Moja, twoja, nasza... Wolność i zaimki w polskiej myśli politycznej XVIII wieku
Mine, Yours, Ours... Liberty and Pronouns In Polish Political Thought of 18th Century

Summary/Abstract: Analyzing the pronouns which accompanied the notion of liberty in 18th-century Polish political thought, the article brings to light essential questions from the borderland between political ideology philosophy and philosophy of the state. The fact that it was liberty within some community – ours, rather than that of the individual, mine – is particularly emphasized. The basis of possessing liberty was the fact of being a citizen of the Commonwealth, or being a nobleman; that is, belonging to a certain society. Only that guaranteed freedom and it could be fulfilled only within this framework. It was not only a collective liberty – within a community, everyone enjoyed liberty personally, deciding for himself individually, which is eloquently illustrated by the unspoken popularity of the pronouns “himself” and “his” (on “his” own) . Thus, “their” liberty occurs considerably rarely, more often it is rather „their” slavery – that of the orders different from the noblemen (szlachta) and that of states which are different from the Commonwealth. Conceptualizations of community were about to be changed at the end of the 18th century, when, under the influence of Western theories, more and more attention was paid to “my”/”his” liberty, the one that was derived from nature for every man. However, the vision of “our” liberty turned out to be exceptionally long-lasting and was revived in the 19th century, when the loss of independence proved that without the community’s liberty, the very liberty of the individuals who constitute that community is threatened.

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