Anmerkungen:
Includes bibliographical references and index
Beschreibung:
"Modernism and pessimism seem to go hand in hand. What are the sources of the historical pessimism we see in the legions of writers and thinkers over the past three centuries who saw modern civilization as degenerate and despicable, happily marching to its own doom? Why did so many educated and intelligent people despise the innovations that were the work of their contemporaries? This book focuses on English and Polish thought during the 19th and early 20th centuries, a time of relative political stability and great success in science and industry, when many nevertheless voiced concern that Europe is moving in the wrong direction, to its own destruction. After WWI, these warnings became even more dire and have left their mark on the European culture of our times"--Provided by publisher
Three centuries of desperation : the origins of the idea of a crisis of European civilisation -- Gloomy stereotypes of the West -- City on trial -- Degeneration, the English way