economies to other countries. Probably each country feared that another theoretically fraternal country would suck it dry. However, the dominant motive of propaganda was, of course, cooperation with other countries in the CMEA camp. In Poland, signs of economic nationalism have currently been moderate. Despite observed public attitudes against foreign retail chains, there has been no evidence of boycotting supermarkets run by their Polish managers. Nor has there been a boycott of foreign banks. Even products advertised as Polish do not dominate the advertising market, although they do appear.