Freedom Circle logo
Freedom Circle

Where Can You Find Freedom Today?

Territory in central Europe, ruled since 1989 by the Rzeczpospolita Polska

Poland (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska), is a country located in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, covering an area of 312,696 square kilometers, and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With a population of approximately 38.5 million people, Poland is the sixth most populous member state of the European Union. Poland's capital and largest metropolis is Warsaw. Other major cities include Kraków, Łódź, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin.

Geographical type: Territory

Latitude: 52° N — Longitude: 20° E

Area: 312,679 km²

ISO 3166-2 code: PL

Birthplace of

Carl Menger, in Neu Sandez (Nowy Sącz), on 23 Feb 1840

Measures of Freedom

Human Freedom Index [PDF], The Human Freedom Index 2023: A Global Measurement of Personal, Civil, and Economic Freedom
2021: 7.69, Rank: 47, Personal freedom: 8.09, Economic freedom: 7.12
Level of Economic Freedom, Economic Freedom of the World
2014: 7.42, Rank: 40
Poland | Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2024
2016: Status: Free, Aggregate Score: 93, Political Rights: 1, Civil Liberties: 1
Andrzej Duda of the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party won the second round of Poland's May 2015 presidential election with 52 percent of the vote, beating out popular incumbent Bronisław Komorowski, whose defeat had not been anticipated. Duda's victory was interpreted by many as a protest vote against the ruling Civil Platform (PO), which had led Poland's government since 2007. Komorowski himself left PO upon taking office in 2010, but remains associated with the party.

Articles

Stop Worrying about the Election, by Isaac M. Morehouse, Mises Daily, 3 Oct 2008
Illustrates individual freedom using the film The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and events in communist Poland
Lawrence Reed ... tells an inspiring story of an underground band of freedom fighters in formerly communist Poland. Their spirit of freedom was kept alive despite a tyrannical Communist regime. Indeed, they not only held onto their belief in freedom, but they spread it, often at great risk to their lives. When the Communist authorities finally announced that they were relinquishing their power the reason they gave was that the Polish people had become "ungovernable." No regulations, ... no secret police, no propaganda, no physical or political suppression could take away the people's freedom.
Related Topics: Government, Individual Liberty
A Tribute to the Polish People, by Lawrence Reed, The Freeman, Oct 2009
Larry reminisces about a visit with the Polish underground movement in November 1986
It was on June 4, 1989 ... that Poland electrified the world by holding the first free elections in communist Europe. Anticommunist (and in many cases, also antisocialist) activists stunned even fellow Poles by their showing. They won 99 of 100 seats in the Senate and every single one of the 161 seats in the lower house of Parliament ... Poland's communist leader Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski had struck an agreement with Lech Walesa's banned Solidarity organization early in the year to legalize suppressed political groups and schedule elections for June 4. He had little choice. Poland, he declared, had become "ungovernable."

Interviews

Rockwell on Libertarianism, by Lew Rockwell, Jedrzej Kuskowski, 20 Apr 2007
Interview for the Polish libertarian website Liberalis; topics discussed include libertarianism, the Internet, movement leaders, the State, Ron Paul, the Libertarian Party, left-libertarians, Milton Friedman, immigration and Poland
KUSKOWSKI: Do you sometimes follow events in Poland? If so, what direction do you think our county is headed in? What are the chances for libertarianism to flourish in post-socialist countries?
ROCKWELL: I only visited Poland once, at the end of the Soviet era, but I am very interested, and so I am thrilled at the progress and freedom. On the other hand, the post-socialist economies are largely in the same boat as the US. We are all beset by fascistic planning structures, monopolistic regulations, socialized health care and education, even as new sectors of freedom pop up every day.

The introductory paragraph uses material from the Wikipedia article "Poland" as of 28 Sep 2018, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.