The Controversy Between Professors Fryderyk Skarbek and Feliks Bentkowski Regarding “Human Aspirations Towards Wealth and Improvement of Living Conditions”, Featured in the “Warsaw Memoir of Pure and Applied Sciences” (1829)
As an Expression of Anxieties and Fears Associated with the Dissemination of New Personal Models Inspired by Franklinism in Polish Culture
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to reconstruct and present, within a broader cultural context, a relatively unknown controversy that emerged in 1829 within the pages of the “Warsaw Memoir of Pure and Applied Sciences” (vol. 1), between two professors from the Royal University of Warsaw. The initial polemical article titled “Request for Clarification” was authored by Feliks Bentkowski, followed by a response titled “Reply to the Request for Clarification Published in the Memoir” penned by Count Fryderyk Skarbek. The impetus for this debate was Skarbek’s translation of Charles Ganilh’s work “Dictionary of Political Economy”, which he significantly augmented with his own annotations.
Although Ganilh’s work, as translated by Skarbek, primarily pertained to political economy, the ensuing debate also indirectly related to significant phenomena within the contemporary Polish culture, such as the dissemination of new (foreign) values, attitudes, customs, and cultural patterns. This article views the polemical exchanges between Bentkowski and Skarbek within a broad cultural context, recognizing them as reflections of the societal, cultural, and civilizational discussions and disputes of the time, as well as manifestations of the fears and anxieties typical for certain segments of the pre-uprising Polish society. Furthermore, this polemic indirectly offers an interesting perspective on the reception of Franklinian ideas in Poland during the early decades of the 19th century. The primary sources for this study are the two polemical publications from 1829. However, given that the controversy is situated within a wider cultural context, other texts from the culture of the Kingdom of Poland, including strictly literary works, were also consulted.
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