Autorytet w demokracji liberalnej? Wątpliwości historyka myśli politycznej .......... 11
Synopsis
AUTHORITY IN LIBERAL DEMOCRACY? DOUBTS OF THE HISTORIAN OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
Authority, a category usually associated with seriousness and critically juxtaposed with the category of power, has referred to either apersonal instances, such as the law or a public body such as the Senate, or to people characterized, for example, by exceptional cognitive ability or a unique relationship to deities or God. It is sometimes treated as a feature, e.g. testifying to the continuous identity of a given group, not given by anyone, but it is also sometimes treated as a possession in some approaches one is an authority, in others one has it. The historian of political thought tries to distinguish authority from power, to show how it was perceived in it, and to show the problematic nature of using this category not only considering the fact that the term ‘authoritarianism’ is derived from it, but also in the face of undermining the legitimacy of the existence of personal authorities, above all in liberal democracies, especially in increasingly multicultural societies.
