Political theory of local government
Z Encyklopedia Administracji Publicznej
POLITICAL THEORY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT – a theoretical concept whose source was the Hegel’s dialectic method according to which the state and the society are two contradictions conflicted with each other which result from different motivational goals, and an analysis of experiences of Great Britain regarding the local government. The state, in order to counteract the society’s pursuits, creates the so-called self-government, whose task is to subordinate social interests and fulfil state obligations. In Great Britain, the system of the units of local government was built on the principle of deconcentration – it is a system where lower offices are subordinated to higher or central ones which means that their acts are neither final nor independent; however this subordination is not expressed in division into levels. This rejection of decentralization in favour of deconcentration was linked to an assumption that local government should be viewed as a political notion that does not result from any legal rule. An important factor which were to decide about the local-government character was the composition of its bodies. Rudolf von Gneist indicated that it was key that honorary officers, not salaried for their work, took part in the work of self-government bodies. This was supposed to guarantee their independence from parties who had power, and in consequence a complete devotion to serve the local community. This element was so important for Gneist that he rejected the legal personality as a constituting element for local government [ M. Jęczarek ].
Literature: T. Bigo, Związki publiczno-prawne w świetle ustawodawstwa polskiego, Warszawa 1990 ■ J. Panejko, Geneza i podstawy samorządu europejskiego, Wilno 1934 ■ S. Wójcik, Samorząd terytorialny w Polsce w XX wieku: myśl samorządowa: historia i współczesność, Lublin 2007.