Social policy of the Independent Polish Republic : the construction and the evolution of the system

Twenty years of independence turned out not to be long enough for the process of the construction of a coherent system of social policy to be finished. A complicated opening balance sheet, unfavourable economic and social structure of the state and, last but not least, a permanent lack of resources made it impossible to create a system which would satisfy existing needs. It remained in its construction phase and, though it was becoming more and more comprehensive, it was still extremely underfunded and flawed. This is confirmed by its limited coverage, which resulted from structural barriers. It was impossible to remedy this in the short interwar period, although the scale of problems and shortages was known. With time, social policy in Poland became a mature sphere of state activity, which is confirmed by the new objectives that currently lay before it, and by the regulatory and practical activities undertaken at the end of the 1930s.