Nationalist Discourses of the Polish Socialist Parties at the beginning of the 20th century: Patriotism against Internationalism
Abstrakt
The Polish question has always been a suitable case for the determination of the relationship between national identity and essential principles of socialist ideology for at least two reasons: A) The unique loss of original political identity leading up to the fact that most Polish socialist theoreticians as well as politicians were forced to incorporate the question of ethnical bonds and national rhetoric into their concepts, which has connected their ideas of social reform with national emancipation; B) The legacy of Marx and Engels who were in favour of the Polish irredentism due to its anticipated link with social progress. Hence, this paper deals with the analysis of the different national discourses of the Polish socialist movement at the beginning of the 20th century.
As the key method of this research it is possible to define the comparison of the theoretical concepts of Kazimierz Kelles-Krauz and Rosa Luxemburg, whose dissimilar conclusions resulted in forming two rival political parties: PPS and SDKPiL. Within the framework of this study it is necessary to analyse the desirable role of a nation according to Polish socialist doctrines while focusing on the different interpretations of: 1) The interconnection of national emancipation and proletarian revolution; 2) The question of capital accumulation within the national area; 3) The dispute over essence of national identity.
Based on these questions this paper should clarify not only the ambiguous conception of the Polish socialism but also the theoretical dilemma of the relationship between nationalism and socialism.