Maciek Romanowicz (06/01/2023)

What I recently found interesting:

• Poland → its post-communist economic miracle, impact of War in Ukraine and why we should be cautious about the future rather than rest on our laurels

  • If interested in having a comprehensive (both economic & social) view of Poland, I encourage you to give yourself time to read the whole story, as the author first praises Poland and many of its actions, and only at the very end presents some of the challenges that lay ahead

  • “To be defeated and not submit, is victory; to be victorious and rest on one's laurels, is defeat” was a quote carved out inside my primary school to pay respects to one of our World War I heroes, Jozef Pilsudski, who is largely credited with bringing Poland back on the World’s Map (in 1918) after 123 years of being just a concept in our hearts and souls due to Russian, Austrian & Prussian partitions from late 18th century

  • I began with the quote above because in my opinion, contradictorily to the leading article’s author, Poland is currently at the risk of falling in the trap of “resting on its laurels”; and here are my thoughts why:

    • Since the fall of Communism in 1989 (and regaining our full Independence once again) we have achieved tremendous economic success, as best evidenced by our consistent real GDP growth which continued during GFC and only experienced a small correction in Covid times

    • On the other hand, our Rule of Law has been under siege for the last couple of years, resulting in the consolidation of power under the ruling party and weakening democratic institutions; such actions make us vulnerable as a country by potentially creating an environment prone to cronyism, corruption and crime, the symptoms of which can be best evidenced by the recent drop in government trust, which is at its lowest level since 2015

    • Additionally, Poland currently has one of the highest inflation rates among European countries (although, admittedly, with early signs of it slowing down); add that to the higher fiscal spending than what’s officially reported (i.e. high-spend special Covid and Ukrainian War funds exist outside of the parliamentary-monitored budget), and we have reasons to be wary about our 3-5 year economic outlook

    • Furthermore, it must be mentioned that there is an ongoing fight for freedom and equal treatment in Poland for women and minority groups; and before anything else, we should acknowledge our shortcomings in regards to human rights, and begin celebrating the differences between people rather than condemning them

    • Now, how does War in Ukraine factor into the above? To be clear, I am very proud of how Poland has reacted to the atrocities committed behind our Eastern border and I really hope that Ukraine will soon declare a tremendous victory. At the same time, this bloodshed inadvertently created an image of Poland as a European / NATO / Western World (you name it) Savior and took the spotlight away from the authoritarian and populist moves made by the government in recent years (see above)

      • To EU’s credit, it has somewhat successfully tried to use its grant money as a way to fight back; that said, I do worry that given the current macro events such measures are not sufficient to turn the tide and protect our democracy in the long-run

  • In conclusion, if we, as a nation, continue to fail to address the aforementioned issues / challenges, the unexpectedly received diplomatic tailwinds from the War in Ukraine will be short-lived and will not help us maintain the post-communist growth miracle

• Climate Change explained by Dan Ashton, my freshman dorm RA

  • I am not and never will be an expert in life sciences (and, as a side note related to Climate, in school I had greatly struggled with Biology, Chemistry and Physics); that said, ever since I stopped playing competitive tennis in 2016 I have grown significant appreciation for nature → exploring which (similar to playing sports)

    • takes my mind off all my real-world worries,

    • allows me to take a step back and reflect on my daily activities,

    • and also, thanks to its natural (unchanged by human) beauty, has this superpower to just put a smile on my face

  • With that in mind I think it is crucial that we all build awareness about Climate Change and put in perspective what will happen if we don’t act now one way or another, which is why I highly recommend this article

• Three tech-focused ways to fight Climate Change

  • This is a follow-up to an earlier post by Dan (see above) and it focuses on how technology may help us reverse the global warming trend

    • My three cents here are that even though hoping that we don’t have to change our daily habits may sound like wishful thinking, tech might be our best and only chance to achieve the necessary milestones given:

      • its unique potential for a step function change of the direction where Planet Earth is headed,

      • and the fact that effectiveness of individual behavior change relies on a globally coordinated action (incl. enforcement mechanisms) by all respective constituents

    • On the other hand, relying on technology improvements to save our Planet also comes with its own problems:

      • It is a long-term hope and we need a solution now (i.e. people are already dying because of climate change)

      • It requires an enormous financial investment and most investors (also governments) might not be willing to think in time horizons of 20-30+ years in regards to expected returns

      • It may come off as a “it is not my problem” type of statement leading to further division in the world

    • Summing up the above, I believe that the more we talk about it and urge ourselves (e.g. buy eco-friendly products, use bikes, commute in groups etc.) and governments (e.g. develop climate-friendly legislations, like IRA in the US) to take action, the better chance we have of experiencing the technological improvement that we need to save Planet Earth in the long-run

Miscellaneous

• Personal

  • In mid-May I visited Boston for a 1-year HBS Reunion and had a chance to revitalize my friendships as well as reflect on the year that has passed

    • Looking back, at the time of graduation I thought I had found my groove by taking two separate leaps of faith, in my personal and professional lives, respectively; unfortunately, neither has worked out, and each left me a bit “wounded”

      • Now, there is this common advice that it is good to isolate our emotions from any endeavor that we undertake, as such an approach shall enable us to quickly move on from failed bets and maximize the chances of fast-tracking our life progress (as measured by methodically accomplishing our well-defined goals)

      • While I agree that this statement has a lot of merit and we should follow the “logic part” of our brains in most cases, I also strongly believe that emotions are what separates us, human beings, from machines (e.g. computers, robots, AI-derived tools). They allow us to experience our individual lives from our own unique angles, so even if they might lead us astray from time to time, in my opinion it is better to let them sink in and make a necessary pit stop (time of which will differ by person) rather than artificially suppress them because the latter robs us off this beautiful experience which is “being a human” 🙂

        • Lastly, to ensure that I am properly understood, to me “letting emotions sink in and making a pit stop” means that it is okay to feel sad, nostalgic, baffled (or else) because something we deeply cared about did not work out; at the same time, I believe that a simultaneous effort should be made to find ways to occupy one’s mind and grow (however slowly one wishes) in other aspects of life; I trust that with this approach there will eventually come a moment when sad emotions disappear and something new makes us really, really smile again (that said, the amount of necessary time to get there is unknown, and making peace with this uncertainty is critical for it to work) 🙂

• Song Recommendation

  • “Watching the Wheels” by Chris Cornell -> while listening to it, I felt that it embraced the faith that I have always deeply held (i.e. that we should all build our very own life paths rather than follow the paths that “we are supposed to take on”); frankly, I know I have failed to live this adage at times but it is a principle that I strive to adhere to on a daily basis