Women’s rights are an inseparable part of the human rights, and human rights are an integrated part of women’s rights. The Swedish Government has adopted a concept of feminist foreign policy, aiming at strengthening these rights on a global level. Women’s rights are continued to be violated as much as ever, hindering democracy, peace, rule of law, sustainable development and economic growth – the overarching aims of international policy. Women’s rights to education, financial resources and access to the labour market are crucial in defending human rights and having a policy for 100 per cent of the world’s population. A priority task of the feminist foreign policy is supporting women’s inclusion in all decision-making structures, both on national and multilateral level. This in order to achieve wider foreign, development and security policy objectives through a new approach, different way of thinking and different solutions.

The subject matter of this paper is the analysis of the phenomenon of subordination
as a manifestation of the relationships between political authority and society and of the phenomenon of equality as an inherent right of individuals. The author has made an attempt to examine the mutual relationships between the two phenomena, especially from the perspective of the impact on the establishment of relationships between political authority and society.

The Greek polis is the birthplace of a culture whose influence persisted despite the fall of the very form of polis. This culture plays a significant part in the life of communities of today, especially in the domain of the so-called Western culture. Polis means both state and city, but most of all it is “a society, a community of people living together”. This form of governance enabled equal citizens to exercise direct supervision over their governments. Polis itself was not an invention of ancient Greeks, but the public nature thereof, especially in the form of the debate-based democracy and the rule of law – not of people – turned out to be their contribution to the idea of a city-state. Democracy as a common form of a political system can be found particularly in the Greek culture of polis.
The general notions deriving from the Greek polis, i.e. citizenship, democracy, equality, independence, autonomy or justice, express a desire for a better life of an individual in a community. The democracy of classical times, characterised by equal citizenship and freedom of speech, is considered as the first one to moderate fierce social-economic disputes. It is this polis that made it possible for philosophy and science to develop. The modern-day discussion on the state in a globalised and increasingly urbanised world can surely benefit from a reflection on the civil and legal dimensions of polis.

Ważny dla naukowego i filozoficznego sposobu myślenia jest problem okoliczności, które wpłynęły na wykształcenie takiego typu rozważań, różnego od objaśniania rzeczywistości za pomocą mitologicznych wierzeń. Sensem umysłowych poszukiwań człowieka filozofującego okazał się namysł nad regułą, nad kierującą wszystkim zasadą, tj. zarówno światem naturalnym (kosmosem), jak i relacjami między ludźmi. Doszło do tego sposobu myślenia po tym, gdy pojawiła się potrzeba i możliwość spisania (ustanowienia) abstrakcyjnych norm prawa (nomos) dla pewności i sprawdzalności orzecznictwa, dla obrotu gospodarczego, a zwłaszcza dla własności (prawo cywilne), wartość której wyrażono abstrakcyjnie w pieniądzu monetarnym. Były to znaczące okoliczności dla zainicjowania i rozwoju myślenia naukowo-filozoficznego (abstrakcyjnego). Innymi fundamentalnymi warunkami rozwoju nauki i filozofii była wolność, równość i uznanie dla inności, a także nieortodoksyjny charakter wierzeń (mitów). Te zapewniała zaś obywatelska, kosmopolityczna i rozwinięta gospodarczo polis, zwłaszcza demokratyczna. Owe warunki rozwoju nauki i okazały się uniwersalne i ponadczasowe.