Could it be that the problems of modern Greece are not actually so "modern"? Could there be an inherent malaise, intentional and unintentional, that prevents this country, which nevertheless "passionately seeks itself," from seeing the "central" and being "relevant"?

These are just some of the crucial questions that the essay by Kostas Axelos, "The Fate of Modern Greece," recently released by Nefeli Publications and translated by Katerina Daskalaki, attempts to answer. It is a text of rare insight, one could say "prophetic." Kostas Axelos had just turned thirty when he first published it in the French magazine "Esprit" in July 1954. Today's reader, especially the Greek reader, who wishes to delve into its pages and understand their meaning, will be astonished by the tragic relevance of the observations and conclusions of this thinker, formulated fifty-six years ago and not losing any of their tragic relevance.

It is worth noting here that this (youthful) text by Kostas Axelos is also the first to be published independently after his death on February 4, 2010.