Ludowa historia Polski – książka ważna i zasługująca na krytyczną lekturę

• Authors: Cezary Obracht-Prondzyński

Title variants

EN

A People’s History of Poland – On an Important Book, with Appreciation and Doubt

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

PL

This essay concerns Adam Leszczyński’s book Ludowa historia Polski. Historia wyzysku i oporu. Mitologia panowania [A People’s History of Poland: A Story of Exploitation and Resistance – the Mythology of Ruling] (2020) and presents Leszczyński’s main theses concerning the mechanism of the centuries-long exploitation of the popular classes by the nobility and later elites, the ideological justification of their domination, and the violence that accompanied it. The essay highlights how Leszczyński constructed his narrative, his theoretical and methodological premises, and his clearly declared ideological and ethical attitude. At the same time, however, the essay emphasizes that the book is highly selective in several aspects, as can primarily be seen in its omission of the history of the western and northern parts of Poland and concentration on the social and economic processes unfolding in the territory of the Russian partition. This focus had an impact on Leszczyński’s findings and conclusions, which the author of the essay questions.

Keywords

PL

historia Polski; lud; szlachta; wyzysk; opór; peryferie; przemoc; emancypacja

EN

history of Poland; people; nobility; exploitation; resistance; periphery; violence; emancipation

• Publisher: Instytut Studiów Politycznych PAN
• Journal: Kultura i Społeczeństwo
• Year: 2020
• Volume: 64
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 199-217

Dates

published

2020-12-29

Contributors

author

Cezary Obracht-Prondzyński

• Uniwersytet Gdański

Identifiers

DOI

10.35757/KiS.2020.64.4.9