The modern concept of revolution, inseparably linked to the idea that historical progress suddenly makes a new beginning, that a completely new story that was never known and never told is about to unfold, was unknown before the two great revolutions of the late 18th century. Before they became involved in what would become a revolution, none of the protagonists had the slightest inkling of what the plot of the new drama would be. However, from the moment the revolutions began to unfold, and long before those who participated in them could know whether their endeavor would end in victory or destruction, the innovation of the drama and the deeper meaning of its plot became evident to actors and spectators. As for the script, it was undoubtedly the emergence of freedom: in 1793, four years after the outbreak of the French Revolution, at a time when Robespierre could define his power as the "despotism of freedom" without fearing that he would be accused of paradox, Condorcet summed up what everyone already knew: "The word 'revolutionary' can only be applied to revolutions whose goal is freedom."

(Hannah Arendt)

Inspired by political traditions of antiquity, the controversial experience of the great revolutions of modern times (the French, the American, the Russian) and the radical reassessment of critical phenomena of the contemporary world - such as the relationship between war and revolution, the "social question" in relation to politics, the distinction between liberation and freedom - compose this classic work, signed by the most important political philosopher of the 20th century.