The text argues that a re-assessment of the post-socialist civil societies in general and Polish civil society in particular is called for on both empirical and theoretical grounds. For the purpose of such re-thinking, the authors address critically the way in which civil society has been conceptualized in the post-socialist context, with special focus on Poland; and, secondly, discuss the limitations of the common indicators used to assess the strength and character of the civil societies in the region. It is argued that there are forms of collective action that have tended to escape observers’ lenses for theoretical, methodological as well as normative and ideological reasons. Consequently, the authors calls attention to the exclusionary practices entailed in the “making up” of civil societies in the region, revealing how the concept of civil society as commonly applied in political discourses as well as empirical research in fact excludes many forms of social activism.