JAN SZCZEPANSKI ON THE ROLE OF PEASANTS AND PEASANTS CULTURE IN THE POLISH SOCIETY

The article is an attempt to reconstruct the views of the outstanding Polish sociologist on the role of peasants in the latest Polish history, i.e. after World War II. It is based mostly on the following works: 'Chlopi i kultura chlopska w spoleczenstwie polskim' (1988) (Peasants and the Peasant Culture in Polish Society), 'Rola chlopów w rozwoju spoleczenstwa polskiego' (1966) (The Role of Peasants in the Development of Polish Society) and 'Zmiany spoleczenstwa polskiego w procesie uprzemyslowienia' (1973) (Changes in the Polish Society in the Process of Industrialization). Although all the theses were made by Professor Szczepanski in the communist period, they have not lost their validity nowadays.