Idea samorządności w Polsce - próba aksjologicznej systematyzacji w ujęciu politologicznym

Abstract

Over the two decades of local governance in Poland, the catalogue ofthe fundamental values of local self-government has transformed. In the first decade, when the foundations of local governance in Poland were laid, the most important aspect was the basic values of the political system: liberty, equality and universality. In the second decade, they were replaced by the values that are fundamental for the development of local governance, such as local bonds, a sense of community, social capital, political inclusion and, last but not least, civic society. These changes were accompanied by different requirements being made of local government officials. There emerged increasingly detailed legal acts of statutory status that defined such requirements and the principles the officials are supposed to abide by as public servants. The paper attempts to catalogue the set of values associated with local government in Poland. This catalogue is subjective. The author also includes among those values the principles that are recognized as valuable by a given community, thus becoming values in themselves.