After 1945 central planning and management that failed to respect economic rules, above all, consumer preferences, led to the isolation of the Polish economy from global trends, as well as inhibited society's standard of living. This led the Polish economy into an economic and social wilderness and, in effect, sentenced
its downfall.

Prof. Janusz Kalinski (b. 1942) is one of the most renown Polish historicians specializing in the economic history of Poland. He lectures in Warsaw School of Economics. Author of many scientific monographies and textbooks on economic history and international relations after the Second World War, among others: Historia gospodarcza XIX i XX wieku, Warszawa 2008; From the Great Depression to the Global Financial Crisis (1929–2009), Bialystok 2012 [co-editor M. Zalesko]; Gospodarka w PRL, Warszawa 2012; Zarys stosunków międzynarodowych po II wojnie światowej, Bialystok 2014.