The article analyzes the social-type activities of rural inhabitants on the local scale. The empirical basis for the analysis was provided by studies conducted in 1971 on a sample of 1,514 married couples in nine rural administrative communes in different parts of Poland. The author distinguishes between the real activity (encompassed in three dimensions: active declaration of needs of the local aggregation, voluntary physical and financial assistance in accomplishing local goals, and membership in local organizations), and the potential activity (including also three dimensions: acceptance of general norms concerning active involvement in local affaire, declaration of participation in implementation of the planned investment programme and confidence in feasibility of this programme). A quantitative analysis of data allows the author to discuss the extent of common character of this phenomenon of activity in the above mentioned dimensions, its differentiation, and its correlation convergence with several cross-sections of the aggregation's structure (objective and those connected with awareness) as well as activity types (in the sense of systems built from combination of the above dimensions).
As regards the real activity, it was revealed that, among others, it continued to be almost common in rural communities, and mainly in the form of contributions made for local aggregations and in formal participation while, on the other hand, it was more seldom taking the form of declaration of needs.Thus the type of activity consisting in local contributions and formal participation appears to be predominant here, while the exclusively declarative type does not exist. On the other hand, full activity (in all dimensions) seems to be more frequent than full passivity. This activity is most strongly differentiated by objective factors such as spatial variables, cultural participation, and socio-professional membership, while the importance of awereness factors (attitudes towards the village, locality, and authorities) in attitudes towards the village is smaller. Similarly such factors as belonging to a definite generation,educational background, and material situation play a smaller role.
In turn, in the potential activity sphere, it was revealed, among others, that it encompasses bigger aggregations being expressed, first of all, in almost common acceptance of general norms, and mere seldom in readiness to participate personally in carrying out investment projects, and in confidence in feasibility of the local development programmes. Thus in practice the exclusively confidence-activity type or declaration-confidence type are absent while the full activity ins also more frequent here than the full passivity. Correlates of the potential activity raprese,nt a somewhat different system. It is also most strongly differentiated by spatial variables and socio-professional membership, and moreover it is differentiated by cultural participation on the local scale and some awareness factors like postulates concerning development of the locality, attitudes to the village, administrative rural communes, and local authorities. Similarly, material differentiation, educational background as well as participation in the mass culture appear to be insignificant.
Finally, while comparing these two activity spheres there was discovered a statistically highly significant convergence of all the six analyzed dimensions and generally smaller occurence of the potential than real activity. This last aspect is all the more important since the analyzed rural communes, encompassed by the government programme of model development, were given an exceptional chance, which although delusive in practice constituted e factor of psychological and organizational mobilization of local social forces during the examined period.
Comparison of activity levels in particular dimensions and a system of its correlates allow to draw two conclusions. Firstly, the real activity was largely forced and only seemingly voluntary. Secondly, the potential activity was weakened mainly through lack of people's confidence in feasibility of development programmes imposed from outside. And accordingly, ways to authentic social activation of villages do not lead through maximization of the potential activity (formation of attitudes by means of ideological and propaganda manipulation and organizational extortion) but through change of objective conditions of the real activity or, in other words, through change of the really pursued policy in relation to the village and the agriculture.
