Poland: A Laboratory of Liquidity Seeking Stability
Zygmunt Bauman diagnosed our era as liquid modernity – a state in which stable institutions and predictable biographies have dissolved into a stream of transience. Poland has become a laboratory for these transformations, where "junk contracts" are not just a form of employment, but an ontology of eternal uncertainty. In this world, social roles resemble whirlpools on the water, and the lack of permanent "anchors" affects every aspect of life – from work to intimate relationships. The challenges facing Poland require an understanding that the world will not return to its old, rigid forms, and we must learn to navigate the chaos.
Identity and the Body in the Grip of Consumption
In a liquid world, the process of shaping identity is no longer inherited but has become a constant task. Individuals must design themselves using market raw materials, making the body as a project a replacement for the traditional biography. Tattoos or plastic surgeries are often a cry for substance and an attempt to anchor oneself in reality, though they can also be a form of hidden self-destruction. However, freedom of choice masks a consumerist imperative: the principle of "if you can, you must" turns every technological possibility into social pressure and a source of shame if one opts out. This is accompanied by ideational agnosia – a technological paralysis consisting of possessing powerful means while simultaneously being unable to name the goals and values they are meant to serve.
Decivilization and Splendid Isolation Online
Today, we are witnessing a process of decivilization – the erosion of norms and the return of aggression in resolving public conflicts. The Internet, instead of the promised agora, has built digital shelters – splendid isolation within information bubbles, where we escape confrontation with difference. Mechanisms such as the banality of evil and the bystander effect make online violence a form of entertainment, while responsibility for another person's suffering is dissipated within the digital crowd. The modern community through exclusion builds a sense of unity solely by identifying enemies and "others," which deepens social divisions and destroys the foundations of empathy necessary for a functioning state.
A New School and the Law in the Face of Liquid Love
Liquid love today is a relationship based on short-term contracts, where the fear of commitment dominates the need for permanence. The remedy for this state is not a return to tradition, which in a liquid world becomes merely a form of oppression, but a new school that teaches empathy, emotional responsibility, and the art of building bonds. Media and politics must abandon tribal logic (agora vs. tribes) in favor of creating spaces for authentic dialogue. At the same time, the law as a shield should protect the individual from the ruthless dictates of the market and algorithms that prey on human insecurities. Instead of moralizing, the state must introduce systemic media education and real protection against cyberbullying.
Summary: Finding a Compass in a Liquid World
We are drifting in the river of liquid modernity with an arsenal of technology but without a compass of values. Can we find a common goal before the current of transience consumes us entirely? The liquid generation is not to blame for this condition; it merely inherits a world where the market has replaced ethics, and marketing has replaced the language of responsibility. The future requires a courageous act of love and commitment that flows against the tide of immediate consumption. Poland, as a laboratory of liquidity, has the chance to build a new solidarity based on care rather than the fear of abandonment. The question is not how to stop the current, but how to live in it without drowning.
📄 Full analysis available in PDF