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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>'''"The Parallel Polis"''' (Czech: ''Paralelní polis'') is an essay by the Czech dissident [[Václav Benda]], dated 17 May 1978. Benda wrote it as a discussion paper for the spokespeople and signatories of [[Charter 77]]. It argues that dissidents should build parallel structures to supply what the official ones fail to provide. It gave the idea of a [[Parallel polis]] its name. A free English translation has been in the public domain since January 2026.<br />
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== Publication history ==<br />
* '''1978, samizdat.''' Benda dated the essay 17 May 1978. It circulated in [[Samizdat]]. According to its 2026 translator, its original Czech title was "Pro mluvčí a signatáře Charty 77" (For Spokespersons and Signatories of Charter 77).<br />
* '''1980, Cologne.''' It was printed in the émigré collection ''O svobodě a moci'' (On Freedom and Power), published by Index in Cologne.<br />
* '''1985, sequel.''' Benda revisited the idea in "The Meaning, Context, and Legacy of the Parallel Polis".<br />
* '''1988, ''Social Research''.''' The journal ''Social Research'' (volume 55, 1988) ran "Parallel Polis, or An Independent Society in Central and Eastern Europe: An Inquiry". It had an introduction by H. Gordon Skilling and contributions from Benda, Milan Šimečka, Ivan Martin Jirous, Jiří Dienstbier, Václav Havel, Ladislav Hejdánek and Jan Šimsa. The 2026 translator lists it as a later reflection on the essay, separate from a translation of it.<br />
* '''1991, first full English translation.''' Paul Wilson's translation, "The Parallel 'Polis'", appeared in ''Civic Freedom in Central Europe: Voices from Czechoslovakia'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 1991), edited by H. Gordon Skilling and Paul Wilson. The essay fills pages 35 to 41. The same book carries Czech responses to it and a chapter by Martin Palouš, "Jan Patočka versus Václav Benda".<br />
* '''2018, collected essays.''' According to the 2026 translator, Wilson's translation was reprinted in ''The Long Night of the Watchman: Essays by Václav Benda, 1977–1989'' (St. Augustine's Press, 2018), edited by F. Flagg Taylor IV.<br />
* '''2026, public domain translation.''' In January 2026 Mark Qvist published a new English translation from the Czech and released it into the public domain. He worked mainly from a Czech text published by Scriptum, which its editor confirms is complete. His foreword says the Wilson translation is held back by copyright, paywalls and small print runs.<br />
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== What it argues ==<br />
Benda starts from a question Charter 77 faced after its first year: what next? The Charter had stayed within the law and drawn in people of many views. But its stress on ethics over politics was running out of force. Patočka had died, the regime had switched to quiet pressure, and the movement's moral stance had no positive content. Benda saw the last point as decisive.<br />
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He sets aside two paths. Open confrontation with the regime would be suicidal. Reform and compromise could not win public trust under the conditions of the time. His third way is to build, step by step, "parallel structures" that supply what the official ones fail to provide. Where possible, the movement should also make existing structures more humane.<br />
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He sets out a programme in six areas.<br />
* '''Law.''' The legal system is vague. Its gaps should be used by testing limits and holding any ground gained. The aim is to shift from a default where everything is banned to one where everything is allowed unless a rule says otherwise.<br />
* '''Culture.''' The "second culture" is the most developed parallel structure and the model for the rest. Criticism, journalism, theatre and film need more support.<br />
* '''Education and scholarship.''' Parallel education matters a great deal, for each person and for society. Benda wants an ambitious programme here.<br />
* '''Information.''' The Charter's early samizdat network reached tens of thousands of people but had decayed. Distribution deserves as much care as writing. Networks should grow outside Prague, and copying methods should improve.<br />
* '''Economy.''' The regime uses economic pressure to break people. The movement needs mutual material support, charity, international solidarity and independent income.<br />
* '''Politics and foreign policy.''' The movement should prepare ground for parallel political life, from civic education to political groupings. Publicity abroad protects people from arbitrary power. Links with similar movements elsewhere in the Eastern bloc were weak and need study.<br />
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Benda expects the parallel structures to outgrow the Charter. They will need their own autonomy, or they will turn into a ghetto. The Charter should help them into being, vouch for their legality and keep documenting abuses in plain language. If the plan partly works, the official structures will come under pressure. They will either break down or be restored to useful work. The end goal is a "parallel polis": a community of citizens who live with dignity and in truth.<br />
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== Where to read it ==<br />
Free and legal:<br />
* [https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/vaclav-benda-parallel-polis Parallel Polis], Mark Qvist translation, The Anarchist Library (web, PDF and e-book formats)<br />
* [https://github.com/markqvist/Parallel_Polis markqvist/Parallel_Polis], the same translation on GitHub (Markdown and PDF), with the translator's foreword and notes<br />
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Paid or library access:<br />
* [https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-349-11117-6 Civic Freedom in Central Europe], Palgrave Macmillan, 1991 (Paul Wilson translation)<br />
* [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40970497 Parallel Polis, or An Independent Society in Central and Eastern Europe: An Inquiry], ''Social Research'' 55, 1988, on JSTOR<br />
* ''The Long Night of the Watchman'', St. Augustine's Press, 2018 (Paul Wilson translation)<br />
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== See also ==<br />
* [[Václav Benda]]<br />
* [[Charter 77]]<br />
* [[Parallel polis]]<br />
* [[Samizdat]]<br />
* [[Issue 1/Parallel Society]]<br />
* [[Library]]<br />
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== Sources ==<br />
* [https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/vaclav-benda-parallel-polis Parallel Polis], Václav Benda, translated by Mark Qvist, The Anarchist Library, January 2026<br />
* [https://github.com/markqvist/Parallel_Polis markqvist/Parallel_Polis], GitHub, January 2026<br />
* [https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-349-11117-6 Civic Freedom in Central Europe: Voices from Czechoslovakia], H. Gordon Skilling and Paul Wilson (eds), Palgrave Macmillan, 1991<br />
* [https://www.socres.org/post/552-summer-1988-socialresearch Central and East European Social Research, Part II, Vol. 55, No. 2], Social Research, Summer 1988<br />
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_Polis Parallel Polis], Wikipedia<br />
* [https://www.city-journal.org/article/standing-up-to-tyranny Standing Up to Tyranny], Daniel J. Mahoney, City Journal, 13 September 2018<br />
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A1clav_Benda Václav Benda], Wikipedia<br />
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{{Page status|Usable}}<br />
[[Category:Library]]</div>Eleutherious