Polska – wieczny projekt modernizacyjny?
Poland: A Never-Ending Modernisation Project?

Summary/Abstract: The article is an attempt to look at the history of modern political thought in Poland through the prism of the dispute concerning the definition of the foundations underlying national identity. Historically, the axis of the dispute runs along the opposition between two competitive positions which first emerged in the nineteenth century, namely the idealistic model based on the concept of the nation as a spiritual community of ideas, and the realistic approach referring to the tenets of a pragmatically conceived material community of national interest. The discussion aims to critically address the philosophical and historical context underpinning the emergence and development of the latter approach, which is currently recognised as an objective – devoid of any ideological deformations – interpretation of the modern notion of nationality. A pertinent question that needs to be asked is: is this really the case?

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