The Peter McCormack Show

Episode #146 – Izabella Kaminska – The Soviet Collapse of Britain
Date: February 6, 2026
Host: Peter McCormack
Guest: Izabella Kaminska

Episode Overview

This episode delves deep into the alarming parallels between the UK's current state and the late-era collapse of the Soviet bloc. Through vivid personal recollections and sharp analysis, Izabella Kaminska draws on her Polish background to contrast Poland’s relatively successful post-Communist transition with Britain’s ongoing decline—touching on issues such as economic collapse, institutional decay, loss of trust in political systems, the impact of divides between citizen groups, and the urgent need for grassroots renewal.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Parallels with Soviet Collapse

• Atmosphere of Decay: Izabella recalls the “ambiance” of late communist Eastern Europe and likens it to today’s Britain: “There was this sudden sort of vibe of both the unknown and the known. Everything seemed to happen all at once.” (02:04)
• Loss of Trust: Both discuss how people under the Soviet system woke up to realize “everything we believed is just wrong,” drawing a comparison to public disillusionment in the UK today.
• Collapse Symptoms: Kaminska lists warning signs: shortages, pervasive institutional lying, and a growing sense of “hypernormalization.” (05:00, 91:25)

2. Lessons from Poland’s Transition

• Entrepreneurship vs. Oligarchy: Poland avoided Russia’s chaotic rush to privatization and subsequent rise of oligarchs by delaying and moderating reforms—allowing its people to gradually learn market dynamics. “They didn’t just completely lose that safety blanket.” (07:00)
• Moderate Shock Therapy: “Poland was a little bit different because it didn’t have a … less chaotic collapse.”
• Education and Market Literacy: The slow transition meant Poles “learned about the capitalist system,” unlike Russia, where privatizations led to widespread exploitation. (09:49)
• Crypto’s Role: Kaminska posits that crypto, in recent years, has offered Brits an unintentional crash course in market mechanisms: “Crypto has allowed at least the UK and the West … to have a sort of informal education about how markets work for free.” (11:30)

3. Britain’s Middle-Class Crisis & Housing Meltdown

• Boiling-Frog Economics: Peter notes, “The middle class can’t afford a holiday or school fees and are losing their jobs and can’t replace them.” He sees this as a key activation point for broader societal change. (19:44)
• Housing Crisis: Both discuss the looming subprime-like meltdown in UK real estate, with Kaminska anticipating mass government intervention and grimly joking, “Right to buy … but in reverse—right to rent … from the government. Right to sell to the government. You’ll own nothing and be happy.” (23:44–23:54)
• Artificial Economy: They skewer the UK’s “quota-based mentality” and fake economic activity, likening it to Soviet-style production for targets, not real demand. (24:25)

4. Institutional Decay, Political Distrust & Divides

• Democratic Facade: Both express a loss of faith in British democracy, with Isabella noting, “A lot of people are feeling that democracy was a bit of a mirage, that maybe we never really had it, that maybe everything was gamed and it doesn’t matter how you vote.” (18:10)
• Cronyism in Appointments: Kaminska, drawing on her experience in political journalism, describes government appointments as “horse trading” rather than based on merit: “It’s nothing to do with, you know, the skills or competence … you owe X person somewhere else a favor.” (38:25)
• Divide and Conquer: She observes that both left and right are manipulated, and that radicalization is “being pumped” on both sides to divide society. (15:54)

5. Social Malaise—Economic and Cultural Exhaustion

• Economic Exhaustion: Both cite the exhaustion of the modern middle class—overworked, taxed, and deprived of former leisure and social life. “Everyone’s exhausted.” (56:12)
• Regulatory Overload: Peter laments the bureaucratic “active destruction” of small businesses: “I spend a day to two days a week on bureaucratic stuff the state wants me to do … This is active destruction of our economy.” (35:50)
• Safetyism and Risk Aversion: Kaminska reflects, “I think safety is exactly the same problem actually that we saw in the Soviet Union after collapse is that people were just, you know, they were so used to getting everything from the state, it was very difficult to adapt.” (33:43)

6. Media, Free Speech, and Narratives of Control

• Censorship Concerns: Discussion of efforts to ban VPNs and curtail social media freedom; Peter: “No, what’s actually happening is peasants having a voice and exposing corruption and lies is incompatible with a system that requires control.” (49:37)
• Analogies to Communist Control: Kaminska likens the current push against dissenting voices to Soviet-era efforts to crush independent media: “The analogy … that is how people woke up in the communist system. It was through these samizdats.” (49:57)

7. International Comparisons—China, Ireland, the EU, and the US

• China—Quota Realities: Extensive discussion about China’s command economy, soft budget constraints, and “fake” GDP growth based on quotas, not real productivity or consumer demand. (24:25–29:00)
• Ireland as a Case Study: The episode highlights Ireland’s high GDP and status as “a client state of America”—reaping the benefit of US-domiciled tech giants. (32:07)
• EU vs. American Dynamics: Kaminska argues that Trump’s new US industrial policy is “exactly the same” as the EU’s, a protectionist ring offering internal free trade but demanding adherence to core values (free speech, enterprise) in exchange. (79:23–82:27)

8. What Comes Next & Pathways for Renewal

• Need for New Movement: Both advocate for a new political movement that transcends left-right divides—one rooted in freedom, liberty, and anti-establishment values. Kaminska: “We all want similar things, and if we could just agree, we have to rebalance the system and work on the stuff that we commonly agree on.” (44:57)
• Civic Communities: Kaminska, drawing inspiration from Poland’s Solidarity and small café debates, calls for the establishment of community cafés as grassroots hubs for civic discussion and political renewal. (98:54–99:38)
• Resistance to Collapse: Peter expresses hope and fear: “I am terrified of what's happening. I’m optimistic we’re going … I think the British people are at their wit’s end and I just hope someone steps forward and offers something genuinely revolutionary here.” (94:43)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• (02:04, Izabella): "Everything seemed to happen all at once... It was literally like a paradigm shift overnight."
• (07:22, Peter): “Poland’s on track to have a bigger economy than the UK, is it by 2030?”
• (23:52, Peter): "You'll own nothing and be happy."
• (24:25, Izabella): "The quota-based mentality has infected everybody. ...If you compete on quotas you never have a reckoning in terms of whether your business model is efficient."
• (18:10, Izabella): "A lot of people are feeling that democracy was a bit of a mirage, that maybe we never really had it."
• (49:37, Peter): "Peasants having a voice and exposing corruption and lies is incompatible with a system that requires control."
• (33:43, Izabella): "If you don't take risk, you don’t get anywhere... the safety is exactly the same problem actually that we saw in the Soviet Union after collapse."
• (56:12, Izabella): "Nobody does that anymore because everyone’s exhausted."
• (38:25, Izabella): "It’s often just horse trading. It’s often to do with ... you owe X person somewhere else a favor."
• (98:54, Izabella): "What we really need is the rise of sort of permanent little cafes where people can come and meet on a regular basis."
• (44:57, Isabella): "We all want similar things, and if we could just agree, we have to rebalance the system and work on the stuff that we commonly agree on."
• (94:43, Peter): "I'm terrified and optimistic at the same time. ...I think the British people are at their wit's end and I just hope someone steps forward and offers something genuinely revolutionary here."

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:09 / 01:54 | Izabella’s firsthand Soviet/Polish memories and the “zero hour” paradigm shift
• 07:22–09:49 | Why Poland’s transition succeeded—delayed privatization, small businesses, no oligarchs
• 13:31–15:54 | Britain’s political divide, loss of institutional trust, Epstein revelations
• 19:44–23:52 | Middle-class collapse, UK housing crisis, “right to rent,” and government intervention
• 24:25–29:00 | Quota-based economic illusions—Soviet, Chinese, and UK analogs
• 32:52–35:50 | “Safetyism” in British society; generational malaise and blocked entrepreneurialism
• 38:25–40:00 | How political appointments work—horse trading, cronyism, lack of merit
• 49:37–50:53 | Media censorship, social media's role in democracy, and analogies to samizdat
• 56:12–57:37 | Cultural exhaustion, lost middle-class lifestyle, need for home-based social renewal
• 79:23–86:06 | “EU mindset” vs. American sphere: global alignments and Brexit’s dilemma
• 91:25–93:10 | Warning signals of collapse: shortages, inflation, stagnation, loss of free speech
• 98:54–99:38 | The need for grassroots café culture—a new Solidarity movement

Closing Reflections

The episode offers an unflinching diagnosis of the UK’s decline but is ultimately a call to action—echoing the spirit of Solidarity, Kaminska and McCormack challenge listeners to rebuild genuine community, support small business, rekindle civic discussion, and watch for the warning signs of collapse. Their message: it’s time to unite for fundamental renewal before passive collapse becomes permanent.