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A Technicist Perspective and the Contemporary Perception of the Role of Lawyers in Polish Society

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A Technicist Perspective and the Contemporary Perception of the Role of Lawyers in Polish Society 8 A Technicist Perspective and the Contemporary Perception of the Role of Lawyers in Polish Society Jacek Srokosz 8.1 Introduction fter the collapse of communist rule in Poland in 1989 a new order A was introduced which led to many spheres of social life being touched by the process of marketization.1 The resulting changes had a great influence on the legal professions, their practices and the perception of the role of lawyers in society. The term ‘lawyer’ in this chapter is used in a context similar to the meaning of the Polish word prawnik, which has a broad meaning covering not only the Polish equivalents of solicitors and barristers, but also judges, public notaries, prosecutors, and some- times bailiffs. Therefore, the word ‘lawyer’ is used to refer to any of the legal professions. This chapter aims to show how these changes altered the perception of the role of lawyers in contemporary Poland, and the connections between the current perception and the technicization process. The chapter is divided into two parts. In the first, the technicist approach’s meaning and significance in social science and the factors reinforcing this approach will be discussed. The second part is concerned with the technicist approach in law in Poland, including legal education and visions of law which support the technicist approach, as well as its use in legal practice. 8.2 The Technicist Approach in Social Sciences 8.2.1 The Meaning and Genesis of Technicism It is necessary to clarify the meaning of ‘technicist’ and ‘technicism’ as 1 The meanings and range of the marketization process are discussed in: Uwe Schimank, Ute Volkmann, Economising and Marketisation in a Functionally Differentiated Capitalist Society—A Theoretical Conceptualisation, in The Marketisation of Society: Economising the Non-Economic, ed. Uwe Schimank and Ute Volkmann (Bremen: University of Bremen, 2012), 47–56. Pobrano z https://repo.uni.opole.pl / Downloaded from Repository of Opole University 2021-09-23 A Technicist Perspective 155 used within this chapter. The notion of technicism should be distinguished from ‘technocracy’ despite the fact that these terms are very often used interchangeably. ‘Technicism’ represents a specific way of thinking which is based upon the assumption that every social problem can be easily solved with technology or scientific methods.2 In short, technicism emphasizes the use of scientific methods. Despite some similarity, the word ‘technocratic’ has a different meaning which refers to the idea of technocracy, which means that society should be governed by technicians using a method of management based upon the knowledge and application of social science, for instance in factories.3 This kind of idea was put forward in the first half of the 19th century by, among others, the French utopian socialist Henri Saint-Simon in his concept of industrial society and the rule of profession- als.4 Put simply, ‘technocratic’ means that the greatest emphasis is put on the person who applies scientific methods to solving problems in the social sphere. For the purposes of this chapter it is more important to show the action than the person who acts, therefore the notion of technicism is adopted. The concept of technicism emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century and was closely associated with the rapid development of science at that time. Scientific progress as well as a flood of new inventions during this period led people to believe that science could solve every human problem.5 Of course, that conviction was based upon substantial over-reliance and excessive confidence in the technical advances of science which in some way was justified by the visible outcomes of that progress, which in turn led to the belief that, once broadly understood, science would discover solutions in areas of human life which at the time were out of its reach.6 Therefore, 2 Egbert Schuurman, ‘A Confrontation with Technicism as the Spiritual Climate of the West,’ Westminster Theological Journal 58 (1996), 70. 3 Tadeusz Klemantowicz, Krzysztof Pieliński, Politycy i technokraci. Kierowanie w państwie i w systemie światowym: między teorią a ideologią [Politicians and Technocrats. Management in the State and World System: Between Theor and Practice] (Białystok: Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechnika Białostocka, 2011), 71–115; See also Krzysztof Pieliński, ‘O ewolucji doktryny technokratycznej’ [On Evolution of Technocratic Doctrine], Państwo i Prawo 8 (1980); Krzysztof Pieliński, ‘Koniec historii—utopia technokratyczna’ [The End of History—Technocratic Utopia], Economy and Managemant 2 (2011), 19; Jean Meynaud, Technocracy (London: Faber & Faber, 1968). 4 On the concepts of Saint-Simon, see generally Arthur John Booth, Saint-Simon and Saint-Simonism: A Chapter in the History of Socialism in France (London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, 1871); Frank Manuel, The New World of Henri Saint-Simon (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1956); Ghita Ionescu, The Political Thought of Saint-Simon (London: OUP, 1976). 5 Leo Marx, ‘The Idea of “Technology” and Postmodern Pessimism,’ in Technology, Pessimism, and Postmodernism, ed. Yaron Ezrahi et al. (Dordrecht: Springer, 1994), 12. 6 On the technicistic approach in US, see Irving Louis Horowitz, Veblen’s Century: A Collective Portrait (New Brunswick, New Jersey, 2002); Howard P. Segal, Technology and Utopia (Washington: American Historical Association, 2006); Alex Hall, ‘“A Way of Pobrano z https://repo.uni.opole.pl / Downloaded from Repository of Opole University 2021-09-23 156 Law & Critique in Central Europe proponents of this way of thinking claimed they could apply science to many social processes, such as government, education, healthcare, etc. This kind of idea of managing social life by using methods based on scientific knowledge might be termed ‘the technicist perspective.’ The essence of the technicist perspective in relation to social processes is based upon the assumption that most of society’s problems and conflicts can be solved by applying the methods of science and technology, and that it is science’s job to deliver the required tools or to steer social processes in the right direction.7 These tools can be discovered and delivered only by conducting thorough research on social processes and drawing conclusions based upon the obtained results. The process of implementing research results into governing processes runs on three successive levels.8 On the first level the relevant research is conducted, and on the basis of the results the objectively proven regularities within society can be described. This level could be called a descriptive level as its purpose is to collect and analyze the aggregated information in order to formulate general assumptions concern- ing any given segments of social life. On the next level these assumptions are transformed into teleological directives which indicate what should be done in order to achieve a designated outcome. This level could be called normative because concrete rules of conduct can be formulated on the basis of the gathered information. The last level has a practical character as it concerns enforcing the formulated directives in order to achieve the desired results.9 This technicist approach to solving social problems can be regarded as a simple transfer of methods from the realm of science to social science. Advocates of this approach argue that science—understood as the usage of scientific tools in governing society—offers the best chance of achieving social harmony and guaranteeing the welfare and peaceful life of citizens. The significance of this idea is currently growing and is visible in many segments of contemporary social life.10 This technicist formula clearly Revealing”: Technology and Utopianism in Contemporary Culture,’ Journal of Technology Studies 31 (2009) 58–66. 7 Egbert Schurmann, The Technological World Picture and an Ethics of Responsibility. Struggles of Ethic in Technology (Sioux Centre: Dordrecht Collage Press, 2005), 19–20. 8 Jerzy Wróblewski, ‘Prawoznawstwo: Perspektywa technicystyczna i humanistyczna (Z problemów III Kongresu Nauki)’ [Jurisprudence: Technicistic and Humanistic Perspective (From Problems of III Congress of Science)], Państwo i Prawo 4 (1986), 4–5. 9 Wróblewski, ‘Prawoznawstwo,’ 4–5. 10 A great example of that kind procedure in Poland might be indicated by the most popular research grant proceeding where the applicant is required to prepare a project as well as to describe what kind of results can be achieved. The formula of evaluating the entries is quite simple. The applicant has to be able to substantiate that his research brings specific results important for science or society. Then the evaluation of the realization of the research grant is made in respect of his estimation of whether the designated scientific targets were achieved and the scheme of research was fulfilled. Use of these kinds of procedures Pobrano z https://repo.uni.opole.pl / Downloaded from Repository of Opole University 2021-09-23 A Technicist Perspective 157 derives from typically utilitarian approaches as it attempts to find the easiest and most efficient way to solve social problems.11 One might say this is the most reasonable, natural, and logical way to solve a problem, therefore it should be implemented without any doubt about its usefulness. This assumption would probably be found to be effective in scientific terms, however it could completely fail in the real world. The technicist approach considers social relations to be very similar to the orderly systems of proper science. This attitude could be a danger to the harmonious running of social life because it underrates the difference between the short-term and long-term effects of social processes and actions. Short-term effects are predictable, thus making a technicist approach very profitable as it is enough to identify the desired outcome and choose and implement the most proper methods. However, long-term effects are not so predictable due to fluctuations in social relations and circumstance. Moreover, the eventual long-term outcome could be affected by many complex factors, so it would be almost impossible to choose the precise actions which would lead to the intended outcomes.
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