Suchergebnisse

The research aim of this article was to analyze the socialist utopia as an idealistic inspirationin the process of democratizing the socio-political system in the perspective of two centuries;from the times of the imaging of the idealistic system picture by Wojciech Gutkowski inthe second half of the 18th century to the ancestors of Polish socialist thought, all the wayto the "Solidarity" revolution and further on, to the contemporary social life formed underthe influence of the emancipation ideas and determined by the factors of the informationrevolution and globalization processes. This is why the author of this article seeks an answerto a question, what role in the new conditions does the socialist utopia fulfill – an idealisticimpression of the social justice system, does it still have its impetus as a prospective ideaand did it not stop being an inspiration to reform the state system, does it play a role of anaxiological system in the form of a substitute on the conditions of the atrophy of the ethicalfundaments of the social life and idea secularization.Key words: social utopias, Polish socialists, "Solidarity", system shift

It is not possible to ignore the intellectual and organizational effort of the Polish socialists who, as early as the 1870s, tried to promote the idea that the best circumstances facilitating the implementation of the aims pursued by the workers could be found in the national state organized on the basis of democratic constitutional instruments. The socialists argued that only in the state of parliamentary democracy the workers and other working social strata may successfully fight for their objectives and rights while selecting the peaceful and democratic methods. Likewise, they argued that only the parliamentary democracy enabled them to arrive at full rights that should be accessible to them as citizens and nationals. By promoting these ideas they aroused among the workers and in the entire society of partitioned Poland the sense of citizenship and democracy. This, in its turn, allowed to base the concept of potential national independence upon the broad and solid social foundations. Likewise, this allowed to secure the democratic constitutional system to the restored state, and consequently to modernize social relationships in Poland along the peaceful and democratic lines.

It is not without reason that we reflect more and more on the causes of the current state of political thinking in Polish society. Indeed, in modern times, difficult and uncertain, and turbulent times of great transformation, human thought is clearly not keeping pace. Given the rapidly changing external circumstances we have become increasingly confused and inept. We do not really know how to deal with the emerging threats and challenges of modern times, described by the eminent sociologist and philosopher Zygmunt Bauman as the era of "liquid modernity". It is noticeable that our perception and image of social reality and our role in it, including its political dimension, is quite imperfect and restricted, and that our ideological life is in deep crisis or has perhaps even disappeared.