/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