Pro- and anti-system attitudes in the Polish People’s Republic in the 1970s – an attempt of defining the phenomenon

The article is an attempt of defining the pro- and anti-system attitudes in the Polish People’s Republic in the years 1970–1980, i.e. in the period of transition from the phase of the relatively balanced totalitarianism to the phase of its decomposition. The article also attempts to show the historic, social and system conditionings that determined these attitudes. It also presents the issue of political activity and passivity in the totalitarianism. The author draws attention to other elements of political attitude including feelings, emotional reactions to the political reality and the evaluations of the existing political system. In a situation in which the society is an object not the subject of political actions, these were the elements that were important for the development of political attitudes