The purpose of the Zadruga movement's existence within the National Movement

This text is a response to the negative position The Club of Polish Slavic regarding the cooperation of the "Niklot" Association with the National Movement.

Every political and social movement worthy of the name has a set of fundamental values and methods for implementing them. While the former are immutable, as they constitute the identity of the movement, the latter depend on circumstances, most often independent ones. These include: the existing social structure of the nation at a given moment, the state of its consciousness, dominant trends in intellectual life, etc. These are data that can change, but over a longer period of time.

Any attempt to exist in social reality (perhaps with the exception of mere propaganda for ideas) requires taking into account these very social circumstances.

When we talk about the existing conditions, the basic factor of cultural division, (because it is not just a political division), is the dichotomy - the cosmopolitan camp versus the Polish camp. This division has already been described (for example in the journalism of R. Ziemkiewicz), so I will briefly remind you that the goal of the cosmopolitan camp ("European") is to liquidate the Polish community as a political and cultural subject and reduce our distinctiveness only to language and possibly folklore.

The message of Zadruga can only be realized within the framework of the national community. Simply put, before one begins to discuss how one should be, one must first exist.

Taking into account the above, it is obvious that all entities that think in terms of the nation are obvious allies of the Zadruga movement.

The problem of Polish nationalism was its close association, since the interwar period, with Catholicism, which was treated as an integral part of national identity. This meant linking it to a universalist ideology and such a structure that had global interests and eternal perspectives. The natural divergence between nationalism representing the local community and the universalism of Catholicism is obvious to any reasonable observer. It was also one of the arguments (not the only one) raised by our school in favor of breaking this connection.

It is important to realize, however, that any hopes for a quick separation of these two forces are mere wishful thinking. The period of the PRL, in sum, greatly strengthened the position of the Catholic Church, which was linked to the discrediting of Marxism, which was officially promoted as its only significant competitor. Additionally, the disenfranchised nation rightly saw the Catholic Church as the only large institution maintaining limited autonomy in a totalitarian (at least in principle) state. In the face of the PRL apparatus, treated as an outpost of foreign (Moscow-based) interests, the Church also appeared as a guardian of symbolic national sovereignty (the seemingly anachronistic designation of Cardinal Wyszyński as interrex was meant to express this).

In the post-Magdalenka so-called Third Polish Republic, initially, laical backwoodsness (i.e., the left-liberal environment, symbolized by "Gazeta Wyborcza") gained significant influence. After a short period of its dominance, a reaction strengthened Catholicism as an alternative option. Disillusionment with European integration, also associated with the mass realization of the decadence of Western countries, also favors the traditional view of the church as a national institution. At least as a guardian of social order norms. Let us add that any disappointment with the "national" function of Catholicism may result not only in its abandonment but also in the adoption of some traditionalist form (e.g., sedevacantism).

This situation is a given state, and changing it in the direction we desire in the short term is impossible. This creates a horizon for political action.

Moreover, it is worth remembering that the Zadruga movement fights against retrograde culture. And Christianity is only one of its manifestations. The laic retrograde culture, which has been mutating since the Enlightenment, dominates in Western Europe, and its ideology has been adopted by most of the elites of the Third Polish Republic. It is currently the main enemy.

Our basic task lies in the field of broadly understood culture (metapolitics). However, under existing social conditions, it is not possible to have a noticeable impact on it otherwise than by gaining a political foothold. There is little middle class in general, and even less of those thinking in national categories. Therefore, one cannot count on support for such actions. Great patrons of cultural activities in Poland can be - oligarchs (mainly post-Communist or comprador bourgeoisie), the Catholic Church, and foundations representing foreign interests. None of these entities will be interested in supporting the Polish national movement (especially in its non-Christian form). However, participating in power, even at the local government level, gives real influence over cultural institutions.

In my opinion, it is not possible to capture such strongholds independently due to the weakness of the Zadruga movement. However, it is possible within a broader movement, and our entry into the structures of the National Movement (RN) is a straightforward consequence of this observation. Therefore, it should be done.

Let us note that the RN has a federative nature, consisting of various entities that retain their own identity, both ideological and organizational. Remaining within such a structure does not threaten either one or the other.

I would like to draw attention to the fact that our presence makes it easier for us to convey our message. We are an environment not only perceived as radical, but also provoking hostility from three forces that have ruled Polish life for years – Catholicism, communism, and the liberal-left establishment. This means that we are unable to break through the media barrier created by these forces. Meanwhile, our very presence in the RN generates interest, allowing us to reach a wider audience with minimal effort from our side. This concerns the „Niklot” association, which has openly joined the RN; entering through other structures in a somewhat covert manner does not provide this benefit.

Finally, a note on allies. In fact, most of them are Catholics, but not all. Nationalism is also possible in its secular form, and we encounter this within the RN as well. Let us add that some members of this movement view Catholicism as sui generis packaging – a factor that distinguishes us from foreigners and facilitates maintaining basic social order. They are not attached to the ethics of the Gospel and the cosmopolitanism of the institutional Church, which, from our point of view, broadens the scope for cooperation.

Tomasz „Barnim” Szczepański

Warsaw, May 2014