Bolesław Limanowski (; 18 October 1835 – 15 February 1935) was a Polish socialist politician, as well as historian and journalist and advocate of Agrarianism. He was one of the first people to promote socialist ideas in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Political activism

He began to be politically active during his studies in

Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

and was arrested by Russian police in 1861 for expressing patriotic views. He was still in prison, when the January Uprising began in 1863, so he couldn't take part in the fighting. Released from prison in 1867, he moved to

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

, where he was working as a journalist, expressing socialist views and became the secretary to Rudolf Günsberg, Professor of Applied Chemistry for one year. In 1878 he emigrated to Switzerland, where he was publishing, together with Stanisław Mendelson, K. Dłuski and K. Hildt, one of the first Polish socialist newspaper, "Równość" (Equality). He was a founder of Stowarzyszenie Socjalistyczne Lud Polski ( Socialist Association "Polish People"), which goal was fighting for independence of Poland and socialism. His views were supported by

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. As the oldest participant, he became a chairman of the talks. He became one of the founding members of the

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' ...

(PPS) established there. After the division of the Party, he supported Polish Socialist Party – Revolutionary Faction, led by

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...

. Limanowski was a proponent of the Polish nation and never accepted internationalism of the radical left-wing organizations and communists.

Senator of independent Poland

He was present in Poland during the difficult first years of independence. In 1922 he was elected a senator for the first time. After Piłsudski's coup in 1926, Limanowski strongly advocated democracy and opposed the

Sanacja Sanation ( pl, Sanacja, ) was a Polish political movement that was created in the interwar period, prior to Józef Piłsudski's May 1926 ''Coup d'État'', and came to power in the wake of that coup. In 1928 its political activists would go on ...

authoritarian government. Despite his age, he remained active and was serving as a senator until his death at the age of 99.

Political thought

Bolesław Limanowski was the first Polish socialist writer and political thinker. In his works, he always expressed that the main goal of every Polish political party is to regain independence. He saw a strong connection between a struggle for nation sovereignty and social reforms. As a historian, he focused his attention especially on Poland during and after the times of

partitions Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

– national uprisings, revolutions and development of modern political thought and political parties. For his achievements on that field, he was awarded the title of doctor honoris causa of the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields o ...

in 1934.

Agrarianism

Though not his party's official spokesman on agrarian matters, he thought deeply about Agrarianism and worked out an eclectic program that fit Polish conditions. His practical experience as a farm manager combined with socialist, "single-tax," and Slavic communal ideas shaped his world view. He proposed a form of agrarian socialism with large state farms to counteract the inefficiency of very small holdings. In independent Poland he advocated expropriation of gentry estates. His observation of with peasant individualism convinced him that Poland should combine voluntary collectivism and individual possession of the leased land. His pragmatism left room even for private peasant ownership, despite his Marxism.Cottam (1973)

Works

* ''O kwestii robotniczej'' (On Workers' Issue) (1871) * ''Historia demokracji polskiej w epoce porozbiorowej'' (The history of Polish democracy in the after-partitions period) (1901) * ''Demokracja w Polsce'' (Democracy in Poland) (1903) * ''

Emilia Plater Countess Emilia Broel-Plater ( lt, Emilija Pliaterytė; 13 November 1806 – 23 December 1831) was a Polish–Lithuanian noblewoman and revolutionary from the lands of the partitioned Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Raised in a patriotic tra ...

'' (1910) * ''Studwudziestoletnia walka narodu polskiego o niepodległość'' (The 120 Years Fight of the Polish Nation for Independence) (1916) * ''Rozwój polskiej myśli socjalistycznej'' (Progress of Polish Socialist Thought) (1929) * ''Pamiętniki'' (Memoirs) (1961)

Political activism

Senator of independent Poland

Political thought

Agrarianism

Works

Footnotes

References

Further reading