I don't want to look here theoretically, I don't want to specify or look for general conceptual formulas. The issue at stake is the common relation between the state and the social initiative.
I am reasoning about this issue in the form it stands in Poland today: after the coup and after the November 1930 elections.
The May coup rejected the importance of democracy of the old type: the democracy of parties of verbal “programmes” that are not mandatory – created not for work, but for agitation. He has, however, received opportunities for a fresh form of social cooperation, 1 which, while disdaining the verbalism of the written programmes, organizes teams of concrete work; creates real, material and cultural goods and aims to democratise society not only politically, but besides economically, and culturally – not only under rights but besides under obligations and responsibilities.
The November elections showed the weakness and barrenness of the epigons of erstwhile democracy from the “right” and “left” parties. They diverted the public's interest from “politics” in the erstwhile sense of the word. I heard that the president of the parliamentary club, 1 of the most powerful parties in Poland until recently, at a very crucial meeting, expressed assurance that the current governments were on the eve of the collapse. erstwhile asked what the method of thinking, whether by parliament or by combat force, or by the movement of the social masses, would contribute to this, he would answer that Joshua, i.e. through the scream and voice of the Jerish trumpets. If this version isn't real, it's a good idea. due to the fact that that's what all parties do, like they unanimously agree to Joshua’s Method: method of shouting only, continuous and strong, of shouting about anything.
This method does not seem convincing or interesting to anyone in Poland today. All of a sudden, he's had adequate of the barren cry of the Jerish trumpets. Even the “oppositionally” people turn distant from “politics” and direct their interests to affirmative work. They turn their backs on bias, and they look for social associations working specifically.
The fact that the basis of state life in Poland is not parties and their agitation method, but social associations and their affirmative work, understood a fistful of people in Poland many years ago. Valery Sławek has already spoken to her at a private gathering at T. Hoards of respective organization leaders, then called “insubordinate”. I personally pride myself on being among the fewer people who have formed this fact in a brochure designed for the creation of the “Confederation of Labour People”. present this fact becomes the property of the general public. Therefore, this common relation between the state and social organizations is no longer a disconnected issue in Poland, but must be the subject of the reasoning and effort of all people active in serious public life. Everyone struggles with this issue practically, on their part of the work.
People of economical life know that the modern state is not and cannot be as indifferent to economical affairs as it utilized to be, and that the economical layers besides cannot work outside the relation with the state's activities.
Experience and work in various sectors of production, exchange and consumption search the most targeted methods of organising these areas, survey how far you can and should enter. In many areas, it should be an entrepreneur and recipient, maker and mass consumer, it is besides an organizing, regulating, subsidising, prohibiting, allowing, etc. This is crucial and all economical life associations are working on it, and all economical departments of government and administration, state banks, etc., are working on it. How far can and must you go in all these matters? The thought work on this complex of issues takes place more and more intensively, and in the most part completely independently of the voice of the Jerish trumpets, which the substance is stifling with the shouting of little-speaking words-words and words-terrorists, specified as the celebrated "metatism" etc.
In terms of agriculture, there is more than 1 another thing that is mentioned above: expanding agricultural production and training and education in this direction. How far can the state and its administration play an active function here, and how far can the social organisations of farmers succeed? Should you only subsidise or take the initiative and lead, and to what degree and to what extent?
Take another area, for example: professional movement. Fortunately, he escapes from organization hands; the substance of professional organization of workers utilizing fresh methods lies in the street today, and waits for who will take it into hand: the state or social initiative. In avant-garde the movement of intellectual workers seems to be going now: the social initiative is more lively in seeking fresh tasks of the professional organization, not only to defend the individual from the profession, but besides to bind him to affirmative nodes by raising the qualifications of his members, tying their interests to the interests of the workshop, gathering their needs, etc. But this movement besides knows and thinks about how far it is to submit to state standards from above, and how far it is to reach: whether – as 1 of the young activists late called it – it is expected to think about the State Unions, or alternatively to look to you for relationships.
The issue of cooperative organisations in different branches and varieties is connected with all the above areas. At 1 time, at the time of her birth, cooperatives dreamed of working out and even replacing the state; we had very interesting and far-reaching ideas for pioneers of the movement. Today, little possibly reasoning about the theory, cooperatives and branches are increasing widely, while at the same time increasingly looking at state aid, not only legislative but besides financial, and in a very large proportion. Again, it is faced with the issue of its independency or dependence on the state and its organs, specified as state banks.
In the field of education, besides during the captivity, the organisation and social initiative replaced the state, not only in relation to extra-school education, but in organising education, primarily in the erstwhile Russian partition. Today, the state has taken the legacy of the social initiative, but not the whole. It does not aim at a monopoly in education even, and a immense area of out-of-school education almost entirely leaves a social initiative, in a specific, of course, dependencies. Again, the degree and scope of this dependence is the subject of consideration and experience.
And on the defence of borders, in this, it would seem, most typically a state case, that the social initiative is becoming increasingly visible everywhere – not only in terms of "helpful", economical or method matters, but besides in a full scope of arms-involved military adoption organisations. The issue of the importance of the work of these organisations – even from the far-reaching "military" – is besides the subject of work and experience.
Similarly, erstwhile monopolized by the state, abroad policy is now partially in the hands of society, especially erstwhile it comes to alleged propaganda or the issue of emigration, which is besides addressed by social institutions alongside state offices today.
On the another hand, it would seem to be independent of the state, specified as literature and art, so present they frequently look for support in the state, in its subsidies, government and even the creation of institutions representing them. Do you multiply examples further? I believe that readers do so themselves as they read these pages, due to the fact that all work, all effort, all interest, is connected with at least 1 area of life, in which they come to the question at all turn: whether it is the state or the society, and to what degree and extent. And if he thinks specifically, with the intention of applicable implementation, then even the examples that I had just calculated must break down on more peculiar matters and, as the individual characteristics of a given field search answers: closer to the word country or words society.
So I'm going to halt enumerating the examples and halt reasoning to make a generalization for a moment.
Generalization is presented to me in the form of 2 perfect points A and B, 2 perfect positions between which in search of fact balances the shuttle.
The perfect position A would state: The state, its government and administration have a decisive role, and society is simply a plastic mass to be shaped. Position B, on the contrary, would argue: everything creates a social initiative, the state is to trust on it in all areas. Of course, no of these 2 perfect positions virtually nobody He does not confess in general or even in detail.
The generalization I have done in order to realise with this increased emphasis that the issue I am considering here has a first-class currentity and importance for the full social and state life of Poland.
However, as regards solution The issues, this, having done generalization for a moment, will break them into pieces immediately. alternatively of one pendulum Let's imagine right distant multiplependulum, for each issue different and on the amplitude of each of them, between the 2 points A and B let us search the fact – work and experience. Let us not make a dead general formula, and let us not deduce directives for life mechanically from it, but let us work and experience to build answers to our fundamental question for each individual section separately. Then the solution to the full issue will be full and strong. due to the fact that truth, or alternatively fact lies somewhere in the middle. And not erstwhile and for all at 1 point, but as life progresses they decision on the same pendulum – erstwhile closer to A, another to B.
This shift is decided by various circumstances. First of all, these will be the qualities of a circumstantial area, 1 of which demands a strong advantage of the state, another allows or even demands a social advantage.
This will then be a condition that I would call the weakness of both sides; the fact that the pendulum is moving leaves a large deal of freedom with a small more force on the side. As far as the state is concerned, our "dictature" is simply a very peculiar nature. An unprejudiced man, who knows our lives as such, sees with ease that by exercising strength from time to time and by gaining at certain moments of ruthlessness, it does so almost exclusively in order to shake off the most vicious weeds which, after a period of captivity, have become so rooted in us. On the another hand, as regards forcing or even encouraging life to go in this direction alternatively than in another direction, our governments mostly have a much little "strong hand" than elsewhere the most democratic or liberal governments. This happens not only in spite of will, due to the youth and failure of our method of governance, but besides frequently intentionally, due to the fact that in all educational tactics of Piłsudski there is inactive a tendency that our anemic, enslaved, weakened initiative has the most convenient circumstances to be reborn.
And the another side, the social organization, present has a greater view of itself than of strength. It's badly organized powder. Agricultural cooperatives, receiving loans for example at 3%, lead them to the recipient, a tiny farmer, 15% or even 20% – so complex and costly is the organisational network; associations of agrarian youth, doing the same thing everywhere, cultural work and agricultural adoption, we have 10 in Poland. Trade unions, e.g. in the area of Warsaw trams – eleven, and associations engaged in propaganda abroad... Sixty-one! And it is unusual that a social initiative in Poland, like a learning child, despite arrogant boasting, inactive looks after care, for subsidies – and sometimes it seems that without this aid it would be just a fiction.
Finally, I would like to draw attention to 1 more point and emphasise its importance.
This condition is the value of staff, i.e. the value of people doing work in a given field, whether government or social organisations. The importance here is the expertise of this staff, but even more of its character. If the value of the authoritative apparatus for a given episode is small, if it works after a dilemma and bureaucraticly, the force moving the pendulum towards the point And it will be weaker; if the staff of social workers in a given field is professionally undervalued, and morally aside from abuse – if he is looking for a nest for himself, the power to attract point B will besides be weak. Thus, the competition of both factors, government and social, in terms of the completion and education of the most valuable staff of employees will be very fruitful for the matter.
Here are the most crucial reasons why our issues should not be "essentially" and besides general.
But there is another reason that, although I think it is highly crucial for today's Polish life to establish and realise the issue of common relations towards the state and social initiative, I inform against resolving it besides easy and generally.
This is the fact that this issue besides applies to the improvement of a political strategy and to the improvement of the Constitution today.
The systemic crisis presently under way by civilised states is at the same time a complex economical crisis that goes beyond the classical form of periodic crises and reaches deeper ground. In view of the expanding tasks of the modern state, the systemic crisis is looking for forms of governance that are more efficient than the existing ones; it is no longer adequate to base governments on modern parliamentaryism, i.e. on the extant power of the straight elected representative. This shifts the gravity point to the executive camera. The economical crisis, on the contrary: in view of the threat of a simplification in social income, makes us look for a way to obscure the state's executive apparatus.
And we've already started thinking, looking to solve these contradictions.
"Reduction of the State" – throws the general slogan of the ideologist "National Party"[2], according to the tradition and reasoning habits of this camp. However, seriously about a state of reasoning factors cannot follow this slogan. This is impossible, especially in our circumstances, both place (geographical location) and time (a fresh stateless past).
Walery Sławek erstwhile gave me in a conversation a phrase in a completely different direction: the socialization of the state. His work and as a social activist, and as head of government, is constantly moving in this direction: according to the deepest tendency of all factors of our camp. Socialisation of the state is simply a break from the current state of affairs in which a democratically equal citizen is an eternal contractor of the state. It is simply a trend to spread work for the state and the burden of work to society as a whole. The work and the work for the state to spread to society, it is precisely those forces which flow on the social initiative and work in organisations. Vincent Jastrzębski late said that a full scope of activities that have been carried out so far by the state administration can and must be transferred to individual social organisations, and thus they are the most closely linked to the state. This is undoubtedly a method that can besides be utilized to get a crucial degree of turgidity. It is at the same time a method on which the forms of governance can be more permanent and efficient than those based on the political sentiments of Parliament. And doubtless, in this way, the mass is much more permanent to the state than it is to do and can do just 1 nervously tense and trembling thread of direct elections.
But for this it is essential that social organizations, creatively working, become a common form of mass association. And to make them strong, organized intentionally, working efficiently and cheaply. What we have present is simply a social organization, not adequate is yet mature to become specified a basis. Therefore, it is essential to break radically with today's state of affairs that the same work is doing – or alternatively pretending to execute respective or respective twelve simultaneously weak, quarreling associations. Unification – this is simply a slogan that has already been utilized positively here and there, and present it should become the chief command of social life, applied with all ruthlessness. Unification – this is where we request to start strengthening social organisations in our country before the thought of building upon them full areas of state life and implementing the rule of socialisation of the state can be realised.
This is our issue from a systemic perspective.
In the rays of this issue 2 large systemic experiments were carried out in Europe today: Sovietism and fascism. Let us have the ambition to approach the substance ourselves, based on our historical experience and the conditions of our work. Let us reject the rigidity and "principle" of both of these experiments, let us free ourselves from the intellectual laziness that creates in us all minute this fashion is for the Soviets, it is for fascism, harmful and stupid fashion.
It is precisely due to the fact that the constitution is simply a set of general norms of state life that we should not be besides hasty in general. The Constitution should take into account the issue of the entry into force of the social initiative and the regulation of state. But you must not treat this thing rigidly. Its standards should be flexible in this respect and should leave the anticipation of improvement for life – where necessary, place, time and areas of work.
This is how today's issue of state relations and social initiative is presented in Poland.
This is 1 of those issues which cannot be solved by 1 expression and 1 decision. It must be solved in continuous work and in constant surviving contact with reality. Under these conditions, the improvement and resolution will bring rich fruit for the cultural improvement of the nation and for the expansion of its institutions, both national and social.
And we, Marshal Pilsudski's state camp, struggling with this issue, should remember that we have the most data to accomplish the most beautiful results on this road. We were statemen before our state existed, and on voluntary social initiative we were able to make the most "state" thing – the military.
It is our experience that guarantees that working on this issue, we will not be stuck on a lifeless formula. alternatively of embarrassingly surviving works of doctrine, we are guided by a thought that raises morally, stimulates to creativity and points to its general direction, a thought that, especially to our young generation, should be guided by erstwhile pairing up with bodily issues and in the way, encountering abroad prepared doctrines.
It is the story of Mickiewicz and Piłsudski: a story of strong power, and based on good will.
Mickiewicz in the treasures of the soul of the nation sought material to rebuild the state. Who knows the Book of Pilgrimage, articles in the Pilgrimage and later works of Mickiewicz on the Legion, knows that he considered all coercion in the state's strategy to be a lower value. He considered the constitution of insurgents to be the most perfect, which was not announced and lived only in the soul of the nation. This constitution was based on moral and goodwill, even taxation collection, not only on a revolutionary constitution, but on the basis of the strategy of the future state. The echoes of this story are besides in “Pan Tadeusz” where the Army says that in Poland “no policy was needed; as long as religion flourished, the rights were respected.”
Piłsudski, creating an army and creating a state, not in the thought anymore, but in fact he is following the same myth. reasoning of the year 1863, seeking in his past the greatness of his nation, he sees it in the authoritate of the National Government, based not on the force of coercion, but on moral strength, on the symbol of the stamp of the Government. The same origin was later found in the work of the PPO and in the designation by the people of his own authority of the Chief of State in 1918, at the basis of which was not the physical strength, but the moral work of the nation.
Because the grace of specified authority of the state and power – according to Piłsudski – does not flow miraculously from heaven without merit. It is based on quite a few effort, on work, on moral work. Without work – erstwhile an empty phrase appears alternatively of it (Mickiewicz’s “retorical void of a communicative that goes from heart to heart, but from mouth to mouth”), there is always a period of decaying moral state and wonderful results in Poland. They degrade into noble anarchy of the erstwhile Republic, in the fight of parliamentary parties in pre-May Poland: in the veto liberal – in Narutovich's murder.
Work, moral work of the nation, work on the own initiative of people of good will combined and striving for real purposes, tiny or great, detailed and increasingly general: this is the basis on which in Poland, contrary to doctrines and "essential" wording, should be built. On this basis, the issue of social initiative "from below" and state power "from above" must be resolved – and the aim must be towards the perfect Socialised State.
Adam Skwarczyński
[1] The article was published in No. 10 of the “Road”, in 1931.
[2] This is about Roman Dmowski and his concepts outlined in the book “Poland and the Postwar World”.
