"If it is possible for me to travel abroad, I will take the money and donate it to independent culture, and in particular for the publication [in Polish] of classics of antitotalitarianism," Michnik said. "I'm especially interested in Hannah Arendt. That is the author whom Poles and contemporary people in general should know."

A principal theme of Michnik's writing over the past decade has been the need for communist-ruled societies to create their own, independent institutions, ranging from publishing houses and schools to trade unions and human rights groups, rather than waiting for reforms from ruling parties.

In pursuit of his own theory, he was a founder in 1976 of both the Workers' Defense Committee (known by its Polish initials, KOR) and Poland's first underground publisher, Nowa, which continues to turn out uncensored books, magazines and audio and video cassettes in tens of thousands of copies.

The era of Solidarity's formation and legal existence in 1980-81 saw Michnik's theory largely fulfilled through the independent union and hundreds of cultural and political organizations that sprang up around the country. Today, though Solidarity has been reduced to small bands of activists and independent printers once again risk fines and imprisonment, Michnik says the "independent society" he envisioned remains a reality.

"The fact is that in Poland there exists an organized civil society," he said. "We have our own underground newspapers, we have our underground publishing houses and we have our own independent cultural activity. This is the most important breakthrough, because these institutions are what is bringing us closer to democracy in Poland."