Polish Liberal Thought before 1918
Maciej Janowski, Institute of History of the
Polish Academy of Sciences
"...provides a close reading of the views of individuals
little known in the Anglophone world, but who created
a distinctively Polish version of liberalism in the
19th century. Without the economic liberalism reflected
in western thought, Janowski reveals Polish liberalism
to be coherent and dynamic, emphasizing modernization
in an effort to enable the Polish lands to 'catch up,'
and consequently reflecting a more positive view of
the state than the position taken by, for example, English
liberals... Recommended. All levels/libraries."
- Choice
Based on solid research, this erudite study is a first
attempt at presenting a comprehensive analysis of nineteenth-century
Polish liberalism. Polish liberal tradition has generally
been considered weak or even nonexistent. Janowski,
on the other hand, argues that nineteenth-century Poland
inherited a strong protoliberal tradition from the nobility-based
democracy, and that in the mid-nineteenth century, liberalism
was a dominant trend in Polish intellectual life, even
if it rarely appeared in its pure form and did not create
political movements separating liberal aims from patriotic
ones.
The author maintains that the definition of liberalism
in Central Europe should not be based on the Anglo-Saxon
model, in view of the weakness of the middle classes
and, in the case of partitioned Poland, the lack of
independent statehood. This explains why there was a
marked etatist trend among liberal thinkers, who saw
the creation of a strong state as a tool of modernization.
Janowski sees his subject in a broad comparative perspective,
taking into account the historical experience of other
nations of Central Europe. His innovative interpretation
may be the starting point for new debates in the ongoing
discussion on the different perceptions of liberalism.
2004
294 pages
ISBN 978-963-9241-18-3 cloth $47.95 / €37.95 / £32.00
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