{{short description|Former political system in Poland and Poland-Lithuania}}
[[File:Potęga Rzeczypospolitej u zenitu. Złota wolność. Elekcja R.P. 1573.jpg|thumb|350px|right|''[[Rzeczpospolita|The Republic]] at the Zenith of Its Power. Golden Liberty. The [[Royal elections in Poland|Royal Election]] of 1573'', by [[Jan Matejko]]]]
{{Conservatism in Poland}}
'''Golden Liberty''' ({{langx|la|Aurea Libertas}}; {{langx|pl|Złota Wolność}} {{IPA|pl|ˈzwɔ.ta ˈvɔl.nɔɕt͡ɕ|}}, {{langx|lt|Auksinė laisvė}}), sometimes referred to as '''Golden Freedoms''', '''Nobles' Democracy''' or '''Nobles' Commonwealth''' ({{langx|pl|[[Rzeczpospolita]] [[szlachta|Szlachecka]]}} or ''Złota wolność szlachecka'') was a [[political system]] in the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]] and, after the [[Union of Lublin]] (1569), in the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. Under that system, all nobles (''[[szlachta]]''), regardless of rank, economic status or their ethnic background were considered to have equal legal status and enjoyed [[Szlachta privileges|extensive legal rights and privileges]]. The nobility controlled the legislature (the ''[[Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Sejm]]''—the [[parliament]]) and the Commonwealth's [[elective monarchy|elected king]].

==Development==
This political system, unique in Europe, stemmed from the consolidation of power by the ''[[szlachta]]'' ([[nobility|noble class]]) over other social classes and over the [[monarchy|monarchical]] [[political system]]. In time, the [[Szlachta's privileges|''szlachta'' accumulated enough privileges]] (established by the ''[[Nihil novi]]'' Act (1505), [[King Henry's Articles]] (1573), and various ''[[Pacta conventa (Poland)|Pacta conventa]]'') that no monarch could hope to break the ''szlachta''{{'}}s grip on power.

The political doctrine of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations was "our state is a republic under the presidency of the King". [[Kanclerz|Chancellor]] [[Jan Zamoyski]] summed up this doctrine when he said that "''Rex regnat sed non gubernat''" ("The King reigns and does not govern").<ref>Bruno Aguilera-Barchet, ''A History of Western Public Law: Between Nation and State'', 2014, {{ISBN|331911803X}}</ref> The Commonwealth had a parliament, the Sejm, as well as a ''[[Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth#Senatorial offices|Senat]]'' and an elected king. The king was obliged to respect ''szlachta'' rights specified in [[King Henry's Articles]] as well as in ''[[Pacta conventa (Poland)|pacta conventa]]'' negotiated at the time of his election.

The monarch's power was limited, in favour of the sizable noble class. Each new king had to subscribe to King Henry's Articles, which were the basis of Poland's political system and included almost unprecedented guarantees of [[religious tolerance]]. Over time, King Henry's Articles were merged with the pacta conventa, specific pledges agreed to by the king-elect. From then on, the king was effectively a partner with the noble class and was always supervised by a group of [[Senator|senators]]. The doctrine had ancient republican thought at its roots, which was then reapplied with varying success to an elective monarchy's political reality.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = https://zenodo.org/record/896895 |title = The Polish Nobility's "Golden Freedom": On the Ancient Roots of a Political Idea|last = Filonik|first = Jakub|date = 2015|journal = The European Legacy| volume=20 | issue=7 | pages=731–744 |doi = 10.1080/10848770.2015.1071124| s2cid=141659882 }}</ref>

The foundation of the Commonwealth's political system, the "Golden Liberty" ({{langx|pl|Złota Wolność}}, a term used from 1573), included the following:
* the [[Royal elections in Poland|election]] of the king by all nobles wishing to participate, known as ''wolna elekcja'' (free election)
* [[Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Sejm]], the Commonwealth parliament, which the king was required to hold every two years
* ''[[Pacta conventa (Poland)|pacta conventa]]'' ([[Latin]]), "agreed-to agreements" negotiated with the king-elect, including a bill of rights, binding on the king, derived from the earlier [[King Henry's Articles]]
* ''[[rokosz]]'' ([[insurrection]]), the right of ''szlachta'' to form a legal rebellion against a king who violated their guaranteed freedoms
* ''[[Religious toleration|religious freedom]]'' guaranteed by [[Warsaw Confederation|Warsaw Confederation Act 1573]]<ref># Norman Davies, God's Playground. A History of Poland, Vol. 1: The Origins to 1795, Vol. 2: 1795 to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-925339-0}} / {{ISBN|0-19-925340-4}}</ref>
* ''[[liberum veto]]'' ([[Latin]]), the right of an individual land envoy to oppose a decision by the majority in a Sejm session; the voicing of such a "free veto" nullified all the legislation that had been passed at that session; during the crisis of the second half of the 17th century, Polish nobles could also use the [[liberum veto]] in provincial [[sejmik]]s
* ''[[konfederacja]]'' (from the [[Latin]] ''[[confederatio]]''), the right to form an organization to force through a common political aim

The Commonwealth's political system is difficult to fit into a simple category, but it can be tentatively described as a mixture of these:
* [[confederation]] and [[federation]], with regard to the broad [[autonomous entity|autonomy]] of its regions. It is, however, difficult to decisively call the Commonwealth either confederation or federation, as it had some qualities of both of them
* [[oligarchy]],<ref name="Gella"/> as only the male ''szlachta'', around 15% of the population, had political rights
* democracy, as all of the ''szlachta'' were equal in rights and privileges, and the Sejm could veto the king on important matters, including [[legislation]] (the adoption of new laws), foreign affairs, declaration of war and taxation (changes of existing taxes or the levying of new ones). Also, the 10% of Commonwealth population who enjoyed those political rights (the ''szlachta'') were a substantially larger percentage than in any other European country, and the nobles extended from powerful princes to knights poorer than many peasants; in comparison, in France, only about 1% of the population had the right to vote in 1831, and in 1832, in the United Kingdom, only about 14% of male adults could vote
* [[elective monarchy]], as the monarch, elected by the ''szlachta'', was the head of state
* [[constitutional monarchy]], as the monarch was bound by [[Pacta conventa (Poland)|pacta conventa]] and other laws, and the ''szlachta'' could disobey any of the king's decrees that they deemed to be illegal

==Assessment==
The "Golden Liberty" was a unique and controversial feature of Poland's political system. It was an exception, characterized by a strong aristocracy and a feeble king, in an age when [[Absolutism (European history)|absolutism]] was developing in the stronger countries of Europe, but the exception was characterized by a striking similarity to certain modern values.<ref name="Dav262">Norman Davies, God's Playground: A History of Poland in Two Volumes, Oxford University Press, 2005, {{ISBN|0-19-925339-0}}, p.262</ref> At a time that most European countries were headed toward [[centralization]], [[absolute monarchy]] and religious and dynastic warfare, the Commonwealth experimented with [[decentralization]],<ref name="Gella"/> [[confederation]] and [[federation]], democracy, [[religious tolerance]]. The system was a precursor of the modern concepts of broader [[democracy]]<ref name="Janowski">[[Maciej Janowski]], ''Polish Liberal Thought'', Central European University Press, 2001, {{ISBN|963-9241-18-0}}, Google Print: [https://books.google.com/books?id=ieF7NYaEqQYC&q=4&pg=PA3 p3], [https://books.google.com/books?id=8keIXDyF_EoC&dq=Polish+Lithuanian+Commonwealth+federation&pg=PA13 p12]</ref> and [[constitutional monarchy]]<ref name="Schroeder">[[Paul W. Schroeder]], ''The Transformation of European Politics 1763–1848'', Oxford University Press, 1996, {{ISBN|0-19-820654-2}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=BS2z3iGPCigC&dq=Poland+%22constitutional+monarchy%22&pg=PA84 Google print p84]</ref><ref name="Ludwikowski">[[Rett R. Ludwikowski]], ''Constitution-Making in the Region of Former Soviet Dominance'', Duke University Press, 1997, {{ISBN|0-8223-1802-4}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=qw8o0_c0m74C&dq=Poland+%22constitutional+monarchy%22&pg=PA34 Google Print, p34]</ref><ref name="Sanford">[[George Sanford (scholar)|George Sanford]], ''Democratic Government in Poland: Constitutional Politics Since 1989'', Palgrave, 2002, {{ISBN|0-333-77475-2}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=tOaXi0hX1RAC&dq=Poland+%22constitutional+monarchy%22&pg=PA11 Google print p. 11 — constitutional monarchy], [https://books.google.com/books?id=tOaXi0hX1RAC&dq=Poland+anarchy&pg=PA3 p.3 — anarchy]</ref> as well as [[federation]].<ref name="Gella">[[Aleksander Gella]], ''Development of Class Structure in Eastern Europe: Poland and Her Southern Neighbors'', SUNY Press, 1998, {{ISBN|0-88706-833-2}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=8keIXDyF_EoC&dq=Polish-Lithuanian+Commonwealth+%22federation%22+Gella&pg=PA13 Google Print, p13]</ref> The ''szlachta'' citizens of the Commonwealth praised the right of resistance, the social contract, the liberty of the individual, the principle of government by consent, the value of self-reliance, all widespread concepts found in the modern, liberal democracies.<ref name="Dav262"/> Just like liberal democrats of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Polish noblemen were concerned about the power of the state.<ref name="Dav283">Norman Davies, God's Playground: A History of Poland in Two Volumes, Oxford University Press, 2005, {{ISBN|0-19-925339-0}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=b912JnKpYTkC&q=the+coincidence+of+view&pg=RA1-PA283 Google Print, p.283]</ref> The Polish noblemen were strongly opposed to the very concept of the [[authoritarian]] state.<ref>Jerzy Szacki, ''Liberalism After Communism'', Central European University, 1995, {{ISBN|1-85866-016-5}}, Press [https://books.google.com/books?id=gU6_JbBHkXoC&dq=Davies+Golden+Liberty&pg=PA46 Google Print, p. 46]</ref> 

Perhaps the closest parallels to Poland's 'Noble Democracy' can be found outside Europe altogether, in America, among the [[slave]]-owning aristocracy of [[Southern United States]], where slave-owning democrats and founding fathers of the US, such as [[Thomas Jefferson]] or [[George Washington]], had many values in common with the reformist noblemen of the Commonwealth.<ref name="Dav282">Norman Davies, God's Playground: A History of Poland in Two Volumes, Oxford University Press, 2005, {{ISBN|0-19-925339-0}}, p.282</ref>  However, the comparison is very weak, as the so-called Southern aristocracy was not limited to a hereditary caste; the social structure, based simply on the acquisition (or loss) of wealth and property, was fluid; and there was of course no monarchy or nobility in the United States.

Others however criticize the Golden Liberty, pointing out it was limited only to the nobility, excluding peasants or townsfolk<ref name="HGK">Helmut Georg Koenigsberger, ''Monarchies, States Generals and Parliaments'', Cambridge University Press, 2001, {{ISBN|0-521-80330-6}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=2V1dbsvEWnkC&dq=%22Golden+Liberty%22&pg=PA336 Google Print, p.336]</ref> and gave no legal system to grant [[Freedom (political)|freedom]] and [[liberty]] to the majority of the population, failing them by failing to protect them from the excesses of the nobility, resulting in the slow development of cities and the [[second serfdom]] among the peasants.<ref name="Domar">[http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/movable_type/2003_archives/001447.html The Causes of Slavery or Serfdom: A Hypothesis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215054739/http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/movable_type/2003_archives/001447.html |date=2007-12-15 }}, discussion and full online text of [[Evsey Domar]] (1970) "The Causes of Slavery or Serfdom: A Hypothesis," [[Economic History Review]] '''30''':1 (March), pp18–32</ref> The Commonwealth was called [[Heaven for the nobles, Purgatory for the townspeople, Hell for the peasants, and Paradise for the Jews|''Noble's Paradise'', sometimes—''the Jewish Paradise'', but also ''Purgatory for the Townsfolk (Burghers)'' and ''Hell for the Peasants'']].<ref name="Dav160">Norman Davies, God's Playground: A History of Poland in Two Volumes, Oxford University Press, 2005, {{ISBN|0-19-925339-0}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=b912JnKpYTkC&dq=noble+paradise+peasant+hell+purgatory&pg=PA160 Google Print, p.160]</ref> And even among the nobility (''szlachta''), the Golden Liberty became abused and twisted by the most powerful of them ([[magnates]]).<ref name="HGK"/><ref name="LukZaw">Jerzy Lukowski, Hubert Zawadzki, ''A Concise History of Poland'', Cambridge University Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0-521-85332-X}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=HMylRh-wHWEC&dq=%22Golden+Liberty%22&pg=PA88 Google Print, p.88]</ref> However, this "''the Jewish Paradise, but also Purgatory for the Townsfolk and Hell for the Peasants''" was a statement of social satire, and it should be evaluated whether it reflected the fact of the age. A number of Russian peasants fled from their far more brutal lords to settle in liberal Poland,<ref name="russia">{{cite book | author = Nicholas Valentine Riasanovsky | year = 2000 | title = A History of Russia | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 0-19-512179-1}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=KRjcXHliMpcC&dq=Union+of+Lublin&pg=PA137 Googleブック]</ref> which might stand out as example of counterevidence to the "Hell for the Peasants" claim.

In its extreme, the Golden Liberty has been criticized as being responsible for "civil wars and invasions, national weakness, irresolution, and poverty of spirit".<ref name="BSW">Philip Pajakowski, in ''Michał Bobrzyński (1849-1935)'', Peter Brock, John D. Stanley, Piotr Wróbel (ed.), ''Nation And History: Polish Historians from the Enlightenment to the Second World War'', University of Toronto Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0-8020-9036-2}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=lzWHDEE6OqkC&dq=%22Golden+Liberty%22&pg=PA150 Google Print, p.150]</ref> Failing to evolve into the "[[Modern Age|modern]]" system of an [[Absolutism (European history)|absolutist]] and [[national monarchy]], the Commonwealth suffered a gradual decline down to the brink of [[anarchy (word)|anarchy]] because of [[liberum veto]]<ref name="LukZaw"/> and other [[abuses of the system]]. The ''liberum veto'' of the nobility , created the conditions for the "pacifism" of the Sejm in the 17th century. While the Commonwealth had managed to cope with external invasions before 1648, it suffered a complete failure in suppressing internal uprisings, which devastated vast territories, deprived it of a significant portion of its army, and provoked foreign intervention.<ref name="Frost">{{cite book|title=The Northern Wars: War, State and Society in northeastern Europe, 1558–1721 |first=Robert I.|last= Frost|publisher=Longman's|location= Harlow, England; New York}} 2000. Especially pp9–11, 114, 181, 322-325.</ref>  With the majority of the ''szlachta'' believing that they lived in the perfect state, too few questioned the Golden Liberty and the [[Sarmatism]] philosophy until it was too late.<ref name="Dav279">Norman Davies, God's Playground: A History of Poland in Two Volumes, Oxford University Press, 2005, {{ISBN|0-19-925339-0}}, p.279]</ref> With the ''szlachta'' refusing to pay taxes for a larger and modern army and magnates bribed by foreign powers paralyzing the Commonwealth political system,<ref name="Bullitt">William Bullitt, ''The Great Globe Itself: A Preface to World Affairs'', Transaction Publishers, 2005, {{ISBN|1-4128-0490-6}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=guYU3I5f2ZgC&dq=bribe+Polish+parliament&pg=PA42 Google Print, pp42–43]</ref><ref name="Adams">[[John Adams]], ''The Political Writings of John Adams'', Regnery Gateway, 2001, {{ISBN|0-89526-292-4}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=zwKs6Wf2NUEC&dq=May+Constitution+reason+for+partitions+of+Poland&pg=PA242 Google Print, p.242]</ref> the Commonwealth was unable to keep up with its increasingly militarized and efficient (through [[bureaucratization]]) neighbors,<ref name="Downing">Brian M. Downing, ''The Military Revolution and Political Change: Origins of Democracy and Autocracy in Early Modern Europe'', Princeton University Press, 1992, {{ISBN|0-691-02475-8}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=jpYnGxR5MuwC&q=military-bureaucratic+pattern&pg=PA144 Google Print, p.144]</ref> becoming a tempting target for foreign aggression. It was eventually [[partitions of Poland|partitioned]] and annexed by stronger absolutist neighboring countries in the late-18th-century [[partitions of Poland]].<ref name="Sanford"/><ref name="Republicanism">[[Martin Van Gelderen]], [[Quentin Skinner]], ''Republicanism: A Shared European Heritage'', Cambridge University Press, 2002, {{ISBN|0-521-80756-5}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=sLO_aRQiDwgC&dq=Polish+anarchy&pg=PA54 Google Print: p54]</ref>

==Similar systems==
The Golden Liberty created a state that was unusual for its time, but somewhat similar [[political system]]s existed in other contemporary states, like the [[Republic of Venice]].<ref name="Olk">[[Joanna Olkiewicz]], ''Najaśniejsza Republika Wenecka'' (Most Serene Republic of Venice), Książka i Wiedza, 1972, Warszawa</ref> (Both states were styled the "[[Most Serene Republic]]".<ref name="Notes">[[Joseph Conrad]], ''Notes on Life and Letters: Notes on Life and Letters'', Cambridge University Press, 2004, {{ISBN|0-521-56163-9}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=x8oAq189BcwC&dq=autonomy+Polish-Lithuanian+Commonwealth&pg=PA422 Google Print, p422 (notes)]{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>)

A similar fate was averted by Italy; first due to a secular inability of the kings of France and Spain, and the Papacy, to come to terms on how to divide the country, then through the reaction against [[Austria]]n domination which, as late as 1861, finally aligned most of the country's states in support of a national monarchy under King [[Victor Emmanuel II]] of the [[House of Savoy]], hitherto king of [[Sardinia]].

Notably, neither the Republic of Venice nor Italy had a ''[[liberum veto]]'' among their institutions.

==Proverb==
The ''[[szlachta]]'''s rights and privileges became [[proverb]]ial:

{{poemquote|''Szlachcic na zagrodzie'' 
''równy wojewodzie''}}

—literally,

{{poemquote|"The noble on his estate 
is equal to the [[voivode]]"}}

or, preserving the Polish original's [[rhyme]] scheme:
{{poemquote|"The noble behind his garden wall 
is the province governor's equal."}}

To this day, in Poland, this means that a free man (a better sense, today, for ''szlachcic'') regards no man as his superior.

==See also==
* [[Executionist movement]]
* [[History of democracy]]
* [[Paradisus Judaeorum|"Poland is heaven for the nobility, purgatory for townspeople, hell for peasants, paradise for Jews"]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040825181706/http://66.188.129.72:5980/History/PreModernEurope/pl-16sigismundIIIend.htm Golden Freedom ― 1632―1648]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050416071903/http://www.citinet.net/ak/polska_14_f2.html Excerpts from the book ''The Polish Way'' by Adam Zamojski]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060505194332/http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/JJ.html "Monarchy becomes the First Republic: Kings Elected for Life]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070202185724/http://www2.arts.gla.ac.uk/Slavonic/staff/Szlachta.html The Inexorable Political Rise of the szlachta]

[[Category:Law of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]
[[Category:Politics of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]
[[Category:Political systems]]

{{Polish nobility}}