Narzędzie demokratyzacji czy instytucja do poprawy? Spór o samorząd we współczesnej polskiej myśli politycznej

The article attempts at presenting one of the sides of the dispute over local governmentin Polish political thought after 1989. Special attention was paid to the assessment of thecondition of home rule. The author points to the fact that left wing and liberal movementsmost often viewed local government as institutions building civil society. Conservative andChristian democracy movements, while appreciating the meaning of local government,concentrated more on its implementation barriers and dysfunctions, with partisanshipmentioned most prominently among the latter category. Some of the political writers statedthat “party system claimed local governments”. Others emphasized that politicization of localgovernment elections did not introduce significant changes in Polish politics at a local level.City activists attribute an important role to local governments. They emphasize the meaningof responsiveness understood as reacting to the needs of locals. Regardless of the opinionsand evaluations throughout the Polish political thought local government is perceived as animportant element of structural order.Key words: local government, civil society, political values, apoliticallity, city activists