O cywilizacyjny awans Polski Roman Dmowski wobec idei modernizacji Polski 1918–1939

Abstract

For a civilizational development of Poland.  Roman Dmowski in the face of the idea of modernization of Poland 1918–1939

The Roman Dmowski’s propositions of modernization of interwar Poland (1918–1939) can not be considered in terms of theories of modernization created after 1945 as a coherent, logic systems. For Dmowski the modern (modernized) Poland would be a „efficient” state with capitalist economy, free market and the respect for private property, with reduced social legislation, with developed industry and agriculture, with a strong middle class, with restricted bureaucratic machine; a national state with restricting the rights of national minorities, with low number of Jews, with the limiting the powers of the legislature and a strong executive, with association polishness with catholicism and strong emphasis on the presence of catholic religion in social life. Some ideas of Dmowski were not bad (e.g. save money and reduction of excessively developed bureaucratic machine, the development of industry and agriculture, the fight against speculation), however, the proposals were often too vague or unclear or were remarkably oriented to the free market and for this reason had no chance of implementation and popularity in the atmosphere of the 20s and 30s in interwar Poland (e.g. proposal of reduction excessively developed social legislation), some of proposals were expressly anti-Semitic. Similarly, in the area of the Polish political system and political life Dmowski offered „positive” solutions (recovery and moralisation of Polish political life, raising the niveau of political culture of the Polish political elites and Polish society, strengthening of executive power) and „negative” proposals (association polishness with catholicism and his instrumental use, desire to make Poland a national state, desire to move away from the rule of parliamentary, postulate of removing the excess of the Jewish population in Poland). The least controversial were proposals in the sphere of social and mental modernization of the Polish society (attachment to the rule of law, the cultural and civilizational raising of lower strata and classes, care for a family – according to Dmowski important institution for society, increasing hard work / diligence of the Polish population, learning of positive competition or skills competition, development of the awareness of the Polish population concerning social and economic problems, emphasis on its own – Polish creativity). It is impossible unambiguously assess all Dmowski’s proposals of Poland’s modernization – they were characterized by – similar to entire creative achievements of Dmowski – some „duality” – controversional ideas were mixed with interesting concepts, sometimes original.