

/491/ Squeezed Between Two Empires ft. Maciej Szlinder
On Poland's election, its history, its self-conception.
Philosopher Maciej Szlinder joins us to talk about Polish politics, society and history. Maciej is a member of the general council of the left-wing political party Razem ("Together"), as well as the president of the Polish Basic Income Network, so we discuss these matters as well as the general context.
-
How did Poland represent a beacon of neoliberal democracy to Western liberals in the 80s and 90s – and what happened next?
-
What does Poland represent, to Poles and to the rest of Europe, today?
-
Is the political duopoly of the centrist Civic Platform and the right-wing Law and Justice falling apart?
-
Why is political turnout up – and what anti-establishment parties are the young voting for?
-
Why is Poland the most pro-American country in Europe, and how does Trump affect that?
-
What is Poland's huge economic success felt like on the ground?
-
How does precarious employment and emigration impact Polish politics?
Links:
-
In the Polish Mirror, Gavin Rae, New Left Review
-
In Poland, Presidential Hopefuls Battle for Young Voters Who Don’t Like Them, NY Times