Subtitle:

The intellectual faces of Polish anarchism at the turn of the twentieth century : Augustyn Wróblewski, Józef Zieliński, Jan Wacław Machajski

Institutional creator:

Polska Akademia Nauk, Instytut Historii im. Tadeusza Manteuffla

Publisher:

Instytut Historii PAN

Place of publishing:

Warszawa

Description:

Wydanie I. ; 458 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm ; Bibliography (pages 410-438). Index ; Supported by the "Doskonała Nauka" ("Excellent Science") programme of the Ministry of Education and Science ; Summary in English and Russian.

Abstract:

In the twilight of the ʻage of ideologyʼ, all currents of the political scene in Polish lands under the partitions and in exile projected various visions of future Polish statehood. The situation was different with anarchism, which, as a form of political and ethical doctrines, postulated the liberation of man from hierarchical relations anchored in the institution of the state and in capitalism, institutional religion, patriarchy, etc. While rejecting all forms of coercion and authority, anarchistsʼ theories focused on a society able to function based on the voluntary self-organisation of individuals and groups. The book aims to show that anarchism of the turn of the twentieth century was present in Polish intellectual life and that it did not appear only at the end of the ʻbeautiful nineteenth centuryʼ. The book focuses on a comparative analysis of the ʻPolish varietiesʼ of anarchist thought. The presentation of profiles of three of its leading proponents: would-be naturalist Jan Wacław Machajski (1866–1926), biochemist Augustyn Wróblewski (1866 – after 1924?), and physician and hygienist Józef Zieliński (1861–1927), includes a description of their views and activities. The figure of the Polish thinker Edward Józef Abramowski (1868–1918), who is commonly most often associated with anarchism, is deliberately omitted from this analysis. The book combines the biographical method with references to the methodology of the history of ideas. The biographies of revolutionaries born in the Russian partition appear helpful in analysing their ideological choices, sources of influence, and borrowings from other intellectuals and activists. The history of ideas shown through a personality helps to capture the diversity of manʼs interactions and concepts and transcend national boundaries. At the same time, elements of intellectual biography facilitate an understanding of the ʻPolishʼ context of the anarchistsʼ ideological struggles on the threshold of the twentieth century. ʻPolishnessʼ is a prism to look through at the ʻbig ideaʼ (anarchism) on a micro-scale, its fragments and reflections. Machajski mainly wrote in Russian and would shine especially in the ʻRussianʼ revolutionary circle, while Zieliński was a Polish anarcho-syndicalist in France, and Wróblewski, primarily active in Galicia, synthesised anarchism with Polish history and culture to the greatest extent. Despite their patriotic accents at the beginning of their activity, none of them (except Zieliński after 1914) made regaining Polandʼs independence their aim. The most ʻanti-Polishʼ thinker is Machajski, who completely breaks with patriotism. The breadth of the intellectual efforts of the Polish radicals is impressive, from scientific and popularising positions and theoretical works to numerous press titles and literary works. Wróblewski and Zieliński were, moreover, tireless social activists. The development of ideas went hand in hand with their deprivation of freedom, exile and expatriation, escapes and conspiracies. Their beliefs accompanied them from Irkutsk to Paris, stirring intellectual ferment in Cracow and St Petersburg, Warsaw and Prague, Odessa and Geneva.

Detailed Resource Type:

Book

Resource Identifier:

oai:rcin.org.pl:242455 ; 978-83-66911-51-2

Source:

IH PAN, call no. II.16492 Podr. ; IH PAN, call no. II.16493 ; click here to follow the link

Language:

pol

Language of abstract:

eng ; rus

Rights:

Creative Commons Attribution BY-ND 4.0 license

Terms of use:

Copyright-protected material. [CC BY-ND 4.0] May be used within the scope specified in Creative Commons Attribution BY-ND 4.0 license, full text available at: ; -

Digitizing institution:

Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Original in:

Library of the Institute of History PAS

Projects co-financed by:

Ministry of Education and Science

Access:

Open