> Firstly, were the pro-democracy activists in the Soviet times not aware of this constraint, or did they choose to ignore it? I mean, they came out of a world

> Firstly, were the pro-democracy activists in the Soviet times not aware of this constraint, or did they choose to ignore it? I mean, they came out of a world war where they were shared between Hitler and Stalin and then watched what happened in Prague in '68 when somebody dared to explore non-Soviet-Union ideas. > Before the Second World war Poland was a (post-feudal/capitalist/republican) European country like many others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Poland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Poland Money quote: From 1795 until 1918, no truly independent Polish state existed, although strong Polish resistance movements operated. The opportunity to regain sovereignty only materialized after World War I, when the three partitioning imperial powers were fatally weakened in the wake of war and revolution. That's not anywhere close to Denmark, Germany or The Netherlands. Really. I'm not judging Poland at all. I'm trying to tell you that you shouldn't judge them without considering the circumstances. Their history is completely different, and I'm sure most Poles would be super happy if their history was as wealthy and successful as the Danes'. Instead of running around as Vikings raiding stuff and taking slaves, they suffered enslavement.