THE INTELLECTUAL BASE OF THE POLITICAL LEFT-AND RIGHT WINGS IN POST-1989 POLAND (Intelektualne zaplecze polityczne lewicy i prawicy w Polsce po 1989 roku. Wstepna diagnoza)

The article presents the most important conclusions drawn from research on the intellectual base of politics in post-1989 Poland (1). The research aimed to reconstruct the institutional history of the milieux which, following the change to the political system, provided the intellectual base of both the left- and right-wing groups and parties; to make a sui generis inventory of these institutions (in the sociological sense of the word), and to create a 'map', which would make it possible to describe their dynamics and ideological profiles over time. Bearing in mind that these issues have not yet been subjected to any empirical analysis, the very conceptualisation of the term 'intellectual base of politics' was an important part of the study. The results of the research presented in the article refer i.a. to changes in the dynamics of the development of the base in question, its intellectual weakness and the nature of the links between the intellectuals and the politicians, as well as the mode, the scale and the nature of impact of this base on politics, as perceived by the intellectuals. A review of the various institutional forms of the intellectual base of politics and their suggested typology is also included.