Poland Is Giving Western Europe A Master Class

• Pyotr Chernyshov
• 17.09.2026, 18:16

How the Poles Built a Trillion-Economy.

Dedicated to those readers who comment under every one of my posts about Poland: “Yeah, we know why Poland is such a miracle—Europe (read: Germany) gave them trillions of euros in subsidies! That’s your whole secret, you silly armchair economist of ours.” How the Poles built a trillion-euro economy and drove Western Europe into a frenzy. Here’s the story.

France’s economy is practically stagnant right now—they’re tearfully forecasting a pitiful 0.4% annual GDP growth. In other words, their wealth will increase by the margin of statistical error. Germany is barely breathing at all and is staying in the black only because its government is pouring budget money into its problems. Yet the old European snobs continue to sit there with smug expressions, lecturing everyone else on how to live properly.

Now take a look at Poland. While Western Europe is stalling, the Poles are calmly generating 3–4% of real economic growth every year and have already quietly amassed a full trillion dollars. The Economist openly calls them a “superstar.” Can you imagine how officials in Paris and Berlin must be seething right now? A country they’ve looked down on for decades is now giving them a harsh master class on how to do business and make money.

This is exactly where critics will jump in the comments and say: “But that’s all thanks to European subsidies—they’ve been flooded with money!” So let me respond right away: that’s complete nonsense! Hungary, Greece, and Portugal have received far more money per capita from the EU, yet they’re nowhere near experiencing such a boom. If subsidies automatically made everyone rich, Southern Italy would have been running the global economy long ago (instead of building a powerful mafia!). Yes, the EU gave the Poles money for great roads, but those funds didn’t create the factories, software companies, and millions of small businesses that now generate half of the GDP.

So what’s the secret? Why has Poland’s GDP soared by 130% since 2003, while the EU average has risen by only 35%? It’s painfully simple.

1. Culture. In Poland, hard work and entrepreneurship are the norm, not something “suspicious.”

2. Taxes. Relatively low and simple corporate taxes: 19% for large companies and just 9% for small businesses. This has allowed capital to remain in the country and grow.

3. Reforms. Early and very painful reforms that truly opened up the markets instead of protecting the old monopolistic players (thanks to Balcerowicz and his team).

4. The government. It made an effort to stop getting in the way of business with its micromanagement.

5. People. Those very Poles who, back in the day, went to London or Dublin to work, learned everything there, returned home, and started their own companies.

That’s the whole recipe. The Poles simply realized: to live well, you have to work hard. And while they’re doing that, Western Europe is playing into left-wing narratives about “taxing the rich” and is genuinely surprised why the standard of living is plummeting.

Pyotr Chernyshov, Facebook