Some Liberal Marxists and Left-Wing Catholics in Contemporary Poland

Extract

The Polish left-wing Catholics, who are to be dealt with in this paper, are not the confessed fellow-travellers, who were at the height of their influence during the Stalinist period. They are rather the members of the “Znak” parliamentary group and others associated with the Catholic weekly, Tygodnik Powszechny, which comes close to being the mouthpiece of the Polish Primate, Cardinal Wyszyński. The left-wing Catholics to be considered, therefore, have been dependent for their activities on the comparatively tolerant attitude of Polish Communist leadership. So it will be logical and convenient to deal with the liberal Marxists first.

Rosa Luxemburg, the greatest intellectual leader that the Polish Marxist movement has so far produced, was murdered in 1919. Yet she was so typical of Polish Communism, and she exerted so great an influence on the character that it has assumed, that a brief reference to her will be made by way of introduction. She was an outstanding revolutionary and a great woman, combining such varied qualities as physical and mental courage, great energy and powers of endurance, and unusual oratorical gifts, with more characteristically feminine attributes, such as a deep sensitivity and love of beauty in all its forms. She could stand up to Lenin when she differed from him, but she commanded his respect. However, what concerns us most here is that her deep Marxist convictions were tempered by liberal elements characteristic of what would now be called Western democracy.