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Foreword
theirown,multifariousformsofpracticewithvaryingdegreesofinstitutionali-
sation.TeofcialdiscourseinthesocialistEasternBloccountriesfocusedon
communalandnotindividualaccesstotechnology.ButinPoland,aselsewhere,
individualhobbyistsdesiredtoowntheirowncomputersandtheywereofen
willingtogotoextraordinarylengthstoobtainone.6InPoland,Gardaestimates
thatabout80%ofthecomputersinpeople’shomescamefromabroad,aspeople
wouldacquirethemwhenonvisitsoverseas,orthroughtheblackmarket.
Tisbecameacauseforconcernfortheauthorities,whobelievedthemachines
werebeingusedbyspies.
Similarly,inthecaseofsatelliteTV,initiallytheauthoritiesreactedwith
fearandtriedtoclosedownpopularusage,beforetheyrealisedthatitsexpense
alonewassufcienttokeepthenumbersinvolvedverylow.Meanwhile,there
wereplanstobringinaregulatedversionofsatelliteTVuseacrosstheSoviet
Union.Teseplanswereneverimplementedbuttherewasanofcialuseofsat-
elliteTV,whichinvolvedstatebroadcastersrecordingprogrammesreceived
fromsatellitesandthenre-broadcastingthem,onofcial,terrestrialchannels.
KrzysztofJajko’schaptertellsthestoryofPorion,acompanythatimport-
edsatelliteTVantennaeintoPolandfromSwedeninthesecondhalfofthe
1980s.Te“repressivesocialiststate”electivelyturnedablindeyebutonegets
theimpressionthiswasnotbenignbutratherareflectionofcompleteinef-
ciency:thesocialistsecurityapparatuswassoatrophieditwassimplyincapable
ofassessingnewthreats.
Atthesametime,thiswasastatethatwascapableofsupportinginitiatives
andevenencouragingentrepreneurialism,asreportedbyoneofJajko’srespon-
dents,whorecallsgovernment-sponsored“researchanddevelopmentunits,”
whichwasastatusconferredonsomebusinessesthatwouldentitlethemtosup-
port,includingtaxexemptions:“Inspiteofhowitseems,thewaythateveryone
believesthateverythingthatwasbackintheday,duringso-called(komuna’
,isso
bad,itisnotthatwayatall.Becausetherewerealsowisepeople.Tisisseen
intheexampleoftheseresearchanddevelopmentunits.Terewasagovernment
billpassedforthose.”Partlyonthisbasis,socialistPolandbecameanexporter
ofsatellitedishes.
Similarly,theauthoritiesseemtohaveencouragedlocal,cableTVincluding
associatedsocialactivism,whichreflectedenthusiasmfortheTVand,asJajko
putsit,“couldhavebeenusedforbuildingamaturecivilsociety”(p.95),butwas
stymiedbyalackofpublicresourcestopayforcable.Tegovernmentallowed
private,localTVfirmstosellsatelliteTVtohousingco-ops,withrepresentatives
6SeeJaroslavŠvelch,“SayitwithaComputerGame:HobbyComputerCulture
andtheNon-entertainmentUsesofHomebrewGamesinthe1980sCzechoslovakia,”
GameStudies13,no.2(2013).
