O „dobrej zmianie" w Polsce. Krytyczna lektura monografii Good Change: The Rise and Fall of Poland's Illiberal Revolution
“Good Change” in Poland: A Critical Reading of the Monograph Good Change: The Rise and Fall of Poland’s Illiberal Revolution

Summary/Abstract: This article offers a critical reading of Good Change: The Rise and Fall of Poland’sIlliberal Revolution by Stanley Bill and Ben Stanley (2025), a monograph devoted to thesocial and cultural foundations of Poland’s recent illiberal turn. The essay reconstructs thebook’s main arguments and highlights its key strengths, including the integration of histor-ical, cultural, and political analysis and its empathetic engagement with the Polish socialcontext. At the same time, it advances a critical discussion of selected omissions, particu-larly the limited attention paid to issues of democratic legitimacy in post-1989 Poland, thestructural sources of populism, and the internal differentiation of the popular classes. Thearticle argues that the absence of a class-based perspective results in an overly symbolicand culturalized account of populism, detached from material inequalities and lived socialexperiences. By situating Good Change within broader debates on democracy, community,and social recognition, the essay treats the book as an important starting point for furtherreflection on the social foundations of political conflict in contemporary Poland.

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