The Romanian Journal of Society and Politics 60 Andrzej Fąfara Warsaw School of Economics andrzejfafara@yahoo.com Agata Kleczkowska Polish Academy of Sciences ag.kleczkowska@gmail.com ABSTRACT In the early 1990s Poland went through a major political transformation that completely reshaped the country. One of the key pillars of these changes was the so-called ‘Balcerowicz Plan’ - an ambitious process that enabled a signifcant shift in the economic and social landscape through the introduction of fundamental changes in the Polish legal system. The thesis advanced in this paper is that the successful transformation of the state’s system of government in post-Soviet countries depended not only on democratization and political changes but also required an effective program of economic reforms. This will be demonstrated by reference to the ‘Balcerowicz Plan.’ The frst part discusses the transition from the former economic order in Poland to the free market order by means of the new legal norms, describing briefy the eleven legislative acts which brought wide-ranging and fundamental changes to the Polish legal system. The second part explains the impact that these reforms had on Polish society both in the short and long-term. Despite the initial problems associated with the change of the economic system, they eventually brought signifcant improvements to the quality of individuals’ lives. The conclusion reiterates the thesis that the successful transformation of the state’s regime in post-Soviet countries depended not only on political changes, but also on effective economic reforms. KEYWORDS • transformation in Poland • Balcerowicz Plan • economic reforms • Poland • centrally planned economy • democracy • free market * A previous draft of this paper was presented by the authors during the Second Conference for Junior Researchers On Law and Social Transformations, held at Stanford Law School (May 2015) Andrzej Fąfara and Agata Kleczkowska HOW TO ATTAIN THE GOLDEN AGE – THE ROLE OF THE BALCEROWICZ PLAN IN THE SUCCESSFUL TRANSFORMATION OF POLAND IN THE 1990S*