Imagine No Hierarchies: the Idea of General Equalityin Polish Noble Republicanism of the Late Eighteenth Century Cover Image

Imagine No Hierarchies: the Idea of General Equalityin Polish Noble Republicanism of the Late Eighteenth Century
Imagine No Hierarchies: the Idea of General Equalityin Polish Noble Republicanism of the Late Eighteenth Century

Author(s): Paweł Marczewski
Subject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: Centre for Advanced Study Sofia (CAS)

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to describe the seemingly paradoxical intellectual kinship between Western European, mainly Dutch, proponents of radical Enlightenment defending general equality, with certain Polish political writers of the period, who despite their allegiance to the camp of the conservative nobility, defended the very same ideas against local mainstream reformers and the entrenched interests of their own social class. By discussing their programmes, I also intend to at least partially question the persistent image of a static eighteenth-century Eastern Europe, where servitude remained unchallenged and unreflected upon by ruling elites.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 7
  • Page Range: 1-25
  • Page Count: 25
  • Language: English