Ryszard Legutko

Biography

Under communism he was one of the editors of the samizdat quarterly "Arka". After the collapse of the communist regime he co-founded the Centre for Political Thought, which combines research, teaching, seminars and conferences and is also a publishing house. He has translated and written commentaries to Plato's Phaedo (1995), Euthyphro (1998) and Apology (2003). He is the author of several books: Plato's Critique of Democracy (1990), Toleration (1997), A Treatise on Liberty (2007) and An Essay on the Polish Soul (2008), Socrates (2013).

In 2005 he was elected to a seat in the Polish Senate (representing the Law and Justice Party), where he became Deputy Speaker. In 2007 he was Poland's Education Minister, and in 2007–9 Secretary of State in the Chancellery of President Lech Kaczyński. He is currently a member of the European Parliament, where he sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee, a head of the Polish Law and Justice Delegation to the European Parliament and a Co-chairman of the Conservatives and Reformists parliamentary group.

Sued in 2010 for violation of personal rights by calling students who demanded removal of Christian symbols from a public school "unruly brats spoiled by their parents", he asked for a dismissal of the case based on his immunity as a member of European Parliament. In 2011 the court denied that request. Plaintiffs are represented by an attorney on a pro-bono basis under the Precedential Cases Program of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. He lost this case.

He is a fellow of Collegium Invisibile as a professor of philosophy.

Views

Legutko said in 2014 that same-sex marriage is an "unnecessary, destructive experiment." He has described dressing as priests and nuns in gay pride demonstrations as "aggressive, anti-Christian and shocking".

Lecture at Middlebury College

The Alexander Hamilton Forum at Middlebury College in Vermont, USA, invited Legutko to give a lecture on his book The Demon in Democracy on 17 April 2019. Student activists planned to hold "a celebration of queer identity" outside the lecture venue, with placards, pamphlets, music and a dance party. An organizer of the protest said there was strictly no attempt to stop Legutko from speaking. Hours before the lecture was scheduled to take place, college administration cancelled it, saying they did not have the staff capacity to ensure the security and safety of both the lecture and the protest event. The Alexander Hamilton Forum said that it would invite him again in the future, and a Middlebury spokesperson indicated the college was open to that.

Bibliography

Books

• {{cite web |trans-title=Triumph of the Common Man: Professor Legutko's new book |access-date=27 June 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=27 June 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210627180543/https://wpolityce.pl/kultura/246725-triumf-czlowieka-pospolitego-nowa-ksiazka-prof-legutko

Essays and reporting

References

References

1. "Institute of Philosophy". Jagiellonian University.
2. "Ośrodek Myśli Politycznej (Center for Political Thought)".
3. "Ryszard Legutko elected the ECR co-chairman". ECR Group - European Conservatives and Reformists Group.
4. (17 November 2010). "Wróć aw Legutko odpowie przed s dem za smarkczy". [[Gazeta Wrocławska]].
5. "Pro Bono". NS adwokaci.
6. (2013-06-27). "Legutko musi przeprosić za 'rozwydrzonych smarkaczy'".
7. "List of Fellows". CI.
8. Duffy, Nick. (7 July 2017). "Homophobe elected to lead Conservatives in European Parliament". [[PinkNews]].
9. Syal, Rajeev. (17 February 2011). "Gay rights critic fights to lead David Cameron's allies in Europe". The Guardian.
10. Walsh, Molly. (16 April 2019). "Middlebury College bristles over planned forum featuring Polish conservative". [[Seven Days (newspaper).
11. Board, Riley. (16 April 2019). "College braces for right-wing speaker accused of homophobia". The Middlebury Campus.
12. Jaschik, Scott. (18 April 2019). "Another speaker unable to appear at Middlebury". Inside Higher Ed.
13. Pipes, Daniel. (14 July 2019). "The demon in liberalism".