Freedom – most important value
The study indicates that for Poles freedom is the fundamental value. Equality takes second place. More men than women regard freedom as the key value, while equality is important to residents of rural communities and persons with lower level of education. Furthermore, Poles support social progress and modernization and favor entrepreneurship over social solidarity. It should be noted that young people and those better educated identify with these values more frequently, while less educated persons could be characterized as “traditionalists” and “progressives” in equal measures. The number of progressives increases with the level of education completed.
How do Poles feel about their state?
The researchers investigated emotional attitudes of citizens towards their state. Study participants were asked to select between the following categories: resentment, fear (anxiety, threat), respect (esteem, appreciation), and affection. The majority of Poles declared positive feelings towards their state (55%), while the remaining 45% expressed resentment or anxiety. The percentage of persons with positive attitude towards the state was biggest among persons with secondary level of education and those living in small- and medium-size municipalities. Furthermore, Eurosceptics and moderate enthusiasts of stronger integration with the European Union also declare positive attitudes towards the state. Another key factor measured in the survey was the level of satisfaction with democracy in Poland. The traditionalists and those supporting social solidarity usually were satisfied, while the progressives and proponents of entrepreneurship less so. Moreover, the first group was much more willing to accept various forms of surveillance imposed by the state. In this group only one in five people declared dislike of the sate, while close to 75% of those displeased with democracy in Poland indicated negative attitude towards the state.
Free market or the state?
Poles indicate stronger support for free market economy, as the main mechanisms for solving social problems, rather than state interventions. On the other hand, over 75% of the study participants favors public governance of certain sectors such as primary schools and universities, social assistance, pension plans, and health care. The study indicates that the higher the level of education, the stronger the support for free market. At the same time, men are more willing to leave the solution of social problems to the free market, while women present divided opinions or prefer the state to take care of this aspect of life. A larger number of persons who are pleased with democracy in Poland, would like to see the state overseeing social issues.
What do young people think?
The analysis of the citizen-state relationships indicates that young people favor the liberal model of governance. At the same time, their attitude to the concept of “state” in general is less favorable. They are less trustful of the state and less enthusiastic about it. They do not hold the state in very high esteem and more often declare dislike and fear of the state. Young people also declare pro-free market sympathies and are proponents of self-agency and taking responsibility for one’s own life. They also see private companies as more capable of managing all services. With age, support for democracy increases. This is hardly an exception as compared with other countries. This mostly applies to people who were born in post-authoritarian countries and have undergone the socialization process under the democratic rule. Support for democracy is much stronger in larger cities and increases with the level of education, from 47% among persons with primary and secondary education to 78% among those with university level education. One in three people with lower education do not regard democracy as a better political system than others.
Moral or effective policy?
Attitudes towards policies are another direct and significant source of data for analysis. Researches investigated what was more important for Poles – efficacy of a policy (over morality) or morality (over efficacy). The results indicate that the participants favor “moral” policy over an “effective” one, while the biggest differences occur in the education and age sub-groups. The lower the level of education and the younger the responders, the higher preference for efficacy.
Voters and political parties
Does active participation in political life impact attitudes towards the state? The study shows that this is of a lesser significance – 55% of voters declares positive attitudes towards the state, while the proportion is reversed among those that do not vote in elections. The undecided seem to be the most positive group. People who actively participate in the democratic process tend to be more in favor of public management of primary education, social services, pension plans, and universities. They also think that the state should spearhead progress.
Furthermore, the results presented in the report indicate that attitudes of Poles towards the state are more determined by political issues than by socio-demographic ones. The main factor influencing attitudes towards the state is political party affiliation. Up to 85% of those supporting the Law and Justice (PiS) and the right coalition declare positive attitude towards the state. Among supporters of Konfederacja (right wing, free market party), that number is 61%, while negative attitudes towards the state are more frequent among supporters of the opposition parties, 54% among Poland 2050 voters, 61% Polish People’s Party (PSL) (a rural party)-Polish Coalition (center), 70% the Left, and 71% Civic Coalition (center). Supporters of the PiS-right coalition declare pro-state attitudes more frequently. They see upholding traditions and developing environment conducive to social solidarity as contemporary goals of the state. Additionally, they more easily accept state’s surveillance practices.
Due to the current strong political polarization in Poland, it can be assumed that the vision of the state is so strongly deformed by the political party optics, that one could even talk about attitudes towards “the PiS state” rather than to the state in general. Hence some interesting results, in particular excessive support for the (current) state by social groups that cannot be regarded as pro-modernization foundation of any country. Especially a country, which has been building up its economic power and has been “catching up” with the developed West. At the same time, supporters of PiS and the social groups, which could be classified as “mobile classes” rather than those excessively contributing to the state’s budget, constitute the largest group, which is in favor of the state’s presence in public life. This means that citizens who contribute their knowledge, skills, energy, resourcefulness to the state, pay high taxes to the state’s budget, and could impact the country’s international prestige, do not hold the state in equally high esteem. Meanwhile, the state is appreciated by those who cannot contribute much to its modernity, competitiveness, innovativeness, and international prestige.