On some misunderstandings about the name and the essence of the German economic model

Abstract

The study concerns terminological ambiguity associated with the use of the term ‘social market economy’ in Poland. The aim of the article is to show that the term ‘communal market economy’ does not reflect the essence of the German economic model and that its use is unjustified. As a research method a critical study of the literature was used, which is a typical research method in history of economic thought. Polish economists have used two terms to describe the German economic model: ‘communal market economy’ and ‘social market economy’, which cannot be treated as synonyms. The first term is more often used than the second by Polish economists. The author of this study points out that the second term better suits the main ideas of the concept formulated by representatives of the Freiburg School and implemented in the Federal Republic of Germany after the Second World War. Thanks to the model based on the freedom of the individual, competition, and strong state and social equalization, the society of that country has achieved universal prosperity and a sense of justice, and the German economy has become a power. It is regrettable that this model has not been implemented in Poland, despite the provision in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.