PRAWO I WOLNOŚĆ W DYSKURSIE POLITYCZNYM RZECZYPOSPOLITEJ PRZEDROZBIOROWEJ (podstawowe problemy badawcze)
Law and Freedom in the Political Discourse of the Pre-Partition Republic of Poland (Essential Research Issues)

Summary/Abstract: The subject of the analysis presented in the article is the political discourse in the period of the Polish Republic of Gentry (16-18th c.). The author argues that in the centre of the contemporary debates, there were always values related to two main notions ingrained in the consciousness of the citizens of the Polish-Lithuanian Republic: freedom and law. These central notions organize the "field of discourse" and reveal the area of knowledge which is a characteristic indicator of the type and level of the culture (in this case political and civic one) prevailing in a particular time and place. The discourse concerning law and freedom proceeded with a changeable intensity throughout the whole period of the republic's existence and also after its downfall at the end of the 18th century. It reflects the significant attitude of citizens: from their attachment to legalization (rule of law) and initiative for the common interest to the protection of personal and political privileges of the ruling class, i.e. "golden freedom" of the gentry. Despite the changeable historical determinants, the discourse, as proved by the author, has maintained its relevance in the most crucial dilemmas appearing as subjects of disputes in the democratic society.

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