Suchergebnisse

Historicizing the Left: A Review of Michał Siermiński "Dekada Przełomu: polska lewica opozycyjna 1968-1980", Warszawa: Książka i Prasa 2016This review of Michał Siermiński Dekada przełomu: Polska lewica opozycyjna 1968–1980 [Transformative Decade: The Polish Oppositionist Left 1968–1980] critiques the author's focus on ideas by offering a class-based understanding of the changes in Polish oppositionist politics, makes a case for the leftism of the "Civil Society" program of the 1970s, and argues that the old oppositionists' discussions of the Church and "nation" were not violations of leftism but a way to frame the left so as to make it more acceptable to more people. The left faces very different tasks and problems now than it did in the 1970s or 1980s, which explains why Siermiński could write such a left-wing critique today. Yet while his book is extremely valuable, and the present left does certainly need a new program, it could still use some of the self-governing ideas of the 1970s in its current struggle against neoliberalism. Historyzowanie lewicy. Recenzja książki Michała Siermińskiego Dekada przełomu. Polska lewica opozycyjna 1968–1980, Warszawa: Książka i Prasa 2016Niniejsza recenzja książki Michała Siermińskiego Dekada przełomu: Polska lewica opozycyjna 1968–1980 poddaje krytyce nacisk położony przez autora na idee, dowodząc, że zmiany w poglądach politycznych polskiej opozycji należy postrzegać w perspektywie klasowej, projekt "społeczeństwa obywatelskiego" z lat siedemdziesiątych był w swojej istocie lewicowy, a dyskusje na temat Kościoła i "narodu" nie oznaczały zerwania z lewicowością, tylko ujęcie jej w ramy bardziej akceptowalne dla większości. Przed lewicą stoją dziś zupełnie inne zadania i problemy niż w latach siedemdziesiątych czy osiemdziesiątych XX wieku, co tłumaczy, dlaczego Siermiński mógł obecnie napisać tego rodzaju lewicową krytykę i dlaczego krytyka ta jest tak wartościowa. Jednakże choć współczesnej lewicy z pewnością potrzebny jest nowy program, może ona wykorzystać pewne idee z lat siedemdziesiątych w walce z neoliberalizmem.

This review of Michał Siermiński Dekada przełomu: Polska lewica opozycyjna 1968–1980 [Transformative Decade: The Polish Oppositionist Left 1968–1980] critiques the author's focus on ideas by offering a class-based understanding of the changes in Polish oppositionist politics, makes a case for the leftism of the "Civil Society" program of the 1970s, and argues that the old oppositionists' discussions of the Church and "nation" were not violations of leftism but a way to frame the left so as to make it more acceptable to more people. The left faces very different tasks and problems now than it did in the 1970s or 1980s, which explains why Siermiński could write such a left-wing critique today. Yet while his book is extremely valuable, and the present left does certainly need a new program, it could still use some of the self-governing ideas of the 1970s in its current struggle against neoliberalism.

The text is about the process of liquidation of Workers' Publishing Collective "Prasa-Książka-Ruch", which had been a particularly important element of political system in The Polish People's Republic. The author says that this subject is not widely presented in the literature. Furthermore, she claims that for proper understanding of dismantling, she had met with the former last chairman of the Collective. Those meetings had given her a chance to write about aspects which hasn't often been presented in the literature. The text presents all the aspects and ways of liquidation but also shows main disadvantages of this process. Main signifi cation has the act from 22nd March 1990 which started the liquidation. The author presents that the most important defect of this document was preparing the act in rush and lack of consciousness of the diffi culty of this process. Accordingly, it caused many negative opinions about all the process. Key words: Workers' publishing collective, liquidation, transformation, The Round Table, monopoly, Sławomir Tabkowski, Polish United Workers' Party

Michał Siermiński, Warszawa: Instytut Wydawniczy "Książka i Prasa",
2020, 476 ss.

Ralf Fücks, Zielona rewolucja, Instytut Wydawniczy "Książka i Prasa"
Warszawa 2016, s. 408.
Zielona rewolucja Ralfa Fücksa skłania
do refleksji nad pożądanymi współcześnie
kierunkami rozwoju gospodarki i kształtowaniem
uprawiającego ją oraz korzystającego
z jej owoców społeczeństwa. Autor
zdaje się sugerować, że dominująca ciągle
konwencja myślenia o gospodarce ukierunkowująca
ją na wzrost, a przedsiębiorstwa
na zysk i wartości ekonomiczne jest
niewłaściwa, bo istotniejsze od korzyści
materialnych są potrzeby duchowe, a być
jest ważniejsze niż mieć. Jest to jednak
wrażenie pozorne i pozostające w sprzeczności
z przesłaniem tej książki.

The article considers the effect of the feminist demonstrations hold every year on 8 March on the creation and evolution of society's image of that movement. Thanks to these demonstrations, the women's movement has attracted the attention of the large circulation press. The author shows the different ways in which this movement is viewed and assesses its demands in the daily press, depending on the political leanings of the newspaper. She also considers the need to change the strategy and the chances of improving the political effectiveness of the feminist movement.

This essay concerns Adam Leszczyński's book Ludowa historia Polski. Historia wyzysku i oporu. Mitologia panowania [A People's History of Poland: A Story of Exploitation and Resistance – the Mythology of Ruling] (2020) and presents Leszczyński's main theses concerning the mechanism of the centuries-long exploitation of the popular classes by the nobility and later elites, the ideological justification of their domination, and the violence that accompanied it. The essay highlights how Leszczyński constructed his narrative, his theoretical and methodological premises, and his clearly declared ideological and ethical attitude. At the same time, however, the essay emphasizes that the book is highly selective in several aspects, as can primarily be seen in its omission of the history of the western and northern parts of Poland and concentration on the social and economic processes unfolding in the territory of the Russian partition. This focus had an impact on Leszczyński's findings and conclusions, which the author of the essay questions.