For Patočka, dignity and truth-telling were the entire political answer

Evidence

Towards the end of this period, he wrote a ‘Political Testament’ in which he said, ‘What is needed is for people to behave at all times with dignity, not to allow themselves to be frightened and intimidated, and to speak the truth.’ It sounds so simple: again, that call to speak of things as they are, unadorned. — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 926

Categorization

• XREF: This repeats the central existentialist slogan of speaking truth plainly, echoing the book’s earlier treatment of authenticity and the call to ‘speak of things as they are.’