ŹRÓDŁA NIEZNISZCZALNOŚCI KOLEKTYWISTYCZNYCH UTOPII A ZAGROŻENIA DLA WOLNOŚCI (NIE TYLKO EKONOMICZNEJ)

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2009

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Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM

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THE UNCEASING ATTRACTIVENESS OF COLLECTIVIST UTOPIAS AND ITS THREATS TO FREEDOM (NOT ONLY ECONOMIC)

Abstract

This polemical essay attempts to explain the reason for the unceasing attractiveness of collectivist utopias and the actual and potential threats resulting from it. The author first looks at history and explains why he communist system has collapsed. He points out that firstly, the economic system of communism failed to achieve the goals it had promised to achieve and secondly, that the existing knowledge (not only economic) strongly suggests that the failure was inevitable. Next, a look is taken at collectivist utopias undertaken without coercion at the micro level, that is by religiously or ideologically motivated groups. The conclusion from this empirical inquiry is the same as above. They all failed over the past four centuries, proving that utopias without the power to coerce is as hopelessly inefficient as were the utopias in power. In the fourth part the author focuses on the main area of his considerations, namely the unceasing attractiveness of collective utopias that are - often unthinkingly - being suggested all the time. The conclusion is that for influential intellectual groups efficient, successful capitalism is something of an anathema. Therefore, following Adam Smith, the author suggests that enlightened self-interest is the main driving force of human economic action. This is in stark contrast with influential groups - writers and artists, collectivist ideologists, and clergy - who preach altruism and believe in molding the human beings to create the “new man” and achieve “social justice”.

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Ruch Prawniczy, Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny 71, 2009, z. 4, s. 95-112

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0035-9629

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Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu
Biblioteka Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu
Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego