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The Latin Civilisation
Poland has been a part of the Latin civilisation for over a thousand years. This civilisation developed on the basis of antique Rome but under the influence of the ethic of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church functions in many civilisations and in each of them it brings up the societies towards certain civilisational notions. Adoption of Catholicism does not immediately amount to the adoption of the Latin civilisation. Only in the case of sacral civilisations (e.g. Brahmin or Jewish) does conversion to Catholicism automatically mean that the convert has to abandon not only his previous religion but also the civilisation built on it. That is why it is so difficult. In other civilisations inculturation follows. Inculturation is the adoption into the Catholic faith of all that in the existing civilisation is adaptable and the rejection of only that which is inadaptable. Adoption of the Latin civilisation is not necessary. However Poland on rejecting paganism in A.D. 966 went head on into adopting the Latin civilisation. It quickly became a part of the West, an inheritor of Rome, both antique and Christian.
Each civilisation has its own method of developing spiritually, materially and intellectually. In the Latin civilisation this is done on the basis of ethics of the Catholic Church. The Decalogue is obligatory always and everywhere, in all fields of private and communal life, also in international relations. Thus even politics and wars are not free of ethical constraints. This is what makes us different from the Byzantine and Turanian civilisations, from Germany and Russia respectively.
In the Latin civilisation, ethics is the source for laws. As a consequence, a development of morality ensues. The Decalogue gave prohibitions, defined sin and terrified with God's wrath. The Sermon on the Mount gave instructions, defined virtues, appealed to love God and neighbour. This amounted to an increase of demands and an elevation of the motivation to be good. The Decalogue was not abolished but there was a departure from the letter of the Law and a turning towards the intent of the Lawgiver. In the history of the Latin civilisation we have a constant growth of ethical demands and a continuous perfection of laws based on these growing demands. At an earlier time duels were the norm, considered as a form of God's judgement. Now they are considered sinful. Slavery was, at times, considered acceptable. Today, we shiver at the very thought of it. There used to be a moral obligation to avenge an injury inflicted on a relative (vendetta). Today applying private justice is considered immoral. Life continues to bring new problems and new definitions of norms from the point of view of ethics are needed (labour walkouts, test-tube babies, progressive taxation, seat-belts in cars). Not everything that is already defined by ethics needs to be written into law. But all new laws must encompass the ethical consideration. Each generation transfers something from ethics into law. However when something considered unethical, already forbidden by law, is decriminalized (abortion, divorce, homosexual practices), this we treat as a regression of law, as a civilisational decline. Only growth in legal demands is permissible. The standard is continually being raised by the saints. What is a heroic virtue in one generation, becomes the ethical norm in another, and finally becomes law.
In the Latin civilisation there is legal duality. We have simultaneously private and public laws. The first developed in families and the other in towns, i.e. in unrelated societies. Neither was dominated by the other. Private law functions in family traditions, in various clubs and organisations, in co-operatives, in political parties, in trade unions, in professional guilds, etc. The state does not (should not) interfere in these privately developed and adopted norms, statutes and regulations. On the other hand there are state laws which regulate the relations between peoples, ensuring internal and external security.
In the Latin civilisation the relation between rights and freedoms depends on the principle that the freedom of one ends where the right of another begins. The doctrine of Pawel Wlodkowic on the rights of the heathen grew out of this thinking. It grew out of the principle of loving one's neighbour. It is on this principle that the union of Poland and Lithuania was established. Any union within the Latin civilisation has a chance of lasting only if it follows this principle.
In the Latin civilisation, religious tolerance is obligatory as well as the separation of civil and spiritual authorities. There is, however, no tolerance for evil. Ethical indifference, in education or health services for example, is unacceptable.
In the Latin civilisation, monogamy is obligatory. It is only with monogamy that private ownership is possible. Each marital union is a simultaneous creation of a new economic unit. The newlyweds cease to be part of the economic entity of their parents and become part of the new entity. With polygamy such changes do not take place. The ownership lies with the clan, the community or the patriarch. Christ by elevating marriage to the rank of a Sacrament, by insisting that it be monogamous and indissoluble, at the same time gives economic freedom to the new family
The strength of the Latin civilisation lies in its ability to self-organise, to self- repair, to act from below and to work organically. For this reason, local life is very important, local councils, local elections, co-operatives, own-initiative committees, credit unions and others. When this local life is rich it is possible to reduce the role of the government to a minimum. In the army, in communication infrastructure, in foreign affairs, central directorship, from the above downwards, is essential, but in other fields it is an obstacle.
When developing communal life from below inequalities result. They are a consequence of the differences in the way various communities handle their affairs, a consequence of differences in the effort put into solving problems. As a result of seeing these inequalities, there is a tendency to try and catch up with those more successful, who are richer, more educated and better as people. This drive to equalize with the leaders elevates materially, intellectually and spiritually. On the other hand egalitarianism, equality imposed from above, by the government, reduces people to a common denominator at a lower level. It wastes human effort and ingenuity. It reduces the will to improve oneself. Nobody likes to work for others, for those who do not wish to work. Thus acceptance of inequalities is a major feature of the Latin civilisation and a driving force for its development and progress.
The control over time is most developed in the Latin civilisation. Time is considered as something valuable which has to be treasured, efficiently used and saved. There exists a link across generations, a historical consciousness, and a common responsibility for the past and the future.
Only in the Latin civilisation did nations as understood in Poland develop, namely as a natural, spiritual union, based on free will to be part of it. It creates common responsibilities and common rights. It is timeless.