Comments on Wojciech Dzieduszycki’s Reflections on the State and Law

Łukasz Szymański

doi:10.17951/sil.2021.30.1.325-337

Abstract

<p>Conservatives in Galicia during the Austro-Hungarian monarchy exerted an overwhelming influence on political and social life. Among the conservative groups and parties, there were the so-called Podolaks, to which Wojciech Dzieduszycki belonged, writer, politician and philosopher. He wrote about the genesis and concept of law, the functions of the state and the scope of state power. He spoke against the law that regulates all manifestations of human life, because social relations are also regulated by moral and religious norms. Dzieduszycki was critical of socialism and all excessive forms of state intervention because he was against excessive state power. Based on Dzieduszycki’s reflections on the state and law, it can be concluded that he was an advocate of evolutionary conservatism.</p>

Highlights

Today, what is called the state is a primarily military organization based on a territorial foundation – it is a piece of the country carved out by arms
Among the conservative groups and parties, there were the so-called Podolaks, to which Wojciech Dzieduszycki belonged, writer, politician and philosopher. He wrote about the genesis and concept of law, the functions of the state and the scope of state power
What is called the state is a primarily military organization based on a territorial foundation – it is a piece of the country carved out by arms

Summary

Introduction

What is called the state is a primarily military organization based on a territorial foundation – it is a piece of the country carved out by arms. This theory is criticized by Dzieduszycki, who writes that “Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the great spokesman of this hypothesis, goes on to say that these animals came together in an incomprehensible way for a joint conference, and that by resolution they established a social system, but even rules of speech”.15 The law created in this way, in the opinion of this Podolak, has always been inappropriate, it allowed the development of negative human inclinations, and was the cause of many cases of violence and vice.

Results

Conclusion