ABSTRACT
The Polish word zgoda had two meanings, one synonymous with consent, the other with concord. This chapter primarily analyses zgoda understood in the latter way, as a certain general idea of harmonious understanding between members of the community. When the functioning of the Rzeczpospolita was to be determined by a collective will rather than the sole will of the monarch, the matter of concord took on great significance. It meant making decisions in line with the interests of the common good – the homeland. Almost until the end of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the political language condemned any partisan divisions, seeing them as harmful factions that precluded concord. Over time, however, the picture of concord in discourse became clearly impoverished – it was still valued, but zgoda as such ceased to be one of the key elements of the vision of the state sketched out by participants in public discussions.
