'NATIONAL INTEREST' AND 'THE COMMON GOOD'. LOGICAL AND EMPIRICAL GROUNDS FOR JUSTIFICATION OF POLITICAL DECISIONS IN DEMOCRATIC STATES ('Interes narodowy' i 'dobro wspólne'. Logiczne...podstawy uzasadnien decyzji ... w panstwach demokratycznych)

If one follows the political argumentation in democratic states carefully, one might come to the conclusion that political actions are appraised and justified primarily by a recourse to the concepts of 'the common good' or 'national interests'. In this vein, they are applied not only by politicians, but also by media commentators and citizens, as a yardstick for the evaluation and acceptance, or otherwise, of decisions made by the politicians. On the other hand, both empirical observations of political life and the logical premises indicate unambiguously that the arguments referring to a 'common good' or 'national interest' cannot be acknowledged as either the underlying reasons of political decisions or indicators with which to evaluate political actions. The logical and empirical feasibility of providing grounds for regarding these concepts as the reasons for which political decisions are made is discussed in the article, which also raises questions as to the causes why they are so enduring and useful in political communication.