Civil society

The role of citizens in Polish politics could be greater than we all think!

Obraz autorstwa natanaelginting na Freepik

In trying to explain the reasons for the frequent dissatisfaction of civil society in Poland, it is necessary to refer to the global process of social and political change, expressed in the abrupt transition from the communist era to the semi-democratic era. This unfortunately results in the search for the role of the state, the disintegration of social ties and undeveloped forms of civic integration.

The fact is that in Poland we are observing the underdevelopment of civil society, because the characteristics of citizenship have been transferred to the structures and principles of functioning of the state of parliamentary-elite democracy. In this situation, the authorities and administration take over, perhaps with the exception of election campaigns, all the functions of authority. Citizens are left with the role of observer and compliance with the legal order. The principles characteristic of an engaged civil society are disappearing. I mean here justice, positive freedom of self-determination, solidarity and responsibility for the state. People are becoming passive and politically indifferent and perceive politics in black and white colors on the basis of us and you .

In this situation, the arrogance and impudence of politicians radiates to citizens who have stopped having respect for anyone. Why? The word "democracy" no longer appeals to anyone, which seems normal because moral and political values have been completely mixed up.

Nevertheless, the development of civil society in Poland, as in other countries, is symbiotically linked to the functionality of democracy. We can see three rather weak directions of the realization of this type of society in Poland.

The first direction is similar to Western concepts that view civil society as interest groups linked at many levels to state structures. These groups may be linked more or less officially to the political class. In short, these are groups that want to modernize the system in Poland within the current legal and political order and within the Polish electoral law.

The second trend shows a connection with the Polish political tradition, identifying civil society with the sphere of self-organization outside politics, in the form of a freedom-national society. These are various groups of a freedom and national character, referring either to a free market economy or to a historical-national tradition. These are groups that do not accept the current political-decision model as a rule and promote cooperatives, the idea of sovereign money, nationalization of banks, independence from foreign capital, exit from the European Union, etc.

The third direction is chaotic, the most dispersed and these are actually people who don't know what they want. They are protesting. Against what? Against injustice, against new laws, to put it simply - they are fighting the tip of the iceberg, not paying attention to its base, which is Polish semi-democracy.

It seems, however, that the optimal solution is such an understanding of civil society, which refers to the social, economic and political spheres, as forms of activity in the political and decision-making process. What I mean is that citizens, as subjects of democratic power and active participants in the public sphere, should take a leading role in the decision-making process, and free themselves from the dictates of government administration and all-powerful business. In such a definition of civil society, directly democratic instruments become attractive, allowing people to permanently co-create law and control the actions of those in power.