ABSTRACT

Consolidation of democracy will entail the development of a civic culture in which conflicts are openly addressed and conflict resolution is based on rules and procedures that allow for compromise. Consolidation of a market economy will mean fostering an entrepreneurial culture based on honest competition, freedom of transactions, and a widespread sense of individual responsibility. Since the breakdown of bureaucratic anarchy—the last stage of Communist rule in Poland—a huge number of voluntary associations and foundations have been established in Poland. The stability and vitality of liberal democracy in Poland may depend a great deal upon the combined capabilities of the epistemic community of independent experts and of political democrats in protecting the autonomy of public politics from over interference by organized religion. Mobilization of the public compelled the parliament to liberalize the bill. This is a cogent example of how accessible knowledge of public opinion fueled one of the most heated public debates in contemporary Poland.