A Suburb of Europe
Nineteenth-Century Polish Approaches to Western Civilization
Jerzy Jedlicki, Institute of History, Polish
Academy of Sciences;
Graduate School for Social Research, Warsaw
"This is a brilliant example of intellectual history.,
but it is one whose importance far transcends the period
on which it focuses. In important ways, in the post-communist
'transition' of the 1990s, the issues of the 19th century
are profoundly relevant to the beginnings of the 21st.
Moreover, Jedlicki's book raises issues and examines
positions that were and are not unique to Poland, but
that every society faces as it confronts social change."
- Choice
"A Suburb of Europe is an excellent volume about philosophy,
political economy, the creation of nationalism, and
a host of other subjects. It is an enlightening and
engrossing read. Anyone with an interest in Poland and
East Central Europe will find this an invaluable and
enjoyable book." - Austrian Studies Newsletter
In this lively and original book, the distinguished
Polish historian Jerzy Jedlicki tells the story of a
century-long Polish dispute over the merits and demerits
of the Western model of liberal progress and industrial
civilization. As in all peripheral countries of Europe,
Polish intellectuals-conservatives, liberal, and (later)
socialists-quarrelled about whether such a model would
suit and benefit their nation, or whether it would spell
the ruin of its distinctive cultural features.
This heated debate revolved around several pairs of
opposing ideas: native cultures vs. cosmopolitan civilization;
natural vs. artificial ways of economic development;
Christian morals vs. capitalist laissez-faire; traditional
customs vs. mobile society; romanticism vs. scientism,
and so on. It is these various aspects of the main issue
which the author analyzes and links together here. He
shows how difficult and painful the process of modernization
was in a nation deprived of its political independence
and cultural autonomy.
The book has been abridged and fully revised for this
English edition. Explanatory notes, a chronology, and
maps have been added, together with a new Introduction
highlighting the striking analogies with the present
when, after a long period of isolation under Communism,
Poland is again assessing its place in the world.
Winner of the Hungarian Award "Beautiful Book 1999"
Contents
Preface. Chronology. Part 1: Images of the Future
(from the 1780s to 1863): Chapter 1: National
identity and cosmopolitan civilization: Chapter 2:
'Natural' or 'artificial' development: Chapter 3:
The gospel and economy: Part 2: Ambiguities of
Progress (from 1864 through 1880s): Chapter 4:
Vicious circles: Chapter 5: Affirmation and negation:
Chapter 6: Growth and distribution Bibliography
1998
400 pages
ISBN 978-963-9116-27-6 cloth $49.95 / €42.95 /
£37.00
ISBN 978-963-9116-26-9 paperback $27.95 / €24.95
/ £22.99
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