So how did the citizens of the region’s countries,
social housing and other forms of social support that the
setting in. In Hungary, the symbol of those changes was
whose decades of active housing policy confirmed the
state provided before 1989 were reluctant to enthusiasti-
the reform of 1968 known as the New Economic Mecha-
belief that every person deserves a home, so quickly
cally embrace the reforms, it was more important for the
nism, opening up the country to more pro-market forms
became convinced that this is a private matter, and
success of the transformation that they found support
of economic organization.21 Similar processes took place
that everyone should take care of it on their own now?
among the elites. The latter in turn, willingly adopted
in Czechoslovakia and in Poland. Today, it is particu-
Undoubtedly, the ubiquitous discourse promoting indi-
and reproduced the individualistic discourse.
larly important to try and capture the moment when the
vidualism and private property played an important role
Importantly, in Central Europe, this discourse was
socialist ethos of collective action for a common, better
during the transition period. It penetrated all spheres:
not a complete novelty. The development of housing
future began to erode, and became gradually replaced
from media debates to pop culture images, from daily
in socialist countries required large financial outlays,
by the individualistic discourse of aspiration and mate-
papers to illustrated magazines. Dorota Leśniak-Rychlak
and the policy of low rents made it difficult to obtain
rial consumption, family values and conservative mod-
writes extensively about the transformation in percep-
adequate funds for the purpose, which is why in the
els of social relations. It shows that laying foundations
tions and ideas about good life and comfortable living
1970s some of the region’s countries began to cautiously
for the introduction of neoliberal solutions in the region
in her book Jesteśmy wreszcie we własnym domu (Home
encourage the construction of individual housing. This
was stretched over time. Even before experts from the
at last).20 The vision of a prosperous life “at home” was
was not just about introducing the savings thus made by
World Bank formulated their recommendations for
accompanied – rather like in the West – by various
the more affluent households into the economic circula-
Central Europe, the Polish Round Table thematic group
measures stigmatizing the system of subsidised social
tion. It was the sign that the changes taking place in the
for housing policy called for “a move away from egali-
housing and its tenants. Even if the beneficiaries of
economic and social philosophy of socialist states were
tarianism in the field of housing”,22 and its co-chairman
6
WERONIKA PARFIANOWICZ
