Poland Liceum ogólnokształcące, klasa II Civics (extended level)
Chapters: 5
1. The human person – concepts and aspects
Philosophical views of the person
- Ancient Philosophy: From the First Questions to Stoicism – Philosophy means 'love of wisdom'. Around 600 BCE Greek thinkers began to explain nature by reason (logos) instead of myth. The Presocratics searched for the first principle (arche): water, air, fire, unchanging being or atoms. Then the Sophists and Socrates turned to human life, and Socrates died for his questioning (told in Plato's Apology). Plato taught the theory of Forms; Aristotle built logic and science from observation. Later Stoics, Epicureans and Cynics, and Romans like Cicero and Seneca, asked how to live a good, calm life.
2. The common good
Common good and social justice
- Social Justice: Fair Shares for All – Justice means giving each person their due. Social justice is about fair sharing of goods, services and chances in society. Three principles guide fair sharing: equal treatment for equals, reward in proportion to effort and skill, and extra help for special needs. They must be balanced. John Rawls suggested choosing society's rules from behind a 'veil of ignorance', not knowing what position we would get; a rational person would then protect the worst-off. Pursuing social justice means first securing basic needs (food, water, housing, health, education, minimum wage) for everyone. People disagree on how: free-market supporters want open competition with a small state; others want the state to provide welfare. India uses a mix.
3. Societies and communities
Family, religion and power · The state and citizenship · Nation and minorities
- Authority: Where Does Rightful Power Come From? – Power is the ability to make others act; authority is power that people accept as rightful (legitimate). Ancient Indian texts like Kautilya's Arthashastra and the Shukraniti said a ruler keeps authority through danda (fair punishment), nyaya (justice) and bala (strength to protect). Today in India authority comes from the Constitution, which promises justice and security and limits every office. Citizens give authority to institutions through elections, and institutions must answer back. Authority can be traditional, charismatic or legal-rational.
- State and Government: What Makes a State – A state is a political community with four elements: a permanent population, a territory, a government and sovereignty (supreme power inside, independence outside). The government is the team that runs the state and can change; the state stays. States differ in who decides (democracy, monarchy, dictatorship), how power is shared (unitary or federal) and how much they do for citizens.
- Nation and Minorities: Living Together as Equals – A nation can mean all citizens of a state (the political nation) or a group sharing language, culture and history (the ethnic-cultural nation). Minorities are smaller groups with their own language, religion or culture. Their rights are protected by constitutions and laws. People have many identities at once, and we must oppose racism, xenophobia and antisemitism.
4. Societies and socialisation
Types of society and socialisation
- Culture and Socialisation: How We Learn to Live Together – Culture is the whole way of life that a group learns and shares: its ideas, rules and things. It is learned, not born with us. Culture has three sides: cognitive (what we know and believe), normative (rules for how to behave) and material (tools and objects). Socialisation is the lifelong process by which a baby becomes a member of society by learning this culture. It happens through agencies: family, peer group, school, mass media, and others like work, religion and community.
5. Social differences
Mobility and stratification · Inequality and social problems
- Social Stratification – Social stratification means that a society ranks groups of people in layers (strata). Higher layers get more money, power and respect. The four main systems are slavery, estate, caste and class. Class depends on income, wealth, occupation and education. Functionalists say unequal rewards help society; conflict thinkers say they help the rich stay on top. Moving between layers is called social mobility.
- Patterns of Social Inequality and Exclusion – Social inequality means some groups get more money, respect and links than others, not because of talent but because of the group they are born into. Social exclusion means people are kept out of the full life of society. This lesson walks through caste and untouchability, tribes and Adivasi struggles, Other Backward Classes, women's fight for equality and the rights of people with disabilities, and what the state and people's movements did about each.