Czesława Znamierowskiego myśli o elicie i demokracji

Abstract

The article presents Cz. Znamierowski's views on social elites and democracy contained first of all in his booklet Elita i demokracja. According to Cz. Znamierowski, the existence of elities in a society-associated by V. Pareto with the functioning of non-democratic system — is possible also in a democracy. In particular, in the process of shaping the composition of democratic representation organs, a decisive role is p ayed by various social elites representing different hierarchies of values. Therefore, the existence of a „good" democracy is conditioned by allowing the best elites to have inf uence on the activity of democratic institutions, and not by multiplying those institutions. The shape of Cz. Znamierowski's conception of the relation between elites and democracy has undoubtedly been influenced by the practice of the authoritarian government installed after the 1926 coup d'état in Poland.