In order to build a strong economy, we must rely on knowledge

During the second day of the 2018 Freedom Games, a debate titled “The Battle of Economy and a Fight for the Dignity of a Pole/Entrepreneur” led by Grzegorz Cydejko took place. The meeting had the form of a round table, with the participation of Michał Brzeziński, Marek Góra, Mariusz Książek, Ignacy Morawski and Robert Sobiech.

How to combine two completely different concepts of self-esteem and self-respect with the economy? What is the role of knowledge and intelligence in all this? Or maybe something completely different has a significance?

Sovereignty or independence is a concept that seems to be present in today’s discussions more often than the subject of economy and entrepreneurship. Polish democracy is a relatively young regime, and so it may seem that the country’s economy is not in such a good condition as countries from the top rankings, especially if we take into account that the Polish economy was shaped mainly by the import of technology and not investing in people. In addition, changes in the demographic structure and technology development can be taken into account. Meanwhile, it turns out that the main goal should be something completely different.

In order to build a strong economy, we must rely on knowledge and therefore have a strong enterprise. However, it turns out that the features that we would not directly associate with politics or the economy begin to play a very important role. It turns out that one of the key factors are the aspirations of people and their reactions to the operation of institutions, especially in crisis situations. Here the problem of trust appears, because it is mainly a binder of today’s social groups and institutions. It is impossible to build a system based on lack of trust. This, in turn, may involve risks that we should take faster than others to increase efficiency in the market. This can be combined with some kind of entrepreneur’s responsibility, because entrepreneurship should be understood as responsibility for oneself, and this is the result of dignity.

Sandra Zarychta