In this book, distinguished French philosopher Pierre Manent addresses a wide range of subjects, including the Machiavellian origins of modernity, Tocqueville's analysis of democracy, the political role of Christianity, the nature of totalitarianism, and the future of the nation-state. As a whole, the book constitutes a meditation on the nature of modern freedom and the permanent discontents which accompany it. Modern Liberty and its Discontents is both an important contribution to an understanding of modern society, and a significant contribution to political philosophy in its own right.

In this book, distinguished French philosopher Pierre Manent addresses a wide range of subjects, including the Machiavellian origins of modernity, Tocqueville's analysis of democracy, the political role of Christianity, the nature of totalitarianism, and the future of the nation-state. As a whole, the book constitutes a meditation on the nature of modern freedom and the permanent discontents which accompany it. Manent is particularly concerned with the effects of modern democracy on the maintenance and sustenance of substantial human ties. Modern Liberty and its Discontents is both an important contribution to an understanding of modern society, and a significant contribution to political philosophy in its own right.

Chapter 1 Modern Liberty and Its Discontents: An Introduction to Political Reflectionof Pierre Manent
Chapter 2 Reflections on an Intellectual Itinerary
Chapter 3 The Truth, Perhaps
Chapter 4 Essays in the History of Political Philosophy
Chapter 5 Toward the Work and Toward the World: Claude Lefort's Machiavelli
Chapter 6 Democratic Man, Aristocratic Man, and Man Simply: Some Remarks on an Equivocation in Tocqueville's Thought
Chapter 7 Christianity and Politics
Chapter 8 Charles Péguy: Between Political Faith and Faith
Chapter 9 Christianity and Democracy: Some Remarks on the Political History of Religion/ or/ on the Religious History of Modern Politics
Chapter 10 Understanding Totalitarianism
Chapter 11 Totalitarianism and the Problem of Political Representation
Chapter 12 Aurel Kolnai: A Political Philosopher Confronts the Scourge of Our Epoch
Chapter 13 Democratic Individualism
Chapter 14 On Modern Individualism
Chapter 15 Recovering Human Attachments: An Introduction to Allan Bloom's Love and Friendship
Chapter 16 Thinking and Acting Politically
Chapter 17 Raymond Aron and the Analysis of Modern Society
Chapter 18 De Gaulle as Hero
Chapter 19 Democracy without Nations?
Chapter 20 Reflections on Strauss, Nature, and History
Chapter 21 Strauss and Nietzsche
Chapter 22 On Historical Causality
Chapter 23 Liberalism and Conservatism Today
Chapter 24 Liberalism and Conservatism: The Transatlantic Misunderstanding
Chapter 25 Index