17.07.25. No vacation from History...
Kyle Chayka His late presented in these Records book Flatened World (in turn Magda Witkowska, PWN, Warsaw 2025) provided a subtitle How algorithms took over culture, taste and our choices. Piotr Bucki, in his introduction to the Polish translation of this work, called the algorithms "curators of mass imagination", stressing in accordance with the recognitions presented in the book, that this "curatela" makes our needs and ideas uniform. And it works perfectly well, which serves mainly various financiers, and works primarily through digital media. As a result, “to be on time” means to dress like “everyone”, to decorate apartments and to be curious in akin things as those who usage the same media. But that's just 1 side of the medal.
The another side is that the information that algorithms give us besides has a fundamental impact on the intensification and perpetuation of social views and the associated divisions. And behind these are the large politics. So we function in a “flated world”, giving up, sometimes, “the moulded polarization shaped by fresh technologies” – proves in the book Fear of sovereignty. fresh Polish policyJarosław Kuish Tomasz Bieroń. Wydawnictwo Marka i Fundacja Kultura Liberalna, Kraków – Warsaw 2025, p. 21). And he adds:
Sharing and organizing the social planet according to the key “we—they” is as old as the world. Nevertheless, an additional component in the political game appeared today. fresh technologies let to sustain semantic and emotional polarity, controlled from the outside, from another countries and at the same time so deep that – writing metaphorically – patriotic Polish eagles can peck out each other's eyes. The effect of controlled polarization yet turns out to be trivial: geopolitical blindness. Neither organization to the political dispute will see anything around.
External common antagonization of Polish politicians is simply a childish game. I stress: this is not about naively reasoning that politics should have a common consensus, any Mickiewiczian "let's love" in times of social media. The thought is to keep the minimum distance for political reasons to political polarization, which is so easy to heat and play from the outside (Fear of sovereignty..., pp. 22-23)
The polarization in question is driven by the interests of Russia, specified as America and China. Kuisz, for example, writes: “Suddenly we began surviving in a planet where it is well seen that the demolition of the European Union from the inside is not only in the hands of neo-imperial Russia but besides of business from the US” (pp. 29-30).
Book Fear of Sovereignty was first created in the English version. She was written, as the author points out, "to an English-speaking reader, she was expected to bring the point of view of our country. Answer questions about what is going on in Polish politics and why it looks like” what it looks like. It was written before the fall election of 2023. However, its Polish edition was only late released. The author, however, enriched it with a alternatively extended “introduction to the Polish edition”. This introduction was created in the first 4th of 2025 and besides refers to events that took place here after the publication of an English-language version of this work (see. Fear of sovereignty...( p. 27). You know what?begins by reminding Nassim Nicholas Taleb of the thought of “black swans”:
A twelve years ago Nassim Nicholas Taleb coined the word “black swan”, describing events that fall on us abruptly and have a immense impact on the lives of full societies. In fresh times, it may seem that these metaphorical birds are flying through our skies with herds. In Central and east Europe, they are surely not missing. Hence writing this book was an intellectually fascinating task – but besides practically difficult.
From the point of view of Poland, the first black swan shuffled its wings in 2015, erstwhile almost full power in the country gained the Law and Justice. This was undoubtedly the most crucial turning point in Polish political life since the fall of communism. In fresh years, at least 2 another black swans have appeared in the sky: first the covid-19 pandemic, and then, in February 2022, a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
With each another specified a "bird" the erstwhile seems somewhat little significant. Unexpected events rise fresh questions. Suffice to say that a lot happened erstwhile I wrote this book – various issues, addressed on the pages of newspapers and in public debates, were constantly changing. Not long ago, people in the planet asked, "What does a non-liberal turn in Poland mean?" or "Will Poland bury its historical success after 2015?". And now: “Did the centre of gravity of the European Union decision east, including Poland?” and after 2023: “Is it possible that Polish liberals, led by Donald Tuski, invented a way to defeat populists?”Fear of sovereignty..., pp. 5-6; more about Taleb’s book see in Records p. Coincidence, uncertainty, the fragility of our knowledge... of 29.09.2022; whereas references to another book by Jarosław Kuisza – The end of generations of subjection. Young Poles, Liberalism and the Future of the Nation See. Entries p. Seven wishes... of 8.2.2024).
Reading Fear of Sovereignty, as the author says, is simply a fascinating activity. It should be mandatory for all those who search a reasonable answer to questions about what is done in Polish politics in fresh years and ask where it comes from and what fundamental political divisions are driven. Its plan and problems is as follows:Reading Fear of Sovereignty, as the author says, is simply a fascinating activity. It should be mandatory for all those who search a reasonable answer to questions about what is done in Polish politics in fresh years and ask where it comes from and what fundamental political divisions are driven. Its plan and problems are as follows:
This book is divided into 3 parts. First I tell the past of politics through the prism of the 2 word of the Law and Justice. Then I decision on to discussing 3 decades of hot disputes between the post-communist era – a discussion that laid the political foundation for a non-liberal turn. Finally, I would like to give an overview of the impact of long-term policy – from around 300 years – on the current one.Without this position it is hard to understandreactions to Russian aggression, the phenomenon of post-traumatic sovereignty, and the reason for the crucial influence of the Catholic Church on national political life (Fear of sovereignty..., p. 6; Distinguished.
In the introduction to the Polish edition mentioned above Fear of Sovereignty Kuisz states: "In the current geopolitical situation post-cold Vacation from History finished’ (no distinction). This place, on the another hand, was influenced by the “tsunami populism”, the controversy concerning Polish-Jewish relations and the debate on economical transformation and decommunization. At the bottom is ours An eternal fear of sovereignty. Due to the historical experience of the failure of the state, it marks a Polish collective memory of the trauma of the past. Here's a reminder that any time ago, it was mentioned in connection with the book. Michał Bilewicz Traumaland. Poles in the shadow of the past (WAM Publishing, Krakow 2024; of these Records See text entitled Historical traumas and modernity... of 16.05.2024).
In any case, present the fear of losing sovereignty is connected with our country's geographical position, as always, but besides to the war in Ukraine, as well as interior political games. These, utilizing modern technologies, are skillfully driven by technology companies, including the neighbour from the east – the border defence movement does not come out of nowhere. In the introduction to Kuish's book is even so Sub-chapter Poland already participates in the war.
Fear of losing sovereignty can be utilized in battles for power that exacerbate social divisions. In the game, there are, of course, slogans showing concern for the people and for national cohesion, which in fact serves to gain power and its benefits. For example, they spell it out. Wojciech Sadurski in the book Population pandemic Anna Wójcik, Wydawnictwo Znak, Krakow 2024) or Przemysław Sadura and Sławomir Sierakowski WorkPopulation of populists (Politic Critic Publishing, Warsaw 2023).
As a consequence of this fear, by all means, there are besides slogans on the banners indicating the work to defend Polishness, which has, among another things, translated into a way of perceiving migration problems, on the ground racist attitude towards migrants and on events that have late been heard, specified as those in Jedwabne or those related to the past of Volyn.
The circumstantial confirmation of the observations reported here is provided even by the powerful White Raven released this year Collection of texts 16 far-right politicians. The Attack on Polishness is the title of this collection and of course there is no uncertainty who attacked our Polishness, due to the fact that it is immediately known that they are political opponents. You wouldn't keep up. Przemysław Czarnek writes that "Poland is present on the brink of not only political but besides moral crisis". This crisis is due to the fact that "now we are faced with an increasingly open war against Catholic and conservative values and it is truly essential to realise that as a nation we are at a critical minute in our history" (quote behind the text). The future of the nation from the diary “Letter to Lady” No. 6 of June 2025, p. 22). The reader’s “command” cited here The attack on Polishness It ends with the remark: "It is an excellent reading that must be read to better realize and fight against the enemy – for our future and our children's future, a future in a free, independent, faithful God, Cross and Gospel of Poland" (Letter to you, jw.)
In this context, however, it would be good to remember how fascism is defined, namely, that its centre is always extremist nationalism. This is confirmed by all researchers. 1 way to find out is to read Talks by Przemysław Witkowski from book Fascism Coming (Institute of Publishing Book and Press, Warsaw 2023). There are talks in this volume with historians, polytologists, psychotherapists, literary scholars and gypsy scholars, they are with world-renowned experts of the subject. After specified reading We have nothing to number on for the “Vacation of History”. The thing is, however, how to do these lessons from your own history, how to read this communicative (see Kuisz, p. 22) to realize what is going on, not to quit self-thinking, to call problems by name and not to be indifferent, including the conclusion that Witkowski brings out of his conversations at the end of his talks. Languages for the book indicated above:
One thing I can be certain of after these conversations. fresh fascism won't be an old reconstruction. It will keep the main axes and any motives to follow a completely different way in any registers. Substituting any actors, shifting his accents, he'll take advantage of fresh conditions. But he will stay in his essence fascism. The social religion of the healthy, clean, efficient and comparatively wealthy, surviving in harmony with Darwinistly understood Nature, moral and rooted in Tradition and Mita, trembling in fear (Fascism Coming, p. 341).
For those liable for education it is worth recommending text Peter Kołodziej p. How not to rise a fascist or how even “good people” become rhinoceros.
