The Ethos of Nobility and of Well-Mannered People: An Epitaph for Polish Intelligentsia

The article is devoted to a critical analysis of current controversies concerning the Polish national identity, and the interpretation of the impact of nobles’ democracy on the demise of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth. It considers the role of national identity as a factor influencing civic culture and, therefore, determining its usefulness in assuring the proper functioning of the constitutional order. The analysis assumes that (1) the current global order is the product of the emergence of nation-states; (2) that a nation-state cannot exist without civil society grounded in the concept of national identity and patriotism. Patriotism is opposed here to nationalism; similarly, cosmopolitism is opposed to internationalism. Patriotism and cosmopolitism are compatible and imply an open-minded, inclusive attitude to different national identities. Both nationalism with its focus on superiority of one’s own nation, and internationalism — rejection of the nation-state in the name of an imaginary global, stateless community — are exclusive. These both exclusive postures present a threat to civil society