Myśl reformatorska Sejmu Czteroletniego w świetle dylematów zachodniego epublikanizmu XVIII wieku. Zarys problematyki
The Thought of the Reform Camp of the Four-Year Sejm in Light of the Dilemmas of 18th Century Western Republicanism. An Outline of the Problem

Summary/Abstract: This article is an attempt to identify the most important outcomes of the Western political thought of the 18th century, which sought to revise the republican tradition. It is admitted that this tradition, having been influenced by an understanding of the modern challenges of commerce and statehood, was about to abandon its previous inspirations, namely the ideals of ancient citizenship. The following, most essential aim of the article is to show in this context the possibilities of Polish republicanism, especially the thought of the Reform Camp. With these purposes in mind the paradoxes of modernity and republicanism are presented in the first turn. These can be found – following some conclusions of John G.A. Pocock’s civic humanistic reading – in the writings by Montesquieu, the philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment and, lastly, the American federalists, which actually exemplified a new republican tradition. The conclusions pointed out in the first part of the article, provide us with a comparative framework to examine the Polish struggle with modernity. The last are exemplified here by the thought of Hugo Kołłątaj, the author of the famous Listy anonima, who was indeed one of the most spectacular writers of the Reform Camp. That thought, as it turns out, displays similar concerns of the Western theorists, in its perspectives on political economy and the effectiveness of government. Even if opposed to the preachers of ancient republicanism of the Polish szlachta, willingly.

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