I realized many self proclaimed communists
either had relatives in the Communist governments, or they are simply children who never lived in anything close to communism and think its cool to follow Marx.
If not for the Soviet occupation of Poland this country would be on par with France when it comes to economy or so near that it wouldn't make a difference.
I did some quick searching and from the figures I found, Poland would likely be above Spain and below Italian or French levels had WWII and Communism not hit Poland.